Category Archives: Current Monarchies

Accession to the Throne – Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Throne Room in the Royal Palace of Madrid; Credit – Wikipedia

The last accession to the Spanish throne occurred when King Juan Carlos I abdicated in favor of his son King Felipe VI on June 19, 2014. On June 18, 2014, King Juan Carlos I signed the law granting the abdication which would take effect just after midnight. King Felipe VI was sworn in and proclaimed King of Spain on June 19, 2014, in a ceremony in the Palacio de las Cortes in Madrid Spain, the meeting place of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales, the Spanish legislature. After the abdication, the former king and his wife retained their titles, His Majesty King Juan Carlos and Her Majesty Queen Sofia.

History

A tapestry showing the wedding of Isabella and Ferdinand; Credit – Wikipedia

The crowns of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon were united for hereditary purposes by the 1469 marriage of their monarchs, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Although some consider this union as the formation of the Kingdom of Spain, the two kingdoms continued to exist separately for more than two centuries. It was not until the Nueva Planta Decrees of 1707 and 1716 signed by Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain, that the two kingdoms were formally merged into a single state.

No monarch of Spain or any part of Spain that previously was an independent kingdom has been crowned since King Ferdinand I of Aragon in 1414, Queen Isabella I of Castile in 1474, and Queen Catherine of Navarre in 1494. After the 17th century, all Spanish monarchs were proclaimed and acclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church. Since the 18th century, all Spanish monarchs have been proclaimed before the Cortes Generales, the Spanish legislature. During these ceremonies, the Spanish royal regalia was displayed but not worn.

What Happens?

The Captain General’s Sash

King Juan Carlos placing the red sash of the Captain General of the Armed Forces on his son King Felipe VI

At 9:30 AM on June 19, 2014, in the Audience Room of the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, King Juan Carlos placed the red sash of the Captain General of the Armed Forces on his son King Felipe VI. The new king assumed supreme command of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Several members of the Royal Family, the Minister of Defense, the Chief of the Defense Staff, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and the Director General of the Civil Guard were present.

The Oath Before the Cortes Generales

The Palace of the Cortes, home of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish Legislature, where the Proclamation Ceremony took place; Credit – De Luis García, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73304264

Title 2 Article 61 of the Spanish Constitution states that the Spanish monarch “on being proclaimed before the Cortes Generales, shall take an oath to discharge their duties faithfully, to abide by the Constitution and the law and ensure that they are abided by, and to respect the rights of citizens and the Autonomous Communities.”

King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, their elder daughter Infanta Leonor, now heir presumptive to the throne with the title The Princess of Asturias, and their younger daughter Infanta Sofía arrived at the Palace of the Cortes in Madrid, home of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish legislature at 10:30 AM. Regarding Infanta Leonor being the heir presumptive and not the heir apparent, currently, Spain’s succession law is male-preference cognatic primogeniture. This means that Leonor, as the elder of King Felipe’s two daughters, is first in line to inherit the throne, and she is the heir presumptive. However, if her parents have a son, which seems unlikely at this point, he would be the heir apparent and Leonor would forfeit the title of Princess of Asturias and the other titles to her brother. There have been discussions of changing the succession law to absolute primogeniture, where the eldest child, regardless of gender, inherits the throne, but no legislation has been forthcoming. If Leonor ascends to the throne, she will be Spain’s first queen regnant since Queen Isabella II, who reigned from 1833 to 1868.

King Felipe VI receives military honors with his wife Queen Letizia and his daughters (left to right) Infanta Sofia and Leonor, Princess of Asturias; Credit – By Ministry of the Presidency. Government of Spain, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33488717

The King, Queen, and their daughters were received by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral General Fernando García Sánchez. They were then given military honors, the national anthem was played and the King reviewed the troops present.

Jesús Posada, President of the Congress of Deputies (left), and Pío García-Escudero Márquez, 4th Count of Badarán, President of the Senate (right) greet the King, the Queen, and their two daughters

At the entrance to the Palace of the Cortes, the King, the Queen, and their two daughters were greeted by Jesús Posada, President of the Congress of Deputies, and Pío García-Escudero Márquez, 4th Count of Badarán, President of the Senate. After entering the Palace of the Cortes through the Puerta de los Leones (Doors of the Lions), used on only solemn occasions, the King, the Queen, and their two daughters were greeted by Francisco Pérez de los Cobos (in Spanish), President of the Constitutional Court, Carlos Lesmes Serrano President of the General Council of the Judiciary, and leaders of the Government.

Members of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate (the upper house) were gathered in the chamber. Former Prime Ministers of Spain, Presidents of the Autonomous Communities, and other government officials were in the guest gallery.

Also present were relatives of King Felipe VI: his mother Queen Sofia, his eldest sister Infanta Elena and her son Felipe de Marichalar, his paternal aunt Infanta Pilar, his paternal aunt Infanta Margarita and her husband Carlos Zurita y Delgado, Duke of Soria, his maternal uncle the former King Constantine II of Greece and his wife Queen Anne-Marie (born a Princess of Denmark), his second cousin once removed Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain, Duke of Calabria and his wife Princess Anne of Orléans. Queen Letizia’s family also attended.

The Spanish Regalia; Credit – Wikipedia

During the ceremony, the Spanish regalia were displayed but not worn. Jesús Posada, President of the Congress of Deputies began by offering thanks to the previous monarch King Juan Carlos and his wife Queen Sofia, and expressed his hopes that the new reign would be fruitful.

King Felipe VI of Spain takes the oath before the Cortes Generales during the proclamation ceremony at the Palacio de las Cortes in Madrid; Credit – Wikipedia

Jesús Posada, President of the Congress of Deputies then proceeded to swear in King Felipe VI, who said the following oath: “I swear to faithfully carry out my duties, to uphold and ensure the upholding of the Constitution and the laws, and to respect the rights of citizens and autonomous communities.”

King Felipe VI giving his speech during the proclamation ceremony

Jesús Posada, President of the Congress of Deputies then made the proclamation: “In compliance with the Constitution, Don Felipe de Borbón y Grecia is hereby proclaimed King of Spain and will reign under the name of Felipe VI. Long live the King! Long live Spain!” After the proclamation, the new King was cheered and the national anthem was played. King Felipe VI then gave a speech to the Cortes General, ending the speech by giving thanks in Spanish, Catalan, Basque, and Galician.

Other Events Relating to the Accession

Left to Right: King Juan Carlos, The Princess of Asturias, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, Infanta Sofia, and Queen Sofia greet wellwishers from the balcony of the Royal Palace

Outside the Palace of the Cortes, a military parade was held in honor of the new King of Spain. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia traveled by car through the streets of Madrid, lined with thousands of people. Upon arriving at the Royal Palace, King Felipe, Queen Letizia, King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, and members of the royal family went out onto the central balcony of the Royal Palace to greet the people. Afterward, King Felipe and Queen Letizia held a reception for 2,000 guests.

During previous proclamations, a crucifix and the Book of the Gospels had been displayed but this was not done during King Felipe VI’s proclamation. The traditional Mass of the Holy Spirit was not celebrated in the Church of San Jerónimo el Real. However, a few days later a Mass was celebrated in the chapel of the Zarzuela Palace, attended by King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, King Juan Carlos, and Queen Sofia.

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

  • Acto de proclamación del rey de España el 19 de junio de 2014. (2014). Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proclamaci%C3%B3n_de_Felipe_VI
  • King Felipe VI calls for “New Spain” as he is sworn in. (2014, June 19). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27918094
  • Spain’s New King Felipe VI swears Oath. (2014, June 19). Syracuse. https://www.syracuse.com/news/2014/06/spains_new_king_felipe_vi_swears_oath.html
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Felipe VI. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2019). Monarchy of Spain. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Spain

Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland, born Amelia FitzClarence, Illegitimate Daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland; Credit – Wikipedia

Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland was born Amelia FitzClarence on March 21, 1807, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. She was the tenth of the ten children and the fifth of the five daughters of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Amelia’s paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress were her maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word  Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Amelia’s parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House, Amelia’s birthplace; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. That one child was named Henry, William IV’s middle name.

Amelia’s nine siblings were:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Amelia and her siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

From 1819 – 1822, Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra was engaged to tutor Amelia and her sister Augusta in the classics and English. In June 1830, Amelia’s father succeeded his brother King George IV as King William IV.

Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland in 1865 after Amelia’s death; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 27, 1830, at the Royal Pavillion in Brighton, England, Amelia married Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland. Lucius, the son of Charles John Cary, 9th Viscount Falkland, who was killed in a duel in 1809, was educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Lucius served in the British Army from 1821 – 1830. Amelia’s father King William IV walked her down the aisle and gave her away. The ceremony was performed by Charles Richard Sumner, Bishop of Winchester and the couple spent their honeymoon at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

Amelia and Lucius had one son who predeceased his father and was childless:

  • William Charles Frederick Cary, Master of Falkland (1831 – 1871), married Sarah Christiana Keighly, no children

Rudby Hall, the home of Amelia and Lucius in the distance; Credit – By Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86032358

Amelia and Lucius lived at Rudby Hall, Hutton Rudby, Skutterskelfe, North Yorkshire, England. In 1839, Lucius inherited the Rudby estate from his aunt Elizabeth Cary who married Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst. There was a house on the site called Leven Grove. Amelia and Lucius had a new house, Rudby Hall, built on the site of the older house.

Lucius served in the House of Lords and on the Privy Council, and had several other positions:

Amelia’s burial site in the southwest corner of the churchyard at All Saints Church in Hutton Rudby; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1853, Lucius and Amelia returned from Bombay, India, and lived in their home in Yorkshire, where Lucius served as a magistrate. Amelia, aged fifty-one, died five years later, on July 2, 1858, at her home Rudby Hall in Hutton Rudby, Skutterskelfe, North Yorkshire, England. She is buried in the southeast corner of the churchyard at All Saints Church in Hutton Rudby.

Inside All Saints Church, there is a memorial plaque for Amelia that says:

This monument is erected in memory of Amelia, the loved and honoured wife of Lucius Bentinck Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland by her husband.
“Death: Ere though shalt stike another fair and wise, and good as she, time shall throw his dart at thee.
She was a daughter of King William the Fourth and the youngest sister of George, 1st Earl of Munster. She was born March 21st 1807 and died July 2nd 1858, aged 51 years.
She is buried in a vault in the southeast corner of the churchyard.

On November 10, 1859, Amelia’s widower Lucius married Elizabeth de Vere Beauclerk, Dowager Duchess of St Albans, born Elizabeth Gubbins, the widow of William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans. Lucius Cary died on March 12, 1884, aged 80, in Montpellier, France where he was buried. He is remembered with a plaque in All Saints Church in Hutton Rudby, where his first wife Amelia is buried.

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

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Lady Amelia FitzClarence Cary (1807-1858) – Find… (2015). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141944091/amelia-cary
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2023). Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Rudby Hall. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Monaco – National Day of Monaco – November 19

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Prince Albert II of Monaco (center window) and the Princely Family of Monaco greeting the citizens of Monaco on November 19, 2010; Credit – Par Santiago Puig Vilado…, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53325247

The National Day of Monaco, also known as the Sovereign Prince’s Day, is celebrated on November 19. It is a celebration of the Sovereign Prince or Sovereign Princess and the people of Monaco.

History

Prince Charles III of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1857, Prince Charles III of Monaco (reigned 1856 – 1889) decided to establish November 4, the feast day of Saint Charles Borromeo, his patron saint, as Sovereign Prince’s Day to reaffirm the sovereignty of the Principality of Monaco. The day was celebrated with a Te Deum, a Latin hymn of praise, in the Church of Saint Nicholas, the first parish church in Monaco, dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of sailors. The Church of Saint Nicholas was on the site of the current Cathedral of Monaco. During the reign of Prince Charles III, other celebrations were added including a procession to the church, the playing of the national anthem in the church, a military parade on Place du Palais, fireworks, a concert, and games.

When Prince Charles III died and was succeeded by his son Prince Albert I (reigned 1889 – 1922), Sovereign Prince’s Day was celebrated on November 15, the feast day of Saint Albert the Great, Prince Albert II’s patron saint. In 1922, when Prince Albert I’s son Prince Louis II (reigned 1922 – 1949) succeeded him, Louis departed from tradition. The feast day of his patron saint, Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France), was celebrated on August 25, during the summer, not an ideal time for celebrations. Instead, Sovereign Prince’s Day was held on January 17, the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great, the patronal saint of his granddaughter Princess Antoinette of Monaco. During the reign of Prince Louis II, the term National Festival began to be used which morphed into National Day.

Prince Louis II was succeeded by his grandson Prince Rainier III (reigned 1949 – 2005). Prince Rainier set National Day on November 19, the feast day of Blessed Rainier of Arezzo. When Prince Rainier III died in 2005, his son and successor Prince Albert II (reigned 2005 – present) decided to keep National Day on November 19 In memory of his father.

Celebrations

 

Celebrations start with a fireworks display over the harbor the night before.

Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene leaving the Cathedral of Monaco

On the morning of November 19, the extended Princely Family of Monaco attends a Te Deum (a Latin hymn of praise) and a Mass at the Cathedral of Monaco. After the Te Deum is sung, the Archbishop of Monaco says a prayer for the Sovereign Prince (or Sovereign Princess) in Latin, currently, Domine, salvum fac princem nostrum Albertum (Lord, Save our Prince Albert). During the prayer, all stand except for the Sovereign, who remains seated.

Princess Caroline of Hanover, Princess Gabriella of Monaco (Albert’s daughter), Princess Charlene of Monaco, Prince Jacques of Monaco (Albert’s son), Princess Stephanie of Monaco (Albert’s sister) and Prince Albert II of Monaco watch the Presentation of Arms at the Cour d’Honneur

Afterward, the Princely Family watches the Presentation of Arms at the Cour d’Honneur, the large horseshoe staircase in the Palace Courtyard at the Prince’s Palace. The Minister of State then conducts ceremonies to award Labor Medals and Medals of Honour.

The military parade

The extended Princely Family gather to watch a military parade on the Place du Palais. After the parade, a cannon salute is given by artillery dating back to the 1600s.

The extended family: Kaia-Rose Wittstock and Bodhi Wittstock, Gareth Wittstock, Sean Wittstock, Camille Gottlieb, Pauline Ducruet, Marie Chevallier, Louis Ducruet, Princess Alexandra of Hanover, Beatrice Borromeo, Francesco Casiraghi, Pierre Casiraghi, Stefano Casiraghi, Raphael Elmaleh, Charlotte Casiraghi, Balthazar Rassam, India Casiraghi, Tatiana Santo Domingo, Maximilian Casiraghi, Sacha Casiraghi and Andrea Casiraghi

The Stade  Louis-II; Credit – By V&A Dudush – Panoramio, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19960683

In the afternoon, a friendly football (soccer) match takes place at the Stade Louis-II.

Princess Caroline of Hanover (Albert’s sister), Prince Albert II of Monaco, Princess Charlene of Monaco, Princess Alexandra of Hanover (Caroline’s daughter), Sean Wittstock (Charlene’s brother) and his wife attend the Gala at the Grimaldi Forum during the Monaco National Day 2023 on November 19, 2023 

In the evening, the annual Monaco National Day Gala Performance by the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra is held at the Grimaldi Forum.

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

  • Contributeurs aux projets Wikimedia. (2021). Fête du prince, fête nationale à Monaco. Wikipedia.org; Fondation Wikimedia, Inc. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%AAte_du_Prince
  • Monaco’s National Day or Sovereign Prince’s Day. (2024). HelloMonaco. https://www.hellomonaco.com/event/monacos-national-day-or-sovereign-princes-day/
  • Monaco’s National Day. (2023). The Royal Watcher. https://royalwatcherblog.com/2023/11/19/monaco-national-day-2023/
  • Monaco National Day Mass & Parade – Royal Attendance (2018-Present). (2022, November 18). Blogspot.com. https://gertsroyals.blogspot.com/2022/11/monaco-national-day-mass-parade-royal.html
  • National Day of Monaco. (2023). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Monaco
  • Palais Princier de Monaco. (2012). National Day celebration. Palais.mc. https://www.palais.mc/en/news/h-s-h-prince-albert-ii/event/2012/november/national-day-celebration-2888.html

Augustus FitzClarence, Illegitimate Son of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Augustus FitzClarence; Credit – By https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1943-0410-637, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=133744989

Augustus FitzClarence was born on February 18, 1802, in London, England. He was the ninth of ten children and the fifth of the five sons of King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Augustus’ paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress, were his maternal grandparents.


Augustus’ parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan; Credit – Wikipedia

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William Henry, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William Henry served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. That one child was named Henry, William IV’s middle name.

Augustus’ nine siblings:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Augustus and his siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

Augustus’ father was determined he serve in the Royal Navy. In 1818, when he was nearly thirteen years old, Augustus joined the crew of the frigate HMS Spartan as a volunteer first class. That same year, Augustus’ father wrote to Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Francis Fremantle, 1st Baron Fremantle requesting that he take on his son. Augustus joined the HMS Rochfort as a Midshipman in 1818. However, by 1821, Adolphus’ naval career ended.

In 1824, Augustus began his studies at Brasenose College, Oxford. Two years later, he transferred to Trinity College, Cambridge. He received an LL.B (undergraduate law degree) in 1832 and an LL.D (doctorate level law degree) in 1835.

Mapledurham Church where Augustus served as Vicar for twenty-five years; Credit – By Chris Wood, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2024448

Augustus was ordained a priest in the Church of England, although it seems he had little training as a clergyman. In 1829, 24-year-old Augustus became Vicar of St. Margaret’s Church in Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, England where he served until he died in 1854. In 1830, Augustus was appointed Chaplain in Ordinary to his father, now King William IV, and in 1831, he was appointed Chaplain to his father’s wife Queen Adelaide. He also served as Chaplain to his first cousin Queen Victoria from 1840 – 1852.

On January 2, 1845, Augustus married Sarah Elizabeth Catharine Gordon (1827 – 1901), a daughter of Major Lord Henry Gordon, a younger son of George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly.

Augustus and Sarah had six children:

  • Dorothea FitzClarence (1845 – 1870), married Thomas Goff, had three children
  • Eva FitzClarence (1847 – 1918), twin of Beatrice, unmarried
  • Beatrice FitzClarence (1847 – 1909), twin of Eva, unmarried
  • Augustus FitzClarence (1849 – 1861), died in childhood
  • Henry FitzClarence (1853 – 1930), married Mary Isabel Templer Parsons, had two children
  • Mary FitzClarence (1854 – 1858), died in childhood

Churchyard at St. Margaret’s Church, Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, England where Augustus is buried; Credit – Oxford Historic Churches Trust

Augustus died in Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, England on June 14, 1854, aged 49. He is buried in the churchyard at St. Margaret’s Church, Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, England. At the time of his death, Augustus’ wife Sarah was pregnant with their last child Mary, born three months after her father’s death. Sarah survived her husband by forty-seven years, dying on March 23, 1901, aged 74.

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

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom.
  • Rev. Lord Augustus FitzClarence. (2023). Geni_family_tree. https://www.geni.com/people/Rev-Lord-Augustus-FitzClarence/6000000003273999244
  • Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lord Augustus FitzClarence. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Norway – Constitution Day, National Day of Norway – May 17

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

The Children’s Parade in Oslo in 2010; Credit – By evelinagustafsson@live.se – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10407995

In Norway, May 17 is Constitution Day and the National Day of Norway. The celebrations focus on Norway as an independent state governed by the rule of law with democratic rights for all. Unlike other countries’ National Days, Norway’s National Day is not celebrated with military parades, but with local children’s parades in which music bands and school children march together.

History

The Norwegian Constituent Assembly meeting at Eidsvoll, Norway in 1814 by Oscar Wergeland; Credit – Wikipedia

The Constitution of Norway was adopted on May 16, 1814, and signed on May 17, 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll, Norway. The constitution declared Norway an independent kingdom in an attempt to avoid being ceded to Sweden after Denmark-Norway‘s defeat in the Napoleonic Wars. The attempt failed and Norway was part of the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway until 1905.

The first celebration of May 17th took place in Trondheim in 1815, one year after the Constitution was drafted and adopted. The French-born Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte who was elected Crown Prince of Sweden in 1810 by the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament, ruled over Norway and Sweden from 1818 to 1844 as King Karl III Johan of Norway and King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden. He regarded the May 17th celebrations and Norway’s independent Constitution as revolutionary acts against Sweden. In 1828, celebrations of Constitution Day were prohibited. However, his son and successor King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway had a different opinion. Starting in 1845, the year after he became King, Oscar I attended the May 17th celebrations, and greeted the parade from the royal estate, now called the Royal Palace of Oslo.

In Norway, holidays and festivals were often celebrated by parades with banners, music, and singing. Peter Qvam, a school headmaster, came up with the idea of holding a children’s parade, Barnetog (children’s train). In 1869, the first Barnetog was held on May 17th with about 1,200 boys participating. Girls began participating in 1889.

What Happens?

Bunads

Credit – Av Ingen maskinlesbar opphavsperson oppgitt. Leifern er antatt opphavsperson, basert på opplysninger om opphavsrett. – No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=371104

It is common for Norwegians to wear bunads on May 17th. The term bunad refers to clothes designed in the early 20th century, loosely based on traditional costumes. Bunads are often worn at folk dances, weddings, baptisms, confirmations, Christmas, and graduations.

Children’s Parades

A kindergarten class with their class banner marching in a children’s parade; Credit – By Ranveig Thattai – Ranveig Thattai, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=162695

Children’s parades, Barnetog in Norwegian which translates to children’s train, are organized in  Norwegian communities and many communities where Norwegians live abroad. In Norway, each elementary school district arranges its own parade with marching bands between schools. The children are dressed festively and carry small Norwegian flags. The children’s parades vary in size from tens of people in small villages to several tens of thousands of participants in Oslo, Norway’s capital.

The children’s parades follow certain routes in towns and are organized so that the children walk by class behind their school banner. Many classes also have their own homemade banners. The parade ends with children and adults gathering in a large space where speeches are given. After the speeches, many people join the parade on the march back to the starting point. Some communities also have separate citizens’ trains or people’s trains where everyone can participate.

The Children’s Parade in Oslo going past the Royal Palace in Oslo; Credit – By Morten Johnsen – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1514702

In Oslo, about 70,000 children and adults and 1,700 bands march in the children’s parade. The Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces leads the Oslo children’s parade. The parade passes the Royal Palace where the royal family wave from the palace balcony.

The Royal Family on the Balcony of the Royal Palace in Oslo

Left to Right: Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Queen Sonja, and King Harald V wave Norwegian flags from the balcony of the Royal Palace in Oslo, on May 17, 2021

Each May 17, the Norwegian royal family gathers on the balcony of the Royal Palace in Oslo to greet the Oslo children’s parade. King Haakon VII and Queen Maud began the tradition in 1906 and subsequent monarchs have continued the tradition. There have been two exceptions. Queen Maud’s father King Edward VII of the United Kingdom died on May 6, 1910, and the Norwegian royal family was in mourning and attending the funeral in the United Kingdom. Norway was under German Occupation during World War II from 1940 – 1945. During the occupation, Norwegians were forbidden to celebrate May 17th, participate in parades, or use the colors of the Norwegian flag on clothes.

Crowds gather in front of the Royal Palace during the Norwegian Constitution Day celebrations on May 17, 2014 in Oslo, Norway

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

  • Bidragsytere til Wikimedia-prosjektene. (2005, May 19). Norges nasjonaldag. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/17._mai_(grunnlovsdag)
  • Celebrating May 17th. (2020, May 17). Royalcourt.no. https://www.royalcourt.no/nyhet.html?tid=78630&sek=27262
  • Constitution Day (Norway). (2022). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Day_(Norway)

Lady Augusta Gordon, born Augusta FitzClarence, Illegitimate Daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Lady Augusta Gordon, born Augusta FitzClarence; Credit – Wikipedia

Augusta FitzClarence was born on November 17, 1803, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. She was the eighth of ten children and the fourth of the five daughters of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Augusta’s paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress, were his maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word  Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Augusta’s parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House, Augusta’s birthplace; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide of Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William Henry, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William Henry served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. That one child was named Henry, William IV’s middle name.

Augusta’s nine siblings:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Augusta and her siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

From 1819 – 1822, Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra was engaged to tutor Augusta and her younger sister Amelia in the classics and English. On July 5, 1827, Augusta married The Honorable John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa, and Margaret Erskine. John served as a captain with the 16th Lancers and was appointed an equerry to King William IV in 1830. John Kennedy-Erskine died on March 6, 1831 at the age of twenty-eight. Augusta was pregnant with her third child was born two months after her father died.

Augusta and her three children; Credit – By John Hayter – Art UK, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31416642

Augusta and John had three children:

The widowed Augusta and her children lived in a brick house on the River Thames called Railshead, next door to a house owned by her late husband’s parents. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there and they would often visit the king at Windsor Castle.

Five years after her husband’s death, on August 24, 1836, Augusta married Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton, the third son of George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly and Catherine Cope. Frederick had a career in the Royal Navy and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868, three years after Augusta’s death. Augusta and Frederick did not have any children.

After her second marriage, Augusta continued living at Railshead, next door to her first husband’s parents. They were angered by Augusta’s second marriage and forced Augusta and Frederick to leave Railshead. Augusta asked her father King William IV for help. He gave her apartments at Kensington Palace and the position of State Housekeeper of Kensington Palace, a position held by her recently deceased sister Sophia. Just a few months after Augusta and her family settled at Kensington Palace, her father died on June 20, 1837, and Augusta’s first cousin Queen Victoria came to the throne.

In 1841, Frederick was elected to Parliament for Forfarshire in Scotland and remained in Parliament until 1852. He also served as Deputy Lieutenant for Forfarshire. In 1847, Augusta and Frederick embarked on a three-year trip to Europe, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. When they returned in 1850, they resumed residence at Kensington Palace. On April 17, 1855, Augusta’s daughters married in a double wedding.

On December 8, 1865, at Hallyburton House in Kettins, Angusshire, Scotland, Augusta died at the age of sixty-two. She was buried at Duns Cemetery in Duns, Scotland. Her husband Frederick survived her by nearly thirteen years, dying on September 29, 1878, aged seventy-nine.

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

  • Augusta FitzClarence. (2016). Genealogics.org. https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00024489&tree=LEO
  • Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine… (2020). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/218710689/augusta_kennedy-erskine_gordon-hallyburton
  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lady Augusta Gordon. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Accession, Coronation, Benediction – Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Benediction of King Harald V and Queen Sonja at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim; Credit – Royal House of Norway

A Bit of History

The Kingdom of Norway was established in 872 as a merger of many small kingdoms. During the Kalmar Union from 1397 until 1523, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway were ruled together under one monarch until Danish rule was overthrown in a rebellion led by nobleman Gustav Vasa, who became King Gustav I of Sweden. From 1537 to 1814, Norway was a part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway, and from 1814 to 1905, it was in a personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden.

In 1905, when the union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved, the Norwegian government began searching for candidates to become King of Norway. Prince Carl of Denmark, the second son of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, was the overwhelming favorite because of his descent from prior Norwegian monarchs and the British connections of his wife Princess Maud, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Before accepting, Prince Carl insisted that the voices of the Norwegian people be heard regarding retaining a monarchy. Following a referendum with a 79% majority in favor, Prince Carl was formally offered, and then accepted the throne and reigned as King Haakon VII of Norway until he died in 1957.

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Accession

When the Norwegian Sovereign dies, the accession is automatic. The last Norwegian accession took place on January 17, 1991, when King Olav V died and his son immediately succeeded him as King Harald V. The Constitution of Norway requires the new Norwegian Sovereign to swear an oath before the Storting, the Norwegian legislature. If the Storting is not in session, the new  Sovereign swears the oath before the Council of State and again before the Storting once it is in session.

On January 21, 1991, King Harald V swore an oath during a formal ceremony in the Storting. President of the Storting Jo Benkow read the announcement of King Olav V’s death before King Harald V swore the oath: “I solemnly swear to reign in the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its Constitution and laws, so help me Almighty God.”

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History of Coronations

Coronation of King Karl III Johan of Norway in Nidaros Cathedral 1818; Credit – Wikipedia

The first coronation in Norway occurred in 1163 or 1164, in Bergen, then the capital of Norway, at Christ Church (Old Cathedral).  Christ Church was razed to the ground In 1531, by Eske Bille, a Danish diplomat and statesman, and commander of the Bergenhus Fortress.  Bille was famous for demolishing the churches in Bergen and became known by the nickname “Church Breaker”. Churches and other buildings in Bergen had to be removed to enable a better defense of Bergen and its port. When King Haakon V came to the throne in 1299, Norway’s capital was moved from Bergen to Oslo, which is still Norway’s capital. After 1299, some coronations were held in Oslo but most took place at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.

During the Kalmar Union (1397 to 1523), when a single monarch ruled Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, the monarchs were crowned in all three monarchies. After the Kalmar Union was dissolved, Norway remained unified with Denmark under the King of Denmark until 1814. Throughout the Danish Union, the Kings of Denmark-Norway had one ceremony in Denmark in which the King placed the crown upon his own head and was anointed. During the Swedish Union (1814 – 1905), the 1814 Constitution of Norway required the monarch of Norway to be crowned in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway.

The first King of Sweden-Norway, King Karl II of Norway who was also King Carl XIII of Sweden, never visited Norway and was never crowned. When King Karl III Johan of Norway/King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden ascended the throne in 1818, the coronation at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim continued in accordance with the 1814 Constitution of Norway with him and his successors.

King Haakon VII and Queen Maud seated on their thrones during their coronation in 1906; Credit – By Municipal Archives of Trondheim from Trondheim, Norway – Kroningen i Trondhjem 1906Uploaded by Anne-Sophie Ofrim, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18901728

When the Swedish union was abolished in 1905, and Prince Carl of Denmark was elected King of Norway and reigned as King Haakon VII, he and his wife Queen Maud (born Princess Maud of Wales, the daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) were crowned at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, in accordance with the 1814 Constitution of Norway. So far, this was the last coronation held in Norway.

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A Change

In 1908, just two years after the coronation of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud, the Storting, the Norwegian legislature, repealed the provision in the Constitution of Norway requiring a coronation with only two Storting members voting against the repeal. Many Norwegians felt that a coronation was undemocratic and archaic. Norwegian law does not expressly ban coronations but the Norwegian monarchs since the 1908 repeal have opted for a different ceremony, a benediction.

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History of the Benediction

King Olav V of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

When King Olav V came to the throne in 1957, upon the death of his father King Haakon VII, he desired to have a religious ceremony as he embarked on his roles as King of Norway and the Head of the Church of Norway. Olav proposed a ritual known in Norwegian as Signing til kongsgjerning – Blessing the King for His Reign – a benediction rite. There was and still is no constitutional prohibition against arranging a ceremony for a new monarch of Norway, even a coronation if any future monarch of Norway desires to have one.

King Olav played an active role in developing the Benediction, also called the Consecration. However, Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen and his Government showed little enthusiasm for the Benediction. The Government decided that only three members of the Storting’s Presidium, a committee of six members chaired by the President of the Storting, three members of the Government, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court should attend the Benediction. However, Arne Fjellbu, Bishop of Nidaros sent a letter to all members of the Storting informing them that seating would be reserved for all those who wished to attend. Within a short time, most of the Storting members had accepted the invitation.

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King Olav V’s Benediction – June 22, 1958

King Olav V’s Benediction; Credit – Royal House of Norway

King Olav V’s wife and first cousin, born Princess Märtha of Sweden, sadly died of cancer on April 5, 1954, so Olav came to the throne without a Queen Consort, and he never remarried. For his Benediction, Olav chose the date June 22, 1958, exactly 52 years after the coronation of his parents in the same cathedral, Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. The ceremony was carried live by radio throughout Norway.

Arne Fjellbu, Bishop of Nidaros and Johannes Smemo, Bishop of Oslo, who gave the sermon, officiated at the Benediction. The new ceremony retained some of the religious elements of earlier rites and eliminated elements considered to be undemocratic. There is no law preventing a coronation from occurring so any future monarch of Norway can choose to have one. During the ceremony, the Norwegian royal regalia was displayed but not worn.

Bishop Fjellbu consecrating King Olav V; Credit – Royal House of Norway

King Olav V sat on the 1818 coronation throne in Nidaros Cathedral. Following the sermon, Olav knelt before the high altar. Bishop Fjellbu laid his hand on the king’s head and recited a special prayer of consecration and blessing which formed the climax of the ritual:

Eternal, Almighty God, Heavenly Father, we thank thee whose grace in need has always gone over our land in woeful and good times to this day. Hear, today, our king’s and our prayer. We pray thee, send thy grace to King Olav the Fifth, assist him by thy Spirit and give him wisdom and peace from thee that his reign be a benefit and a blessing on Norway’s land and people. Deceitful and burdensome days will come; may truth and goodness from thee be his power and gladness. Eternal, powerful God, bless our king, be thou always his Lord and his King and grant his House all good days in time and eternity. Amen.

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Benediction of King Harald V and Queen Sonja – June 23, 1991

Benediction of King Harald V and Queen Sonja; Credit – Royal House of Norway

King Olav V died on January 17, 1991, and his son King Harald V succeeded him. King Harald V and his wife Queen Sonja, a commoner,  born Sonja Haraldsen, expressed their desire to both participate in a Benediction ceremony like King Olav V’s. On June 23, 1991, their Benediction ceremony was held at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway, officiated by Finn Wagle, Bishop of Nidaros and Andreas Aarflot, Bishop of Oslo.

King Haakon VII and Queen Maud in 1906 with the Norwegian regalia; Credit – By Peder O. Aune, 1906 Uploaded by Anne-Sophie Ofrim, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23926801

The royal regalia was displayed during the ceremony but not worn. The King’s Crown and the Queen’s Crown were placed on either side of the high altar. The bishops met King Harald V and Queen Sonja as they entered the cathedral. Bishop Wagle greeted King Harald: “May the Lord bless your going in and your coming out now and for evermore.” King Harald V and Queen Sonja proceeded up the aisle and sat in the 1818 coronation thrones.

Bishop Wagle consecrating King Harald V; Credit – Royal House of Norway

After scripture readings and the sermon, King Harald V knelt before the high altar. Bishop Wagle put his right hand on his head and said the consecration prayer which included: “Consecrate King Harald V, strengthen and lead him in his work as King of Norway. Let his service to the people and the Church be a blessing.”

Queen Sonja then came forward and knelt beside King Harald. Bishop Wagle lay his right hand on her head and said: “Let her work be in support of the King’s deed. Help her use abilities and forces for the joy and benefit of Norway’s country and people.”

Bishop Wagle then said a prayer over the kneeling King and Queen and turned and knelt at the high altar as the Royal Anthem, the Kongesangen, was sung:

God bless our good king!
Bless him with strength and courage
bless home and castle!
Guide him with your Spirit,
Forge with your strong Hand
Holy bonds of allegiance
Around people and king!

Loudly pledge men of Norway
Each in his calling, his station,
Loyalty to his king.
Loyal in life and death,
Courageous in war and distress,
Always our Norway obeyed
God and its king.

Bishop Wagle said a final blessing over the kneeling King and Queen: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you. Amen.” The Lord Chamberlain then came forward as the King and Queen rose, and conducted them back to their coronation thrones.

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

  • Accession of the New Monarch in 1991. (2016). Royalcourt.no. https://www.royalcourt.no/nyhet.html?tid=131423&sek=27262
  • Consecration. (2011). Royalcourt.no. https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=35248&sek=35247
  • The Consecration of King Harald and Queen Sonja. (2013). Royalcourt.no. https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=28733&sek=27278
  • The Consecration of King Olav V. (2007). Royalcourt.no. https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=35246&sek=35244
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Coronations in Norway. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Monarchy of Norway. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Adolphus FitzClarence, Illegitimate Son of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Adolphus FitzClarence as a young Royal Navy officer; Credit – Wikipedia

Adolphus FitzClarence was born on February 18, 1802, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. He was the fifth of the ten children and the third of the five sons of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Adolphus’ paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress, were his maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word  Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Adolphus’ parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House, Adolphus’ birthplace; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William Henry, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William Henry served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. That one child was named Henry, William IV’s middle name.

Adolphus’ nine siblings:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Adolphus and his siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

After attending a boarding school in Sunbury-on-Thames, England, in 1812, twelve-year-old Adolphus joined the Royal Navy, where he had a career and attained the rank of Rear Admiral. He first served on the HMS Impregnable, the flagship of his father, then The Duke of Clarence, who also had a naval career. The HMS Impregnable was involved in the Napoleonic Wars (1803 – 1815). Adolphus then served as a Midshipman aboard the HMS Newcastle which participated in the War of 1812. The HMS Newcastle captured an American privateer en route to the United States and participated in the blockade of the 44-gun frigate USS Constitution in Boston harbor. In April 1821, Adolphus was commissioned as a Lieutenant and transferred to the HMS Euryalus. After being promoted to Commander in 1823, Adolphus served aboard the HMS Brisk and HMS Redwing in the North Sea. In December 1824, Adolphus was promoted to Captain. He received his first command in 1826, becoming Captain of HMS Ariadne. In 1827, he commanded HMS Challenger, and in 1828, HMS Pallas.

When his father King William IV acceded to the throne in 1830, Adolphus was given command of the Royal Yacht HMY Royal George. The same year, his father appointed him Groom of the Robes and in 1833, he was appointed Lord of the Bedchamber. In 1837, his father died and his Adolphus’ first cousin Queen Victoria came to the throne. Victoria allowed Adolphus to keep the command of the Royal Yacht. In her diary, Queen Victoria recorded that upon hearing he would keep the command, Adolphus burst into tears and said that this was unexpected and that he had not hoped for it. He held the command of the Royal Yacht until his promotion to Rear-Admiral of the Blue in 1853. In 1848, Adolphus became Naval Aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria.

Posthumous portrait of Adolphus wearing an admiral’s hat by Rosa Koberwein; Credit – Wikipedia

Fifty-four-year-old Adolphus FitzClarence suffered a paralytic seizure on or a few days before May 17, 1856, and died unmarried on May 18, 1856, at Newburgh Priory in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, England, the home of Sir George Orby Wombwell, 4th Baronet. He was buried in a vault under the chancel of St. Michael’s Church in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, England. Adolphus’ assets were not enough to pay his debts and funeral expenses. Queen Victoria wrote in her diary on May 19, 1856, “Poor Ld Adolphus FitzClarence of whose paralytic seizure we heard on the 17th, died yesterday evening. We are truly sorry as he was very good natured & kind hearted, but he positively killed himself by living too well. He was only 54, although he looked quite 10 or 12 years older.”

Memorial to Adolphus erected by “a few sincere friends and relatives at St. Michael’s Church in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, England; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

  • Autoren der Wikimedia-Projekte. (2007). Britischer Offizier der Royal Navy. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolphus_FitzClarence
  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Rear Admiral Lord Adolphus FitzClarence … (2017). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186168309/adolphus-fitzclarence
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lord Adolphus FitzClarence. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Adolphus_FitzClarence
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2023). St. Michael’s Church. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Michael%27s_Church

Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll, born Elizabeth FitzClarence, Illegitimate Daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll; Credit – Wikipedia

Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll was born Elizabeth FitzClarence, the sixth of the ten children and the third of the five daughters of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, on January 17, 1801, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Elizabeth’s paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress were her maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word  Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Elizabeth’s parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House, Elizabeth’s birthplace; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. The tenth child was given William’s middle name Henry.

Elizabeth’s nine siblings:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but he ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Elizabeth and her siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

Elizabeth’s husband William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 4, 1820, nineteen-year-old Elizabeth married another nineteen-year-old, William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, the son of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll and Alice Eliot. William became the 18th Earl of Erroll when his father died on January 26, 1819. The Earls of Erroll held and still hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable of Scotland and the hereditary title of Chief of Clan Hay.

Elizabeth and William had four children:

Elizabeth’s husband William had several appointed and political positions. In 1823 he was elected a Scottish representative peer and took his seat in the House of Lords. He was Master of the Horse to Queen Adelaide from 1830 to 1834. In 1831 he became a member of the Privy Council. He served as Master of the Buckhounds, a political position, from 1835 to 1839. From 1839 to 1841, William was Lord Steward of the Household. William was also Knight Marischal of Scotland from 1832 to 1846 and Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire from 1836 to 1846.

St. Mary’s Church, Wimbledon by John Salmon, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=128451986

William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, aged forty-five, died of diabetes complications, on April 19, 1846, in London, England. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, Greater London. Elizabeth survived her husband by a little less than ten years, dying on January 16, 1856, aged 54, in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was buried with her husband at St. Mary’s Church in Wimbledon.

Elizabeth’s entry at www.findagrave.com gives an account of her death from the London Evening Standard, 17 Jan 1856, page 2. Several relatives are mentioned in the article:

  • Mr. J Duff was James Duff, Elizabeth’s son-in-law, in 1857, he became the 5th Earl Fife after his childless uncle James Duff, 4th Earl Fife died
  • Lady Agnes Duff was Elizabeth’s daughter, the wife of James above
  • Lady Mary Fox was Elizabeth’s sister, born Mary FitzClarence
  • The Earl of Erroll was Elizabeth’s son William Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll
  • Lady Augustus FitzClarence was Elizabeth’s sister-in-law, born Sarah Gordon, the wife of Elizabeth’s brother Lord Augustus FitzClarence
  • Viscount Campden was Elizabeth’s son-in-law, later Charles Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough. Viscount Campden was the courtesy title of the heir of the Earl of Gainsborough
  • Viscountess Campden was Elizabeth’s daughter Ida, later Countess of Gainsborough,  wife of Charles Noel above

DEATH OF THE COUNTESS DOWAGER OF ERROLL

We regret to announce the death of the Countess Dowager of Erroll, daughter of the late King William IV and Ms Jordan. The melancholy event took place at five minutes to eleven o’clock yesterday forenoon at Edinburgh, being at the time her ladyship was on her way south to hasten to the sick bed of her brother, Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence.

The deceased countess had left Mr J. Duff, M.P., and Lady Agnes Duff’s seat in the north of Scotland, and on Saturday last stayed at Wemyss Castle, Dysart, and reached Edinburgh on Tuesday, where her ladyship was taken very unwell. The symptoms became alarming, and Lady Mary Fox, and the other relatives, received a telegraphic message early on Monday morning, conveying the intelligence that the countess was lying in a very dangerous state. Lady Mary Fox left town by the express train on Tuesday evening, and had the consolation of being with her sister at her dissolution, which happened at the hour before named without any apparent paint. We believe the countess died from congestion of the brain. Lady Augustus Fitzclarence, her sister-in-law, and Lady Agnes Duff were, among the other members of the family, present at her death, and the Earl of Erroll and Viscount and Viscountess Campden were also sent for when her ladyship was considered in imminent danger.

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

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Lady Elizabeth Fitzclarence Hay (1801-1856) -… (2015). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/153734491/elizabeth-hay
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2018). Elizabeth Hay. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Hay
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2022). William Hay. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hay

Spain – Princess of Asturias Awards – Mid to Late October

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

2015 Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony at the Teatro Campoamor, a performing arts theater in Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias in Spain; By Ruben Ortega – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44642313

The Princess of Asturias Awards (or the Prince of Asturias Awards if the heir to the throne is male) are annual monetary prizes awarded by the Princess of Asturias Foundation (or the Prince of Asturias Foundation if the heir is male) in mid to late October. The prizes are awarded in several categories.

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Who is the Prince or Princess of Asturias?

Leonor, Princess of Asturias; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince or Princess of Asturias is a title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of the Kingdom of Spain. The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community and province in northwest Spain. The title originated in 1388 when King Juan I of Castile granted the title and the jurisdiction over the territory of Asturias to his first-born son, the future King Enrique III of Castile.

The current holder of the title is Infanta Leonor of Spain (born on October 31, 2005), the elder of the two daughters of King Felipe VI of Spain. Leonor is the heir presumptive to the Spanish throne. Infante (male) and Infanta (female) is the title given in Spain (including the former Kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and in the former Kingdom of Portugal to the sons and daughters of the reigning monarch.

Currently, Spain’s succession law is male-preference cognatic primogeniture. This means that Leonor, as the elder of King Felipe VI’s two daughters, is first in line to inherit the throne, and she is the heir presumptive. However, if her parents have a son, which seems unlikely at this point, he would be the heir apparent and Leonor would forfeit the title of Princess of Asturias to her brother. There have been discussions of changing the succession law to absolute primogeniture, where the eldest child, regardless of gender, inherits the throne, but no legislation has been forthcoming. If Leonor ascends to the throne, she will be Spain’s first queen regnant since Queen Isabella II, who reigned from 1833 to 1868.

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What are the Princess of Asturias Awards?

King Felipe VI as Prince of Asturias giving a speech at the creation of the Prince of Asturias Foundation in 1980; Credit – Facebook page of the Princess of Asturias Foundation

The Princess of Asturias Awards are given to individuals, entities, and organizations from around the world who made notable scientific, technical, cultural, social, and humanistic achievements. Spanish journalist Graciano García, who was born in Asturias, originated the idea of the awards to establish a link between the Principality of Asturias and the heir to the Spanish throne, who holds the title of Prince or Princess of Asturias, as well as rewarding scientific, technical, cultural, social, and humanistic accomplishments. The Prince of Asturias Awards were established on September 24, 1980, with the creation of the Prince of Asturias Foundation, in a ceremony presided over by King Felipe VI of Spain, then Prince Felipe, Prince of Asturias, the heir to the throne of Spain, in the presence of his parents King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia.

In 2014, after King Felipe VI acceded to the Spanish throne when his father King Juan Carlos I abdicated, it was announced that the foundation and the awards would be renamed using “Princess of Asturias” to reflect the new heiress presumptive to the Spanish throne, Leonor, Princess of Asturias. Beginning in 2019, Leonor attended the awards ceremony, handed out the awards, and delivered a speech. However, King Felipe VI continued to preside over the awards ceremony until Leonor turned 18 on October 31, 2023.

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What are the categories of the Princess of Asturias Awards?

Currently, the Princess of Asturias Awards have eight categories. Click on this link, Wikipedia: Categories and Laureates, to see all the winners, who come from all over the world.

  • Award for Communication and Humanities: Awarded since 1981, “aimed at the work of cultivating and perfecting the sciences and disciplines considered as humanistic activities and those related to the mass media in all its expressions.”
  • Award for Social Sciences: Awarded since 1981, “aimed at creative and/or research work in history, law, linguistics, pedagogy, political science, psychology, sociology, ethics, philosophy, geography, economics, demography and anthropology, as well as the disciplines corresponding to each of these areas.”
  • Award for the Arts: Awarded since 1981, “dedicated to the work of cultivating and perfecting cinematography, theatre, dance, music, photography, painting, sculpture, architecture and other artistic manifestations.”
  • Award for Literature: Awarded since 1981, “dedicated to the work of cultivating and perfecting literary creation in all its genres.”
  • Award for Scientific and Technical Research: Awarded since 1981, “aimed at the work of cultivating and perfecting research, discovery and/or invention in mathematics, astronomy and astrophysics, physics, chemistry, life sciences, medical sciences, Earth and space sciences and technological sciences, as well as the disciplines corresponding to each of these fields and the techniques related to them.”
  • Award for International Cooperation: Awarded since 1981, “aimed at individual or collective work, with another or others, to develop and promote public health, universal education, the protection and defense of the environment and the economic, cultural and social advancement of peoples.”
  • Award for Concord: Awarded since 1986, “destined to the work of defending and generalizing human rights, the promotion and protection of peace, freedom, solidarity, world heritage and, in general, the progress of humanity.”
  • Award for Sports: Awarded since 1987, “aimed at those careers that, through the promotion, development and improvement of sport and through solidarity and commitment, have become an example of the possibilities that the practice of sport brings to the benefit of human beings.”

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How are the winners of the Princess of Asturias Awards determined?

All previous winners of the Prince/Princess of Asturias Awards, people and institutions invited by the Princess of Asturias Foundation, Spanish embassies, diplomatic representations in Spain, members of the juries for the other awards, and prestigious people and institutions may submit proposals for candidates for the Princess of Asturias Award. Award juries meet during April to June at the Hotel de la Reconquista in Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias, in Spain.

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Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony

Teatro Campoamor; Credit – By Denissf – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18700474

The awards are presented by Leonor, Princess of Asturias in mid/late October in a ceremony at Teatro Campoamor, a performing arts theater in Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias in Spain. People from the cultural, business, and sporting worlds of Spain and Spanish government officials attend the awards ceremony. Leonor’s parents, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, and her younger sister Infanta Sofia often attend the awards ceremony.

Leonor, Princess of Asturias delivers a speech at the 2023 awards ceremony

Awards week begins a few days before the awards ceremony, always on a Friday, when the award winners arrive at the Hotel Reconquista in Oviedo. On the days before the ceremony, the winners participate in public events – talks and meetings in cultural centers, universities, schools, sports centers, etc. – in towns in Asturias. The night before the awards ceremony, the Principality of Asturias’s Symphony Orchestra presents a concert in the Oviedo Auditorium.

Sculptures designed by Joan Miró waiting to be awarded to winners of the Princess of Asturias Award; Credit – Wikipedia

At the awards ceremony, each winner is presented with a diploma, a badge with the coat of arms of the Princess of Asturias Foundation, a sculpture designed by Joan Miró (1893 – 1983), a Catalan-Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramist, and a cash prize of 50,000 Euros. If a prize is shared, each winner receives a proportional share of the prize. If a winner does not attend the awards ceremony, they will not receive either the prize money or the sculpture, even if the absence is due to reasons beyond his control.

Princess of Asturias Foundation Coat of Arms; Credit – By Buho07 – [1], CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11913798

A diploma given to Claudio Magris, an Italian writer in 2004; Credit – By Kippelboy – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15798954

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

  • Fundación Princesa de Asturias. (2024). Www.fpa.es. https://www.fpa.es/en/2024-special/
  • ‌‌Premios Princesa de Asturias. (2003). Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premios_Princesa_de_Asturias
  • Princess of Asturias Awards. (2022). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_of_Asturias_Awards
  •  Princess of Asturias Awards. (2022) The Princess of Asturias Foundation. https://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/