Schwerin, at the royal residences of Ludwigslust Palace and the Gelbensande hunting lodge, only a few kilometres from the Baltic Sea coast. Her father had a fragile health and suffered badly from dermatitis, asthma and respiratory disorders from an early age. The wet, damp, and cold Northern European climate of Mecklenburg was not good for his health, and as a result, Alexandrine spent a large amount of time with her family away from Mecklenburg, by the Lake Geneva, and in Palermo, Baden-Baden and Cannes in the south of France, where the family owned a large estate, the Villa Wenden. Cannes was favoured at the time by European royalty, including some whom Alexandrine met such as Empress Eugénie of France and her future husband's uncle, Edward VII of the United Kingdom. First years in Denmark Engagement and marriage It was also in Cannes during the winter visit of 1897 that Duchess Alexandrine met her future husband, Prince Christian of Denmark, the eldest son of Crown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Louise of Denmark. The two young royals were engaged in Schwerin on 24 March 1897. In April 1897, shortly after the engagement was announced, her father the Grand Duke died suddenly at the age of just 46 years. His sudden death was somewhat shrouded in mystery as it was first reported that he had committed suicide by throwing himself off a bridge. However, according to the official report, he died in his garden when he fell over a low wall during a bout of shortness of breath. The wedding of Duchess Alexandrine and Prince Christian was celebrated on 26 April 1898 in Cannes, when she was 18 years old. They had two children: Prince Frederick (1899–1972), later King Frederick IX of Denmark; married Princess Ingrid of Sweden Prince Knud (1900–1976), later Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark; married Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark Early years in Denmark Upon their arrival in Denmark, the couple were given Christian VIII's Palace at the Amalienborg palace complex in central Copenhagen as their principal residence and Sorgenfri Palace in Kongens Lyngby north of Copenhagen as a summer residence. Furthermore, the couple received Marselisborg Palace in Aarhus in Jutland as a wedding present from the people of Denmark in 1902, the garden of which was to become one of her greatest interests. In 1914, the King and Queen also built the villa Klitgården in Skagen in Northern Jutland.