Lola Montez, Mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Lola Montez, 1851; Credit – Wikipedia

Lola Montez was a dancer, courtesan, and a mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. She was born Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert on February 17, 1821, in Grange, County Sligo, Connacht, Ireland. At the time of her birth, all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Known as Eliza, she was the daughter of a Scotsman, Edward Gilbert, and Eliza Oliver from an Irish country noble family. Eliza’s paternal grandfather was Charles Silver Oliver, a High Sheriff of Cork and a member of Parliament for Kilmallock in County Limerick, Ireland. Eliza’s mother grew up at the family home, Castle Oliver. Eliza’s father was an Ensign in The King’s Own Scottish Borderers, a regiment of the British Army. Eliza’s parents met when her father’s regiment arrived in Grange, Ireland. When Eliza was two-years-old her father was posted to India and Eliza and her mother accompanied him. However, her father died from cholera shortly after arriving in India. Eliza and her mother remained in India and her mother married again to Lieutenant Patrick Craigie.

Eliza Gilbert, circa 1837; Credit – Wikipedia

When Eliza reached school age, she was sent to live with her stepfather’s father Captain John Craigie in Montrose, Scotland. At the age of ten, Eliza was sent to Sunderland, England to live with her stepfather’s sister Catherine Rae. Eliza attended a boarding school that Catherine Rae ran with her husband. She finished her education at a boarding school in Bath, England. To avoid a marriage with the much older judge Sir Abraham Lumley, she ran away with Lieutenant Thomas James. The couple married in 1837. Eliza’s husband was posted to India in 1838 and she accompanied him but the couple separated in 1842.

In 1842, Eliza returned to England and lived in London where she learned the Spanish language and Spanish dances. Using the stage name Maria de los Dolores Porrys y Montez, also known as Lola Montez, she pretended to be a Spanish dancer from Seville, Spain. In June 1843, her true identity was revealed when she was recognized as Mrs. Thomas James. Her career in England was hampered and she left for continental Europe. By this time she was certainly accepting favors from wealthy men in return for sex and was widely regarded as a courtesan.

Lola Montez, 1844; Credit – Wikipedia

Lola Montez traveled across Europe and caused scandals through her affairs and performances. She became famous for her Spider Dance, which involved her shaking imaginary tarantulas out of her clothes and stamping on them. She then raised her skirt so high that the audience could see that she wore no underwear. On September 3, 1843, Lola danced in front of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia at the Los Boleros de Cadiz in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia. Her guest appearance in Warsaw caused an uproar. Her dancing caused her to be expelled from Berlin, Warsaw, Reuss-Ebersdorf, and Baden-Baden. After performing in various European cities, Lola settled in Paris, where she was accepted by the Bohemian literary society of the time. She received more notoriety when her lover Alexandre Dujarrier (link in French), editor of the newspaper La Presse was shot to death in a duel in 1845. Heinrich LXXII, Prince Reuss of Lobenstein and Ebersdorf, the father and son writers Alexandre Dumas the Elder and Alexandre Dumas the Younger, and the composer Franz Liszt were among her lovers.

King Ludwig I of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 5, 1846, Lola arrived in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria. She applied for an engagement as a dancer at the Munich Hofbühne but her application was denied. Lola decided to appeal to King Ludwig I of Bavaria and met with him for the first time on October 7, 1846. Soon, she was making guest appearances at the Munich Court and National Theater and within a month, the 25-year-old Lola became the mistress of the 60-year-old Ludwig. The king changed his will to include payments to Lola and provided her with a luxurious residence where he often visited her. Their relationship quickly became known and was met with disapproval by the citizens of Bavaria.

Lola Montez painted for King Ludwig I of Bavaria by Joseph Karl Stieler for the Gallery of Beauties at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich; Credit – Wikipedia

King Ludwig I had a constant stream of mistresses, few of which were kept very private. His wife, born Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, often left Bavaria in defiance of her husband’s actions and maintained a massive amount of sympathy and support from the Bavarian people. When Ludwig’s relationship with Lola Montez began, Queen Therese refused to back down. She publicly chastised her husband and refused his request to grant Lola the Order of Therese.

Because Lola’s only identification was a passport from the Principality of Reuss-Ebersdorf, King Ludwig I asked his cabinet to grant Lola Bavarian citizenship in 1847. The cabinet refused and all the cabinet ministers resigned. After a new cabinet was formed, Lola was granted Bavarian citizenship which caused riots in Munich. On August 25, 1847, Ludwig’s 61st birthday, Lola was created Countess of Landsfeld and was given a large annuity.

A caricature of Lola Montez wearing a crown and holding a whip in her left hand. Attached to a leash is King Ludwig I of Bavaria, depicted as a dog standing on its hind legs; Credit – Wikipedia

By 1848, because of the revolutionary fervor in Europe, Ludwig I’s reign was coming to an abrupt end. His relationship with Lola and the influence he allowed her to wield also played a role. Facing protests and demonstrations by students and the middle classes, Ludwig ordered the closure of the university. Shortly after, the crowds raided the armory on their way to storm the Munich Residenz, the palace in Munich. Ludwig’s brother Prince Karl Theodor managed to appease the protesters but the damage was done. Ludwig’s family and advisors turned against him and he was forced to sign the March Proclamation, giving substantial concessions toward a constitutional monarchy. Unwilling to rule this way, King Ludwig I abdicated on March 20, 1848, in favor of his son Maximilian II, King of Bavaria.

Lola fled to Switzerland where she hoped Ludwig would join her but he never did. The letters between Lola and Ludwig show that she lived in luxury with the money she had received from Ludwig. Lola continued writing to Ludwig and the letters show that she was mainly concerned with getting more money from him.

Lola returned to London in 1849 and appeared at Covent Garden. Although she had never divorced her first husband Thomas James, Lola married George Trafford Heald, a British Army officer. They fled from England to avoid a bigamy lawsuit. Lola and George lived in France and Spain but within two years, their relationship was falling apart and George reportedly drowned in 1851.

Cartoon of Lola Montez, circa 1852 By DC Johnston; Credit – Wikipedia

Lola set off to make a new start in the United States in 1851, where she was surprisingly successful for a while. In 1852, on Broadway, she played herself in a theater revue, Lola Montez in Bavaria. She toured the east coast until 1853 when she went to San Francisco where her performances created a sensation. In July 1853, Lola married Patrick Hull, a local newspaper reporter, and moved to Grass Valley, California but by August her marriage had failed. Lola remained in Grass Valley, California for nearly two years until she went on tour for two years in Australia where she mostly entertained in gold-mining towns. After she performed her Spider Dance at the Theatre Royal in Melbourne, the newspapers reported that her show was “utterly subversive to all ideas of public morality”  and her show began to suffer financial losses.

Upon returning to New York in 1857, Lola attempted a theatrical comeback that failed. She then arranged with Charles Chauncey Burr, an American journalist, author, and publisher, to deliver a series of lectures Burr had written in the United States and the United Kingdom which allowed her to earn a living.

By 1860, Lola was exhibiting the third stage effects of syphilis. During the summer of 1860, she had symptoms similar to a stroke. In December 1860, Lola developed pneumonia. She died on January 17, 1861, aged 39, in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City. Lola Montez, born Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, where her tombstone says: “Mrs. Eliza Gilbert Died Jan. 17, 1861.” The reverse of her tombstone gives more biographical information.

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

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Lola Montez. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Montez> [Accessed 7 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Lola Montez. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Montez> [Accessed 7 April 2020].
  • Findagrave.com. 2020. Lola Montez (1821-1861) – Find A Grave Memorial. [online] Available at: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/726/lola-montez> [Accessed 7 April 2020].
  • Heichelbech, R., n.d. The Spider Dance That Captivated The World In The 1840S. [online] Dusty Old Thing. Available at: <https://dustyoldthing.com/lola-montez-spider-dance/> [Accessed 7 April 2020].
  • History-is-made-at-night.blogspot.com. 2009. Lola Montez And The Spider Dance. [online] Available at: <http://history-is-made-at-night.blogspot.com/2009/05/lola-montez-and-spider-dance.html> [Accessed 7 April 2020].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2016. King Ludwig I Of Bavaria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-ludwig-i-of-bavaria/> [Accessed 7 April 2020].

Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Credit – Wikipedia

Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany, the first wife of François I, King of France, was born on October 13, 1499, in Romorantin-Lanthenay, France. Her father was King Louis XII of France who had succeeded his second cousin once removed, King Charles VIII, because Charles had no surviving sons to succeed him, nor any surviving daughters either. Louis XII was the great-grandson of King Charles V of France through his second surviving son Louis I, Duke of Orléans, and the next in line of the throne after the line of Charles V’s eldest son and successor King Charles VI of France, represented by King Charles VIII, died out.

Claude’s mother was King Louis XII’s second wife Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Anne had been King Charles VIII’s wife and during her marriage to Charles VIII, she had three stillbirths, three children who died in infancy, and one son who died from measles at age three. Before he became king, Louis XII had been in a childless marriage to Jeanne of France, the sister of King Charles VIII. After he succeeded to the throne, Louis XII decided to annul his 22-year-marriage to Jeanne and marry the younger Anne of Brittany in hopes of a male heir.

Claude’s father King Louis XII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Claude’s mother Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France, at prayer surrounded by Saint Anne, Saint Ursula and Saint Helena; Credit – Wikipedia

Claude was her parents’ first child. She received her name, somewhat unusual for a female, because her mother had made a pilgrimage to the burial site of Saint Claude of Besançon, a 7th-century French bishop who became a popular French saint, in the hope of having a living child after the sad pregnancy history of her first marriage. However, Anne’s poor obstetrical history persisted. Louis XII and Anne had four stillborn sons and three miscarriages. Claude and her sister Renée were their only surviving children. In fact, out of Anne’s total of sixteen pregnancies from her two marriages, Claude and Renée were her only surviving children. The lack of sons again created a succession problem because France followed the Salic Law which allowed only male succession.

Claude had one surviving sibling:

François I, King of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Because Louis XII and his first wife had no children, upon Louis XII’s accession to the French throne, four-year-old François, Count of Angoulême (the future King François I of France) became the heir presumptive to the French throne and remained the heir throughout Louis XII’s reign due to his lack of sons. François was a great-great-grandson of King Charles V of France through Charles V’s second surviving son Louis I, Duke of Orléans whose descendants were members of the Orléans cadet branch of the ruling House of Valois.

Because her parents had no sons, Claude was the heir to her mother’s Duchess of Brittany. The Duchy of Brittany was located on the northwestern peninsula of modern France, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north. Queen Anne did not want to leave her daughter without her Brittany inheritance and with the help of Cardinal Georges d’Amboise, separated the Duchy of Brittany from the French crown.

Engagement of François d’Angoulême and Claude de France by Guillaume II Le Roy , Chronicles of Louis XII; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1501, a marriage contract was signed between the two-year-old Claude and the fifteen-year-old future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. However, in 1505, Louis XII became very ill and fearing for his life and not wishing to threaten the reign of François, his heir, he canceled the 1501 marriage contract in favor of the eventual marriage of Claude and François. A marriage with François would mean that the Duchy of Brittany would remain united with the French crown if François succeeded Louis XII.

Weakened by sixteen pregnancies in twenty years, 36-year-old Anne, Queen of France, Duchess of Brittany died from a kidney stone attack on January 9, 1514, at the Château de Blois in Blois, France. Fourteen-year-old Claude succeeded her mother as Duchess of Brittany.

On May 18, 1514, François and Claude were married in the chapel at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

They had seven children:

Queen Claude, Duchess of Brittany surrounded by her daughters (Charlotte, Madeleine, and Marguerite), her sister Renée (or her deceased older daughter Louise) and her husband’s second wife Eleanor of Austria, in Catherine de Medici’s Book of Hours, 1550; Credit – Wikipedia

After Anne of Brittany’s death, the 52-year-old Louis XII, still seeking a son to succeed him, married 18-year-old Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England, in a proxy marriage on August 19, 1514, at Greenwich Palace in England and then in person in France on October 9, 1514. However, the marriage did not last long. Louis XII died on January 1, 1515, just three months after the wedding. He was succeeded by his son-in-law as King François I of France. François was crowned King of France on January 25, 1515, at Notre-Dame de Reims (Reims Cathedral), the traditional site for the coronation of the Kings of France. Claude’s coronation took place on May 10, 1517, at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris. Most likely the delay in Claude’s coronation was due to her first two pregnancies.

Queen Claude, Duchess of Brittany, aged 24, died on July 20, 1524, at the Château de Blois in Blois, France. It is suspected that Claude had tuberculosis and contracted syphilis from her husband and certainly seven pregnancies in eight years weakened her health. Claude was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris.

In 1530, François married the widow of King Manuel I of Portugal, Eleanor, Archduchess of Austria, Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg. She was the daughter of Philip of Austria and Joanna of Castile, co-sovereigns of the Kingdom of Castile, and the sister of Charles V, Emperor of Austria. François preferred his mistresses, ignored Eleanor, and the marriage was childless. François survived Claude by twenty-three years, dying on March 31, 1547, at the Château de Rambouillet in Rambouillet, France at the age of 52 and was buried with Claude.

François and Claude’s tomb was desecrated during the French Revolution in October 1793. Archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir was able to save the tomb and preserved it at the Museum of French Monuments. It was returned to the Basilica of Saint-Denis during the Second Bourbon Restoration (1815 – 1830).

Tomb of François and Claude; Credit – Par Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France Tomb of François 1er @ Basilique de Saint-Denis @ Saint-Denis, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52701972

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.

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Claude Of France. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_of_France> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. François I, King Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/François-i-king-of-france/> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Claude De France (1499-1524). [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_de_France_(1499-1524)> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Клод Французская. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B4_%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%86%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F> [Accessed 15 June 2020]. (Claude of France from Russian Wikipedia)

François I, King of France

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

François I, King of France; Credit – Wikipedia

A contemporary of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King Henry VIII of England, François I, King of France was born on September 12, 1494, at the Château de Cognac in Cognac, Kingdom of France. He was the only son and the younger of the two children of Charles of Orléans, Count of Angoulême and Louise of Savoy. François was a great-great-grandson of King Charles V of France through Charles V’s second surviving son Louis I, Duke of Orléans whose descendants were members of the Orléans cadet branch of the ruling House of Valois. The Orléans branch came to the French throne in 1498 with the accession of King Louis XII, the great-grandson of King Charles V through his second surviving son Louis I, Duke of Orléans after the line of Charles V’s eldest son and successor King Charles VI of France died out.

François had one older sister:

François’ parents playing chess, circa 1496-1498; Credit – Wikipedia

During the winter of 1495, François’s father had a serious fall while out riding and he died from his injuries on January 1, 1496. 16-month-old François became Count of Angoulême and François’s mother was left a 19-year-old widow with two young children.

At the time of François’s birth, 24-year-old Charles VIII was King of France. Charles VIII had married Anne, Duchess of Brittany in 1491 and there were expectations that they would provide a male heir to the French throne as France followed the Salic Law which allowed only male succession. In 1498, Charles VIII violently hit his head on a stone lintel of a low door and died without a male heir. His wife Anne of Brittany had given birth to seven children but none survived.

King Charles VIII was succeeded by his second cousin once removed Louis II, Duke of Orléans as King Louis XII of France. Louis XII’s father Charles I, Duke of Orléans was the grandson of King Charles V of France through his second son, Louis I, Duke of Orléans. King Louis XII also had succession issues. His 22-year marriage to Charles VIII’s sister Jeanne of France had produced no children. Therefore, in 1498, four-year-old François, Count of Angoulême became the heir presumptive to the French throne. Louis XII had his marriage to Jeanne of France annulled and married Charles VII’s widow Anne, Duchess of Brittany, hoping the marriage would produce a male heir.

François’ mother Louise of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

Meanwhile, François’ mother Louise of Savoy, who never remarried, began the work that would secure each of her children a promising future. After her husband’s death, Louise and her two children Marguerite and François initially remained at the Château de Cognac. Upon the accession of King Louis XII to the throne of France, she moved her family to Louis XII’s court and Louise’s main goal was to prepare her son to become King of France. Louise was quite aware of court politics and diplomacy and was interested in the flourishing of the arts and sciences during the Renaissance. With the help of her Italian confessor Cristoforo Numai of Forli, Louise ensured that Marguerite and François were educated in the spirit of the Renaissance. She commissioned books specifically for them and she taught them Italian and Spanish.

Meanwhile, King Louis XII and his second wife Anne of Brittany failed to produce a male heir. They had four stillborn sons and three miscarriages. They did have two daughters who survived to adulthood, Claude (1499 – 1524) and Renée (1510 – 1574), but because of the Salic Law neither could succeed their father. On January 9, 1514, 36-year-old Anne, Duchess of Brittany, the only woman to have been Queen of France twice, weakened by sixteen pregnancies in twenty years, died from a kidney stone attack.

Anne’s elder daughter Claude succeeded her as Duchess of Brittany. Claude had previously been contracted to marry the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. However, in 1505, Louis XII had become very ill and fearing for his life and not wishing to threaten the reign of François, his only heir, he canceled the marriage contract in favor of the eventual marriage of Claude and François. A marriage with François would mean that the Duchy of Brittany would remain united with the French crown.

Queen Claude, Duchess of Brittany surrounded by her daughters (Charlotte, Madeleine, and Marguerite), her sister Renée (or her deceased older daughter Louise) and her husband’s second wife Eleanor of Austria, in Catherine de Medici’s Book of Hours, 1550; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 18, 1514, François and Claude were married in the chapel at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. They had seven children:

After Anne of Brittany’s death, the 52-year-old Louis XII, still seeking a son to succeed him, married 18-year-old Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England, in a proxy marriage on August 19, 1514, at Greenwich Palace in England and then in person in France on October 9, 1514. However, the marriage did not last long. Louis XII died on January 1, 1515, just three months after the wedding. As Louis XII had no sons, he was succeeded by his son-in-law as King François I of France. François was crowned King of France on January 25, 1515, at Notre-Dame de Reims (Reims Cathedral), the traditional site for the coronation of the Kings of France. Claude’s coronation took place on May 10, 1517, at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris. Most likely the delay in Claude’s coronation was due to her first two pregnancies.

Some accomplishments and events during the reign of François I, King of France:

François at the deathbed of Leonardo da Vinci; Credit – Wikipedia

Patron of the arts: The magnificent art collection of the French kings began. It can still be seen at the Musée du Louvre, which occupies most of the former Louvre Palace. Among the artists François patronized were Andrea del Sarto and Leonardo da Vinci. da Vinci lived in France during the last years of his life. He brought with him many of his greatest works, including the Mona Lisa and these works remained in France after his death.

Construction: François focused on both new construction and renovations. Among his projects was the renovation of the Louvre Palace from a medieval fortress into a Renaissance palace and the building of a new City Hall (the Hôtel de Ville) for Paris.

The Field of the Cloth of Gold, circa 1545; Credit – Wikipedia

Foreign Policy: François continued with the Italian Wars (1494 – 1559). As Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also King of Spain) of the House of Habsburg gained power and land, France was surrounded by Habsburg land. François unsuccessfully attempted to gain the support of King Henry VIII of England at a summit and a tournament called the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Instead, François allied with the Muslim Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, a controversial move for a Christian king. France became the first European country to establish formal relations with the Ottoman Empire.

Exploration: In 1524, François financed the expedition of Giovanni da Verrazzano to North America. On this expedition, Verrazzano was the first documented European to visit the present site of New York City (where the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge is named after him) and claimed Newfoundland in present-day Canada for the French crown. In 1534, François sent Jacques Cartier to explore the St. Lawrence River in the present-day Canadian province of Quebec.

Religion: The Reformation began during the reign of the Roman Catholic François. Initially tolerant of the Reformation and its effect upon France, François’ attitude toward Protestants changed from tolerance to persecution with the issue of the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1540.

François’ wife Queen Claude, Duchess of Brittany, aged 24, died on July 20, 1524, at the Château de Blois. It is suspected that Claude had tuberculosis and contracted syphilis from her husband and certainly seven pregnancies in eight years weakened her health.

François with his second wife Eleanor of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1529, the Treaty of Cambrai was signed ending the Seventh Italian War, also known as the War of the League of Cognac, fought between Charles V’s Holy Roman Empire and Habsburg Spain and François I’s Kingdom of France and his allies. To seal the treaty, François I agreed to marry Charles V’s sister Eleanor, Archduchess of Austria, Infanta of Castile, the widow of King Manuel I of Portugal. Eleanor was the daughter of Philip of Austria and Joanna of Castile, co-sovereigns of the Kingdom of Castile. François and Eleanor were married on July 4, 1530, and Eleanor was crowned Queen of France at the Basilica of Saint-Denis on May 31, 1531.

Eleanor was ignored by François who preferred his mistresses. Needless to say, Eleanor and François had no children. However, Eleanor was useful as an intermediary between France and her brother’s Holy Roman Empire.  She took an active role in the care and education of François’ two youngest daughters Madeleine and Marguerite. Eleanor played her role as Queen of France on official occasions such as the marriage of François’ heir, the future King Henri II, and Catherine de Medici in 1533.

There is suspicion that François suffered from syphilis and primary documents say he had some urinary tract issues. François I, King of France died on March 31, 1547, at the Château de Rambouillet, aged 52, after a reign of thirty-two years. According to the report of his autopsy, the cause of his death was sepsis associated with severe kidney failure due to nephritis. He was succeeded by his only surviving son Henri II who became King of France on his 28th birthday.

François was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris with his first wife Claude of France. François and Claude’s tomb was desecrated during the French Revolution in October 1793. Archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir was able to save the tomb and preserved it at the Museum of French Monuments. It was returned to the Basilica of Saint-Denis during the Second Bourbon Restoration (1815 – 1830).

Tomb of Francois and Claude; Credit – Par Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France Tomb of François 1er @ Basilique de Saint-Denis @ Saint-Denis, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52701972

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.

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

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  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louise Of Savoy. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_of_Savoy> [Accessed 13 June 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan and McMahon, Emily, 2013. Louis XII, King Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/june-27-daily-featured-royal-date/> [Accessed 5 June 2020].
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Charles VIII, King of France

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Charles VIII, King of France; Credit – Wikipedia

King Charles VIII of France was born at the Château d’Amboise in France on June 30, 1470. He was the seventh of the eight children and the fourth and the only surviving son of the five sons of King Louis XI of France and his second wife Charlotte of Savoy. Out of his parents’ eight children, only Charles and his sisters Anne and Jeanne survived childhood. Charles’ father had no children from his first marriage to Margaret of Scotland, daughter of James I, King of Scots.

King Louis XI of France; Credit- Wikipedia

Since Charles was his father’s only surviving son and was often ill, his father Louis XI was more concerned with his health than his education. Accordingly, Charles’ education was less rigorous than it normally would have been. The study of Latin was eliminated although Louis XI had first studied Latin at the age of six. Charles was given a humanist tutor Guillaume Tardif. Tardif ordered simplified treatises written for Charles and read them to him. One such treatise was on the Wars of Roses which was occurring at the time in England.

In 1475, the Treaty of Picquigny between King Edward IV and the Kingdom of England and King Louis XI and the Kingdom of France ended the Hundred Years War. One of the agreements was that five-year-old Charles would marry nine-year Elizabeth of York, the eldest child of King Edward IV of England. That arrangement did not come to fruition and Elizabeth of York eventually married King Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch.

Next, Louis XI tried to make two Burgundian marriages for his only son Charles. After the death of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in 1477, Louis XI had plans to take over the guardianship of Charles the Bold’s only child Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. He planned to marry his seven-year-old son Charles to the twenty-year-old Mary and reunite Burgundy with France. However, Mary was of legal age, the sovereign ruler of the Duchy of Burgundy, and decided to marry Archduke Maximilian of Austria, later Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.

Archduchess Margaret of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1482, 25-year-old Mary, Duchess of Burgundy died of internal injuries following a severe fall from her horse. France and Burgundy had been at war over land and Mary’s widower decided to settle the situation. The Treaty of Arras ended the dispute. Mary’s two-year-old daughter Archduchess Margaret of Austria would marry Louis XI’s son Charles. The Imperial County of Burgundy, west of the Duchy of Burgundy, would come to the French crown as part of Margaret’s dowry. Charles and Margaret were betrothed in 1483 and Margaret’s guardianship was transferred to King Louis XI of France. She was to be raised in France as a fille de France (daughter of France) and prepared for her future role as Queen of France. However, within months of the betrothal, King Louis XI died and his thirteen-year-old son became King Charles VIII of France.  The coronation of King Charles VIII took place on May 30, 1484, in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Reims, France, the traditional site for the coronation of the Kings of France.

Under Louis XI’s will, his daughter Anne and her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon ruled as regents until 1491. Margaret of Austria remained in France where she continued to be educated and prepared for her future role as Charles’ wife and Queen of France. However, the sudden death of François II, Duke of Brittany as a result of a fall from his horse, on September 9, 1488, changed the situation. François II had only two surviving children, both daughters, and the elder daughter succeeded him as Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Fearing for the independence of her duchy against the might of France, Anne arranged a marriage for herself with Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the widower of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right.

Anne, Duchess of Brittany at prayer surrounded by Saint Anne, Saint Ursula and Saint Helena by Jean Bourdichon; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne of France and her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, the regents of France, refused to allow a marriage between Anne of Brittany and Maximilian of Austria because it would put the Habsburgs, Maxililian’s family, on two French borders. A month before Anne of Brittany’s father died, he had been forced to sign the Treaty of Verger and thereby becoming a vassal of King Charles VIII of France and agreeing to seek Charles’ consent before arranging the marriage of his daughters. The Treaty of Verger was used to force Anne to renounce Archduke Maximilian of Austria, who she had married by proxy, and marry King Charles VIII of France. Likewise, Margaret of Austria was also jilted and she resented the House of Valois for the rest of her life. However, Margaret became one of the greatest government administrators, political negotiators, and patrons of her time. She served her nephew Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands.

Waxwork reenactment of the marriage of Anne, Duchess of Brittany and King Charles VIII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne, Duchess of Brittany and King Charles VIII of France were married at the Château de Langeais on December 6, 1491. On February 8, 1492, Anne was crowned Queen of France at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France.

Anne and Charles had seven children but none survived:

  • Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France (1492 – 1495), died from measles at the age of three
  • François (stillborn 1493)
  • Stillborn daughter (1494)
  • Stillborn daughter (1495)
  • Charles, Dauphin of France (September 1496 – October 1496)
  • François, Dauphin of France (1497), died several hours after birth
  • Anne of France (1498), died several hours after birth

French troops under Charles VIII entering Florence, November 17, 1494, by Francesco Granacci; Credit – Wikipedia

The main event of Charles VIII’s reign was the Italian War of 1494–1498 fought against the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and an alliance of Italian powers led by Pope Alexander VI. Charles made a series of concessions to neighboring monarchs and conquered Italy without much opposition. However, a coalition of armies ultimately drove out Charles’ army.

On March 20, 1498, Queen Anne had given birth to a daughter at the Château d’Amboise, who died on the day of her birth. To distract her from her sadness, on April 7, 1498, Charles decided to take Anne to watch a game of jeu de paume (real tennis). As they were walking to the tennis court at the Château d’Amboise, Charles violently hit his head on a stone lintel of a low door. He stumbled but did not lose consciousness and proceeded to the tennis court where he watched the game. At around two o’clock in the afternoon, Charles suddenly collapsed, fell into a coma, and died nine hours later at the age of 27. Modern medical experts suspect that Charles died from a head trauma that led to a stroke with a subdural hematoma and neurological damage.

King Charles VIII had a grand funeral with the services lasting until May 1, 1498, when the tomb was closed. He was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France but his heart was buried at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Cléry in Cléry-Saint-André, France so he could be near his parents. His tomb at the Basilica of Saint-Denis was one of the most beautiful tombs there. It was made of gilded bronze and enamel and was quite large. The enameled statue of Charles VIII showed him praying, wearing a blue robe with fleur-de-lis (lily flowers). At the four corners were bronze angels and around the base were female figures in medallions. During the French Revolution, Charles’ tomb was destroyed and the materials melted down.

Tomb of Charles VIII; Credit – Wikipedia

Because King Charles VIII had no surviving sons (nor daughters), he was succeeded by his second cousin once removed Louis II, Duke of Orléans as King Louis XII of France. Louis XII’s father Charles I, Duke of Orléans was the grandson of King Charles V of France through his second son, Louis I, Duke of Orléans. In 1476, the future Louis XII had married Jeanne of France, daughter of King Louis XI of France and sister of King Charles VIII. Charles VIII’s widow Anne returned to her Duchy of Brittany after his death and began taking steps to ensure the independence of her duchy. Louis XII did not want this to happen and so he had his 24-year childless marriage to Charles VIII’s sister Jeanne of France annulled. Once more, Anne of Brittany, had the Treaty of Verger used against her as Louis XII, as King of France, had to consent to her marriage. She was forced to agree to marry King Louis XII.

King Louis XII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis XII married Anne, Duchess of Brittany on January 7, 1499, in Nantes, Duchy of Brittany, now in France. Louis XII never did get his male heir. Anne and Louis had four stillborn sons and three miscarriages but they did have two daughters who survived to adulthood. Weakened by sixteen pregnancies in twenty years, 36-year-old Anne, twice Queen of France, Duchess of Brittany died from a kidney stone attack on January 9, 1514. After Anne’s death, the 52-year-old Louis XII, still seeking a son to succeed him, married 18-year-old Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England, but Louis XIII died three months after the marriage – without a male heir.

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France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Charles VIII Of France. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VIII_of_France> [Accessed 11 June 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louis XI Of France. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XI_of_France> [Accessed 1 June 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Anne, Duchess Of Brittany, Queen Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/anne-duchess-of-brittany-queen-of-france/> [Accessed 11 June 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Charles VIII (Roi De France). [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VIII_(roi_de_France)> [Accessed 11 June 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louis XI. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XI> [Accessed 11 June 2020].
  • McMahon, Emily and Flantzer, Susan. 2013. Louis XII, King Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/june-27-daily-featured-royal-date/> [Accessed 1 June 2020].

Diane de Poitiers, Mistress of King Henri II of France

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Diane de Poitiers was the royal mistress of King Henri II of France from around 1534 until the King’s death in 1559. During that time, she was considered by most to be the most powerful and influential woman in France, far surpassing the King’s wife, the former Catherine de’ Medici.

Diane de Poitiers – source: Wikipedia

Diane de Poitiers was born on January 9, 1500 at the Château de Saint-Vallier in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. She was the second child, and eldest daughter, of Jean de Poitiers, Vicomte d’Estoile and Seigneur of Saint-Vallier and his wife, Jeanne de Batarnay.

Following her mother’s death in 1506, Diane was raised in the court of Princess Anne of France (Anne de Beaujeu), the daughter of King Louis XI and sister of King Charles VIII of France, for whom she had served as regent from 1483-1491 when he reached his majority). During this time, Diane received an education typical for young girls in the aristocracy at that time – studying languages, music, and proper etiquette, as well as studying several languages. She also became a skilled huntress – something she enjoyed well into her later years.

In 1515, Princess Anne arranged for Diane to marry Louis de Brézé, Comte de Maulevrier and Seigneur d’Anet, who was nearly 40 years older than her. He was a grandson of King Charles VII of France, and served as a courtier to King François I. The couple had two daughters:

During her marriage, Diane became a lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France (mother of Henri II) and later served in the same role to Louise of Savoy (grandmother of Henri II) and Queen Eléanore of France (stepmother of Henri II). Along with her position at court, Diane also became known for her financial independence – something rarely seen for a woman in those times. Widowed in 1531, Diane went to court to retain her husband’s estates and titles in her own right, and not be required to submit them to a male relative as was expected. Impressed by her acumen, King François issued Letters Patent allowing Diane to retain everything until ownership could be established, allowing her to establish complete financial independence.

King Henri II. source: Wikipedia

Through her presence at court, Diane became known to the young Prince Henri. Eighteen years older than the young prince, she made quite an impression on him despite his young age. Despite his marriage in 1533 to Catherine de’ Medici – Diane’s second cousin – the young Prince was smitten with Diane. From their correspondence, it is believed that Diane became his mistress sometime around 1534.

For the next 25 years, Diane de Poitiers would be the King’s closest companion, and many felt she was the most powerful woman in France at the time. Her influence on the King was without match, and he relied heavily on her advice in all official decisions. Such was her position that when foreign royals and leaders would send gifts to the Queen, they would also send gifts to Diane.

Château de Chenonceau. photo: CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=604946

The King, too, showered Diane with gifts. She was created Duchess of Valentinois in 1548, and Duchess d’Étampes in 1553, and was given custody of the French Crown Jewels. He also had the Château d’Anet rebuilt for her (on the site of her late husband’s former château, which was left to her), and gave her the Château de Chenonceau, despite his wife’s desire that she have it for herself.

Diane’s influence and power would come to a complete halt in 1559 after King Henri was critically injured in a jousting tournament. Queen Catherine quickly took control, refusing to allow Diane to see the ailing King, despite his requests for her. After suffering for ten days, the King died on July 10, 1559, of sepsis from his wounds. The Queen quickly took steps to eliminate Diane from the existence she had enjoyed for so many years. She was forced to return the Crown Jewels, give up the Château de Chenonceau in exchange for the Château de Chaumont, and sent into exile. After a brief stay at Chaumont, Diane returned to d’Anet where she lived a relatively quiet life for the next six years.

Tomb of Diane de Poitiers. Photo: Par Binche — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16697082

In poor health for several years after suffering a fall while out riding, Diane de Poitiers died at the Château d’Anet on April 25, 1566, at the age of 66. Per her wishes, her daughter Louise had a funeral chapel built on the grounds of the château which would serve as Diane’s resting place. However, during the French Revolution, her grave was opened and her remains were thrown into a mass grave. In 2009, her remains were rediscovered and returned to her original tomb at d’Anet the following year.

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Louise de la Vallière, mistress of King Louis XIV of France

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Louise de la Vallière was the mistress of King Louis XIV of France from 1661 until 1667. She later entered a convent, becoming Sister Louise de la Miséricorde (Sister Louise of Mercy) until her death in 1710.

source: Wikipedia

Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc was born on August 6, 1644 at the Hôtel de la Crouzille in Tours, France. She was the daughter of Laurent La Baume Le Blanc, Marquis of La Vallière and Françoise Le Provost.

Following her father’s death in 1651, Louise’s mother was remarried to the Marquis de Saint Rémy, who served in the court of the Gaston, Duke of Orléans, son of King Henri IV of France. Louise became a companion to the Duke’s three younger daughters and was educated alongside them. After the Duke died, Louise accompanied the widowed Duchess and her daughters to Paris where they took up residence at the Palais de Luxembourg.

Soon, Louise became a Maid of Honor to Princess Henrietta Anne of England, the wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, brother of King Louis IV of France. Henrietta then presented Louise to King Louis XIV, and within months she had become his mistress. Although discreet, their relationship soon became well-known within the French court, causing Louise much distress. She continued to serve as a Maid of Honor to Princess Henrietta, which caused a falling out with the King in 1662. Louise refused to reveal any information to him about the Princess’s alleged affair with the Count of Guiche, and fled to a convent before King Louis XIV convinced her to return. Pregnant with her first child, Louise was removed from service to the Duchess, and given apartments in the Palais Royal.  Over the next five years, gave birth to five children – only two of whom would survive:

  • Charles de La Baume Le Blanc (1663-1665)
  • Philippe de La Baume Le Blanc (1665-1666)
  • Louis de La Baume Le Blanc (1665-1666)
  • Marie Anne de Bourbon (1666-1739) – legitimized by the King in 1667, and later married to Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti
  • Louis de Bourbon (1667-1683) – legitimized by the King in 1669, created Count of Vermandois

It was after the birth of her daughter, Marie Anne, in 1666 that the relationship began to change between Louise and the King. Much of this was due to the return to the court of Madame de Montespan who quickly drew the King’s attention and replaced Louise as his favorite mistress.

Marie Anne de Bourbon, later Princess of Conti. source: Wikipedia

In 1667, King Louis legitimized their daughter, who became known as Mademoiselle de Blois, and he created Louise Duchess de La Vallière and Duchess de Vaujours. This allowed Louise a greater position at court, however, she would not remain there for much longer. Pregnant at the time, she gave birth to their last child – Louis – in October 1667. For the next several years, Louise remained at court – sharing apartments with Madame de Montespan, but her relationship with King Louis XIV was long over. Two years later, the King legitimized their son, creating him Count of Vermandois.

By 1670, having been forced to remain at court and live with the King’s new mistress, Madame de Montespan, Louise became ill and at one point was near death. Upon recovering, she sought solace in religion, and the following year, made the decision to leave the court and enter a convent. However, King Louis XIV forced her to return for several years. Finally, in 1674, she was given permission to leave the court and entered the Carmelite convent in Faubourg-Saint-Jacques. She took her vows the following year, becoming Sister Louise de la Miséricorde.

Louise remained at the convent until her death, 35 years later, on June 6, 1710. Per her wishes, she was buried in the convent cemetery. By that time, she was survived only by her daughter Marie Anne, who inherited the Duchies of La Vallière and Vaujours, as well as Louise’s entire estate.

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Contemporary Monarchs of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

compiled by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

 

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is the longest-reigning British monarch having surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria on September 9, 2015. Having reigned 70 years, 214 days, she is the second longest-reigning monarch ever on a list of monarchs of states that were internationally sovereign for most or all of their reigns and have verifiable reigns by an exact date.

Only one monarch is ahead of Queen Elizabeth II:

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Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom – reigned February 6, 1952 – September 8, 2022

Many monarchs have come and gone and some monarchies have been abolished during the long reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The following monarchs reigned during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The links on the names of the monarchies lead to that monarchy’s content area at Unofficial Royalty. Note that not all monarchies have content areas. The content area for the United Kingdom can be found here.

Kingdom of Afghanistan (monarchy abolished 1973)

Kingdom of Bahrain

Kingdom of Belgium

Kingdom of Bhutan

Nation of Brunei, Abode of Peace

Kingdom of Burundi (monarchy abolished 1966)

Kingdom of Cambodia

Kingdom of Denmark

Kingdom of Egypt (monarchy abolished 1953)

Kingdom of eSwatini (formerly Swaziland)

Note: King Sobhuza is not on the list of longest reigning internationally recognized monarchs of a sovereign state. He was an internationally recognized monarch of a sovereign state for fourteen years, from when Swaziland was granted independence in1968 until his death in 1982. However, he is number one on the list of longest reigning monarchs of dependent or constituent states.

Empire of Ethiopia (monarchy abolished 1975)

Kingdom of the Hellenes (Greece) (monarchy abolished 1973)

  • King Paul of the Hellenes (reigned 1947 – 1964)
  • King Constantine II of the Hellenes (reigned 1964 – 1973, a military junta ruled Greece from 1967 – 1974, in 1967 King Constantine II attempted a counter-coup against the military junta which failed, King Constantine II remained the head of state in exile until June 1, 1973, when the junta abolished the monarchy)

Imperial State of Iran (monarchy abolished 1979)

State of Japan

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

State of Kuwait

Kingdom of Laos (monarchy abolished 1975)

Kingdom of Lesotho

Kingdom of Libya (monarchy abolished 1969)

Principality of Liechtenstein

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Malaysia

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with an elected monarch, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, as head of state. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected to a five-year term by and from the nine hereditary rulers of the Malay states. See the following link for a list of the Yang di-Pertuan Agongs: Wikipedia: Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Sultanate of the Maldives (monarchy abolished in 1968)

Principality of Monaco

Kingdom of Morocco

Kingdom of Nepal (monarchy abolished 2008)

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Kingdom of Norway

Sultanate of Oman

State of Qatar

Kingdom of Rwanda (monarchy abolished 1961)

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Kingdom of Sikkim (monarchy abolished 1975)

Kingdom of Spain

Kingdom of Sweden

Kingdom of Thailand

Kingdom of Tonga

Kingdom of Tunisia (monarchy abolished in 1957)

United Arab Emirates

Kingdom of Yemen (monarchy abolished 1966)

Sultanate of Zanzibar (monarchy abolished 1964)

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Queen Elizabeth II meets Liz Truss, her 15th Prime Minister on September 6, 2022, two days before her death; Credit – The Royal Family Facebook Page

In addition to all those monarchs, Queen Elizabeth II had fifteen Prime Ministers and reigned during the terms of fourteen Presidents of the United States and seven pontificates of Popes.

Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign

  • Sir Winston Churchill: (October 26, 1951 – April 5, 1955)
  • Sir Anthony Eden: (April 6, 1955 – January 9, 1957)
  • Harold Macmillan: (January 10, 1957 – October 18, 1963)
  • Sir Alec Douglas-Home: (October 19, 1963 – October 16, 1964)
  • Harold Wilson; (October 16, 1964 – June 19, 1970)
  • Edward Heath: (June 19, 1970 – March 4, 1974)
  • Harold Wilson: (March 14, 1974 – April 5, 1976)
  • James Callaghan: (April 5, 1976 – May 4, 1979)
  • Margaret Thatcher: (May 4, 1979 – November 28, 1990)
  • John Major: (November 28, 1990 – May 2, 1997)
  • Tony Blair: (May 2, 1997 – June 27, 2007)
  • Gordon Brown: (June 27, 2007 – May 11, 2010)
  • David Cameron: (May 11, 2010 – July 13, 2016)
  • Theresa May: (July 13, 2016 – July  24, 2019)
  • Boris Johnson: (July 24, 2019 – September 6, 2022)
  • Liz Truss: (September 6, 2022 – October 25, 2022)

Presidents of the United States during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign

  • Harry S. Truman: (April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953)
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower: (January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961)
  • John F. Kennedy: (January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963, assassinated)
  • Lyndon B. Johnson: (November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969)
  • Richard Nixon: (January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974, resigned)
  • Gerald Ford: (August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977)
  • Jimmy Carter: (January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981)
  • Ronald Reagan: (January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989)
  • George H.W. Bush: (January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993)
  • Bill Clinton: (January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001)
  • George W. Bush: (January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009)
  • Barack Obama:( January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017)
  • Donald Trump: (January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021)
  • Joseph Biden: (January 20, 2021 – )

Popes during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign

  • Pope Pius XII: March 2, 1939 – October 9, 1958
  • Pope (Saint) John XIII: October 28, 1958 –  June 3, 1963
  • Pope (Saint) Paul VI: June 21, 1963 – August 6, 1978
  • Pope (Blessed) John Paul I: August 26, 1978 – September 28, 1978
  • Pope (Saint) John Paul II: October 16, 1978 – April 2, 2005
  • Pope Benedict XVI: April 19, 2005 – February 28, 2013, resigned
  • Pope Francis: March 13, 2013 –

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Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Anne at prayer surrounded by Saint Anne, Saint Ursula and Saint Helena by Jean Bourdichon; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right, is the only woman to have been Queen Consort of France twice. She was the wife of King Charles VIII and the second of the three wives of King Louis XII. Born on January 25, 1477, at the Château des ducs de Bretagne (Castle of the Dukes of Brittany) in Nantes, Duchy of Brittany, now in France, Anne was the elder of the two daughters of François II, Duke of Brittany and his second wife Margaret of Foix, Princess of Navarre.

Anne had one younger sister:

  • Isabeau of Brittany (1478 – 1490), died at age 12 from pneumonia

Anne had one half-brother from her father’s first marriage to Margaret of Brittany but he died in infancy:

  • Jean, Count of Montfort (born and died 1463)

At the age of four, Anne was on track to be the Duchess of Brittany but also the Queen Consort of England. In 1481, Anne had been officially engaged to Edward, Prince of Wales, the elder son and heir apparent of King Edward IV of England. Upon the death of his father in 1483, Edward was briefly King of England as Edward V. The Duke of Gloucester, the future King Richard III, had his nephew Edward V brought to the Tower of London on May 19, 1483, to await his coronation, which never happened. Edward V’s mother Elizabeth Woodville and her children sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey, fearing the Duke of Gloucester’s further actions. Elizabeth agreed to let her second son Richard, Duke of York leave sanctuary and join his brother, who was lonely, at the Tower of London. Meanwhile, Edward and Richard’s uncle the Duke of Gloucester assumed the English throne as King Richard III. Edward and his brother Richard were seen less and less until the end of the summer of 1483 when they disappeared from public view altogether. Their fate is unknown and remains one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Location of the Duchy of Brittany; Credit – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11234869

The Duchy of Brittany was located on the northwestern peninsula of modern France, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north. The inheritance of the Duchy of Brittany was determined by the 1365 Treaty of Guérande which stated that in the absence of a male heir from the House of Montfort, the heirs of Joanna of Penthièvre, Duchess of Brittany would succeed to the Duchy of Brittany. Anne’s father was the only male from the House of Montfort and the House of Blois-Penthièvre heir was also a female, Nicole of Blois, who sold her rights to Brittany to King Louis XI of France. To avoid having the Duchy of Brittany revert to the King of France, Anne’s father had her officially recognized as his heiress by the Estates of Brittany in 1486. This move greatly angered the powers that be in France but increased the competition among the possible husbands for Anne, now a very eligible heiress.

Among the contenders for Anne’s hand in marriage were:

  • Henry Tudor: the last male of the House of Lancaster, then in exile in Brittany, but the marriage did not interest him, became King Henry VII of England in 1485.
  • Maximilian, King of the Romans and Archduke of Austria: widower of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right.
  • Alain d’Albret, a great-grandson of Jean V, Duke of Brittany, and therefore a possible heir, Anne found him repulsive and refused to consider him.
  • Louis, Duke of Orléans (the future King Louis XII of France): the great-grandson of King Charles V of France, the most senior claimant as the heir of King Charles VIII who had no surviving children. However, Louis was already married to Jeanne of France but would have had his loveless, childless marriage annulled to marry Anne.
  • Jean de Chalon, Prince of Orange (1443-1502), nephew of Anne’s father François II, Duke of Brittany, and next in line to the Duchy of Brittany after Anne and her sister Isabeau who would die in 1490.
  • Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham: the marriage was suggested by King Henry VII of England but Henry VII got a better deal when the executors of the will of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, paid Henry VII £4000 for Buckingham’s marriage to Percy’s eldest daughter Eleanor.

King Charles VIII of France, Anne’s first husband; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 9, 1488, Anne’s father François II, Duke of Brittany died as a result of a fall from his horse, and Anne became the Duchess of Brittany in her own right.  Anne feared for the independence of her duchy against the might of France and so she arranged a marriage for herself with Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the widower of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. King Charles VIII succeeded his father as King of France in 1483.  However, he was a minor, and his elder sister Anne of France and her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, served as regents. They refused to allow a marriage between Anne and Maximilian because it would put the Habsburgs, Maxililian’s family on two French borders.

A month before Anne’s father died, he had been forced to sign the Treaty of Verger and thereby becoming a vassal of King Charles VIII of France and agreeing to seek Charles’ consent before arranging the marriage of his daughters. The Treaty of Verger was used to force Anne to renounce Archduke Maximilian of Austria, who she had married by proxy, and marry King Charles VIII of France.

Waxwork reenactment of the marriage of Anne, Duchess of Brittany and King Charles VIII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne and King Charles VIII of France were married at the Château de Langeais on December 6, 1491. On February 8, 1492, Anne was crowned Queen of France at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France.

Anne and Charles had seven children but none survived:

  • Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France (1492 – 1495), died from measles at the age of three
  • François (stillborn 1493)
  • Stillborn daughter (1494)
  • Stillborn daughter (1495)
  • Charles, Dauphin of France (September 1496 – October 1496)
  • François, Dauphin of France (1497), died several hours after birth
  • Anne of France (1498), died several hours after birth

Anne’s second husband, King Louis XII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

King Charles VIII died unexpectedly from a head injury in 1498. Because he had no surviving children, Louis, Duke of Orléans succeeded him as King Louis XII of France. Anne returned to Brittany and began taking steps to ensure the independence of her duchy. Louis XII did not want this to happen and so he had his 24-year childless marriage to Charles VIII’s sister Jeanne of France annulled. Louis XII married Anne of Brittany on January 7, 1499, in Nantes, Duchy of Brittany, now in France. They had four stillborn sons and three miscarriages but they did have two daughters who survived to adulthood:

  • Princess Claude of France (1499 – 1524), married François d’Angoulême, later King François I of France, had seven children including King Henri II of France and Madeleine of Valois, first wife of James V, King of Scots; only two of Claude’s children lived past the age of 30
  • Stillborn son (1500)
  • Stillborn son (1503)
  • Miscarriage (1503)
  • Miscarriage (1505)
  • Stillborn son (1508)
  • Miscarriage (1509)
  • Princess Renée of France (1510 – 1574), married Ercole II, Duke of Ferrara, had five children
  • Stillborn son (1512)

Anne receiving a book in praise of famous women, by Jean Perréal, circa 1506; Credit – Wikipedia

Weakened by sixteen pregnancies in twenty years, 36-year-old Anne, Queen of France, Duchess of Brittany died from a kidney stone attack on January 9, 1514, at the Château de Blois in Blois, France. Claude succeeded her mother as Duchess of Brittany and since Claude’s husband François d’Angoulême became King of France after the death of his father-in-law King Louis XII, the Duchy of Brittany would remain united with the French crown. After Anne’s death, the 52-year-old Louis XII, still seeking a son to succeed him, married 18-year-old Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England, but Louis XIII died three months after the marriage.

Anne’s funeral services lasted forty days and that became the tradition of French royal funerals until the 18th century. Following Anne’s request, her heart was placed in a gold reliquary, then transported to Nantes to be deposited in her parents’ tomb at Nantes Cathedral in the Duchy of Brittany, now in France. During the French Revolution, the gold reliquary containing Anne’s heart was removed from its place of rest, emptied, and sent to Paris to be melted down. Instead, the gold reliquary was kept intact at the National Library in Paris. In 1819, the reliquary was returned to Nantes where it was kept in several museums. Since 1896, the reliquary has been in the collection of the Musée Dobrée in Nantes. On April 13, 2018, the reliquary was stolen from the Musée Dobrée but it was recovered undamaged later that month. The inscription on the reliquary reads: “In this little vessel of fine gold, pure and clean, rests a heart greater than any lady in the world ever had. Anne was her name, twice queen in France, Duchess of the Bretons, royal and sovereign.”

Anne’s heart reliquary on display at the Musée Dobrée; Credit – By Picture by –Jibi44 13:18, 31 March 2006 (UTC) – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=662433

Anne and Louis XII were buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris in a magnificent tomb carved from Carrara marble by the Juste Family, a family of Italian sculptors. The tomb was commissioned in 1515, probably by Louis XII’s successor King François I of France who was married to Louis and Anne’s elder daughter Claude. Anne and Louis’ tomb has survived although it was desecrated in October 1793 during the French Revolution and their bodies were thrown into a mass grave. However, the archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir saved much of the tomb and preserved it at the Museum of French Monuments. During the Second Bourbon Restoration (1815 – 1830), the tomb was returned to the Basilica of Saint-Denis where it can be seen today.

Tomb of King Louis XII of France and his second of three wives Anne, Queen of France, Duchess of Brittany; Credit – By Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18611160

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.

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anne Of Brittany. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Brittany> [Accessed 5 June 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward V Of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-v-of-england/> [Accessed 5 June 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan and McMahon, Emily, 2013. Louis XII, King Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/june-27-daily-featured-royal-date/> [Accessed 5 June 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anne De Bretagne. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_de_Bretagne> [Accessed 5 June 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. François II De Bretagne. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_II_de_Bretagne> [Accessed 5 June 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louis XII. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XII> [Accessed 5 June 2020].

Baroness Mary von Vetsera, Mistress of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Baroness Mary von Vetsera; Credit – Wikipedia

Baroness Mary von Vetsera was a mistress of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, the only son of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria. On January 30, 1889, Mary and Rudolf were found dead by suicide pact, at Rudolf’s hunting lodge Mayerling in the Vienna Woods, which this writer has visited.

Marie Alexandrine von Vetsera was born on March 19, 1871, in Vienna, Austria. Known by the English form of her name, Mary, she was the younger of the two daughters and the third of the four children of Albin von Vetsera, a diplomat in foreign service at the Austrian court, originally from Bratislava, Slovakia, and his wife Helene Baltazzi (link in German), daughter of a wealthy Greek banker. In 1870, Mary’s father was made a Baron (Freiherr in German) by Emperor Franz Joseph and his children were entitled to be styled Baron (Freiherr) and Baroness (Freiin, unmarried daughter)

Mary had three siblings:

  • Baron Ladislaus von Vetsera (1865 – 1881), died at age 16 in the Ringtheater fire
  • Baroness Johanna von Vetsera (1868 – 1901), married Graf (Count) Hendrik von Bylandt-Rheyd, had two children
  • Baron Franz Albin von Vetsera (1872 – 1915), married Gräfin (Countess) Margit Mária von Bissingen und Nippenburg, had three children

Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich (right) with Baroness Mary von Vetsera; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s mother Helene made the acquaintance of Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich, niece and confidante of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and it was through Marie that Helena gained access to the Imperial Court. Countess Marie eventually became a good friend of Mary. Helena even suggested to Crown Prince Rudolf that they should have an affair. Rudolf politely declined. Helene hoped that her daughter Mary would finally enable the Vetseras to break into the high aristocracy.

In 1881, Rudolf married Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, daughter of King Leopold II of the Belgians and Archduchess Marie-Henriette of Austria. The marriage was happy at first, but shortly after the birth of their daughter in 1883, the relationship between Stéphanie and Rudolf began to deteriorate. Rudolf likely infected Stéphanie with a sexually transmitted disease, causing her to become infertile and unable to provide a male heir for the Austrian throne. Both Stéphanie and Rudolf began affairs with other people in the following years and intermittently spoke of divorce.

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

The affair of Crown Prince Rudolf and Mary was short-lived. On October 14, 1888, Emperor Franz Joseph, Crown Prince Rudolf, and The Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, attended the gala opening of the new Burgtheater in Vienna. The Prince of Wales noticed Mary von Vetsera in the audience and pointed her out to Rudolf. A meeting between Rudolf and Mary was later arranged by Countess Marie Larisch, Empress Elisabeth’s niece and Rudolf’s cousin, who had become Mary’s friend. On November 5, 1888, Countess Marie brought Mary to Rudolf’s rooms at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna and formally introduced them.

Soon many people at the court, including Rudolf’s parents Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth andRudolf’s wife Stéphanie, knew that Rudolf and Mary were having an affair. Rudolf was summoned for a meeting with his father on January 26, 1889. There is no record of the conversation between father and son but court officials reported hearing shouting. It is certainly possible that Rudolf’s affair was a topic of discussion.

Mayerling, Crown Prince Rudolf’s hunting lodge; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 30, 1889, at Mayerling, a hunting lodge in the Vienna Woods that Rudolf had purchased, 30-year-old Rudolf shot 17-year-old Mary and then shot himself in an apparent suicide pact. Rudolf wrote in his farewell letter to his wife Stéphanie: Dear Stéphanie! You are free from my presence and plague; be happy in your way. Be good for the poor little one, who is the only thing left of me.

When the bodies were found, the national security services sealed off the hunting lodge and the surrounding area. An official statement was released saying that Rudolf had died “due to a rupture of an aneurysm of the heart”. It was determined that Mary’s wounds were made by a gunshot at close range. The lethal bullet had penetrated Mary’s upper left skull area and emerged behind the right ear. Mary was right-handed and so there were considerable doubts that she fired the gun herself. Eventually, another statement was released stating that Rudolf had first shot Mary in a suicide pact and then sat by her body for several hours before shooting himself. The police closed their investigations quite quickly, in response to Emperor Franz Joseph’s wishes.

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Citizens of Vienna are shocked to read of the death of Crown Prince Rudolf, 31st January 1889

Mary’s body was quietly taken out of Mayerling in the middle of the night and secretly buried in the village cemetery at nearby Heiligenkreuz. Her mother had a crypt built there and Mary’s remains were put into a splendid copper coffin and reinterred on May 16, 1889. In April 1945, near the end of World War II, Mary’s grave was looted by Soviet soldiers. Initially, the damage was repaired only superficially. On July 7, 1959, Mary’s remains were transferred to a new tin coffin and placed on top of the original copper coffin.

Mary’s grave was desecrated once again. Furniture dealer Helmut Flatzelsteiner, who was obsessed with the Mayerling story, stole Mary’s remains with the help of two assistants on July 8, 1991. Flatzelsteiner arranged for a forensic examination at his own expense. He told the forensic examiners that the remains were those of a relative killed one hundred years earlier who may have been shot in the head or stabbed. When Flatzelsteiner approached a journalist to sell both the story and Mary’s remains, the police became involved. Flatzelsteiner confessed and surrendered Mary’s remains which were subjected to further forensic examination.

The forensic examination determined that the remains were those of an approximately 18-year-old woman who had been buried approximately 115 years earlier. The skull had two bullet holes, the bullet’s entry and the bullet’s exit. Gunshot residue was on the hair. The clothing corresponded to Mary’s era and came from the Viennese stores where the Vetsera family shopped. On October 28, 1993, the remains were buried in a new coffin and the burial site was reinforced to prevent another desecration of the grave.

Baroness Mary Vetsera’s current grave in Heilingenkreuz, Austria. Her remains were desecrated twice and were finally reburied here in 1993; Credit – Von Peterpol48 – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35429380

After Rudolf’s death, Emperor Franz Joseph had the Mayerling hunting lodge converted into a monastery for the nuns of the Discalced Carmelite Order, an order in which members dedicate themselves to a life of prayer. Prayers are still said daily by the nuns for the repose of Rudolf’s soul. Visitors to the monastery may visit the chapel where the position of the main cross is where Rudolf and Mary’s bed was located. This writer has visited both Mayerling and the Imperial Crypt in Vienna where Rudolf and many other Habsburgs are buried.

Mayerling, now a monastery; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

The altar in the chapel at Mayerling is on the location of Rudolf’s bedroom; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

In 2007, Mary’s original copper coffin was found by accident in the Heiligenkreuz Abbey. It was restored and has been on view in the small museum at the Mayerling monastery.

Mary’s original coffin; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

Inscription on Mary’s original coffin; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

Various Habsburgs have disputed the accepted version of events that occurred on the night of January 30, 1889. In 2013, Archduke Rudolf, the grandson of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, asserted that Crown Prince Rudolf was assassinated by the Freemasons. However, on July 31, 2015, the Austrian National Library released copies of Baroness Mary von Vetsera’s letters of farewell to her mother and other family members. These letters, previously believed to be lost or destroyed, were found in a safe deposit box in an Austrian bank, where they had been deposited in 1926. The letters state clearly that Mary was preparing to die by suicide alongside Rudolf, out of “love”. Mary’s letter to her mother translated into English: Dear Mother, Forgive me for what I did. I could not resist love. In accordance with him, I want to be buried beside him in the cemetery of Alland. I am happier in death than in life. Your Mary

Mary Vetsera’s farewell letter to her mother; 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

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Mary Vetsera. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Vetsera> [Accessed 4 April 2020].
  • DER SPIEGEL, G., 1980. „Bratfisch Hat Wundervoll Gepfiffen“-DER SPIEGEL 16/1980. [online] Spiegel.de. Available at: <https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-14326746.html> [Accessed 4 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Baroness Mary Vetsera. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroness_Mary_Vetsera> [Accessed 4 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Mayerling Incident. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayerling_Incident> [Accessed 4 April 2020].
  • Flantzer, S., 2019. Crown Prince Rudolf Of Austria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/crown-prince-rudolf-of-austria/> [Accessed 4 April 2020].
  • Van Der Kiste, John, 2005. Emperor Francis Joseph; Life, Death And The Fall Of The Habsburg Empire. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing Limited.

Anna Nahowski, Mistress of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Credit – Wikipedia

Anna Nahowski was the mistress of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria from 1875 – 1889. Anna never spoke publicly about the affair during her life. She did keep a diary which was released in 1976 after the death of her daughter Helene. The diary revealed the true nature of the relationship between Anna and Franz Joseph.

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Emperor Franz Joseph in 1875

Anna Nowak was born on June 19, 1860, in Vienna Austria. When she was 14 years old, Anna married silk manufacturer Johann Heuduck, a gambler, and an alcoholic. The couple had one child, Carola Heuduck (1877 – 1946). On May 8, 1875, in the early morning, Anna, the not quite 15-years-old, was walking in the park of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna with her maid. In Anna’s words from her diary, she met an “officer” who “stared at me in amazement and could not see enough”. “My maid told me, this is the emperor.” Emperor Franz Joseph was 45 years old and had many affairs but mostly short-term ones. Every day during her early morning walk, Anna looked for Franz Joseph and he looked for her. Their first kiss occurred on June 26, 1875, in the rain.

Anna continued coming to the park of Schönbrunn Palace to “kiss” the emperor while Anna’s maid served as a lookout. Their encounters became more and more intense. At one point, Franz Joseph wanted their physical relationship to go further and was insulted when Anna refused. It took three years for them to consummate their relationship.

Schönbrunn Palace; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer.

In 1878, Anna divorced her husband Johann Heuduck who had no idea about her affair with Franz Joseph. From funds given to her by the emperor, Anna deposited a large amount of money in her husband’s bank account. She married again, with Emperor Franz Joseph’s permission, to Franz Nahowski, a railroad official. The money continued to flow and arrangements were made for Anna to move to a villa near Schönbrunn Palace with a secret entrance for Franz Joseph. Anna was told not to wear a bodice when he came and to be “ready in bed”. Nahowski was agreeable with his wife being Franz Joseph’s mistress and with the generous gifts to Anna.

Anna gave birth to three children during her marriage to Franz Nahowski:

  • Anna Nahowski (1883 – 1973)
  • Helene Nahowski (link in German) (1885 – 1976) married composer Alban Berg
  • Franz Joseph Nahowski (1889 – 1942)
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Anna Nahowski in 1885

There were rumors regarding the paternity of all three children. The eldest child, also named Anna, was probably the daughter of Franz Nahowski because she closely resembled him. In 1885, when Anna gave birth to a daughter named Helene, she received 100,000 guldens (worth millions today) from Franz Joseph. In her diary, Anna wrote that Helene did not look like her husband Franz Nahowski. Helene’s photos strongly resembled Franz Joseph as a young man. In Viennese society, it was an open secret that Helene was the daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph.

The paternity of Anna’s son Franz Joseph is more questionable. According to Anna’s diary, her last meeting with the emperor occurred a year before her son was born. However, many believe he was the emperor’s son and Anna’s son himself believed he was the emperor’s son. On August 18, 1930, the hundredth anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph’s birth, the younger Franz Joseph cut off his left little finger with a razor while at the tomb of Franz Joseph in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna. He left the severed finger “as an atonement” on the emperor’s tomb. The younger Franz Joseph was diagnosed with schizophrenia and remained in the mental asylum for a long period. After his release, he retired to the country house of his sister Helene Berg, where he died in her arms in 1942.

Franz Joseph and Anna’s relationship lasted for fourteen years, overlapping Franz Joseph’s long-standing private relationship with actress Katharina Schratt. While Anna’s relationship with Franz Joseph was entirely sexual, the exact nature of Katharina Schratt’s relationship with him is unclear. Some historians believe that Katharina and Franz Joseph were lovers and others believe their relationship was platonic. Franz Joseph, whose wife was emotionally distant from him and fled from him and her duties at court by frequent traveling, needed someone to support him emotionally. Franz Joseph found the 29-year age gap and the lack of common interests between Anna and himself difficult. Although his affair with Anna lasted until 1889, Franz Joseph found Katharina Schratt a more compatible companion, and their relationship continued until his death in 1916.

In 1889, after Franz Joseph’s only son Crown Prince Rudolf killed his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera and then killed himself, Franz Joseph broke off all contact with Anna. She was summoned to Hofburg Palace in Vienna on March 14, 1889, where she met with Baron von Mayr, General Director of the Habsburg Family Fund. Baron von Mayr informed Anna that she could determine her severance payment “for the fourteen years in the service of the emperor.” She asked for 200,000 guldens (millions of dollars today) and in return, she had to sign the following statement: “I hereby confirm that I received 200,000 guldens as a gift from His Majesty the Emperor today. I also swear that I will remain silent at all times about the relationship with His Majesty.”

Because of the payments from Emperor Franz Joseph, Anna’s children grew up in prosperity.  Anna Nahowski died in Vienna, Austria on March 23, 1931, at the age of 70. She was buried at Hietzing Cemetery (link in German) in Vienna, Austria, adjacent to Schönbrunn Palace. Katharina Schratt was buried in the same cemetery when she died in 1940.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anna Nahowski. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Nahowski> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Helene Berg. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_Berg> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • DER SPIEGEL, G., 1986. „Er Zog Mich Mit Gewalt Nach Meinem Bett“-DER SPIEGEL 45/1986. [online] Spiegel.de. Available at: <https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13520215.html> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anna Nahowski. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Nahowski> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anna Nahowski. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Nahowski> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Redaktion, M., 2015. Helene Berg. [online] Mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de. Available at: <https://mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de/artikel/Helene_Berg.html> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Sternenkaiserin. 2018. Kaiser Franz Joseph Und Die Frauen. [online] Available at: <https://sternenkaiserin.com/tag/uneheliche-kinder-kaiser-franz-joseph/> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Van Der Kiste, John, 2005. Emperor Francis Joseph; Life, Death And The Fall Of The Habsburg Empire. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing Limited.

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.