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History and Traditions: Tudor Weddings

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Double Portrait of Elizabeth of York and King Henry VII; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 22, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty, King Richard III of England, lost his life and his crown. The battle was a decisive victory for the House of Lancaster, whose leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became King Henry VII, the first monarch of the House of Tudor.

Even though the first Parliament of Henry VII’s reign passed a bill confirming his right to the throne and settling the succession upon the heirs of his body, his genealogical claim to the English throne through his mother Lady Margaret Beaufort was tenuous. And so, he did what his Plantagenet ancestors did – he made a political marriage and that marriage helped validate Henry VII’s claim to the throne. Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, the eldest child of the Yorkist King Edward IV, thereby uniting the House of York and the House of Lancaster. Elizabeth had no surviving brothers and her uncle Richard III had no surviving children, and so her genealogical claim on the English throne was very much stronger than Henry VII’s. By today’s standards of absolute primogeniture, Elizabeth of York would have been the heir to the English throne.

During his reign, Henry VII’s two main goals were peace-keeping and economic prosperity, and he succeeded at both. He did not try to retake the territories lost in France during the reigns of his predecessors. Instead, he concluded a peace treaty with France, which helped fill the coffers of England again. Again, like his Plantagenet ancestors, Henry VII made political marriages for his two eldest children which helped fulfill his goals. He made a pact with Spain with the marriage treaty of his eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. He also allied himself with Scotland by marrying his daughter Margaret to King James IV of Scotland. Ultimately, this marriage would unite England and Scotland when King Henry VII’s great-great-grandson King James VI of Scotland succeeded King Henry VII’s granddaughter Queen Elizabeth I of England. Through his daughter Margaret Tudor, Henry VII is the ancestor of the British royal family and many other European royal families.

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To help foster the legitimacy of the House of Tudor, Henry VII made sure that the wedding of his heir Arthur, Prince of Wales to Catherine of Aragon was a festive and grand affair. When 16-year-old Catherine arrived in London, she was greeted by jubilant citizens and a number of tableaux vivants including one depicting the life of her patron St. Catherine. On November 14, 1501, Arthur and Catherine were married in a splendid ceremony at the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Old St. Paul’s was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and its replacement was consecrated in 1697. There would not be another wedding at St. Paul’s Cathedral until 1981 when another Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, married Lady Diana Spencer.

A six-foot-high platform was built in Old St. Paul’s from the cathedral door to the altar so that all the guests could see all parts of the ceremony. The bride was escorted to the cathedral and led to the altar by the groom’s 10-year-old brother Henry, Duke of York, who, as King Henry VIII, would eventually become her second husband. Arthur and Catherine were dressed in white satin. Catherine’s dress was the first farthingale dress worn in England. The farthingale dress with hoop skirt stiffened with wood, became an essential part of Tudor fashion. A white silk veil bordered with gold and set with jewels was worn over the bride’s long, auburn flowing hair.

Wedding Feast of Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon; Credit – Wikipedia

Festivities continued for days after the wedding for both the city of London and the royal court. There were so many people in the street that one observer noted, “There was nothing to the eye but only visages and faces, without the appearance of bodies.” Banquet after banquet was held in Westminster Hall for the royal court. Catherine and her ladies demonstrated Spanish dances and Prince Henry danced with his sisters and other ladies. Soon after their marriage, Catherine and Arthur went to live at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire, close to Wales, where, as Prince of Wales, Arthur presided over the Council of Wales and the Marches. Less than five months later, on April 2, 1502, Arthur died, probably of the sweating sickness, and 16-year-old Catherine was left a widow.

King Henry VII did not want to lose Catherine of Aragon’s dowry or the alliance he had made with Spain, so he offered his new heir Henry, who was five years younger than Catherine, to be her husband. A number of problems with negotiations made it doubtful that the marriage would ever take place. With little money, Catherine lived as a virtual prisoner at Durham House in London from 1502 – 1509.

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The marriage of Henry VII’s eldest daughter Margaret was a very political one. In 1502, England and Scotland concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace, agreeing to end the warfare between England and Scotland which had occurred over the previous two hundred years. As part of the treaty, a marriage was arranged between 28-year-old James IV, King of Scots and twelve-year-old Margaret Tudor. A proxy marriage was held on January 25, 1503, at Richmond Palace with Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell standing in for King James IV. Margaret was exactly the same age as her grandmother Margaret Beaufort had been when she married Edmund Tudor. Margaret Beaufort was determined that her granddaughter not consummate her marriage at such an early age and insisted that Margaret must remain in England a while longer.

James IV, King of Scots and Margaret Tudor; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1503, Margaret left London with her father to make the journey to Scotland. Her formal court farewell was held at her paternal grandmother’s home Collyweston Palace near Stamford, Northamptonshire, England. After two weeks of celebrations, Margaret rode out to her new life with only one relative, Sir David Owen, the illegitimate son of her great-grandfather Owen Tudor. On August 3, 1503, at Dalkeith Castle in Midlothian, Scotland, Margaret first met King James IV. The couple was married in person on August 8, 1503, at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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King Henry VII died on April 21, 1509, and 17-year-old Henry succeeded him. Henry VIII’s reign seems to be the beginning of the period when royal weddings were mostly private and held in palace chapels, the Queen’s Closet (a small room used as a private chapel or prayer room) or bedchambers. This tradition continued with the Stuarts and the Hanovers. It was not until the reign of Queen Victoria that royal weddings became more public.

16th-century woodcut of the coronation of King Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon showing their heraldic badges, the Tudor Rose and the Pomegranate of Granada; Credit – Wikipedia

Henry VIII’s first wedding to his brother’s widow Catherine of Aragon was quite sedate. Henry and Catherine walked from Greenwich Palace to a nearby Franciscan abbey, Grey Friars’ Church, and were married. Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn was anything but public. Anne was pregnant and Henry was still legally married to Catherine of Aragon. On January 25, 1533, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were secretly married at York Place in London which later became Whitehall Palace. Eleven days after the execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536, Henry VIII quietly married his third wife in the Queen’s Closet at Whitehall Palace. Seventeen months later, Jane Seymour would be dead due to childbirth complications after giving birth to Henry’s only son.

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Anne of Cleves has the distinction of being considered Henry VIII’s most fortunate wife. She arrived in Deal, England on December 27, 1539, and then she proceeded to Rochester on New Year’s Day. Henry VIII was so eager to see Anne, that he went to Rochester incognito. Henry was terribly disappointed by his new bride. He found Anne humorless and boring. She looked unimpressive in her German costume, acted shy and did not speak English. Henry postponed the wedding for two days and regretted that he could not withdraw from the marriage contract.

King Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Reluctantly, Henry married Anne of Cleves on January 6, 1540, at Greenwich Palace in Greenwich, London. The marriage was never consummated, and it was said that the couple spent the night playing cards. Henry told his chief minister Thomas Cromwell, “I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse.” On July 6, 1540, Anne of Cleves was informed that Henry wanted to end the marriage and Anne agreed to an annulment which was finalized on July 9, 1540, on the grounds of non-consummation. Anne of Cleves remained in England. Henry VIII’s “most fortunate wife” was given a generous financial settlement and the use of Richmond Palace and Hever Castle. Anne was frequently at court, had a cordial relationship with Henry and his children, and was referred to as “the King’s Beloved Sister.” She survived Henry and all his wives.

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Henry secretly married his fifth wife, teenaged Catherine Howard at a very private wedding at Oatlands Palace in Surrey, England on July 28, 1540, the same day Thomas Cromwell, the scapegoat for the failed marriage to Anne of Cleves, was executed for treason and heresy. Henry called his teenage bride his “rose without a thorn.” Catherine soon proved to be a rose with many thorns because of her affair with Thomas Culpeper, a Gentleman to the King’s Privy Chamber and like her first cousin Anne Boleyn, she was executed.

King Henry VIII and Catherine Howard: Credit – Wikipedia

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Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth wife was more of a nursemaid to the ailing king. Catherine had fallen in love with Thomas Seymour, brother of Henry VIII’s late third wife Jane Seymour, and the two hoped to marry. However, Henry VIII began to show an interest in Catherine and she felt it was her duty to choose Henry’s proposal of marriage over Thomas Seymour’s. Seymour was appointed an ambassador to the Netherlands to get him out of England. In 1543, Catherine Parr and Henry VIII were married in the Queen’s Closet at Hampton Court Palace in front of twenty guests. Catherine proved to be a good nurse to Henry and a kind stepmother to his three children. After Henry VIII’s death in 1547, Catherine finally married Thomas Seymour, uncle of the new King Edward VI. Tragically, Catherine died on September 5, 1548, of childbed fever after giving birth to a daughter who appears to have died young. Six months after Catherine’s death, her widower Thomas Seymour was beheaded for treason.

King Henry VIII and Catherine Parr; Credit – Wikipedia

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All of Henry VIII’s children succeeded to the throne: his son by Jane Seymour King Edward VI, his daughter by Catherine of Aragon Queen Mary I and his daughter by Anne Boleyn Queen Elizabeth I. However, only Mary I married. Roman Catholic Mary I was 37 when she came to the throne and it was vital that she marry and produce an heir to supplant her Protestant sister Elizabeth. Mary had her heart set on marrying Prince Philip of Spain (later King Philip II of Spain), the only son of Mary’s first cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Philip was a widower and was eleven years younger than Mary. Parliament begged her to reconsider fearing the threat a marriage to a foreign royal might have for English independence.

Queen Mary I and her husband Philip of Spain, Bedford Collection, Woburn Abbey; Credit – Wikipedia

Nevertheless, Mary and Philip were married at Winchester Cathedral on July 25, 1554. This was the first public wedding of a monarch since the wedding of Mary’s grandparents King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York in 1486. Philip wore a splendid outfit: a white doublet and breeches and a mantle of clot-of-gold trimmed with crimson velvet, and embroidered with gold thistles. Mary I wore a black velvet gown glittering with jewels of all colors and a cloth-of-gold mantle matching Philip’s. A lavish feast followed the wedding.

The marriage was not successful. Although Mary was in love with Philip, he found her repugnant. In September 1554, Mary thought she was pregnant and continued to exhibit signs of pregnancy until July 1555, when her abdomen returned to normal. There was no baby. After 14 months of marriage, Philip returned to Spain in August 1555. Mary was heartbroken and went into a deep depression. Philip did return to England in 1557 and was happily received by Mary. Philip wanted England to join Spain in a war against France. Mary agreed and the result was the loss of Calais, England’s last remaining possession in continental Europe. Philip left England in July 1557, never to return. Mary said of these losses, “When I am dead, you will find the words ‘Philip’ and ‘Calais’ engraved upon my heart.”

King Henry VII’s vision of a new dynasty lasted for only three generations.  After Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, a messenger was sent at once to Scotland to bring King James VI of Scotland, the great-grandson of Margaret Tudor, the news of his accession to the English throne as King James I of England.  The House of Stuart did not do much better – their dynasty lasted for only four generations.

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Weddings of Tudor Monarchs and Their Children

There were not a lot of Tudor weddings. Henry VIII’s six weddings accounted for nearly half of them. Wedding venues that have official websites or Wikipedia articles will be linked below.  Sometimes the city where the wedding took place is known but the actual wedding venue is unknown. Only married monarchs and their married children are listed. Links are to Unofficial Royalty articles for the monarchs, their children, and their spouses. Note that not all the spouses have Unofficial Royalty articles.

Henry VII, King of England (great-great-great-grandson of Edward III) married (1486) Elizabeth of York at St. Stephen’s Chapel in the Palace of Westminster

Henry VIII, King of England (son of Henry VII)
(1) married (1509) Catherine of Aragon at the Grey Friars’ Church in Greenwich, England
(2) married (1533) Anne Boleyn at York Place which later became Whitehall Palace
(3) married (1536) Jane Seymour in the Queen’s Closet at Whitehall Palace in London, England
(4) married (1540) Anne of Cleves at Greenwich Palace in Greenwich, England
(5) married (1540) Catherine Howard at Oatlands Palace in Surrey, England
(6) married (1543) Catherine Parr at Hampton Court Palace in Richmond, England

Mary I, Queen of England (daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon) married (1554) Prince Philip of Spain (later King Philip II of Spain) at Winchester Cathedral in Winchester, England

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.

Works Cited

  • Ashdown, D. (1981). Royal Weddings. London: Robert Hale Limited.
  • Genealogics.org. (2018). [online] Available at: http://www.genealogics.org [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].
  • Unofficial Royalty. (2018). Unofficial Royalty. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. (Tudor articles)
  • Weir, A. (2001). Henry VIII: The King and His Court. New York: Ballantine Books.
  • Wikipedia. (2018). Main Page. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].  (for wedding venue and genealogy information)

History and Traditions: Norman and Plantagenet Weddings

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Wedding of Matilda of England, King Henry I’s daughter, and Heinrich V, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

The duty of a medieval king was to have sons to succeed to the throne because women were considered unfit to rule. The political advantage of the marriage was the prime consideration – not the looks, the personality or whether the couple liked each other. In Scotland, it was common for the King of Scots to marry a daughter of a Scottish peer but it was not so in England. A foreign alliance was of the utmost importance.

Princesses were often sent off to their wedding without even meeting their future groom. However, royal children were brought up knowing their eventual fate and their duty to king and country. Young princesses were often sent to be brought up in their future husbands’ kingdoms to learn the language and the customs. King Henry I’s daughter Matilda was betrothed to marry Heinrich V, Holy Roman Emperor, who was sixteen years older than her. At the age of eight, she was sent off to Germany and placed into the custody of Bruno, Archbishop of Trier, who educated her in the German language and culture and in the government of the Holy Roman Empire. When the 22-year-old Matilda returned to England as a widow, the courtiers were amazed at how German she had become.

When the eldest daughter of the King of England married, a tax was collected from the barons to provide her with a dowry. The King provided his younger daughters with dowries with his own funds. It was common that royal dowries not only included cash but also land and goods. Proxy betrothals and proxy weddings were often necessary if the royal parents refused to send their daughter away because she was still a child. A proxy marriage was arranged between 28-year-old James IV, King of Scots and twelve-year-old Margaret Tudor, eldest daughter of King Henry VII with Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell standing in for King James IV. Margaret was exactly the same age as her grandmother Margaret Beaufort had been when she married Edmund Tudor. Margaret Beaufort was determined that her granddaughter not consummate her marriage at such an early age and insisted that Margaret must remain in England until she was older.

The wedding of King Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou; Credit – Wikipedia

The royal bride’s arrival in her new country resulted in massive festivities as soon as she entered the country and continued as she traveled along the roads to the capital. When Margaret of Anjou, the bride of King Henry VI, entered London, she was met with tableaux vivants created and performed by citizens including an allegory of Peace and Plenty, and representations of Noah’s Ark, the Resurrection, and the Last Judgement.

Unfortunately, there is not much information on medieval royal wedding dresses. Most chroniclers were monks who did not describe what the bride wore but a few descriptions do exist. When Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of King Edward I, married John I, Count of Holland, she wore a gown of embroidered silk with silver gilt buttons and a crown set with rubies, emeralds, and pearls. Documentation from the wedding of Philippa of England, daughter of King Henry IV, and Eric of Pomerania, King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway indicates that Philippa wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with gray squirrel and ermine, making her the first documented princess to wear a white wedding dress. When King Edward IV’s sister Margaret of York married Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, she wore a surcoat and mantle of crimson velvet embroidered with gold and a magnificent crown adorned with pearls and enameled white roses for the House of York set between red, green and white enameled letters of her name in Latin.

Crown of Margaret of York in Aachen Cathedral; Photo Credit – By Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34659301

Chroniclers gave no specific account of wedding ceremonies but it can be assumed that the ceremony was the typical Roman Catholic ceremony at that time perhaps with the addition of music. The bride of the King of England was usually crowned Queen right after the wedding ceremony. After the wedding ceremony, the wedding banquet was held. The feasts lasted for several days and included dancing, singing, and jousts. The amount of food consumed was amazing. For the wedding of King Henry III’s daughter Margaret to Alexander III, King of Scots in York, England, the citizens of York contributed all the bread, 200 deer, 300 does, 200 young bucks and 100 boars. The Archbishop of York donated 60 oxen and the King of England’s fishermen gave 230 fish.

Crowning of King Edward III’s bride Philippa of Hainault; Credit – Wikipedia

Weddings of Norman and Plantagenet Kings and Their Children

Some weddings of Kings of England and their children were held in England and some were held in other countries.

  • Westminster Abbey was completed around 1060 and was consecrated in 1065.  It was the wedding venue for several royal weddings in this time period including that of King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia in 1382.  The next royal wedding in Westminster Abbey would be the wedding of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Patricia of Connaught in 1919.
  • Windsor Castle, with its building started by King William I in the decade after the Norman conquest of 1066,  was the setting for a few weddings in this time period. King Henry III had built the Chapel of Edward the Confessor there in the early 13th century.  However, St. George’s Chapel, the site of many recent royal weddings, was not built there until the late 14th century. Henry III’s Chapel of Edward the Confessor was incorporated into the new chapel.  The first wedding at St. George’s Chapel was that of Queen Victoria’s son, the future King Edward VII, in 1863.
  • Other wedding venues that have official websites or Wikipedia articles will be linked below.  Sometimes the city where the wedding took place is known but the actual wedding venue is unknown.

Note: Only married monarchs and their married children are listed. Links are to Unofficial Royalty articles and only links for monarchs, their children, and their spouses are listed. Note that not all children and spouses have Unofficial Royalty articles.

William I (the Conqueror), King of England, Duke of Normandy married (1053) Matilda of Flanders at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Eu, Normandy now in France

Henry I, King of England (son of William I) (1) married (1100) Edith of Scotland (renamed Matilda upon her marriage) at Westminster Abbey; (2) married (1121) Adeliza of Louvain at Windsor Castle

Stephen, King of England (grandson of William I) married (1125) Matilda of Boulogne, wedding venue unknown but probably in France

Henry II, King of England (grandson of Henry I) married (1152) Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine in Poitiers in the County of Poitou

Richard I, King of England (son of Henry II) married (1191) Berengaria of Navarre at the Chapel of St George in Limassol, Cyprus

John, King  of England (son of Henry II) (1) married (1189) Isabella, Countess of Gloucester at Marlborough Castle in Wiltshire, England (marriage annulled); (2) married (1200) Isabella of Angoulême in Bordeaux in the Duchy of Aquitaine

Henry III, King of England (son of King John) married (1236) Eleanor of Provence at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England

Edward I, King of England (son of Henry III) (1) married (1254) Eleanor of Castile at the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas in Burgos, Castile (now Spain) (2) married (1299) Margaret of France at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England

  • Eleanor of England married (1293) Henry III, Count of Bar in Bristol Cathedral in England
  • Joan of Acre (1) married (1290) Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford at Westminster Abbey (2) married (1297) Ralph de Monthermer, wedding venue unknown
  • Margaret married (1290) John II, Duke of Brabant at Windsor Castle
  • Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1) married (1297) John I, Count of Holland in Ipswich, England (2) married (1302) Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford at Westminster Abbey
  • Thomas of Brotherton, Earl of Norfolk married (1326) Alice de Hales in Loddon, Norfolkshire, England
  • Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent married (1325) Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell, wedding venue unknown

Edward II, King of England (son of Edward I) married (1308) Isabella of France in Boulogne, France

  • Eleanor of Woodstock married (1332) Reinoud II, Count of Guelders in Nijmegen in the County of Guelders now in the Netherlands
  • Joan of The Tower married (1328) King David II of Scotland in 1328 at Berwick-upon-Tweed, England

Edward III, King of England (son of Edward II) married (1328) Philippa of Hainault at York Minster in York, England

Richard II, King of England (grandson of Edward III) (1) married (1382) Anne of Bohemia at Westminster Abbey (last royal wedding at Westminster Abbey until the wedding of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Patricia of Connaught in 1919)  (2) married (1396) Isabella of Valois at the Church of St. Nicholas in Calais, France

Henry IV, King of England (grandson of Edward III) (1) married (1380) Mary de Bohun at Arundel Castle in West Sussex, England (2) married (1403) Joan of Navarre at Winchester Cathedral (Note: Mary de Bohun died before Henry became king.  She was the mother of all his children.)

  • Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence married (1411) Margaret Holland, wedding venue unknown
  • John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford (1) married (1423) Anne of Burgundy in Troyes, France (2) married (1433) Jacquetta of Luxembourg in Thérouanne, France
  • Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1) married (1423) Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut and Holland in Hadleigh, Essex, England (2) married (1428) Eleanor Cobham
  • Blanche of England married (1402) Louis III, Elector Palatine at Cologne Cathedral now in Germany
  • Philippa of England married (1406) Eric of Pomerania, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden at Lund Cathedral in Lund, Sweden

Henry V, King of England (son of Henry IV) married (1420) Catherine of Valois in Troyes, France

Henry VI, King of England (son of Henry VI) married (1445) Margaret of Anjou at Titchfield Abbey in Titchfield, Hampshire, England

Edward IV, King of England (great-great-grandson of Edward III) married (1464) Elizabeth Woodville at Elizabeth’s family home in Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire, England

  • Elizabeth of York married (1486) Henry VII, King of England in St. Stephen’s Chapel in the Palace of Westminster
  • Cecily of York (1) married Ralph Scrope of Upsall, wedding venue unknown (2) married (1487) John Welles, 1st Viscount Welles, wedding venue unknown  (3) married (circa 1502-1504) Sir Thomas Kyme, wedding venue unknown
  • Anne of York married (1495) Thomas Howard at Greenwich, England (after Anne’s death was 3rd Duke of Norfolk)
  • Catherine of York married (1495) William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, wedding venue unknown

Richard III, King of England (great-great-grandson of Edward III, brother of Edward IV) married (1472) Lady Anne Neville in St. Stephen’s Chapel in the Palace of Westminster

Works Cited

  • Ashdown, D. (1981). Royal Weddings. London: Robert Hale Limited.
  • Genealogics.org. (2018). [online] Available at: http://www.genealogics.org [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].
  • Unofficial Royalty. (2018). Unofficial Royalty. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. (for wedding venue and genealogy information)
  • Westminster-abbey.org. (2018). Westminster Abbey » Home. [online] Available at: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/home [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. (for wedding venue information)
  • Wikipedia. (2018). Main Page. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].  (for wedding venue and genealogy information)

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.

King Carl XVI Gustaf now longest-reigning Swedish monarch

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

On April 26, 2018, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden became the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history surpassing King Magnus IV who reigned for 44 years and 222 days from July 8, 1319 – February 15, 1364.

Carl Gustaf’s parents were Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, He is a descendant of Queen Victoria through both of his parents.  His paternal grandmother was Princess Margaret of Connaught, daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.  His maternal grandfather was Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the posthumous son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria’s youngest son.

Four Generations: The infant Prince Carl Gustaf held by his great-grandfather King Gustaf V. Seated on the left is the prince’s grandfather, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf), and standing is the prince’s father, Prince Gustaf Adolf; Photo: Swedish Royal Court


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On January 26, 1947, when Carl Gustaf was only nine months old, his father died in an airplane crash at Kastrup Airport near Copenhagen, Denmark.  At that time, Carl Gustaf became second in the line of succession behind his grandfather.  Carl Gustaf’s great-grandfather King Gustaf V died on October 29, 1950, and his grandfather became King Gustaf VI Adolf while four-year-old Carl Gustaf became Crown Prince. At the age of 27, King Carl XVI Gustaf succeeded his grandfather upon his death on September 15, 1973.

Unofficial Royalty: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

Learn more about the Swedish Royal Family at Unofficial Royalty: Swedish Index

Prince Louis of Wales

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Prince Louis of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Wales is the second son of the two sons and the youngest of the three children of Prince William, The Prince of Wales and The Princess of Wales, the former Catherine Middleton. He was born at 11:01 AM London time on April 23, 2018, at the Lindo Wing, St. Mary’s Hospital in London.

 

Prince Louis had two older siblings:

The Succession to The Crown Act 2013, which formally went into effect on March 26, 2015, put in place absolute primogeniture, which means for those born after October 28, 2011, the eldest child born becomes the heir to his or her parent, regardless of gender. This means that at the time of his birth Prince Louis was fifth in the line of succession after his grandfather now King Charles III of the United Kingdom, his father The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge, his elder brother Prince George of Cornwall and Cambridge, and his elder sister Princess Charlotte of Cornwall and Cambridge. With the birth of Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte became the first princess not to be overtaken in the line of succession by her younger brother.

Later on the day of Louis’ birth, Prince William brought Prince George and Princess Charlotte to the hospital to meet their new baby brother.  Just a few hours later, The Duke and Duchess and their newborn son left the hospital and returned home to Kensington Palace. Four days later, the couple announced their son’s name, Louis Arthur Charles.

 

More associated with French royalty, the name Louis (pronounced Lou-ee) has never been used as a first name for a British prince. King George I was named Georg Ludwig in German, George Louis in English. King George III’s father, the Prince of Wales, who never became king because he predeceased his father, was named Frederick Lewis.

The uncle of Prince Philip, Prince Louis’ great-grandfather, was named Louis. Born Prince Louis of Battenberg and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma served in World War II and was the last Viceroy of India. He was assassinated by an Irish Republican Army bomb in 1979.

Also in Prince Louis’ ancestry from his great-grandfather Prince Philip’s side of the family is Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, the husband of Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Alice, and Prince Ludwig of Battenberg, later Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, father of both Prince Philip’s mother Alice and Philip’s uncle Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

Prince Louis’ father, named William Arthur Philip Louis, has two of his son’s names, as does the baby’s paternal grandfather, Charles Philip Arthur George. King Henry VII’s eldest son, who predeceased him, was Arthur, Prince of Wales, and one of Queen Victoria’s sons was Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.

 

Prince Louis was christened on July 9, 2018, at The Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace, London.  His parents asked the following people to be his godparents:

  • Mr. Nicholas van Cutsem (a friend of his father)
  • Mr. Guy Pelly (a friend of his father)
  • Mr. Harry Aubrey-Fletcher (an Eton College friend of his father)
  • Lady Laura Meade (friend of his father, formerly Laura Marsham, daughter of Julian Marsham, 8th Earl of Romney; wife of James Meade, who is a godfather of Princess Charlotte)
  • Mrs. Robert (Hannah) Carter (a school friend of his mother)
  • Miss Lucy Middleton  (paternal first cousin of his mother)

The week of his third birthday, Prince Louis began attending the Willcocks Nursery School, close to her Kensington Palace home, the same nursery school his sister Charlotte attended.

Louis and his siblings ride in the Trooping the Colour carriage procession for the first time in 2022; Credit – By John Pannell from Watford, UK – Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 2022-0695, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=118639761

On June 2, 2022, during his great-grandmother’s Platinum Jubilee celebration weekend, Louis and his siblings made their debut in the Trooping the Colour carriage procession. All three children joined their parents, Queen Elizabeth II, and other working royals on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

William and Catherine with their children on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022

On June 5, 2022, the three children also attended Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant, where Prince Louis famously drew media coverage when he threw a tantrum, thumbing his nose and sticking out his tongue at his mother.

 

In the summer of 2022, Louis and his family moved to Adelaide Cottage, a four-bedroom house on the grounds of Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England. The move was made to give Louis and his siblings a more normal family life. In the fall of 2022, Louis and his siblings began attending Lambrook School, a prestigious fee-paying school in Winkfield, near Windsor. The school is described on its website as a “leading coeducational Prep School for 615 boys and girls aged 3 and 13, set in 52 acres of beautiful Berkshire countryside.” Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are not the first royals attending Lambrook School. Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein and his brother Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, grandsons of Queen Victoria and sons of Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, also attended Lambrook School.

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.

Wedding of Emperor Akihito of Japan and Michiko Shōda

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Akihito and Michiko on their wedding day with Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun; Credit – Wikipedia

Emperor Akihito of Japan, at the time Crown Prince of Japan, and Michiko Shōda were married on April 10, 1959, at the Kashiko-dokoro, the Shinto shrine of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan.

Emperor Akihito’s Background

Akihito and his mother; Credit – Wikipedia

Emperor Akihito of Japan was born on December 23, 1933, at the Tokyo Imperial Palace. He was the fifth of the seven children and the eldest son of Emperor Hirohito and Princess Nagako of Kuni. Akihito was the heir-apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne from birth. He had one younger brother and five younger sisters.

Akihito, titled Prince Tsugu, was initially educated by tutors at the Imperial Palace before completing his elementary and secondary education at The Gakushūin (Peers School) in Tokyo. During the American Occupation of Japan, following World War II, he was tutored in English and Western culture, along with some of his siblings. Akihito later briefly attended Gakushūin University, studying Political Science, but did not obtain a degree. On November 10, 1952, he was formally invested as Crown Prince in a ceremony held at the Imperial Palace.

Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Akihito of Japan

Michiko Shōda’s Background

Michiko in 1940;  Credit – Wikipedia

Michiko Shōda was born on October 30, 1934, in Tokyo. She was the eldest daughter and the second of the four children of Hidesaburō Shōda, president, and later honorary chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company, and Fumiko Soejima. She had one older brother, one younger brother, and a younger sister. Michiko was raised in Tokyo, where she began her education, studying both a traditional and Western curriculum, learning to speak English and play the piano. During World War II, Michiko’s family left Tokyo because of the American bombings. The family returned in 1946, and Michiko completed her primary and secondary education. She graduated from high school in 1953. She then attended the University of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature. She also attended Harvard University in the United States and Oxford University in England.

Unofficial Royalty: Empress Michiko of Japan

The Engagement

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Crown Prince Akihito and Michiko Shōda first met on a tennis court on August 19, 1956, at Karuizawa, a summer resort. Akihito and Michiko were in opposing mixed pairs in a tournament. Michiko and her partner won the match. Under the strict Imperial Household protocol, the couple could not meet alone during their courtship. They arranged their meetings at tennis courts among other acquaintances. As the relationship blossomed, Akihito called Michiko on the phone, sometimes as many as ten times a day.

The engagement was announced on November 27, 1958. The Imperial Council, which consists of ten palace and civil officials headed by Prime Minister Nobuskue Kishi, unanimously approved the marriage.  Michiko was the first commoner to marry into the Imperial Family, and that did cause some controversy.

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On January 14, 1959, the engagement ceremony (Nosai-no-Gi) was held. The Crown Prince’s chamberlain arrived at the Shōda home with the traditional, plainly wrapped gifts: two enormous fish (tai or red sea bream), six bottles of sake, and five bolts of silk. The fish were laid out head to head, at a slight angle to each other, forming the lucky symbol of the number eight, which is supposed to bring prosperity to the couple. Two simple but elegant unpainted wood boxes carried the other presents, the six bottles of sake, and the five bolts of silk which would be made into kimonos for the future princess. At the three shrines at the Imperial Palace, Akihito, wearing classic Japanese court dress, reported his engagement to his ancestors.

The Wedding Attire

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On the morning of the wedding, Michiko’s body was purified in an ancient ritual. Next, court ladies dressed her in the formal bridal attire, the juni-hitoe, which means a twelve-layered garment. Michiko’s hair was arranged in the puffed classic style with long, artificial strands added down her back. The dressing of her hair and arranging the 30-pound silk kimono with a white silk brocade train took over two hours.

Akihito wore a flowing robe of bright orange, representing the rising sun, which by tradition only a crown prince can wear. Both the bride and groom’s costumes dated back to the Heian Era (794-1185).

The Wedding Ceremony

The Three Palace Sanctuaries at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo; Credit – Imperial Household Agency

Crown Prince Akihito of Japan and Michiko Shōda were married on April 10, 1959, at the Kashiko-dokoro, the Shinto shrine of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess and mythological ancestress of the Imperial Family, part of the Three Palace Sanctuaries on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan. Television coverage provided millions of Japanese their first-ever glimpse of the Three Palace Sanctuaries. 1,070 guests were invited, including Imperial Family members, the bride’s relatives, government officials, lawmakers, judges, and industrial leaders.  Mrs. Elizabeth Gray Vining from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States, who had been Crown Prince Akihito’s tutor, was the only non-Japanese guest. The groom’s parents, Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako, were not among the guests. They stayed in their imperial sitting room a few hundred yards from the shrine, and waited until mid-afternoon when the newlyweds visited them to inform them of the morning marriage. Neither the guests nor the television viewers saw any part of the wedding ceremony. The guests stood in the Imperial Garden and only saw the bride and groom, accompanied by Shinto ritualists, chamberlains, and ladies-in-waiting, as they slowly walked down a long wooden porch.

At 10 AM, Akihito and Michiko were married in the Kekkon-no-gi ceremony before an altar enshrining the Sun Goddess, the guardian of the Imperial Family. The wedding ceremony took only eleven minutes and was held in the presence of only the palace’s chief Shinto ritualist, a chamberlain bearing the centuries-old sword representing the crown prince, a court lady, and an unwed priestess symbolizing purity.

In the inner sanctuary of the shrine, the couple knelt on rice straw mats. The bride was on the left, with the chief ritualist standing on the left. A white silk curtain separated the inner sanctuary from the outer-most part of the shrine, which opens into the Imperial Garden. The chief ritualist gave the bride and groom a sakaki twig, a sacred symbol. Holding the twigs, Akihito and Michiko bowed to the inner sanctuary four times. Although the palace’s chief ritualist, an important figure in the Shinto religion, was present inside the shrine, the Crown Prince was the only person who did any speaking. Akihito read from a 1,200-year-old text, addressing the Sun Goddess: “This is the occasion of my wedding, and we have come before you at the House of Wisdom…We pray for your protection in the future.”

Then the chief ritualist waved a sacred dogwood sprig, and the couple sipped sake from thimble-sized cups and bowed to each other. After the ceremony, Akihito and Michiko went to the Kōrei-den, the Ancestral Spirits Sanctuary, another of the Three Palace Sanctuaries, where the departed spirits of the Imperial Family are enshrined one year after their death, to report the wedding to Akihito’s imperial ancestors. The couple emerged from the shrine for another solemn procession down the wooden porch as husband and wife.

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The bride and the groom were separated until their meeting with the Emperor and Empress at 2:00 PM to report their marriage. For that meeting, they changed into Western evening dress – Akihito wearing white tie and tails and Michiko wearing a low-cut white dress with gold thread, a white stole, and a diamond tiara. They then met with Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako at the Imperial Palace in a ceremony known as Choken-no-Gi (First Audience Ceremony). In the ancient ceremony, Akihito, Michiko, the Emperor, and the Empress were given chopsticks but no food and pantomimed the act of eating together. The newlyweds then drove through the streets of Tokyo, filled with cheering people, to their home. During the ride through the streets of Tokyo, a 19-year-old man threw a rock at the carriage and tried to climb into the carriage. He was immediately restrained by police.

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The couple participated in another ritual, the Kyutyu-Shukuen-no-Gi (Celebratory Banquet) in which rice cakes are offered along with prayers for the birth of a healthy boy. The Kyutyu-Shukuen-no-Gi (Celebratory Banquet) occurred for three nights. Each night, the couple received pounded rice cakes known as mochi. They ate some rice cakes and buried the rest in the Imperial Garden, while the priests chanted prayers for the Crown Princess to have children.

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.

Works Cited

  • Nytimes.com. (1958). Akihito to Mark Betrothal. [online] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1958/12/30/archives/akihito-to-mark-betrothal.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com.(1958). Akihito’s Troth Held Nearer. [online] Available at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/11/22/83426888.html?pageNumber=23 [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].
  • Trumbull, R.(1958). AKIHITO WILL WED TOKYO COMMONER; High Council Backs Prince in His Choice of Bride AKIHITO WILL WED TOKYO COMMONER. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1958/11/27/archives/akihito-will-wed-tokyo-commoner-high-council-backs-prince-in-his.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].
  • Trumbull, R.(1959). Akihito Betrothal Made Official With Simplified Rites in Tokyo; Prince Sends Presents to Miss Shoda, Then Visits Shrines in Palace — Rigid Protocols to Be Eased for Wedding. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1959/01/15/archives/akihito-betrothal-made-official-with-simplified-rites-in-tokyo.html?_r=0 [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].
  •  Trumbull, R. (1958). BRIDE OF AKIHITO TO BE NAMED SOON; Betrothal of Crown Prince to Commoner Is Expected in Tokyo Tomorrow. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1958/11/26/archives/bride-of-akihito-to-be-named-soon-betrothal-of-crown-prince-to.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].
  • Trumbull, R. (1959). Akihito Weds a Commoner in Colorful Japanese Rites; Prince Akihito Weds Commoner in Tokyo Ceremony. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1959/04/10/archives/akihito-weds-a-commoner-in-colorful-japanese-rites-prince-akihito.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].
  • Trumbull, R. (1959). Modern Lovers And Ancient Rituals; Akihito’s choice of a commoner as his bride flouts tradition; but other traditions remain.. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1959/02/22/archives/modern-lovers-and-ancient-rituals-akihitos-choice-of-a-commoner-as.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].
  • Trumbull, R. (1959). Youth Hurls a Rock at Akihito’s Bridal Carriage; The Royal Wedding Is the Climax to a Day of Pageantry in Tokyo TOSSED ROCK MARS AKIHITO WEDDING. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1959/04/11/archives/youth-hurls-a-rock-at-akihitos-bridal-carriage-the-royal-wedding-is.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].
  • Unofficial Royalty. (2017). Wedding of Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan and Masako Owada. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/wedding-of-crown-prince-naruhito-of-japan-and-masako-owada/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].

April – May 1918: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer

  • Captain The Honorable Harold Fox Pitt Lubbock
  • Timeline: April 1, 1918 – May 31, 1918
  • A Note About German Titles
  • April- May 1918 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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Captain The Honorable Harold Fox Pitt Lubbock

Photo Credit – http://www.rutlandremembers.org/

Captain The Honorable Harold Fox Pitt Lubbock was the second son in his family to be killed in action during World War I. His younger brother Captain The Honorable Eric Fox Pitt Lubbock was killed in aerial combat in Ypres, Belgium on March 11, 1917, at the age 23.

Born in London on June 10, 1888, Harold was the elder of the three sons and the third of the five children of John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury and his second wife Alice Augusta Laurentia Lane Fox-Pitt.  His mother was daughter of Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt Rivers, whose collection of about 22,000 objects was the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford which this author can verify is quite interesting. Harold’s father John Lubbock was a banker and a Liberal Member of Parliament who is most known for bank holidays which he introduced in the Bank Holidays Act 1871.  Lubbock was also an archaeologist and coined the terms “Palaeolithic” and “Neolithic” to denote the Old and New Stone Ages.

Harold had six half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Ellen Frances Hordern who died in 1879. His eldest half-brother John Birkbeck Lubbock succeeded their father as the 2nd Baron Avebury. The 2nd Baron never married and when he died, he was succeeded by Harold’s son John Lubbock, 3rd Baron Avebury.

Harold was educated at St. Aubyns School, a preparatory school in Rottingdean, and Eton College. He then attended Trinity College, Cambridge University. After university, Harold entered the family profession, banking, and eventually became a partner in Coutts & Co, the seventh oldest bank in the world. Several years before the outbreak of World War I, Harold joined The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Yeomanry, a volunteer force.

On June 10, 1914, Harold married The Honorable Dorothy Charlotte Forster, daughter of Henry William Forster, 1st and last Baron Forster and The Honorable Rachel Cecily Douglas-Scott-Montagu. The couple had two children:

  • John Lubbock, 3rd Baron Avebury (1915 – 1971), married (1) Cecily Sparrow, no children, divorced (2) Diana Westcott King, one daughter, divorced (3) Betty Gay Ingham, no children
  • The Honorable Ursula Moyra Lubbock (1917 – 1992), married Dorian Williams, no children, divorced

At the beginning of World War I, Harold served with The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Yeomanry in the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign fighting a losing campaign against the troops of the Ottoman Empire. In December 1915, his regiment was sent to Palestine where he served as an Adjutant and was promoted to Captain. Harold yearned to serve on the Western Front and so he obtained a transfer to the Grenadier Guards with a reduced rank of Lieutenant. On December 28, 1917, he was sent to France. He finally made it to the trenches of the Western Front on March 29, 1918.

On March 21, 1918, the Germans began their spring offensive in France, Operation Michael also called the Second Battle of the Somme and Harold took part in the defensive action. Unfortunately, he did survive long, being killed in action on April 4, 1918, near Arras, France at the age 29. The regimental history says:

“The 2nd Battalion went up into the line [on 3 April 1918] and found the trenches very wet. On the 4th, during a heavy shelling, which was entirely directed against no.1 Company on the right, Lieutenant the Hon H F P Lubbock was killed by a shell which pitched in the trench. This was a great loss to the battalion, for he was an officer of sound judgment, who did not know what fear was. Corporal Teague MM was killed at the same time, and 6 men were wounded.”

Harold was buried in Boisleux-au-Mont Communal Cemetery in Boisleux-au-Mont, France. Sadly, his widow also lost both her brothers in the war.

Grave of Captain The Honorable Harold Fox Pitt Lubbock; Photo Credit – http://www.rutlandremembers.org/

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lubbock,_1st_Baron_Avebury [Accessed 29 Oct. 2017].
  • Lubbock, T. (2017). Captain The Honourable Harold Fox-Pitt Lubbock. [online] Rutland Remembers. Available at: http://www.rutlandremembers.org/fallen/277/lubbock-captain-the-honourable-harold-foxpitt [Accessed 29 Oct. 2017].
  • Luscombe, S. (2017). The Grenadier Guards. [online] Britishempire.co.uk. Available at: http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishinfantry/grenadierlubbock.htm [Accessed 29 Oct. 2017].

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Timeline: April 1, 1918 – May 31, 1918

April 10, 1918 – British 55th (West Lancashire) Division troops blinded by tear gas await treatment at an Advanced Dressing Station near Bethune, France after the Battle of Estaires; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire. The constituent states retained their own governments but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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April – May 1918 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website. If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

Photos below of Harold Lubbock and William FitzRoy are from www.findagrave.com and photo below of Erbprinz Philipp Hermann is from https://s3.amazonaws.com/photos.geni.com

Captain The Honorable Harold Fox Pitt Lubbock (see article above)

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Philipp Hermann, Erbprinz zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich

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Lieutenant Ebenezer Maclay

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Ferdinand Carl Heinrich Fischler, Graf von Treuburg

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Lieutenant William Henry Alfred FitzRoy, Viscount Ipswich

Grave of Lieutenant William Henry Alfred FitzRoy, Viscount Ipswich; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Lieutenant The Honorable Philip Granville James Fitzalan-Howard

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What’s Wrong With “Victoria” Season 2?

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Queen Victoria’s family in 1846 by Franz Xaver Winterhalter; left to right: Prince Alfred, The Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, Princess Alice, Princess Helena and Victoria, Princess Royal; Credit – Wikipedia

UPDATE: Since this article was published we have added a new area Queen Victoria’s Inner Circle. We have extended articles on some of those who served Queen Victoria and some of her relatives who lived during her reign (1837 – 1901). Many of the people listed were seen in the television series Victoria but their true life story may be very different than the story depicted in the series.

Queen Victoria and her family were my gateway to becoming a royalty aficionado but I procrastinated watching Victoria Season 2. I had seen articles in the British media about the many inaccuracies when Victoria Season 2 was shown in the United Kingdom. I DVRed all the shows when Season 2 started in the United States in January 2018. I noticed that right after the shows aired on Sunday nights and into Monday, a lot of people viewed Unofficial Royalty’s article about Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert’s brother. That made me wonder what they had Ernst doing in Season 2 – probably the same inaccurate thing he had been doing in Season 1. As of the date of this article’s publication, Ernst’s article has had 50,000+ views, is Unofficial Royalty’s tenth most viewed article and is our most viewed biography article. What they had Ernst doing (and what they had many other characters – or should I say real people – doing) never happened.

In my article What’s Wrong With Victoria Season 1, I wrote about the poetic license in historical fiction. I certainly realize that the creators of historical fiction have some poetic license to change the facts of the real world to make their story more interesting. But how much poetic license should historical fiction creators take with facts? Should they change the characteristics of a real person because it will make the plot more dramatic? Should they change the facts so much that a real person is misrepresented or even defamed? How much should real events change? What responsibility do the creators of historical fiction have to tell the truth that the historical facts reveal?

Many things about many secondary characters – real people – are inaccurate and I feel the need to tell the story of these real people. I have compiled a timeline with real events and included comments after most of the events. At the end of the timeline, there is some brief information about the true lives of some of these real people.

There are many timeline inaccuracies and events that occur out of order in Victoria Series 2. Because of this, it is very difficult to tell the time span of each episode. When Victoria Season 2 ends, Queen Victoria has three children and she is pregnant with another child. That child must be her fourth child Prince Alfred who was born in August 1844 so Season 2 must end at Christmas 1843 and yet events have occurred in Season 2 that in reality occurred after 1843.

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Timeline

I have included the birth dates of Queen Victoria’s first five children, born 1840 – 1846. They are the children in the family portrait above. The ages of the children in Victoria Season 2 are all wrong.   In December 1843, when Season 2 ended, Victoria, Princess Royal (Vicky) would have been 3 years old, her brother the Prince of Wales (Bertie) would have been 2 years old, and Alice would have been 8 months old.

March 30, 1792 – Birth of Edward Drummond, personal secretary to Prime Minister Robert Peel (Drummond in Victoria Season 2 was in his 20s – 30s. In reality, he was 24 years older than Lord Alfred Paget with whom he has a relationship in Victoria Season 2. The real Drummond died in 1843 before Lord Alfred held a position in Queen Victoria’s household. Drummond and Lord Alfred did not have a relationship.)

April 17, 1795 – Birth of Lady Elizabeth Wilhelmina Coke, daughter of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (I think the writers just picked a random person as this character.  The real Wilhelmina Coke was not the niece or great-niece of the Duchess of Buccleuch who was not born until 1811 and Wilhelmina did not marry Lord Alfred Paget. I find no evidence that she ever served as a maid of honor or lady-in-waiting. The real Wilhelmina married John Spencer-Stanhope and had six children.)

May 21, 1806 – Birth of Lady Harriet Howard, the future Duchess of Sutherland, Mistress of the Robes (Harriet in Victoria Season 2 is much too young. She was 13 years older than Queen Victoria and 12 years older than Prince Ernst of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The real Harriet’s husband George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland did not die until 1861. Harriet and Prince Ernst did not have a relationship. More information below.)

April 10, 1811 – Birth of Lady Charlotte Thynne, the future Duchess of Buccleuch, Mistress of the Robes (The real Charlotte was 8 years older than Queen Victoria, not an old woman named Matilda as portrayed by actress Diana Rigg. More information below.)

June 26, 1816 – Birth of Lord Alfred Paget (Lord Alfred was Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal to Queen Victoria from July 1846 to March 1852, from December 1852 to March 1858, and from June 1859 to 1888. If Victoria Season 2 ends in December 1843, the real Lord Alfred had not yet started serving in Queen Victoria’s household. He did not have a relationship with Edward Drummond. More information below.)

August 9, 1832 – King Leopold I of Belgium (Uncle Leopold) married Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans, daughter of Louis Philippe I, King of the French (Where is Queen Louise-Marie? Why is King Leopold not spending Christmas with his wife and their three young children?)

1837 – 1847 – Baron Christian von Stockmar acted, first as Victoria’s, and then as Victoria and Albert’s, unofficial counselor (Where is Baron Stockmar? More information below.)

1837 – 1862 – Marianne Skerrett served as Head Dresser and Wardrobe-Woman to Queen Victoria. (Her name was not Nancy and she was 26 years older than Queen Victoria. Her entire story in Victoria is utterly false. She did not take the place of a pregnant cousin’s intended position as dresser. More information below.)

March 9, 1840 – March 31, 1842 – Employment of Charles Elmé Francatelli as Queen Victoria’s maitre d’hôtel and chief cook in ordinary. (Francatelli worked at the palace for only two years. He did not come back to work at the palace after leaving and he did not have a relationship with Marianne Skerrett who was 12 years older than him. More information below.)

November 21, 1840 – Birth of Victoria, Princess Royal (Vicky)

November 9, 1841 – Birth of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (Bertie)

January 1842 – 2-year-old Vicky was very ill. (In Victoria Season 2, Vicky is ill after the birth of Princess Alice and is older than age 2.)

May 3, 1842 – Prince Ernst of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha married Princess Alexandrine of Baden before he succeeded as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (In Victoria Season 2, Ernst is not yet married in December 1843. Where is Alexandrine? More information below.)

July 25, 1842 – Baroness Louise Lehzen was dismissed by Prince Albert (In Victoria Season 2, Lehzen is dismissed after the birth of Princess Alice.)

January 25, 1843 – An assassination attempt was made on Prime Minister Robert Peel (The killer mistook Edward Drummond, Peel’s personal secretary, for Peel, and shot and killed Drummond, age 51. The real Drummond did not jump in front of the bullet and did have a fiancée to mourn him as he did in Victoria Season 2.)

April 25, 1843 – Birth of Princess Alice (Her uncle Prince Ernst did not attend her christening although he does in Victoria Season 2.)

June 18, 1843 – King Ernest Augustus I of Hanover, Duke of Cumberland and Victoria’s uncle, attended the wedding of his niece Princess Augusta of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace. This does not occur in the show but I mention it because it was the only time Ernest was in England after he became King of Hanover in 1837. (He did not visit England at Christmas 1843 as shown in Victoria Season 2.)

1843 – Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Louis Philippe I, King of the French (Louis Philippe I’s son Antoine, Duke of Montpensier did not marry Queen Isabella II of Spain as was said in Victoria Season 2. He married her sister Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain. Albert and Victoria’s cousin Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was never considered as a husband to Queen Isabella II of Spain. Ferdinand married Queen Maria II of Portugal.)

January 29, 1844 – Prince Ernst succeeded his father Ernst I as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (In Victoria Season 2 which ends in December 1843, he is already Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.)

August 6, 1844 – Birth of Prince Alfred (Affie)

1845 – 1849 – Irish Potato Famine (In Victoria Season 2, which ends in December 1843, the Irish Potato Famine has already occurred.)

May 25, 1846 – Birth of Princess Helena (Lenchen)

June 25, 1846 – Repeal of the Corn Laws (In Victoria Season 2, which ends in December 1843, the Repeal of the Corn Laws has already occurred.)

June 29, 1846 – Prime Minister Robert Peel forced to resign because of his support of the repeal of the Corn Laws. (In Victoria Season 2, which ends in December 1843, Peel’s resignation has already occurred.)

1847 – Death of Irish clergyman Robert Traill from typhus (Traill established a soup kitchen in his home to help victims of the Irish Potato Famine. He is the great-great-great-grandfather of Daisy Goodwin, the creator of Victoria. In Victoria Season 2, which ends in December 1843, Traill’s death has already occurred.)

November 24, 1848 – Death of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (Lord Melbourne) at age 69 (Did Melbourne die as he sat in his chair? I am confused!)

1848 – Aina, born in 1843, renamed Sara Forbes Bonetta, was rescued from the Kingdom of Dahomey in Africa by Captain Frederick Forbes of the Royal Navy. (The real Sara was born in 1843 and was not with Victoria and her family at Christmas 1843 as shown in Victoria Season 2. I can find no evidence that she ever lived in the palace.)

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The Real Stories

Marianne Skerrett attributed to Dr. Ernest Becker, circa 1859; Photo Credit – https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/2906440/miss-mariann

Marianne Skerrett (1793 – 1887) was the Head Dresser and Wardrobe-Woman to Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1862. The daughter of a British Army officer who owned a plantation in the West Indies, Marianne was born in 1793, so she was 44 years old when Victoria became queen. She was extremely well-read and was fluent in Danish, French, and German.

Author Carolly Erickson has references to Marianne in her biography of Queen Victoria, Her Little Majesty. From Erickson’s book: Marianne Skerrett was “the head of Victoria’s wardrobe, overseeing all the practical work of ordering all her clothing, shoes, hats, gloves, and undergarments…She kept the wardrobe accounts, checking all the bills to make certain no one tried to cheat her mistress, and supervised the purveyors, hairdressers, dressmakers, and pearl-sewers whose task it was to keep the royal wardrobe in good repair.”

In addition, Marianne and Victoria had a lot in common. From Erickson’s book: “Both were intelligent, loved animals, spoke several languages…shared a great interest in paintings and painters. Marianne was well educated, with cultivated tastes, and in time to come Victoria would rely on her to help with the purchase of paintings and in corresponding with artists.”

Although she retired in 1862, Marianne remained in contact with Queen Victoria until her death in 1887 at the age of 94.

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Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1849; Credit – Wikipedia

Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland (1806 – 1868) was born Lady Harriet Howard, the fifth of the twelve children and the third of the six daughters of George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle and Lady Georgiana Cavendish. In 1823, Harriet married George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Earl Gower who succeeded his father in 1833 as the 2nd Duke of Sutherland. Harriet and her husband had a successful, loving marriage and had eleven children.  One of their daughters was named Victoria and another was named Alexandrina – named after Queen Victoria whose given names were Alexandrina Victoria. Their grandson John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll married Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise.

Harriet served Queen Victoria as Mistress of the Robes whenever the Whigs were in power until her husband’s death: August 1837 to September 1841, July 1846 to March 1852, January 1853 to February 1858, and June 1859 to April 1861. In the weeks following Prince Albert’s death in 1861, Harriet, who had lost her own husband earlier that year, was Queen Victoria’s sole companion.

Harriet’s last public appearance was at the Prince of Wales’s marriage in 1863. Later that year, she developed an illness from which she never recovered. She died on October 27, 1868, at the age of 62.

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Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch with her daughter Lady Victoria Alexandrina, named after Queen Victoria by Robert Thorburn. The painting was given from the Duchess to Queen Victoria in 1847; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch (1811 – 1895) was born Lady Charlotte Thynne, the youngest of the three daughters and tenth of the eleven children of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath and The Honorable Isabella Elizabeth Byng. In 1829, Charlotte married Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch and the couple had seven children.  Like Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Charlotte and her husband are great-great-grandparents of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. They are also great-great-great grandparents of Sarah, Duchess of York. Charlotte’s husband died on April 16, 1884, at the age of 77.

Charlotte served Queen Victoria as Mistress of the Robes from 1841 – 1846 when the Conservative Party was in power and Robert Peel was Prime Minister. Charlotte and Queen Victoria remained close friends and Queen Victoria was a godmother to Charlotte’s daughter Lady Victoria. Charlotte’s daughter-in-law Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch was Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria from 1885 – 1892 and from 1895 until Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 and was also Mistress of the Robes to Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII, from 1901 until her death in 1912.

Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch died on March 18, 1895, at the age of 83.

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Lord Alfred Henry Paget by Southwell Brothers, albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s, NPG x46527 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Lord Alfred Paget (1816 – 1888) was the fourth of the ten children and the second of the five sons of Field Marshal Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey and his second wife Lady Charlotte Cadogan. Alfred had eight half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Lady Caroline Villiers.

Alfred was a lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards and served as a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1837 – 1865. From July 1846 to March 1852, from December 1852 to March 1858, and from June 1859 to 1888, Alfred served Queen Victoria as Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal. The offices of Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal were combined until 1874 when they were separated. From 1874 – 1888, Alfred was only Chief Marshal. An Equerry serves as an aide-de-camp. As Clerk Marshal, Alfred was responsible for the payment of all Royal Household officers and servants. He was also responsible for submitting the Royal Household to the Board of Green Cloth which audited the accounts of the Royal Household.

In 1847, Alfred married Cecilia Wyndham, co-heiress with her elder sister of George Thomas Wyndham. Alfred and Cecilia had fourteen children including two pairs of twins. Their first child was named Victoria Alexandrina after Queen Victoria. He died on August 24, 1888, at the age of 72.

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Charles Elmé Francatelli, drawn by Auguste Hervieu and engraved by Samuel Freeman, 1846; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles Elmé Francatelli (1805 – 1876) was born in London, England. He was educated in France at the Parisian College of Cooking where he studied culinary arts with Antonin Carême, known as “The King of Chefs and the Chef of Kings.” When Francatelli returned to England, he became chef de cuisine (executive chef) to several members of the nobility. He then became chef de cuisine at the St. James’s Club, popularly known as Crockford’s.

For two years only, from March 9, 1840 to March 31, 1842, Francatelli served as maitre d’hôtel and chief cook in ordinary to Queen Victoria. For some reason, he was dismissed, perhaps because Queen Victoria did not like his French cuisine, and he returned to Crockford’s. Francatelli did have one more royal client. From 1863 – 1863, he served as chef de cuisine to The Prince and Princess of Wales (the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) at their London home, Marlborough House

During his career, Francatelli was chef de cuisine at the Coventry House Club and the Reform Club. Afterward, he managed the St. James’s Hotel in Piccadilly London and finally the Freemasons’ Tavern, a position he held until shortly before his death.

Francatelli was a very successful cookbook author. In 1845, he published The Modern Cook which ran through twelve editions. His next book was The Cook’s Guide and Butler’s Assistant published in 1861. The same year, he published Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes which contained practical information valuable to the less affluent people. In 1862, The Royal English and Foreign Confectionery Book was published.

Francatelli did marry twice (but not to Marianne Skerrett) and have children. He died in Eastbourne, England on August 10, 1876, at the age of 71.

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Prince Ernst, lithograph by Franz Hanfstaengl, 1842; Credit – Wikipedia

Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1818 – 1893) was a year older than Prince Albert and was the elder of the two sons of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his first wife Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Since Ernst and Albert were close in age, they were also close companions during their childhood. However, as mentioned in Victoria, their childhood was marred by their parents’ disastrous marriage, separation, and divorce.

At the urging of his brother Albert, who had married Queen Victoria in 1840, Ernst began his search for a bride. However, Ernst was suffering from a venereal disease as a result of his many affairs. However, he did not have an affair with Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland as depicted in the television series Victoria. Ernst had been warned that continued promiscuity could leave him unable to father children. On May 13, 1842, in Karlsruhe, Baden (now in Germany) Ernst married Princess Alexandrine of Baden, the daughter of Leopold I, Grand Duke of Baden and Princess Sofia of Sweden. Ernst had at least three illegitimate children but his marriage was childless, perhaps due to Ernst passing the venereal disease to Alexandrine causing her to become infertile. Alexandrine was loyal and devoted to her husband despite his infidelities, and believed that their lack of children was her fault.

On January 29, 1844, Ernst’s father died and he became Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernst had financial difficulties throughout his reign due to his extravagance. He was an excellent musician, an amateur composer, and a great patron of the arts and sciences in Coburg. Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha died after a short illness in Coburg on August 22, 1893, at the age of 75.

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Christian Friedrich, Baron Stockmar by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1847; Credit – Wikipedia

Where is Baron Stockmar?
Christian Friedrich, Freiherr von Stockmar (Baron Stockmar) (1787 – 1863) was a physician and a statesman from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha who was sent to Victoria in 1837, the year of her accession, by her uncle King Leopold I of Belgium to advise her. Stockmar had accompanied Leopold to England when he married Princess Charlotte of Wales in 1816 and served as his personal physician, private secretary, comptroller of the household, and political advisor. When Albert and Ernst made a six-month tour of Italy in early 1839, Stockmar accompanied them. Baron Stockmar was Albert’s negotiator during the discussions regarding the marriage of Victoria and Albert and stayed in England after the marriage of Victoria and Albert, acting as their unofficial advisor. He was an important person to both Victoria and Albert and is missing from Victoria.

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.

Queen Victoria’s Great-Great-Grandchildren

compiled by Susan Flantzer

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with their nine children; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert have 140 great-great-grandchildren.  Great-great-grandchildren are third cousins. Note that many of the great-great-grandchildren used or are using styles and titles from monarchies that ceased to exist during the 20th century. The great-great-grandchildren are arranged according to their relationship with Queen Victoria’s children.  Death dates may be updated only for notable people.  The links below are for Unofficial Royalty articles or Wikipedia articles.  Not all great-great-grandchildren have articles.

Other Queen Victoria resources here at Unofficial Royalty:

Notable Great-Great-Grandchildren

  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
  • Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark)
  • King Harald V of Norway
  • King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
  • Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
  • King Juan Carlos I of Spain
  • Queen Sofia of Spain (born Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark)
  • King Constantine II of Greece
  • Queen Anne-Marie of Greece (born Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark)
  • King Michael I of Romania

GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN OF VICTORIA, PRINCESS ROYAL, GERMAN EMPRESS, QUEEN OF PRUSSIA

GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN OF KING EDWARD VII OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN OF PRINCESS ALICE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, GRAND DUCHESS OF HESSE AND BY RHINE

GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN OF PRINCE ALFRED, DUKE OF EDINBURGH, DUKE OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA

GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN OF PRINCE ARTHUR, DUKE OF CONNAUGHT

*Also great-grandchildren of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany via their mother.

GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN OF PRINCE LEOPOLD, DUKE OF ALBANY

**Also great-grandchildren of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught via their father.

GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN OF PRINCESS BEATRICE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, PRINCESS HENRY OF BATTENBURG)

Queen Victoria’s Great-Grandchildren

compiled by Susan Flantzer

Queen Victoria with some of her extended family in 1894; Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had 87 great-grandchildren.

  • 3 were stillborn (not included in the list below)
  • 1 was illegitimate
  • 7 were born Prince/Princess and had titles changed in 1917 to British peerage titles or courtesy titles
  • 1 had no title
  • 75 had a royal title

Female descendants’ married titles are in parentheses as are some male descendants who had title changes for various reasons.  Great-grandchildren are second cousins.  Carl Johan Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg, who died in 2012, was the last living great-grandchild of Queen Victoria.

Other Queen Victoria resources here at Unofficial Royalty:

Grandchildren of Princess Victoria, Princess Royal (German Empress, Queen of Prussia) and Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia

Children of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia and Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (German Empress, Queen of Prussia)

Wilhelm II and his family in 1896, Credit – Wikipedia from the German Federal Archives

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Child of Princess Charlotte of Prussia (Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen) and Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

Princess Feodora circa 1900; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Children of Prince Heinrich of Prussia and Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (Princess of Prussia) (both grandchildren of Queen Victoria)

Prince Heinrich and Princess Irene with their two surviving sons Waldemar and Sigismund; Credit – Wikipedia

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Children of Princess Sophie of Prussia (Queen of Greece) and King Constantine I of Greece

Circa 1910 Top left:  Constantine holding Irene, Top right: the future George II, Left: Sophia, Center: Helen, Right: the future Alexander I, Front: the future Paul I, Katherine is not yet born; Credit – Wikipedia

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Children of Princess Margarete of Prussia (Landgravine of Hesse) and Friedrich Karl, Landgrave of Hesse

Hesse-Kassel sons, Credit – Pinterest

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Grandchildren of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Princess Alexandra of Denmark (Queen Alexandra)

Children of King George V of the United Kingdom and Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (Queen Mary)

 Family of King George V

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Children of Princess Louise, Princess Royal (Duchess of Fife) and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife

Princess Louise with her daughters Maud and Alexandra. Credit – Wikipedia

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Child of Princess Maud of Wales (Queen of Norway) and King Haakon VII of Norway

Maud with her husband and son; Credit – Wikipedia

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Grandchildren of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine) and Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine

Children of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (Princess of Battenberg, Marchioness of Milford Haven) and Prince Louis of Battenberg (after 1917 Louis Mountbatten 1st Marquess of Milford Haven)

Victoria with her family; Credit – Wikipedia

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Child of Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh (Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine) (both grandchildren of Queen Victoria)

Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, Credit – Wikipedia

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Children of Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Eleanore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine)

Grand Duke Ernst of Hesse and by Rhine with his second wife and their sons; Credit – Wikipedia

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Children of Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia) and Nicholas II, Emperor of All of Russia

Russian Imperial family (circa 1913-1914);  Credit – Wikipedia

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Grandchildren of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia (Duchess of Edinburgh, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)

Children of Princess Marie of Edinburgh (Queen of Romania) and King Ferdinand I of Romania

Queen Marie with her family in 1913: Credit – Wikipedia

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Children of Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh (Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia) and Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia

Victoria Melita with her second husband and their children; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Children of Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh (Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg) and Prince Ernst II of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Alexandra with her children; Credit – Wikipedia

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Children of Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh (Infanta of Spain, Duchess of Galliera) and Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Galliera

Beatrice with her three sons; Credit – Wikipedia

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Grandchild of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein) and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein

Illegitimate Child of Prince Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (mother’s identity has never been revealed)

  • Valerie zu Schleswig-Holstein (1900 – 1953)

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Grandchildren of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (Duchess of Connaught)

Children of Princess Margaret of Connaught (Crown Princess of Sweden) and Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (later King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden)

Margaret with her husband and their four older children; Credit – Wikipedia

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Child of Prince Arthur of Connaught and Princess Alexandra of Fife, 2nd Duchess of Fife (Princess Arthur of Connaught)  (Arthur is a grandson of Queen Victoria and Alexandra is a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.)

Alexandra with her son Alastair; Credit – Wikipedia

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Child of Princess Patricia of Connaught (Lady Patricia Ramsay) and The Honorable Alexander Ramsay

Patricia with her son Alexander; Credit – Wikipedia

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Grandchildren of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (Duchess of Albany)

Children of Princess Alice of Albany (Countess of Athlone) and Prince Alexander of Teck (after 1917 Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone)

Princess Alice with her two surviving children May and Rupert; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

  • Princess May of Teck (after 1917 Lady May Cambridge, after marriage Lady May Abel Smith) (1906 – 1994)
  • Prince Rupert of Teck (after 1917 Rupert Cambridge, Viscount Trematon, hemophiliac) 1907 – 1928
  • Prince Maurice of Teck (born and died 1910)

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Children of Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (deprived of British titles in 1919) and Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein (Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)

Charles Edward and his wife with their four older children in 1918; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Grandchildren of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom (Princess Henry of Battenberg) and Prince Henry of Battenberg

Child of Prince Alexander of Battenberg (after 1917 Alexander Mountbatten, Marquess of Carisbrooke) and Lady Irene Denison (Marchioness of Carisbrooke)

Lady Iris Victoria Beatrice Grace Kemp (née Mountbatten) by Bassano Ltd, whole-plate film negative, 26 November 1934 NPG x151240 © National Portrait Gallery, London

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Children of Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (Queen Ena of Spain) and King Alfonso XIII of Spain

Queen Ena with her children. Photo: Wikipedia

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Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

Born Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia (Friederike Sophie Wilhelmina) in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany, on August 7, 1751, she was the only daughter and the third of the four children of Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia and Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Wilhelmina’s father was the second surviving son of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, the daughter of King George I of Great Britain. August Wilhelm’s elder brother was King Friedrich II (the Great) of Prussia and an elder sister was Louisa Ulrika, wife of King Adolf Frederik of Sweden. Wilhelmina’s uncle Friedrich II of Prussia married her mother’s sister Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Their marriage was childless and Friedrich II was succeeded by Wilhelmina’s eldest brother.

Wilhelmina had three brothers:

At a very young age, Wilhelmina was separated from her parents and raised by her paternal grandmother Queen Dowager Sophia Dorothea. After her grandmother died in 1757, Wilhelmina was raised by her maternal aunt, Queen Elisabeth Christine, the wife of her paternal uncle King Friedrich II (the Great) of Prussia, who lived apart from her husband. When Wilhelmina was seven-years-old, her 35-year-old father died from a brain tumor.

On October 4, 1767, in Berlin, 16-year-old Wilhelmina married 19-year-old Willem V, Prince of Orange, son of Willem IV, Prince of Orange and Anne, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain. The marriage was negotiated at the request of her uncle King Friedrich II.

Willem and Wilhelmina had five children, but only three survived infancy:

Willem and Wilhelmina with their three children (left to right) Friedrich, Wilhelm, and Louise by Pieter le Sage, 1779; Credit – Wikipedia

Wilhelmina was a proud and politically ambitious person. She was King Friedrich II of Prussia’s favorite niece and the two conducted a long-lasting correspondence containing political content. Because of her uncle’s advice, Wilhelmina tried to gain political influence in the Dutch Republic. Wilhelmina dominated her husband and exerted influence in the politics of the Dutch Republic.

In 1783, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolutionary War, there was growing restlessness in the Dutch Republic. A group of revolutionaries called Patriots was challenging Willem V’s authority. In September of 1787, the Patriots were defeated by a Prussian army and many of the Patriots fled to France. In 1793, after the French Revolution, Willem V joined the First Coalition which fought against revolutionary France in 1793. The next year, the Dutch Republic was threatened by invading French armies. In 1795, the revolutionary Patriots, now supported by the French Army, returned and replaced the Dutch Republic with the Batavian Republic which remained in power until 1806.

Wilhelmina in 1789; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem V and his family fled to England where they lived in exile until 1802 in London in the part of Kew Palace known as the Dutch House with the permission of Willem’s first cousin King George III. In 1802, the family went to Germany where they lived in Nassau and Brunswick. Willem spent the rest of his life in exile. During his exile, Willem was viewed quite negatively in both England and the Netherlands. On April 9, 1806, Willem V died at the age of 58 in Brunswick (Germany) and was buried there. On April 29, 1958, after more than 150 years of lying in peace in Brunswick, he was reinterred at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

In 1806, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French created the Kingdom of Holland for his brother Louis and the Batavian Republic came to an end. Aware of the discontent of the Dutch under French rule, Willem V’s son, also named Willem met with Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia to appeal for help in restoring him to rule in the Netherlands. Alexander agreed to help, and following Napoleon’s defeat at Leipzig in 1813, the Dutch provisional government agreed to accept Willem as the first King of the Netherlands.

Wilhelmina’s son King Willem I of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

Wilhelmina survived long enough to see her son become King Willem I of the Netherlands, and she returned to live in the Netherlands in 1814.  She died on June 9, 1820, at the age of 68 at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn where she was buried. In 1831, Wilhelmina was reinterred at the new crypt of the House of Orange at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

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.