Author Archives: Susan

Maria Ana of Portugal, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Maria Ana of Portugal, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal was born on July 13, 1861, at Schloss Bronnbach in Bronnbach, Wertheim am Main in the Grand Duchy of Baden now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.  She was the sixth of the seven children of the deposed King Miguel I of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.

Maria Ana’s siblings were:

Maria Ana grew up mostly in Austria and Germany due to her father’s exile from Portugal. Despite the family’s status as ex-royalty, Maria Ana and her sisters all married well due in large part to the efforts of their mother. Ironically, before her engagement to Guillaume, Maria Ana was slated to become the bride of Protestant Alexander of Orange, the heir to the throne of the Netherlands. Alexander died before the two became officially engaged. She was also considered as a possible bride for Rudolf, the Crown Prince of Austria.

On June 21, 1893, Maria Ana married Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg at Schloss Fischhorn in Zell am See, Austria.  Guillaume was the eldest son of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and his second wife Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau.  Adolphe, formerly the Duke of Nassau, was the first sovereign Grand Duke of Luxembourg from the House of Nassau following Luxembourg’s break from the Netherlands in 1890. Guillaume grew up Protestant among a Catholic majority in Luxembourg. When it came time to find a bride, Guillaume searched for Catholic princesses believing a Catholic land needed a Catholic monarch and he settled on Maria Ana.

The couple had six daughters:

Maria Ana and her family;  Credit – Wikipedia

In 1905, Guillaume succeeded his father as Grand Duke of Luxembourg.  At that time, the succession in Luxembourg was Salic, meaning a woman could not become monarch. When it became clear that Maria Ana would not have further children, Guillaume named his would-be successors the Counts of Merenburg (products of a morganatic union) to be ineligible for the throne. Marie-Adélaïde became her father’s heir, succeeding him as the first sovereign Grand Duchess of Luxembourg in 1912. She abdicated in 1919 in favor of her sister Charlotte, from whom the current Luxembourg grand ducal family descends.

Maria Ana and her daughters in 1920; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Ana served as regent of Luxembourg for her daughter Marie-Adélaïde during Guillaume’s long illness from 1908-1912 and also served as the regent for Marie-Adélaïde during the first few months of her reign. Maria Ana fled the country with her family when the German Army invaded Luxembourg in 1940. She died in New York City on July 31, 1942, of a stomach ailment and was temporarily interred at Calvary Cemetery in Queens in New York City. Her remains were later returned to Luxembourg and buried at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

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.

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Princess Charlotte of Wales

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Princess Charlotte of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

Had Princess Charlotte of Wales survived her grandfather, King George III, and her father, King George IV, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom. During her lifetime, Charlotte was second in the line of succession to the British throne after her father.

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales was born on January 7, 1796, at Carlton House in London, England, the daughter of first cousins George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV) and Caroline of Brunswick.  She was christened on February 11, 1796, in the Great Drawing Room at Carlton House in London, England.

Her godparents were:

The marriage of Charlotte’s parents was a disaster, and they separated soon after her birth.  Charlotte’s childhood was disruptive, and she spent time with her father, mother, and paternal grandparents.  Charlotte grew up to be high-spirited and pleasure-loving.  Her father attempted to arrange a marriage between Charlotte and Willem, Hereditary Prince of Orange (later King Willem II of the Netherlands), but Charlotte was not agreeable to the match.

In 1814, the handsome Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld (after 1826, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) visited London and met Charlotte.  It was love at first sight. Charlotte and Leopold were married on May 2, 1816, in the Crimson Drawing Room at Carlton House, the Prince of Wales’ London home.  Oatlands in Surrey, the country home of Charlotte’s uncle, Prince Frederick, Duke of York, was the site of the honeymoon.  After the honeymoon, the newlywed couple settled at Claremont House near Esher, England, which the British nation had purchased by an Act of Parliament as a wedding gift for Charlotte and Leopold.

Engraving of the marriage between Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte suffered two miscarriages in the early months of her first two pregnancies, but the third pregnancy in 1817 gave Charlotte and Leopold hope.  Charlotte was second in the line of succession and would have succeeded her father, the future George IV, as queen, but on November 6, 1817, a great tragedy struck the British Royal Family.  After a labor of over 50 hours, Charlotte delivered a stillborn son. Several hours later, twenty-one-year-old Princess Charlotte, the only child of George, Prince of Wales, and King George III’s only legitimate grandchild, died of postpartum hemorrhage.

Charlotte was mourned by the British people like the mourning of Diana, Princess of Wales. She was buried in the Royal Tomb House at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle with her stillborn son at her feet. Charlotte’s pregnancy and delivery had been grossly mismanaged by Sir Richard Croft, the doctor in charge, who later died by suicide.  There is a very moving memorial to Charlotte in St. George’s Chapel.  Charlotte’s body is draped as she ascends to heaven along with angels, one of whom carries her stillborn son.

Memorial to Charlotte; Credit – http://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/

Charlotte’s death sent her unmarried uncles into hasty marriages to provide an heir to the throne in the second generation.  By the spring of 1819, King George III had three new grandchildren, and it was the child of his fourth son, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, who would eventually come to the throne as Queen Victoria.

Leopold greatly mourned Charlotte, but his connection with the British Royal Family continued.  He was the uncle of both Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.  Leopold became the first King of the Belgians, having been elected King by the Belgian National Congress on June 4, 1831. On August 9, 1832, he married the French princess, Louise-Marie of Orléans.  Leopold and Louise-Marie had four children, including Leopold’s successor, King Leopold II of the Belgians, and Princess Charlotte, who married Archduke Maximilian of Austria. Charlotte’s marriage was ill-fated.  Her husband became Emperor of Mexico, but was executed by a firing squad after a three-year reign.

King Leopold I of the Belgians died on December 10, 1865, at the Royal Castle in Laeken, Belgium.  Among his last words were “Charlotte…Charlotte.”  Was he calling to his daughter or his beloved first wife, Princess Charlotte of Wales? King Leopold was buried in the Royal Crypt in the Church of Our Lady in Laeken in Brussels, Belgium.

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 Juliana of the Netherlands

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Queen Juliana of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

Juliana was Queen of the Netherlands from September 4, 1948 to April 30, 1980 when she abdicated in favor of her eldest daughter Beatrix. Born at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands on April 30, 1909, Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Hendrik of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Juliana was christened on June 5, 1909, at the Willemskerk in The Hague, the Netherlands. She was given the names Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina:

Her godparents were:

Juliana and her mother Queen Wilhelmina in 1914; Credit – Wikipedia, United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division

When Juliana was six years old, a small class was formed at Noordeinde Palace so the young princess could be educated with other children. Her classmates were all from Dutch noble families: Baroness Elise Bentinck, Baroness Elisabeth van Hardenbroek, and Jonkvrouwe Miek de Jonge. Juliana continued with this class until the age of eleven when she began studying with private tutors. At the age of 18, Juliana enrolled at Leiden University, where she studied sociology, jurisprudence, economics, history of religion, parliamentary history, constitutional law, and international law. She finished her studies three years later in 1930.

In February 1936, Juliana attended the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. There she met and fell in love with Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, a prince from a minor German royal house. After Queen Wilhelmina had lawyers draft a very detailed prenuptial agreement that specified exactly what Bernhard could and could not do, the couple’s engagement was announced on September 8, 1936. After a civil marriage at The Hague City Hall, a religious marriage was held at the Grote of Sint-Jacobskerk in The Hague on January 7, 1937. Before the wedding, Bernhard had been granted Dutch citizenship and changed the spelling of his name from German to Dutch, and on his wedding day, he became His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.

Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard after their engagement; Credit – Wikipedia

Juliana and Bernhard had four daughters:

 

During World War II, three days after Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, the Dutch Royal Family left for London, England. One month later, Juliana and her daughters Beatrix and Irene, went to Ottawa, Canada, where they would be safer. Prince Bernhard stayed with Queen Wilhelmina in London during the war, although both made occasional visits to Canada. Juliana’s third daughter Margriet was born while the family was in Canada. On August 2, 1945, the whole family returned to the Netherlands.

Juliana with her mother, husband, and daughters in Ottawa, Canada in 1943; Credit – Wikipedia

After World War II, Juliana served twice as regent (October 14, 1947 – December 1, 1947, and May 14, 1948 – August 30, 1948) due to the ill health of her mother, Queen Wilhelmina. On September 4, 1948, after a reign of nearly 58 years, Queen Wilhelmina abdicated in favor of her daughter, and Juliana became Queen of the Netherlands. Wilhelmina survived until 1962, when she died at the age of 82.

Juliana was a much more relaxed monarch than her mother had been, and this lessened the distance between the royal family and the Dutch people. She often appeared in public dressed like any ordinary Dutch woman, and preferred to be addressed as “Mevrouw” (Dutch for “Mrs.”) rather than her formal “Majesty”. Juliana’s love of bicycling for exercise gave rise to the royal family’s nickname, “the cycling family.”

Queen Juliana riding a bike in 1967; Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Juliana was particularly interested in the problems of developing countries, the refugee problem after World War II, and child welfare. In 1953, the Netherlands suffered its most destructive storm in 500 years. More than two thousand people drowned, and the floodwaters trapped tens of thousands. Queen Juliana quickly visited the areas affected. Outfitted with boots, she comforted the affected people and raised their morale. During her Silver Jubilee in 1973, Queen Juliana donated all the money the National Silver Jubilee Committee raised to organizations that supported children in need around the world.

On January 31, 1980, the birthday of her eldest daughter Beatrix, Queen Juliana announced that she would abdicate in favor of Beatrix on April 30, 1980, her 71st birthday. Juliana indicated she wanted to be styled as Her Royal Highness Princess Juliana. After her abdication, Juliana remained active socially and appeared regularly in public. One of her favorite activities was dining at fine restaurants – a favorite was the Auberge de l’Ill in Illhaeusern in Alsace, France.

 

After 1995, when Juliana’s general health began to decline, she made fewer public appearances. Her last public appearance was in 1998 at the wedding of her grandson, Prince Maurits. In 2001, during a television interview on the occasion of his 90th birthday, Prince Bernhard said that Juliana no longer recognized her family and had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for several years. On Saturday, March 20, 2004, shortly before six o’clock in the morning, Juliana died in her sleep at the age of 94 due to pneumonia, in the presence of her three eldest children.

 

Juliana’s funeral was held on March 30, 2004, at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft. She had requested that the color white be the focus of her funeral, and therefore her daughters dressed in white. Princess Christina, Juliana’s youngest daughter and a talented singer who had studied classical music, beautifully sang the Shaker song “Simple Gifts.”  As Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s familiar Morgenstemning (Morning Mood) played, Prince Bernhard, Queen Beatrix, Princess Irene, Princess Margriet, Princess Christina, and Margriet’s husband Pieter van Vollenhoven followed the casket down the stairs to the royal crypt for the internment. Prince Bernhard survived his wife by eight months, dying at the age of 93 on December 1, 2004.

The access to the royal crypt in the foreground; Credit – By Sander van der Wel from Netherlands – Royal grave tomb and the grave of Willem van Oranje, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28146859

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.

Kingdom of the Netherlands Resources at Unofficial Royalty

February 1915: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer


Not a Lord, but a Lady

Lord Gray

Gray family coat of arms; Photo Credit – http://www.tailoredtoursonline.co.uk

While researching the background of a son of a peer who died in February of 1915, I was perplexed because I could not find out what peerage his father had held. I thought there had been an error, but then I looked more closely at his mother, and sure enough, she was the peer. Most titles have traditionally been created for men with remainder to male heirs. However, some titles are created with special remainders to allow women to inherit them, and these women are peeresses in their own right. Eveleen Smith-Gray, 19th Lady Gray (1841–1918) was the mother of Henry Campbell-Gray, killed in action in February of 1915. Lord/Lady Gray is an old Scottish barony and most Scottish baronies, along with many old English baronies, allow the peerage to pass to the “heirs general,” so females can inherit them.

Lord Gray is a title in the Peerage of Scotland and was created in 1445 for the Scottish diplomat and politician Sir Andrew Gray (c. 1390–1469), who served three Kings of Scotland, James I, James II, and James III.

The Master of Gray trilogy by Nigel Tranter are historical novels based upon the life of Patrick Gray, 6th Lord Gray, a political schemer and diplomat during the reign of the young King James VI of Scotland (later King James I of England).

There have been four female holders of the barony:

Madelina Gray, 16th Lady Gray (1799–1869)
Margaret Murray, 17th Lady Gray (1821–1878)
Eveleen Smith-Gray, 19th Lady Gray (1841–1918)
Ethel Eveleen Gray-Campbell, 21st Lady Gray (1866–1946)

Wikipedia: List of Lord/Lady Gray titleholders

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Timeline: February 1, 1915 – February 28, 1915

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A Note About German Titles

Most of the royals who died in action during World War I were German. 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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February 1915 – Royals/Nobles/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, their name will be linked to that page.

Thomas Knox, Viscount Northland

Francis Tyrrell

Henry Campbell-Gray

Graf Otto von Westarp

Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands; Credit: Wikipedia

Prince Hendrik was the husband of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and, thus far, is the longest-serving Dutch consort. Heinrich Wladimir Albrecht Ernst was born on April 19, 1876, in Schwerin in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.  He was the youngest of the four children of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his third wife, Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

Heinrich had three full siblings:

Heinrich had six half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Princess Auguste of Reuss-Köstritz:

Heinrich had one half-sister from his father’s third marriage to  Princess Anna of Hesse and by Rhine:

  • Duchess Anne (1865 – 1882), unmarried, died in her teens

When Heinrich was seven years old, his father died. After finishing his secondary education in Dresden, he traveled to Greece and the British colonies of India and Ceylon.  Heinrich then joined the Prussian Army and served as a first lieutenant in the Garde-Jäger-Bataillon in Potsdam, Prussia.

In 1900, Heinrich and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands were introduced to each other by their mothers. After spending part of the summer together, they became engaged on October 16, 1900.  The wedding preparations were overshadowed by the deaths of Wilhelmina’s uncle Karl Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, on January 5, 1901, and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom on January 22, 1901.

The couple was married on February 7, 1901, at the Grote of Sint-Jacobskerk in The Hague in the Netherlands.  Following the wedding, Heinrich became a Prince of the Netherlands and took the Dutch version of his name, Hendrik. Wilhelmina decreed that the Dutch royal house would remain the House of Orange-Nassau and not change to the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.  Although the marriage was peaceful, Hendrik and Wilhelmina grew apart due to her religious mysticism and his unfaithfulness and frustrations over his lack of an official role in the Netherlands.

Queen Wilhelmina & Prince Hendrik on their wedding day: Credit – Wikipedia

Wilhelmina had no surviving siblings at the time of her marriage, and the fear that the Dutch throne would pass to a German prince made it imperative that she provide herself with an heir. The couple’s only child, the future Queen Juliana, was born on April 30, 1909, to her parents’ great relief.  Wilhelmina had several miscarriages before and after Juliana’s birth, as well as a stillborn child.

Juliana in 1910; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Throughout his marriage, Hendrik was plagued by financial problems.  He received no subsidy from the Dutch treasury, instead, he received an annual sum of 100,000 guilders from his wife. His activities and pastimes cost money, and he was expected to financially support charities and provide funds to his impoverished family in Germany.  In addition, there was money Hendrik had to give to his mistresses who bore him illegitimate children.  Dutch historian Gerald Aalders has said Prince Hendrik had eight known illegitimate children.  After Hendrik’s death, Queen Wilhelmina continued to compensate the mothers of his illegitimate children.

Hendrik held various honorary appointments in the armed forces and served on the Council of State, but his wife kept him out of all political matters. He deeply regretted his rather insignificant position and said, “It’s not nice when you always want some more bacon and all that’s ever left is beans.”

Prince Hendrik had a great interest in the social and economic life in the Netherlands. He oversaw the merger of the two scouting organizations to create De Nederlandse Padvinders (The Netherlands Pathfinders), an organization that still receives royal patronage.  He was chairman of the Dutch Red Cross and in 1928 he opened the Olympic Games in Amsterdam.

Funeral of Prince Hendrik; Credit – Wikipedia

During the last years of his life, Hendrik’s health quickly deteriorated. His arthritis worsened, he gained much weight, and he suffered his first heart attack in 1929. The second heart attack followed on June 28, 1934. During the afternoon of July 3, 1934, while in his office, Prince Hendrik died at the age of 58 of cardiac arrest. As per his wishes, he had a white funeral and was buried in the crypt at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

The access to the royal crypt in the foreground; Credit – Wikipedia by Sander van der Wel from the Netherlands

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.

Kingdom of the Netherlands Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Prince Claus of the Netherlands, husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Prince Claus of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Claus of the Netherlands was the husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Klaus-Georg Wilhelm Otto Friedrich Gerd von Amsberg was born on September 6, 1926, at Haus Dötzingen, his family’s estate near Hitzacker, Germany. He was the only son of the seven children of Klaus von Amsberg, a member of the German Niederer Adel (lower nobility), and Baroness Gösta von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen.

Claus had six sisters:

  • Sigrid von Amsberg (born 1925), married in 1952 to Bernd Jencquel, had children
  • Rixa von Amsberg (born 1927 – 2010), married to Peter Ahrend, no children
  • Margit von Amsberg (born 1930 – 1988), married in 1964 to Ernst Grubitz, had children
  • Barbara von Amsberg (born 1930), married in 1963 to Günther Haarhaus, had children
  • Theda von Amsberg (born 1939), married in 1966 to Baron Karl von Friesen, had children
  • Christina von Amsberg (born 1945), married in 1961 to Baron Hans Hubertus von der Recke, had children

In 1928, the family moved to the former German colony of Tanganyika (later Tanzania), where his father was the manager of a coffee and sisal plantation. In 1933, Claus and his sisters were sent to live with their maternal grandmother in Lower Saxony, Germany. He attended the Friderico-Francisceum-Gymnasium in Bad Doberan, Germany from 1933 to 1936 and a German boarding school in Lushoto, Tanganyika from 1936 to 1938.

In 1938, Claus and his mother moved back to Germany and he attended Balt Schule, a boarding school in Misdroy, Pomerania, Germany (now in Poland). Claus then moved back with his maternal grandmother in 1943 and again attended the Friderico-Francisceum-Gymnasium. He joined the German Youth and later, the Hitler Youth.  Membership in both organizations was compulsory for eligible boys.

Claus was drafted into the German Wehrmacht in 1944. He trained with an armored division from August 1944 – March 1945. Claus then became a soldier in the German 90th Panzergrenadier Division in Italy in March 1945 but was taken as a prisoner of war by the American forces at Merano, Italy before taking part in any fighting. Claus was sent to a prisoner of war camp at Ghedi, Italy where he worked as an interpreter and a driver. In September 1945, he was sent to Camp Latimer, an American internment camp in England, and again served as an interpreter. In December of 1945, Claus was released and returned to his birthplace Hitzacker, Germany.

Claus was able to finish his secondary education in Lüneburg, Germany, and studied law at the University of Hamburg, graduating in 1952. After an internship in the United States and for a short period at a law firm, where he worked with the restitution of Jewish Germans in West Germany, he chose a new direction, diplomacy. He passed the necessary exams and worked in the West German embassies in the Dominican Republic and the Ivory Coast. In 1963, Claus went to work in the West German capital of Bonn at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Section for Economic Relations with Africa south of the Sahara.

On New Year’s Eve in 1962, Claus met Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, the heir to the Dutch throne, at a party with friends in Bad Driburg, Germany. The couple met again at the wedding-eve party of Princess Tatjana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse, in June 1964. Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg acted as a go-between for the couple and did much to strengthen their relationship.

On May 1, 1965, a photographer took a photo of the couple in the garden of Drakensteyn Castle in the Netherlands and their relationship became public. The fact that he was a German national, had been a member of the Hitler Youth, and had served in the Wehrmacht caused great controversy among the Dutch people. Among other protests, orange swastikas were painted on walls around Amsterdam as an ugly association between the House of Orange and Germany’s Nazi past. Queen Juliana gave her permission to the marriage although she seriously considered not allowing it. The Dutch parliament debated long and vehemently about the proposed marriage. Only after the historian Loe de Jong had established that Claus was not to blame for any war crimes, was the marriage approved. On December 10, 1965, Claus received a Dutch passport and on February 16, 1966, his name was officially changed to Claus George Willem Otto Frederik Geert van Amsberg.

 

Claus and Beatrix were married on March 10, 1966, at the Westerkerk, a large church In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, just down the street from the building where Dutch Jewish teenager Anne Frank hid during World War II. The ride to and from the church was disrupted by riots with smoke bombs and firecrackers. According to some newspapers, there were about a thousand rioters chanting “revolution” and “Claus get out”. Claus was granted the style and titles His Royal Highness Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Jonkheer van Amsberg.

 

After their marriage, Claus and Beatrix lived at Drakensteyn Castle and Claus began to learn Dutch. In the first year of his marriage, Claus kept in the background. The first time he was the center of attention was when he came to register the birth and name of his eldest son at the Utrecht city hall and then gave a short televised speech to the Dutch people.

Claus and Beatrix had three sons:

  • King Willem-Alexander (born 1967) married Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, had three daughters
  • Prince Friso (1968 – 2013) married Mabel Wisse Smit, had two daughters
  • Prince Constantijn (born 1969) married Laurentien Brinkhorst, has two daughters and a son

 

Over the years, Claus became accepted by the Dutch public, and during the last part of his life, he was considered the most popular member of the Dutch Royal Family. Claus remained fascinated by Africa and was appointed Chairman of the National Commission for Development Strategy, a publicity organization for the development of the African policy of the government. On April 30, 1980, Queen Juliana abdicated and Beatrix became Queen. The family moved to Huis ten Bosch, a royal palace in The Hague. On June 10, 1981, Claus was appointed regent in case Queen Beatrix died before their eldest son reached his 18th birthday.

 

Claus suffered from various health issues. In 1982, Claus was diagnosed with depression and spent some time in the hospital. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991. Claus underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer in 1998, but the radiation for the cancer caused urinary tract problems. In 2001, a kidney was removed and he had problems with the other kidney. Respiratory infections kept him in the hospital during the spring of 2002, shortly after the wedding of his eldest son Willem-Alexander.

Credit – “Funeral of Prince Claus by Looi from nl. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

On August 9, 2002, he had a coronary angioplasty. Prince Claus, aged 76, died on October 6, 2002, at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands from Parkinson’s disease and pneumonia. He was buried in the crypt at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

The access to the royal crypt in the foreground; Credit – By Sander van der Wel from Netherlands – Royal grave tomb and the grave of Willem van Oranje, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28146859

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.

Kingdom of the Netherlands Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Princess of Wales

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Princess of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg, the second youngest of the sixteen children of Friedrich II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalene Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst, was born on November 30, 1719, in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, now in Thuringia, Germany.

Augusta had fifteen siblings:

  • Sophie (1697 – 1703), died in childhood from smallpox
  • Friedrich III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1699 – 1772), married Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen, had nine children
  • Wilhelm (1701 – 1771), married Anna of Holstein-Gottorp, no children
  • Karl Frederick (1702 – 1703), died in infancy from smallpox
  • Johann August (1704 – 1767), married Luise Reuss of Schleiz, widow of his brother Christian Wilhelm, had two children
  • Christian (born and died 1705), died in infancy from smallpox
  • Christian Wilhelm (1706 – 1748), married Luise Reuss of Schleiz, no children
  • Ludwig Ernst (1707 – 1763), Munster Lieutenant General
  • Emanuel (1709 – 1710), died in early childhood
  • Moritz (1711 – 1777), regent in Saxony-Eisenach, Hesse-Kassel Lieutenant General
  • Sophie (born and died 1712), died in infancy
  • Karl (1714 – 1715), died in infancy
  • Fredericka (1715 – 1775), married Johann Adolf II, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, had five children
  • Magdalena Sibylle (born and died 1718), died in infancy
  • Johann Adolf (1721 – 1799), married morganatically Marie Maximiliane Elisabeth Schauer, had three children

In 1736, at the age of 16, and still very young for her age, clutching a doll, and knowing no English, Augusta arrived in England for her marriage to Frederick, Prince of Wales, the son and heir of King George II of Great Britain.  On May 8, 1736, after having dinner with Frederick and his siblings, Augusta was led up the aisle of the Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace by her future brother-in-law William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, to marry her 29-year-old groom.

The newlyweds were strictly controlled by Frederick’s parents who did not allow them to set up their own household.  Augusta only spoke German and a little French, so a tutor was arranged to teach her English.  Because she was so lonely, her old governess was brought to England to keep her company.  Having been brought up as a Lutheran, Augusta had misgivings about receiving communion in the Church of England.  She was only persuaded to do so when her mother-in-law threatened to annul her marriage and send her back home.

Family of Frederick, Prince of Wales painted in 1751 after the prince’s death; Photo Credit – Wikipedia Front row: Henry, William, Frederick; Back row: Edward, George, Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales holding Caroline Matilda, Elizabeth, Louisa

Frederick and Augusta had nine children including King George III who succeeded his grandfather King George II and Caroline Matilda, Queen Consort of Denmark whose marriage was a tragic story.

During Augusta’s first pregnancy in 1737, King George II and Queen Caroline demanded to be present at the birth, but Frederick would not hear of it.  Augusta and Frederick were at Hampton Court Palace having dinner with Frederick’s parents when Augusta went into labor.  Frederick and Augusta took a bumpy carriage ride to St. James’ Palace to prevent the grandparents from being present at the birth.  Afterward, the king ordered them to leave St. James’ Palace and they moved to Kew Palace.  The queen paid a visit to Frederick and Augusta before they left St. James’ Palace and expressed a wish that she never see them again.  Queen Caroline got her wish as she died several months later without reconciling with her son and daughter-in-law.

After Queen Caroline’s death, the couple’s life was somewhat less tense and despite several fleeting affairs, Frederick was a good husband and father.  In early 1751, Frederick’s health began to be a concern, and on March 31, 1751, he died at the age of 44.  His death was attributed to a burst abscess in his lung, but a ruptured aneurysm seems more likely.

At the time of Frederick’s death, his 32-year-old widow was pregnant with her ninth child.  Augusta spent her years as a widow raising her nine children and improving the gardens at Kew Palace, a world-class botanical garden today.  Her eldest son George succeeded his grandfather as king in 1760.  Augusta died of throat cancer on February 8, 1772, at the age of 52, and was buried at Westminster Abbey.

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Queen Victoria’s Children and Grandchildren

Queen_Victoria_Prince_Albert_and_their_nine_children

Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their nine children in 1857; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

QUEEN VICTORIA OF THE UNITED KINGDOM (1819-1901) MARRIED (1840) PRINCE ALBERT OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA (1819-1861)

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children and 42 grandchildren. Their grandchildren sat upon the thrones of Germany/Prussia, Greece, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom as monarchs or consorts. Today Victoria and Albert’s descendants include the monarchs of Denmark, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The links on the names below are links to an article about that person here at Unofficial Royalty. The links on “had issue” are links to the listing of the issue from Wikipedia. The “had issue” are, of course, Queen Victoria’s great-grandchildren.

1) Victoria, Princess Royal (1840-1901) married (1858) Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia (1831-1888)

Prussian Family; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

2) King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (1841-1910) married (1863) Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1844-1925)

 

3) Princess Alice (1843-1878) married (1862) Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (1837-1892)

Hessian_family_in_1876

Hesse and by Rhine family in 1876; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

4) Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1844-1900) married (1874) Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia (1853-1920)

Duchess_of_Edinburgh_with_her_children

Duchess of Edinburgh with her children; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

5) Princess Helena (1846-1923) married (1866) Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1831-1917)

SchleswigHolsteinchildren2

Photo Credit – royal-splendor.blogspot.com

6) Princess Louise (1848 -1939) married (1871) John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll (1845-1914)

Princess_Louise_and_Lorne_engagement

Princess Louise and her husband at the time of their engagement; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

  • No children

7) Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (1850-1942) married (1879) Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (1860-1917)

ArthurConnaughtfamille

Connaught Family in 1893; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

8) Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (1853-1884) married (1882) Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1861-1922)

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany; Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone by Hills & Saunders albumen cabinet card, 1883 NPG Ax5552 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany; Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, by Hills & Saunders, albumen cabinet card, 1883. NPG Ax5552 © National Portrait Gallery, London

9) Princess Beatrice (1857-1944) married (1885) Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858-1896)

Princess_Beatrice_with_children

Princess Beatrice with her children in 1900

Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Photo Credit – “Carl Johan Bernadotte 2010” by Atlantic Chef – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Prince Carl Johan Arthur of Sweden, Duke of Dalarna was born on October 31, 1916, at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. At the time of his birth his parents, the future King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught, were the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden. Carl Johan’s mother was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and therefore a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Carl Johan was the youngest of his parents’ five children.

Carl Johan had three brothers and one sister:

In 1920, when Carl Johan’s mother was eight months pregnant with her sixth child, she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection developed which killed Crown Princess Margaret, at the age of 38, and her unborn child on May 1, 1920. Three-year-old Carl Johan and his elder siblings were left motherless. In 1923, Carl Johan’s father married Lady Louise Mountbatten, daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg (1917 Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven) and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The couple remained childless and became King and Queen of Sweden in 1950.

In 1935, Carl Johan graduated from the Lundsberg School and then did training in the military. He became a second lieutenant in the Mounted Life Guards Regiment, K 1.  In 1942, he was stationed with an armored regiment and was nicknamed “The Armor Prince.” Carl Johan served in the army reserves from 1945 – 1948. During the same time period, he studied and worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as an attaché in Paris.

Carl Johan in army maneuvers in 1938; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1939, Prince Carl Johan met the recently divorced Swedish journalist Kerstin Wijkmark. When the couple became engaged, Carl Johan asked his grandfather King Gustaf V for permission to marry and the king strongly refused to consent. The couple found it impossible to marry in Sweden. Because of World War II, travel was difficult and the wedding was delayed. The marriage finally took place on February 19, 1946, at the Riverside Church in New York City. Because of the marriage, Carl Johan lost his style and title His Royal Highness Prince of Sweden, and was subsequently styled His Excellency Carl Johan Bernadotte. In 1951, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg created him Count of Wisborg in the Luxembourg nobility.

The couple resided for many years in New York and London. They had no children, but adopted a boy and a girl, who bear the surname Bernadotte but have no styles or titles:

  • Monica Kristina Margaretha Bernadotte (born 1948, adopted in 1951) married 1976 and divorced in 1997 Count Johan Peder Bonde af Björnö, had issue
  • Christian Carl Henning Bernadotte (born 1949, adopted in 1950) married 1980 Marianne Jenny, had issue

After his marriage, Carl Johan had a career as a businessman. He had executive positions with Anglo-Nordic Tractor, Sundstrand International, Sundstrand Deutschland GmbH, Sundstrand International SA, and OSEC Petroleum AG. Eventually, the relationship between Carl Johan’s wife Kerstin and his father King Gustaf VI Adolf improved and Kerstin even wrote a book about her father-in-law in 1967. In 1973, Carl Johan bought a summer home Villa Kungsberga in Bastad, Sweden He also had an apartment in Stockholm and a winter home Villa Varghem at Lund Farm, near Tistad Castle outside Nyköping, Sweden. After a long illness, Kerstin died on September 11, 1987, at the couple’s home in Bastad. She was buried in Bastad and not in the Royal Burial Grounds in Haga.

On September 29, 1988, Carl Johan married Countess Gunnila Wachtmeister af Johannishus, the daughter of Count Nils Wachtmeister af Johannishus and wife Baroness Märta de Geer af Leufsta.

 

Count Carl Johan of Wisborg died on May 5, 2012, at Ängelholm Hospital in Bastad, Sweden at the age of 95. After the funeral service in Bastad, his coffin was taken to the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden where a service of thanksgiving was held. Later that afternoon Carl Johan’s remains were interred at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden.  Members of the Swedish and Danish royal families attended the services. Carl Johan was the uncle of both King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Carl Johan’s wife Countess Gunilla survived her husband by four years, dying on September 12, 2016, at the age of 93.

 

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Prince Bertil of Sweden, Duke of Halland

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

Prince Bertil of Sweden, Duke of Halland; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Bertil of Sweden was born on February 28, 1912, at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. His full name was Bertil Gustaf Oskar Carl Eugén. Except for his first name, which was a new name for the Swedish royals, he was named after the four sons of King Oscar II of Sweden in order of their birth. At the time of his birth his parents, the future King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught, were the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden. Bertil’s mother was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and therefore a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Bertil was the fourth of her parents’ five children. He had three brothers and one sister:

The infant Bertil with his older siblings and parents; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1920, when Bertil’s mother was eight months pregnant with her sixth child, she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection developed which killed Crown Princess Margaret, at the age of 38, and her unborn child on May 1, 1920. Eight-year-old Bertil and four siblings ranging in age from three to fourteen years old were left motherless. In 1923, Bertil’s father married Lady Louise Mountbatten, daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg (1917 Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven) and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The couple remained childless and became King and Queen of Sweden in 1950.

Bertil served as an active naval officer. He trained aboard the torpedo cruiser Eagle in 1928 and the destroyer Nordenskjold in 1929 and then enrolled at the Royal Naval College in 1931. Bertil trained as an officer aboard several ships and was commissioned as an officer in 1934. From 1935-1937, Bertil was an assistant naval attaché in Paris. During World War II, Bertil served as a torpedo officer aboard several ships. From 1942 to 1945, he served as an assistant naval attaché in London.

In 1943, when Bertil worked as a naval attaché in London, he met Welsh-born Lilian Craig (born May Lillian Davies) who was married to Scottish actor Ivan Craig. Bertil and Lilian soon became a couple, but their relationship remained a secret to the public for a long time. Craig was serving in World War II and when he returned home in 1945, the couple had an amicable divorce. In 1947, Bertil’s elder brother Prince Gustaf Adolf, who was second in the line of succession, died in a plane crash. Prince Gustaf Adolf’s son Carl Gustaf was less than a year old and now was number two in the line of succession. It seemed likely that Bertil might need to serve as Regent as all the other princes had given up their place in the succession because of unacceptable marriages. For this reason, Bertil decided not to marry Lilian. Instead, they discreetly lived together for more than 30 years. Bertil never did become Regent and his nephew Carl Gustaf succeeded his 90-year-old grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1973. King Carl XVI Gustaf, who had married a commoner himself, approved the marriage of Bertil and Lilian. The couple married on December 7, 1976, at the Drottningholm Palace Chapel in the presence of the king and the queen. Bertil and Lilian had no children.

 

The 1980 Act of Succession stated that only the descendants of King Carl XVI Gustaf may inherit the throne. However, a special case was made for Bertil and he became third (and, after the birth of Princess Madeleine in 1982, fourth) in line to the throne.

Prince Bertil, aged 84, died on January 5, 1997, at his home, Villa Solbacken in Djurgården, Sweden, after several years of declining health. He was buried at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden. Princess Lilian survived her husband for sixteen years, dying on May 10, 2013, at the age of 97.

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.