Christina, Queen of Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Christina, Queen of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

Considered one of the most learned women of the 17th century, Queen Christina of Sweden is remembered for refusing to marry, abdicating her throne, converting to Roman Catholicism, living the rest of her life in Rome, and being one of only three women to be interred in the crypt at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Christina is one of three women who have been reigning queens of Sweden. The other two are Margarethe (reigned 1389 – 1412) and Ulrika Eleonora (reigned 1718 – 1720). In 1979, the Riksdag, the Swedish legislature, introduced an Act of Succession changing the succession to absolute primogeniture, meaning that the monarch’s eldest child, regardless of gender, is first in the line of succession. Currently, Crown Princess Victoria, the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, is the heir apparent and will likely be the fourth Queen Regnant of Sweden. Her eldest child, Princess Estelle, will likely be the fifth Queen Regnant.

Christina was born on December 18, 1626, at Tre Kronor Castle, on the site of the current Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. She was the fourth and the only surviving child of Gustavus II Adolphus the Great, King of Sweden and Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. Before her birth, Christina’s mother 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.

Christina’s parents Gustavus II Adolphus the Great, King of Sweden and Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

When Maria Eleonora became pregnant again in 1626, there was an excited expectation that at last, a male heir would be born. When the baby was born, it was first thought to be a boy because it was”hairy” and screamed “with a strong, hoarse voice” and Gustavus Adolphus had originally been told that the child was a boy. His half-sister Katarina of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg informed him that the child was not a boy but a girl, and then carried the baby to him, afraid of his reaction. Gustav Adolphus said, “She’ll be clever, she has made fools of us all!” and named her Christina after his mother Christina of Holstein-Gottorp. However, Maria Eleonora was in no condition to be told the truth about the baby’s gender, and Gustavus Adolphus waited several days before breaking the news to her. Maria Eleonora had a vicious reaction upon hearing the child was a girl and ordered the baby to be taken away from her. 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 is 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 of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg and Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna. Before Gustavus Adolphus left to lead the Swedish army in the Thirty Years’ War (1618 to 1648), he legally secured his daughter Christina’s right to inherit the throne, in case he never returned, and gave orders that Christina should receive an education normally given only to princes. At the Battle of Lützen on November 16, 1632, Gustavus Adolphus was killed, and six-year-old Christina became Queen of Sweden.

Christina’s aunt Katarina, who played a major role in her life; Credit – Wikipedia

Already suffering from mental issues, Maria Eleonora’s grief was quite painful, and her mental issues worsened considerably. She was not included in the regency government during the minority of Christina because the council of the state did not consider her suitable as regent. In 1636, the regency government feared that Maria Eleonora’s mental instability would adversely influence the young Queen Christina. They decided to separate mother and daughter, and Maria Eleonora was sent to Gripsholm Castle in Sweden. Christina’s mother later lived in Denmark and her homeland, Brandenburg, before being allowed to return to Sweden. Christina’s aunt Katarina of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg acted more or less as her governess. After Katarina died in 1638, Christina had a series of women who served the dual role of foster mothers and governesses. The council of state gave Christina several foster mothers/governesses at one time to avoid her becoming attached to one person.

Fourteen-year-old Queen Christina; Credit – Wikipedia

As per her father’s wishes, Christina was educated as a prince would have been. Her father had been appointed Johannes Matthiae Gothus, Lutheran theologian and court pastor, later Bishop of Strängnäs, and a professor at Uppsala University, to be her tutor. He taught Christina languages, theology, and philosophy. Christina’s relationship with Gothus was so close that he became like a father to her, and she referred to him as Father.

Christina was particularly gifted in languages. She was taught Latin, French, German, and Dutch, and on her own, she learned Greek, Italian, and Spanish. When Christina was twelve, Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna began teaching her about state affairs and politics. As a child, Christina received foreign envoys, and when she was fourteen, she began receiving briefings on government affairs. In 1643, when Christina was sixteen, she regularly attended the council of state meetings. Upon her eighteenth birthday, the regency was over, and Christina became Queen of Sweden in her own right. The council of state officially proclaimed, “Her Majesty is a king, she must be respected as a male”.

Christina (at the table on the right) in discussion with French philosopher René Descartes; Credit – Wikipedia

During her reign, large parts of the Thirty Years’ War were fought. Christina was a skilled politician who accelerated the Peace of Westphalia, ending the Thirty Years’ War. Sweden had great achievements, and its prestige was increased. With her interest in religion, philosophy, mathematics, and science, Christina attracted many scholars to Stockholm, including French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist René Descartes and French classical scholar Claudius Salmasius.

Christina used the support of the husband of her late aunt Katarina, Johann Kasimir of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg, and his two sons, Christina’s cousins Karl Gustav and Adolf Johann, with whom she was raised, to free herself from the influence of Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna. In 1647, she appointed Karl Gustav commander of the Swedish troops in Germany and at the same time signaled her intention to marry him. As a child, Christina was impressed by the Catholic religion and the celibacy of its priests. She also read a biography on the unmarried Queen Elizabeth I of England with great interest. In 1649, 23-year-old Christiana informed the council of state of her decision not to marry anyone and that she wanted her cousin Karl Gustav to be her heir.

From her autobiography, historians have a view of the development of Christina’s religious philosophy. Even as a child, Christina took a stand against strict Lutheran religious teachings. She wrote that she had never really been Lutheran. During the study of religion with her tutor Johannes Matthiae Gothus, Christina formed a religion of her own. After her association with Catholics, such as Pierre Chanut, the French ambassador to Sweden, and René Descartes, Christina was more drawn to Roman Catholicism. Starting in 1651, she had long conversations with Antonio Macedo, Jesuit priest, secretary, and interpreter for Portugal’s ambassador to Sweden. In August 1651, Macedo brought a letter from Christina to the Superior General of the Jesuit order in Rome. In reply to the letter, two Jesuit scholars using false names and in disguise, Paolo Casati and Francesco Malines, came to Sweden in the spring of 1652. Christina had more conversations with them on sin, the immortality of the soul, and free will, and then decided to convert to Roman Catholicism. Jesuit Superior General Goshwin Nickel and Cardinal Fabio Chigi, who later became Pope Alexander VII, were informed that Queen Christina of Sweden, born a Lutheran, wanted to convert to Roman Catholicism.

Christina’s wish to convert to Roman Catholicism was not the only reason for 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 the previous ten years, Christina had created seventeen new counts, 46 barons, and 428 members of the lower nobility. To provide them with sufficient allowances, she sold or mortgaged crown property.

Christina’s abdication in 1654, contemporary drawing by Erik Dahlberg; Credit – Wikipedia

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. Christina wore her regalia, which were then ceremonially removed from her, one by one. The person who was to remove the crown did not move, so Christina had to take off the crown herself. Dressed in a simple white dress, she gave her farewell speech and left the throne to her cousin Karl Gustav of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg, who was crowned later that day as Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden. Within a few days, 28-year-old Christina left Sweden.

Christina’s cousin and successor, Karl X, Gustav, King of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

Christina made her way to the Spanish Netherlands, ruled by the Catholic Habsburgs, now in Belgium and the Netherlands. On December 24, 1654, Christina converted to Roman Catholicism in the chapel of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, brother of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor. This was a private ceremony, and Christina’s conversion was not publicized. She converted to Catholicism publicly on November 3, 1655, at the Innsbruck Court Church in Austria. Christina arrived in Rome on December 20, 1655. On Christmas Day in 1655, Christina received the sacrament of confirmation from Pope Alexander VII, the former Cardinal Fabio Chigi, at St. Peter’s Basilica. The pope gave her the confirmation name Alexandra, the feminine version of his papal name. Christina was given use of the Palazzo Farnese, and then in 1659, she moved to the Palazzo Corsini, which would be her permanent home. Christina played a prominent role in Rome’s cultural life.

In April 1660, Christina was informed that her cousin Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden had died in February. His son and successor, Karl XI was only five years old. Christina went to Sweden that summer and announced that she had left the throne to her cousin and his heir, but if Karl XI died, she would take over the throne again. However, as she was a Catholic, that was impossible, and the Swedish clergy refused to let her priests celebrate Mass. Her stay in Stockholm was short.

Christina in her later years; Credit – Wikipedia

Christina remained very tolerant towards the beliefs of others. When King Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes, abolishing the rights of French Protestant Huguenots, Christina wrote an indignant letter to Cardinal Cesar d’Estrees, the French ambassador to Rome. King Louis XIV did not appreciate her view, but Christina was not to be silenced. She made Pope Clement X prohibit the custom of chasing Jews through the streets during the carnival before Lent, and she issued a declaration that Roman Jews were under her protection, signed la Regina – the Queen.

Christina’s sarcophagus; Credit – Wikipedia

Christina died, aged 62, on April 19, 1689, at the Palazzo Corsini in Rome after suffering from erysipelas, an acute bacterial infection, and pneumonia. She had asked for a simple burial in the Pantheon in Rome. However, Pope Innocent XI insisted that her body be displayed in the fashion of a pope and then interred in the Papal Crypt at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. While her sarcophagus is in the Papal Crypt, a huge monument is in the basilica.

Monument to Christina in St. Peter’s Basilica; Credit – By Jean-Pol GRANDMONT Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28930634

Christina is one of three women interred in the crypt at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. The other two are Matilda of Tuscany, Margravine of Tuscany, Vicereine of Italy, Imperial Vicar (circa 1046 – 1115), one of the most powerful nobles in Italy in the second half of the 11th century, and Maria Clementina Sobieska (1702 – 1735), the wife of James Francis Edward Stuart, son of the deposed James II, King of England and a Jacobite claimant to the British throne, known as the Old Pretender.

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

Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Kristina af Sverige – Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristina_af_Sverige> [Accessed 26 August 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Christina (Schweden) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_(Schweden)> [Accessed 26 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Christina, Queen of Sweden – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina,_Queen_of_Sweden> [Accessed 26 August 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Gustavus II Adolphus the Great, King of Sweden. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-gustavus-ii-adolphus-the-great-of-sweden/> [Accessed 26 August 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, Queen of Sweden. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-eleonora-of-brandenburg-queen-of-sweden/> [Accessed 26 August 2021].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2021. Drottning Kristina – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drottning_Kristina> [Accessed 26 August 2021].

Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria

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 III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany was born on May 6, 1769, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. He was the third of the sixteen children and the second of the twelve sons of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790), later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792) and Maria Luisa of Spain. (Ferdinando’s father is commonly known as Leopold.) Ferdinando’s paternal grandfather was Francis Stephen, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765), Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Duke of Lorraine (reigned 1729 – 1737). His paternal grandmother was the formidable and powerful Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia – the Sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. Ferdinando’s maternal grandparents were Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony.

Ferdinando’s parents and siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando had fifteen siblings. Unusual for the time, only two died in childhood.

On February 20, 1790, Ferdinando’s childless uncle, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria died, and Ferdinando’s father Leopold succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary titles. When his father was elected Holy Roman Emperor, he abdicated the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinando, who officially became Grand Duke of Tuscany on July 22, 1790. Ferdinando’s elder brother Franz would succeed to the Habsburg hereditary titles and be elected Holy Roman Emperor upon his father’s death in 1792.

Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 15, 1790, in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy, Ferdinando married by proxy his double first cousin, Luisa of Naples and Sicily. The couple married in person in Vienna, Austria, on September 19, 1790. Luisa was the daughter of Ferdinando I, King of Naples and Sicily (later King of the Two Sicilies) and Maria Carolina of Austria. Ferdinando I, King of Naples and Sicily was the brother of Ferdinando’s mother, Maria Luisa of Spain. Maria Carolina was the sister of Ferdinando’s father Leopold.

Grand Duchess Luisa of Tuscany with her children pointing to a bust of Empress Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando and Luisa had five children:

In 1801, Napoleon conquered Tuscany, and Ferdinando was forced by the Treaty of Aranjuez to leave Tuscany to make way for the Kingdom of Etruria. Ferdinando and his family went into exile in Vienna, Austria. In 1807, Napoleon dissolved the Kingdom of Etruria and integrated it into France. After Napoleon’s downfall in 1814, Tuscany was restored to Ferdinando.

While the family was in exile in Vienna, Luisa, aged 29, died in childbirth delivering a stillborn son on September 19, 1802, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was buried with her stillborn son in her arms at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria.

Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Ferdinando III’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

For the last years of his reign, Ferdinando was occupied with public works, including road and aqueduct construction. Ferdinando was personally involved with these projects and developed malaria, which ultimately led to his death. Twenty years after the death of his first wife, on May 6, 1821, 52-year-old Ferdinando married 25-year-old Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony. The couple had no children.

Medici Chapel at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, aged 55, died on June 18, 1824, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. He was buried in the Medici Chapel at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

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. Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_III,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 24 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-ii-holy-roman-emperor-pietro-leopoldo-i-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 24 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinando III di Toscana – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_III_di_Toscana> [Accessed 24 September 2021].
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Maria Luisa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Maria Luisa of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

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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The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain was Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor/Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Born on November 24, 1745, at the Palace of Portici in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, Maria Luisa was the fifth of the thirteen children and the fifth of the seven children of Carlo VII, King of Naples/Carlo IV, King of Sicily (later Carlos III, King of Spain) and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Maria Luisa’s paternal grandparents were Felipe V, King of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. Her maternal grandparents were Augustus III, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Elector of Saxony and Maria Josepha of Austria.

In 1759, upon the death of his childless half-brother King Ferdinand VI of Spain, Maria Luisa’s father Carlo VII of Naples/Carlo IV of Sicily succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain. Because of treaties, Carlos could not be the sovereign of all three kingdoms. His eldest son Felipe was excluded from the succession because of mental disability and his second son Carlos was the heir apparent to the Spanish throne. That left the third son Ferdinando to become King of Naples and King of Sicily. Ferdinando was only eight years old when he became King of Naples and Sicily and a regency council ruled until his sixteenth birthday. Fourteen-year-old Maria Luisa and her family, minus her brother Ferdinando, moved to Spain. Maria Luisa and her surviving siblings received the Spanish royal titles Infante or Infanta.

Maria Luisa with her brother Francisco Javier on the left and Carlos on the right; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had twelve siblings but six did not survive childhood:

Maria Luisa was supposed to marry the future Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa, who was in her own right Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, and Queen of Bohemia and Francis Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Duke of Lorraine. However, King Louis XV of France disapproved of the match and instead wanted Joseph to marry his granddaughter Isabella of Parma. Not about to give an alliance with Spain, the formidable and powerful Maria Theresa substituted her second surviving son Leopold who was heir to his father’s Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Maria Luisa’s husband Leopold; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa and Leopold were married by proxy on February 16, 1764, in Madrid, Spain. 18-year-old Leopold and 20-year-old Maria Luisa were married in person on August 5, 1765, in Innsbruck, Austria. Sadly, just thirteen days later, Leopold’s father Francis Stephen died suddenly in Innsbruck of a stroke or heart attack, at the age of 56, in his carriage while returning from the opera. The eldest son was elected Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as Joseph II. The second (surviving) son and Maria Luisa’s husband Leopold succeeded his father as Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The newlyweds settled at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, where they would live for the next twenty-five years.

Maria Luisa and Leopold with their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa and Leopold had sixteen children. Because his elder brother Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor had no children, Leopold became the founder of the main line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Maria Luisa remained largely unknown to the Tuscan aristocracy and maintained contact with a small group of friends in her private life. She mostly spent her time on the upbringing of her children. As parents, Maria Luisa and Leopold allowed their children a great deal of freedom without being tied to formal court life, and occasionally took them on excursions to rural areas and the coast.

Maria Luisa’s coronation as Queen of Hungary; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1790 after the death of his childless brother Joseph. Maria Luisa became Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary, and Queen of Bohemia.  At that time, he abdicated the throne of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinand. Leopold, Maria Luisa, and their family moved to Vienna, Austria. After only seventeen months as Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 1, 1792, aged 44, in Vienna, Austria. He was buried at the Capuchin Church in the Tuscan Crypt of the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Leopold’s eldest son Franz was elected (the last) Holy Roman Emperor and later was the first Emperor of Austria.

Maria Luisa’s tomb in the Imperial Crypt; Credit – Wikipedia

Less than three months after the sudden death of her husband, Maria Luisa also died suddenly, aged 46, on May 15, 1792, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was buried next to her husband at the Capuchin Church in the Tuscan Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Their early deaths left their nine youngest children, all under the age of 18, orphans.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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. Maria Luisa of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_of_Spain> [Accessed 23 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-ii-holy-roman-emperor-pietro-leopoldo-i-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 23 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-archduchess-of-austria-queen-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia/> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Luisa di Borbone-Spagna (1745-1792) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_di_Borbone-Spagna_(1745-1792)> [Accessed 23 September 2021].
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse was head of the House of Hesse, and pretender to the former Grand Ducal throne of Hesse and by Rhine from 1980 until his death in 2013.

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse, Head of the House of Hesse; photo: Wikipedia

Moritz Friedrich Karl Emanuel Humbert, Prince of Hesse-Kassel, was born at the Castle of Racconigi in Italy on August 6, 1926. He was the eldest child of Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse and Princess Mafalda of Savoy. Moritz had three younger siblings:

  • Heinrich of Hesse-Kassel (1927) – unmarried
  • Otto of Hesse-Kassel (1937) – married (1) Angela von Doering, no issue; (2) Elisabeth Bonker, no issue
  • Elisabeth of Hesse-Kassel (1940) – married Count Friedrich von Oppersdorff, had issue

Moritz with his mother and younger brother. photo: Wikipedia

Raised primarily in Italy, Moritz returned to Germany in 1943 and served briefly in the German forces. That year, both of his parents were arrested by the Nazis and placed in different concentration camps. His mother died in 1943 as a result of injuries after the Buchenwald concentration camp was bombed. His father was released but then taken into custody by Allied forces until his eventual release in 1947. After his military service, Moritz studied agriculture and took over the administration of the family’s estate at Gut Panker in Schleswig-Holstein (link in German).

In 1960, Moritz was adopted by his distant relative  Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine. Ludwig had no children and would be the last member of the House of Hesse and by Rhine. This adoption ensured that the former grand ducal family’s estates and assets would remain in the Hesse family upon his death.

 

In June 1964, Moritz married Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, the daughter of Gustav Albrecht, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Margareta Fouché d’Otrante. The couple had four children before divorcing in 1974:

  • Mafalda (1965) – married (1) Enrico dei Conti Marone Cinzano, no issue; (2) Carlo Galdo, has issue; (3) Ferdinando Peretti, has issue
  • Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse (1966) – married Countess Floria Franziska of Faber-Castell, has issue
  • Elena (1967) – unmarried, has issue
  • Philip (1970) – married Laetitia Bechtoff, has issue

Moritz succeeded his father as Head of the House of Hesse and pretender to the former grand ducal throne of Hesse and by Rhine in 1980. Having also inherited the holdings of the former House of Hesse and by Rhine some years earlier, Moritz contributed many of these assets and much of his vast personal art collection to the Hesse Family Foundation which oversees and manages the family’s estates and collections. These include the Schlosshotel Kronberg, which was originally built as Schloss Friedrichshof by his great-grandmother, Empress Friedrich (nee Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom); the Prinz von Hessen winery; Gut Panker; and Schloss Wolfsgarten (which Moritz inherited from Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine).

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse died in Frankfurt on May 23, 2013. Following his funeral at St. John’s Church in Kronberg, he was buried in the family cemetery on the grounds of the former Schloss Friedrichshof.

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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.

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 to 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434 to 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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The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Grand Duke of Tuscany as Pietro Leopoldo I from 1765 – 1790 and Holy Roman Emperor as Leopold II from 1790 – 1792, Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard was born on May 5, 1747, in Vienna, Austria. Leopold, as was known, was the ninth of the sixteen children and the third but the second surviving of the five sons of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in her own right. His mother was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. Maria Theresa had arranged for her husband to be elected Holy Roman Emperor and wielded the real power. Francis Stephen was content to leave the act of reigning to his wife. Leopold’s paternal grandparents were Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans. His maternal grandparents were Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Leopold’s parents and his siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold had fifteen siblings, but six died in childhood. His youngest sister Maria Antonia married King Louis XVI of France and became the ill-fated Queen Marie Antoinette of France.

When Leopold’s father became Grand Duke of Tuscany, it was decided that the second son would inherit that title and territory. However, Karl Joseph, the second son, died from smallpox at the age of fifteen, and Leopold, the third son, became the second surviving son and the heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Like all his siblings, Leopold received an excellent education as befitted a prince during the Age of the Enlightenment. He was particularly interested in the natural sciences and new discoveries and ideas. In addition to German, Leopold mastered Latin, spoke French and Italian, and also spoke a little Czech.

Maria Luisa of Spain, Leopold’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 16, 1764, in Madrid, Spain, Leopold was married by proxy to Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain, daughter of Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. 18-year-old Leopold and 20-year-old Maria Luisa were married in person on August 5, 1765, in Innsbruck, Austria. Sadly, just thirteen days later, Leopold’s father, Francis Stephen, died suddenly in Innsbruck of a stroke or heart attack, at the age of 56, in his carriage while returning from the opera. The eldest son was elected Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as Joseph II. The second (surviving) son Leopold succeeded his father as Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and the newlyweds settled at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, where they would live for the next twenty-five years.

Leopold with his wife Maria Luise and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold and Maria Luisa had sixteen children. Because his elder brother Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor had no children, Leopold became the founder of the main line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

As Grand Duke of Tuscany, Leopold was a moderate proponent of enlightened absolutism and an advocate of the Leopoldine Code, a consolidation of the criminal law of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was the first country to abolish the death penalty. Leopold was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1790 after his childless brother Joseph died. At that time, he abdicated the throne of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinand.

Leopold’s coronation as King of Hungary in Pressburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold had three coronations. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on October 9, 1790, in the Imperial Free City of Frankfurt am Main. His coronation as King of Hungary in Pressburg, now Bratislava, Slovakia, took place on November 15, 1790, and he was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague, now in the Czech Republic, on September 6, 1791. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s opera La Clemenza di Tito was commissioned for the festivities that accompanied Leopold’s coronation as King of Bohemia.

Leopold’s short reign as Holy Roman Emperor saw problems from the east side of the constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire and also on the west side. The growing revolutionary feelings and actions in France endangered and eventually took the lives of his sister, Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis XVI, and also threatened Leopold’s territories with the spread of revolutionary agitation. From the east, Leopold was threatened by the aggressive ambitions of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia and Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia.

Death of Leopold with his wife and doctor at his bedside; Credit – Wikipedia

After only seventeen months as Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 1, 1792, aged 44, in Vienna, Austria. He was buried in the Tuscan Crypt at the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. Leopold’s eldest son Franz was elected (the last) Holy Roman Emperor and later was the first Emperor of Austria.

Less than three months after the sudden death of her husband, Maria Luisa died, aged 46, on May 15, 1792, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was buried next to her husband in the Tuscan Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Their early deaths left their nine youngest children, all under the age of 18, orphans.

Tomb of Leopold; Credit – Wikipedia by Von Krischnig

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. Leopold II. (HRR) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II._(HRR)> [Accessed 22 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor> [Accessed 22 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-archduchess-of-austria-queen-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia/> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

What was the Holy Roman Empire?

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Holy Roman Empire in 1789; Credit – By Robert Alfers, kgberger – Source of Information: Putzger – Historischer Weltatlas, 89. Auflage, 1965; Westermanns Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte, 1969; Haacks geographischer Atlas. VEB Hermann Haack Geographisch-Kartographische Anstalt, Gotha/Leipzig, 1. Auflage, 1979; dtv-Atlas zur Weltgeschichte Band 1: Von den Anfängen bis zur Französischen Revolution; 23. Aufl. 1989, ISBN 3-423-03002-X, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4179496

(Use the following link to see the above map larger: Map of the Holy Roman Empire in 1789)

The 18th-century French philosopher Voltaire once said: “The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.” The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. It was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the Pope. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire.

Coronation of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlemagne, King of the Franks and King of the Lombards was crowned the Emperor of the Romans on December 25, 800 by Pope Leo III in Rome. Some historians say that was the start of the Holy Roman Empire. However, when Charlemagne died his empire was given to his sons and divided into three different countries: West Francia which eventually became France, Lotharingia which eventually became Italy, Lorraine, and Burgundy, and East Francia which eventually became Germany.

Meeting of Otto and Pope John XII; Credit – Wikipedia

Most historians say that the Holy Roman Empire started with Otto (the Great) I who was King of Italy, King of East Francia, and Duke of Saxony. In 962, following the example of Charlemagne’s coronation as Emperor of the Romans in 800, Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome.

Prince-Electors; Credit – Wikipedia

From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states. Common practice was to elect the deceased Emperor’s heir. The House of Habsburg held the title from 1440 until the death of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI In 1740. Throughout his reign, Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI expected to have a male heir and never really prepared his daughter Maria Theresa of Austria for her future role as sovereign. Upon her father’s death in 1740, Maria Theresa became the sovereign ruler of the Habsburg territories of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma in her own right, and she was the only female to hold the position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in her own right and her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

However, Maria Theresa was unable to be elected the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female. Maria Theresa’s right to succeed to her father was the cause of the eight-year-long War of the Austrian Succession. In 1742, Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria from the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII. He died in 1745 and via a treaty Maria Theresa arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor as Franz I. Despite the snub, Maria Theresa wielded the real power and Francis Stephen was content to leave the act of reigning to his wife. Until the demise of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Holy Roman Emperor was from the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg.

Franz II, the last Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Until the 13th century, the Holy Roman Empire was powerful. As time went on the constituent states of the started to obtain more power. Even before the reign of Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor began in 1792, the Holy Roman Emperors had little real power. Franz II, the grandson of Maria Theresa and Francis Stephen, also had Habsburg family titles and territories. He was King of Hungary, King of Croatia, King of Bohemia, and Archduke of Austria. During the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th-century, Franz II feared that Napoleon could take over the personal, hereditary Habsburg lands within the Holy Roman Empire, so in 1804, he proclaimed himself Emperor Franz I of Austria. As it turned out, Franz’s move was a wise one because the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806.

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. Holy Roman Emperor – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Emperor> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Holy Roman Empire – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, S., 2016. Franz I, Emperor of Austria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/franz-i-emperor-of-austria/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-archduchess-of-austria-queen-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia/> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen; Credit – By Lars Mongs, Arxfoto – https://arxfoto.se/, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107615060

Once a Roman Catholic church, the Church of Our Lady (Vor Fruen Kirke in Danish) is a church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, sometimes called The Church of Denmark, the established, state-supported church in Denmark. The original name of the church was St. Mary’s Church but during the Protestant Reformation, the name was changed to the Church of Our Lady, keeping the reference to the Virgin Mary without using “Saint”. There has been a church on the site since the 12th century, however, the church has been destroyed by fire three times and rebuilt three times. The present church was built in the early 19th century in the neoclassical style. The Church of Our Lady received cathedral status in 1922 and was designated as Denmark’s national cathedral in 1924.

Drawing from a contemporary engraving showing how the second Church of Our Lady looked in 1520; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1314, the first church was destroyed in a fire and subsequently, a new church was built of brick. Around 1416, Copenhagen became the capital of the Kingdom of Denmark when Eric of Pomerania (Eric III, King of Norway, Eric VII as King of Denmark, Eric XIII, King of Sweden), moved his seat of power in Denmark to Copenhagen Castle, and the Church of Our Lady, then still called St. Mary’ Church, became the main church of the Kings of Denmark. When the University of Copenhagen was established in 1479, the church’s dean became rector of the university, the church’s canons were the university’s teaching staff, and the court school was the first premises for the university. Today, the campus of the University of Copenhagen is adjacent to the Church of Our Lady.

The second church suffered from the consequences of the Protestant Reformation. The great majority of the citizens of Copenhagen opted to follow the teachings of Martin Luther. However, the Roman Catholic clergy at St. Mary’s Church attempted to keep the church as a center of Catholic resistance. The king at that time was Frederik I, the last Roman Catholic Danish monarch. All subsequent Danish monarchs have been Lutheran. Although Frederik remained Catholic, he was somewhat tolerant of the new Protestant Lutheran religion. He ordered that Lutherans and Roman Catholics share the same churches. This decree incensed the majority Lutheran segment of Copenhagen’s population. On December 27, 1530 hundreds of citizens stormed the St. Mary’s Church, destroying every statue and dismantling the choir stalls. The seventeen altars were stripped of jewels and gold and destroyed, as were reliquaries, vestments, and other church furnishings. In 1531, the name of the church was changed from St. Mary’s Church to the Church of Our Lady and officially started to use the Lutheran order of worship.

The third church built between 1728 – 1738; Credit – Wikipedia

The devastating four-day-long fire that started on October 20, 1728, destroyed a third of Copenhagen including the second church. When the church tower fell, the roof and all the furnishings in the church were demolished. Even the coffins in the crypt were smashed. By 1738, the third church was completed. The tower was 395 feet/120 meters high and was visible miles away from Copenhagen. By contrast, the current tower is only 193 feet/60 meters high.

The Church of Our Lady on fire in 1807, by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg; Credit – Wikipedia

In September 1807, the third church was destroyed during the bombardment of Copenhagen by the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The British demanded the surrender of the city of Copenhagen and the Danish-Norwegian fleet. Kings at this time were Kings of both Denmark and Norway. The Danes refused and for three days the British royal navy bombarded the city. Royal Navy gunners used the tower of the church for target practice, setting it on fire, resulting in the church being burned to the ground, along with nearby sections of Copenhagen. Copenhagen surrendered and the Danish-Norwegian fleet was turned over to the British.

The interior of the fourth church. Bertel Thorvaldsen’s statues of the apostles can be seen along the sides; Credit – Wikipedia

The fourth and current version of the Church of Our Lady was designed by the architect Christian Frederik Hansen in the neoclassical style and was completed in 1829.  The fourth church has a tower although the neoclassical style did not include towers. The citizens of Copenhagen demanded a tower and one was built modeled on the older medieval tower.

The altar with Bertel Thorvaldsen’ statue of Jesus Christ and his baptismal font; Credit – By Matthias Schalk – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31280252

Sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen was commissioned to decorate the interior with statues of Jesus Christ and the apostles. Thorvaldsen also carved and donated the baptismal font as a personal gift. Other artists also contributed sculptures and paintings

Royal Events at the Church of Our Lady

Wedding of King Frederik X and Mary Donalson in 2004

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. Vor Frue Kirke (København) – Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vor_Frue_Kirke_(K%C3%B8benhavn)#F%C3%B8rste_kirkebygning> [Accessed 23 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Our_Lady,_Copenhagen> [Accessed 23 August 2021].
  • Vor Frue Kirke – Københavns Domkirke. 2021. Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady) In English. [online] Available at: <https://koebenhavnsdomkirke.dk/english> [Accessed 23 August 2021].

Francis Stephen of Lorraine, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Francis Stephen of Lorraine, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

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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The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him. His power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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The subject of this article was François III Étienne, Duke of Lorraine (reigned 1729 – 1737), Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765), and Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765). To avoid confusion, Francis Stephen, his English name will be mostly used in this article.

Born François Étienne of Lorraine on December 8, 1708, at the Ducal Palace of Nancy in the  Duchy of Lorraine, now in France, he was the ninth but the eldest surviving of the fourteen children and the fifth but the eldest surviving of the six sons of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and Princess Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans. His paternal grandparents were Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Eleanor of Austria, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III. His maternal grandparents were Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (son of King Louis XIII of France and brother of King Louis XIV of France) and his second wife Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, known as Liselotte.

Francis Stephen with his mother, born Princess Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans  Credit – Wikipedia

Francis Stephen had thirteen siblings but only three of his siblings reached adulthood. Four of his siblings died from smallpox, with three of them dying during one week in May 1711. Six additional siblings died in infancy or childhood.

  • Léopold, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine (1699 – 1700), died in infancy
  • Élisabeth Charlotte of Lorraine (1700 – 1711), died in childhood of smallpox
  • Louise Christine of Lorraine (born and died 1701), died in infancy
  • Marie Gabrièle Charlotte of Lorraine (1702 – 1711), died in childhood of smallpox
  • Louis, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine (1704 – 1711), died in childhood of smallpox
  • Joséphine Gabrièle of Lorraine (1705 – 1708), died in childhood
  • Gabrièle Louise of Lorraine (1706 – 1710), died in childhood
  • Léopold Clément, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine (1707 – 1723), died in his teens of smallpox
  • Eléonore of Lorraine (born and died 1710), died in infancy
  • Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine (1711 – 1741), married Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia (his third wife), had three children, died due to childbirth complications
  • Charles Alexander of Lorraine (1712 – 1780), married Maria Anna of Austria who died giving birth to a stillborn son
  • Anne Charlotte of Lorraine (1714 – 1773), unmarried
  • Marie Louise of Lorraine (1716 – 1723), died in childhood

Francis Stephen and Maria Theresa at their wedding breakfast; Credit – Wikipedia

Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI favored the family of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine because they were not only related but also because the House of Lorraine had supported the Holy Roman Empire in its recent wars. Karl had planned to have his elder surviving daughter Maria Theresa of Austria marry Francis Stephen’s elder brother Léopold Clément, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine but he died from smallpox at the age of sixteen. Instead, Francis Stephen was chosen as Maria Theresa’s future husband and he was educated in Vienna, Austria with Maria Theresa. On February 12, 1736, in the Augustinian Church in Vienna, Austria, Francis Stephen married Maria Theresa.

Francis Stephen and Maria Theresa with their family; Credit – Wikipedia

Even though Francis Stephen had 16 children with his wife, he was not faithful during his marriage and had many affairs. Eight of the couple’s sixteen children died in childhood and four of the eight died from smallpox:

Tuscany had been ruled by the House of Medici from 1434–1494 and again from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch 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 and became Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Stanisław I Leszczyński, 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.

Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Throughout his reign, Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI expected to have a male heir and never really prepared his daughter Maria Theresa for her future role as sovereign.  Upon her father’s death in 1740, Maria Theresa became the sovereign ruler of the Habsburg territories in her own right of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma, and she was the only female to hold the position.

Francis Stephen as Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

However, Maria Theresa was unable to become the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female. The Habsburgs had been elected Holy Roman Emperors since 1438, but in 1742 Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria from the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII. He died in 1745 and via a treaty Maria Theresa arranged for her husband Francis Stephen to be elected Holy Roman Emperor as Franz I. Despite the snub, Maria Theresa wielded the real power and Francis Stephen was content to leave the act of reigning to his wife. Francis Stephen had a good business sense and Maria Theresa let him be in charge of financial affairs while she dealt with governing and the complicated politics and diplomacy of the Habsburg dominions.

Francis Stephen lying in state; Credit – Wikipedia

Francis Stephen died suddenly of a stroke or heart attack on August 18, 1765, at the age of 56, in his carriage while returning from the opera in Innsbruck, Austria. His son Joseph succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor although Maria Theresa continued to wield the real power. His second surviving son Leopold succeeded him as Grand Duke of Tuscany as Pietro Leopoldo I. Later Leopold was elected to succeed his brother Joseph as Holy Roman Emperor reigning as Leopold II. Francis Stephen and Maria Theresa, who survived her husband by fifteen years, are buried together in a magnificent tomb in the Maria Theresa Crypt at the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria.

Tomb of Francis Stephen and Maria Theresa; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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. Franz I. Stephan (HRR) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_I._Stephan_(HRR)> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold,_Duke_of_Lorraine> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-archduchess-of-austria-queen-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia/> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francesco I di Lorena – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_I_di_Lorena> [Accessed 19 September 2021].

Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, Queen of Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, Queen of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg was the wife of King Gustavus II Adolphus the Great of Sweden. Born on November 11, 1599, in Königsberg, Duchy of Prussia, now Kaliningrad, Russia, she was the third of the eight children and the second of the four daughters of Johann Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg and Anna of Prussia. Maria Eleonora’s paternal grandparents were Joachim III Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg and Katarina of Brandenburg-Küstrin. Her maternal grandparents were Albrecht Friedrich, Duke of Prussia, and Marie Eleonore of Cleves, a niece of Anne of Cleves, the fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England.

Maria Eleonora had seven siblings, but three died in infancy:

Maria Eleonora’s mother Anna of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

The childhood of Maria Eleonora and her siblings was dominated by their temperamental and strong-willed mother, Anna of Prussia. Anna was intellectually superior to her husband and reportedly threw plates and glasses at him during arguments. Anna, a fervent Lutheran, strongly disapproved of her husband’s conversion to Calvinism. After her husband’s death, Anna played an important role during the reign of her son. Against the will of her son Georg Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, Anna arranged the marriage Maria Eleonora’s marriage to King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden.

Maria Eleonora’s husband Gustavus II Adolphus, King of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 7, 1620, Maria Eleonora left Brandenburg for Sweden with her mother Anna, and her sister Katarina. Gustavus Adolphus and Maria Eleonora were married in Stockholm on November 25, 1620. Three days later, Maria Eleonora was crowned Queen of Sweden at the Storkykan (Great Church) in Stockholm, Sweden. During the first years of the marriage, Maria Eleonora’s mother and sister remained in Sweden. They did not return to Brandenburg until August 1624.

Gustavus Adolphus saying goodbye to his wife Maria Eleonora as he rides off to war; Credit – Wikipedia

Gustavus Adolphus is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and made Sweden a great power, one of Europe’s largest and leading nations during the early modern period. For much of their marriage, Maria Eleonora and her husband lived apart because Gustavus Adolphus was often away at war.

Karl Philip, Gustavus Adolphus’ only surviving brother, accompanied him on a military campaign and died from dysentery (also called the bloody flux), the scourge of armies for centuries. The House of Vasa found itself without a male heir and therefore, in danger. This situation created hopes for Gustavus Adolphus’ first cousin Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 until he died in 1632 and King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from his father’s death in 1592 until he was deposed by his uncle, Gustavus Adolphus’ father Karl IX, King of Sweden in 1599.

Although Maria Eleonora’s husband Gustavus Adolphus was successful in many endeavors, he did not provide a male heir. The couple had only one surviving child, a daughter.

  • Stillborn daughter, born July 24, 1621
  • Christina (1623 – 1624), died in infancy
  • Stillborn son, born May 1625
  • Christina, Queen of Sweden (1626 – 1689), unmarried, succeeded her father, abdicated, subsequently converted to Roman Catholicism, and moved to Rome

When Maria Eleonora gave birth to her fourth child, Gustavus Adolphus had originally been told that the child was a boy. His half-sister Katarina of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg informed him that the child was not a boy but a girl, and then carried the baby to him, afraid of his reaction. Gustav Adolphus said, “She’ll be clever, she has made fools of us all!” and decided she would be called Christina after his mother. However, Maria Eleonora was in no condition to be told the truth about the baby’s gender, and Gustavus Adolphus waited several days before breaking the news to her. Maria Eleonora had a vicious reaction upon hearing the child was a girl and ordered the baby to be taken away from her.

Gustavus Adolphus ordered the birth to be announced with all the ceremonies usually given to the birth of a male heir. This seemed 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 of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg and Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna.

Gustavus Adolphus and Maria Eleonora, circa 1632; Credit – Wikipedia

In the year after Christina’s birth, Maria Eleonora was described as being in a state of hysteria due to her husband’s absence. At a later date, Gustavus Adolphus described her as being “a very sick woman”. However, it seems Maria Eleonora had several causes for her mental issues: she had lost three babies, she was an isolated foreigner in a hostile country, her brother joined Sweden’s enemies, and her husband’s life was constantly in danger when he was on military campaign.

Before Gustavus Adolphus left to lead the Swedish army in the Thirty Years’ War (1618 to 1648), he legally secured his daughter Christina’s right to inherit the throne. In case he never returned, he ordered Christina to receive an education normally given only to boys. Gustavus Adolphus was killed at the Battle of Lützen on November 16, 1632. The long delay in providing Gustavus Adolphus with a timely burial was due to his wife. Already suffering from mental issues, Maria Eleonora’s grief was quite painful, and her mental issues worsened considerably. She ordered her husband’s heart to be brought to her to keep him always near. She also refused to have her husband buried, spending whole days next to the body. Finally, eighteen months after the death of Gustavus Adolphus, the funeral and burial were held on June 22, 1634, at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden.

Christian, Queen of Sweden as a child; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Eleonora and Gustavus Adolphus’ only surviving child Christina became Queen of Sweden at the age of six. However, Maria Eleonora was not included in the regency government during the minority of Christina because the council of the state did not consider her suitable as regent. In 1636, the regency government feared that Maria Eleonora’s mental instability would adversely influence the young Queen Christina. They decided to separate mother and daughter, and Maria Eleonora was sent to Gripsholm Castle.

Maria Eleonora wanted to end her exile at Gripsholm Castle and go to Brandenburg, her birthplace but was denied permission because her brother Georg Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, was an enemy of Sweden. Instead, Maria Eleonora began secret negotiations with King Christian IV of Denmark, Sweden’s enemy, to allow her to live in Denmark. Maria Eleonora and her lady-in-waiting escaped from Gripsholm Castle on the night of July 22, 1640, by letting themselves down from a window. They were rowed across a nearby lake where a carriage was waiting for them. The carriage took them to Nyköping, where they boarded a Danish ship and were taken to Denmark.

Maria Eleonora, circa 1650; Credit – Wikipedia

Sweden and Brandenburg signed a peace treaty in 1641. Among the terms of the treaty was an agreement that Maria Eleonora’s nephew Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg would host his aunt in Brandenburg, and Sweden would give her a pension. In 1643, Maria Eleonora left Denmark for Brandenburg, where she would live for five years. She was able to return to Sweden in 1648, enabling her to witness Christina’s coronation. Nyköping Castle was granted to her as a residence by order of her daughter.

Maria Eleonora’s daughter Christina, before 1656; Credit – Wikipedia

Christina caused scandals when she decided not to marry and when she abdicated her throne in 1654 in favor of her cousin Karl Gustav of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg, who reigned as Carl V Gustav, King of Sweden. Maria Eleonora had concerns about Christina’s abdication and how it would affect her financial situation. Christina and her cousin Carl V Gustav visited Maria Eleonora and promised she would have no financial worries. After her abdication, Christina left Sweden and lived for a year in Brussels, then in the Spanish Netherlands, now in Belgium. She then went to Austria and converted to Roman Catholicism. Christina spent the rest of her life in Rome, where she played a prominent role in the city’s cultural life. She is one of three women interred in the crypt at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

Tomb of Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, Queen of Sweden; Credit – Howard Flantzer

Maria Eleanora survived her husband by twenty-three years, dying at the age of 55, on March 28, 1655, in Stockholm, Sweden, shortly after her daughter Queen Christina abdicated. Maria Eleanora was interred next to her husband at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden.

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

Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna von Preußen (1576–1625) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_von_Preu%C3%9Fen_(1576%E2%80%931625)> [Accessed 21 August 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Eleonora von Brandenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Eleonora_von_Brandenburg> [Accessed 21 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Eleonora_of_Brandenburg> [Accessed 21 August 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan. 2021. King Gustavus II Adolphus the Great of Sweden. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-gustavus-ii-adolphus-the-great-of-sweden/> [Accessed 21 August 2021].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna av Preussen (1576–1625) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_av_Preussen_(1576%E2%80%931625)> [Accessed 21 August 2021].

Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse; Credit – Wikipedia

Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse became head of the Electoral House of Hesse (also known as Hesse-Kassel) in 1940. In 1968, upon the death of his childless distant cousin, Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, Philipp inherited the headship of the former Grand Ducal House of Hesse and by Rhine as well. This reunited the last two remaining branches of the historic House of Hesse, which had been divided in 1567.

Prince Philipp of Hesse-Kassel was born at Rumpenheim Castle in Offenbach on November 6, 1896, the third son of Prince Friedrich Carl, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Margarethe “Mossy” of Prussia. Philipp had five brothers:

Raised by an English governess, Philipp briefly attended school in England before continuing his studies in Germany. He attended the Goethe-Gymnasium in Frankfurt and the Helmholtz-Gymnasium in Potsdam. Philipp was the only one of his siblings who did not attend a military academy. However, when World War I began, he enlisted in the Hessian Dragoon-Regiment along with his older brother Max. Both served in Belgium, where Max was killed in action in October 1914. His eldest brother, Friedrich Wilhelm, was also killed in action in 1916, making Philipp second in line to the Headship of the Electoral House of Hesse. He continued his military service, serving on the Eastern Front and the Hindenburg Line before being wounded in active combat in 1917.

In October 1918, just weeks before the war ended, Philipp’s father was elected King of Finland. At the time, it was decided that Philipp, the eldest surviving son, would remain heir to the Electoral House, and his younger twin brother Wolfgang would be heir to the Finnish throne. However, following the fall of the German Empire, Philipp’s father quickly renounced the throne.

Following World War I, Philipp enlisted in the Transitional Army, before focusing on his education. He attended the Technical University in Darmstadt, studying art history and architecture for several years before taking a job at the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum in Berlin. In 1923, he moved to Rome, where he established a successful interior design business.

Philipp and Mafalda on their wedding day. photo: Wikipedia

On September 23, 1925, at Castello di Racconigi, near Turin, Philipp married Princess Mafalda of Savoy. She was the second daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and Princess Elena of Montenegro. Philipp and Mafalda had four children:

  • Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse (1926) – married Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, had issue
  • Prince Heinrich of Hesse-Kassel (1927) – unmarried
  • Prince Otto of Hesse-Kassel (1937) – married (1) Angela von Doering, no issue; (2) Elisabeth Bonker, no issue
  • Princess Elisabeth of Hesse-Kassel (1940) – married Count Friedrich von Oppersdorff, had issue

Having returned to Germany in 1930, Philipp became a member of the National Socialist German Workers Party (the Nazi Party) and became a close friend of Hermann Göring. In 1933, he was appointed Governor Hesse-Nassau, and often served as a go-between for Hilter and Mussolini, primarily due to his marriage to the daughter of the Italian King. Due to his interest and knowledge of art, he also served as Hitler’s art agent in Italy, acquiring countless works for Hitler’s planned museum in Linz.

However, his relationship with the Italian King would soon become a problem for Philipp. In July 1943, King Vittorio Emanuele III had Mussolini arrested. Hitler, believing that Philipp and his family were complicit in Mussolini’s downfall, had the family arrested. Philipp was taken into custody in September 1943 and sent to Flossenburg concentration camp, where he was kept in solitary confinement. His wife was placed in custody in Rome, and following interrogations in Munich and Berlin, Mafalda was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Sadly, Mafalda was seriously injured when Buchenwald was bombed in August 1944, and died several days later.

In April 1945, Philipp was transferred to Dachau and then to Tyrol. At the end of World War II, he was freed by the Germans but almost immediately arrested by American forces. Due to his complicity in events of the Naxi regime, he was held by the Allies for two years, before finally being released in 1947.  Following his release, Philipp focused his efforts on the restoration of several of his properties damaged during World War II, and continuing with his interior design work.

Philipp was heir to his distant cousin Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, who had no children. In 1960, Ludwig adopted Philipp’s eldest son Moritz as his rightful heir to ensure that the estates and assets of the House of Hesse and by Rhine would remain within the Hesse family. When Ludwig died in 1968, the House of Hesse and by Rhine was absorbed by the House of Hesse-Kassel. This would be the first time the historic House of Hesse was unified since initially being divided in 1567.

Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse died in Rome, Italy on October 25, 1980. He is buried in the family cemetery at the former Schloss Friedrichshof (now Schlosshotel Kronberg) in Kronberg im Taunus, Hesse. He was succeeded by his elder son, Moritz, as Head of the House of Hesse and pretender to the formal Grand Ducal throne of Hesse and by Rhine.

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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.