Monthly Archives: September 2013

Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2013

photo: Wikipedia

Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois, was born September 30, 1898, in Constantine, French Algeria, now in Algeria. She began life as Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet, the illegitimate daughter of the future Prince Louis II of Monaco and Marie Juliette Louvet. Her parents had met the previous year in Paris, where Marie was working as a hostess in a nightclub. Marie’s mother was actually in the employ of Prince Louis.

Because Louis was unmarried and without an heir, the Monegasque throne was likely to pass to his first cousin once removed Wilhelm, the Duke of Urach, a German nobleman who was the son of his father’s aunt Princess Florestine of Monaco.  In order to avoid this, Louis’ father, Prince Albert I, had a law passed recognizing Charlotte as Louis’ heir and part of the sovereign family. However, this law was later ruled invalid under earlier statutes. So, in October 1918, another law was passed allowing for the adoption of an heir with succession rights. On May 16, 1919, Louis legally adopted Charlotte, giving her the Grimaldi surname. Her grandfather created her HSH Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Duchess of Valentinois. Upon Louis’ accession in 1922, Charlotte became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco.

photo source: Mad for Monaco

In March 1920, at the Cathedral of Monaco, Charlotte married Count Pierre de Polignac, who also took on the name Grimaldi and became Prince Pierre of Monaco. It had been an arranged marriage with neither of the couple particularly interested in the other. By 1925, they were living separate lives and they formally divorced in 1933.

Having been born illegitimate, and now divorced, Charlotte knew that she would never be fully accepted by the very Catholic Monaco, Charlotte renounced her rights to the Monegasque throne in May 1944 in favor of her son Rainier. Five years later, her father died, and Rainier became Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Charlotte left Monaco and moved to the Château de Marchais, the Grimaldi family’s sprawling estate outside of Paris, France. She attended college and received a degree in social work, and later turned the estate into a rehabilitation home for ex-convicts, much to the objections of her family. In her later life, she was in a relationship with René Girier, a famed jewel thief known as ‘René la Canne” (René the Cane). Her last appearance in Monaco was in 1956 at the wedding of her son Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly.

Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois, died in Paris, France on November 15, 1977. She is buried at the Chapelle de la Paix (Chapel of Peace) in Monaco, along with her former husband who had died in 1964.

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Thyra of Denmark, Crown Princess of Hanover

by Emily McMahon  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Credit – Wikipedia

Thyra was the youngest of the three daughters and fifth child of the six children of King Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. She was born on September 29, 1853, at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark where the family was living at the time in relatively humble circumstances. Her father Christian had been chosen as the heir to the childless King Frederik VIII shortly before Thyra’s birth.

Thyra had five siblings:

Christian IX, King of Denmark and his family by Georg Emil Hansen, albumen carte-de-visite photomontage, 1862, NPG x74402 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Encouraged by the prominent marriages her elder daughters had made, Louise had the same hopes for Thyra. However, before any serious marriage negotiations could take place, Thyra had fallen in love with a Danish cavalry officer, Vilhelm Frimann Marcher. Louise evidently knew of Thyra’s attachment to Marcher but considered it a harmless adolescent flirtation. However, by the summer of 1871, it was clear that the “flirtation” had blossomed into a full-blown affair and that Thyra was pregnant with Marcher’s child.

News of Thyra’s pregnancy was restricted to the family as it could be lethal to her reputation. Arrangements were made to send Thyra to Greece to visit her brother George, where she could have the baby in relative anonymity, and then the baby could be given to a Greek family. Thyra gave birth to a daughter in Greece (some claim Glücksburg Castle) on November 8, 1871. It is believed that Thyra convinced her family to let the baby be adopted by a Danish couple, rather than a Greek one. The story of Thyra’s pregnancy has never been confirmed by the Danish court.

Marcher was allegedly distraught over losing Thyra and his child. Although he was said to have told Thyra’s father he would marry Thyra, this was refused due to Marcher’s low rank. Marcher may have had a second confrontation with Christian in early 1872 that resulted in a verbal altercation. Whatever the case, Marcher died by suicide on January 4, 1872. There is no record of Thyra’s reaction to his death.

Following her involvement with Marcher, Thyra was one of the leading candidates for a bride for Arthur, Duke of Connaught, the third son of Queen Victoria. The two had met as children in the early 1860s when Thyra’s sister Alexandra married Arthur’s brother, the Prince of Wales. Thyra’s sister and brother-in-law strongly supported the match, with Alexandra cleverly mentioning that Thyra treasured a note Arthur had given her in 1863. Although Thyra and Arthur met a few times in preparation for a possible engagement, Queen Victoria eventually decided that a second British-Danish union would interfere with her pro-German leanings. Arthur went on to marry a Prussian princess in 1878.

Thyra traveled to the United Kingdom during the winter of 1875 to spend Christmas with the family of her sister Alexandra at Sandringham in Norfolk, England. Also visiting the family was Ernst Augustus, Crown Prince of the defunct throne of Hanover. Although he was without a throne and not considered handsome, Ernst Augustus had a kind and easygoing manner. He was also lucky enough to keep a large amount of his fortune despite his exile from Hanover. However, the Prussians did not view a union between Denmark and Hanover favorably at that time. Both had lost considerable (or all, in the case of Hanover) territory to Prussia in the aftermath of the war.

After meeting Ernst Augustus, Thyra was considered as a second wife of King Willem III of the Netherlands. Willem’s first wife, Sophie had died in 1877, leaving him with two surviving sons who had not (and would not) produce children. In his sixties at this time, Willem needed a younger princess who could bear him further children. Willem, however, had a reputation as a shameless womanizer. His questionable moral character coupled with his age led Thyra to refuse William. He did find his younger princess in Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, who married Willem and became the mother of his successor Queen Wilhelmina.

Thyra’s hopes of marriage kept coming back to Ernst Augustus, who apparently knew of Thyra’s illegitimate child and still wished to marry her. Thyra’s parents, along with the Princess of Wales, were able to arrange a meeting in Frankfurt between Thyra and Ernst Augustus in early 1878 and the two became engaged.

Schloss Cumberland, Thyra and Ernst Augustus’ home in Gmunden, Austria; Photo Credit – By Pepito Tey – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22858180

On December 21, 1878, Thyra and Ernst Augustus were married at the chapel in Copenhagen’s Christianborg Palace. Following the wedding, Thyra and Ernst Augustus made their home in exile at Schloss Cumberland (link in German) in Gmunden, Austria, the home they built and where they raised six children:

Thyra with her husband and children; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

According to some sources, Thyra struggled with periodic bouts of mental illness during her marriage. Additionally, Ernst Augustus was somewhat asocial and disliked gatherings, which isolated the family. Nonetheless, the marriage was a happy one that lasted until Ernst Augustus’ death in 1923.

Thyra in the 1900s; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Although she never officially became a queen like her sisters, Thyra was the titular queen consort of Hanover as her husband had never renounced his rights to the throne. She also counts among her descendants the late King Constantine II of Greece, his sister Queen Sofia of Spain, and Queen Sofia’s son King Felipe VI of Spain, and future Spanish monarchs. Thyra died at Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden, Austria on February 26, 1933, and is buried with her husband in the family mausoleum in Gmunden.

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Feodora of Leiningen, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Feodora of Leiningen, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg in middle age. Photo credit: erhj.blogspot.com

September 23, 1872 – Death of Feodora of Leiningen, Princess consort of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Feodora’s Wikipedia page

Anna Feodora Auguste Charlotte Wilhelmine was born in Amorbach, Germany, in December 1807. Her parents were Emich Carl, 2nd (ruling) Prince of Leiningen and Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Feodora (as she was known) had a brother, Carl, who was three years older.

Feodora’s father died in 1814. The family stayed in Amorbach for the next few years, where Viktoria served as regent for Carl. Viktoria’s brother Leopold and his wife Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate grandchild of George II of the United Kingdom, began working in early 1817 to marry Viktoria to Edward, Duke of Kent (Charlotte’s uncle). Both parties were somewhat lukewarm to the idea of marriage, as Viktoria had a comfortable and secure position in Amorbach and Edward had a long-time mistress.

In November 1817, the British were facing a succession crisis as Charlotte died after giving birth to a stillborn son. George’s unmarried sons took to continental Europe to find brides to sire children and secure the succession. Not to be left out of the race, Edward convinced Viktoria to marry him in May 1818. Leaving her brother Carl in Amorbach, Feodora traveled with her stepfather and pregnant mother to the United Kingdom in early 1819. Feodora’s sister, the future Queen Victoria, was born at Kensington Palace that May.

Consequently, this is sildenafil online no prescription truly an exceptionally humiliating issue for the man as it makes him barren and does not permit him to have any sort of physical delight. Prostatic fluid produced by produced prostate is a buy female viagra major ingredient of semen. It is preferred in cases when the company or cheap levitra uk distributor needs to communicate with you through your phone, you do not have to worry about having therapy and talking it through with a stranger. For those people, order levitra online would definitely be a good option among all. Feodora’s stepfather died in 1820. Victoria’s close proximity to the throne made it unwise for Viktoria to leave Britain and return to continental Europe. Yet restricted funds and poor English kept the family isolated and Feodora bored. She later lamented that the only enjoyment she had was going on her daily rides with Victoria and Victoria’s governess, Baroness Louise Lehzen.

In the meantime, Feodora was growing into a rather beautiful young woman. During the mid-1820s, she began attracting the attentions of her stepfather’s brother, George IV of the United Kingdom. Viktoria realized that if this marriage occurred and produced children, young Victoria’s place in the succession would be jeopardized. Besides, Viktoria despised her gluttonous, arrogant brother-in-law. The idea of becoming his mother-in-law horrified her. Additionally, Feodora did not get along with Sir John Conroy, the Welsh army officer who controlled Viktoria’s finances – and had a Svengali-like influence over her.

Viktoria hurriedly searched for a suitable husband for her eldest daughter. In February 1828, Feodora married Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg at Kensington Palace. Ernst was the cousin of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the consort of William IV of the United Kingdom, giving Feodora an additional tie to the British monarchy. For her part, Feodora was glad to leave home and return to Germany. Her departure left Victoria lonely and at the mercy of her mother and Conroy.

The principality of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was controlled by Württemberg, giving Ernst little to do. Additionally, Feodora and Ernst barely knew each other at the time of their marriage. Nevertheless, the marriage was a happy one that produced six children.

Despite their eleven year age difference, Feodora and Victoria were quite close. They sent each other letters and sketches frequently, discussing mostly their children, their mother, and their upbringing. Feodora visited the United Kingdom as often as she could. After she became queen, Victoria also granted her sister a small allowance.

Feodora died in Baden-Baden in 1872. Victoria, who long lamented her lack of a large family of origin, was crushed by the loss of her sister. Victoria continued to take a great interest in her sister’s family, promoting the marriage of Feodora’s granddaughter Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein to her own grandson, the future German Emperor Wilhelm II, in 1882. Among Feodora’s other descendants include Regina of Saxe-Meiningen, the wife of Crown Prince Otto of Austria and Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg, the mother of Swedish king Carl XVI Gustav.

King Haakon VII of Norway

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

King Haakon 1946 (Photo: Ernest Rude (Oslo), The Royal Court Photo Archive

King Haakon VII, 1946.  Photo: Ernest Rude (Oslo), The Royal House of Norway

A Danish prince who became King of Norway and one of a few elected monarchs, Prince Carl of Denmark (Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel) was born at the Charlottenlund Palace near Copenhagen, Denmark on August 3, 1872.  He was the second son and the second of the eight children of King Frederik VIII of Denmark and Princess Louise of Sweden.

Prince Carl had seven siblings:

Through his paternal aunts and uncles, Carl was related to many European royals. Among his first cousins were Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, King Constantine I of Greece, King George V of the United Kingdom, and his future wife Princess Maud of Wales. who was the daughter of the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Carl’s paternal aunt.  Carl’s elder brother King Christian X of Denmark reigned from 1912 – 1947.

Prince Carl grew up with his seven siblings at his parents’ residence Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen and in the family’s summer residence Charlottenlund Palace, north of Copenhagen. He attended the Danish Naval Academy, graduating in 1893 as a second lieutenant in the Royal Danish Navy.  In 1894 he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and remained in service with the Royal Danish Navy.  participated in several sailing expeditions with the Royal Danish Navy from 1893 until 1905.

Engagement photograph with the bride’s parents, the future Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII (Photo: W&D Downey, London, The Royal Court Photo Archive); Photo Credit – http://www.royalcourt.no

Because Maud’s mother was a Danish Princess, Maud visited her Danish relatives often and was familiar with her first cousin Prince Carl of Denmark, who was three years younger than her. They had played together with their other cousins at family reunions held in Denmark at Fredensborg Castle and Bernstorff Castle. There had been family gossip that Maud and Carl might marry, so it was not all that surprising when Carl proposed to Maud during a family reunion at Fredensborg Castle and Maud accepted. On October 29, 1895, the couple’s engagement was announced. Maud’s mother had some concerns about the age difference, but Maud realized Carl would make a good husband for her. She loved the sea and sailing, so a husband who was in the navy would be quite appropriate.

Photo: Gunn & Stuart, London, The Royal Court Photo Archives

Photo: Gunn & Stuart, London, The Royal House of Norway

On July 22, 1896, Carl and Maud were married in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace in London, England with many royal guests attending including Maud’s grandmother Queen Victoria.

Carl and Maud had one son:

Maud, Carl, and their son; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1905, upon the dissolution of the Union between Sweden and Norway, the Norwegian government began searching for candidates to become King of Norway. Because of his descent from prior Norwegian monarchs, as well as his wife’s British connections, Carl was the overwhelming favorite. Before accepting, Carl insisted that the voices of the Norwegian people be heard in regard to retaining a monarchy. Following a referendum with a 79% majority in favor, Prince Carl was formally offered and then accepted the throne. He sailed for Norway, arriving on November 25, 1905, and took the oath as King two days later. He took the name Haakon VII and his two-year-old son was renamed Olav and became Crown Prince of Norway. Maud and Carl were crowned in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway on June 22, 1906.

Coronation Day photo; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In October 1938, Maud came to England for a visit, first staying at Appleton House, the English home her father had given her when she married, and then at a London hotel. While at the hotel, Maud became ill and was taken to a nursing home where abdominal surgery was performed. She survived the surgery, but died on November 20, 1938, six days before her 69th birthday, from heart failure.

During World War II, King Haakon and his son fled to the United Kingdom where he maintained a Government in exile. Haakon continued to broadcast speeches to the Norwegian people. Despite pressure from Hitler, Haakon refused the Norwegian Parliament’s request to abdicate. Following the war, King Haakon and his family returned to Norway – exactly five years from the date they had been evacuated to the United Kingdom.

The Royal Family arriving in Norway after the war, with Crown Prince Olav and his family. Photo: Wikipedia

The post-war years saw the marriage of his eldest granddaughter, Princess Ragnhild, and the death of his daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Märtha. In 1955, the King suffered a fall from which he never fully recovered. His son Olav took over much of the King’s responsibilities and took the throne as King Olav V upon his father’s death. Haakon was the grandfather of  King Harald V of Norway.

On September 21, 1957, King Haakon VII of Norway passed away at the Royal Palace in Oslo. He was 85 years old. He was buried on October 1, 1957, at the Akershus Fortress next to his beloved wife, Queen Maud.

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Kingdom of Norway Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Anne of Bourbon-Parma, Queen of Romania

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Princess Anne Antoinette Françoise Charlotte of Bourbon-Parma was born in Paris, France on September 18, 1923, the second child and only daughter of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma and  Princess Margrethe of Denmark. On her father’s side, she is the niece of Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma (husband of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg) and Empress Zita of Austria. On her mother’s side, she is the great-granddaughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and therefore closely related to the royal families of Denmark, Greece, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Anne had three brothers:

  • Prince Jacques of Bourbon-Parma (1922 – 1964), married Countess Birgitte Alexandra Maria af Holstein-Ledreborg, had children
  • Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma (1926 – 2018), married (1) Princess Yolande de Broglie-Revel, five children  (2) Princess Maria Pia of Savoy, no children
  • Prince André of Bourbon-Parma (1928 – 2011), married Marina Gacry, had children

Anne spent her early years in France before the family fled the Nazis in 1939. They traveled to Spain and Portugal, eventually settling in the United States. Anne attended the famed Parsons School of Design in New York City, working as a salesperson at Macy’s. She later joined as a volunteer with the French Army, serving as an ambulance driver in a number of European countries. For her service, she was awarded the French War Cross.

Attending the wedding in London of Princess Elizabeth to Philip Mountbatten in 1947, Anne first met her future husband, and second cousin once removed, King Michael of Romania. Some matchmaking was going on, with the King’s mother trying to get the couple together. The King was also interested in meeting her. Wanting to avoid a first meeting in the midst of official events, Anne did not plan to attend the wedding but was persuaded to attend by her cousin, the future Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg. Upon arriving, she met Michael, and the two ended up spending much time together. According to the King, a week later he proposed and the couple was engaged. Wanting to inform his government before making an official announcement, the King returned to Romania. However, just weeks later, on December 30, 1947, he was deposed and left the country a few days later.

Meanwhile, plans were underway for the wedding. The biggest obstacle was the religious differences – Anne was Roman Catholic and Michael was Orthodox. A dispensation was sought from the Pope, who insisted that Michael promise any children would be raised Catholic. The King would not, and could not, make this promise as it would go against the Romanian constitution. Therefore, the Pope refused to sanction the marriage. But the couple, with the support of most of their families, vowed to marry anyway. Years later, in 1966, the couple held a second wedding in a Roman Catholic church in Monaco.

On June 10, 1948, Anne and Michael were married in an Orthodox ceremony held in the throne room of the Royal Palace in Athens. Attendants included Michael’s cousin Sophia (now Queen Sofia of Spain) and his uncle, King Paul of the Hellenes. Noticeably missing were the bride’s parents. Because of the religious differences, Anne’s uncle Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma had issued a statement refusing to condone a wedding that went against the wishes of the Pope. He also forbade her parents from attending. However, her maternal side of the family did attend and her mother’s brother, Prince Eric of Denmark, gave her away. Upon the marriage, and despite Michael having lost his throne, Anne took the title of Her Majesty The Queen of Romania. The couple first lived at his mother’s home, Villa Sparta, in San Domenico, Italy before moving to Switzerland in 1949. Two years later they moved to England where they remained until returning to Switzerland in 1956.

They had five daughters:

It was not until 1992 that Queen Anne first set foot on Romanian soil. Her husband was banned from the country, but the Queen made several visits on his behalf. In 1997, the restrictions were lifted and some of the royal properties were returned to the Royal Family, including the Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest, which served as their primary residence when in Romania.

Queen Anne of Romania died on August 1, 2016, at a hospital in Morges, Switzerland. She was 92 years old. She is buried in the new Archdiocesan and Royal Cathedral at Curtea de Argeș.

Queen Anne and King Michael on their 60th Wedding Anniversary in 2008, with Crown Princess Margareta and her husband Prince Radu. photo: Romanian Royal Family Website

Queen Anne and King Michael on their 60th Wedding Anniversary in 2008, with Crown Princess Margareta and her husband Prince Radu.  photo source: Romanian Royal Family Website

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Princess Ragnhild of Norway

photo: The Royal House of Norway

photo: The Royal House of Norway

September 16 2012 – Death of Princess Ragnhild of Norway

Her Highness Princess Ragnhild, the eldest sister of King Harald V, died at her home in Brazil on September 16, 2012. She was 82.
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Read more here: Unofficial Royalty – In Memoriam: Princess Ragnhild, Mrs Lorentzen (1930-2012)

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Blanche of Lancaster, Duchess of Lancaster

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Lancaster: Wikipedia

The Duchy of Lancaster is one of the two royal duchies in England and is held in trust for the Sovereign to provide income for the use of the British monarch.  The other royal duchy is the Duchy of Cornwall which provides a similar purpose for the eldest son of the reigning British monarch.  The monarch, regardless of gender, has the style of Duke of Lancaster.  The duchy comprises of 46,000 acres and includes urban developments, historic buildings, and farmland in many parts of England and Wales, and large holdings in Lancashire.  At the end of March 2013, the Duchy of Lancaster had £428 million of net assets under its control. The Sovereign is not entitled to the capital of the Duchy’s portfolio or to capital profits.  Revenue profits are distributed to the Sovereign and are subject to income tax.

In 1265, King Henry III of England granted lands forfeited by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester to his second son Edmund Crouchback and created him Earl of Lancaster and Leicester. Over the years, more land was added to the original holdings making it quite profitable.  In 1315, Edmund Crouchback’s grandson Henry of Grosmont was created Duke of Lancaster and the lands were thereafter called the Duchy of Lancaster.  Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster became the wealthiest and most powerful peer in England.  So how did the Duchy of Lancaster get into the hands of the British Sovereign?  The connection is Blanche of Lancaster, Henry of Grosmont’s younger daughter.

Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster and father of Blanche of Lancaster, Credit: Wikipedia

The date of Blanche of Lancaster’s birth is not known for certain.  Many sources give March 25, 1345, as her birth date, and some sources believe her birth year was 1347, but she was born in Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, England.  Blanche’s father was Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, a great-grandson of King Henry III.  Her mother was Isabel de Beaumont, youngest daughter of Henry de Beaumont, Earl of Buchan and Alice Comyn.  Blanche had only one sibling, an elder sister Maud.

On May 19, 1359, Blanche married John of Gaunt, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, in the Queen’s Chapel at Reading Abbey in Reading, England.  The bride was 14 and the groom was 19.  Blanche and John were third cousins, both being great-great-grandchildren of King Henry III.  This was an excellent match for both Blanche and John.  Blanche was marrying into the royal family and John’s wealth was greatly increased by marrying one of the richest heiresses in England.

Marriage of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster in Reading Abbey on 19 May 1359 by Horace Wright (1914)

Description of above painting from the Reading Museum where the painting is on display: In this painting John of Gaunt and his bride walk from beneath a gilded canopy towards the officiating Bishop of Salisbury. Four lords support the wedding canopy. The one nearest to Blanche is her father, Henry Duke of Lancaster. Close by is the poet Chaucer, clothed in black and bearing a scroll. On the throne is John’s father, King Edward III, beneath a crimson canopy decorated with the lions of England. Beside the King are two of the royal princes, Edward the Black Prince and Prince Lionel.

Blanche and John had seven children:

Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster died of the plague in 1361.  Since Blanche’s father did not have any sons, Blanche and her sister Maud became his co-heiresses. Maud had first married Ralph, the son of Ralph, Lord Stafford when she was very young and was widowed at the age of eight.  When she was 13, Maud married Wilhelm I, Duke of Bavaria, Count of Zeeland, Holland, and Hainault.  The groom was a nephew of Blanche’s mother-in-law Queen Philippa.  Maud did not have any surviving children from either of her two marriages.  Maud died of the plague on April 10, 1362, but some believed she was poisoned at the instigation of her brother-in-law John of Gaunt.  Maud’s portion of her inheritance passed to Blanche and her husband upon her death.

At this time, it was common for extinct titles of heiresses’ fathers to pass to their husbands.  John of Gaunt was created Duke of Lancaster on November 13, 1362.  By that time, his wealth was immense.  He owned thirty castles and estates in England and France. His household was comparable in size and organization to that of a monarch and his annual income between £8,000 and £10,000 a year would be several million pounds in today’s terms.

Blanche died at age 23, possibly of the plague or possibly from childbirth complications, on September 12, 1368, while John was away at sea.  Her funeral was held at the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England, and was attended by most of England’s nobility and clergy.  John held annual commemorations of Blanche’s death for the rest of his life and had a magnificent double tomb built at St. Paul’s for Blanche and himself.  Despite the fact that he married two more times, when John died in 1399, he was buried with Blanche.  Unfortunately, the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed Old St. Paul’s Cathedral and the tomb of Blanche and John.  Through her daughter Philippa who married King John I of Portugal, Blanche is the ancestress of many European monarchs.

Tomb of Blanche of Lancaster and John of Gaunt, destroyed during Great Fire of London of 1666. Photo: Wikipedia

So how did the Duchy of Lancaster get into the hands of the British monarchs?  When King Edward III died in 1377, he was succeeded by his ten-year-old grandson, King Richard II, the only child of King Edward III’s deceased eldest son Edward the Black Prince.  In 1398, John of Gaunt’s eldest son Henry Bolingbroke made an enemy of his cousin King Richard II and was banished for six years.  When John of Gaunt died in 1399, King Richard II confiscated the holdings of the Duchy of Lancaster and banished Henry Bolingbroke for life.  However, Henry was not having any of this.

While Richard was on a military campaign in Ireland, Henry returned to England to claim his inheritance. Supported by leading families, Henry regained control of the Lancastrian strongholds and captured Richard II. Richard abdicated and was imprisoned in Pontefract Castle where he later died.  Henry Bolingbroke was crowned King Henry IV on October 13, 1399.  The first act of King Henry IV was to declare that the Duchy of Lancaster would be held separately from the other possessions of the Crown, and should descend to his male heirs. This separation was confirmed in 1461 by King Edward IV when he stipulated that the Duchy would be held separate from other inheritances by him and his heirs, Kings of England.  Ever since, the Duchy of Lancaster has effectively passed to each reigning monarch. And it all started with the marriage of a 14-year-old girl in 1359.

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Queen Paola of Belgium

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

 

Paola Margherita Maria Antonia Consiglia Ruffo di Calabria was born September 11, 1937, in Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany, Italy, the seventh and youngest child of Prince Fulco Ruffo di Calabria and Countess Luisa Gazelli dei Conti de Rossana e di Sebastiano. She was raised in Rome, where she attended school.

Paola had six older siblings:

  • Maria Cristina Ruffo di Calabria (1920–2003), married (1) Casimiro San Martino d´Aglie dei Marchesi di San Germano, had issue;  (2) Count Ernesto Rossi di Montelera, had issue
  • Laura Ruffo di Calabria (1921–1972), married Bettino, Baron Ricasoli Firidolfi, 31th Baron of Brolio, had issue
  • Fabrizio, Prince Ruffo di Calabria-Santapau, 13th Prince of Palazzolo, 14th Prince of Scilla, 7th Duke of Guardia Lombarda, 13th Marquis of Scilla and 18th Count of Sinopoli (1922–2005), married Maria Vaciago, had issue
  • Augusto Ruffo di Calabria (1925–1943), unmarried, killed in battle at sea during World War II, unmarried
  • Giovannella Ruffo di Calabria (1927–1941), unmarried
  • Antonello Ruffo di Calabria (1930–2017), married Rosa Maria Mastrogiovanni Tasca, had issue

In 1958, Paola met her future husband, Albert, Prince of Liège – the future King Albert II – at the installation of Pope John XXIII in Rome. Albert was the second son of the former King Leopold III of the Belgians and the younger brother of King Baudouin of the Belgians. Both Paola and Albert attended a reception at the Belgian Embassy where they were introduced. The following year, their engagement was announced.

 

After briefly considering holding the wedding at the Vatican, the government stepped in and insisted that they marry in Belgium. The wedding was held on July 2, 1959, at St. Michael and St. Gulda Cathedral in Brussels, Belgium. Upon marriage, Paola became a Princess of Belgium and was styled Princess of Liège.

Paola and Albert had three children:

On July 31, 1993, Albert’s brother, King Baudouin, passed away suddenly at his holiday home in Portugal. Albert succeeded to the throne, and Paola became Queen of the Belgians. As Queen, Paola worked closely with The Queen’s Charities to promote her involvement in social projects and assisting those in need throughout Belgium. She later established the Queen Paola Foundation which focuses on youth and education, particularly for those in disadvantaged areas. In addition, Queen Paola has been very involved in the areas of art and music.

On July 21, 2013, after nearly 30 years on the throne, King Albert II abdicated in favor of their eldest son, Philippe. The couple continues to reside at Chateau Belvedere, located within the Royal Park at Laeken, Brussels, Belgium. King Albert and Queen Paola have remained largely out of the public eye, preferring to live a more quiet retirement, enjoying time with their children and twelve grandchildren.

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Kingdom of Belgium Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Joan of England, Queen of Sicily, Countess of Toulouse

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

King Richard I of England and his sister Joan greeting King Philip Augustus II of France, Credit – Wikipedia

Voyages on storm-tossed ships on the Mediterranean Sea. Being held captive and penniless by your husband’s successor and then being gallantly rescued by your brother. Being marooned and nearly captured after a strong storm and again being gallantly rescued by your brother.  Accompanying your brother, along with his new wife, on the Crusades in the Holy Land. Being offered by your gallant brother as a bride to the brother of the man who led the Islamic opposition in the Crusade. Being left to deal with a rebellion while you are pregnant. Sounds like the imagination of an author for a new book, but in reality, it is the life of Joan of England, the youngest daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.  However, Joan does have prominent roles in Sharon Penman‘s wonderful novels Devil’s Brood and Lionheart where she is referred to as Joanna.

Joan, sometimes called Joanna, was born at Château d’Angers in the County of Anjou, now in France in October 1165.  She was the third and youngest daughter and the seventh of eight children of King Henry II of England, who was also Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, and Count of Nantes – all territories in France – and Eleanor of Aquitaine who was Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitou in her own right.  Joan grew up in her mother’s court at the Palace of Poitiers, the seat of the Counts of Poitou and Dukes of Aquitaine, and also at Winchester Castle and/or Sarum Castle in England during part of the time her father kept her mother imprisoned because of her participation in the Revolt of   1173-1174.

Joan had seven siblings:

13th-century depiction of Henry and his legitimate children: (l to r) William, Young Henry, Richard, Matilda, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John; Credit – Wikipedia

Apparently, Joan spent time at Fontevrault Abbey near Chinon in Anjou, now in France, learning English, Norman French, rudimentary Latin, and skills necessary for running an aristocratic household.  Joan’s family was a great benefactor of Fontevrault Abbey and it was common for aristocratic girls to receive an education at abbeys.  Fontevrault Abbey also became the burial place for both Joan’s parents, her brother King Richard I, Isabella of Angoulême who was the second wife of her brother King John, and for Joan herself.

Fontevrault Abbey, Credit – Wikipedia

At this time it was common for royal and aristocratic girls to marry young.  Joan’s eldest sister Matilda married Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria when she was 12 years old.  The next sister, Eleanor, married King Alfonso VIII of Castile when she was 14 years old.  Therefore, it was not unusual when King William II of Sicily sent ambassadors to England in 1176 when Joan was 11 years old to open marriage negotiations.  Genetically, William was not Sicilian, but rather Norman.  He was a member of the Hauteville family which rose to prominence in Europe, Asia, and Africa through its conquests in the Mediterranean, especially Southern Italy and Sicily.  Joan and William, who was ten years older than Joan,  were betrothed on May 20, 1176.

On August 27, 1176, Joan left England for Sicily accompanied by John of Oxford who later became Bishop of Norwich and her uncle Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey who was an illegitimate son of King Henry II’s father Geoffrey of Anjou.  Typical for royal travel of the period, Joan was also accompanied by ladies-in-waiting, knights, clergy, and everything from cooks and seamstresses to grooms and blacksmiths.  Joan’s eldest brother Henry the Young King accompanied her across the English Channel and then to Poitiers. In Poitiers, Joan was met by her brother Richard, who escorted her through the Duchy of Aquitaine across the County of Toulouse to Saint Gilles, a French port on the Mediterranean Sea.  In Saint Gilles, Alfano of Camerota the Archbishop of Capua and Richard Palmer the Bishop of Syracuse greeted Joan on behalf of King William of Sicily.  The travel across the Mediterranean Sea was dangerous and long and Joan did not reach Sicily until the end of January 1177.

On February 13, 1177, Joan married King William II of Sicily and was crowned Queen of Sicily at Palermo Cathedral.  The Sicilian court was very different than the courts Joan was used to.  Much of Sicily was Muslim and this influence was obvious in the Sicilian culture where there were harems, and clothing and food much more exotic than what Joan had ever seen.  According to chronicler Robert of Torigni, Joan gave birth to a son, called Bohemund, in 1182, but the child died in infancy. She may also have had miscarriages during this period. Her father, King Henry II of England, died in July of 1189. In November of the same year, Joan was widowed when 36-year-old William died following an illness.

Deathbed of King William II of Sicily, Credit – Wikipedia

Following King William’s death, there was a revolt in which Tancred, Count of Lecce, an illegitimate member of the Hauteville family, seized control of Sicily and was crowned King.  Joan was imprisoned by Tancred who took control of her inheritance.  In 1190, King Richard I of England, Joan’s brother, arrived in Sicily on his way to the Third Crusade in the Holy Lands.  Richard demanded that his sister be released and given her inheritance.  Joan was freed on September 28, 1190, but without the inheritance.  Richard attacked Messina in Sicily, capturing it on October 4, 1190.  After looting and burning Messina, Richard established his base there and remained in Messina until Tancred finally agreed to sign a treaty on March 4, 1191.  One of the treaty’s provisions was to compensate Joan for her taken inheritance.

In the same month the treaty was signed, Joan and Richard’s mother Eleanor of Aquitaine arrived in Messina with Richard’s bride-to-be Berengaria of Navarre.  Berengaria was left in Joan’s care and Eleanor returned to England.  Richard postponed his wedding and set off for the Holy Land along with Joan and Berengaria who were on a separate ship.  Two days after setting sail, Richard’s fleet was hit by a strong storm. Several ships were lost and others were way off course.  Richard landed safely in Crete, but the ship Joan and Berengaria were on was marooned near Cyprus.  Joan and Berengaria were about to be captured by the ruler of Cyprus when Richard’s ships appeared to rescue them.  On May 12, 1191, King Richard I of England married Berengaria of Navarre at the Chapel of St George in Limassol, Cyprus, and then his fleet, along with Joan and Berengaria, traveled to the Holy Land.

King Richard I of England and Queen Berengaria, Credit – Wikipedia

Joan and Berengaria accompanied Richard throughout the Crusade.  At one point, Richard tried to use his sister Joan in a political scheme.  He suggested marrying her to Al-Adil, the brother of Saladin who led the Islamic opposition against the European Crusaders and making them joint rulers of Jerusalem. This plan fell apart when Joan refused to marry a Muslim and Al-Adil refused to marry a Christian.

When Joan and Berengaria returned from the Holy Land on a different ship than Richard, they landed at Naples and then proceeded to Rome where they had to stay for a year until the Pope gave them safe conduct to travel to Marseilles.  It was at Marseilles that Joan fell in love with Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse.  Joan and Raymond married in October of 1196 in Rouen, Normandy.  Joan gave birth to her husband’s successor Raymond VII and a daughter Mary (or Wilhelmina) born in 1198, who married Berald of Elbine, Prince of Orange.

Joan of England, Credit – Wikipedia

In 1199, while Joan was pregnant with her third child, she was left to deal with a rebellion. Fearing her safety, she traveled to northern France, hoping for the protection of her brother King Richard, but he had died on April 6, 1199.  Joan then fled to her mother’s court at Rouen in Normandy.  Aged 33, Joan died at Fontevrault Abbey on September 4, 1199, shortly after giving birth to a son who lived just long enough to be baptized Richard.  Joan was veiled as a nun on her deathbed and was buried at Fontevrault Abbey.  In 1249, her son Raymond VII of Toulouse was buried next to her.  Unfortunately, both their tombs were destroyed during the French Revolution.

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Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria, Princess of Windisch-Graetz

by Emily McMahon © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Credit – Wikipedia

Born on September 2, 1883, at the Austrian imperial summer residence of Schloss Laxenburg, in Laxenburg, Austria, Elisabeth Maria Henriette Stephanie Gisela was the only child of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and Stéphanie of Belgium. Elisabeth was the granddaughter of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and his wife, Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sissi) as well as Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Marie-Henriette of Austria. Named in honor of her famous paternal grandmother, the younger Elisabeth was known by the nickname of “Erszi,” short for the Hungarian version of her name.

Shortly after her birth, the relationship between Elisabeth’s parents began to deteriorate. It is likely that Rudolf infected Stéphanie with a sexually transmitted disease, rendering her sterile and unable to provide a male heir for the Austrian throne. Both Stéphanie and Rudolf began affairs with other people in the following years and intermittently spoke of divorce.

Elisabeth with her mother in 1894; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1889, Rudolf was found shot to death with his mistress, Baroness Mary von Vetsera, at the imperial hunting lodge in Mayerling. Although the deaths were officially ruled a murder-suicide or double suicide, some evidence suggests the two may have been murdered. Imperial dislike of Stéphanie had been high, and as a result, her paternal grandfather took Elisabeth into his care. The two were close to the end of the Emperor’s life. Following her mother’s remarriage to a Hungarian count in 1900, Elisabeth broke off all contact with her mother.

Despite her unusual family history, as the granddaughter of the Emperor, Elisabeth was still considered politically and financially valuable as a possible royal bride. She was strongly considered as a wife for her distant cousin Albert I of the Belgians, but he married one of Elisabeth’s Bavarian relations (another Elisabeth of Bavaria) instead.

Elisabeth met minor Prince Otto of Windisch-Grätz at a court function and immediately persuaded her grandfather to allow her to marry him despite his low rank. Franz Joseph agreed to the engagement and a generous dowry. Otto, who barely knew Elisabeth, was forced to accept the engagement and break off a previous betrothal. The two married at Hofburg in 1902.

Elisabeth Marie and Prince Otto zu Windisch-Grätz; Credit – Wikipedia

The marriage was fraught with problems from the start. Otto naturally resented Elisabeth for forcing the union and began having an affair with an Austrian actress. It is said that Elisabeth shot the actress (who later died), but the incident was covered up due to Elisabeth’s high status. Within ten years of their wedding, both Otto and Elisabeth were seeing other people. Nevertheless, the marriage produced three sons and a daughter:

  • Prince Franz Josef of Windisch-Grätz (1904-1981), married Ghislaine d’Arschot Schoonhoven, had one daughter and one son
  • Prince Ernst of Windisch-Grätz (1905-1952), married  (1) Ellen Skinner, divorced  (2) Eva Isbary
  • Prince Rudolf of Windisch-Grätz (1907-1939), unmarried
  • Princess Stéphanie of Windisch-Grätz (1909-2005), married  (1) Count Pierre d’Alcantara de Querrieu, had one son  (2) Karl-Axel Björklund, had one son

Elisabeth and Otto separated officially following World War I, and a battle over custody of their children followed. The two, however, did not legally divorce for nearly 30 years.

Elisabeth enthusiastically joined the Austrian Social Democratic Party following her separation from Otto. She also met and began a relationship with Leopold Petznak, a socialist leader. Her association with the Social Democratic Party and her devotion to Leopold earned Elisabeth the nickname of “the Red Archduchess.” Leopold and Elisabeth married in 1948 and remained together until his death in 1956.

Elisabeth was in ill health and rarely ventured out in public after Leopold’s death. Her relationship with her two surviving children was poor, and she left them few possessions upon her death on March 16, 1963, at Villa Windisch-Graetz in Hütteldorf, Vienna, Austria, choosing instead to leave the majority to the Austrian state. Elisabeth is buried in a simple grave with her second husband in the Hütteldorfer Cemetery in Vienna, Austria.

Unmarked grave of Elisabeth Marie and Leopold Petznek; Photo Credit – By Artsunlimited – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16424510

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