First Cousins: Mary II, Queen of England, Queen of Scots and Queen Anne of Great Britain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Mary II, Queen of England, Queen of Scots, Princess of Orange (1662 – 1694)

(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)

Mary II, Queen of England, Queen of Scots and Queen Anne of Great Britain were sisters, the only surviving children of the eight children of James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots and his first wife Lady Anne Hyde. Anne Hyde died before her husband became king and during their marriage, Anne and her husband were the Duke and Duchess of York. Charles I, King of England, King of Scots and Henrietta Maria of France, daughter of King Henri IV of France and Marie de’ Medici, were the paternal grandparents of Mary II and her sister Anne. Their maternal grandparents were Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and his second wife Frances Aylesbury.

Mary II married her first cousin William III, Prince of Orange, the only child of her paternal aunt Mary, Princess Royal and Willem II, Prince of Orange, who had died of smallpox a few days before his son’s birth. William III, Prince of Orange was fourth in line to the English throne after his uncle James, Duke of York and his cousins Mary and Anne. Mary soon became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage which may have prevented any future successful pregnancies. It is suspected that she had at least two more miscarriages. Her inability to have children was Mary’s greatest unhappiness.

Mary and Anne’s father James succeeded his childless brother King Charles II as James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots. Charles II’s marriage was childless but he had at least fourteen illegitimate children by his mistresses. King James II had converted to Roman Catholicism and set on a course of restoring Catholicism to England. England might very well have tolerated King James II knowing that his heirs were the Protestant daughters of his first wife Anne Hyde, Mary and Anne. However, on June 10, 1688, James II’s second wife Maria Beatrice of Modena, who had no surviving children, gave birth to a son, James Francis Edward. Immediately, false rumors swirled that the infant had been smuggled into the queen’s chambers in a warming pan.

William III, Prince of Orange, the nephew and son-in-law of King James II, landed in England vowing to safeguard the Protestant interest. He marched to London, gathering many supporters. James II panicked and sent his wife and infant son to France. He tried to flee to France about a month later but was captured. William had no desire to make his uncle a martyr, so he allowed him to escape. James was received in France by his first cousin King Louis XIV, who offered him a palace and a pension. This overthrow of King James II is known as the Glorious Revolution.

James II’s elder daughter Mary was declared Queen Mary II and she was to rule jointly with her husband and first cousin William, who would be King William III. Following the death of either William or Mary, the other was to continue to reign. Next in the line of succession would be any children of the couple, to be followed by Mary’s sister Anne and her children. Last in the line of succession stood any children William III might have had from any subsequent marriage. Sadly, in 1694, Mary II died from smallpox at the age of 32. William reigned alone until his death in 1702 when he was succeeded by Mary’s sister Anne.

Anne with her son Prince William, Duke of Gloucester

Queen Anne of Great Britain (1665 – 1714)

Anne had married the Protestant Prince George of Denmark, son of King Frederik III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg and brother of King Christian V of Denmark. Even though the marriage was arranged, the marriage was happy and they were faithful to each other. Anne became pregnant a few months after her wedding but she gave birth to a stillborn daughter. Anne’s obstetrical history is tragic. She had 17 pregnancies with only five children being born alive. Two died on the day of their birth, two died at less than two years old within six days of each from smallpox, and her longest surviving child Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, died at age 11. Anne suffered from what was diagnosed as gout and had pain in her limbs, stomach, and head. Based upon these symptoms and her obstetrical history, Anne may have had systemic lupus erythematosus which causes an increased rate of fetal death.

The failure of the Protestant Stuarts to produce heirs meant the end of the Protestant Stuart dynasty because the legitimate descendants of King Charles I were either childless or Roman Catholic. The Act of Settlement 1701 secured the Protestant succession to the throne. The act excluded the former King James II (who died a few months after the act received royal assent) and the Roman Catholic children from his second marriage and also excluded the descendants of King James II’s sister Henrietta, the youngest daughter of King Charles I. Parliament’s choice was limited to the Protestant descendants of Elizabeth Stuart, Electress of the Palatinate, the only other child of King James I not to have died in childhood. The senior Protestant descendant was Elizabeth Stuart’s youngest daughter Sophia, Electress of Hanover. The Act of Settlement put Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs in the line of succession after Anne. Electress Sophia of Hanover, the heir to the throne according to the Act of Settlement, died just six weeks before the death of Queen Anne, and so Sophia’s eldest son became King George I and started the House of Hanover.

Mary and Anne shared their paternal cousins with Mary’s husband William and their surviving half-siblings from their father’s second marriage to Maria Beatrice of Modena: James Edward Francis Stuart, Prince of Wales, The Old Pretender and Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart.

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Paternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Charles I, King of England, King of Scots and Henrietta Maria of France

Children of King Charles I in 1637 – Left to right: Mary, James, Charles, Elizabeth, and Anne

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Maternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and his second wife Frances Aylesbury

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PATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Paternal First Cousins: Child of Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and William II, Prince of Orange

William III, Prince of Orange, later William III, King of England and William II, King of Scots (1650 – 1702)

William was the only child of William II, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and Mary, Princess Royal, who was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England. William’s father died at age 24 of smallpox eight days before William’s birth, so from birth, William was the sovereign Prince of Orange. William married his first cousin Mary, elder daughter of his maternal uncle, James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots. The couple had no children and later reigned jointly as William III, King of England/William II, King of Scots and Mary II, Queen of England, Queen of Scots. See above for more information.

William and Mary left a legacy in the United States. In 1693, William and Mary granted a royal charter to found the College of William and Mary, now in present-day Williamsburg, Virginia. It is the second oldest university in the United States after Harvard University and the only university in the United States with a royal charter. The College of William and Mary educated American Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler and other key figures important to the development of the United States as a nation, including Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, Speaker of the House of Representatives Henry Clay, sixteen members of the Continental Congress, and four signers of the Declaration of Independence. Another alumnus of The College of William and Mary is this writer’s son.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans and her first cousin Philippe, Duke of Orléans

Marie Louise of Orléans, Queen of Spain (1662 – 1689)

Marie Louise was a niece of King Louis XIV of France and a granddaughter of King Louis XIII of France and King Charles I of England. Her marriage to King Carlos II of Spain was part of a plan to have better relations with Spain. Carlos suffered from physical and mental disabilities, most likely the result of inbreeding. His parents were uncle and niece and all eight of his great-grandparents were descendants of Joanna, Queen of Castile and Philip I, King of Castile. After ten years of marriage, Marie Louise and Carlos still had no children. Marie Louise died at the age of 26 after suffering from sudden, severe abdominal pains. Unconfirmed rumors said that she had been poisoned at the instigation of her mother-in-law because she had no children.

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Philippe Charles of Orléans, Duke of Valois (1664 – 1666) died in childhood

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Anne Marie of Orléans, Queen of Sardinia (1669 – 1728)

Anne Marie married Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy, the future King of Sardinia, and had three daughters and three sons including Marie Adélaïde of Savoy who was the mother of King Louis XV of France. Anne Marie and Victor Amadeus’ descendants include King Felipe VI of Spain; Philippe, King of the Belgians; Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; Henri, Count of Paris, the Orléanist pretender to the French throne; and Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, the pretender to the Italian throne. In addition, after the death of Henry Benedict Stuart when the line King James II of England ended, the Jacobite claim to the British throne descended from Anne Marie. See Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

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Paternal First Cousins: Illegitimate Children of Charles II, King of England, King of Scots

King Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family:

by Lucy Walter

James Scott, Duke of Monmouth (1649–1685), married Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch, had four sons and two daughters, executed for treason

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by Elizabeth Killigrew

Charlotte Jemima Henrietta Maria FitzRoy, Countess of Yarmouth (1650–1684), married (1) James Howard, had one daughter (2) William Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth, had two daughters and one son

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by Catherine Pegge

Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth (1657–1680), married Lady Bridget Osborne, daughter of Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, no children

Catherine FitzCharles (born 1658; she either died young or became a nun)

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by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland (in her own right), wife of Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine

Lady Anne Palmer, Countess of Sussex (may have been the daughter of Roger Palmer, but Charles II accepted her as his child) (1661–1722), married Thomas Lennard, 1st Earl of Sussex, had two sons and two daughters

Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton (1662–1730), married (1) Mary Wood, no children, (2) Anne Pulteney, had three sons and three daughters

Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663–1690), married Isabella Bennet, 2nd Countess of Arlington, had one son

Charlotte Fitzroy, Countess of Lichfield (1664–1717), married Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield, had thirteen sons and  five daughters

George Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1665–1716), married (1) Catherine Wheatley, no children, (2) Mary Dutton, no children

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by Nell Gwyn

Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans (1670–1726), married Lady Diana de Vere, had nine sons and three daughters

Lord James Beauclerk (1671–1680), died young

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by Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth (in her own right)

Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Duke of Aubigny (1672–1723), married Anne Brudenell, had two daughters and one son

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by Mary ‘Moll’ Davis

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MATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Maternal First Cousins: Child of Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon and his first wife Theodosia Capell

Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon (1661 – 1723)

At the start of the Glorious Revolution, Edward Hyde was a supporter of his first cousin Mary and her husband William III of Orange over his uncle by marriage King James II. His support was rewarded by later appointments as Colonial Governor of New Jersey and the Colonial Governor of New York. He married Katherine O’Brien, 8th Baroness Clifton and had three daughters and one son.

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Lawrence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester and Lady Henrietta Boyle

Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon and 2nd Earl of Rochester (1672 – 1753)

Henry Hyde was a Member of Parliament, High Steward of the University of Oxford, and a member of the Privy Council. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Rochester and his cousin as 4th Earl of Clarendon. Henry married Jane Leveson-Gower, daughter of Sir William Leveson-Gower, 4th Baronet, and had five daughters and three sons. He died six months after his last surviving son died and so both his earldoms became extinct.

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Credit – http://thepeerage.com/p1586.htm#i15859

Lady Anne Hyde, Duchess of Ormonde (died 1685)

Lady Anne married James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde and had one daughter.

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Lady Mary Hyde and Lady Henrietta Hyde; Credit – http://thepeerage.com/p31954.htm#i319536

Lady Mary Hyde, Baroness of Conway (1669 – 1709)

Lady Mary married Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Ragley, 1st Baron Conway of Killultagh and had four daughters.

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Lady Henrietta Hyde, Countess of Dalkeith (1677 – 1730)

Lady Henrietta married Sir James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith, son of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate son of King Charles II, and Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch. The couple had three sons, two daughters and one child whose name and gender is unknown.

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Maternal First Cousins: Child of Lady Frances Hyde and Thomas Keightley

Catherine Keightley

Catherine’s father was the Vice-Treasurer of Ireland. She married a Member of Parliament, Lucius O’Brien, son of Sir Donough O’Brien, 1st Baronet. The couple had four children.

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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.

Works Cited

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

First Cousins: King George I of Great Britain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

King George I of Great Britain (1660 – 1727)

(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)

King George I of Great Britain was born His Highness Duke Georg Ludwig of Brunswick-Lüneburg on May 28, 1660, at the Leineschloss (Leine Palace) in Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. He was the eldest of the seven children of Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess Sophia of the Palatinate, usually referred to as Electress Sophia of Hanover. George I’s paternal grandparents were Georg, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Anna Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt. His maternal grandparents were Friedrich V, Elector Palatinate of the Rhine and Elizabeth Stuart. It is through his maternal grandmother that his destiny drastically changed.

George I’s maternal grandmother Elizabeth Stuart was the second child and eldest daughter of King James VI of Scotland/King James I of England. The House of Stuart occupied the British throne but the Stuarts failed to produce a legitimate Protestant heir. George I’s mother Sophia, Electress of Hanover was the closest Protestant heir and was named the heiress presumptive to the British throne. However, Sophia of Hanover died two months before Queen Anne of Great Britain died and her son George I succeeded to the British throne upon the death of Queen Anne.

Before George I became King of Great Britain and while he was still living in Hanover, he married his paternal first cousin Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle, known as Sophia Dorothea of Celle. The couple had two children, the eventual King George II of Great Britain and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover who married King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia. Both George I and his wife Sophia Dorothea committed adultery and their marriage was dissolved. Sophia Dorothea was declared to be the guilty party and so she was confined in the Castle of Ahlden in Celle, now in Germany, for the rest of her life, 32 years. At the time Sophia Dorothea’s son was eleven-years-old and her daughter was eight-years-old. They never saw their mother again.

King George I shared his 33 first cousins with his only sibling Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, Queen of Prussia. He shared his paternal first cousins with his first cousin and wife Sophia Dorothea of Celle.

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Paternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Georg, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Anna Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt

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Maternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Friedrich V, Elector Palatinate of the Rhine and Elizabeth Stuart, Electress Palatinate

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PATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Paternal First Cousins: Child of Georg Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Eleonore d’Esmier d’Olbreuse

Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover (1666 – 1726)

George I’s first cousin but also his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Celle was born on September 15, 1666, in Celle, now in Germany, the only child of Georg Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his mistress Éléonore d’Esmier d’Olbreuse. Sophia Dorothea was legitimized by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I who granted her mother Éléonore the titles Gräfin (Countess) von Harburg and Wilhelmsburg. Éléonore and Georg Wilhelm later married morganatically. At the age of 16, in a marriage arranged by the bride and groom’s fathers (who were brothers), Sophia Dorothea was married to her first cousin, 22-year-old Georg Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the future King George I of Great Britain, had one son and one daughter, the future King George II of Great Britain and Sophia Dorothea, the future Queen Consort of Prussia.

The marriage was happy at first but then both George and Sophia Dorothea had affairs. Sophia Dorothea’s lover disappeared and was never seen again. It was widely believed that George ordered his death. A tribunal of judges and Lutheran Church officials declared the marriage of George and Sophia Dorothea dissolved on the grounds of Sophia Dorothea’s desertion. Because she was considered the guilty party, Sophia Dorothea was not allowed to remarry, would never again see her children, and would be kept as a prisoner at the Castle of Ahlden for the remainder of her life. Although Sophia Dorothea spent 32 years in captivity, she received an income that allowed her to live in the style of a princess and she was able to go for drives in her coach with an escort. When Sophia Dorothea died, her former husband, now King George I of Great Britain, would not allow mourning at the British court and was furious when he learned that his daughter had ordered court mourning in Prussia.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Johann Friedrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate

Anna Sophie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1670 – 1672), died in childhood

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Charlotte Felicitas of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duchess of Modena (1671 – 1710)

Charlotte married Rinaldo d’Este who had been a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He left the church to succeed his nephew Francesco II as Duke of Modena. Charlotte and Rinaldo had three daughters and three sons. Charlotte died in childbirth delivering a fourth daughter who also died.

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Henriette Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1672 – 1757), unmarried

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Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia (1673 – 1742)

Although she was born into a Lutheran family, Wilhelmina received a Roman Catholic education from her great-aunt Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate who had converted to Roman Catholicism and became a nun and abbess at the Maubuisson Abbey in France. Wilhelmina was sought as a bride for the future Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, the heir of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The couple married and had two daughters and one son, who died before his first birthday. While they were trying to produce a new heir, Joseph gave Wilhelmine a sexually transmittable disease, probably syphilis, which made her unable to have any more children. Joseph died at the age of 32 during a smallpox epidemic. Despite suffering from a sexually transmitted disease, Wilhelmina outlived her husband by 31 years.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg and King Frederik III of Denmark

King Christian V of Denmark (1646 – 1699)

As King of Denmark, Christian V tried unsuccessfully to regain territory that had been annexed by Sweden during his father’s reign. He was more successful in establishing colonies in Africa and the Caribbean as part of the Danish triangle trade. One of the Danish colonies in the Caribbean was the Virgin Islands which were held by Denmark until 1917 when Denmark and the United States ratified a treaty in which Denmark sold the Danish Virgin Islands to the United States for $25 million in gold. In 1691, the capital of the Danish Virgin Islands on the island of St. Thomas was renamed to Charlotte Amalie after Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel, wife of Christian V. Today, Charlotte Amalie remains the capital of the United States territory of the Virgin Islands. Christian V and his wife Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel, daughter of Wilhelm VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Hedwig Sophia of Brandenburg, had five sons and two daughters including King Frederik IV of Denmark.

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Anna Sophia of Denmark, Electress of Saxony (1647 – 1717)

Anna Sophia was very well educated and spoke six languages. She married Johann Georg III, Elector of Saxony. They had two sons: Johann Georg IV who succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony and Friedrich August I who succeeded his brother as Elector of Saxony and later became King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.

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Frederika Amalia of Denmark, Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp (1649 – 1704)

Frederika Amalia married Christian Albrecht, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and had two sons and two daughters. Through her son Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin she was the great-grandmother of Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, better known as Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia and the maternal grandmother of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden. Through her son Friedrich IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, she was the great-grandmother of Peter III, Emperor of All Russia, the ill-fated husband of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia.

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Wilhelmina Ernestina of Denmark, Electress of the Palatinate (1650 – 1706)

Wilhelmina Ernestina married Karl II, Elector of the Palatinate in a marriage arranged by their mutual aunt Sophia, Electress of Hanover. The marriage was very unhappy. Karl had been forced by his father to marry against his will and disliked the marriage from the beginning. The couple had no children. After she was widowed, Wilhelmina Ernestina lived with her sister Anna Sophia, Electress of Saxony.

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Frederik of Denmark (1651 – 1652), died in infancy

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George and his wife Queen Anne of the United Kingdom

George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland (1653 – 1708)

Ironically, George of Denmark was the first cousin of King George I of Great Britain, the person who succeeded his wife Queen Anne of Great Britain on the British throne. Queen Anne’s unfortunate childbearing history was one of the reasons the House of Stuart was replaced by the House of Hanover. Anne became pregnant a few months after her marriage but she gave birth to a stillborn daughter. She had 17 pregnancies with only five children being born alive. Two died on the day of their birth, two died at less than two years old within six days of each from smallpox, and one died at age 11. Anne suffered from what was diagnosed as gout and had pain in her limbs, stomach, and head. Based upon these symptoms and her obstetrical history, Anne may have had systemic lupus erythematosus which causes an increased rate of fetal death.

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Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, Queen of Sweden (1656 – 1693)

Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark married King Carl XI of Sweden in the hopes that the marriage would bring peace to their two countries which had recently been at war with each other. Ulrika Eleonora and Carl had two daughters and five sons including King Carl XII of Sweden, Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden, and Hedwig Sophia, Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp who was the grandmother of Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. Weakened by giving birth to seven children in as many years, Ulrike Eleonora died at the age of 36.

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Dorothea of Denmark (1657 – 1658), died in infancy

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MATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Maternal First Cousins: Children of Karl I Ludwig, Elector of the Palatinate and his first wife Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel

Karl II, Elector of the Palatinate (1651 – 1685)

Karl II married Wilhelmina Ernestina of Denmark, also George I’s first cousin, in a marriage arranged by their mutual aunt Sophia, Electress of Hanover. The marriage was very unhappy. Karl had been forced by his father to marry against his will and disliked the marriage from the beginning. The couple had no children. Karl’s reign as Elector of the Palatinate lasted only five years as he died at the age of 34.

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Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, Duchess of Orléans (1652 – 1722)

Known as Liselotte, she grew up in the court of her aunt Sophia, Electress of Hanover. Liselotte wanted to marry her second cousin Willem III, Prince of Orange, who would later become King of England. However, her family felt a better marriage for her would be to become the second wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger brother of King Louis XIV of France. The recently widowed Philippe had been married to his first cousin Henrietta of England, Liselotte’s father’s first cousin. Liselotte converted to Roman Catholicism and married Philippe. She acted as a mother to Philippe’s children by Henrietta and maintained correspondence with them throughout their lives. Despite Philippe having homosexual affairs, he had been intent on fulfilling his dynastic responsibility of having children with his first wife and also did so with Liselotte. Philippe and Liselotte had three children of their own. Through their daughter Élisabeth Charlotte d’Orléans, they are the paternal grandparents of Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, better known as Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.

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Friedrich (born and died 1653), died in infancy

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Karl I Ludwig, Elector of the Palatinate and his morganatic second wife Marie Luise von Degenfeld

  • Karl Ludwig of the Palatinate (1658 – 1688), killed in battle
  • Caroline Elisabeth of the Palatinate, Duchess of Schomberg (1659 – 1696), married Meinhardt von Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, had one son and three daughters
  • Louise of the Palatinate (1661 – 1733)
  • Ludwig of the Palatinate (born and died 1662)
  • Amalia Elisabeth of the Palatinate (1663 – 1709)
  • Georg Ludwig of the Palatinate (1664 – 1665), died in infancy
  • Frederica of the Palatinate (1665 – 1674), died in childhood
  • Friedrich Wilhelm of the Palatinate (1666 – 1667), died in infancy
  • Karl Eduard of the Palatinate (1668 – 1690), killed in battle
  • Sophie of the Palatinate (born and died 1669), died in infancy
  • Karl Moritz of the Palatinate (1671 – 1702)
  • Karl August of the Palatinate (1672 – 1691), killed in battle
  • Karl Casimir of the Palatinate (1675 – 1691), killed in a duel

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Maternal First Cousins: Child of Karl I Ludwig, Elector of the Palatinate and his morganatic third wife Elisabeth Hollander von Bernau

Karl Ludwig of the Palatinate( 1681 – ?)

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Edward, Count Palatinate of Simmern and Anna Gonzaga

Luise Marie of the Palatinate, Princess of Salm-Salm (1647 – 1679)

Luise Marie married Karl Theodor, Prince of Salm-Salm and had three daughters and one son.

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Anne Henriette of the Palatinate, Princess of Condé (1648 – 1723)

Anne Henriette’s father Edward, Count Palatinate of Simmern was the son of Elizabeth Stuart, eldest daughter of King James I of England. Edward converted to Roman Catholicism and his three children were raised as Catholics. The Bill of Rights 1689 barred Catholics from the thrones of England and Scotland and the Act of Settlement 1701 gave the thrones of England and Scotland to “the most excellent princess Sophia, electress and duchess-dowager of Hanover” and “the heirs of her body, being Protestant”. Sophia, Electress of Hanover was the aunt of Anne Henriette and her surviving sister Benedicta Henrietta and the younger sister of their deceased father. Therefore, the surviving children of Edward, Count Palatinate of Simmern and his other Catholic descendants were barred from the thrones of England and Scotland.

Anne Henriette married Henri Jules de Bourbon, Prince of Condé at the Palais du Louvre in Paris with King Louis XIV of France and the rest of the French royal family attending the wedding. The couple had six daughters and four sons.

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Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1652 – 1730)

Benedicta Henrietta married Johann Friedrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Johann Friedrich was 27 years older than Benedicta Henrietta and was the only member of his family to convert to Roman Catholicism. As reigning Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, he needed a male heir but he had four daughters with Benedicta Henrietta. Their four daughters are also first cousins of King George I of Great Britain through their father. When Johann Friedrich died without a male heir, his younger brother Ernst August became Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Ernst August’s succeeded to the British throne as King George I. After her husband died, Benedicta Henrietta returned to her native France and lived with her sister Anne Henriette of the Palatinate, Princess of Condé.

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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.

Works Cited

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

Emperor Naruhito of Japan Accession Ceremony: November 14-15, 2019: Great Thanksgiving Festival (Daijo-sai)

by Susan Flantzer

The Great Thanksgiving Festival (Daijo-sai) is the last and most controversial of the accession ceremonies because it is the one in which Emperor Naruhito of Japan is united to his traditional ancestor the sun goddess Amaterasu to share in her divinity. There is no mention of this ceremony in the Constitution imposed by the American occupation forces after World War II. Its legality was questioned after the accession of Emperor Akihito.

Miniatures of the two huts; Credit – http://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp

The ceremony requires that two thatched-roof huts, each with two rooms be built within a special enclosure. One room contains a large couch at the center and the second room is used by musicians. These two structures represent the house of the previous Emperor and that of the new Emperor.

Emperor Akihito dressed for the Great Thanksgiving Festival in 1990

After a ritual bath, Emperor Naruhito will be dressed in the white silk dress of a Shinto priest but with a special long train. Surrounded by courtiers, the Emperor will solemnly enter the enclosure and then each of the huts in turn and perform the same ritual twice, from 6:30 to 9:30 PM in the first hut and from 12:30 to 3:30 AM in the second hut. A mat will be unrolled before the Emperor and then rolled up again as he walks so that his feet never touch the ground. A special umbrella will be held over the Emperor’s head that prevents any defilement of his sacred person coming from the air above him.

During the ritual, Emperor Naruhito will kneel on a mat facing towards the direction of the Ise Grand Shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu and will make an offering of sacred rice, sake, millet, fish and a variety of other foods from both the land and the sea to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Then he will eat some of the sacred rice himself, as an act of divine communion which consummates his unity with Amaterasu, making him the intermediary between Amaterasu and the Japanese people.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Enthronement of the Japanese Emperor. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enthronement_of_the_Japanese_Emperor [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
  • Weisman, S. (1990). AKIHITO PERFORMS HIS SOLITARY RITE. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/23/world/akihito-performs-his-solitary-rite.html [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].

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First Cousins: King George II of Great Britain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

King George II of Great Britain (1683 – 1759)

(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)

King George II was born at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hanover, now in Germany on November 10, 1683. He was the elder of the two children of first cousins Georg Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later King George I of Great Britain), and Sophia Dorothea of Celle. George II’s paternal grandparents were Ernst August, Elector of Hanover and Princess Sophia of the Palatinate who is more commonly known as Sophia, Electress of Hanover. His maternal grandparents were Georg Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his mistress Éléonore d’Esmier d’Olbreuse who later married morganatically.

George II’s parents both committed adultery and their marriage was dissolved when George was eleven-years-old. His mother was considered the guilty party and was confined in the Castle of Ahlden in Celle, now in Germany, for the rest of her life, 32 years. George and his sister Sophia Dorothea never saw their mother again. George II married Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, usually known as Caroline of Ansbach, and the couple had eight children.

At the time of George II’s birth, the House of Stuart occupied the British throne but the Stuarts failed to produce a legitimate Protestant heir. George II’s grandmother Sophia, Electress of Hanover was the closest Protestant heir and was named the heiress presumptive to the British throne. Sophia’s mother was Elizabeth Stuart, the second child and eldest daughter of James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, and Ireland. However, Sophia of Hanover died two months before Queen Anne of Great Britain died and George I’s father succeeded to the British throne as King George I upon the death of Queen Anne. George II followed his father on the British throne, however, his eldest son and heir Frederick, Prince of Wales predeceased him. Frederick’s eldest son became the heir apparent and succeeded his grandfather as King George III.

King George II shared his two first cousins with his only sibling Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, Queen of Prussia. He had no maternal aunts, maternal uncles, or maternal first cousins because Sophia Dorothea of Celle, King George II’s mother, was an only child.

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Paternal Aunts and Uncles of King George II: Children of Ernst August, Elector of Hanover and Princess Sophia of the Palatinate

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PATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Paternal First Cousins: Children of Sophia Charlotte of Hanover and Friedrich I, King in Prussia

Prince Friedrich August of Prussia (1685 – 1686), died in childhood

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Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia (1688 – 1740)

King Friedrich Wilhelm I was known as the “Soldier King” and did much to improve Prussia economically and militarily. He married his first cousin Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, George II’s sister, and the couple had seven sons and seven daughters including King Friedrich II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, Queen of Sweden who married King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia whose son succeeded the childless King Friedrich II of Prussia (Frederick the Great) as King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia.

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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.

Works Cited

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

King Faisal of Saudi Arabia

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

King Faisal of Saudi Arabia; Credit – Wikipedia

Arabic Naming Conventions

  • Al – family/clan of…
  • bin or ibn – son of…
  • bint – daughter of…

Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was King of Saudi Arabia from 1964 until his assassination in 1975. He was born on April 14, 1906, in Riyadh, then in the Emirate of Nejd and Hasa, now the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His father was Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud, also known as Ibn Saud, the founder and the first king of Saudi Arabia. Abdulaziz had a polygamous household comprising several wives at a time and numerous concubines. It is thought he had a total of 22-24 wives. Abdul Aziz was the father of almost a hundred children, including forty-five sons of whom 36 survived to adulthood. Faisal’s mother was Tarfa bint Abdullah bin Abdullatif Al ash-Sheikh. She was from Al ash-Sheikh clan and her father was Abdullah bin Abdullatif Al ash-Sheikh.  Tarfa married Abdulaziz in 1902 and had at least three children with him:

  • Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1903 – 1904), son, died in infancy
  • Noura bint Abdulaziz Al Saud  (1904 – 1938), daughter, married her half first cousin Khalid bin Muhammad, son of Abdulaziz’s half-brother Muhammad Al Abd al-Rahman
  • Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia (1906 – 1975)
Embed from Getty Images 
King Abdulaziz with some of his sons in 1930

Faisal had many half-siblings, too numerous to list here. See Wikipedia: Descendants of Ibn Saud (Abdulaziz).  The six Kings of Saudi Arabia who followed King Abdulaziz were all his sons and so five of them were the half-brothers of Faisal. King Faisal succeeded his half-brother, King Saud, who he had deposed, and was succeeded by his half-brother King Khalid.

Faisal was introduced to politics at an early age. In 1919, at the age of thirteen, Faisal was sent to meetings in the United Kingdom and France as the head of the Saudi delegation. After Abdulaziz’s eldest son Turki, Faisal’s half-brother, died in 1919 during the influenza pandemic, Faisal became the second eldest of Abdulaziz’s sons after his half-brother Saud. Besides speaking Arabic, Faisal was fluent in English and French.

Faisal married his first wife Sultana bint Ahmad bin Muhammad Al Sudayri while he was quite young. His eldest son Prince Abdullah Bin Faisal Al Saud was born when he was only sixteen years old. Faisal had four wives and a total of seventeen children. Unusual at the time, most of Faisal’s sons attended university abroad, either at Cambridge or Oxford in the United Kingdom or at Ivy League universities in the United States. Faisal’s daughters were taught by European tutors and received additional education in Switzerland. By contrast, only six of the 108 children of Faisal’s half-brother and predecessor King Saud finished high school.

First wife: Sultana bint Ahmad bin Muhammad Al Sudayri: Faisal and Sultana’s marriage was prearranged while Faisal was traveling abroad. They never met until the marriage ceremony. They had one son and three daughters and later divorced.

Second wife: Iffat Al-Thunayan (1916 – 2000) was born and raised in Turkey. Her ancestors were from the Al Thunayan branch of the Al Saud family but were taken to Istanbul or Cairo by Egyptian forces in 1818. Faisal met Iffat in Istanbul while he was in Turkey for an official visit and they married in 1932. Iffat was given the title Queen because of her beloved status in Saudi Arabia. Faisal and Iffat had five sons and four daughters.

Third wife: Al Jawhara bint Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Al Kabir was Faisal’s first cousin, the daughter of Noura bint Abdul Rahman Al Saud who was the sister of King Abdulaziz. Faisal and Al Jawhara had one daughter,

  • Princess Munira bint Faisal Al Saud

Fourth wife: Haya bint Turki bin Abdulaziz Al Turki was a member of the Al Turki clan. Faisal and Haya had two sons and one daughter

Embed from Getty Images
Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia arrives in New York with his 9-year-old son Mohammed in 1946

Faisal served as his father’s Foreign Minister beginning in 1930. Upon the death of his father King Abdulaziz and the accession of his half-brother King Saud in 1953, Faisal was appointed Crown Prince. At the same time, the position of Prime Minister was created and King Saud held that position with Faisal being the Deputy Prime Minister as well as continuing as Foreign Minister. However, unrest within the royal family over King Saud’s rule forced him to appoint Faisal as Prime Minister. An ongoing power struggle between the two half-brothers led to Faisal’s resignation as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in 1960. The continued discontent with King Saud’s reign allowed Faisal to become Prime Minister and Foreign Minister again in 1962.

King Saud and Crown Prince Faisal continued their power struggle when Prince Faisal formed a cabinet in the absence of King Saud, who had gone abroad for medical treatment. Faisal allied himself with his half-brothers Prince Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Interior Minister and the future King of Saudi Arabia, and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Minister of Defense (from 1963 until his death) and the Crown Prince from 2005 until his death in 2011. The new government excluded any sons of King Saud.

When King Saud returned to Saudi Arabia, he threatened to mobilize the Royal Guard against his half-brother. In response, Faisal demanded King Saud make him regent and turn over all royal powers to him. Faisal had the support of the ulema, the elite Islamic scholars. Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al ash-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, a relative of Faisal on his mother’s side, issued a fatwa saying King Saud should accede to Faisal’s demands. When King Saud refused, Faisal ordered the National Guard to surround Saud’s palace. In March 1964, Saud finally agreed to name Faisal regent with full executive powers, reducing himself to a figurehead. In November 1964, the ulema, the cabinet and senior members of the Saudi royal family forced Saud to abdicate and Faisal became king in his own right. Saud was forced into exile, first in Egypt and then in Greece where he lived until his death in 1969.

Embed from Getty Images
King Faisal and Queen Elizabeth II in 1967

King Faisal implemented a policy of modernization and reform and he was popular with the Saudi people. On March 25, 1975, 68-year-old King Faisal was shot and killed by his nephew Prince Faisal bin Musaid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The assassination occurred at a majlis, an event where the king opens up his residence to the citizens to enter and petition the king. King Faisal was buried in Al Oud cemetery in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 26, 1975. A Sharia court found Prince Faisal guilty of King Faisal’s murder on June 18, 1975, and he was publicly beheaded hours later.

Embed from Getty Images
Many heads of state attended King Faisal’s funeral

Works Cited

  • Ar.wikipedia.org. (2019). فيصل بن عبد العزيز آل سعود. [online] Available at: https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B5%D9%84_%D8%A8%D9%86_%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B2_%D8%A2%D9%84_%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Faisal of Saudi Arabia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faisal_of_Saudi_Arabia [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].
  • Lacey, Robert. (1981). The Kingdom: Arabia & The House of Sa’ud. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

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.

First Cousins: King George III of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

King George III of the United Kingdom (1738 – 1820)

(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)

King George III, the eldest son and the second child of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, was born June 4, 1738, at Norfolk House in St. James’s Square in London, England. His paternal grandparents were King George II of Great Britain and Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, generally known as Caroline of Ansbach. His maternal grandparents were Friedrich II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst.

When George III was thirteen-years-old, his father died at the age of 44. George became heir to the throne and was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. Nine years later, King George II died and his grandson succeeded him as King George III.  George III married Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  Their marriage was a very happy one and George remained faithful to Charlotte. Between 1762 – 1783, Charlotte gave birth to fifteen children, all of whom survived childbirth. Only two of the children did not survive childhood. The only disruption in the family’s domestic lives were George’s attacks of illness. There has been speculation that King George suffered from porphyria.

King George III is the longest-reigning British king, having reigned for 59 years, 96 days. His length of reign is surpassed only by two queens, his granddaughter Queen Victoria and his great-great-great-great-granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch.

King George III shared his 29 first cousins with his eight siblings: Princess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick; Prince Edward, Duke of York; Princess Elizabeth; Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester; Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland; Princess Louisa; Prince Frederick; and Princess Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway.

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Paternal Aunts and Uncles Of King George III: Children of King George II of Great Britain and Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach

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Maternal Aunts and Uncles of King George III: Children of Friedrich II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst

  • Sophie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1697 – 1703), died in childhood of smallpox
  • Friedrich III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1699 – 1772), married Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen, had four sons and two daughters
  • Wilhelm of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1701 – 1771), married Anna of Holstein-Gottorp, no children
  • Karl Friedrich of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1702 – 1703), died in infancy of smallpox
  • Johann August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1704 – 1767), married Louise Reuss of Schleiz, the widow of his brother Christian Wilhelm, had two daughters
  • Christian of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (born and died 1705), died in early infancy of smallpox
  • Christian Wilhelm of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1706 – 1748), married Luise Reuss of Schleiz, no children
  • Ludwig Ernst of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1707 – 1763), unmarried, military career
  • Emanuel of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1709 – 1710), died in infancy
  • Moritz of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1711 – 1777), unmarried, military career
  • Sophie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (born and died 1712), died in infancy
  • Karl of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1714 – 1715), died in infancy
  • Friederike of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Weissenfels  (1715 – 1775), married Johann Adolf II, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, had four sons and one daughter
  • Magdalena Sibylle of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (born and died 1718), died in infancy
  • Johann Adolf of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1721 – 1799), married morganatically Marie Maximiliane Elisabeth Schauer, had two sons and one daughter

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PATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Paternal First Cousins: Children of Anne, Princess Royal and Willem IV, Prince of Orange

Carolina of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Nassau-Weilburg (1743 – 1787)

Carolina married Karl Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg and had six sons and five daughters. Her father had died when she was eight-years-old and her three-year-old brother succeeded as Willem V, Prince of Orange. Willem would not reach his majority for fifteen years and until then he had a series of four regents. Carolina served as the last regent.

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Anna of Orange-Nassau (born and died 1746)

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Willem V, Prince of Orange (1748 – 1806)

Willem was the only son of Anne, Princess Royal and Willem IV, Prince of Orange. His father died when he was three-years-old Willem IV. Willem would not reach his majority for fifteen years and until then he had a series of four regents. Willem married Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, daughter of Prince Augustus William of Prussia and Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Wilhelmina was the favorite niece of King Friedrich II of Prussia (Frederick the Great) and was the sister of his successor King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia. The couple had three children who survived infancy including Willem I, the first King of the Netherlands.

When the Dutch Republic which Willem ruled was replaced by the Batavian Republic, Willem and his family fled to England where they lived in exile in the part of Kew Palace known as the Dutch House with the permission of Willem’s first cousin King George III. The family later went to Germany where they lived in Nassau and Brunswick. Willem spent the rest of his life in exile and was viewed quite negatively both in England and the Netherlands.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Mary of Great Britain and Friedrich II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel

Prince Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel (1741 – 1742), died in infancy

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Wilhelm I, Prince-Elector of Hesse (1743 – 1821)

When Wilhelm was four-years-old, his father Friedrich II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel deserted his family and converted to Roman Catholicism.  Along with his mother Mary of Great Britain and his two younger brothers, Wilhelm moved to Denmark where they lived with Mary’s sister, Louise of Great Britain who was Queen Consort of Denmark. Wilhelm married his first cousin Princess Caroline of Denmark, daughter of his maternal aunt Louise and her husband King Frederik V of Denmark, and had two daughters and two sons. Upon the death of his father, Wilhelm became Wilhelm IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. Later he was created Prince-Elector of Hesse.

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Prince Karl of Hesse-Kassel (1744 – 1836)

A younger brother of Wilhelm I, Prince-Elector of Hesse, Karl was brought up with relatives at the Danish court and spent most of his life in Denmark. Like his elder brother, he married also married a Danish first cousin, Princess Louise of Denmark, the youngest daughter of his maternal aunt, Princess Louise of Great Britain, and King Frederik V of Denmark. Karl and Louise had three sons and three daughters including Marie Sophie, who became Queen of Denmark by marrying her first cousin the future King Frederik VI of Denmark. Karl had a military career in the Danish Army and served as Governor-General of Norway and Royal Governor of Schleswig-Holstein.

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Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel (1747 – 1837)

The youngest son of Princess Mary of Great Britain and Friedrich II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, Friedrich was raised in Denmark and spent most of his life there. Like his brother Karl, Friedrich had a career in the Danish Army. He married Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen and had five sons and three daughters, including Wilhelm who married Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark and was the father of Louise of Hesse-Kassel, wife of King Christian IX of Denmark. Friedrich bought Rumpenheim Castle, now in Offenbach, Germany, from his brother Karl, and it became his family’s seat. The large extended family of Friedrich’s granddaughter Louise of Hesse-Kassel and her husband King Christian IX of Denmark had many family get-togethers at Rumpenheim Castle.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Louise of Great Britain and Frederik V, King of Denmark and Norway

Crown Prince Christian of Denmark (1745 – 1747), died in early childhood

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Princess Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, Queen of Sweden (1746 – 1813)

Princess Sophia Magdalena was the eldest daughter and the eldest surviving child of the four children of King Frederik V of Denmark and his first wife Princess Louisa of Great Britain. She married King Gustav III of Sweden and had two sons including King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden. On March 16, 1792, Sophia Magdalena’s husband King Gustav III was shot by Jacob Johan Anckarström during a masquerade at the Royal Opera House. King Gustav III died of his wounds at the Stockholm Royal Palace two weeks later. The event is the subject of Giuseppe Verdi’s 1859 opera Un Ballo in Maschera (The Masked Ball).

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Princess Caroline of Denmark, Princess-Electress of Hesse (1747 – 1820)

Caroline of Denmark married her maternal first cousin Wilhelm I, Prince-Elector of Hesse and had two sons and two daughters. As explained above, Wilhelm grew up at the Danish court and it was decided during their childhood that they would marry each other. Shortly after their marriage, Caroline and Wilhelm left Denmark to live in Hanau, the capital of the County of Hanau-Münzenberg, which had been separated from Hesse-Kassel and given to Wilhelm. Upon the death of his father, Wilhelm became Wilhelm IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. Later he was created Prince-Elector of Hesse.

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King Christian VII of Denmark (1749 – 1808)

King Christian VII married his maternal first cousin Princess Caroline Matilda of Wales, the youngest sibling of King George III of the United Kingdom. They had one son, King Frederik VI of Denmark, and one daughter. King Christian VII’s reign was marked by mental illness. He publicly declared that he could not love Caroline Matilda because it was “unfashionable to love one’s wife”. Caroline Matilda’s daughter Louise Augusta’s father may have been Christian’s physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. Struensee gained political power and also gained powerful enemies, including Christian VII’s stepmother Queen Dowager Juliana Maria and her son Hereditary Prince Frederik. Juliana Maria directed a plot to overthrow the lovers, which ended with the brutal execution of Struensee and Caroline Matilda’s divorce and banishment. Not quite 20-years-old, Caroline Matilda lost her title of Queen and was forcibly separated from her children whom she never saw again. She died of “a putrid fever and sore throat,” probably scarlet fever, at the age of 23. Because of his mental illness, Christian was only nominally king from 1772 onward and regents ruled for him. Christian lived in isolation with a caretaker. His only involvement with the government was when he had to sign “Christian Rex” on formal papers.

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Princess Louise of Denmark, Princess of Hesse-Kassel (1750 – 1831)

Princess Louise married her maternal first cousin Prince Karl of Hesse-Kassel (see above) who had grown up with her at the Danish court. The couple had three daughters and three sons daughters including Marie Sophie, who became Queen of Denmark by marrying her first cousin the future King Frederik VI of Denmark.

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MATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Maternal First Cousins: Children of Friedrich III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen

Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ludwig on the right and his tutor Baron Ulrich von Thun

Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1735 – 1756)

Friedrich Ludwig was very well-educated. Along with his tutor Baron Ulrich von Thun, he took a lengthy multi-year educational journey through Europe where he became acquainted with proponents of French Enlightenment such as Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Denis Diderot. Friedrich Ludwig was often sick as a child and he died at the age of 21 after suffering from a fever and severe gouty pains. Friedrich Ludwig’s younger brother Ernst became Hereditary Prince and later Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

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Ludwig of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (born and died 1735)

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Friederike Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1741 – 1776)

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Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1745 – 1804)

After the death of her eldest son, Ernst’s mother Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen was intent that her two surviving sons be well educated. They were carefully educated by select tutors and went on an educational trip to the Netherlands, England, and France where they met important people in politics, science and the arts. When he became Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Ernst continued his interest in the arts and science in his duchy. Ernst married Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen and had four sons, two of them became Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Their son August, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg married his first cousin Luise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and their daughter Louise was the mother of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria and the ancestor of all British monarchs beginning with Edward VII, and of numerous other European monarchs.

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Sophie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (born and died 1746)

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August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1747 – 1806)

August was carefully educated with his brother Ernst as explained above. He was to have a career in the military but that did not last long. August never married and was considered a prince of the Enlightenment. He was an important translator of French literature and corresponded with several important German writers including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Johann August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Louise Reuss of Schleiz, co-Countess of Limpurg-Gaildorf

Augusta Luise Friederike of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, co-Countess of Limpurg-Gaildorf, Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1752 – 1805)

Upon the death of her mother, Augusta and her sister Luise inherited the title of Co-Countess of Limpurg-Gaildorf. Later the sisters sold their shares of Limpurg-Gaildorf to Carl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg. Augusta became the second wife of Friedrich Karl, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt but the marriage was childless.

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Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Co-Countess of Limpurg-Gaildorf, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1756 – 1808)

As explained above, Luise became co-Countess of Limpurg-Gaildorf with her sister Augusta upon the death of their mother and the sisters later sold their portion of the County of Limpurg-Gaildorf. Luise married Friedrich Franz I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who became the first Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin after Luise’s death. Luise and Friedrich Franz had four sons and two daughters. Their daughter Charlotte Frederica was the first wife of the future King Christian VIII of Denmark and the mother of King Frederik VII of Denmark. Charlotte Frederica’s marriage was unhappy and she and her husband eventually divorced.

Luise Charlotte, another daughter of Luise and Friedrich Franz, married August, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and their daughter Luise was the mother of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria and the ancestor of all British monarchs beginning with King Edward VII and of numerous other European monarchs.

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Friederike of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Johann Adolf II, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels

All their children died in childhood.

  • Karl Frederick Adolf, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Weissenfels (1736 – 1737)
  • Johann Adolf, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Weissenfels (born and died 1738)
  • August Adolf, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Weissenfels (1739 – 1740)
  • Johann Georg Adolf, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Weissenfels (born and died 1740)
  • Friederike Adolfine of Saxe-Weissenfels (1741 – 1751)

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Johann Adolf of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and his morganatic wife Marie Maximiliane Elisabeth Schauer

Marie Maximiliane Elisabeth Schauer and her two surviving children were ennobled by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and given permission to discard the surname Schauer and instead use the surname von Gothart

  • Friedrich Adolph (born and died 1760)
  • Adolph Christian Carl von Gothart (1761 – 1835)
  • Johanna Adolfine Friederike von Gothart (1767 – 1804)

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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.

Works Cited

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

Draga Mašin, Queen of Serbia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Credit – Wikipedia

Draga Mašin was the wife of King Alexander I of Serbia, the last ruler of Serbia from the House of Obrenović. Alexander’s reign ended with his and Draga’s brutal assassinations. Born Draga Lunjevica on September 23, 1864, in Gornji Milanovac, Serbia, she was the fourth of the five daughters and the sixth of the seven children of Panta Lunjevica and Anđelija Koljević. Panta Lunjevica was a supporter of the House of Obrenović and served as a high government administrative official. Draga had two brothers: Nikola and Nikodije and four sisters: Hristina, Đina, Ana, and Vojka.

At the age of nine, Draga was sent to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, to attend school. There she completed her elementary and secondary education and then attended the Women’s Institute. She learned several foreign languages including Russian, French, and German. While in Belgrade, Draga began writing novels and short stories. Even though her father was wealthy enough to support her, Draga started to earn her own money. She translated books for money and had stories published in foreign magazines.

A younger Draga; Credit – Wikipedia

After Draga completed her education, her parents began to prepare for her marriage. Their choice of a husband for Draga was Svetozar Mašin, a close friend of Draga’s father and a well-known mining engineer who was thirteen years older than his intended bride. Svetozar’s father was a respected physician and had served in the court of two Obrenović rulers Prince Mihailo Obrenović III and King Milan I of Serbia, the current ruler. Draga and Svetozar Mašin were married on August 28, 1883, at the Parliamentary Church in Belgrade.

Because Draga’s husband was a friend of King Milan I of Serbia, Draga was often at court and became acquainted with many people including Queen Natalija, King Milan’s wife. Draga and Svetozar’s marriage lasted only three years. On May 21, 1886, 35-year-old Svetozar Mašin died from a heart attack, according to a doctor’s report. Draga inherited Svetozar’s pension and his name. Svetozar’s brother Alexander Mašin, an army officer, was so opposed to this that he later accused Draga of killing his brother and became one of the conspirators in the plot that assassinated Draga and her second husband King Alexander I of Serbia.

After her husband’s death, Draga continued to write novels and short stories and do translations. She was an editor of the magazine “Housewife” and a member of the Serbian Journalist Society. Draga lived in her husband’s state-owned apartment until she was forced to move out. Both her parents died, making Draga’s financial situation difficult. She tried to arrange a marriage for herself but to no avail.

Queen Natalija; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1888, King Milan I of Serbia and his wife Queen Natalija divorced. Queen Natalija bought the Villa Sasino in Biarritz, France. Since Queen Natalija was acquainted with Draga, she invited Draga to join her and become her lady-in-waiting. They traveled together by train to Russia, visited Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and his family, and finally arrived at the spa resort on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast of France. In Biarritz, Draga accompanied Queen Natalija to various social events and took care of her wardrobe, jewelry, and cosmetics.

King Alexander I of Serbia, 1894; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1889, King Milan I suddenly abdicated the throne without any apparent reason and his twelve-year-old son Alexander became king. Several years later, in March 1895, Queen Natalija’s 18-year-old King Alexander I of Serbia arrived in Biarritz for a visit. Apparently, Draga saved King Alexander from drowning, and then Draga and Alexander began to see each other and to go out together. Queen Natalija did not object to Alexander having an affair with Draga, who was twelve years older than Alexander, because she wanted her son ready for a marriage to a high-ranking princess. However, the love that developed between Alexander and Draga was much stronger than Alexander’s parents thought. Alexander asked his mother to return to Belgrade and leave him alone with Draga. Queen Natalija did so, thinking it was just a passing adventure. Alexander tried to persuade Draga to leave his mother’s service, saying that he would take care of her and her family. However, Draga remained in the service of Queen Natalija until 1897 when she returned to Belgrade.

In Belgrade, everyone knew about the affair of Alexander and Draga. Draga appeared at every important court function and was praised for her tact, elegance, beauty, wit, and restraint. However, everyone also thought that it was just an affair. On July 8, 1900, 24-year-old King Alexander suddenly announced his engagement to 36-year-old Draga. The proposed marriage was met with shock and great opposition. Draga was of unequal birth but more importantly, since Alexander was an only child, it was necessary for him to have a child to secure the succession and there were doubts that Draga could provide an heir.

Alexander and Draga; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander’s father Milan was out of the country and making arrangements for the marriage of Alexander to Princess Alexandra of Schaumburg-Lippe. Prime Minister Vladan Đorđević was visiting the Paris Universal Exhibition at the time of the announcement. Both Milan and Đorđević immediately resigned from their positions and Alexander had difficulty in forming a new cabinet. Alexander’s mother also opposed the marriage and subsequently was banished from the kingdom along with Alexander’s father who died the following year from pneumonia in Vienna.

On August 5, 1900, King Alexander married Draga at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Belgrade, Serbia. On the morning of the wedding, thousands of people appeared at Draga’s house, calling out to her. King Alexander wore a military uniform with epaulets and decorations and Draga wore a white lace wedding dress with a brilliant diadem on her head. Two metropolitans, several bishops, and twenty-six archimandrites performed the Serbian Orthodox wedding ceremony. After the wedding, upon leaving the church, the people shouted, “Long live the King! Long live the Queen!”

On May 8, 1901, King Alexander announced that Queen Draga was pregnant and that Serbia would soon have an heir to the throne. However, it soon became apparent that Queen Draga was not pregnant. Whether Draga deliberately told a lie about being pregnant or whether she was the victim of a delusion by a doctor is not known. The incident completely undermined the reputation of King Alexander and Queen Draga.

Queen Draga; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 25, 1903, irritated by the independence of the senate and the council of state, King Alexander suspended the constitution for thirty minutes which was enough time enough to publish decrees dismissing and replacing the members of the senate and councilors of state. This act greatly increased dissatisfaction in the country. In addition, the Serbian Government had decided to proclaim Prince Mirko of Montenegro, who was married to Natalija Konstantinovic, the granddaughter of Princess Anka Obrenović, an aunt of King Milan, as heir-presumptive to the Serbian throne, but King Alexander had his own ideas. Rumors began to circulate that Nikodije Lunjevica, one of the two unpopular brothers of Queen Draga, was to be proclaimed heir-presumptive to the throne.

The army had had enough. A conspiracy was organized by the military to replace King Alexander I of the House of Obrenović with Prince Peter Karađorđević of the rival House of Karađorđević, called the May Coup. Serbia still used the Julian Calendar (Old Style) at that time which was behind the Gregorian Calendar (New Style) that most other countries were using. The coup occurred on the night of May 28-29 Old Style (hence the May Coup) but on the night of June 10-11 New Style.

Illustration of the assassination from an Italian newspaper; Credit – Wikipedia

King Alexander, aged 26, and Queen Draga, aged 38, were brutally shot, mutilated, and thrown out a window at the Stari Dvor (Old Palace), the royal residence of the House of Obrenović which now houses the City Assembly of Belgrade, Serbia. Queen Draga’s two brothers, Nikodije and Nikola Lunjevica, were executed by a firing squad on the same day. Draga and her husband were secretly buried at St. Mark’s Church in Belgrade, Serbia. The assassination resulted in the extinction of the House of Obrenović. Prince Peter Karađorđević was then proclaimed as the new King of Serbia and the House of Karađorđević reigned until the monarchy was abolished in 1945.

Embed from Getty Images 
The graves of King Alexander I of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga at St. Mark’s Church in Belgrade, Serbia

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.

Serbia/Yugoslavia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Draga Mašin. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draga_Ma%C5%A1in [Accessed 10 Nov. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019). King Alexander I of Serbia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-alexander-i-of-serbia/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 2019].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2019). Драга Обренович. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%D0%9E%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 [Accessed 10 Nov. 2019].
  • Sr.wikipedia.org. (2019). Драга Обреновић. [online] Available at: https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%D0%9E%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%9B [Accessed 10 Nov. 2019].

King Alexander I of Serbia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Credit – Wikipedia

King Alexander I of Serbia was the last ruler of Serbia from the House of Obrenović. His reign ended with his and his wife’s brutal assassinations. The only surviving child of King Milan I of Serbia and his wife Natalija Keschko, Alexander was born on August 14, 1876, in a special maternity ward personally financed by his father. A brother, Sergei, was born in 1878 but he died soon after his birth.

Alexander with his parents in 1880; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander’s parents had an unsuccessful marriage. His father had affairs and the couple had political differences. King Milan favored alliances with Austria-Hungary which the Russophile Queen Natalija could not tolerate. Young Alexander became a weapon that his parents used in their personal vendetta against each other.

Alexander with his father King Milan in 1888; Credit – Wikipedia

In May 1887, King Milan I and Queen Natalija, after years of personal and political conflicts, decided to separate. Queen Natalija took Alexander with her to a voluntary exile in the Crimea. Two months later, they returned to Serbia only to leave again for the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in August 1887. King Milan wanted to reconcile with his wife so that his son and heir would return to Serbia. He traveled to Budapest for a meeting with Queen Natalija and thought he had made the proper arrangements. However, instead of returning with her son to Serbia, Queen Natalija traveled to Wiesbaden in the Duchy of Nassau, now Hesse, Germany. At the request of King Milan, local police had to intervene and took Alexander away from his mother and returned him to Serbia, under the control of his father. In 1888, Alexander’s parents divorced but the couple reconciled in 1893, and the divorce was overturned.

The Boy King, King Alexander I, 1889; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 6, 1889, the seventh anniversary of the elevation of the Principality of Serbia to the Kingdom of Serbia, King Milan unexpectedly abdicated in favor of his twelve-year-old son who became King Alexander I of Serbia. Because Alexander was a minor, a regency council would be in place until his eighteenth birthday. On June 15, 1889, the young King Alexander I of Serbia was anointed by Metropolitan Mihailo Jovanović, a political enemy of Alexander’s father who had exiled him, at the 13th-century Žiča Monastery near Kraljevo, Serbia, the traditional coronation site of Serbian rulers. Both Milan and Natalija were forced into exile. Natalija lived mostly in Biarritz, France and Milan lived in Paris, France.

In 1893, 17-year-old King Alexander proclaimed himself of age and dismissed the regency council in order to take royal authority for himself. The following year, King Alexander abolished the 1889 liberal constitution and restored the former conservative 1869 constitution. Alexander’s mother returned to Serbia in 1895 and then in 1897 on a permanent basis. In 1897, Milan returned to Serbia and Alexander appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Army, which he completely reformed and modernized.

King Alexander and Draga Mašin; Credit – Wikipedia

On July 8, 1900, 24-year-old King Alexander suddenly announced his engagement to 36-year-old Draga Mašin, a widow and a former a lady-in-waiting to his mother. The proposed marriage was met with great opposition. Draga was of unequal birth but more importantly, since Alexander was an only child, it was necessary for him to have a child to secure the succession and there were doubts that Draga could provide an heir. Milan was out of the country and making arrangements for the marriage of Alexander to Princess Alexandra of Schaumburg-Lippe. Prime Minister Vladan Đorđević was visiting the Paris Universal Exhibition at the time of the announcement. Both Milan and Đorđević immediately resigned from their positions and Alexander had difficulty in forming a new cabinet. Alexander’s mother also opposed the marriage and subsequently was banished from the kingdom along with Alexander’s father who died the following year from pneumonia in Vienna. On August 5, 1900, King Alexander married Draga Mašin at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Belgrade, Serbia.

King Alexander attempted to reconcile the political forces in Serbia by granting a new liberal constitution that introduced into Serbia for the first time a two-chamber national legislature system. On May 8, 1901, King Alexander announced that Queen Draga was pregnant and that Serbia would soon have an heir to the throne. However, it soon became apparent that Queen Draga was not pregnant. Whether Draga deliberately told a lie about being pregnant or whether she was the victim of a delusion by a doctor is not known. The incident completely undermined the reputation of King Alexander and Queen Draga.

Queen Draga in the Serbian national costume; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 25, 1903, annoyed by the independence of the senate and the council of state, King Alexander suspended the constitution for thirty minutes which was enough time enough to publish decrees dismissing and replacing the members of the senate and councilors of state. This act greatly increased dissatisfaction in the country. In addition, the Serbian Government had decided to proclaim Prince Mirko of Montenegro, who was married to Natalija Konstantinovic, the granddaughter of Princess Anka Obrenović, an aunt of King Milan, as heir-presumptive to the Serbian throne, but King Alexander had his own ideas. Rumors began to circulate that Nikodije Lunjevica, one of the two unpopular brothers of Queen Draga, was to be proclaimed heir-presumptive to the throne.

The army had had enough.  A conspiracy was organized by the military called the May Coup to replace King Alexander I of the House of Obrenović with Prince Peter Karađorđević of the rival House of Karađorđević.  Serbia still used the Julian Calendar (Old Style) at that time which was behind the Gregorian Calendar (New Style) that most other countries were using. The coup occurred on the night of May 28-29 Old Style (hence the May Coup) but on the night of June 10-11 New Style.

The Stari Dvor (Old Palace) where Alexander and Draga were assassinated. They were thrown out the open window after being shot and mutilated; Credit – Wikipedia

King Alexander, aged 26, and Queen Draga, age 38, were brutally shot, mutilated, and thrown out a window at the Stari Dvor (Old Palace), the royal residence of the House of Obrenović which now houses the City Assembly of Belgrade, Serbia. Queen Draga’s two brothers, Nikodije and Nikola Lunjevica, were executed by a firing squad on the same day. Draga and her husband were secretly buried at St. Mark’s Church in Belgrade, Serbia. The assassination resulted in the extinction of the House of Obrenović. Prince Peter Karađorđević was then proclaimed as the new King of Serbia and the House of Karađorđević reigned until the monarchy was abolished in 1945.

Embed from Getty Images 
The graves of King Alexander I of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga at St. Mark’s Church in Belgrade, Serbia

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.

Serbia/Yugoslavia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Alexander I of Serbia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_I_of_Serbia [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019].
  • Pt.wikipedia.org. (2019). Alexandre I da Sérvia. [online] Available at: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_I_da_S%C3%A9rvia [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2019). Александр Обренович. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80_%D0%9E%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019].
  • Sr.wikipedia.org. (2019). Александар Обреновић. [online] Available at: https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80_%D0%9E%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%9B [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019].

Natalija Keschko, Queen of Serbia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Credit – Wikipedia

Natalija Keschko, Queen of Serbia, the wife of the first King of Serbia, Milan I was born on May 14, 1859, in Florence, then in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. She was the eldest of the four children of Petre Ivanovich Keschko, a Russian Imperial Army colonel, originally from Bessarabia, and Princess Pulcheria Sturdza from a Moldavian noble family.

Natalija had two sisters and one brother:

  • Maria Keschko (1861 – 1935), married Prince Grigore Ghica-Brigadier
  • Ekaterina Keschko married Prince Eugen Ghica-Comănești
  • Ioniță Keschko

Because Natalija’s mother suffered from tuberculosis, the family spent much time abroad, especially in Florence, where the climate was milder. After her father died in 1865 and her mother died in 1874, Natalijia and her three younger siblings were raised by their maternal aunt Princess Ekaterina Moruzi and her husband Prince Constantin Moruzi. Natalija graduated from a boarding school for the daughters of aristocratic families in Paris, France.

Milan Obrenović; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 17, 1875, at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Belgrade, Serbia, 16-year-old Natalija married her second cousin, 21-year-old Milan Obrenović IV, Prince of Serbia. In 1882, the Principality of Serbia was elevated to the Kingdom of Serbia and so Milan and Natalija became the first King and Queen of Serbia. Natalija and Milan had two sons but only the eldest survived:

Milan, Natalija and their son Alexander, circa 1880; Credit – Wikipedia

The marriage was unsuccessful. Milan had affairs and the couple had political differences. Milan favored alliances with Austria-Hungary which the Russophile Natalija could not tolerate. The couple separated in 1886 and divorced in 1888. Natalija publically rejected the divorce and declared that she considered herself still the wife of the king. Natalija left Serbia taking son Alexander with her. Eventually, Milan succeeded in obtaining the custody of his son and Alexander returned to Serbia. The couple reconciled in 1893 and the divorce was overturned.

In 1889, Milan suddenly abdicated the throne without any apparent reason and his twelve-year-old son Alexander became king under a regency council. Natalija was forced into exile and lived mostly in Biarritz, France. She did return to Serbia in 1895 and then in 1897 on a permanent basis. Milan lived in Paris, France until 1897 when he returned to Serbia. He became Commander-in-Chief of the Army, which he completely reformed and modernized.

King Alexander I of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1900, 24-year-old King Alexander suddenly announced his engagement to 36-year-old Draga Mašin, a widow and a former a lady-in-waiting to his mother. There was much opposition to the marriage, including from both of his parents who were ultimately banished from Serbia by their son. Natalija returned to France and Milan eventually settled in Vienna, Austria where he died the next year on February 11, 1901, at the age of 46 from pneumonia.

On the night of June 10-11, 1903, a group of army officers who supported the rival House of Karađorđević led a coup d’état in which King Alexander and Queen Draga were brutally assassinated at the Stari Dvor (Old Palace), the royal residence of the House of Obrenović which now houses the City Assembly of Belgrade, Serbia. The assassination resulted in the extinction of the House of Obrenović. Prince Peter Karađorđević was then proclaimed as the new King of Serbia. The House of Karađorđević reigned until the monarchy was abolished in 1945.

After the horrible events of 1903, Natalija found some comfort in the Roman Catholic faith, to which she had converted in 1902.  After the assassination of her son and his wife, Natalija was the only member of the Obrenović dynasty. She donated the Obrenović inheritance to the University of Belgrade and churches and monasteries in Serbia. Natalija became a nun and died on May 8, 1941, at the age of 81 at the Monastery of Saint-Denis near Paris, France, and was buried at the Cemetery of Lardy in Seine et Oise, France.

Grave of Natalija Keschko, Queen of Serbia; Credit- By krischnig – Own workOriginal text: selbst fotografiert, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48472059

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.

Serbia/Yugoslavia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Natalie of Serbia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_of_Serbia [Accessed 8 Nov. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019). King Milan I of Serbia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-milan-i-of-serbia/ [Accessed 8 Nov. 2019].
  • Sr.wikipedia.org. (2019) Наталија Обреновић. [online] Available at: https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0_%D0%9E%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%9B [Accessed 8 Nov. 2019].

King Milan I of Serbia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Credit – Wikipedia

The first King of Serbia, Milan Obrenović was born on August 22, 1854, in Mărășești, then in Moldavia, Ottoman Empire, now in Romania. He was the only surviving child of Miloš Obrenović and Marija Obrenović, born Elena Maria Catargiu. Milan’s father was a member of the House of Obrenović which vied for control of Serbia, often violently, with the House of Karađorđević. His mother was from a noble family with Moldavian and Romanian roots. Milan’s family had lived in exile in Moldavia since 1842 when his uncle Mihailo Obrenović III, reigning Prince of Serbia was deposed by the rival House of Karađorđević.

Milan’s parents divorced a year after his birth. His mother became the mistress of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Prince of Moldavia, Prince of Wallachia, and later the first Sovereign Prince of Romania, and the couple had two sons, Milan’s half-brothers. They were adopted by their biological father and his wife Elena Rosetti because they could not have children. In 1861, when Milan was seven years old, his father died fighting the Turks as a foreign mercenary in the Romanian Army.

Milan’s half-brothers:

  • Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1862 or 1864 – 1889), married Maria Moruzi, no children
  • Dimitrie Cuza (1865–1888), unmarried, died by suicide

Milan’s uncle Mihailo Obrenović III, Sovereign Prince of Serbia; Credit – Wikipedia

The House of Obrenović was restored to the Serbian throne in 1858. When he was six-years-old, Milan’s care and education had been taken over by his paternal uncle Mihailo Obrenović III, once again the Sovereign Prince of Serbia. After receiving his early education from a governess, Milan was sent to the prestigious Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, France.

In 1868, Milan’s childless uncle Mihailo Obrenović III, Sovereign Prince of Serbia was assassinated. The plot behind the assassination has never been proven conclusively but the sympathizers of the House of Karađorđević were suspected of being behind the assassination. Fourteen-year-old Milan became the Sovereign Prince of Serbia but because he was a minor there was a regency until his eighteenth birthday in 1872.

Natalija in 1875; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 17, 1875, at the St. Michael’s Cathedral in Belgrade, Serbia, 21-year-old Milan married his 16-year-old second cousin Natalija Keschko, the eldest of the four children of Petre Ivanovich Keschko, an Imperial Russian Army colonel, originally from Bessarabia, and Princess Pulcheria Sturdza from a Moldavian noble family.

Milan and Natalija had two sons but only the eldest survived:

The marriage was unsuccessful and the couple separated in 1886 and divorced in 1888. Natalija publically rejected the divorce and declared that she considered herself still the wife of the king. Natalija left Serbia taking her son Alexander with her. Eventually, Milan succeeded in obtaining the custody of his son and Alexander returned to Serbia. The couple reconciled in 1893 and the divorce was overturned.

Milan, Natalija, and their son Alexander circa 1880; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1882, the Principality of Serbia was elevated to the Kingdom of Serbia and so Milan became the first King of Serbia. Milan devoted his energy to improvements in Serbia particularly in communications and the development of natural resources. However, this led to heavy taxation, which coupled with increased military service, made Milan unpopular.

In 1889, Milan suddenly abdicated the throne without any apparent reason and his twelve-year-old son Alexander became king. Milan lived in Paris, France until 1897 when he returned to Serbia. He became Commander-in-Chief of the Army, which he completely reformed and modernized.

Milan in his later years; Credit – Wikipedia

However, in 1900, any positive relations between Milan and his son King Alexander ended. Milan and his wife strongly opposed his son’s marriage to Draga Mašin, a widow and a former lady-in-waiting to his mother, who was twelve years older than Alexander. Milan resigned his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and subsequently, King Alexander banished both his parents from Serbia. Milan eventually settled in Vienna, Austria where he died the next year on February 11, 1901, at the age of 46 from pneumonia. He was buried at the Krušedol Monastery in Vojvodina, Serbia. His son King Alexander I of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga were brutally assassinated in 1903 resulting in the extinction of the House of Obrenović.

Milan’s wife Natalija survived him by forty years. She converted to Roman Catholicism and became a nun. Natalija died on May 8, 1941, at the age of 81 at the Monastery of Saint-Denis near Paris, France, and was buried at the Cemetery of Lardy in Seine et Oise, France.

Tomb of King Milan I of Serbia; 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.

Serbia/Yugoslavia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Milan I of Serbia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_I_of_Serbia [Accessed 8 Nov. 2019].
  • Sr.wikipedia.org. (2019). Милан Обреновић. [online] Available at: https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D0%9E%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%9B [Accessed 8 Nov. 2019].