Monthly Archives: October 2013

Princess Nora of Liechtenstein

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Embed from Getty Images 

Her Serene Highness Princess Norberta (Nora) Elizabeth Maria Assunta Josefine Georgine et omnes sancti was born on October 31, 1950, in Zurich, Switzerland, the fourth of the five children and only daughter of Prince Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein and Countess Georgina von Wilczek.

Princess Nora has four brothers:

After her primary schooling in Liechtenstein, Nora attended the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. She has worked for the World Bank and the International Institute for Environment and Development and speaks French, English, German and Spanish.

In June 1988, Princess Nora married Don Vicente Sartorius y Cabeza de Vaca, the 4th Marquess of Mariño, a former Olympic bobsledder. He passed away in July 2002. The couple had one daughter:

  • María Teresa Sartorius y de Liechtenstein (born 1992)

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Princess Nora has been very actively involved in both the Liechtenstein and International Olympic organizations. She served as President of the Liechtenstein Olympic Committee from 1982-1992 and has been President of Special Olympics Liechtenstein since 2002. She has also been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1987.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Catherine of Valois, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Credit – Wikipedia

“On Shrove Tuesday 1669, I to the Abbey went, and by favour did see the body of Queen Catherine of Valois, and had the upper part of the body in my hands, and I did kiss her mouth, reflecting upon it I did kiss a Queen: and this my birthday and I thirty-six years old and I did kiss a Queen.” Samuel Pepys, an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is most famous for the diary he kept during the years 1660-1669, wrote this in his diary on his 36th birthday.

The queen was Catherine of Valois, wife of King Henry V of England, mother of King Henry VI of England, and grandmother of Henry Tudor who became King Henry VII of England. During renovations of Westminster Abbey in the reign of King Henry VII, Catherine’s tomb was destroyed (some say to distance her grandson Henry VII from his illegitimate ancestry) and her remains were placed in a wooden coffin and kept above ground.  Abbey vergers charged a shilling to take off the coffin’s lid so curious visitors could view Catherine’s corpse.  Her coffin remained a public spectacle for over 200 years until it was buried in the Villiers Vault in the St. Nicholas Chapel of Westminster Abbey in 1778.  In 1878, Catherine’s remains were re-buried in a new altar tomb of Henry V’s Chantry in Westminster Abbey.

Tomb of Catherine of Valois; Credit – https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/henry-v-and-catherine-de-valois/

Catherine of Valois was born a French princess on October 27, 1401, the tenth of the twelve children of King Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria.  Once known as Charles the Beloved, Catherine’s father became known as Charles the Mad when he began to suffer bouts of insanity in 1392 which continued throughout his life.  During one bout, Charles thought that he was made of glass and acted in ways that caused him to protect himself so that he would not break.  Catherine’s son King Henry VI of England also suffered from similar bouts and it is possible that they were both suffering from porphyria, which is a hereditary disease believed to have plagued King George III of Great Britain, a descendant of Catherine of Valois through one of her sons by Owen Tudor.

Catherine had eleven siblings:

Most notable of Catherine’s seven siblings who reached adulthood is King Charles VII of France who was the Dauphin helped by Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years War and Isabella of Valois who was the second wife and widow of King Richard II of England.  King Henry IV  had usurped the throne from his cousin King Richard II.  It is thought that Richard starved to death in captivity on or around February 14, 1400, but there is uncertainty over the date and manner of his death. King Henry IV then decided the widowed Queen Isabella should marry his son, the future King Henry V of England, but she refused. Knowing her husband was dead, she went into mourning, ignoring King Henry IV’s demands. Eventually, Isabella was allowed to return to France where she married a second time and died in childbirth at the age of 19.

King Henry IV had started negotiations to marry Catherine to his heir Henry, but he died before the negotiations were completed.  The new king, Henry V, continued the marriage negotiations.  He was eager to regain all the French land that previous English kings had lost over the centuries and reign in both England and France. He intended to accomplish this either by conquest or marriage.  As a dowry, King Henry V demanded two million crowns and the return of Normandy and Aquitaine.  The French refused and King Henry V declared war.  According to contemporary writers, Catherine took pride in the fact that she was worth fighting for and was eager to marry Henry.  Following many defeats including the great English victory at the Battle of Agincourt, the French agreed to the marriage.  A peace treaty was agreed upon in May 1420 and one of the provisions was that King Charles VI of France would acknowledge King Henry V of England as his heir.  Catherine and Henry were married at Troyes Cathedral in France on June 2, 1420. Despite the peace treaty, fighting still continued and Catherine spent the first few months of her marriage accompanying Henry from battle to battle.

Marriage of King Henry V of England and Catherine of Valois; Photo:  Wikipedia

Eventually, the couple returned to England, and Catherine was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey on February 23, 1421.  By the summer, Catherine was pregnant and Henry was returning to France to continue with his military campaigns.  Henry was superstitious and had warned Catherine against giving birth at Windsor Castle.  Catherine did not listen to him and on December 6, 1421, gave birth to a boy at Windsor Castle:

Upon hearing the news of his son’s birth, King Henry V said to his chamberlain Lord Fitz-Hugh, “I, Henry born at Monmouth, shall small time reign and much get, but Henry born at Windsor shall long reign and lose all.”  Within nine months, his prophecy came true.  On August 31, 1422, King Henry V died of dysentery, nine days before his 36th birthday, having reigned nine years, and his son King Henry VI at the age of nine months started his 40 years on the throne.  Catherine was left a widow at the age of 21.

The two surviving brothers of King Henry V played important roles during the minority of King Henry VI.  John, Duke of Bedford, was appointed Regent of the Realm and was in charge of the ongoing war in France. During Bedford’s absence, the government of England was headed by King Henry V’s other surviving brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who was appointed Protector and Defender of the Realm. His duties were limited to keeping the peace and summoning Parliament.

Because Catherine was still quite marriageable, a bill was passed in Parliament setting the rules for the remarriage of a queen dowager.  The bill stated that if a queen dowager married without the king’s consent, her husband would lose his lands and possessions, but that any children of the marriage would not suffer any consequences.  A “Catch 22” which would seem not to allow Catherine to marry any time soon stated that permission could only be granted once the king had reached his majority.  At the time of the bill’s passage, Henry was six years old.

With Catherine being a young widow and with apparently no chance of remarriage, it should not seem unusual that an amorous relationship would be likely.  Owen ap Maredudd ap Tudor (in Welsh  Owain ap Maredudd ap Tewdwr) was a Welsh soldier and courtier, descended from a daughter of the Welsh prince Rhys ap Gruffudd.  He served in Catherine’s household and their relationship began when Catherine was living at Windsor Castle.  There is much debate as to whether Catherine and Owen married.  No documentation of marriage exists and even if they did marry, their marriage would not have been legal due to the act regarding the remarriage of a queen dowager.  From the relationship between Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois descended King Henry VII of England and the Tudor dynasty. The British royal family and many other European royal families descended from their great-granddaughter Margaret Tudor.

It is uncertain how many children Catherine and Owen had. The following four can be verified:

Catherine died at the Abbey of St. Saviour in Bermondsey, London, England on January 3, 1437, following the birth of her last child and was buried in Westminster Abbey. After her death, Catherine’s two sons Edmund and Jasper went to live with Katherine de la Pole, Abbess of Barking, sister of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk.  Katherine de la Pole persuaded King Henry VI to take an interest in the boys, who were his half-brothers. King Henry VI eventually gave his two Tudor half-brothers the rank of Earl and also issued an edict that the legitimization of his two Tudor half-brothers was unnecessary.

Owen Tudor became an early casualty of the Wars of the Roses between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. On February 2, 1461, Owen, at the age of 60, unsuccessfully led the Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross against the Yorkists led by Edward, Earl of March (the future King Edward IV). Owen was beheaded at Hereford along with other prisoners and was buried there. Before his execution, he is alleged to have said that “the head which used to lie in Queen Catherine’s lap would now lie in the executioner’s basket”.

Catherine’s son with King Henry V, King Henry VI, reigned in England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471.  From 1455 onward, the Wars of the Roses tore the country apart literally and emotionally.  After the Yorkist victory at the Battle of Tewkesbury where King Henry VI’s only child Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales was killed, King Henry VI ultimately lost his crown to the Yorkist King Edward IV. Henry was imprisoned in the Wakefield Tower at the Tower of London and died, most likely by murder, during the night of May 21/22, 1471.

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England: House of Lancaster Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, German Empress, Queen of Prussia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Credit – Wikipedia

The first wife of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg was born on October 22, 1858, in Dolzig Palace in Sommerfeld, Prussia (now Lubsko, Poland).  A great-niece of Queen Victoria, a niece of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, the husband of Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Helena, and a descendant of Danish and British kings, Augusta Victoria was the last German Empress and Queen of Prussia.  Her full German name was Auguste Viktoria Friederike Luise Feodora Jenny, but in her family, she was known as Dona.  Her father was Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, a great-grandson of King Christian VII of Denmark, and his wife Princess Caroline Matilda of Wales, sister of King George III of Great Britain.  Her mother was Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the daughter of Queen Victoria’s half-sister, Princess Feodora of Leiningen.

Dona was the eldest surviving child of her parents’ seven children and grew up with her four surviving siblings.  Because of the Schleswig-Holstein Question, the family had lived in several places: Dona’s birthplace Dolzig Palace in Sommerfeld, Prussia (now Lubsko, Poland), in Gotha which was one of the two capitals of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and in Primkenau, formerly in Germany but now in Poland. (I am not attempting to explain the Schleswig-Holstein Question, referring readers to the Wikipedia link above and quoting British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston: “The Schleswig-Holstein question is so complicated, only three men in Europe have ever understood it. One was Prince Albert, who is dead. The second was a German professor who became mad. I am the third and I have forgotten all about it.”)

In 1868 when she was ten years old, Dona first met Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, who was only a few months younger than her and was the eldest child of the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia (the future Friedrich III, German Emperor and his wife Victoria, Princess Royal).  In the years that followed, Dona fell in love with her cousin Prince Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen and was sent to England to visit relatives to quash the romance. Wilhelm had proposed to his first cousin Princess Elisabeth (Ella) of Hesse and by Rhine. Ella, however, turned him down, and later would marry into the Russian Imperial Family and be murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Dona and Wilhelm were reacquainted in the summer of 1878 in Potsdam, Prussia.  The Prussians did not look favorably upon Dona as a possible wife for Wilhelm.  There were questions about whether the marriage would be equal because Dona’s father was not a sovereign. Furthermore, there were political complications from the Prussian annexation of Schleswig-Holstein when Dona’s father had claimed them.  However, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck was a strong proponent of the marriage because he believed it would end the dispute between the Prussian government and Dona’s father.  The engagement was announced officially on June 2, 1880, and the couple married on February 27, 1881, in Berlin.  Dona and Wilhelm had a very happy marriage.  Wilhelm was a man who needed to be pampered and since Dona adored him, she had no trouble pampering him.  She had more artistic interests than he did, but they shared very conservative political views and a deep religious faith. Dona had to endure a rough start to her married life because of her in-laws who did not think her rank was sufficient for the wife of a future emperor.

Dona and Wilhelm, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

The couple had seven children, six sons and one daughter:

  • Crown Prince Wilhelm (1882–1951), married Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They had six children. Their eldest son Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (1906–1940) was killed in World War II.
  • Prince Eitel Friedrich (1883–1942), married Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg. They were divorced and had no children.
  • Prince Adalbert (1884–1948), Married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. They had three children.
  • Prince August Wilhelm (1887–1949), married Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. They had one child.
  • Prince Oskar (1888–1958), married Countess Ina Marie von Bassewitz. They had four children. Their eldest son Prince Oskar Wilhelm Karl Hans Kuno of Prussia was killed in 1939 in World War II.
  • Prince Joachim (1890–1920), married Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt. They had one son. His great-grandson Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia, Prince of Prussia (born 1981) is a pretender to the Russian throne. Prince Joachim died by suicide.
  • Princess Viktoria Luise (1892–1980),  married Ernst August of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick. They had five children. Among their descendants are Prince Ernst August of Hanover, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco; former King Constantine II of Greece; and Queen Sofia of Spain.

The year 1888 is called “The Year of Three Emperors” in German history.  Wilhelm’s grandfather Wilhelm I died on March 9, 1888, and was succeeded by Wilhelm’s father Frederick III.  Frederick was already gravely ill with cancer of the larynx and lived only three months more, dying on June 15, 1888, when Wilhelm succeeded to the throne.

When Dona became Empress (Kaiserin in German), she took up and enjoyed the traditional roles of a consort, serving as a hostess and working with charities.  It even seemed that her relationship with her mother-in-law improved although Dona carefully guarded their grandmother’s liberalism from her children.  Dona was with her mother-in-law when she died of cancer of the spine in 1901 and thereafter there was no question who was the first lady in Germany.  After Wilhelm became German Emperor, he especially needed Dona due to his notorious stress and erratic personality.  Unlike any other person, she had a calming and comforting effect on him.  However, Dona’s attention to her husband meant that she often neglected to take care of herself.  The German people adored Dona even more than her husband.  World War I put a terrible strain on Dona because of the strain it put on Wilhelm.  Nevertheless, Dona did all she could to give aid and comfort to her family and the German people.

Augusta Viktoria in 1920; Credit – Wikipedia

Dona’s health had started to fail even before Wilhelm lost his throne in the aftermath of World War I. In 1918, Dona and Wilhelm went into exile in the Netherlands eventually settling at Huis Doorn, a small manor house near Doorn in the province of Utrecht.  In July 1920, Viktoria Luise, Dona’s daughter, visited her parents at Huis Doorn where she received a report from her mother’s doctor saying that two days previously her mother “suffered a heart spasm.”  Several days later, Joachim, Dona and Wilhelm’s youngest son, died by suicide.  According to Viktoria Luise’s autobiography The Kaiser’s Daughter, the family feared for Dona’s health and decided to tell her that Joachim’s death was due to an accident.  Dona never got over her son’s death. In November of 1920, Dona’s condition worsened.  She died on April 11, 1921.  Viktoria Luise writes in her autobiography about how she learned of her mother’s death.  She was traveling to Doorn to visit her parents…”I had to stop over in Nuremberg and there I happened to glance at an advertising pillar where a crowd of passerby was gathered.  Instinctively, my gaze fastened on the posters and I was startled to see an “extra” which proclaimed the news of the death of the Kaiserin.”

Dona had wanted to be buried in Germany, but this meant that Wilhelm would never be able to visit her grave as he was exiled.  The German government agreed to the burial but insisted that the special train that carried Dona’s coffin only travel at night and that there should be no announcement of the arrangements.  Dona’s sons Adalbert and Oskar accompanied her remains back to Germany while Viktoria Luise remained at Doorn to comfort her father.  Dona was still popular with the German people and even though there were no announcements about the arrangements, the 600-kilometer route through Germany was lined with people.  Viktoria Luise writes: “…thousands upon thousands lined the railway tracks, which were leading their revered Princess home. Whenever the train stopped, there were hundreds and thousands in their mourning clothes, waiting to say farewell.  Church choirs sang, and bands played the music of hymns.  And along the countryside, waiting by railway embankments, farmers’ wives sank to their knees and prayed.”  The train reached Potsdam where Dona was to be buried at the Temple of Antiquity which had been built by Frederick the Great to house his collection of antique artifacts, coins, and antique gems.  More than 200,000 people lined the route of the funeral cortege.  Wilhelm remarried and survived Dona by 20 years.  When he died in 1941, he was buried in a mausoleum on the grounds of Huis Doorn.

Temple of Antiquities; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Prussia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Prince Peter of Greece

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October 15, 1980 – Death of Peter of Greece and Denmark

Wikipedia: Peter of Greece and Denmark

With its many overthrows and exiles during the 20th century, the Greek royal family does not lack for interesting stories or unusual characters. However, history has largely forgotten Peter, a French born Greek prince who was a cousin to Kings George II, Alexander, and Paul as well as the current Duke of Edinburgh. But Peter led a very unusual life that led him from India to Egypt to Denmark (with several stops in between), studying various foreign cultures. Peter weathered a morganatic marriage that left him estranged from much of his family, and in his later life shot criticism at his cousin Constantine II for what Peter felt was an illegal change to the Greek succession laws.

Peter was born in Paris, France on December 3, 1908. He was the first child of George of Greece, the second son of George I of Greece, and his French wife Marie Bonaparte. Peter’s sister and only sibling Eugenie was born a little over a year later. The family divided their time mostly between homes in France and Denmark, spending little time in Greece. Peter was educated in London and Paris, where he had planned to study law and politics but instead became interested in anthropology and cultural studies. Peter finally returned to Greece in the 1935 following the restoration of his cousin George II. He served in both the Greek and French armies during his young adulthood.

Due to his royal heritage and place in the line of succession to the Greek throne (he was third in 1935), Peter was considered as a possible husband for at least two European princesses. Peter was said to be a favorite of Juliana of the Netherlands, but Queen Wilhelmina desired a Protestant son-in-law and disliked that Peter’s mother’s fortune had been made through the development of the Monte Carlo casinos. Frederika of Hanover was also suggested as a possible wife for Peter, but she eventually married his cousin Paul in 1938.

Around this time Peter entered into a relationship with Irina Aleksandrovna Ovtchinnikova, a divorced Russian woman separated from her second husband. Peter’s family greatly disapproved of the relationship due to Irina’s commoner status and marital history. Nevertheless, Peter embarked on a trip through present-day India, Pakistan, Tibet, and Sri Lanka with Irina, studying the various groups of people they met. Peter was particularly interested in the polyandry practiced in some areas of the region. Peter and Irina were civilly married September 1939 at the Danish consulate in Madras, India.

The marriage cost Peter both his dynastic rights and his relationship with his father, who swore off contact with his son. Peter maintained contact with his mother and sister, but the onslaught of World War II prevented a long reunion. Peter escaped Greece with the rest of the royal family, settling in Cairo with Irina. The two married religiously in Jerusalem in 1941.

Peter hoped to return to Greece after World War II and the 1944-5 Greek civil war. Peter’s cousin Paul, now king, recognized Peter’s marriage to Irina and offered to let the two return to Greece, but only if Peter renounced his right to the Greek throne, something he had not done despite his marriage to commoner Irina. When Peter refused, Paul barred him from re-entering the country.

After spending a short time in both Denmark and the United States, Peter and Irina returned to India in 1949. The two spent nearly a decade collecting data and traveling around India, Tibet, and Sri Lanka. The two settled for several years in Kalimpong, India, near the borders with Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Tibet. During that time, Peter accused the government of India of helping Communist China in its attempt to overthrow Tibet. Peter was asked to leave India in 1957 after some of his activities were, according to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, “considered undesirable.” Peter resumed his studies in London upon his return, and received a doctorate in anthropology in 1959. His thesis focused on his interest in polyandry and was published as A Study in Polyandry in 1963.

Following his cousin Paul’s death in 1964, Peter entered into a feud with Paul’s son and successor Constantine, who had named his younger sister Irene his successor should he die childless. Peter, who was Constantine’s nearest male relative, was livid and lashed out at Queen Frederika for influencing Constantine into making decisions that (Peter believed) violated Greece’s constitution. Peter called a press conference to air his grievances, also accusing the royal family of extravagance with public money. He continued his fight to be recognized as crown prince of Greece until the birth of Constantine’s son Pavlos in 1967. Peter later apologized for his actions.

After the fall of the Greek monarchy, Peter sold his Greek properties and divided his time between London, Paris, and Copenhagen. He and his wife Irina
separated in the mid-1970s when she relocated to Hong Kong. Peter received an invitation from the Chinese government to resume his studies in Tibet in 1978, which he accepted. Peter was planning a second trip when he died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage in London.

Peter’s memorial mass was held at St. Sophia’s in London. No one in his family reportedly spoke to Irina before or after the service. He requested in his will to be buried at the family cemetery at Tatoi Palace only if Irina could be buried there as well. Although the Greek royal family agreed, the Greek government prohibited a burial at Tatoi. Peter is buried at his Danish home, Lille Bernstorff. Irina was buried next to him after her death in 1990.

Many of the objects Peter collected during his studies in Asia are now held at the National Museum of Denmark and in the Danish Royal Library.

List of Peter’s publications available through the Danish Royal Library

Oktoberfest’s Bavarian Royal Connection

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013


Credit – Wikipedia

October 12, 1810 – Wedding of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Oktoberfest is a well-known festival held each autumn for sixteen days in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.  Six million people attend Oktoberfest in Munich and more than one million gallons of beer are consumed. Cities around the world have their own Oktoberfests, but many people do not know that it all began with a royal wedding on October 12, 1810.  On that day Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.  The Bavarian royal family invited the citizens of Munich to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front of the city gates. These famous public fields were named Theresienwiese  (“Therese’s fields”) in honor of the new crown princess, but in Munich, the name became known as the “Wies’n,” and it is on these fields that Oktoberfest has been held since 1810.

Horse races were held to mark the end of the wedding festivities and the decision to repeat the horse races in subsequent years started the tradition of Oktoberfest.  The horse races, which had at one time been the most popular event of the festival are no longer held today.
An agricultural show designed to boost Bavarian agriculture began in 1811 and is still held every three years during the Oktoberfest on the southern part of the festival grounds. Amusement rides, a carousel, and two swings made their first appearance in 1818, and visitors to the festival were able to quench their thirst at small beer stands, which grew rapidly in number. In 1896, the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents set up with the backing of the breweries.  Since 1810, Oktoberfest was canceled 24 times due to cholera epidemics and war.

Today there are fourteen large beer tents and twenty small tents at Oktoberfest.  Only beer conforming to the Reinheitsgebot, with a minimum of 13.5% Stammwürze (approximately 6% alcohol by volume) may be served at Oktoberfest. The beer must also be brewed within the city limits of Munich. The breweries that can produce Oktoberfest Beer under the criteria are:

Having visited Munich in August 2012 and sampled beers from several of these breweries, I can attest that they are wonderful.  I never liked beer until I discovered Belgian and German beer.  In fact, as I wrote this, I was drinking some Paulaner Oktoberfest beer.

Inside one of the tents at Oktoberfest, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

King Ludwig I (born in 1786) was the son of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his first wife Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt.  Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen  (born in 1792) was the daughter of Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (later Duke of Saxe-Altenburg) and Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Ludwig succeeded his father as King of Bavaria in 1825.

Although the marriage of Ludwig and Therese began with great celebration and promise, it was not a happy marriage.  Ludwig had many affairs that Therese reluctantly tolerated.  Several times, she left while Ludwig was having affairs and she refused to associate with his mistresses.  Among Ludwig’s mistresses were the scandalous English aristocrat Lady Jane Digby, Italian noblewoman Marianna Marquesa Florenzi, and Lola Montez (born Eliza Rosanna Gilbert), an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a “Spanish dancer.”  It is likely that Ludwig’s affair with Lola Montez contributed to his abdication in 1848.  Therese died in 1854 in Munich and was buried in St. Boniface’s Abbey in Munich.  Ludwig lived for another twenty years after his abdication, died in Nice, France in 1868, and was buried next to his wife.

Ludwig and Therese had nine children:

  • Maximilian (1811–1864), married Princess Marie of Prussia, King of Bavaria as Maximilian II from 1848 – 1864
  • Mathilde Caroline (1813–1862), married Ludwig III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
  • Otto (1815–1867), Amalie of Oldenburg, King of Greece as Otto I from 1832-1862
  • Theodelinde (1816–1817)
  • Luitpold (1821–1912), married Archduchess Auguste of Austria, was Prince Regent of Bavaria from 1886–1912
  • Adelgunde (1823–1914), married Francis V, Duke of Modena
  • Hildegard (1825–1864), married Archduke Albert of Austria, Duke of Teschen
  • Alexandra (1826–75), never married
  • Adalbert (1828–1875), married Infanta Amelia of Spain

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, Prince Regent of Belgium

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Charles-Théodore Henri Antoine Meinrad was born on October 10, 1903, at the Palace of the Marquis d’Assche (link in French)  in Brussels, Belgium, the second son and the second of the three children of the future Albert I, King of the Belgians and the former Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. After his father became King, he was given the title Count of Flanders.

From left to right, the future King of the Belgians, Leopold III with his sister Marie-Jose, and brother Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, circa 1915

Charles had one brother and one sister:

Charles began his education in Belgium before he and his siblings were sent to England during World War I. Here he continued his education and enrolled at the Royal Naval College at Osborne. In 1917, after King Constantine I of Greece was overthrown, the Allied Powers offered the Greek throne to the young Prince Charles. His father quickly declined. Instead, Charles continued his training, attending the Royal Naval Colleges in Dartmouth, Portsmouth, and Greenwich. In 1926, he returned to Belgium, training at the Royal Military Academy becoming a Second Lieutenant. He would continue to serve with the Belgian military through 1939.

In the late 1930s, Charles had an affair with Jacqueline Wehrli, the daughter of a Brussels baker who delivered to royal court. The affair resulted in the birth of a daughter Isabelle, born in 1938. Although Isabelle was never formally recognized, Charles remained in contact with his daughter, and his mother Queen Elisabeth helped to arrange a marriage between Jacqueline and a former palace officer named Arthur Wybo. Isabelle’s existence was largely unknown until a biography of Charles was published in 2003. Isabelle Wybo made an official appearance with Prince Laurent, her first cousin-once-removed in 2012.

Isabelle Wybo attending an art exhibition with Prince Laurent of Belgium; Credit – https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20121005_00324598

When Belgium was occupied by Germany, King Leopold III surrendered and was held under house arrest at the Palace of Laeken. Charles at first lived quietly in Brussels. However, he later retreated to the country, living under an assumed name in a small village in Wallonia. After the liberation of Belgium, the Belgian Parliament appointed Charles as Prince Regent, taking the oath on September 20, 1944.

King George VI of the United Kingdom with Prince Charles, Regent of Belgium in 1944; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

During his Regency, Charles worked to restore Belgium after the war, helping to establish financial aid and grants for the restoration of properties damaged or destroyed. Previous efforts were continued, establishing what is now the Belgian social security system in 1944, and women gained the right to vote in 1948. Charles oversaw the creation of the Benelux union with Luxembourg and the Netherlands in 1944, as well as Belgium’s entry into the United Nations, NATO, and the Council of Europe.

In 1950, King Leopold III returned to the Belgian throne following a referendum, ending Charles’ tenure as Prince Regent on July 20, 1950. In less than a month, Leopold would transfer his royal powers to his eldest son, Baudouin, and the following year he formally abdicated. See Unofficial Royalty: Abdication of King Leopold III.

Prince Charles left public life, moving to an estate in Raversijde where he pursued his artistic interests. He ceased to have any contact with his brother and chose to live a very private life. Some years later, he gave up his donation from the Belgian government as he no longer participated in any royal activities. A gifted painter, Charles had several exhibits of his works, painting under the name Karel van Vlaanderen (Charles of Flanders).

Prince Charles died at his estate in Raversijde on June 1, 1983. He is buried in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.

Grave of Prince Charles; Photo Credit – By Michel wal – Own work, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7758515

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Abdication of Grand Duke Jean; Accession of Grand Duke Henri

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

photo: www.angelfire.com

photo: www.angelfire.com

October 7, 2000 – Abdication of Grand Duke Jean; Accession of Grand Duke Henri

On October 7, 2000, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg abdicated after nearly 36 years as the reigning Grand Duke. The ceremony took place at the Grand Ducal Palace, in a scene almost identical to that held in 1964 when Jean’s mother, Grand Duchess Charlotte, abdicated in his favor. With his wife by his side, Jean signed the abdication decree, and his eldest son, Henri, became the new Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In attendance were members of the Government, members of the Grand Ducal Family, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium. The ceremony, originally planned for September 28, had been postponed after Jean’s youngest son Guillaume was seriously injured in a car accident in Paris.

Shortly after the abdication ceremony, the royals processed to the Hall of the Chamber of Deputies, next door to the Palace, for Henri’s enthronement ceremony. Following a reading of the Abdication Decree and a speech by the President of the Chamber, Henri stood to swear allegiance to the Constitution of Luxembourg.

 

Following his speech from the throne (which had been ‘lost’ for many years but found and restored for the ceremony), the family proceeded back to the Palace where the new Grand Duke and Grand Duchess appeared on the balcony, joined by the rest of the Grand Ducal Family and royal guests. After a luncheon at the palace, the new Grand Duke, with his wife and children, and his siblings, processed to the Cathedral Notre Dame de Luxembourg for a service of thanksgiving. After returning to the palace, the Grand Ducal Family then went to the Town Hall, greeting the mass of Luxembourg citizens who had come to witness the event. The evening ended with another balcony appearance.

Jean had become Grand Duke upon his mother’s abdication in November 1964 (more about that HERE!) Grand Duchess Charlotte had stepped down after nearly 46 years as head of state, having come to the throne upon the abdication of her elder sister, Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaide in 1919. Following the abdication, Grand Duke Jean moved to Fischbach Castle, while Henri and his family moved to Berg Castle.

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Maria Beatrice of Modena, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Maria Beatrice of Modena, Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Beatrice of Modena was an Italian princess who had intentions of becoming a nun, but instead, she was thrust into religious and political turmoil in England. Born at the Ducal Palace in Modena, Duchy of Modena, now in Italy on October 5, 1658, Maria Beatrice Eleanor Anna Margherita Isabella d’Este, generally known as Mary of Modena, was the elder of the two children of Alfonso IV d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and Laura Martinozzi, the niece of the powerful Cardinal Mazarin, who served as King Louis XIV’s chief minister at the French court from 1642 until his death in 1661.  Maria Beatrice’s father died when she was four-years-old and her two-year-old brother, her only sibling, became Duke of Modena under his mother’s regency.  Her brother Francesco II d’Este, Duke of Modena (1660 – 1694), married his first cousin Margherita Maria Farnese. The couple had no children and Francesco died two years after the marriage.

Maria Beatrice had a strict religious upbringing and wanted to be a nun, but those plans changed when she was suggested as a second wife for England’s James, Duke of York who was the younger brother of King Charles II.  She was told by her priest that this marriage would be an offering to the Roman Catholic Church as she would play a role in converting England to Catholicism.  Fifteen-year-old Maria Beatrice was married by proxy to the forty-year-old Duke of York on September 30, 1673, in Modena.  Maria Beatrice arrived in England on November 21, 1673, and first saw her husband two days later at their second wedding ceremony.

Maria Beatrice’s husband, King James II; Credit – Wikipedia

James had been a widower for two years and had two surviving children from his first marriage: eleven-year-old Mary and eight-year-old Anne.  Maria Beatrice was more of a playmate to James’ daughters than a stepmother.  Mary and Maria Beatrice got along well, but Anne was resentful of her young stepmother.  James had secretly converted to Catholicism around 1668, but his brother Charles had insisted that Mary and Anne be raised in the Church of England.  James’ marriage to the Catholic Maria Beatrice was not popular with the English people who regarded her as an agent of the pope.

Even though Maria Beatrice had a secluded, strict upbringing, her charm, poise, and intelligence helped her transition into the wild English court.  Middle-aged James who was used to his mistresses treated his young bride with great consideration and in time the differences in their ages did not seem to matter.  Between 1675 and 1684, Maria Beatrice had ten pregnancies and gave birth to five live children, all of whom died young.  To James, this seemed a repeat of his first marriage to Anne Hyde when six of their eight children died young.

Maria Beatrice’s pregnancies:

  • Unnamed child (March 1674), miscarriage
  • Catherine Laura (1675 – 1676): Born at St. James’ Palace in London, England, Catherine Laura was named after Catherine of Braganza, the wife of her uncle King Charles II of England, and her maternal grandmother Laura Martinozzi, Duchess of Modena.  Catherine Laura’s Catholic mother had her baptized in a Catholic rite but her uncle Charles II carried her off to the Chapel Royal and had her christened in a Church of England rite. Catherine Laura died at the age of nine months and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
  • Unnamed child (October 1675), stillborn
  • Isabel (1676 – 1681): Isabella was born at St. James’ Palace. She was the first of her parents’ children to survive infancy but died at the age of four. She was buried at Westminster Abbey.
  • Charles, Duke of Cambridge (born and died 1677): Charles was born at St. James’ Palace and was styled Duke of Cambridge but was never formally created Duke of Cambridge. He died 35 days after his birth and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
  • Elizabeth (born and died 1678)
  • Unnamed child (February 1681), stillborn
  • Charlotte Maria (born and died 1682): Charlotte Maria was born at St. James’ Palace in London, England. She died of convulsions at the age of two months and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
  • Unnamed child (October 1683), stillborn
  • Unnamed child (May 1684) miscarriage
  • James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales “the Old Pretender” (1688 – 1766), married Maria Clementina Sobieski, had issue
  • Louisa Maria Teresa (1692 – 1712), died of smallpox

James’ brother Charles had been married to Catherine of Braganza since 1662, but the marriage remained childless. However, Charles had quite a number of illegitimate children with his mistresses.  With the monarch and the heir married to Catholics, waves of anti-Catholic hysteria swept England.  There was even talk of a Catholic plot to kill Charles and put James on the throne.

On February 6, 1685, King Charles II died, converting to Catholicism on his deathbed, and his brother succeeded him as King James II.  James and Maria Beatrice were crowned at Westminster Abbey on April 23, 1685, two Catholics taking part in an Anglican ceremony.  Soon after his accession, James faced a rebellion led by his nephew, James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, who was King Charles II’s eldest illegitimate child.  Monmouth declared himself king, but the rebellion ultimately failed and Monmouth was beheaded.

In 1687, five years after her last pregnancy, Maria Beatrice was once again pregnant.  Catholics rejoiced in the prospect of a Catholic heir.  Protestants who had tolerated James because he had no Catholic heir, were worried.  If the baby was a boy, he would supplant James’ Protestant daughters from his first marriage, Mary and Anne, in the line of succession. On June 10, 1688, Maria Beatrice gave birth to a boy, James Francis Edward.   Rumors soon swirled that Maria Beatrice had had a stillbirth and the dead baby was replaced with one smuggled into her bed by means of a warming pan despite the fact that many (both Catholic and Protestant) had witnessed the birth including James’ younger daughter Anne.

Maria Beatrice and her son James Francis Edward, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Fearful of a return to Catholicism, some members of Parliament began what is called the Glorious Revolution and King James II was overthrown and succession rights for his son James Francis Edward were denied.  Parliament invited James’ elder daughter Mary and her husband William III, Prince of Orange to jointly reign as King William III and Queen Mary II.  William was the only child of Mary, Princess Royal who was the daughter of King Charles I and thus was the third in the line of succession after his first cousin and wife Mary and her sister and his first cousin Anne. As William and Mary’s marriage was childless, Anne ultimately succeeded to the throne, the last of the Stuarts.  Despite seventeen pregnancies, Anne had no living children and through the Act of Settlement, upon Anne’s death, the throne went to the nearest Protestant in the line of succession, thus bringing the Hanovers to the throne.

James and Maria Beatrice were forced to flee to France where King Louis XIV, James’ first cousin, gave them refuge.  Louis allowed James and Maria Beatrice to use Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, where a court in exile was established.  In 1692, Maria Beatrice gave birth to her last child Louise Maria Teresa.  Plans to restore James failed and in 1700 he suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed.  He died on September 16, 1701, and was buried at the Chapel of Saint Edmund in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue St. Jacques in Paris.  His tomb and remains were destroyed during the French Revolution.

Maria Beatrice’s two surviving children, James Francis Edward and Louisa Maria Teresa; Credit – Wikipedia

After James’ death, Maria Beatrice began to periodically stay at the Convent of the Visitations in Chaillot, where she befriended Louise de La Vallière, one of Louis XIV’s mistresses who had become a nun.  In 1712, due to the Treaty of Utrecht, Louis XIV was forced to withdraw his support of James Francis Edward who was then expelled from France and settled in Rome, Italy.  The same year, Maria Beatrice’s daughter Louise Maria Teresa died of smallpox.

On May 7, 1718, Maria Beatrice died of breast cancer at the age of 59. She was buried at the Convent of the Visitations in Chaillot, a place she greatly loved.  Her remains were lost in 1793 when the convent was looted and destroyed during the French Revolution. However, her viscera were found and were reburied at the Chapel of the College of the Scots in Paris.

Viscera tomb of Maria Beatrice, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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