Frederiksborg Castle Church in Hillerød, Denmark

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Frederiksborg Castle; Credit – By Casper Moller from London, United Kingdom – Frederiksborg Castle – home of the Danish National History Museum; this file from Commons, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29657236

Frederiksborg Castle Church, located in Frederiksborg Castle, is a church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, sometimes called The Church of Denmark, the established, state-supported church in Denmark. Frederiksborg Castle is located in Hillerød, Denmark on the island of Zealand 18 miles/30 km north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle acquired by his father King Frederik II. Christian IV had been born at the castle and became quite attached to his birthplace. However, he decided to have it completely rebuilt in the Flemish and Dutch Renaissance styles. The old castle was demolished in 1599 and the Flemish architect Hans van Steenwinckel the Elder designed the new castle.

The Castle Fire of 1859, painting by Ferdinand Richardt; Credit – Wikipedia

The castle ceased to be used as a royal residence by the end of the 18th century and was used to house the royal collection of portraits. In the mid-19th century, King Frederik VII and his morganatic third wife Louise Rasmussen, Countess Danner began to use Frederiksborg Castle as a residence. On the evening of December 16, 1859, King Frederik VII was examining his historic artifacts in a room on the third floor. The night was cold and so Frederik VII asked for a fire to be lit. However, the chimney was under repair and a fire broke out. The fire spread quickly, causing major damage to most of the castle but the castle chapel, the audience chamber, and the privy passage survived the fire.

The Danish royal family decided that they would no longer use the castle as a residence and so a discussion began regarding the future purpose of the castle. J. C. Jacobsen, the founder of Carlsberg Brewery, proposed the establishment of a museum of national history at Frederiksborg Castle and he offered to pay for both the reconstruction of Frederiksborg Castle and the museum’s future expenses. Jacobsen created the Carlsberg Foundation and allocated some of his shares in the Carlsberg Brewery to fund and operate the Danish Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Palace and the Carlsberg Research Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish Museum of National History opened in 1882 and has since been an independent department of the Carlsberg Foundation.

The church wing; Credit – By Bjoertvedt – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23828113

The current castle church, built when Christian IV rebuilt Frederiksborg Castle, was consecrated in 1617. It escaped being damaged in the 1859 fire. The church is located in the west wing of the three-winged castle. The castle church extends along the entire length of the west wing with a long nave and a two-story gallery. The six-vaulted stucco ceiling is supported by pillars rising from the galleries. The pillars are decorated with frescos of Biblical figures, painted in the 1690s. The altarpiece and pulpit were made by German silversmith Jacob Mores.

The interior of the Fredriksborg Palace Church; Credit – By Marshallhenrie – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42323005

The altarpiece and pulpit; Credit – Wikipedia

During the period of absolute monarchy (1660 – 1848) the Kings of Denmark and their Queens Consort were anointed in the Frederiksborg Castle Church except for King Christian VII and his wife Caroline Matilda of Wales whose anointing took place at held in the Christiansborg Palace Chapel in Copenhagen. The new king would arrive at the Frederiksborg Castle Church already wearing the crown, where he was then anointed.

Since 1693, the castle church has been the chapel of the two Royal Orders of Chivalry in Denmark: the Order of the Elephant and the Order of Dannebrog.

Royal Events at Frederiksborg Castle Church

Anointing of King Christian V and Queen Charlotte Amalie at Frederiksborg Castle Church in 1671; Credit – Wikipedia

Anointing of King Frederik VI at Frederiksborg Castle Church in 1815; Credit – Wikipedia

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

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frederiksborg Slot – Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederiksborg_Slot> [Accessed 29 August 2021].
  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frederiksborg Slotskirke – Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederiksborg_Slotskirke> [Accessed 29 August 2021].
  • Danish National History Museum. 2021. Frederiksborg Castle – Frederiksborg. [online] Available at: <https://dnm.dk/en/frederiksborg-castle/> [Accessed 29 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Coronation of the Danish monarch – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_the_Danish_monarch> [Accessed 29 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frederiksborg Castle – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederiksborg_Castle> [Accessed 29 August 2021].

Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl X Gustav became King of Sweden upon the abdication of his cousin Christina, Queen of Sweden. Born Karl Gustav of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg on November 8, 1622, at Nyköping Castle in Nyköping, Sweden, he was the third of the eight children and the eldest of the three sons of Johann Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Princess Katarina of Sweden. His paternal grandparents were Johann I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. His maternal grandparents were Karl IX, King of Sweden and his first wife Maria of the Palatinate-Simmern. Karl Gustav’s mother Katarina of Sweden was the only surviving child of her parents and the half-sister of Gustavus II Adolphus the Great, King of Sweden.

Karl Gustav had seven siblings:


Karl Gustav’s parents: Princess Katarina of Sweden and Johann Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg: Credit – Wikipedia

In 1622, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden asked his half-sister Katarina to move back to Sweden with her husband Johann Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg, and their children. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, brother of Gustavus Adolphus and half-brother of Katarina, had died in early 1622, leaving no heirs to the Swedish throne except Katarina and her children. At the time, the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648) was raging through the territories of the German monarchies and Gustavus Adolphus wanted to move Katarina and her family to safety in Sweden. They arrived in Sweden in June 1622 and remained permanently in Sweden. Later that year, the birth of Katarina’s son Karl Gustav, a male heir to the throne of Sweden, immediately strengthened her position. Katarina and her husband were granted Stegeborg Castle and Östergötland as their fief and Katarina was styled Countess of Stegeborg.

Gustavus Adolphus’ wife Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg had given birth to a stillborn daughter in 1621, a daughter named Christina in 1623 who lived for only eleven months, and a stillborn son in 1625. Finally, in 1626, she gave birth to a child who survived, a girl named Christina. Gustavus Adolphus ordered the birth to be announced with all the ceremonies usually given to the birth of a male heir. This seems to indicate that Gustavus Adolphus had little hope of having other children. Maria Eleonora’s state of health seems to be the most likely explanation for this. Gustavus Adolphus recognized Christina’s eligibility as a female heir and she became the undisputed heir presumptive. Maria Eleonora showed little affection for her daughter and was not allowed any influence in Christina’s upbringing. Christina was placed in the care of Gustavus Adolphus’ half-sister Katarina under the supervision of Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna. Six years later, at the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years’ War, Gustavus Adolphus was killed and six-year-old Christina became Queen of Sweden.

Christina, Queen of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

Christina, who was very well educated and was considered one of the most learned women of the 17th century, was raised with Karl Gustav and his siblings. After being educated by tutors, Karl Gustav studied at Uppsala University. From 1638 – 1640, Karl Gustav was on a foreign educational trip, mainly at the court of Louis XIII, King of France. After returning to Sweden, Karl Gustav embedded with the Swedish army fighting in the Thirty Years’ War, studying the art of war under Lennart Torstenson, a Swedish Field Marshal and military engineer. He participated in the Second Battle of Breitenfeld (1642) and the Battle of Jankowitz (1645). Karl Gustav then frequented the Swedish court, as a prospective husband of his cousin Queen Christina. In 1647, Queen Christina appointed Karl Gustav commander of the Swedish troops fighting in the German monarchies and at the same time signaled her intention to marry him.

However, in 1649, 23-year-old Christina informed the council of state of her decision not to marry anyone and that she wanted her cousin Karl Gustav to be her heir. As a child, Christina had been impressed by the Catholic religion and the celibacy of its priests. She read a biography on the unmarried Queen Elizabeth I of England with great interest. Furthermore, Christina was investigating the possibility of converting to Roman Catholicism, and in 1652, she decided to do so, although the conversion would not occur until 1654 after her abdication. After reigning for twenty years and working at least ten hours a day, Christina had what may be interpreted as a nervous breakdown, or perhaps in more modern terms, she was burned out. She was also receiving increasing public criticism for her policies that caused a drain on the Swedish treasury.

In February 1654, Christina informed the Council of State that she intended to abdicate. An abdication ceremony was held on June 6, 1654, at Uppsala Castle. Later that day, Christina’s cousin Karl Gustav of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg was crowned Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden. Within a few days, 28-year-old Christina left Sweden. She eventually made her way to Rome where she lived for the rest of her life.

Karl Gustav’s wife Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp; Credit – Wikipedia

The 32-year-old new King of Sweden was unmarried as he had expected he would marry Christina. He needed to find a bride as soon as possible to provide an heir. The former Queen Christina of Sweden had met Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, daughter of Friedrich III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and Marie Elisabeth of Saxony, on her way to Rome after her abdication. Concerned that Karl Gustav was unmarried, Christina suggested the match. However, Hedwig Eleonora was already engaged to Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, and so Christina recommended Hedwig Eleonora’s elder sister Magdalene Sibylle instead. After seeing portraits of both sisters, Karl Gustav chose Hedwig Eleonora because of her beauty, and her current fiancé was instead married to her sister Magdalena Sibylle.

The wedding of Karl Gustav and Hedwig Eleonora; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 24, 1654, the day after her eighteenth birthday, Hedwig Eleonora married Karl Gustav at the Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm, Sweden. Three days later, Hedwig Eleonora was crowned Queen of Sweden at the Storkrykan (Great Church) in Stockholm.

Karl Gustav and Hedwig Eleonora had only one child, a son who succeeded his father:

Triumph of Karl X Gustav over the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, circa 1655; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl Gustav’s short reign concentrated on healing domestic discords from Queen Christina’s reign and rallying Sweden around his new policy of conquest. He achieved great military successes in the Second Northern War against Denmark-Norway and Poland-Lithuania.

On January 4, 1660, the Riksdag of the Estates opened in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Riksdag of the Estates was the assembly of the Four Estates of Sweden which historically were the lines of division in Swedish society. Karl Gustav was in attendance and was accompanied by his wife Hedwig Eleonora, their four-year-old son Karl, and Karl Gustav’s sister Marie Euphrosine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg who had married Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, then the Lord High Treasurer of Sweden. Within a few weeks, Karl Gustav became ill with influenza which developed into pneumonia.

On February 12, 1660, Karl Gustav became increasingly ill with a high fever and had difficulty breathing. He signed his will appointing a regency of six relatives and close friends for his four-year-old son who would soon be Karl XI, King of Sweden. Karl Gustav said goodbye to his wife, his son, and his closest friends. In the early evening, his condition worsened again and he could not lie down due to his breathing difficulties. He was held up in the arms of Marshal Gabriel Oxenstierna and Count Nils Brahe. At midnight, the doctors announced that death was approaching, and Karl Gustav said goodbye to those present again. Karl IX Gustav, King of Sweden died at the age of 37 in the early morning hours of February 13, 1660. He was buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden. His wife Hedwig Eleonora survived her husband by fifty-five years and her son by eighteen years, dying on November 24, 1715, in Stockholm, Sweden at the age of 79. She was buried with her husband at Riddarholmen Church.

Sarcophagus of Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

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

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles X Gustav of Sweden – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_X_Gustav_of_Sweden> [Accessed 28 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedwig_Eleonora_of_Holstein-Gottorp> [Accessed 28 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Catherine of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Sweden,_Countess_Palatine_of_Kleeburg> [Accessed 28 August 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Christina, Queen of Sweden. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/christina-queen-of-sweden/> [Accessed 28 August 2021].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2021. Karl X Gustav – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_X_Gustav> [Accessed 28 August 2021].

Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse is the current pretender to the former grand ducal throne of Hesse and by Rhine, and Head of the House of Hesse. He succeeded to both upon his father’s death in 2013.

 

Heinrich Donatus Philipp Umberton, Prince of Hesse, was born in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein on October 17, 1966, the son of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse and Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. He has three siblings:

  • Mafalda (1965) – married (1) Enrico dei Conti Marone Cinzano, no issue; (2) Carlo Galdo, has issue; (3) Ferdinando Peretti, has issue
  • Elena (1967) – unmarried, has issue
  • Philip (1970) – married Laetitia Bechtoff, has issue

 

In 2003, Donatus married Countess Floria Franziska von Faber-Castell. A civil ceremony was held in Wiesbaden on April 25, 2003, followed by a religious ceremony held at St. John’s Church in Kronberg on May 17, 2003. Their reception was held in the Green Salon at the former Schloss Friedrichshof (now Schlosshotel Kronberg). Guests included Princess Benedikte of Denmark (the groom’s aunt), and Princess Caroline of Monaco, The Princess of Hanover. Donatus and Floria have three children:

  • Paulina Princess of Hesse (born 2007)
  • Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Hesse (born 2007)
  • August, Prince of Hesse (born 2012)

Having studied Business Administration at the University of Hamburg, the Landgrave runs the Hesse Family Foundation which manages the numerous estates and assets of the Hessian family. These include the former Schloss Friedrichshof, Schloss Fasanerie, the Grandhotel Hessischer Hof, the Prince of Hesse Winery, Schloss Wolfsgarten, and the Gut Panker estate (the latter two are the family’s private residences).

 

Donatus maintains close ties with the British Royal Family and is often invited to events such as the Royal Windsor Horse Show. In 2016, he was seated next to the Duchess of Cambridge at an event for the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations. In 2021, he was part of a very small group of family members invited to attend the funeral of The Duke of Edinburgh. Donatus and his wife also attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and Donatus attended the coronation of King Charles III.

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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.

Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma was the second wife of Ferdinando IV, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany. At the time of their marriage in 1868, Ferdinando was no longer the reigning Grand Duke of Tuscany because of the unification of the former Italian monarchies into the Kingdom of Italy. However, Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Head of the House of Habsburg-Lorriane, of which Ferdinando was a member, allowed Ferdinando to keep the grand ducal title as a courtesy. Ferdinando’s descendants could only use the title of Archduke or Archduchess of Austria.

Alicia Maria Carolina Ferdinanda Rachael Giovanna Filomena was born in Parma, Duchy of Parma, now in Italy, on December 27, 1849. She was the third of the four children and the second of the two daughters of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France, a granddaughter of King Charles X of France. Alicia’s paternal grandparents were Carlo II, Duke of Parma and Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Charles Ferdinand of France, Duke of Berry and Princess Carolina of Naples and Sicily.

Alicia had three siblings:

The authoritarian policies of Alicia’s father Carlo III, Duke of Parma made him unpopular. He placed Parma under martial law, inflicted heavy penalties on the members of the former provisional government, closed the university, and instituted persecution policies. His authoritarian policies made him unpopular, and after reigning only five years, he was assassinated on March 27, 1854. Alicia’s six-year-old brother Roberto became Duke of Parma with his mother as regent. In 1859, the Duchy of Parma was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Louise Marie Thérèse and her four children, circa 1860, left to right: Roberto, Margherita, Enrico, and Alicia; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise Marie Thérèse and her four children made their way to Venice where they lived temporarily under Austrian protection. The Bourbon-Parma family had considerable wealth and later lived in exile at Schwarzau Castle (now a prison, link in German) at Schwarzau am Steinfeld near Vienna, Austria, the Villa Pianore (link in Italian) in northwest Italy, and the magnificent Château de Chambord in France.

In January 1864, 15-year-old Alicia became engaged to 23-year-old Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein. Johann, who never married and reigned for seventy years, broke the engagement in December 1864. He argued that because Liechtenstein was part of the German Confederation, a marriage to Alicia, who was descended from the French royal family on her mother’s side, could cause problems. However, according to some contemporary sources, Johann had broken the engagement because he was allegedly homosexual.

Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 11, 1868, at Schloss Frohsdorf (link in German) in Lanzenkirchen, Austria, a property owned by the family of Alicia’s mother Louise Marie Thérèse of France, Alicia married Ferdinando IV, the former Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ferdinando lost his throne due to the Italian unification and was in exile like Alicia’s family. This was a second marriage for Ferdinando. He previously had been married to Princess Anna of Saxony, daughter of Johann, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. On February 6, 1859, Anna miscarried a daughter due to typhoid fever. Four days later Anna died at the age of twenty-three.

Alicia had a stepdaughter from Ferdinando’s first marriage:

Alicia and Ferdinando had ten children:

  • Archduke Leopold Ferdinand of Austria (1868 – 1935), renounced his titles in 1902 and took the name Leopold Wölfling, married (1) Wilhelmine Adamovicz, no children, divorced (2) Maria Magdalena Ritter, no children, divorced (3) Klara Hedwig Pawlowski, no children
  • Archduchess Louise of Austria (1870 – 1947), married (1) Crown Prince Friedrich August of Saxony (the future King Friedrich August III), had six children, divorced due to a scandal (2) Enrico Toselli, had one son, divorced
  • Archduke Giuseppe Ferdinando of Austria (1872 – 1942), married (1) Rosa Kaltenbrunner, no children, divorced (2) Gertrud Tomanek, had two children
  • Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria (1874 – 1948), married Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had four children
  • Archduke Heinrich Ferdinand of Austria (1878 – 1969), married Maria Karoline Ludescher, had three children
  • Archduchess Anna of Austria (1879 – 1961), married Johannes, Prince of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, had six children
  • Archduchess Margareta of Austria (1881 – 1965), unmarried
  • Archduchess Germana of Austria (1884 – 1955), unmarried
  • Archduke Robert Ferdinand Salvator (1885 – 1895), died in childhood
  • Archduchess Agnes of Austria (1891 – 1945), unmarried

Salzburg Residenz; Credit – By Andrew Bossi – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2871239

Ferdinando and Alicia lived at the Villa Tuscany in Lindau, Austria during the summer, and during the winter they lived in a wing of the Salzburg Residenz, formerly the residence of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. Ferdinando’s second cousin Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria provided both residences. In 1870, Ferdinando relinquished all dynastic rights to the former Grand Duchy of Tuscany for himself, his children, and his future heirs in favor of Franz Joseph I and his future heirs.

Ferdinando died in Salzburg, Austria on January 17, 1908, at the age of 72. He was buried in the Tuscan Vault at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. His second wife Alicia survived him by twenty-seven years, dying on January 16, 1935, aged 85, at Schloss Schwertburg (link in German) in Schwertburg, Austria. She was first buried in Schwertburg and in 2007, her remains were reburied in the cemetery of the parish church in St. Gilgen, Austria.

Parish church and cemetery in St. Gilgen, Austria; Credit – By Bwag – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93056877

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

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles III, Duke of Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III,_Duke_of_Parma> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Alice of Bourbon-Parma (born 1849) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Alice_of_Bourbon-Parma_(born_1849)> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Louise d’Artois – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Louise_d%27Artois> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-iv-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2021. Alice de Bourbon-Parme (1849-1935) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_de_Bourbon-Parme_(1849-1935)> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Alice di Borbone-Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_di_Borbone-Parma> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.

Anna of Saxony, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Anna of Saxony, Princess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna of Saxony was the first wife of the future Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. However, she died before her husband became Grand Duke. Anna Maria Maximiliane Stephania Karoline Johanna Luisa Xaveria Nepomucena Aloysia Benedicta was born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony on January 4, 1836. She was the seventh of the nine children and the fourth of the six daughters of Johann, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Anna’s paternal grandparents were Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony and his first wife Carolina of Bourbon-Parma. Her maternal grandparents were Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden.

Anna had eight siblings:

Ferdinando of Tuscany, Anna’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna’s father was a close friend of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The two families were linked by several marriages. A marriage between Anna and Leopoldo’s eldest son and heir Ferdinando, Hereditary Grand Duke of Tuscany was negotiated when the future bride and groom were still children. Anna and Ferdinando were married on November 24, 1856, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony.

Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. On February 6, 1859, during a trip to Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, Anna miscarried a daughter due to typhoid fever. Four days later Anna died at the age of twenty-three. She was buried at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

Anna and Ferdinando’s daughter Maria Antonietta, circa 1875; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando and Anna had one surviving daughter:

Shortly after Anna’s death, on April 27, 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinando IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy, and Ferdinando’s hopes to reclaim the throne were ended. Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. On January 11, 1868, Ferdinando married Princess Alice of Bourbon-Parma, the daughter of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse of France and the couple had ten children.

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

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Maria von Sachsen – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Maria_von_Sachsen> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
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  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-iv-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Maria di Sassonia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Maria_di_Sassonia> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
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  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

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Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany: Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando IV was the last Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ferdinando Salvatore Maria Giuseppe Giovan Battista Francesco Luigi Gonzaga Raffaello Ranieri Gennaro was born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, on June 10, 1835. He was the second of the ten children and the eldest of the five sons of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his second wife Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Ferdinando’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his first wife Luisa of Naples and Sicily. His maternal grandparents were Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain.

Ferdinando had three half-sisters from his father’s first marriage to Maria Anna of Saxony who died from tuberculosis in 1832.

Ferdinando had nine siblings:

Princess Anna of Saxony, Ferdinando’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 24, 1856, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, Ferdinando married Princess Anna of Saxony, daughter of Johann, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. On February 6, 1859, while ill with typhoid fever, Anna miscarried a daughter. Four days later Anna died at the age of twenty-three. She was buried at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

Ferdinando and Anna had one surviving daughter:

Shortly after Anna’s death, on April 27, 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. Ferdinando was unable to return to Florence to claim his throne, and an elected Tuscan National Assembly formally deposed him on August 16, 1859. Ferdinando hoped to recover his throne because France and Austria had promised to recognize his rights. However, neither France nor Austria was willing to take any steps to bring about his restoration. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy, and Ferdinand’s hopes to reclaim the throne were ended. Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine put some limits on the use of titles and dynastic rights on Ferdinando’s branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Ferdinando was allowed to keep the grand ducal title as a courtesy but his descendants could only use the title of Archduke or Archduchess of Austria. Only family members born before 1866 could use the title Prince or Princess of Tuscany. In 1870, Ferdinando relinquished all dynastic rights to the former Grand Duchy of Tuscany for himself and his future heirs in favor of his second cousin Emperor Franz Joseph I and his future heirs. Upon Ferdinando’s death in 1908, his descendants were barred from using any Tuscan titles by Imperial decree.

Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Ferdinando’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 11, 1868, at Schloss Frohsdorf (link in German) in Lanzenkirchen, Austria, Ferdinando married Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse of France.

Ferdinando and Alicia had ten children:

  • Archduke Leopold Ferdinand of Austria (1868 – 1935), renounced his titles in 1902 and took the name Leopold Wölfling, married (1) Wilhelmine Adamovicz, no children, divorced (2) Maria Magdalena Ritter, no children, divorced (3) Klara Hedwig Pawlowski, no children
  • Archduchess Louise of Austria (1870 – 1947), married (1) Crown Prince Friedrich August of Saxony (the future King Friedrich August III), had six children, divorced due to a scandal (2) Enrico Toselli, had one son, divorced
  • Archduke Giuseppe Ferdinando of Austria (1872 – 1942), married (1) Rosa Kaltenbrunner, no children, divorced (2) Gertrud Tomanek, had two children
  • Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria (1874 – 1948), married Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had four children
  • Archduke Heinrich Ferdinand of Austria (1878 – 1969), married Maria Karoline Ludescher, had three children
  • Archduchess Anna of Austria (1879 – 1961), married Johannes, Prince of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, had six children
  • Archduchess Margareta of Austria (1881 – 1965), unmarried
  • Archduchess Germana of Austria (1884 – 1955), unmarried
  • Archduke Robert Ferdinand Salvator (1885 – 1895), died in childhood
  • Archduchess Agnes of Austria (1891 – 1945), unmarried

Salzburg Residenz; Credit – By Andrew Bossi – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2871239

From 1868, Ferdinando and his second wife Alicia lived at the Villa Tuscany in Lindau, Austria during the summer, and during the winter they lived in a wing of the Salzburg Residenz, formerly the residence of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. Both residences were provided by Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria.

Ferdinando in 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando died in Salzburg, Austria on January 17, 1908, at the age of 72. He was buried in the Tuscan Vault in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. His second wife Alicia survived him by twenty-seven years, dying on January 16, 1935, aged 85, at Schloss Schwertburg (link in German) in Schwertburg, Austria. She was first buried in Schwertburg and in 2007, her remains were reburied in the cemetery of the parish church in St. Gilgen, Austria.

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

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand IV. (Toskana) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_IV._(Toskana)> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_IV,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopoldo-ii-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinando IV di Toscana – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_IV_di_Toscana> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

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Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies was the second wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Maria Antonietta Giuseppa Anna was born at the Royal Palace of Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily, now in Italy on December 19, 1814. She was the sixth of the twelve children and the third of the six daughters of Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. Maria Antonia’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinando, who reigned as King of Naples and King of Sicily from 1759 – 1816, and then as King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies from 1816 – 1825, and his first wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. Her maternal grandparents were Carlos IV, King of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma.

Maria Antonia had two half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to his double first cousin Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria who died from tuberculosis at the age of twenty-four:

Left to right: Maria Isabella, second wife of Francesco holding Maria Carolina, Maria Antonia, Luisa Carlotta, Maria Cristina, Ferdinando, Francesco holding Maria Amalia, Carlo, Prince of Capua and Leopoldo, Count of Syracuse; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia had eleven siblings. Unusual for the time, all eleven survived childhood:

Maria Antonia at the time of her wedding; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1832, Maria Anna of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, the wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Saxony, died from tuberculosis. Leopoldo greatly grieved his beloved wife Maria Anna but because he had three daughters and needed a male heir to ensure the succession. If Leopoldo did not have a male heir, the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany would revert to Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives. On June 7, 1833, at the chapel of the Royal Palace in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, Leopoldo married his first cousin Maria Antonia.

Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia and Leopoldo had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV:

The Revolutions of 1847/1848 caused Leopoldo to enact a constitution but it was not enough for the radical forces who wanted to eliminate Austrian influence. In January 1849, Leopoldo, Maria Antonia, and their family left Florence when a provisional republican government was formed. However, the republican government was short-lived due to a counter-revolution by Austrian troops and Leopoldo was able to return to Florence.

In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence permanently because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Schlackenwerth Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

The former Grand Ducal Family of Tuscany settled in the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ruled by Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives. The family resided at Schlackenwerth Castle (link in German) in Schlackenwerth, a German-speaking town in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now Ostrov, in the Czech Republic. The people of the town treated Leopoldo with great respect and asked him to become the mayor of Schlackenwerth. In November 1869, Leopoldo and Maria Antonia made a pilgrimage to Rome, and Leopoldo died there on January 29, 1870, at the age of 72. Initially, Leopoldo was buried in Rome at the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles (Santi Apostoli).  In 1914, his remains were transferred to Vienna, Austria where they were interred in the Tuscan Vault at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church.

Schloss Ort; Credit – By Bwag – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77565334

After the death of her husband, Maria Antonia mostly lived at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, a town on the Traunsee, a lake in Austria. Every year she went to Rome where she prayed at her husband’s grave and visited the Pope.

Maria Antonia in 1898, the year of her death; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia survived her husband by twenty-eight years, dying at the age of 83 on November 7, 1898, at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, Austria. She was interred in the Ferdinand Vault at the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria.

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

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Antonia_of_the_Two_Sicilies> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, S., 2021. Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-i-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopoldo-ii-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Antonia di Borbone-Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Antonia_di_Borbone-Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Fredensborg Palace Church in Fredensborg, Denmark

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Fredensborg Palace Church (in the middle); Credit – Af Pugilist – Eget arbejde, CC BY-SA 4.0,

Fredensborg Palace Church, located in Fredensborg Palace, is a church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, sometimes called The Church of Denmark, the established, state-supported church in Denmark. Fredensborg Palace, located on Lake Esrum in Fredensborg on the island of Zealand in Denmark, is the spring and autumn residence of the Danish Royal Family. It was originally built as a hunting lodge for King Frederik IV between 1719 – 1722 on the site of a farm that he owned. Originally, no church was built at Fredensborg Palace because it was intended as a summer residence. When King Frederik IV was in residence the court clergy conducted services and the palace staff attended the parish church in Asminderød.

Fredensborg Palace

When King Frederik IV began to use Fredensborg Palace on a more permanent basis, the original architect Johan Cornelius Krieger began to expand the palace. His plans included a palace church in Dutch Baroque style which was consecrated in 1726. The palace church is in the wing that branches off the eastern side of the palace (‘B’ in the photo above). It is connected to the main palace by the original Orangery.

The altarpiece, baptismal font, and pulpit were made by Danish sculptor Johan Frederik Ehbisch. Hendrik Krock, a court painter during the reigns of Frederik IV and Christian VI, did the painting The Last Judgment that hangs over the altar. Today’s church interior appears much the same as it did in 1726.

Fredensborg Palace Church by Adolf Heinrich-Hansen, circa 1877 – 1925; Credit – Wikipedia

As a part of Fredensborg Palace, Fredensborg Church is at the disposal of the Danish monarchy. Since the reign of King Christian IX, the Asminderød-Grønholt parishes have used Fredensborg Church as a parish church and services, christenings, and weddings are often held there. The palace church has been the site of weddings, christenings, and confirmations for members of the Danish Royal Family, beginning with the 1761 confirmation of Princess Sophia Magdalena, daughter of King Frederik V, later Queen Consort of Sweden. Most recently christenings and confirmations of Queen Margrethe II’s grandchildren have been held there.

Royal Events at the Fredensborg Palace Church

Wedding of Princess Benedikte and Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

Christening of Princess Isabella in 2007

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

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Fredensborg Slotskirke – Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredensborg_Slotskirke> [Accessed 26 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Fredensborg Palace – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredensborg_Palace> [Accessed 26 August 2021].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2015. Fredensborg Palace. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/fredensborg-palace/> [Accessed 26 August 2021].
  • No.wikipedia.org. 2021. Fredensborg slottskirke – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredensborg_slottskirke> [Accessed 26 August 2021].
  • The Danish Monarchy. 2021. Fredensborg Palace Church. [online] Available at: <https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/news/fredensborg-palace-church> [Accessed 26 August 2021].

Maria Anna of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

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Maria Anna of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Anna of Saxony was the first wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Maria Anna Carolina Josepha Vincentia Xaveria Nepomucena Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Johanna Antonia Elisabeth Cunigunde Gertrud Leopoldina was born on November 15, 1799, at the Royal Palace of Dresden in the Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. She was the fifth of the seventh children and the third of the four daughters of Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony and his first wife Princess Carolina of Parma. Maria Anna’s paternal grandparents were Friedrich Christian, Elector of Saxony, and Maria Antonia Walpurgis of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinando, Duke of Parma and Maria Amalia of Austria.

Maria Anna had six siblings:

Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1817, Maria Anna became betrothed to the future Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The couple had a proxy marriage on October 28, 1817, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. However, Maria Anna was so terrified of meeting her bridegroom that she refused to leave Saxony unless her sister Maria Ferdinanda accompanied her. Accompanied by her sister Maria Ferdinanda, Maria Anna finally met Leopoldo and they were married in person on November 16, 1817, at the Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

Maria Ferdinanda, sister of Maria Anna, in the year of her marriage; Credit – Wikipedia

Four years later, when his son Leopoldo and his daughter-in-law Maria Anna had not produced any children, Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany decided to marry twenty years after the death of his first wife Luisa of Naples and Sicily. During his son’s wedding celebrations, Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, the bride’s sister, had caught the eye of Ferdinand III, who was twenty-seven years older than Maria Ferdinanda. He remembered Maria Ferdinanda and chose her as his second wife. They were married on May 6, 1821, in Florence. Ferdinando III hoped to have more children but his marriage to Maria Ferdinadna remained childless.

Maria Anna as Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Three years after his second wedding, Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, aged 55, died on June 18, 1824, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. Maria Anna’s husband succeeded to the throne as Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Maria Anna replaced her sister Maria Ferdinanda as the Grand Duchess of Tuscany. Maria Anna and her husband were the founding patrons of L’Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata, the first female boarding school in Florence to educate aristocratic and noble young ladies. The school is still in existence.

The three daughters of Maria Anna and Leopoldo; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Anna and Leopoldo eventually had children – three daughters who could not succeed to the throne. If Leopoldo did not have a male heir, the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany would revert to Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives.

Maria Anna’s inability to produce a male heir caused depression and coupled with her chronic ill health, made her developing tuberculosis more severe. The doctors advised Maria Anna to move to Pisa because of its milder and healthier climate. The court moved to Pisa in the winter of 1832 but Maria Anna showed no improvement. Her condition worsened in March 1832 and it became clear that she would soon die. Maria Anna serenely awaited her death with her confessor at her bedside but she regretted abandoning her husband and children. On March 24, 1832, 32-year-old Maria Anna died at the Royal Palace (link in Italian) in Pisa, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. She was interred at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence in a beautiful red porphyry sarcophagus surmounted by a crown.

Maria Anna’s husband Leopoldo greatly grieved his beloved wife. However, because he had three daughters and needed a male heir to ensure the succession he married again the following year to his first cousin Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies. Leopoldo and Maria Antonia had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir and the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV.

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

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Maria Anna of Saxony (1799–1832) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Anna_of_Saxony_(1799%E2%80%931832)> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopoldo-ii-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-ferdinanda-of-saxony-grand-duchess-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Anna Carolina di Sassonia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_Carolina_di_Sassonia> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

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Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany was the third of the five children and the second but the only surviving son of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his first wife Luisa of Naples and Sicily. Given the names Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Francesco Ferdinando Carlo, the future Grand Duke of Tuscany was born on October 3, 1797, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. His paternal grandparents were Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria Luisa of Spain. His maternal grandparents were King Ferdinando IV of Naples and III of Sicily, later Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies, and his first wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria.

Leopoldo had four siblings:

Leopoldo lived much of his childhood in exile. In 1801, Napoleon conquered Tuscany. Leopoldo’s father Ferdinando III was forced by the Treaty of Aranjuez to leave Tuscany to make way for the Kingdom of Etruria. Ferdinando III and his family went into exile in Vienna, Austria. Napoleon dissolved the Kingdom of Etruria and integrated it into France in 1807. After Napoleon’s downfall in 1814, Tuscany was restored to Ferdinando III. While the family was in exile in Vienna, Leopoldo’s mother Luisa, aged 29, died in childbirth delivering a stillborn son on September 19, 1802.

Leopoldo as a teenager; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopoldo was 17 years old when his family returned to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He completed his studies having lessons in law, art, literature, and agriculture which greatly interested him. He studied and edited the writings of the physicist, astronomer, philosopher, and mathematician Galileo Galilei and edited and published an edition of the poems of Lorenzo de’Medici which earned him his appointment as a member of the Accademia della Crusca, a Florence-based society of scholars of the linguistics and philology of the Italian language.

Maria Anna of Saxony, Leopoldo’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 28, 1817, by proxy in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony and then in person at the Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, on November 16, 1817, Leopoldo married Princess Maria Anna of Saxony, daughter of Hereditary Prince Maximilian of Saxony and his first wife Caroline of Bourbon-Parma.

The three daughters of Maria Anna and Leopoldo; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopoldo and his first wife Maria Anna of Saxony had three daughters:

Upon his father’s death on June 18, 1824, Leopoldo became Grand Duke of Tuscany. During the first twenty years of his reign, Leopoldo focused on the domestic affairs of the Grand Duchy. Although he was subject to Austrian influence, he refused to adopt some Austrian methods, allowed some freedom of the press, and permitted many political exiles from other countries to live in Tuscany.

Leopoldo’s wife Maria Anna, aged 32, died on March 24, 1832, at the Royal Palace in Pisa, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, from tuberculosis which also caused the early death of her daughter Auguste. She was buried at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. Leopoldo greatly grieved his beloved wife but because he had three daughters and needed a male heir to ensure the succession. If Leopoldo did not have a male heir, the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany would revert to Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives.

Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Leopoldo’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 7, 1833, at the chapel of the Royal Palace in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, Leopoldo married his first cousin Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, daughter of King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabel of Spain.

Leopoldo and his second wife Maria Antonia had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir and the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV:

Leopoldo and his family returning from exile in 1849; Credit – Wikipedia

The Revolutions of 1847/1848 caused Leopoldo to enact a constitution but it was not enough for the radical forces who wanted to eliminate Austrian influence. In January 1849, Leopoldo left Florence when a provisional republican government was formed. However, the republican government was short-lived due to a counter-revolution by Austrian troops and Leopoldo was able to return to Florence,

Leopoldo in 1860; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Schlackenwerth Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

The former Grand Ducal Family of Tuscany settled in the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ruled by Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives. The family resided at Schlackenwerth Castle (link in German) in Schlackenwerth, a German-speaking town in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now Ostrov, in the Czech Republic. The townspeople treated Leopoldo with great respect and asked him to become the mayor of Schlackenwerth. Leopoldo accepted and while he was mayor, a great deal was accomplished. The museum, which was closed due to its run-down condition was renovated and reopened. Leopoldo arranged for children from poor families to attend school. In 1866, when a fire in Schlackenwerth created much destruction, Leopoldo used his private fortune to repair the worst damage.

In November 1869, Leopoldo and his wife Maria Antonia made a pilgrimage to Rome, and Leopoldo died there on January 29, 1870, at the age of 72. Initially, Leopoldo was buried in Rome at the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles (Santi Apostoli).  In 1914, his remains were transferred to Vienna, Austria where they were interred at the Capuchin Church in the Tuscan Vault in the Imperial Crypt. Leopoldo’s second wife Maria Antonia survived him by twenty-eight years, dying at the age of 83 on November 7, 1898, at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, Austria. She was interred at the Capuchin Church in the Ferdinand Vault at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria.

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Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

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