Category Archives: Current Monarchies

King George I of the Hellenes

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2016

source: Wikipedia

King George I of the Hellenes

King George I of the Hellenes was born Prince Christian Vilhelm Ferdinand Adolf Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, on December 24, 1845, at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen. Known as Vilhelm, he was the son of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (later King Christian IX) and Princess Luise of Hesse-Kassel. He had five siblings:

In 1852, his father was designated as heir-presumptive to the childless King Frederik VII of Denmark. Vilhelm’s title changed to Prince of Denmark. The family split their time between the Yellow Palace and Bernstorff Palace, which had been available to them following his father’s appointment. After his initial education at home, Vilhelm joined the Royal Danish Navy, attending the Royal Danish Naval Academy alongside his elder brother, Frederik.

Prince Vilhelm with his family, 1862. front: Princess Dagmar, Prince Valdemar, Queen Louise, Princess Thyra, Princess Alexandra; back: Prince Frederik, King Christian IX, Prince Vilhelm. source: Wikipedia

In 1862, King Otto of Greece (born Prince Otto of Bavaria) was deposed. Still wanting a monarchy, but rejecting Otto’s proposed successor, Greece began searching for a new King. Initially, the focus fell on Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (the second son of Queen Victoria), who received overwhelming support from the Greek people. However, the London Conference of 1832 stipulated that no one from the ruling families of the Great Powers could accept the Greek throne. While several other European princes were put forward as possible sovereigns, the Greek people and the Great Powers soon chose Prince Vilhelm as their next King. On March 30, 1863, the 17-year-old Vilhelm was unanimously elected by the Greek National Assembly and took the name King George I of the Hellenes. A ceremonial enthronement was held in Copenhagen on June 6, 1863.

George made visits to Russia, England, and France, before arriving in Athens on October 30, 1863. From the beginning, George was determined to be very different than his predecessor. He quickly learned Greek and was often seen informally strolling through the streets of Athens. Although he had been accompanied to Greece by several advisors from Denmark, he soon dispatched them back home so it wouldn’t appear that he was being overly influenced by his home country. George toured the country the following year and then demanded that the Assembly finally adopt a new constitution. Finally done, he took an oath on November 28, 1864, to defend the new constitution, establishing a constitutional monarchy in which the King deferred authority to the elected government. George quickly became very popular with the Greek people.

source: Wikipedia

In 1863, while visiting St. Petersburg before his arrival in Greece, King George first met his future wife, Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. She was the daughter of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich (a son of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia) and Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg. Four years later, while visiting his sister Dagmar, who had married the future Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, George met Olga again. By this time, George was looking for a wife, and marriage to a Russian Grand Duchess would be advantageous both politically and as far as the religion of future generations. While George had remained Lutheran after taking the throne, it was expected that future Greek sovereigns would be raised in the Orthodox faith. Olga was smitten with George, and the two quickly fell in love. They married in Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia on October 27, 1867, and went on to have eight children:

King George and Queen Olga with six of their children, c1890. source: Wikipedia

The King and his family spent much of their time at Tatoi, a 10,000-acre estate outside Athens which he had purchased in the 1870s. Along with the main palace, King George established a winery and a Danish-styled dairy farm. He established the Royal Cemetery on the grounds, following the death of his daughter, Princess Olga, in 1880. King George also acquired Mon Repos, a villa on the isle of Corfu, in 1864, which the royal family used as a summer residence. Mon Repos is probably best known today as the birthplace of George’s grandson, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who was born there in 1921.

King George’s early reign saw constant upheaval, with 21 different governments in 10 years. Attempts to return the isle of Crete to Greek control went unsuccessful, which caused great tension among the Greek people. Following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 (in which Greece remained neutral despite the attempts of George’s sister, Tsarevna Maria Feodorovna of Russia, to get Greece to join with the Russians), Greece claimed Crete and the regions of Epirus and Thessaly which were all under the Ottoman rule. Eventually, in 1881, the Ottomans ceded Thessaly.

The political climate in Crete remained tense, with the predominantly Greek population revolting against Turkish rule in 1897. The Great Powers stepped in, ordering both Greek and Turkish forces to withdraw, with Crete being under international control. While the Turks agreed, the Greek Prime Minister refused and sent troops to take the island. When forces crossed the Macedonian border, war broke out. By the end of April, the war was over, with Greece losing swiftly and severely. Following the defeat, King George lost much of his popularity and support from the Greek people, even considering abdication. But the following year, in February 1898, an assassination attempt was made on the King and his daughter Maria, while riding in an open carriage. Fortunately, both were unharmed, and he received an upswell of support from his subjects.

In the First Balkan War of 1912, Greece joined forces with Montenegro, Serbia, and Bulgaria in fighting against Turkey. This time, the Greek forces were victorious, and on November 12, 1912, led by Crown Prince Constantine, they took the city of Thessaloniki in what was then Macedonia. Three days later, the King arrived and rode through the streets accompanied by his son and the Prime Minister.

Tomb of King George I of Greece, photo by Kostisl, source: Wikipedia

With his Golden Jubilee approaching, King George planned to abdicate following the celebrations planned for October 1913. However, his life would end several months before he had the chance. On March 18, 1913, while walking in Thessaloniki, Greece, King George was killed when an assassin shot him at close range in the back. The King died instantly. His body was returned to Athens, where it lay in state for three days in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. Draped in both the Greek and Danish flags, his coffin was then interred in Royal Cemetery at Tatoi.

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Henrietta Maria of France, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Credit – Wikipedia

Henrietta Maria of France was born at the Louvre Palace in Paris, France on November 26, 1609. She was the youngest of the six children of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici.  When Henrietta Maria was six months old, her father was assassinated while driving in his carriage through the streets of Paris. Her nine-year-old eldest brother then became King Louis XIII.

Henrietta Maria in 1611; Credit – Wikipedia

Henrietta Maria had five siblings:

Henri IV and his family; Credit – Wikipedia

When Henrietta Maria was 14 years old, negotiations were started for her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales, the heir of King James I of England. By the time the proxy marriage took place on May 1, 1625, on the steps of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, the groom had acceded to the throne as King Charles I. Henrietta and Charles were then married in person at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England on June 13, 1625. Charles’ coronation was held on February 2, 1626, at Westminster Abbey, but the Roman Catholic Henrietta Maria was not crowned because she refused to participate in a Church of England ceremony. She had proposed that a French Catholic bishop crown her, but that was unacceptable to Charles and the English court.

Henrietta Maria as Princess of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles and Henrietta Maria had nine children:

Charles and Henrietta Maria’s five eldest children in 1637: Left to right: Mary, James, Charles, Elizabeth, and Anne; Credit – Wikipedia

Although we refer to her as Henrietta Maria, she was known as Queen Mary to her contemporaries in England. Initially, Charles and Henrietta Maria’s relationship was strained. However, their relationship improved after the assassination of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, who had been the favorite of Charles’ father King James I and was a great influence on Charles. Henrietta Maria’s Roman Catholicism did not make her a popular queen. At court, she disrupted Anglican services by walking through with a pack of dogs. To the English people, her Catholic beliefs made her different and dangerous at a time when Catholic plots and subversion were feared. She did not speak English before she married and always had difficulties with speaking and writing English.

Henrietta Maria was a strong patron of the arts and both she and her husband were knowledgeable art collectors. She enjoyed taking part in masques and dramatic entertainments. Henrietta Maria was interested in sculpture, garden design, and architecture and employed designer and architect Inigo Jones, garden designer André Mollet, and sculptor François Dieussart. The Queen’s House in Greenwich, London, England, started for Charles’ mother Anne of Denmark, was completed for Henrietta Maria under the supervision of Inigo Jones.

King Charles I had the same issues with Parliament as his father had, clashing with its members over financial, political, and religious issues. Henrietta Maria gave her support to her husband in his clashes with Parliament and in his plans to raise money. Ultimately, these clashes with Parliament led to the English Civil War and to Charles’ downfall. Henrietta accompanied her husband when he left London in 1642 and established a royal court in Oxford. However, in 1644, while seven months pregnant with her last child, Henrietta Maria was forced to leave Oxford because it was becoming less secure. She made her way to Exeter where she gave birth to her youngest child Henrietta. Henrietta Maria never saw Charles again. Leaving her newborn daughter in Exeter in the care of Lady Dalkeith (born Anne Villiers, the daughter of Sir Edward Villiers), Henrietta Maria escaped to France where she settled in Paris with the support of the French government.

Gaston de France, Duke of Orléans presents his sister widowed Henrietta Maria to Anne of Austria, regent of France for King Louis XIV. The young Louis XIV in peach stands in front of his mother and next to his brother Philippe. Henrietta Maria stands between Gaston and his daughter, the Grand Mademoiselle; Credit – Wikipedia

King Charles I was executed in 1649 and the monarchy was abolished. Henrietta Maria spent the years of the Commonwealth of England with her surviving children at the court of her nephew King Louis XIV. She formed a Royalist court in exile at Château de St-Germain-en-Laye.  Henrietta Maria attempted to convert her sons James and Henry to Catholicism. These attempts angered the Royalists in exile and her eldest son Charles. However, her youngest child Henrietta (nicknamed Minette) was brought up Catholic and married her first cousin, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger brother of King Louis XIV of France.

Henrietta Maria in mourning in the 1650s; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1660, when the English monarchy was restored and King Charles II took the throne, Henrietta Maria returned to England, where she was known as the Queen Mother, and lived at Somerset House in London. She received a grant from Parliament of £30,000 for the loss of her dower lands and the same amount as a pension from her son King Charles II. In 1661, Henrietta Maria returned to France to attend the marriage of her daughter Henrietta. When she returned to England in 1662, Henrietta Maria found life there disagreeable and the climate damaging to her health, so she returned to France where she lived for a while in Paris at the Hôtel de la Bazinière, the present Hôtel de Chimay.  She later lived at the Château de Colombes nearby Paris. It was there that Henrietta Maria died on September 10, 1669, at the age of 59 from an overdose of opiates taken for pain on the advice of King Louis XIV’s doctor.

Château de Colombes (now destroyed); Credit – Wikipedia

Henrietta Maria was buried beside her father, King Henri IV of France, at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris. Her heart was buried at the Visitation Convent Chapel at Chaillot, France, which she had founded in 1651. Her remains and the other royal remains at the Basilica of St. Denis were desecrated on October 16, 1793, when a mob pillaged the Bourbon crypt and threw the remains into mass graves. The convent building where her heart had been buried was destroyed during the French Revolution. In 1817, the mass graves were opened, the remains were collected and then reburied in the crypt of the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Plaques next to the gated entrance of the burial site list the remains of those buried there.

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Gated entrance to the reburial site of the French royals at the Basilica of Saint-Denis; Credit – Susan Flantzer

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King Charles I of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Credit – Wikipedia

Born at Dunfermline Palace in Fife, Scotland on November 19, 1600, Charles was the second son and fourth of the seven children of James VI, King of Scots (later also King James I of England) and Anne of Denmark. Charles’ paternal grandparents were Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who were both grandchildren of Margaret Tudor, elder sister of King Henry VIII of England. His maternal grandparents were King Frederik II of Denmark and Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow.

At his christening on December 23, 1600, Charles was created Duke of Albany, the traditional title of the second son of the King of Scots, along with the subsidiary titles of Marquess of Ormond, Earl of Ross and Lord Ardmannoch. At the time of Charles’ birth, his six-year-old elder brother Henry Frederick (named after his grandfathers) was the heir apparent to the throne of Scotland and used the traditional titles of the heir to the Scots’ throne: Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, and Lord of the Isles.

Charles had six siblings, but only two survived childhood:

On March 24, 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England died and Charles’ father became King James I of England. Since none of the children of King Henry VIII of England had children, James was the senior heir of King Henry VII of England through his eldest daughter Margaret Tudor. (King Henry VII → Margaret Tudor married King James IV of Scotland → King James V of Scotland → Mary, Queen of Scots → King James VI of Scotland). Charles was frail and late in development, possibly from rickets, and could not yet walk or talk, so he was left behind in Scotland when his parents and his elder brother Henry and elder sister Elizabeth left for England. By July 1604, Charles was considered strong enough to make the journey to England.

Charles, circa 1610; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1605, Sir Robert Carey was appointed Charles’ governor and his wife Elizabeth patiently taught Charles how to walk and talk. Charles was created Duke of York, the traditional title of the English monarch’s second son in 1605. In the same year, Thomas Murray, a Scottish courtier and later the Provost of Eton College, was appointed Charles’ tutor and taught him classics, languages, mathematics, and religion. Charles overcame his early physical problems, although he grew no taller than five feet four inches, and learned to ride, shoot, and fence. However, he was no physical match for his stronger and taller elder brother Henry, Prince of Wales, whom he adored. When 18-year-old Henry died in 1612 from typhoid, it was a loss that Charles felt greatly. His only surviving sibling Elizabeth left home for her marriage in 1613, and Charles was then virtually an only child. Charles had automatically become Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay upon his brother’s death and was created Prince of Wales in 1616.

Charles with his parents, after 1612; Credit – Wikipedia

King James I, seeking a Spanish alliance, had visions of Charles marrying Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the youngest daughter of King Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria. In 1623, Charles went to Madrid with his father’s favorite George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham for marriage negotiations regarding the Infanta. The negotiations had long been at a standstill, and although religion was a stumbling block, it is believed that Buckingham’s offensive behavior was a key to the total collapse of the negotiations. The Spanish ambassador asked Parliament to have Buckingham executed for his behavior in Madrid, but Buckingham gained popularity by calling for war with Spain on his return.

Charles as Prince of Wales in 1623; Credit – Wikipedia

While Charles was traveling to Spain in 1623, he first saw the French king’s sister and his future wife in Paris, Henrietta Maria, as she rehearsed a court entertainment with other members of the French royal family. On March 27, 1625, King James I died and Charles succeeded him. Since the Spanish negotiations failed, King Charles I now looked toward a French alliance and a marriage with Henrietta Maria was successfully negotiated. Henrietta Maria was the youngest daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second wife, Marie de’ Medici.  Henri IV was assassinated in 1610 when Henrietta Maria was still a baby and her brother King Louis XIII had succeeded their father. Charles and Henrietta Maria were married by proxy on May 1, 1625, on the steps of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. They were then married in person at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England on June 13, 1625. Charles’ coronation was held on February 2, 1626, at Westminster Abbey, but the Roman Catholic Henrietta Maria was not crowned because she refused to participate in a Church of England ceremony. She had proposed that a French Catholic bishop crown her, which was unacceptable to Charles and the English court.

Charles and Henrietta Maria had nine children:

Charles and Henrietta Maria’s five eldest children in 1637: Left to right: Mary, James, Charles, Elizabeth, and Anne; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles had the same issues with Parliament as his father had, clashing with its members over financial, political, and religious issues. In the early years of Charles’ reign, Parliament was summoned and dissolved three times. Finally, in 1629, Charles, who believed in the divine right of kings, decided to govern without Parliament, beginning eleven years of personal rule. During his personal rule, William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury and Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford were Charles’ most influential advisers. Parliament was finally summoned again in 1640 and demanded the execution of Stafford. Charles signed the death warrant, but never forgave himself. After this incident, the reconciliation of the King and Parliament became impossible.

Charles I in Three Positions by Anthony van Dyck, 1635–36; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 4, 1642, a point of no return was reached. On that day, Charles committed the unprecedented act of entering the House of Commons with an armed guard and demanding the arrest of five Members of Parliament. There was a great public outcry, Charles fled London and Civil War appeared inevitable. Since that day no British monarch has entered the House of Commons when it is sitting and a tradition recalling this is enacted at every State Opening of Parliament. When the monarch arrives in the House of Lords to read the speech from the throne, the Lord Great Chamberlain raises the wand of office to signal to the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod (known as Black Rod), whose duty is to summon the House of Commons. On Black Rod’s approach, the doors to the House of Commons are slammed shut in Black Rod’s face, symbolizing the rights of the House of Commons and its independence from the monarch. Black Rod then strikes with the end of the ceremonial staff (the Black Rod) three times on the closed doors of the House of Commons and is then admitted. This is a show of the refusal by the House of Commons never again to be entered by force by the monarch or one of the monarch’s representatives when the House of Commons is sitting.

Speaker Lenthall asserting the Privileges of the Commons (Speaker of the House William Lenthall kneels to Charles during the attempted arrest of the Five Members), fresco in the Houses of Parliament by Charles West Cope, fresco painted 1865-1866; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 22, 1642, at Nottingham, Charles raised the Royal Standard and called for his loyal subjects to support him, and the Civil War between the Royalists or Cavaliers (Charles’ supporters) and the Roundheads (Parliament’s supporters) had begun. The Battle of Edgehill, the first real battle, was fought on October 26, 1642, and proved indecisive. The Cavaliers were defeated at the Battle of Marston Moor on July 2, 1644, and at the Battle of Naseby on June 14, 1645. The balance was now permanently tipped to the parliamentary side. In April of 1646, Charles left Oxford, which had served as his capital city during the conflict, and surrendered to the Scottish Army expecting to be safe and well-treated. However, the Scots delivered Charles to Parliament in 1647.

Charles was imprisoned at Holdenby House in Northamptonshire until the New Model Army officer George Joyce took him by force to Newmarket. The New Model Army, which had been created in 1645 to professionalize the Parliamentary army, felt neglected and ignored by Parliament, and Charles thought he could take advantage of these tensions. He was transferred to Oatlands and then Hampton Court Palace where negotiations continued without results. At this point, Charles considered that it would be in his best interest to escape and flee to France, southern England, or the Scottish border or to put himself under the protection of Colonel Robert Hammond, Parliamentary Governor of the Isle of Wight, whom he thought was sympathetic to him. He chose the second option and on November 11, 1647, Charles fled Hampton Court Palace and made arrangements to meet Hammond. However, this proved to be a mistake as Hammond held Charles in Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight and informed Parliament that Charles was in his custody. Charles was confined at Carisbrooke Castle for a year. During this period, Charles continued negotiations with foreign armies and wrote letters showing his lack of respect for Parliament and his determination to abolish anti-Catholic laws. These revelations made any further defense of Charles impossible. He was moved to Hurst Castle in Hampshire at the end of 1648 and then moved to Windsor Castle.

Engraving from “Nalson’s Record of the Trial of Charles I” in the British Museum. Charles (in the dock with his back to the viewer) facing the High Court of Justice; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 20, 1649, Charles was tried for treason and other high crimes in Westminster Hall in London before a tribunal of 135 judges. Charles refused to enter a plea because he believed no court could try a king. Nevertheless, he was found guilty and was sentenced to death. On January 30, 1649, after saying goodbye to his children Elizabeth and Henry, Charles walked from St. James’ Palace to the Palace of Whitehall where a scaffold had been built outside the Banqueting House. It was a cold day, and Charles wore two shirts because he might shiver from the cold and he did not want it thought that he trembled from fear. From the first floor of the Banqueting House, Charles stepped onto the scaffold from a window, and several minutes later was beheaded.

Contemporary German print of Charles I’s beheading; Credit – Wikipedia

No state funeral or public mourning was allowed and Charles was not permitted to be buried in Westminster Abbey. On February 7, 1649, Charles’ remains were taken to Windsor Castle where he was buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in the choir aisle in the vault where Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour were buried. England was a republic (Commonwealth of England) for 11 years until the monarchy was restored and Charles I’s eldest son Charles II became king in 1660.

Slab in the aisle indicates where Charles I was buried; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Coffins of King Henry VIII (center, damaged), Queen Jane (right), King Charles I with a child of Queen Anne (left), vault under the choir, St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, marked by a stone slab in the floor; Credit – Wikipedia

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Anne of Denmark, Queen of Scots, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2016

Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Anne of Denmark (Anna in Danish) was born at Skanderborg Castle on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark on December 12, 1574. She was the second of the eight children of King Frederik II of Denmark and Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Anne had seven siblings:

Anne spent the first part of her childhood with her sister Elisabeth and her brother Christian in Güstrow with her maternal grandparents Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg- Güstrow and
Elisabeth of Denmark, sister of King Christian III of Denmark, the children’s paternal grandfather. In 1588, Anne’s father died and her 11-year-old brother became King Christian IV, and the three children returned to Denmark. King Christian IV reigned for 59 years and is the longest-reigning Danish monarch.

Anne was 14-years-old when she returned to Denmark and candidates for her hand in marriage were numerous as the Danish court was considered wealthy and a high dowry was expected. Anne’s mother opted for the Scottish King James VI, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots. On August 20, 1589, Anne was married by proxy to James VI, King of Scots at Kronborg Castle in Helsingør, Denmark. Ten days after the proxy wedding, Anne set sail for Scotland, but severe storms forced her to land in Norway. Upon hearing this, James set sail to personally bring Anne to Scotland. On November 23, 1589, the couple was formally married at the Bishop’s Palace in Oslo, Norway. After a prolonged visit to Denmark, James and Anne landed in Scotland on May 1, 1590. On May 5, 1590, Anne made her state entry into Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. She was crowned Queen of Scots on May 17, 1590, at the Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.

James and Anne had seven children and at least three miscarriages. Only three of their children survived childhood:

by Charles Turner, published by Samuel Woodburn, after Willem de Passe, mezzotint, published 1814

‘James I and his royal progeny’ by Charles Turner, published by Samuel Woodburn, after Willem de Passe mezzotint, published 1814 NPG D9808 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Although Anne and James were close at the beginning of their marriage, their relationship deteriorated over the years. Their first major argument was over the transfer of the custody of their firstborn Henry, Prince of Wales to John Erskine, Earl of Mar at Stirling Castle, in keeping with Scottish royal tradition, which led to estrangement and a competition for the custody of the Prince of Wales. Courtiers noticed a number of incidents of marital discord including a three-year rift when Anne refused to dismiss two of her ladies-in-waiting after their brothers were killed by James’ attendants for a supposed assault on the king, and a confrontation when Anne shot and killed James’ favorite dog during a hunting session.

On March 24, 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England died and James became King James I of England. Since none of the children of King Henry VIII had children, James was the senior heir of King Henry VII through his eldest daughter Margaret Tudor. (King Henry VII → Margaret Tudor married King James IV of Scotland → King James V of Scotland → Mary, Queen of Scots → King James VI of Scotland). Anne was pregnant when Queen Elizabeth died, so James set out for England without her. Anne miscarried the child in May 1603 and joined James in England when she had recovered. James and Anne were crowned King and Queen of England at Westminster Abbey on July 25, 1603. Religion provided another conflict. Although Anne was raised a Lutheran, she refused to take Communion during the Church of England coronation at Westminster Abbey. There were suspicions that Anne secretly converted to Roman Catholicism which put James in an awkward situation as King of England.

Anne’s expensive tastes in clothing and jewels contributed much to the English court’s costs and this hurt James’ reputation. After 1606, Anne and James lived mostly apart, with Anne residing largely at Somerset House, renamed Denmark House.  In 1612, 18-year-old Henry, Prince of Wales died from typhoid fever, which was a great tragedy for Anne and the entire nation. Anne could not bear to have Henry’s death mentioned and people were advised not to give her condolences. After her son’s death, Anne’s health began to deteriorate and she withdrew from social activities.

Anne in mourning for her son Henry, Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1616, the Queen’s House, designed by the famed architect Inigo Jones, was commissioned for Anne at Greenwich, London, but work on the house stopped in April 1618 when Anne became quite ill. Work did not restart again until 1629 when the house was given to Henrietta Maria of France by her husband King Charles I, and the house was completed in 1635.

The Queen’s House at Greenwich, Credit – Wikipedia, © Bill Bertram 2006, CC-BY-2.5 — Attribution

By 1617, Anne’s condition became debilitating. James visited Anne only three times during her last years, but her surviving son Charles was often with her and was at her bedside when Anne died at the age of 44 from dropsy (edema) at Hampton Court Palace on March 2, 1619. Also with Anne at her deathbed was her personal maid Anna Roos who came with Anne from Denmark in 1590. On May 13, 1619, Anne was buried at Westminster Abbey in a vault beneath the monument to the Dukes of Buckingham in the Henry VII Chapel. Her grave is marked by the inscription on the floor: “ANNE OF DENMARK QUEEN OF KING JAMES 1st 1619.” It had taken James twelve weeks to raise the money for proper funeral rites of his wife. James survived his wife by six years, dying on March 27, 1625, and was succeeded by his son King Charles I who was beheaded during the English Civil War.

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House of Stuart Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Dagmar of Denmark, Maria Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Credit – Wikipedia

Her Highness Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, known as Princess Dagmar and called Minnie in her family, was born at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 26, 1847. She was the fourth child and the second daughter of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. In 1852, Prince Christian became heir to the Danish throne and in 1853 he was given the title Prince of Denmark and his children then became Princes and Princesses of Denmark. Christian succeeded to the Danish throne in 1863 and reigned as King Christian IX.

Minnie had five siblings:

Family of King Christian IX; Back Row: Frederik, King Christian, and William; Front Row: Dagmar, Valdemar, Queen Louise, Thyra, and Alexandra; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Minnie grew up in a close and happy family environment. Her parents put an emphasis on giving their children a simple upbringing but attached great importance to their royal duties. As adults, all their children were known for their ability to deal with people, their sense of duty, and their ability to represent their royal families. Minnie was closest to her elder sister Alexandra and the two had close ties to each other for life.

Minnie with her first fiancé Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, 1864; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Emperor Alexander II of Russia was searching for a bride for his eldest son and heir Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich from countries other than small German states that had traditionally provided brides for the Romanovs. In 1864, Nicholas Alexandrovich went to Denmark and proposed to Minnie. Nicholas Alexandrovich suffered from poor health and died from meningitis on April 24, 1865. Reportedly, his last wish was for Minnie to marry his brother Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III. Minnie had already started receiving instruction in the Russian language and preparing for her conversion to the Russian Orthodox religion.

Engagement Photo: Alexander and Minnie; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In June 1866, while on a visit to Copenhagen, Denmark, Alexander proposed to Minnie, his deceased brother’s fiancée. Minnie converted to Russian Orthodoxy and received the name Maria Feodorovna. Alexander and Minnie were married on November 9, 1866, in the Imperial Chapel of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. After the wedding festivities, the newlyweds moved into the Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg where they were to live for the next 15 years. In addition, they spent time at their summer villa Livadia Palace in the Crimean Peninsula.

Wedding of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich & Maria Feodorovna by M.Zichy 1867, Hermitage; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander and Minnie had six children:

Alexander, Minnie and their children in 1888, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Minnie was a popular member of the Russian Imperial Family. She rarely mingled in politics, but instead devoted herself to her family, charities, and social activities. Among the charities she worked with were the Russian Red Cross and several educational institutions, including the famous Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens.  Like her sister Alexandra, Princess of Wales, Minnie was anti-German because of the annexation of the previously Danish-owned Schleswig-Holstein duchies to Prussia in 1864. In the early years of their marriage, Minnie and Alexander settled into the huge Anichkov Palace on St. Petersburg’s main street, Nevsky Prospekt. The couple traveled around the Russian Empire and also regularly attended family get-togethers in Denmark.

On March 13, 1881, Alexander’s father, Alexander II, was assassinated in St. Petersburg, a victim of a bombing by the underground organization, Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will), and Alexander succeeded to the Russian throne. Security was tightened and Minnie and Alexander had to move out of St. Petersburg to Gatchina Palace, 28 miles away from St. Petersburg, which provided greater protection. Alexander and Minnie’s traditional coronation in the Kremlin in Moscow was held in strict security because a dangerous conspiracy had been discovered.

The Imperial Family was always heavily guarded, but Minnie often went to St. Petersburg to participate in and organize balls, receptions, and other things that she had enjoyed doing as a Grand Duchess. Minnie supported Alexander in his extreme conservative ideas. She sought to encourage foreign policy that favored Denmark and not Germany. In addition, she tried to get Russia to develop relations with the United Kingdom, two countries that traditionally were not allied.

Alexander and Dagmar’s visits to Denmark were always big events. The couple enjoyed being in Denmark because the atmosphere was more relaxed and they were under less stringent security than they were accustomed to in Russia. In 1885, during a Danish royal family dinner at Fredensborg Palace, Alexander announced that he would like to have his own home in Fredensborg. He bought a house near the castle grounds called Svalereden, but it became known as Kejserens Villa or Emperor’s Villa. Minnie held ownership of the home until her death in 1928 when her daughter Olga sold the house.

Family Get-Together at Fredensborg Palace in Denmark, 1889. (l-r): Top row: King Haakon VII of Norway; Emperor Nicholas II of Russia; Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark; Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia; Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom; King Christian X of Denmark; King Frederik VIII of Denmark; Queen Louise of Denmark; King Constantine I of Greece; Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia; Prince George of Greece and Denmark; Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom; Emperor Alexander III of Russia; Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark; Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia; King Christian IX of Denmark; Prince Harald of Denmark; Queen Maud of Norway; Middle row sitting: Prince Andrew of Greece; Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia; Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia; Queen Louise of Denmark; King George I of Greece; Princess Alexandra of Greece; On their knees on the grass: Princess Thyra of Denmark and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1894, Alexander became ill with nephritis, a kidney disease. Later that year, Alexander was on his way to the Greek isle of Corfu where he hoped to recuperate at Mon Repos, the villa of Minnie’s sister-in-law, Queen Olga of Greece. However, when Alexander reached Crimea, he was too ill to continue traveling and stayed at Livadia Palace, his home in Crimea. It was soon obvious that Alexander would not survive and various relatives came to the Crimea including Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, who was the fiancée of Alexander’s eldest son Nicholas. Insisting on receiving Princess Alix in his full dress uniform, Alexander gave her his blessing on October 21, 1894. Thereafter, Alexander’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he died on November 1, 1894, at the age of 49. His son Nicholas became the last Emperor of Russia and married Princess Alix (Alexandra Feodorovna) on Minnie’s 47th birthday, November 26, 1894, just eight days after Emperor Alexander III was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral at the Fortress of Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg.

During the early years of her son’s reign, Emperor Nicholas II often sought the advice of his mother. For a time after his accession and his marriage, he lived with her in Anichkov Palace. According to Russian custom, Minnie was still the country’s first lady, and this caused some strain between Minnie and her daughter-in-law Empress Alexandra. The two never got close to each other, and their relationship was the subject of much gossip. Minnie was more popular than the daughter-in-law and enjoyed her continued role as the first lady.

Emperor Nicholas II and his mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1896; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Minnie’s political views changed as discontent and revolutionary events increased in Russia. She thought that some of the autocratic political power should be transferred to a more democratic, representative government and that Russia should look more to the West. However, Nicholas II retained his absolute power and eventually, Minnie’s role as a political adviser to her son disappeared, and Nicholas instead leaned more on his wife.

When the Russian Revolution broke out during World War I in 1917, Minnie was in Kyiv (now in Ukraine). After Nicholas abdicated, she saw him one last time, and after some reflection, she went to the Crimea where members of the Imperial Family had several summer homes. Here she witnessed the October Revolution later that year, and then in 1918 came the news of the murder of her son and his family, which she did not believe. Being in Crimea became precarious due to food shortages, visits to the home by the Bolshevik officials, and the threat of being murdered by the Bolsheviks.

The Romanovs under house arrest in Crimea in 1918. Standing: Colonel Nikolai Kulikovsky, Mr. Fogel, Olga Konstantinovna Vasiljeva, Prince Andrei Alexandrovich. Seated: Mr. Orbeliani, Prince Nikita, Grand Duchess Olga, Grand Duchess Xenia, The Dowager Empress (Minnie), and Grand Duke Alexander. On the floor: Prince Vasili, Prince Rostislav, and Prince Dmitri

Although the monarchy was abolished by the Russian Revolution, Minnie did not initially leave Russia. She finally fled in 1919 to London when her nephew King George V of the United Kingdom sent the warship HMS Marlborough to retrieve his aunt when she could no longer stay in Crimea. Rescued along with Minnie were 25 other Romanovs and/or their relatives.

Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich and Empress Maria Feodorovna escaping aboard the British battleship HMS Marlborough; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

After a short stay in London, Minnie returned home to her native Denmark where she briefly lived with her nephew King Christian X in a wing of the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. Minnie then decided to live at Hvidøre, the holiday villa she had purchased with her sister Alexandra in 1906, near Copenhagen.

Minnie and Alexandra at Hvidøre, circa 1910; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Minnie’s last years were overshadowed by the many deaths in her immediate family and she still refused to believe in the massacre of her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. Minnie died on October 13, 1928, at Hvidøre. Following services in Copenhagen’s Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Church, Minnie was interred in the crypt of the Christian IX Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial place of the Danish royal family in Roskilde, Denmark.

First burial place of Empress Maria Feodorovna in Roskilde Cathedral; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Minnie had wished that at some point in time, she could be buried with her husband. In 2005, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed, along with their governments, that Minnie’s wish should be fulfilled. Minnie’s remains were transported to St. Petersburg. Following a service at Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, she was interred next to her husband Emperor Alexander III in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on September 28, 2006.

Europe_August 5 to 18 513

Tomb of Empress Maria Feodorovna; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer, August 2011

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Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

King Harald V of Norway: 25 Years on the Throne

Harald V_Sonja_Norway

Their Majesties King Harald and Queen Sonja. Photo: Jørgen Gomnæs / The Royal Court http://www.royalcourt.no/

25 years ago, on January 17, 1991, King Olav V of Norway died and his son became King Harald V of Norway.  The 25th anniversary of his accession to the throne was celebrated in Oslo, Norway with a Winter Festival at the Palace Square and a gala performance in the University Hall attended by members of the Norwegian royal family and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden.
Royal House of Norway: Accession of the new monarch in 1991
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At the time of King Harald’s birth in 1937, his grandfather, King Haakon VII (born Prince Prince Carl of Denmark) was the monarch and his grandmother, Queen Maud (born Princess Maud of Wales, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) was his consort. King Harald is closely related to several European monarchs: King Philippe of Belgium and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are his first cousins once removed, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark are his second cousins, and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is his second cousin once removed.  Harald’s mother Crown Princess Märtha, born a Swedish princess, died of cancer in 1954.  While Crown Prince, King Harald married a Norwegian commoner, Sonja Haraldsen.  The couple have two children and five grandchildren.

Read more about the Norwegian Family here.

The Year with the Swedish Royal Family (2015)

Swedish Royal Family, December 2015. Photo Jonas Ekströmer, The Swedish Royal Court.

Swedish Royal Family, December 2015. Photo Jonas Ekströmer, The Swedish Royal Court.

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Diana, Princess of Wales

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015
uk-diana1Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of King Charles III of the United Kingdom and the mother of Prince William, The Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. She was born The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer, youngest daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later the 8th Earl Spencer) and The Honourable Frances Roche, on July 1, 1961, at Park House on the Sandringham Estate.

Diana had four siblings:

Diana was christened on August 30, 1961, at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, England.  Her godparents were:

  • John Floyd (Chairman of Christie’s, her father’s friend)
  • Alexander Gilmour (her father’s cousin)
  • Lady Mary Colman (niece of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother)
  • Mrs. Michael Pratt (friend and neighbor of Diana’s parents)
  • Mrs. William Fox (friend and neighbor of Diana’s parents)

Diana grew up at Park House, which her parents leased from The Queen for many years. In 1969, her parents divorced, and following a very contentious custody battle, Diana’s father was awarded full custody of the children. She was educated at Riddlesworth Hall and The New School at West Heath, graduating in 1977, and then attended L’Institut Alpin Videmanette, a Swiss finishing school.

In 1975, her father had succeeded to the Earldom, and Diana saw an ‘upgrade’ in her title as well. As the daughter of an Earl, she was now styled Lady Diana Spencer – a name which would soon become famous around the world when ‘Lady Di’ became involved with The Prince of Wales.

Following her schooling, Diana worked as a nanny, living in her mother’s apartment in London. The next year, her mother bought her an apartment at Coleherne Court, where Diana lived with some friends until the day her engagement was announced. She also worked as a dance teacher for children, a preschool assistant, a nanny for an American family living in London, and lastly as a kindergarten assistant at the Young England School.

Although they had known each other since her childhood, Diana and Charles really became reacquainted in the summer of 1980 when they were both guests at a country weekend. Charles had previously dated Diana’s older sister, Sarah. The two made several other trips and weekends away, including a visit to Balmoral in November of 1980. Charles eventually proposed to Diana on February 6, 1981, but they kept the engagement secret for several weeks.

 

Diana made her first official appearance on March 9, 1981, at a poetry reading in London by Princess Grace of Monaco. When she stepped out of the car in a black strapless gown, she began what would become a lifelong ‘role’ in the media spotlight – something she both loved and despised at different times in her life.

Diana and Charles married on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Entering on her father’s arm as Lady Diana Spencer, she later emerged from the Cathedral as Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, the third highest-ranked lady of the land.

Following their honeymoon, the couple took up residence at Kensington Palace (occupying apartments 8 and 9 which had been joined together), as well as Highgrove, the Prince of Wales’s country home in Gloucestershire.

Diana and Charles had two sons:

Diana became taking on official duties soon after her marriage, often accompanying her husband in the United Kingdom and abroad. She made her first solo overseas visit in September 1982, when she represented The Queen at the funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco, with whom she felt a very strong bond. With her husband, she made numerous foreign visits, the last being to South Korea in 1992 shortly before their separation. She served as patron or president of over 100 organizations and charities, using her position to bring attention to and support issues that were close to her heart. Some of these charities were:

  • The National AIDS Trust
  • Great Ormond Street Hospital
  • English National Ballet
  • Royal Marsden Hospital
  • Leprosy Mission
  • Centrepoint
  • Headway
  • Natural History Museum
  • Royal Academy of Music
  • Bernardo’s
  • British Red Cross
  • Chester Childbirth Appeal
  • British Lung Foundation
  • National Children’s Orchestra
  • Royal Brompton Hospital
  • The Guinness Trust
  • Royal School for the Blind
  • Welsh National Opera
  • Birthright
  • British Deaf Association

On December 9, 1992, after several years of media speculation, Buckingham Palace announced the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The announcement stressed that the couple had no plans to divorce and that their constitutional positions were unaffected.

The following year, on December 3, 1993, Diana announced her withdrawal from public life. And following disastrous television interviews given by both Charles, in June 1994, and Diana, in November 1995, it was announced by Buckingham Palace that The Queen had sent letters to both Diana and Charles, advising them to divorce as quickly as possible. Following many private meetings and negotiations with Prince Charles and representatives of The Queen, Diana agreed to a divorce in February 1996.

Their divorce became final on August 28, 1996. Diana received a payment of £17 million as well as an annual stipend to maintain her offices and retained the couple’s Kensington Palace apartments. A statement from Buckingham Palace established that she remained a member of the Royal Family and would continue to receive the precedence accorded to her during her marriage when attending state and national functions. With the Queen’s permission, she voluntarily relinquished all her honorary military appointments and would continue to have access to the Royal Flight and the State Apartments at St. James’s Palace. She would also retain any orders, insignia, and titles received during her marriage. However, the one thing she would not retain was her style of Royal Highness. She became simply Diana, Princess of Wales. The day after her divorce became final, Diana announced that she had resigned from almost all of her charities and patronages. However, she continued her involvement with the six that were most important to her:

  • Centrepoint
  • The English National Ballet
  • Leprosy Mission
  • The National AIDS Trust
  • The Great Ormond Street Hospital
  • The Royal Marsden Hospital

She also remained very involved with the Red Cross Anti-Personnel Landmines Campaign, even though her formal patronage had ended. Her last public appearances were in early August 1997, when she visited several landmine projects in Bosnia.

After her divorce, Diana had a relationship with Dr. Hasnat Khan, a British-Pakistani heart surgeon, which ended in June 1997. She then became involved with Dodi Fayed, son of Mohamed Al-Fayed, the owner of Harrods and the Ritz Hotel in London. Diana and her sons joined the Fayed family in the south of France for a vacation that summer where she and Dodi reportedly began their romance. Following her trip to Bosnia, Diana again joined Dodi Fayed on a private cruise aboard the Fayed’s yacht, returning to Paris on August 30. Later that night, hounded by paparazzi, the couple left the Ritz to go to Dodi’s apartment in Paris. Just minutes later, their car crashed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, killing Dodi and the car’s driver, Henri Paul, instantly. Diana was critically injured and eventually taken to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. Diana, Princess of Wales was pronounced dead at 4 am. See Unofficial Royalty: Tragedy in the British Royal Family at the End of August (scroll down).

The Prince of Wales, along with Diana’s two sisters, flew to Paris to accompany her body back to England. Draped with the Royal Standard, Diana’s coffin was taken to the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace where it remained for several days, before returning to her home at Kensington Palace. On Saturday, September 6, 1997, a procession began at Kensington Palace and ended at Westminster Abbey where Diana’s funeral was held. Following the funeral, the coffin was taken to Althorp, where it was interred privately on an island in the center of a lake on the grounds.

 

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King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Credit – Wikipedia

The third son and third child of the fifteen children of King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, His Royal Highness The Prince William Henry was born at Buckingham House (now Buckingham Palace) in London, England on August 21, 1765. At the time of his birth, it seemed highly unlikely that William would be anything more than a royal duke as he had two elder brothers. William was christened on September 18, 1765, at St James’s Palace In London, England by Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury and had three godparents:

William had 14 siblings:

George III children

Queen Charlotte painted by Benjamin West in 1779 with her 13 eldest children; Credit – http://www.royalcollection.org.uk

William was brought up with his brother Edward at Kew Palace and they were educated by Dr. John James Majendie, a classical scholar, and Major General Budé, a Swiss who was an officer in the Hanover Army. King George III decided that William would have a career in the navy. In 1879, at the age of 13, William went to sea along with his tutor Mr. Majendie, serving under Captain (later Admiral) Robert Digby on the HMS Prince George. On his father’s orders, William received no privileges and was treated the same as his fellow sailors.

William age 13 (left) and his younger brother Edward, painted by Benjamin West, 1778; Credit – Wikipedia

During his naval career, William, nicknamed Sailor Bill, served on a number of ships and in a number of places. In 1789, his ship saw action in the Battle of Cape St Vincent. He was then stationed in the West Indies and Nova Scotia. William was transferred to HMS Warwick and saw action in the Delaware Bay in the American Revolution. In 1785, William was made the third lieutenant of the frigate HMS Hebe. The following year, William was made captain of the HMS Pegasus.  The Pegasus was stationed in West Indies under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson, who became a close friend of William. When Admiral Nelson married in 1787, William gave away the bride. William returned to England in December of 1787 and was subsequently appointed to the command of the frigate HMS Andromeda in the West Indies. In 1789, William was appointed Rear Admiral and commanded the HMS Valiant in home waters, his last command afloat. Prince William received the Order of the Garter in 1782 and was created Duke of Clarence and St Andrews and Earl of Munster in 1789. He was appointed Vice-Admiral in 1799 and Admiral of the Fleet in 1811, both honorary positions.

by Sir Martin Archer Shee, oil on canvas, circa 1800

King William IV in naval dress uniform by Sir Martin Archer Shee, oil on canvas, circa 1800, NPG 2199 © National Portrait Gallery, London

In 1790, Dorothea Jordan, an actress, attracted the attention of William. Dorothea was born Dora or Dorothy Bland in 1761 in Ireland. Her father had been an actor, and she followed in her father’s footsteps, first acting in Dublin. In 1782, she came to England, adopted the name “Mrs. Jordan”, and had a daughter by Irish actor and theatrical manager Richard Daly.  Starting in 1786, Dorothea had another relationship with Sir Richard Ford, a police magistrate and a lawyer, and had three more children. She began her affair with William, once she realized that Ford was never going to marry her. Dorothea and William had a happy relationship that lasted over 20 years and produced 10 children. The couple resided at Clarence Lodge in Roehampton near London and at William’s apartments at St James’ Palace. When William became Ranger of Bushy Park, they lived at Bushy House near Hampton Court Palace.

by and published by John Jones, after John Hoppner, mezzotint, published 1 March 1791 (exhibited 1791)

Dorothy Jordan as Hypolita by and published by John Jones, after John Hoppner, mezzotint, published 1 March 1791, (exhibited 1791) NPG D3324 © National Portrait Gallery, London

William’s illegitimate children by Dorothea Jordan:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include these notable people:

In 1811, William had an invalid father and saw that only three people stood between him and the throne: his brother George, George’s teenage daughter Charlotte, and his childless brother Frederick. William had always boasted that his healthier habits would cause him to outlive his elder brothers. The possibility of ascending the throne and mounting debts made it necessary for William to choose a wife.

Dorothea was on tour with a play when she received a letter from William asking her to meet him so they could discuss the terms of a separation. She was so upset that on stage that night instead of laughing heartily as the script required, she burst into tears instead. In January of 1812, a settlement was drawn up giving Dorothea an annual allowance of £1500 and £600 annually for a house and coach. In addition, she was to be given £800 per year for her two daughters from previous relationships and £1500 for the maintenance of her youngest daughters by William. However, if Dorothea returned to the stage, she would lose the £1500 and the custody of the youngest daughters. A few months later, Dorothea did return to the stage and the custody of the youngest daughters reverted to William.

In 1815, Dorothea made her last appearance on the stage and retired to France in a terrible financial situation having settled the debts of the husband of her elder daughter by a previous relationship. Dorothea died in poverty on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54 and was buried in Cimetière de Saint-Cloud in Saint-Cloud, France.

On November 6, 1817, a great tragedy struck the British Royal Family.  Twenty-one-year-old Princess Charlotte of Wales died after delivering a stillborn son. Charlotte was mourned by the British people in a manner similar to the mourning of Diana, Princess of Wales. Charlotte’s pregnancy and delivery were grossly mismanaged and the doctor in charge later committed suicide. At the time of her death, Charlotte, who was second in line to the throne, was the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, despite the fact that eleven of his fifteen children were still living. Her death left no legitimate heir in the second generation and prompted the aging sons of King George III to begin a frantic search for brides to provide for the succession. William, along with his unmarried brothers Edward, Duke of Kent and Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, all married.

Soon after the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales, negotiations began for the marriage of William to Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, and the engagement was announced on April 19, 1818. William was 52 and Adelaide was 25. William and Adelaide were married on July 14, 1818, at Kew Palace in the presence of an ailing Queen Charlotte who died in November of the same year.

by Sir William Beechey, oil on canvas, circa 1831

Queen Adelaide (Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen) by Sir William Beechey, oil on canvas, circa 1831, NPG 1533 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Adelaide loved children but was destined not to have one of her own. Her first child was born prematurely on March 27, 1819, as a result of Adelaide being ill with pleurisy. The baby girl was christened Charlotte Augusta Louisa and died the same day. Adelaide suffered a miscarriage on September 5, 1819. On December 10, 1820, Adelaide gave birth to a girl, Elizabeth Georgiana Adelaide, six weeks prematurely. Princess Elizabeth, who had been healthy despite being premature, died 12 weeks later on March 4, 1821, of the then-inoperable condition of a strangulated hernia. Twin boys were stillborn on April 23, 1822. A child of William and Adelaide would have succeeded to the throne as William’s two elder brothers, George IV and Frederick, Duke of York, had no surviving children. Adelaide wrote to her widowed sister-in-law the Duchess of Kent, “My children are dead, but your child lives, and she is mine too.” That child was Queen Victoria.

Recumbent effigy of Princess Elizabeth of Clarence in the Grand Corridor of Windsor Castle, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

William’s brother King George IV died on June 26, 1830, and William succeeded to the throne. His coronation on September 8, 1831, was rather low key due to government economics and was nicknamed “the half-crownation”. The traditional procession from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey and the coronation banquet were eliminated and have never again occurred. Adelaide had to provide the jewels for her crown and other jewels had to be hired.

William IV in his coronation robes; Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Adelaide; Credit – Wikipedia

William’s heiress presumptive was his niece Princess Victoria of Kent, the only child of his brother Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and the Duchess of Kent, born Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Both William and Adelaide were very fond of their niece and wanted to be closer to her.  However, the Duchess of Kent did not allow this. In addition, she was rude to Queen Adelaide by refusing to recognize the Queen’s precedence, ignoring her letters, and taking space in royal stables and apartments for her own use. In August 1836 at a dinner in honor of his 71st birthday, William publically insulted the Duchess of Kent in a speech. After his health had been toasted, he replied with this:

“I trust in God that my life may be spared for nine months longer, after which period, in the event of my death, no regency would take place. I should then have the satisfaction of leaving the royal authority to the personal exercise of that young lady [pointing to the Princess Victoria], the Heiress Presumptive of the Crown, and not in the hands of a person now near me, who is surrounded by evil advisers and who is herself incompetent to act with the propriety in the station in which she would be placed. I have no hesitation in saying that I have been insulted – grossly and continually insulted – by that person, but I am now determined to endure no longer a course of behaviour so disrespectful to me. Among many other things I have particularly to complain of the manner in which that young lady has been kept away from my court: she has been repeatedly kept from my drawing room at which she ought always to have been present, but I am fully resolved that this shall not happen again. I would have her know that I am king, and that I am determined to make my authority respected, and for the future I shall insist and command that the Princess do upon all occasions appear at my court, as is her duty to do so.”

William’s wish that his life would be spared for nine months was granted. Princess Victoria turned 18 on May 24, 1837, and a regency would no longer be required. The king had become ill with asthma or hay fever in May 1837, and pneumonia soon developed. King William IV died peacefully at 2:15 AM on June 20, 1837, at Windsor Castle and Princess Victoria ascended to the throne. An autopsy showed that heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver had contributed to his death. William was buried in the Royal Tomb House at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. His wife Adelaide survived William by 12 years, dying on December 2, 1849, at the age of 57.  She was buried after a simple funeral, in accordance with her wishes, in the Royal Tomb House beneath St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle where her husband had been buried.

William IV drawn by his daughter Sophia de L’Isle and Dudley in early 1837; Credit – Wikipedia

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House of Hanover Resources at Unofficial Royalty

First Cousins: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921 – 2021)

(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)

His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, was born at Mon Repos on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921, as His Royal Highness Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark. He was the only son and the youngest of the five children of Prince Andrew (Andreas) of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg.  His father was the seventh of the eight children of King George I of Greece (born Prince Vilhelm of Denmark) and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia.  His mother was the eldest of the four children of Prince Louis of Battenberg (later Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven) and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine.  Prince Philip shares his 20 first cousins with his siblings Princess Margarita of Greece, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; Princess Theodora of Greece, Margravine of Baden; Princess Cecilie of Greece, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse; and Princess Sophie of Greece, Princess of Hesse, Princess of Hanover.

A descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom through his mother
Queen Victoria → Princess Alice of the United Kingdom → Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine → Princess Alice of Battenberg → Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark

A descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark through his father
King Christian IX of Denmark → King George I of Greece (born Prince William of Denmark) → Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark → Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark

A descendant of Peter the Great of Russia and Catherine the Great of Russia through his father
Emperor Peter I (the Great) → Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna → Emperor Peter III of Russia married Empress Catherine II (the Great) (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst) → Emperor Paul → Emperor Nicholas I → Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia → Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia → Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark → Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark

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Prince Philip’s Paternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of King George I of Greece and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia

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Prince Philip’s Maternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Prince Louis of Battenberg (later Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven) and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of King Constantine I of Greece and Princess Sophia of Prussia

King George II of Greece (1890 – 1947)

King George II of Greece reigned from 1922-1924 when he was deposed by a coup and from 1935 until his death in 1947. George married Princess Elisabeth of Romania, daughter of King Ferdinand of Romania and Princess Marie of Edinburgh. The couple had no children and divorced in 1935.
Unofficial Royalty: King George I of Greece

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King Alexander I of Greece (1893 – 1920)

King Alexander I of Greece succeeded his father King Constantine I in 1917 after his father and elder brother Crown Prince George, later King George I, were forced into exile. Alexander made a controversial marriage to the commoner Aspasia Manos. The couple had one child Princess Alexandra who married King Peter II of Yugoslavia. Alexander was a puppet king throughout his reign. He died in 1920 at the age of 27 from blood poisoning as a result of a monkey bite. After his death, his father King Constantine I was restored to the throne.
Unofficial Royalty: King Alexander I of Greece

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Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark, Queen Mother of Romania (1896 – 1982)

The eldest daughter in her family, Princess Helen married Crown Prince Carol of Romania in 1921. In 1925, Carol began an affair and at the end of the year, he renounced his rights to the throne and left Romania with his mistress. Helen and Carol’s only child Michael became the heir apparent to the Romanian throne. Michael succeeded to the throne in 1927 upon the death of his grandfather King Ferdinand.

In 1928, Helen and Carol’s marriage was officially dissolved. In 1930, a coup restored Carol to the throne and Michael was demoted to Crown Prince and remained in Romania. Helen went into exile and only saw her son for two months each year. King Carol reigned for 10 years when another coup restored his son Michael to the throne. King Michael reigned until 1947 when he was forced to abdicate by the Romanian Communists.

Helen again went into exile and lived at Villa Sparta in San Domenico, Italy. She later moved to Lausanne, Switzerland and died there in 1982 at the age of 86.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark
Unofficial Royalty: King Michael (Mihai) of Romania

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King Paul I of Greece (1901 – 1964)

The third of King Constantine I’s three sons to become king, King Paul I succeeded to the throne upon the death of his brother King George II in 1947. Paul married Princess Frederica of Hanover, another descendant of Queen Victoria. They had three children: Princess Sofia who married King Juan Carlos of Spain, King Constantine II of Greece who married Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, and Princess Irene who never married. King Paul died from cancer in 1964 and was succeeded by his son King Constantine II. Constantine II was forced to leave Greece after an unsuccessful coup to overthrow a military junta. In 1973, the Greek monarchy was officially abolished.
Unofficial Royalty: King Paul I of Greece

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Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, Duchess of Aosta (1904 – 1974)

Princess Irene of Greece married Prince Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta whose father reigned Spain briefly as King Amadeo and whose paternal grandfather was King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy. Irene and her husband had one child, Prince Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta who was born in 1943. Irene’s husband was nominally King Tomislav II of Croatia from 1941 to 1943. Irene died in 1974 in Fiesole, Italy.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, Duchess of Aosta

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Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark, The Lady Katherine Brandram (1913 – 2007)

Princess Katherine was 23 years younger than her eldest sibling and spent much of her early life living in exile. Her father died when she was 10 years old and her mother died when she was 19 years old. Katherine was educated in England and married an English commoner, Richard Campbell Brandram. She received permission to style herself The Lady Katherine Brandram from King George VI, who also granted her the status of a duke’s daughter in the order of precedence. This style was valid only within the United Kingdom, and she remained Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark. Katherine and her husband had one child Richard Paul George Andrew Brandram, known as Paul, who was born in 1948. She attended the wedding of her first cousin Prince Philip and also the 80th birthday service for Prince Philip in 2001. Katherine was the last surviving great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She died in 2007 at the age of 94.
Telegraph: Obituary – Lady Katherine Brandram
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark, The Lady Katherine Brandram

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Prince George of Greece and Denmark and Princess Marie Bonaparte

Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark (1908 – 1980)

Prince Peter was the only son of the second Prince George of Greece, the second son of King George I of Greece. He was an anthropologist who specialized in Tibetan culture. His mother Princess Marie Bonaparte was an author and a psychoanalyst who worked with Sigmund Freud and who financially helped Freud escape from Nazi Germany.

Peter held a doctorate of law from the University of Paris and a doctorate in anthropology from the London School of Economics. He forfeited his succession rights to the Greek throne by marrying a Russian commoner, Irina Aleksandrovna Ovtchinnikova. After the death of his uncle King Paul I, Peter was upset when the succession laws were changed to allow female dynasts. At the time his cousin King Constantine II was not married and the heir to the throne was Constantine’s younger, unmarried sister Princess Irene. Peter refused to recognize this and declared that he should be the heir presumptive. This train of thought continued when King Constantine II’s first child was a daughter, Princess Alexia, and she was then the heir presumptive to the throne.

After the end of the Greek monarchy, Peter sold all his possessions in Greece and lived in London, Paris, and Copenhagen. He died in London in 1980 and was buried at the Danish palace Bernstorff as the Greek government would not allow him to be buried at Tatoi, the burial place of the Greek royals.
Wikipedia: Prince Peter of Greece

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Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmark, Duchess of Castel Duino (1910 – 1989)

Princess Eugénie was the only daughter and the youngest child of Prince George of Greece and Denmark. She attended the wedding of her cousin Prince Philip and the future Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Eugénie married twice. First, she married Prince Dominik Rainer Radziwiłł in 1938, but the couple divorced in 1946. They had a son and a daughter. Then Eugénie married Prince Raymundo della Torre e Tasso, Duke of Castel Duino. The couple had one son, but that marriage also ended in divorce. Eugénie died in Geneva, Switzerland in 1989 at the age of 79. A year after her death, her biography of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, Le Tsarevitch, Enfant Martr, was published.
Wikipedia: Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmark

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia and Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890 – 1958)

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia and her younger brother Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia were not only first cousins of Prince Philip, but also first cousins of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. Maria and Dmitri’s father Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich was the youngest sibling of Nicholas II’s father, Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia. Maria is known as “Maria Pavlovna the Younger” so she is not confused with her aunt by marriage, the wife of her uncle Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, who is known as “Maria Pavlovna the Elder”.

Maria’s mother, born Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, died from complications while giving birth to Maria’s younger brother Dmitri when Maria was not yet two years old. Four years after the death of his wife, Maria’s father married a commoner without the permission of EmperorNicholas II. The marriage had taken place outside Russia, and the Emperor refused to allow the couple to return to Russia. Maria and her brother Dmitri were mostly raised by their uncle Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovona, who had been born Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine.

When Maria was 16 years old, she married Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland, the second son of King Gustav V of Sweden. The couple had one child, Prince Lennart, Duke of Småland, and later Count Bernadotte af Wisborg, but the marriage was not a happy one and it was officially dissolved. Maria had to leave her son in Sweden where he was raised by his paternal grandmother Queen Victoria, wife of King Gustav V of Sweden.

In 1917, Maria married Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Putyatin. Their son, Prince Roman Sergeievich Putyatin, died in infancy. With the situation in Russia becoming worse for the Romanovs, Maria and her husband Sergei left Russia and were helped by Maria’s first cousin Queen Marie of Romania. Maria divorced her second husband and her exile took her from Romania to Paris, and then to the United States and Argentina, and finally to Germany where she died in 1958 at the age of 68.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia

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Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (1891 – 1942)

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich’s claim to fame is that he was one of the conspirators who murdered the mystic faith healer Grigori Rasputin, who had much influence over Dmitri’s cousin Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and his family. As explained above, Dmitri’s mother died due to complications during his birth. After Rasputin’s murder, Dmitri was exiled to Persia (now Iran), a move that most likely saved his life. After the Russian Revolution, Dmitri lived in exile in Paris where he had an affair with the fashion designer Coco Chanel. Dmitri married American heiress Audrey Emery in 1926, but the couple divorced in 1937. The marriage produced one child, Paul Ilyinsky, who was an American citizen and was elected mayor of Palm Beach, Florida. Dmitri died from tuberculosis at a Swiss sanatorium in 1942 at the age of 50.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia

Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, Princess of Yugoslavia (1903 – 1997)

Princess Olga was the eldest of the three daughters of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and his wife Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, who was a first cousin of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. She married Prince Paul of Yugoslavia and the couple had two sons and a daughter. Through her daughter Elizabeth, Olga is the grandmother of actress Catherine Oxenberg. Olga died in Paris, France in 1997 at the age of 94.
Wikipedia: Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark

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Princess Elizabeth of Greece and Denmark, Countess of Toerring-Jettenbach (1904 – 1955)

Princess Elizabeth was the middle daughter of the three daughters of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark. She married Carl Theodor, Count of Toerring-Jettenbach and the couple had a son and a daughter. Elizabeth died from cancer in 1955 at the age of 50 in Munich, Germany.
Wikipedia: Princess Elizabeth of Greece and Denmark

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Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, Duchess of Kent (1906 – 1968)

The youngest of the three daughters of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, Princess Marina married into the British Royal Family. Her husband was Prince George, Duke of Kent, a son of King George V of the United Kingdom. Their three children, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra of Kent, and Prince Michael of Kent are first cousins of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Marina was left a widow when she was 36 when her husband was killed in an airplane crash while on active service with the Royal Air Force during World War II. Marina died from a brain tumor in 1968 at the age of 61.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia

Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia, Princess Paul Chavchavadze (1901 – 1974)

Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia was a great-granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia through her father. The marriage of her parents was not happy and in 1914, her mother took her children to England supposedly to improve their health. They never returned to Russia because of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Nina’s father Grand Duke George Mikhailovich was shot by a firing squad, along with other Romanov relatives in January of 1919. Nina married Prince Paul Chavchavadze, a descendant of the last King of Georgia. The couple had one child, Prince David Chavchavadze. In 1939, the family moved to the United States, where Nina worked as an artist and her husband wrote books and also did translations. Her son became an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Nina died in Hyannis, Massachusetts in 1974 at the age of 72.
Wikipedia: Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia

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Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia, Mrs. Leeds, Mrs. Jud (1903 – 1965)

Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia was the younger sister of Princess Nina above. As young children, Xenia and her sister Nina played with the two younger daughters of Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duchesses Maria Nikolaevna and Anastasia Nikolaevna. Xenia married twice. Her first marriage was to William Bateman Leeds, the son and heir of an American tin magnate. William’s mother, the very wealthy American widow, Nonnie May “Nancy” Stewart Worthington Leeds, had married Xenia’s uncle Prince Christopher of Greece, but Nancy died three years later due to cancer. Xenia and William had one child, Nancy Helen Marie Leeds, but their marriage ended in divorce after nine years. Xenia’s childless second marriage was to Herman Jud, who survived her.

Xenia is known for her involvement with Anna Anderson who claimed to be Xenia’s childhood playmate Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna. Xenia claimed that Anna Anderson was Anastasia, a claim we now know was false due to DNA testing. In 1965, at the age of 62, Xenia died in Glen Cove, New York.
Wikipedia: Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia

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Paternal First Cousin: Child of Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark and Princess Françoise of Orléans

Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark (born 1939)

Prince Michael is the only child of Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark and his second wife Princess Françoise of Orléans. Michael’s father died when he was less than a year old. Michael married Greek artist Marina Karella and the couple has two daughters. He is the author of several historical novels and biographies, and a contributing writer for Architectural Digest.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Michael of Greece

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven and Countess Nadejda Mikhailovna de Torby

Lady Tatiana Mountbatten (1917 – 1988)

Lady Tatiana Mountbatten was mentally disabled. She was a train bearer at the wedding of her aunt Lady Louise Mountbatten to Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, later King Gustaf VI Adolf and Queen Louise of Sweden. Eventually, Lady Tatiana was placed in St. Andrew’s Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Northampton, England, where she spent the rest of her life.

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David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven (1919 – 1970)

David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven was the only son of George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven and Russian Countess Nadejda (Nada) Torby. He had a close relationship with his first cousin Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. They both attended Dartmouth Naval College and David served as best man at Prince Philip’s wedding to the future Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. David married twice. His first, childless marriage to Romaine Dahlgren Pierce ended in divorce after four years. He then married Janet Mercedes Bryce and the couple had two children: George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven and Lord Ivar Mountbatten. David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven died, aged 50, in 1970.
Wikipedia: David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and Edwina Ashley

Patricia (Mountbatten) Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, Dowager Lady Brabourne (1924 – 2017)

Patricia (Mountbatten) Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, Dowager Lady Brabourne is a British peer in her own right and the elder of the two daughters of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and his wife, the heiress Edwina Ashley. In 1946, Patricia married John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne and the couple had eight children. Upon the assassination of her father in 1979, Patricia succeeded to his titles as her father’s peerages had been created by the Crown with special remainder to his daughters and their heirs male.
Wikipedia: Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma

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Lady Pamela (Mountbatten) Hicks (born 1929)

Lady Pamela (Mountbatten) Hicks is the younger of the two daughters of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and his wife, the heiress Edwina Ashley. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her first cousin Prince Philip and the future Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Pamela was a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth and was with her in Kenya when news of the death of King George VI was received. In 1960, Pamela married interior decorator and designer David Hicks, and the couple had three children including India Hicks who was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. Pamela has authored two volumes of her memoirs: India Remembered: A Personal Account of the Mountbattens During the Transfer of Power (2007) and Daughter of Empire: Life as a Mountbatten (2012).
Wikipedia: Lady Pamela Hicks

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Works Cited

  • Lundy, D. (2019). Main Page. [online] Thepeerage.com. Available at: http://www.thepeerage.com/. (for genealogy information)
  • Unofficial Royalty. (2019). Unofficial Royalty. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com. (for biographical and genealogy information)
  • Wikipedia. (2019). Main Page. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/.  (for biographical and genealogy information)