Sophia Magdalena of Denmark and Norway, Queen of Sweden

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Sophia Magdalena of Denmark and Norway, Queen of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Sophia Magdalena of Denmark and Norway, born on July 3, 1746, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, was the eldest daughter and the eldest surviving child of the four children of King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway and his first wife Princess Louisa of Great Britain. She was a granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain and among her first cousins were King George III of the United Kingdom; her brother King Christian VII’s wife Caroline Matilda of Wales, Queen of Denmark and Norway; and Willem V, Prince of Orange. One month after her birth, Sophia Magdalena’s father became King of Denmark and Norway. After the death of her elder brother in 1747, Sophia Magdalena was the heir presumptive to the Danish and Norwegian thrones until the birth of her second brother in 1749.

Sophia Magdalena had four siblings:

Sophia Magdalena also had one half-brother from his father’s second marriage to Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel:

In 1743, Sophia Magdalena’s father was one of the candidates in the election for the heir to the Swedish throne, but Adolf Frederik of Holstein-Gottorp was elected the heir and succeeded to the Swedish throne in 1751. Adolf Frederik was married to Sophia Magdalena’s first cousin once removed Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, the daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, the daughter of King George I of Great Britain. Past wars and the result of the 1743 election caused tension between Denmark and Sweden. To foster friendship between the two countries, a betrothal was arranged by the Swedish Parliament in 1751 between two 5-year-olds, Sophia Magdalena and Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden, son of King Adolf Frederik of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Both mothers disliked the proposed match. Gustav’s mother Queen Louisa Ulrika had long been in conflict with the Swedish parliament and would have preferred a marriage with her niece Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Sophia Magdalena’s mother Queen Louise feared that her daughter would be mistreated by the Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.

When Sophia Magdalena was five years old, her mother Queen Louise died at age 27 due to complications from a miscarriage. The next year, her father made a second marriage to Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Raised to become Queen of Sweden, Sophia Magdalena received a strict religious upbringing at Hirschholm Palace, the home of her paternal grandmother and her namesake, Queen Dowager Sophie Magdalene (born Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach).

On October 1, 1766, Sophia Magdalena was married by proxy to Gustav at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen with her half-brother Frederik representing the groom. She then traveled to Sweden where she married Crown Prince Gustav in person on November 4, 1766, at the Royal Chapel at the Stockholm Royal Palace.

The wedding attire of Gustav and Sophia Magdalena at the Royal Armory (Swedish: Livrustkammaren), a museum in the Royal Palace in Stockholm

The marriage was not a happy one. Sophia Magdalena was quiet and serious and had difficulty adapting to her husband’s pleasure-loving court. The interference of Gustav’s jealous mother, Queen Louisa Ulrika, did not help the situation. Sophia Magdalena dutifully performed her ceremonial duties, but she did not care about social life and would rather exist in peace and quiet with a few friends.

Sophia Magdalena by Carl Gustaf Pilo, 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

Gustav III of Sweden by Alexander Roslin, 1772; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1771, King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died and Gustav succeeded his father as King Gustav III of Sweden. Gustav and Sophia Magdalena’s coronation was held on May 29, 1772, at the Storkyrkan (The Great Church) in Stockholm, Sweden.

Unfinished painting of Gustav III’s coronation by Carl Gustaf Pilo (Sophia Magdalena can be seen sitting on the right); Credit – Wikipedia

In 1772, Gustav arranged for a coup d’état known as the Revolution of 1772. Initially, Sophia Magdalena was not informed about the coup d’état, which reinstated absolute monarchy and ended parliamentary rule. Gustav imprisoned opposition leaders and established a new regime with extensive power for the king which he used wisely. He introduced freedom of the press and tried to remedy corruption in the government.

Gustav III (center right) at the Revolution of 1772 by Pehr Hilleström; Credit – Wikipedia

The marriage of Sophia Magdalena and Gustav remained unconsummated for ten years. There were various theories regarding the cause including Sophia Magdalena’s strict religious upbringing and introverted character, Gustav’s sexuality, and the possibility that either or both Sophia Magdalena and Gustav had a physical problem. Eventually, Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila acted as a sexual instructor for the couple. The instruction resulted in the birth of a son. When it became known that Munck participated in the reconciliation between the royal couple, there were rumors that he was the father of Sophia Magdalena’s son. The couple eventually had another son, but he did not survive childhood:

Gustav III, Sophia Magdalena and Crown Prince Gustav Adolf in Haga Park by Cornelius Høyer, 1784–1785; Credit – Wikipedia

In the 1780s, Gustav III was preoccupied with foreign policy: a growing hatred of Denmark and a desire to conquer Norway. In 1788, he began a war against Russia, the Russo-Swedish War, but had to retreat because of a mutiny in the army. In 1789, he resumed the war with varying success. The war ended in 1790 with the Treaty of Värälä. The war with Russia destroyed Sweden’s economy, and when Gustav decided to attack France, a conspiracy developed.

On March 16, 1792, King Gustav III was shot by Jacob Johan Anckarström during a masquerade at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, Sweden. King Gustav III died of his wounds at the Stockholm Royal Palace on March 29, 1792, at the age of 46. Assassination ringleader, Count Anckarström, was beaten for three days before he was beheaded, mutilated and dismembered. The event is the subject of Giuseppe Verdi’s 1859 opera Un ballo in maschera.  King Gustav III was buried at Riddarholm Church in Stockholm, Sweden.

Sophia Magdalena by Niklas Lafrensen, 1792; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon Gustav III’s assassination, his 14-year-old son succeeded to the throne as King Gustav IV Adolf, under the regency of his paternal uncle Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland, who was later to become King Karl XIII of Sweden when his nephew was forced to abdicate and flee the country in 1809. Sophia Magdalena was horrified by the murder of her husband, but it was a relief that as Queen Dowager, she could retreat from public life. She lived in the Royal Palace in Stockholm during the winter, and at Ulriksdal Palace during the summer. Sophia Magdalena died from a stroke at the age of 67 on August 21, 1813, at Ulriksdal Palace. She was buried at Riddarholm Church in Stockholm, Sweden.

Tomb of Sophia Magdalena; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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
“Gustav III of Sweden.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 25 July 2016. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
“Gustav III.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, Feb. 2015. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
“Sophie Magdalene af Danmark.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
“Sophia Magdalena of Denmark.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Sept. 2016. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
Susan Flantzer. “Princess Louisa of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark.” British Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 19 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2016

King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway was born on January 29, 1749, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the only surviving son of King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway and his first wife Princess Louisa of Great Britain, and a grandson of King George II of Great Britain. Among his first cousins were King George III of the United Kingdom; Christian’s wife Caroline Matilda of Wales, Queen of Denmark and Norway; and Willem V, Prince of Orange. Christian was christened two hours after his birth. His godparents were:

Christian had four siblings:

Christian also had one half-brother from his father’s second marriage to Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel:

When Christian was not quite two years old, his mother Queen Louisa died at age 27 due to complications from a miscarriage. The next year, his father made a second marriage to Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Christian seemed to be an intelligent child and was taught Danish, German, and French. However, he had a nervous disposition and was poorly educated and terrorized by a brutal governor, Christian Ditlev Reventlow, Count of Reventlow.

Christian as Crown Prince by Louis Tocqué; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1766, Christian succeeded to the Danish and Norwegian thrones after the early death of his father at age 42. Since there was a connection between the British and Danish royal families and both families were Protestant, it was natural that a British bride should be sought for Christian. Even before the death of King Frederik V, negotiations for such a marriage were started. The preferred choice for a bride was initially his first cousin Princess Louisa of Wales, daughter of Christian’s deceased maternal uncle Frederick, Prince of Wales, but when the Danish representative in London heard of her ill health, her younger sister Princess Caroline Matilda of Wales became the prospective bride. The betrothal was announced on January 10, 1765.

Princess Caroline Matilda of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

King Christian VII of Denmark & Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 1, 1766, a proxy marriage was held at St. James’s Palace in London, with Caroline Matilda’s brother King George III standing in for King Christian VII. Fifteen-year-old Caroline Matilda soon left England for Denmark with a large contingent of attendants and servants. When she crossed the Danish border, Danish envoys sent her English attendants and servants back and replaced them with Danish ones. Caroline Matilda arrived in Copenhagen on November 8, 1766, and married Christian in person later that day in the Christiansborg Palace Chapel in Copenhagen.

A copperplate engraving depicting the first dance of King Christian VII and Queen Caroline Mathilde of Denmark at their wedding at Christiansborg Palace; Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Matilda and Christian had two children, but Christian was probably not the father of Louise Auguste.

Engraving of the newborn Crown Prince Frederik with his mother Queen Caroline Matilda; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Louise Auguste as a child; Credit – Wikipedia

It was soon clear that Christian was not quite normal. It is unknown if Christian’s mental illness was caused by the brutal treatment of the Count of Reventlow, possible porphyria inherited from his Hanover mother, or schizophrenia. Christian’s behavior wandered into excesses, especially sexual promiscuity. He publicly declared that he could not love Caroline Matilda because it was “unfashionable to love one’s wife”. His symptoms included paranoia, self-mutilation, and hallucinations. Christian wandered the streets of Copenhagen visiting the city’s taverns and brothels with his favorite Count Frederik Vilhelm Conrad Holck. It was becoming clearer and clearer that Christian could not fulfill his role as king.

In May of 1768, Christian took a long tour of Europe, including stays in Altona (now in Germany, then in Denmark), Paris, and London. The trip had been arranged because it was believed that new environments could change Christian’s behavior. It was on this journey that he became acquainted with the physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. Struensee was the first person who understood that Christian was seriously ill. When Christian came home from the trip, Struensee accompanied him and was employed as Christian’s personal physician. Struensee could handle Christian’s instability, which was a great relief to the king’s advisers, and Christian developed confidence in him.

Johann Friedrich Struensee; Credit – Wikipedia

Because of Christian’s confidence in him, Struensee gained political power. In 1770, Struensee became Master of Requests and Minister of the Royal Cabinet. He also became the lover of the ill-treated Caroline Matilda, whose marriage was less than satisfactory. When Caroline Matilda gave birth to her daughter Louise Auguste, no one doubted that Struensee was the father of the princess, who was given the unflattering nickname la petite Struensee, although Christian VII officially acknowledged her as his daughter. Eventually, Queen Dowager Juliana Maria maneuvered a coup that would bring about the fall of Struensee and discredit Caroline Matilda.

Early on the morning of January 17, 1772, following a ball at the court theater at Christiansborg Palace, Christian was awakened and forced to sign orders for the arrest of Struensee, his friend Count Enevold Brandt, and Caroline Matilda. Caroline Matilda was immediately taken to Kronberg Castle in Helsingør, Denmark, immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, to await her fate. She was allowed to keep her daughter with her, but the four-year-old Crown Prince Frederik stayed with his father. Upon hearing of Caroline Matilda’s arrest, Struensee confessed to his relationship with her, and eventually, Caroline Matilda also confessed. Struensee and Brandt were condemned to death and both suffered a brutal execution. In the presence of thousands of people, their right hands were severed first, then their bodies were broken on the wheel, and finally, they were beheaded.

Johann Friedrich Struensee and his companion Brandt are beheaded in Copenhagen on April 28, 1772; Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Matilda and Christian’s marriage was dissolved on April 6, 1772.  She lost her title of Queen and was forcibly separated from her children whom she never saw again. Caroline Matilda was not quite 20 years old. Originally, it was decided that Caroline Matilda was to be held in custody for life at Aalborghus Castle in Aalborg, Denmark, but her brother King George III intervened. King George III sent Sir Robert Murray Keith, a British diplomat, to negotiate her release from Danish imprisonment. On May 28, 1772, Caroline Matilda was sent to Celle in her brother’s Kingdom of Hanover and lived the rest of her life at Celle Castle.

Celle Castle; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Matilda’s dowry was restored and she was able to live in comfort, but she missed her children terribly. Her imprisonment was not to last long. Caroline Matilda died of “a putrid fever and sore throat,” probably scarlet fever, on May 10, 1775, at the age of 23. She was buried at the Stadtkirche St. Marien in Celle next to her great-grandmother Sophie Dorothea of Celle who suffered a similar fate.

Caroline Matilda’s story was told in several novels including Norah Loft’s The Last Queen (1969) and Per Olov Enquist’s The Visit of the Royal Physician (1999) and also in the Danish film A Royal Affair (2012). Stella Tillyard also covers Caroline Matilda’s affair in her nonfiction book A Royal Affair: George III and His Scandalous Siblings (2006). King George III’s six daughters had very sheltered upbringings and they spent most of their time with their parents and each other. The living conditions of King George III’s daughters came to be known as “the Nunnery.” None of the daughters was allowed to marry at the age when most princesses would marry, and only three of the six daughters ever married. Perhaps this over-protection of King George III’s daughters was due to what happened to his sister Caroline Matilda when she married King Christian VII of Denmark.

After the fall of Struensee, Christian’s stepmother Dowager Queen Juliana Marie and her son, Christian’s half-brother Hereditary Prince Frederik reinstated the Council of State. Christian was only nominally king from 1772 onward. Between 1772 and 1784, Denmark was ruled by Queen Dowager Juliana Marie, Hereditary Prince Frederik, and Cabinet Secretary Ove Høegh-Guldberg. From 1784, Christian’s son, the future King Frederik VI, ruled permanently as a prince regent.

King Christian VIi in 1782; Credit – Wikipedia

Christian lived in isolation with a caretaker. When he was behaved too violently, he was locked up in his room or tied to his chair. His only involvement with the government was when he had to sign “Christian Rex” on formal papers. On March 13, 1808, in Rendsburg, Schleswig (then in Denmark, now in Germany) King Christian VII died from a stroke at the age of 59. He was buried in Frederik V’s Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark.

Tomb of King Christian VII – Photo by Susan Flantzer

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

Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited
“Christian VII of Denmark.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Aug. 2016. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.
“Christian 7.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.
Susan. “Caroline Matilda of Wales, Queen of Denmark and Norway.” British Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 27 Oct. 2016. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.

Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland; Credit – Wikipedia

Fans of Diana Gabaldon‘s novels of The Outlander series and the television series of the same name know that the Battle of Culloden in 1746 resulted in a decisive defeat of the Jacobite forces that wanted to restore the heirs of Roman Catholic Stuart King James II of England/ VII of Scotland to the throne. Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, was the British troops commander at the Battle of Culloden and is known by the nicknames “The Butcher of Culloden” and “Butcher Cumberland.”

Prince William Augustus was born at Leicester House in London, England, on April 26, 1721. He was the second son and the fifth of the eight children of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, who were the Prince and Princess of Wales at the time of his birth. His paternal grandfather, King George I, was the current British monarch. Specific christening information is unknown, but it seems his godparents were his paternal aunt Sophia Dorothea and her husband Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia.

William Augustus had seven siblings:

George II and his family; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1725, at the age of four, William Augustus was created Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath, and the following year he was created Duke of Cumberland, Marquess of Berkhamstead, Earl of Kennington, Viscount Trematon, and Baron of Alderney. William Augustus’ mother Caroline of Ansbach had many scientific and artistic interests. She corresponded with several intellectuals, including mathematician Gottfried Leibniz, whom she had met when she was a child, and Christian Thomasius, German jurist and philosopher. Caroline supported French philosopher Voltaire during his exile in England from 1726-1729 and was also considered one of the greatest promoters of the composer George Frideric Handel, who had come to England with King George I. Caroline made sure her son was well educated by appointing Astronomer Royal Edmund Halley and antiquarian, art collector and amateur architect Sir Andrew Fountaine as William Augustus’ tutors.

by Charles Jervas, oil on canvas, circa 1728

William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland by Charles Jervas, oil on canvas, circa 1728, NPG 802 © National Portrait Gallery, London

William Augustus was intended to eventually become Lord High Admiral of the Royal Navy. However, he became dissatisfied with the Royal Navy and pursued a career in the Royal Army instead. His first post, in 1741, was as Colonel of the First Regiment of Foot Guards.  In 1742, William Augustus became a Major General. He accompanied his father, King George II, the last British monarch to personally lead troops in a battle, at the Battle of Dettingen (June 27, 1743) during the War of the Austrian Succession, where he was wounded in action. In 1745, he received the command of the Pragmatic Allies, comprising mainly Dutch, British, and Hanoverian troops, at the Battle of Fontenoy. His decision to launch a frontal assault against a larger French army caused a terrible defeat with heavy casualties.

The Battle of Fontenoy, William Augustus’s first battle as commander by Édouard Detaille; Credit – Wikipedia

William Augustus led the British forces against the Jacobite Rising of 1745-1746 led by the Catholic pretender Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie), grandson of the deposed King James II. The exhausted Jacobite forces consisted of about 5,000 men, while the British forces numbered 9,000 well-trained troops. On April 16, 1746, near Inverness, Scotland, the superior British forces needed just 25 minutes to defeat the Jacobite forces in the Battle of Culloden.  Between 1,500 and 2,000 Jacobites were killed or wounded, while the British losses were much lighter, with 50 dead and 259 wounded. William Augustus’ severity and brutality in pursuing the Jacobites after the battle earned him the nicknames “The Butcher of Culloden” and “Butcher Cumberland.” He ordered his troops to go through the battlefield and stab to death any wounded Jacobite troops and non-combatants. Towns suspected of being rebellious were burned, and the livestock was confiscated. The captured Jacobites were hanged. Men and women suspected of being Jacobite sympathizers were arrested and shipped to London for trial. The conditions on the ships were horrible, and many died en route. In Great Britain, William Augustus was nicknamed “Sweet William” by his Whig supporters and “The Butcher” by his Tory opponents. In Scotland, his name is still infamous. After the Battle of Culloden, there were no further Jacobite uprisings.

The Battle of Culloden by David Morier, 1746; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1757, during the Seven Years’ War, William Augustus and his forces from his father’s Electorate of Hanover had retreated to the fortified town of Stade (Germany) on the North Sea coast. King George II gave him discretionary powers to negotiate a separate peace with France. The Convention of Klosterzeven led to Hanover’s withdrawal from the war and partial occupation by French forces, with 38,000 Hanoverian forces laying down their arms. King George II considered this so humiliating that William Augustus was forced to resign his military commands and retire from the army.

studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds, oil on canvas, circa 1758-1760

William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds, oil on canvas, circa 1758-1760, NPG 625 © National Portrait Gallery, London

William Augustus never married, and his final years were lived out under the reign of his nephew, King George III. He grew quite fat and suffered a series of strokes before dying at the age of 44 at his London home in Upper Grosvenor Street on October 31, 1765. He was buried at Westminster Abbey in the Henry VII Chapel.

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
Abrufstatistik. “William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, n.d.
“Battle of Culloden.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation. Web.
“Prince William, Duke of Cumberland.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation.
Flantzer, Susan. “Caroline of Ansbach, Queen of Great Britain.” British Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 2015.
Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

Willem V, Prince of Orange

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Willem V, Prince of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem V, Prince of Orange, the last Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, was born on March 8, 1748, in The Hague. His father was Willem IV, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Friesland, Stadtholder of Groningen, and Stadtholder of Guelders. In April 1747, the French army threatened the Netherlands, which was weakened by internal division. The Dutch decided their country needed a single strong executive and turned to the House of Orange. On May 4, 1747, the States-General of the Netherlands named William IV, Prince of Orange, General Stadtholder of all seven of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and made the position hereditary for the first time.

Willem IV, Prince of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem V’s mother was Anne, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain. Therefore, Willem V was the grandson of the British monarch. Among his first cousins were King George III of the United Kingdom; Caroline Matilda of Wales, Queen of Denmark; King Christian VII of Denmark, and Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, Queen of Sweden.

Anne, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem had two older sisters, but only one survived childhood:

Willem IV, Prince of Orange; Anne, Princess of Orange, and their two children Carolina and Willem; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem IV died at age 40 from a stroke on October 22, 1751, at Huis ten Bosch in The Hague and was succeeded by Willem (V) who was only three years old. Willem V would not reach his majority for fifteen years, and until then, he had several regents.

Willem V as a child; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1752, Willem’s grandfather, King George II of Great Britain, created his four-year-old grandson a Knight of the Order of the Garter. From the death of Willem’s mother Anne in 1759 until Willem’s majority in 1766, Duke Ludwig Ernst of Brunswick-Lüneburg was William’s guardian and conducted the Dutch Republic’s state affairs in his name. Ludwig Ernst was basically William’s second father. On his 18th birthday, March 8, 1766, Willem was declared of age and took over the duties as Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands.

On October 4, 1767, in Berlin, Prussia, Willem married 16-year-old 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.

Willem and Wilhelmina had five children, but only three survived infancy:

Willem and Wilhelmina with their three children (left to right) Frederick, Willem, and Louise; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1783, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War, there was growing restlessness in the United Provinces. A group of revolutionaries called Patriots was challenging Willem V’s authority. In September of 1787, the Patriots were defeated by a Prussian army, and many of the Patriots fled to France. In 1793, after the French Revolution, Willem V joined the First Coalition, which fought against revolutionary France in 1793. The next year, the Dutch Republic was threatened by invading French armies. In 1795, the revolutionary Patriots, now supported by the French Army, returned and replaced the Dutch Republic with the Batavian Republic, which remained in power until 1806.

Willem V, Prince of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem V and his family fled to England, where they lived in exile until 1802 in the part of Kew Palace known as the Dutch House with the permission of Willem’s first cousin, King George III. In 1802, the family went to the European mainland, where they lived in the Principality of Orange-Nassau and the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Willem spent the rest of his life in exile. During his exile, Willem was viewed negatively in England and the Netherlands.

In The Orangerie (1796), English caricaturist James Gillray depicted Willem as a lazy Cupid sleeping on bags of money, surrounded by pregnant lovers; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 9, 1806, Willem V died at the age of 58 in Brunswick, Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, now in Lower Saxony, Germany, and was buried there. That same year, Napoleon created the Kingdom of Holland for his brother Louis, and the Batavian Republic came to an end. Aware of the discontent of the Dutch under French rule, in 1813 Willem V’s son, also named Willem, met with Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia to appeal for help in restoring him as ruler of the Netherlands. Alexander agreed to help, and following Napoleon’s defeat at Leipzig later that year, the Dutch provisional government agreed to accept Willem as the first King of the Netherlands following the departure of the French. He was also proclaimed Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Duke of Nassau, uniting the Low Countries. The Netherlands was formally proclaimed a kingdom at the Congress of Vienna.

The son of Willem V, Prince of Orange, King Willem I of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem V’s wife Wilhelmina survived long enough to see her son become King Willem I of the Netherlands, and she returned to live in the Netherlands in 1814. Wilhelmina died in 1829, at the age of 68, at Het Loo in Apeldoorn where she was buried. In 1831, she was reinterred at the new crypt of the House of Orange at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, The Netherlands.

On April 29, 1958, after more than 150 years of lying in peace in Brunswick, Willem V, Prince of Orange was reinterred at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the traditional burial site of the Dutch House of Orange. Willem was vilified during his lifetime and is still considered a failure as a ruler. Queen Wilhelmina refused to attend Willem V’s reburial. When asked why, she said that she did not want to walk behind the coffin of a fool.

william-v_orange_reburial

Reburial of Willem V, Prince of Orange, at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, The Netherlands; Credit – http://www.dbnl.org/

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
eejm. “King Willem I of the Netherlands.” Dutch Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 12 Dec. 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
“Grafkelder van Oranje-Nassau.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Jan. 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
“Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of orange.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Feb. 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
“Wilhelmina van Pruisen (1751-1820).” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Jan. 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
“Willem V van Oranje-Nassau.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Jan. 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
“William IV, Prince of Orange.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.

November 1916: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer

  • November 18, 1916: End of the Battle of the Somme
  • November 21, 1916: Death of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary
  • Timeline: November 1, 1916 – November 30, 1916
  • A Note About German Titles
  • November 1916 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

**********************************************************
November 18, 1916: End of the Battle of the Somme

“Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more ghastly word.” These were the words of Friedrich Steinbrecher, a 24-year-old German officer and theology student who fought in the Battle of the Somme and survived, but was killed in action in 1917 in Champagne, France.

The Battle of the Somme was a 141-day battle, more accurately called the Somme Offensive, that lasted from July 1, 1916 until November 18, 1916. Fought in northern France near the Somme River, the battle pitted the British and French forces against the German forces. By November 18, 1916, when the battle ended, British and French forces had penetrated only 6 miles (9.7 km) into German-occupied territory and more than 1,300,000 soldiers from all countries involved were dead or wounded, making the Battle of the Somme one of the bloodiest battles in history. The British and the French won a Pyrrhic victory, a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is equivalent to a defeat. The phrase Pyrrhic victory is named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in defeating the Romans at Heraclea in 280 BC and Asculum in 279 BC during the Pyrrhic War.

To learn more about the Battle of the Somme, see:

*********************************************************
November 21, 1916: Death of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary

Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary died on November 21, 1916, in the middle of World War I, at the age of 86 at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. He is the third longest reigning European monarch (nearly 68 years) after King Louis XIV of France (72 years) and Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein (70 years). During World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was part of the Central Powers or Quadruple Powers along with the German Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

Leaders of the Central Powers (left to right): Wilhelm II, German Emperor; Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary; Mehmed V, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire; and Ferdinand I, Tsar of Bulgaria; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Born on August 18, 1830 at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria, 18-year-old Franz Joseph succeeded to the throne on December 2, 1848 upon the abdication of his uncle Ferdinand who suffered from epilepsy, hydrocephalus, and neurological problems.

Franz Joseph married Elisabeth of Bavaria (known as Sisi) on April 24, 1854 at the Augustinerkirche, the parish church of the imperial court of the Habsburgs, a short walk from Hofburg Palace in Vienna. The ceremony was conducted by Cardinal Joseph Othmar Rauscher, Archbishop of Vienna with 1,000 guests in attendance including 70 bishops.

Emperor Franz Joseph in 1853; Credit – Wikipedia

Empress Elisabeth in 1855; Credit – Wikipedia

The couple had four children:

Franz Joseph’s family endured several tragic, violent deaths:

 

In early November of 1916, Franz Joseph was suffering from a chronic lung inflammation which then developed into pneumonia. Despite a persistent high fever, the 86-year-old emperor continued his daily routine with his immense workload literally until the day he died. In the afternoon of November 21, 1916, Franz Joseph’s condition rapidly deteriorated, but he remained at his desk working until 7 PM when he allowed his valet to help him to bed. Franz Joseph died shortly after 9 PM. His great nephew succeeded him as Emperor Karl I of Austria, but only reigned for two years as the monarchy was abolished at the end of World War I.

Coffin of Franz Joseph lying in state at the Hofburg Palace chapel; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Franz Joseph’s body lay in state for three days at Hofburg Palace. The funeral took place on November 30, 1916. With all the bells of Vienna’s churches ringing and thousands of mourners lining the streets of Vienna, the coffin of the late Emperor was taken from Hofburg Palace to St. Stephen’s Cathedral where a short service was attended by Emperor Karl I, his wife Empress Zita (of Bourbon-Parma) and the heir to the throne four-year-old Crown Prince Otto.

After the service, the Emperor, the Empress, and the Crown Prince were joined by King Ludwig III of Bavaria, King Friedrich August of Saxony, Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria and Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany representing his father Wilhelm II, German Emperor to follow the funeral cortege on foot as the remains of Franz Joseph were transported to the Kaisergruft (Imperial Crypt) in the Capuchin Church, the traditional burial place of the Habsburgs, where Franz Joseph was buried between his wife and his son. Two days later, on the 68th anniversary of Franz Joseph’s accession to the throne, a final requiem mass was celebrated in the Hofburg Palace chapel attended by the Imperial Family and court dignitaries.
Unofficial Royalty: A Visit to the Kaisergruft (Imperial Crypt) in Vienna
You Tube: Funeral Procession of Emperor Franz Joseph

Funeral Procession for Emperor Franz Joseph, in front: Empress Zita and Emperor Karl with their oldest son Crown Prince Otto; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Tomb of Emperor Franz Ferdinand with the tomb of Empress Elisabeth on the left and the tomb of Crown Prince Rudolf on the right; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer, August 2012

See Unofficial Royalty: Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary for a more complete biography.

*********************************************************

Timeline: November 1, 1916 – November 30, 1916

  • July 1 – November 18 – Battle of the Somme in Somme, Picardy, France
  • October – November – First Battle of the Crna Bend, near the Crna River in Macedonia and Serbia, a phase of the Monastir Offensive
  • October 1 – November 5 – Battle of Le Transloy in Le Transloy, France, last stage of the Battle of the Somme
  • October 1 – November 11 – Battle of Ancre Heights in Ancre, France, last stage of the Battle of the Somme
  • November 1–4 – Ninth Battle of the Isonzo in the Soča River valley in present-day Slovenia
  • November 13–18 – Battle of the Ancre (closing phase of the Battle of the Somme) near the Ancre River in Picardy, France
  • November 18 – The Battle of the Somme ends with enormous casualties and an English-French advantage
  • November 21 – HMHS Britannic sinks after hitting a German mine
  • November 21 – Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, dies and is succeeded by Karl I (see above)
  • November 25 – December 3 – Battle of Bucharest, a phase of the conquest of Romania, in Romania, the capital of Romania
  • November 28 – Prunaru Charge, a phase of the Battle of Bucharest, Romanian cavalry desperately charge into enemy lines

*********************************************************

A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army. German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

*********************************************************

November 1916 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website. If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

Captain Auberon Thomas Herbert, 9th Baron Lucas and 5th Baron Dingwall

Prince Heinrich of Bavaria

Lieutenant Commander The Honorable Philip Sidney Campbell

Lieutenant The Honorable Vere Sidney Tudor Harmsworth

Lieutenant The Honorable Frederic Sydney Trench

Prince Heinrich XLI Reuss

Anne, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Anne, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne, Princess Royal was the eldest daughter and the second child of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach. She was born a Princess of Hanover on November 2, 1709, at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hanover, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. At the time of her birth, her great-grandmother Sophia, Electress of Hanover was the heiress presumptive to Queen Anne of Great Britain in accordance with the Act of Settlement 1701, but Sophia died two months before Queen Anne died. Christened shortly after her birth at Schloss Herrenhausen, Anne was named after Queen Anne of Great Britain, her grandfather’s second cousin.

Anne had seven siblings:

Anne, on the left, with two of her sisters, Amelia and Caroline; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne playing the harpsichord, Caroline playing the lute, Frederick playing the cello, and Amelia reading; Credit – Wikipedia

When Anne was five years old in 1714, her grandfather succeeded Queen Anne as King George I of Great Britain, and she was then styled Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Great Britain. Anne accompanied her parents and her two sisters, Amelia and Caroline, to England. Her elder brother, seven-year-old Frederick, now second in the line of succession to the British throne, was left in Hanover in the care of his great-uncle Ernst August, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück. Frederick did not see his family again for 14 years. Certainly, this long separation during childhood was a factor in the negative relationship Frederick had with his parents as an adult.

Anne’s father, George, now Prince of Wales, had a very poor relationship with his father. The first big rift occurred because of a disagreement over the choice of godparents for the Prince and Princess of Wales’ short-lived son George William, born in 1717. The disagreement grew out of proportion, and George was placed under arrest. The result was that George and Caroline were exiled from St. James’ Palace. They moved into Leicester House in Leicester Square, London which became their chief residence for the rest of King George I’s reign. However, their children were kept at St. James’ Palace in the custody of their grandfather. Anne and her sister missed their parents tremendously. She lamented that her grandfather, the King, did not even visit them, saying, “He does not love us enough for that.” Little Prince George William died when he was three months old. His parents blamed King George I for his death which only worsened the relationship between father and son. In 1720, Anne became ill with smallpox, and for a few days, it was feared she might die. King George I knew that the death of a second grandchild while under his care would be on his conscience, and soon he reconciled with his son and daughter-in-law.

As the eldest daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Anne felt a great deal of self-importance. She told her mother that she wished she had no brothers so that she could become Queen. When her mother disciplined her for the remark, Anne said, “I would die tomorrow to be Queen today.” Anne insisted that a lady-in-waiting stand beside her bed and read aloud until she fell asleep. Once, Anne took so long to fall asleep that the lady-in-waiting fell asleep in the middle of a chapter. The Princess of Wales decided to teach Anne a lesson. The next night she called Anne to her bedside and asked Anne to read aloud. When Anne tried to sit down, her mother told her to continue standing because she would be able to hear better. The Princess of Wales would not let Anne stop reading despite her complaining that she was tired and her throat was dry. Eventually, Anne began to cry and her mother decided that she had learned her lesson and scolded her for her treatment of the lady-in-waiting.

Anne was an excellent student. By the time she was five years old, she spoke, read, and wrote German and French, spoke English, and was learning history and geography. As she grew older, she became skilled at painting, embroidery, singing, dancing, and playing the harpsichord. The famous composer Georg Friedrich Handel was appointed her music master. Handel did not like teaching, but he made an exception for Anne, whom he called “Anne, flower of princesses.”

On June 11, 1727, Anne’s grandfather King George I, and Anne’s father succeeded him as King George II.  On August 30, 1727, King George II created his eldest daughter Princess Royal, a title that had not been used since King Charles I first created it for his daughter Mary in 1642.

Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

A proposed marriage with King Louis XV of France fell through because the French insisted that Anne convert to Roman Catholicism and Anne’s family refused. Bored with life at her father’s court, Anne did not want to be a spinster and was anxious to marry. Anne had been disfigured by smallpox and was not considered attractive. Among the few Protestant possibilities, was Willem IV, Prince of Orange. Willem had a spinal deformity, which affected his appearance, but Anne was so anxious to marry that said she would marry him even “if he were a baboon.” Anne and Willem were betrothed in 1733. On March 25, 1734, Anne and Willem married at the Chapel Royal in St. James’s Palace in London.

After enduring two miscarriages and two stillbirths, Anne and Willem had three children, but only two survived to adulthood. Through their son, they are ancestors of the Dutch Royal Family.

Willem IV, Prince of Orange; Anne, Princess of Orange and their two children Carolina and Willem; Credit – Wikipedia

When Anne and Willem arrived in the Netherlands, they took up residence at the Stadhouderlijk Hof in Leeuwarden, the provincial capital and seat of the States of Friesland (now in the Netherlands). Anne’s husband Willem was the posthumous son of Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange, who died from drowning at age 23, and his wife Maria Louise of Hesse-Kassel.

Upon his birth, Willem succeeded his father as Stadtholder of Friesland and as Stadtholder of Groningen. In 1722, he was elected Stadtholder of Guelders. In April 1747, the French army entered Flanders, threatening the Netherlands, which was weakened by internal division. The Dutch decided their country needed a single strong executive and turned to the House of Orange. Willem and his family moved from Leeuwarden to The Hague. On May 4, 1747, the States-General of the Netherlands named Willem General Stadtholder of all seven of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and made the position hereditary for the first time.

Willem IV, Prince of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem IV died at age 40 from a stroke on October 22, 1751, at Huis ten Bosch in The Hague and was buried in the crypt of the House of Orange in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Delft. He was succeeded by his three-year-old son Willem V with Anne serving as Regent.

As Regent, Anne was given all the powers normally given a hereditary Stadtholder of the Netherlands, except the military duties of the office, which were entrusted to Ludwig Ernst of Brunswick-Lüneburg.  She was hard-working, but arrogant and imperious, which made her unpopular. The 1750s were years of increasing tension and commercial rivalry between the Netherlands and Great Britain, which placed her in a difficult position.

Anne, Princess of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne acted as Regent until her death from dropsy on January 12, 1759, at age 49 in The Hague, the Netherlands. As her son was underage, his paternal grandmother Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel became Regent. When Marie Louise died in 1765, Anne’s daughter Carolina, served as Regent until Willem V turned 18 in 1766. Anne was buried with her husband in the crypt of the House of Orange in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Delft, the Netherlands.

The access to the royal crypt in the foreground; Credit – By Sander van der Wel from Netherlands – Royal grave tomb and the grave of Willem van Oranje, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28146859

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
“Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Aug. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
“John William Friso, Prince of Orange.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 15 July 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Susan. “King George II of Great Britain.” British Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 21 Dec. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Van Der Kiste, John. The Georgian Princesses. Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing, 2000. Print.
“William IV, Prince of Orange.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 23 July 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

Marie Louise of Austria, Empress of the French

by Scott Mehl and Susan Flantzer   © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Marie Louise of Austria, Empress of the French; Credit – Wikipedia

Archduchess Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Therese Josepha of Austria was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla in her own right. She was born on December 12, 1791, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, the eldest child of Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor (later Emperor Franz I of Austria), and Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily. She had eleven siblings:

Maria Ludovica (far right) with her parents and siblings, circa 1805. source: Wikipedia

Maria Ludovica spent her childhood living at Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace and was her father’s favorite daughter. She did not, however, have a close relationship with her mother, who showed little affection for her children. Maria Ludovica received a traditional education at court, focusing on religion and languages, becoming fluent in at least six languages. From a young age, she developed a dislike for all things French. This was greatly influenced by her grandmother a sister of the French Queen Marie Antoinette who was killed during the French Revolution when Maria Ludovica was just a toddler. She lost her mother in 1807 but became close to her stepmother, Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, who was very close in age.

Marriage of Napoleon and Maria Ludovica, painted by Georges Rouget, 1810. source: Wikipedia

By the end of 1809, the French Emperor Napoleon was searching for a new bride who could bear him an heir and set his sights on the leading royal families of Europe. When his focus turned toward a Russian Grand Duchess, the Austrian Prime Minister, Count Metternich, encouraged Emperor Franz I of Austria to suggest his daughter Maria Ludovica. Ending his quest for a Russian bride, Napoleon began negotiations to marry Maria Ludovica. A marriage contract was signed in February 1810, and the couple was married by proxy on March 11, 1810, at the Augustinian Church in Vienna. The young Maria Ludovica became Empress of the French and Queen of Italy, taking on the French version of her name, Marie Louise.

After leaving Vienna, she arrived in France and met her husband for the first time on March 27, 1810, in Compiègne, France. A civil wedding was held on April 1, 1810, in the Grand Hall of the Château of Saint-Cloud, and the following day, the couple made their grand entrance into Paris, arriving at the Tuileries Palace. They then went to the Louvre Palace, where their religious ceremony was held in the Salon Carré.

Quickly adapting to her role as Empress of the French, Marie Louise found the French court was not welcoming. Too recent memories of Marie Antoinette, Marie Louise’s great aunt and the last Austrian consort, had many wary of their new Empress. Marie Louise was also timid and reserved and did not speak much publicly, which did not reassure many people that she was different from her great-aunt. Emperor Napoleon went out of his way to make her as comfortable as possible and appears to have developed quite a love for his second wife. Soon, the couple had their only child:

Empress Marie Louise with her son by François Gérard, 1813 source: Wikipedia

On a trip to Austria in 1812, just before France invaded Russia, Marie Louise met Count Adam Albert von Neipperg for the first time. Little did she know that their paths would cross again in a few years, in a much different manner. After disastrous results against Russia, Napoleon soon saw the collapse of his empire. Prussia and the United Kingdom soon joined forces with Russia, declaring war on France. Marie Louise tried to get her father to join forces with France, but Austria soon joined the coalition against Napoleon.

On March 29, 1814, with her husband leading his troops attempting to stave off an invasion, Marie Louise and her court left Paris and moved to Blois. Days later, the French Senate deposed Emperor Napoleon and he formally abdicated on April 11, 1814, at the Château of Fontainebleau. Under the terms of the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Marie Louise retained her rank and style and was granted the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, with her son as her heir.

Dissuaded from joining her husband, Marie Louise soon returned to Vienna, taking up residence at Schönbrunn Palace. Several months later, she planned a visit to the spas in Aix-les-Bains. To keep her from trying to join her husband in Elba, her father sent Count von Neipperg to accompany her. The two soon fell in love, and von Neipperg became her Chamberlain and represented her at the Congress of Vienna. The news of this romance caused a scandal in France and Austria.

Count Adam Albert von Neipperg. source: Wikipedia

Following Napoleon’s escape and return to power in 1815, Marie Louise remained in Austria, and her husband to agree to an amicable separation.  After Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and his exile to Saint Helena in October 1815, Marie Louise had no further contact with her husband. Meanwhile, the Congress of Vienna modified the decisions of the Treaty of Fontainebleau. Maria Louise remained Duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, but only for her lifetime, and she was prohibited from bringing her son to Italy. She also lost her title as Empress and was then styled as Her Majesty Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla. Accompanied by Count von Neipperg, she arrived in Parma in early 1816. Despite still being legally married to Napoleon, she and von Neipperg had three children:

  • Albertine, Countess of Montenuovo (1817 – 1867), married Luigi Sanvitale, Count of Fontanellato
  • William Albert, Prince of Montenuovo (1819 – 1895), married Countess Juliana Batthyány von Németújvár, had three children
  • Mathilde, Countess of Montenuovo (1822 – circa 1823)

Following Napoleon’s death, Marie Louise and von Neipperg were married morganatically on August 8, 1821, before their third child was born. Count Adam Albert von Neipperg died on February 22, 1829, leaving Marie Louise devastated.

In 1831, Marie Louise found herself caught up in the uprisings spreading around Italy against the Austrian-appointed Prime Minister. Initially prevented from leaving Parma, she managed to escape to Piacenza. She asked her father to replace the Prime Ministe, but instead he sent Austrian forces to suppress the rebellion. The following year, Marie Louise traveled back to Vienna and was at the bedside of her son when he died of tuberculosis in July 1832.

Count Charles-René de Bombelles. source: Wikipedia

Soon, Marie Louise would marry for the third time. In the summer of 1833, the Austrian court sent Count Charles-René de Bombelles to Parma to serve as head of the court. Six months later, on February 17, 1834, Bombelles and Marie Louise were married.

Daguerreotype of Marie Louise, 1847. source: Wikipedia

As Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise supported many causes, with much of her efforts going toward improving medical care and treatment. She established a childbirth hospital and a training school for nurses, as well as a hospital for those with mental illness. She worked toward ensuring that the Duchy was as prepared for potential disease outbreaks and her efforts helped to minimize the number of deaths in a cholera outbreak that came to Parma in 1836. She also promoted the establishment of roads and bridges and was a great supporter of music and theater. Having established a new Ducal Theater in the 1820s, she made sure that tickets were made available at prices that would allow the less fortunate to attend. She established the Conservatory of Parma and supported numerous artists, including the famed composer Giuseppe Verdi. She also brought libraries, museums, and art galleries to Parma, and founded several schools and colleges.

Marie Louise’s tomb in the Imperial Crypt. source: Wikipedia

In early December 1847, Marie Louise fell ill with pleurisy and her condition quickly worsened. She died on December 17, 1847, in Parma, Duchy of Parma, now in Italy, at the age of 56, and was interred at the Capuchin Church in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, the traditional burial site of the Austrian Habsburgs.

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

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Prince Mikasa of Japan

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Prince Mikasa of Japan; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Mikasa of Japan, the youngest of the four sons of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei, was born on December 2, 1915, at the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan.  His childhood appellation was Sumi-no-miya and he was also known by his personal name Prince Takahito.

He had three older brothers:

Emperor Taishō’s four sons in 1921: Hirohito, Mikasa, Takamatsu, and Chichibu; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Mikasa was educated at the Gakushūin (Peers’ School), established in 1847 to educate the children of Japanese nobility. After graduating in 1932, Mikasa began a military career. He entered the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and upon graduation was commissioned a sub-lieutenant. Mikasa furthered his military education by attending the Army War College.  In December 1935, Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa) granted him the title Mikasa-no-miya (Prince Mikasa) and the authorization to form a new branch of the Imperial Family.

Prince Mikasa in 1936; Credit – Wikipedia

During World War II, Prince Mikasa, having attained the rank of major, served as a staff officer at the headquarters of the China Expeditionary Army in Nanjing, China. His goal was to strengthen the legitimacy of the nationalist government in Nanking and to coordinate a peace initiative, but his efforts were unsuccessful due to Operation Ichi-Go launched by the Imperial General Headquarters.

During his time in China, Prince Mikasa became aware of plans for a Japanese bombing of Chinese cities with bubonic plague bombs. Upon his return to Japan, Mikasa wrote a report about the bubonic plague bombs and other war atrocities he had witnessed, but the report was suppressed until 1994. In 1946, Prince Mikasa spoke to the Privy Council of Japan insisting that his brother Emperor Hirohito needed to abdicate and take responsibility for the war. However, General Douglas MacArthur, who was responsible for the Allied Occupation of Japan, protected Emperor Hirohito and insisted that he should stay in power.

On October 22, 1941, Prince Mikasa married Yuriko Takagi, daughter of Japanese noble Viscount Masanari, who was known as Princess Mikasa after her marriage. The couple had three sons and two daughters. Prince Mikasa and his family lived on the grounds of the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo. All three sons predeceased their parents.

  • Yasuko Konoe, formerly Princess Yasuko (born 1944), married Tadateru Konoe, had one daughter; upon her marriage, Princess Yasuko had to relinquish her title from birth and her official membership in the Imperial Family
  • Prince Tomohito (1946 – 2012), married Nobuko Asō, had two daughters
  • Prince Katsura (1948 – 2014), unmarried
  • Masako Sen, formerly Princess Masako (born 1951), married Sōshitsu Sen, had two sons and one daughter; upon her marriage, Princess Masako had to relinquish her title from birth and her official membership in the Imperial Family
  • Prince Takamado (1954 – 2002), married Hisako Tottori, had three daughters

Princess Mikasa and her three elder children, circa 1950; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Mikasa in 2012; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

After World War II, Prince Mikasa studied archaeology, Middle Eastern studies, and Semitic languages at the University of Tokyo. From 1954 until he died in 2016, he directed the Japanese Society for Middle East Studies. He also held visiting and guest faculty appointments in Middle Eastern studies and archaeology at universities in Japan and abroad.

Embed from Getty Images 
Prince Mikasa and Princess Mikasa wave to well-wishers gathered for the annual New Year’s greetings at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on January 2, 2016

Prince Mikasa died of heart failure on October 27, 2016, at the age of 100, a little more than a month before his 101st birthday. At the time of his death, he was the world’s oldest royal, the longest-lived member of the Japanese Imperial Family, and the last of the five Japanese princes in the line of succession. Prince Mikasa lived during the reigns of three emperors: his father Emperor Taishō, his brother Emperor Hirohito, and his nephew Emperor Akihito.

Prince Mikasa’s funeral, called the Renso-no-Gi (Ceremony of the Funeral and Entombment), was held on November 4, 2016, at the Toshimagaoka Imperial Cemetery in Tokyo. The host of the funeral was the prince’s 93-year-old widow Princess Mikasa. Due to Princess Mikasa’s advanced age, Princess Akiko, the eldest daughter of the late Prince Tomohito, the eldest son of Prince Mikasa, stood in for her. Other members of the Imperial Family, other relatives, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, parliamentary leaders, and foreign ambassadors to Japan attended the funeral. As is the custom, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko did not attend the funeral.

Prince Mikasa’s wife Yuriko, Princess Mikasa survived her husband by eight years, dying of old age, on November 15, 2024, at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, Japan aged 101.

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.

Joséphine de Beauharnais, Empress of the French

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

painting by Baron François Gérard, c1807. source: Wikipedia

Joséphine de Beauharnais, Empress of the French; Credit – Wikipedia

Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. She was born Marie-Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie (known as Rose), on June 23, 1763, in Les Trois-Îlets, Martinique, the eldest daughter of Joseph-Gaspard Tascher, Seigneur de la Pagerie, and Rose Claire des Vergers de Sannois.

Joséphine had two younger sisters:

  • Catherine-Désirée Tascher de La Pagerie (1764 – 1777)
  • Marie-Françoise Tascher de La Pagerie (1766 – 1791)

Joséphine’s childhood was spent on the Caribbean island of Martinique, a French possession, where her father owned a large plantation. However, after their home was destroyed by a hurricane in 1766, and combined with her father’s mismanagement of the land, the family lost much of their fortune. Young Rose did not attend school until she was ten years-old, when she was finally sent to a religious boarding school in the nearby town of Fort Royal, now Fort-de-France.

Joséphine’s aunt was the mistress of François V de Beauharnais, Viscount de Beauharnais, and had arranged a marriage between the Viscount’s son, Alexandre and Rose’s younger sister Catherine-Désirée in 1777. However, after Catherine-Désirée died in 1777, it was decided that Rose would become his bride. On December 13, 1779, she married Alexandre de Beauharnais in Noisy-le-Grand, France. Rose and Alexandre’s descendants sit on the thrones of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Rose and Alexandre’s children:

The marriage was unhappy, and Alexandre wasted most of his fortune. In December 1785, the couple separated. Rose and her children took up residence at the Pentemont Abbey in Paris. In March 1794, her estranged husband was arrested during the Reign of Terror. Despite their separation, Rose was also arrested in April 1794 and held in the Carmes prison. Alexandre was sentenced to death and executed by guillotine on July 23, 1794. Rose was released five days later, and the following year was able to reclaim her late husband’s possessions.

“The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries”, painted by Jacques-Louis David, 1812. source: Wikipedia

“The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries” painted by Jacques-Louis David, 1812. source: Wikipedia

Through those years of separation, Rose had several affairs and had become prominent in Parisian society. In 1795, she met her future husband Napoleon Bonaparte, and quickly became his mistress. They became engaged in January 1796 and married on March 9, 1796 in Paris. It was Napoleon who began calling her Joséphine, the name with which history has remembered her. Two days after the wedding, Napoleon left to fight in Italy, leaving his new wife alone. She soon began an affair with Hippolyte Charles, a lieutenant in the French forces. The affair lasted for several years until Napoleon threatened to divorce her, and she ended her relationship with Charles.

In April 1799, while her husband was away, fighting in the Egyptian Campaign, Joséphine purchased the Château de Malmaison, a few miles outside Paris. A large manor house set on nearly 150 acres, Malmaison was run down and needed significant restoration. Joséphine spent large amounts of money to create a home fit for an Emperor and Empress and devoted much of her time to developing the gardens and grounds. She had an orangery built to grow pineapple plants and a greenhouse where she grew several hundred plants that had not been grown in France before. She also developed a magnificent rose garden with over 250 different varieties of roses from around the world. In addition, she gathered a menagerie of animals that roamed in the gardens, many brought from Australia after the Baudin expedition of 1800-1803.

The crowning of Empress Joséphine, from “The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Joséphine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 December 1804”, painted by Jacques-Louis David. source: Wikipedia

Crowning of Empress Joséphine, from “The Consecration of Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of  Empress Joséphine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 December 1804” painted by Jacques-Louis David. source: Wikipedia

In November 1799, Napoleon was named First Consul of the French Republic, and the couple took up residence at the Tuileries Palace. Five years later, on May 18, 1804, Joséphine became Empress of the French when her husband was elected Emperor. They were crowned in a lavish coronation ceremony held at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, on December 2, 1804.

While Joséphine was able to provide a lovely home for her husband, the one thing she was unable to give him was an heir. Without a son, Napoleon had named Joséphine’s grandson (and his nephew), Napoleon Charles Bonaparte, as his heir. After the young Napoleon died in 1807, the Emperor considered finding another wife who could provide him with a son. In November 1809, he told Joséphine that he planned to divorce her and find a new wife.

painting by Andrea Appiani. source: Wikipedia

Joséphine, painting by Andrea Appiani. c1808. source: Wikipedia

Joséphine agreed to a divorce, and an elaborate divorce ceremony was held on January 10, 1810. Joséphine retained her title as Empress and her rank at court and received an annual pension of 5 million francs. She received several residences, including the Château de Navarre in Normandy and the Élysée Palace in Paris. Napoleon would later ask her to return the  Élysée Palace for his use and offered her the Château de Laeken in present-day Belgium instead. Napoleon had created Joséphine Duchess of Navarre at the time of their divorce. After living at the Château de Navarre for two years, Joséphine returned to the Château de Malmaison, where would live for the rest of her life.

On May 29, 1814, Joséphine died at the age of 50 from pneumonia. She was buried in the nearby church of Saint-Pierre-Saint Paul in Rueil-Malmaison, France, in a temporary vault. In 1825, Joséphine’s remains were transferred to the tomb ordered by her two children Eugene and Hortense. Napoleon’s true love had been his first wife and his last words were, “France, army, head of the army, Joséphine.”

Tomb of Empress Joséphine at Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul Church; 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.

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Napoléon Bonaparte, Credit – Wikipedia

Napoleone di Buonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, in his family’s ancestral home Casa Buonaparte in the town of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica.  He was the fourth of the twelve children and the third of the six sons of Carlo Maria di Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino.

Napoleon’s siblings:

When he was in his twenties, he adopted the more French-sounding Napoléon Bonaparte.  At the time of his birth, Corsica was part of France, and a year later, ownership was transferred to the Republic of Genoa.  Today, Corsica belongs to France.

Napoléon joined the French army and quickly advanced.  During the latter part of the French Revolution, he rose to prominence and by the age of 30 was the First Consul of France.  Napoléon was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815.

Joséphine de Beauharnais, Empress Joséphine; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1796, Napoléon married Joséphine de Beauharnais, who was born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean.  Through her first marriage to  Alexandre de Beauharnais (who was guillotined during the French Revolution), Joséphine is the ancestor of the royal families of Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, and Luxembourg. Joséphine was crowned Empress of the French during Napoléon’s coronation at Notre Dame in Paris in 1804.

Napoleon crowns his wife, Josephine; Credit – Wikipedia

Joséphine and Napoléon’s marriage was childless, and in 1809, Napoléon decided to divorce his wife so he could marry again and his new wife produce an heir.  Desperately upset upon first hearing the news about the divorce, Joséphine ultimately agreed.  After their divorce, Napoléon insisted that Joséphine retain the title of Empress.  Napoléon married Marie Louise of Austria, the eldest child of Emperor Franz I of Austria and his second wife, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily.  In 1811, Marie Louise gave birth to a son Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte.  Young Napoléon died of tuberculosis at the age of 21. Regarding Marie Louise, Napoléon said that he had married a womb.

Empress Marie Louise with her son: Credit – Wikipedia

In the early part of the 19th century, Napoléon’s quest for power led to wars throughout a large part of Europe.  In 1814, Paris was captured by the coalition fighting against Napoléon, and his marshals decided to mutiny.  He had no choice but to abdicate.  The Treaty of Fontainebleau exiled Napoléon to the Mediterranean island of Elba, 12 miles/20 km off the coast of Tuscany, Italy.

Napoléon escaped from Elba on February 26, 1815, and arrived in France two days later.  He attempted to regain power, but he was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, by a coalition of forces from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Nassau, Brunswick, and Prussia.

Napoléon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, a British possession in the Atlantic Ocean, 1162 miles/1,870 km from the west coast of Africa.  His health declined due to the harsh conditions, and by 1821, his health was all but failing. Napoléon  died on May 5, 1821, at the age of 51, and his last words were, “France, army, head of the army, Joséphine.”  He was buried in a nameless tomb in the Valley of the Willows on St. Helena.

Death of Napoléon painted by Charles de Steuben, Credit – Wikipedia

In 1840, Louis Philippe I, King of the French, received permission from the British to return Napoléon’s remains to France.  The French called this retour des cendres (return of the ashes).   On December 15, 1840, a state funeral was held.  The funeral procession traveled from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Élysées, across the Place de la Concorde to the Esplanade des Invalides, and finally to St. Jerome’s Chapel, where Napoléon’s remains stayed until the tomb designed by Louis Visconti was completed.

Napoléon’s funeral cortege along the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Credit – Wikipedia

Today, Napoléon’s remains rest in a huge tomb made of red quartzite on a green granite base under the dome of Les Invalides in Paris, France.  On April 2, 1861, Naploéon’s coffin was transferred from St. Jerome’s Chapel to the new tomb during a ceremony attended by  Emperor Napoléon III (Napoleon’s nephew and Joséphine’s grandson), his wife, Empress Eugénie, and their only child, Prince Imperial Louis Napoléon, along with other related princes and government officials.

Tomb of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French at Les Invalides in Paris, France; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty