When Albert died in 1861, his grandson William, the son of Vicky and Fritz, was just turning three years old. William's grandmother, Queen Victoria, withdrew into mourning for many years. But nevertheless, for her remaining unmarried children she carried through a systematic marital policy. Six of her nine children were married to Germans. In addition to Vicky's union with Fritz, the following relationships were arranged: her second daughter, Princess Alice, married Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse, her third daughter Helene married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, her third son, Prince Arthur married Princess Louisa Margaretha of Prussia, her fourth son, Prince Leopold, married Princess Helene of Waldeck, and her youngest daughter Beatrice married Prince Henry of Battenberg. Despite all of these different connections with Germany, of which the Hessian marriage was the most important, Queen Victoria naturally continued to focus her attention primarily on Prussia. However, Albert’s vision that it would be possible by means of the family bonds to steer Germany along the "English" path toward a cautious, evolutionary modernisation was never accomplished.