Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden and Norway

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Desideria of Sweden and Norway was the wife of King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway, born Jean Baptiste Bernadotte. She was born Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, on November 8, 1777, in Marseille, France, the youngest of the nine children of François Clary, a wealthy French merchant, and his second wife Françoise Rose Somis. Through Désirée, her parents are the ancestors of the royal families of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Désirée had eight siblings:

  • Joseph Nicolas Clary, 1st Comte Clary et de l’Empire, (1760 – 1823), married Anne Jeanne Rouyer
  • Joseph Honoré Clary (1762 – 1764), died in childhood
  • Marie Anne Rose Clary (1764 – 1835), married Antoine-Ignace Anthoine, baron de Saint-Joseph et de l’Empire, Mayor of Marseille
  • Marseille Clary (1764 – 1784), unmarried
  • Justinien François Clary (1766 – 1794), unmarried
  • Catherine Honorine Clary (1769 – 1843), married Henri Joseph Gabriel Blait de Villeneufve
  • Julie Clary (1771 – 1845), married Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples and Sicily, King of Spain and the Indies, elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte
  • Basile Clary (1774 – 1781), died in childhood

Désirée had four half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Gabrielle Fléchon (1732–1758):

  • François-Joseph Clary (1752 – 1753), died in infancy
  • Marie-Jeanne Clary (1754 – 1815), married (1) Louis Honoré Lejeans (2) Emmanuel Mathieu Pézenas, Baron de Pluvinal
  • Marie Thérèse Catherine Clary (1755 – 1818), married Lazare Lejeans
  • Étienne François Clary (1757 – 1823), married Marcelle Guey, had two children

Désirée was educated at a convent in her early years, before returning home to her family during the French Revolution. Several years later, she met Joseph Bonaparte, the elder brother of Napoleon, and the two became engaged. Soon after, Napoleon suggested that Joseph should instead marry Désirée’s sister Julie and that he would marry Désirée. They became engaged in April 1795, but Napoleon soon became involved with Joséphine de Beauharnais, and the engagement ended in September 1795. Désirée spent the next several years living with her sister and brother-in-law in Genoa and Rome. While in Rome in 1797, she became engaged to a French general Mathurin-Léonard Duphot, allegedly arranged by Napoleon. They were to marry on December 31, 1797, but Duphot was shot and killed in a riot the previous day.

Désirée’s husband Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, the future King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Returning to Paris, Désirée soon met Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, a noted French general and future King of Sweden. The couple married on August 17, 1798, and had one son:

In 1804, Bernadotte was made Marshal of France, and Désirée was given an allowance by Napoleon, as well as a house on the Rue d’Anjou Saint-Honoré in Paris, France. Désirée maintained this house for the rest of her life, living there whenever she was in Paris. With her husband often gone, Désirée installed herself in the ranks of Parisian high society, spending her time with both the Bonaparte and Clary families. She occasionally traveled to see her husband but quickly returned to Paris, the only place she felt at home.

Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden and Norway. portrait by François Gérard, c.1810. source: Wikipedia

In 1809, King Carl XIII of Sweden ascended the throne of Sweden. He had no living children, and his adopted son and heir died the following year. The Swedes had the idea to offer the position of Crown Prince to one of Napoleon’s Marshals. On August 21, 1810, the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates elected Désirée’s husband Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as Crown Prince of Sweden. He arrived in Stockholm in November 1810 and was formally adopted by the King Carl III of Sweden, taking the name Carl Johan, and converting from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism.

The new Crown Prince of Sweden was actively involved in the events leading up to the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, in which Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden. Unlike the previous union with Denmark, this was a personal union under a single sovereign, and Norway remained an independent state with its own constitution. King Carl XIII of Sweden also reigned as King Karl II of Norway. The separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway were under a common monarch from 1814 until its dissolution in 1905.

Not wanting to leave Paris, Désirée did not initially accompany her husband to Sweden. She finally made the trip in December 1810 and was immediately unhappy. She found the Swedish weather very harsh, and could not adapt to the formality and responsibilities of her new role as Crown Princess. Added to that was a very difficult relationship with the wife of King Carl XIII of Sweden, Queen Hedwig, who complained, perhaps rightfully so, about Désirée’s constant complaints about everything that was not French.  The following year, Désirée left Sweden and returned to Paris, where, she acted as a go-between and mediator between her husband and Emperor Napoleon and kept her husband fully advised of the political events in Europe. After Napoleon was overthrown, Désirée often spent time with the court of King Louis XVIII of France.

King Carl XIII of Sweden/King Karl II of Norway died on February 5, 1818, and Bernadotte ascended the thrones of Sweden and Norway as King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway. However, Désirée, the new Queen of Sweden and Norway, remained in Paris. It would be several years before she made her return to Sweden. In 1822, her son, now Crown Prince Oscar of Sweden and Norway, toured Europe to find a bride and met with his mother twice. The following year, in June 1823, Désirée returned to Sweden, accompanying her future daughter-in-law Princess Josephine of Leuchtenberg, the granddaughter of Napoleons’s first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais from her first marriage to Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais, who had been guillotined during the French Revolution. Although Désirée planned to make just a temporary visit, she remained in Sweden for the rest of her life.

Coronation of Queen Desideria in Sweden, August 1829, by Fredric Westin. source: Wikipedia

Désirée’s coronation was delayed due to the long time she remained in France and the potential religious issues stemming from her remaining a Roman Catholic and not converting to Lutheranism like her husband and son. Finally, on August 21, 1829, Queen Desideria, her official name although she never used it herself, was crowned Queen of Sweden. She was never crowned in Norway due to her religion.

Désirée attempted to fulfill her role as Queen Consort, holding parties and balls, but she soon grew tired of it and longed to return to Paris. Her lack of effort to embrace her new homeland, and her refusal to learn the languages of either Sweden or Norway, led to her never being fully accepted by the Swedish or Norwegian people. Her less-than-royal roots did not help either. She was better received in Norway, where she visited several times, and served as patron of the Eugenia Foundation from 1828 until 1847. Despite plans to return to her home in Paris in 1853, Désirée’s fear of sea travel prevented her from making the trip. She spent her remaining years in Sweden, splitting her time between her apartments at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, Drottningholm Palace, and Haga Palace.

Queen Desideria’s tomb; source: Wikipedia

Désirée died on December 17, 1860, at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. Following her funeral in January 1861, she was interred in the Bernadotte Chapel at the Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, in front of her husband’s tomb.

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Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

The Sinking of the White Ship and How It Affected the English Succession

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

The White Ship sinking, Credit – Wikipedia

November 25, 1120, was one of those days that changed the fate of British royal history.

In 1120, the third of the Norman kings, King Henry I, had been on the English throne for twenty years.  Still uneasy about the fate of the Norman dynasty his father William the Conqueror had started in 1066 with the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon King of England, Harold Godwinson, at the Battle of Hastings, King Henry I had made a strategic dynastic marriage in the year of his accession. His choice of a bride was Matilda of Scotland (originally known as Edith), the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland.  Margaret was born an Anglo-Saxon princess and through her, Matilda was the niece of Edgar the Ætheling, the great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside, and a descendant of Alfred the Great.  The blood of the Anglo-Saxon kings would flow in the veins of Matilda’s children.  By marrying Matilda of Scotland, King Henry I increased the legitimacy of the Norman dynasty.  King Henry I and Matilda had two children who survived childhood: a daughter Matilda, sometimes called Maud, born in 1102 and a son William Ætheling, born in 1103.  In Anglo-Saxon England, Ætheling was used to designate males of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the throne and by using Ætheling as part of his only son’s name, Henry made a further connection to the Anglo-Saxon kings.

Because the Kings of England still held Normandy (in France) and were Dukes of Normandy, they were often in Normandy, and this was the case in November 1120.  After the successful military campaign in which King Henry I of England had defeated King Louis VI of France at the Battle of Brémule, the English were finally preparing to return to England.   King Henry I was offered the White Ship for his return to England, but he had already made other arrangements.  Instead, Henry suggested that his son William sail on the White Ship along with his retinue which included William’s half-brother Richard of Lincoln, his half-sister Matilda FitzRoy, Countess of Perch, Richard d’Avranches the 2nd Earl of Chester and many of the heirs of the great estates of England and Normandy.

William Ætheling and his retinue boarded the ship in a festive mood and barrels of wine were brought on board to celebrate the return to England.  Soon both passengers and crew were inebriated.   By the time the ship was ready to set sail, there were about 300 people on board.  William and his retinue ordered the captain of the White Ship to overtake the ship of King Henry I so that the White Ship would be the first ship to return to England.  Unfortunately, the White Ship hit a submerged rock and capsized.  William’s bodyguard quickly got the heir to the throne into the safety of a dinghy.

An 1866 watercolor by Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise showing a scene from the sinking of the Blanche Nef or White Ship. A male figure, probably William Ætheling, is shown in a lifeboat to the lower left. He is shown full-length, standing with his hands clasped together and looking up towards his half-sister Matilda, Countess of Perche who is still on board the ship. Drowning men are shown trying to climb into the small boat which is soon to capsize; Credit – Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023

However, William Ætheling heard the screams of his half-sister Matilda and ordered the dinghy to turn back to rescue her.  At this point, the White Ship began to sink and the many people in the water desperately sought the safety of William’s dinghy. The chaos and the weight were too much causing William Ætheling’s dinghy to capsize and sink without a trace.  The chronicler Orderic Vitalis claimed that only two people survived the shipwreck by clinging to a rock all night.

King Henry I mourning the loss of three children in the sinking of the White Ship; Credit – Wikipedia

Among those who died in the tragic sinking of the White Ship were:

Captain and Crew

  • Thomas FitzStephen, Captain of the White Ship
  • Helmsman, apparently drunk
  • Approximately 50 oarsmen and sailors

Family of King Henry I of England

D’Avranches Family

  • Richard d’Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester
  • Lucia-Mahaut of Blois, Countess of Chester, wife of Richard d’Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester, sister of Stephen of Blois, the future King Stephen of England, and niece of King Henry I
  • Ottuel d’Avranches, the illegitimate half-brother of Richard d’Avranches, Governor of King Henry I’s sons
  • Geoffrey Ridel, royal justice and brother-in-law of Richard d’Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester

Seigneurs de l’Aigle

  • Gilbert d’Aigle, Viscount of Exmes, first cousin of Richard d’Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester
  • Geoffroy de l’Aigle, son of Gilbertd’Aigle, Viscount of Exmes, survived clinging to a rock, but then died of exhaustion
  • Engenulf d’Aigle, son of Gilbertd’Aigle, Viscount of Exmes

Royal Household

  • William Bigod, Steward of King Henry I’s household
  • Gisulf, King Henry I’s Secretary
  • Robert I of Mauduit, King Henry I’s Chamberlain
  • Stewards, chamberlains, cupbearers, and other household members
  • An armed marine force, who were very disorderly and drunk

Nobles of England

  • 140 knights or noblemen and 18 noblewomen

Nobles of Normandy

Clergy

  • Geoffrey, Archdeacon of Hereford
  • William, son of Roger, Bishop of Coutances, his brother and three nephews

Family of Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich V

King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children, 25 or so illegitimate children, but the tragedy of the White Ship left him with only one legitimate child, his daughter Matilda.  Henry’s nephews were the closest male heirs.  In January 1121, Henry married Adeliza of Louvain, hoping for sons, but the marriage remained childless.  On Christmas Day of 1226, King Henry I of England gathered his nobles at Westminster where they swore to recognize Matilda and any future legitimate heir she might have as his successors.  That plan did not work out.  Upon hearing of Henry’s death on December 1, 1135, Stephen of Blois, one of Henry’s nephews, quickly crossed the English Channel from France, seized power, and was crowned King of England on December 22, 1135.  This started the terrible civil war between Stephen and Matilda known as The Anarchy.  England did not see peace for 18 years until Matilda’s son acceded to the throne as King Henry II of England in 1153.

Recommended Book: The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream
by Charles Spencer

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King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway was born Jean Baptiste Bernadotte on January 26, 1763, in Pau, France. He was the youngest of five children of Jean Henri Bernadotte and Jeanne de Saint-Jean. He was educated to follow his father in the law profession but seems to have had no interest. Following his father’s death, Jean ended his studies and joined the military, where he quickly stood out for his courage and leadership. During the French Revolution, he rose quickly through the ranks, attaining the rank of Brigadier General in 1794.

Désirée Clary, 1807 portrait by Robert Lefèvre. source: Wikipedia

On August 16, 1798, Bernadotte married Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, known as Désirée, whose sister Julie Clary was married to Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother. Désirée had previously been engaged to Napoleon. They had one son:

In 1804, Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of France and appointed Bernadotte Marshal of France. He served for several months as Governor of the recently-occupied Hanover, and in December 1805, took part in the battle of Austerlitz. In recognition of his efforts at Austerlitz, Napoleon created Bernadotte Prince of Pontecorvo, a small principality in Italy.

Bernadotte’s relationship with Napoleon was often strained, but the Emperor respected Bernadotte greatly. Bernadotte often went against the Emperor’s orders during battle, at least once being stripped of his command. Despite this, he was later appointed Governor of Rome but never took up the position. Instead, he would find himself heading north to Sweden.

In 1809, King Carl XIII of Sweden ascended the throne of Sweden. He had no living children, and his adopted son and heir died the following year. The Swedes had the idea to offer the position of Crown Prince to one of Napoleon’s Marshals. Bernadotte was well-liked in Sweden, particularly because of his considerate treatment of Swedish prisoners during the recent war with Denmark. In addition, he had a connection to Napoleon and already had a son who could continue the succession. On August 21, 1810, the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates elected Bernadotte as Crown Prince. He arrived in Stockholm in November 1810 and was formally adopted by the King Carl III of Sweden, taking the name Carl Johan, and converting from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism.

The new Crown Prince quickly took an active role in the Swedish government, particularly in the area of foreign policy. He was actively involved in the events leading up to the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, in which Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden. Norway refused to accept the treaty at first, and the Crown Prince invaded, quickly suppressing the Norwegian forces. Soon, Norway became united with Sweden at the Convention of Moss. Unlike the previous union with Denmark, this was a personal union under a single sovereign, and Norway remained an independent state with its own constitution.  The separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway were under a common monarch from 1814 until its dissolution in 1905.

Coronation in Norway, painting by Jacob Munch. source: Wikipedia

King Carl XIII of Sweden/King Karl II of Norway died on February 5, 1818, and Bernadotte ascended the thrones of Sweden and Norway. His coronation in Sweden took place on May 11, 1818, at the Stockholm Cathedral (Storkyrkan) in Stockholm, Sweden and he took the name Carl XIV Johan. Thus began the Bernadotte dynasty in Sweden, which continues today. In September 1818, he was crowned at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway as King Karl III Johan of Norway.

Following his accession, the King soon lost much of his popularity with the Swedish and Norwegian people. In Norway, his role in the events of 1814 and his constant attempts to change the constitution to allow him great powers, caused him to be viewed skeptically by the people. His attempts to squash the celebrations of Norway’s National Day (May 17th) – going so far as making it illegal – further cemented the negative views of the Norwegians.

In Sweden, where he enjoyed much more power and control, his conservative almost autocratic views caused significant dissent among the population. By the 1830s, there were calls for his abdication, however, he held onto his throne and seems to have regained the respect of many of his subjects.

Tomb of King Carl XIV John and his wife Desiree. photo © Susan Flantzer

On his 81st birthday in January 1844, King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway suffered a stroke, from which he never recovered. He died on March 8, 1844, at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. Following his funeral, he was interred at the Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm.

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Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Maria Christina of Austria, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Maria Christina of Austria, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

The second wife of King Alfonso XII of Spain, Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, Princess of Hungary and Bohemia, was born on July 21, 1858, at Židlochovice Castle near Brno, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. She was given the names Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria but was called Christa in her family. Maria Christina was the third of the six children of first cousins Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria-Teschen and Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria.

Maria Christina had one half-sister from her mother’s first marriage to Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este:

Maria Christina had five siblings, but two died in infancy:

Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska and her children – standing: Friedrich, his wife Isabella; sitting left to right – Maria Theresia, Maria Christina, and Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Christina grew up in Vienna at the court of her second cousin Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria. She was well-educated and excelled in languages, literature, and history. In 1868, Queen Isabella II of Spain was deposed and her family went into exile in Paris, France. Isabella’s eldest son Alfonso later attended the Theresianum, an elite secondary school in Vienna. It was during his time in Vienna that Alfonso first met Maria Christina. The Spanish monarchy was restored in 1874 and Alfonso became King Alfonso XII at the age of 17. He married his first cousin Princess Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans, but tragically she died five months later from typhoid fever. A year later, Alfonso agreed to marry Mercedes’ sister Maria Cristina, but she developed tuberculosis and died during their engagement.

Alfonso’s choice of a bride then fell upon Maria Christina, and the couple married on November 29, 1879, at the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha in Madrid, Spain.

Maria Christina and Alfonso had three children:

King Alfonso XII and his second wife Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Alfonso was not faithful to Maria Christina and at the beginning of their marriage, she endured these infidelities. Alfonso had an affair with Italian opera singer Adela Borghi, however, the affair with Spanish opera singer Elena Sanz, with whom Alfonso had two children, Alfonso Sanz (1880 – 1970) and Fernand Sanz  (1881-1925), was the final straw. Maria Christina was finally able to prevail and Elena Sanz was sent into exile in Paris. Competing for the French Olympic Team, Fernand Sanz won a silver medal in cycling at the 1900 Olympics in Paris.

“The Death of Alfonso XII” or “The Last Kiss” by Juan Antonio Benlliure, 1887; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 25, 1885, three days before his 28th birthday, King Alfonso XII died from tuberculosis at the Royal Palace of El Pardo in Madrid, Spain, leaving two daughters and Maria Christina pregnant with their third child. It was decided that Maria Christina would rule as regent until the child was born. If the child were a male, he would become king.  If the child were a female, Alfonso and Maria Christina’s elder daughter María Mercedes would become queen. On May 17, 1886, a son was born who immediately became King Alfonso XIII.

Maria Christina continued as regent until Alfonso XIII reached the age of 16 and took control of the monarchy in 1902. After 1902, she was styled Su Majestad la Reina Madre, Her Majesty The Queen Mother. Despite her political responsibilities, Maria Christina was an exemplary mother and spent much time dealing with her children’s education. She developed interests in many aspects of Spanish culture and even grew to tolerate bullfighting.

Maria Christina with her three children in 1897; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1905, on a state visit to the United Kingdom, King Alfonso XIII met Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (known as Ena), the only daughter of Queen Victoria’s youngest child Princess Beatrice, and the two developed a strong interest in each other. However, several issues would need to be resolved before they could consider marriage. The first issue was religion. Alfonso was Catholic while Ena was Protestant. The second issue was potentially Ena could bring hemophilia into the Spanish royal family. Ena’s brother suffered from the disease and there was a possibility that Ena was a hemophilia carrier. The third obstacle was Alfonso’s mother Maria Christina. She did not feel the Battenbergs were royal enough due to the morganatic marriage that started that family. Maria Christina wanted her son to marry a member of the Habsburg dynasty of Austria. Eventually, all three obstacles were overcome, and the couple married on May 31, 1906, at the Royal Monastery of San Jerónimo in Madrid, Spain in a wedding attended by many royals from around the world. Alfonso and Ena had seven children and their oldest and youngest sons had hemophilia. See Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia.

Maria Christina and her grandchildren around 1911; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

On February 5, 1929, Maria Christina attended the theater with Queen Ena and her daughters. The family dined as usual at the Royal Palace of Madrid, at nine in the evening. Following the meal, the family moved to the living room, where they viewed a film each night. They retired to their rooms for the night just after midnight. Shortly after going to bed, Maria Christina felt a sharp pain in the chest and could barely breathe. Her maid, seeing her pain, asked if she wanted to call her son the king, but Maria Christina said no. Soon, Maria Christina had another very strong pain, a fatal heart attack.

Maria Christina in the 1920s; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Christina was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. Two years later, in 1931, in the face of overwhelming popular rejection, King Alfonso XIII fled the country when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed, followed by Francoist Spain after the Spanish Civil War. The monarchy was restored in 1975 when Maria Christina’s great-grandson Juan Carlos became king.

Maria Christina tomb

Tomb of Maria Christina; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Kingdom of Spain Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

The first wife of King Alfonso XII of Spain, Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans, was born at the Royal Palace of Madrid on June 24, 1860. She is one of only three queens consort of Spain born in Spain. The other two are Archduchess Anna of Austria (born in Badajoz, Spain), fourth wife of King Philip II and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (born in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain), wife of King Felipe VI. Known as Mercedes, the princess was the seventh of the ten children of Antoine of Orléans, Duke of Montpensier (son of King Louis Philippe of France) and Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain (daughter of King Ferdinand VII of Spain). Mercedes was both a French princess and a Spanish Infanta. Her maternal aunt Queen Isabella II of Spain and Isabella’s husband Francisco, Duke of Cadiz and King Consort of Spain were her godparents. At her baptism, Mercedes was given a very long name: María de las Mercedes Isabel Francisca de Asís Antonia Luisa Fernanda Felipa Amalia Cristina Francisca de Paula Ramona Rita Cayetana Manuela Juana Josefa Joaquina Ana Rafaela Filomena Teresa Santísima Trinidad Gaspara Melchora Baltasara et omni sancti.

Mercedes had nine siblings:

  • Maria Isabel (1848–1919), married her first cousin Philippe, Comte de Paris, had issue
  • Maria Amelia (1851–70), unmarried
  • Maria Cristina (1852–79), unmarried
  • Maria de la Regla (1856–61), died young
  • Fernando (1859–73), died young
  • Felipe Raimundo Maria (1862–64), died young
  • Antonio, Duke of Galliera (1866–1930), married his first cousin Infanta Eulalia of Spain, had issue
  • Luís (1888–1945), married Marie Charlotte Say, no issue
  • Luis Maria Felipe Antonio (1867–74), died young

Infanta Luisa Fernanda and Antoine, Duke of Montpensier with four of their children circa 1860; Credit – Wikipedia

Mercedes spent the first eight years of her childhood in Spain, but her family was forced into exile in 1868 when her maternal aunt Queen Isabella II was deposed. When the Spanish monarchy was restored in 1874 and Queen Isabella’s son Alfonso became king, Mercedes and her family returned to Spain and lived in the Palace of San Telmo in Seville, Spain.

Mercedes in 1874; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1872, Mercedes and her first cousin Alfonso, son of Queen Isabella II, started a romance. Queen Isabella II opposed the match because of confrontations with Mercedes’ father. The Spanish government preferred that the young King Alfonso XII marry some other European princess. One of the marriage candidates was Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria. Nevertheless, Alfonso and Mercedes married on January 23, 1878, at the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha in Madrid, Spain. At age 17, Mercedes was the youngest Queen Consort of Spain.

Alfonso and Mercedes; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Mercedes in her wedding dress; Credit – Wikipedia

In June 1878, it was announced that Mercedes was pregnant and the country rejoiced. However, the joy was short-lived as Mercedes suffered a miscarriage. Shortly after the miscarriage, Mercedes became suddenly ill. Within hours, she was at death’s door with typhoid fever. Mercedes died two days after her 18th birthday, on June 26, 1878, at her birthplace, the Royal Palace of Madrid. She was buried in the Pantheon of Infantes at the Monastery of El Escorial as she could not be buried in the Pantheon of Kings because she was not a mother of a king. On November 8, 2000, Mercedes’ remains were re-interred at the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de La Almudena in Madrid, Spain. Despite her short time as Queen Consort, Mercedes had been a driving force for the construction of the cathedral. In 2004, King Felipe VI and Letizia Ortiz Roscalano were married at the Almudena Cathedral.

Mercedes of Spain tomb

Tomb of Queen Mercedes in Almudena Cathedral; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

Inscription on the tomb; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Kingdom of Spain Resources at Unofficial Royalty

King Alfonso XII of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

King Alfonso XII of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo was born as Prince of Asturias, the heir to the Spanish throne, at the Royal Palace in Madrid on November 28, 1857. He was the son of Queen Isabella II of Spain, and officially, Francisco, Duke of Cadiz and King Consort. Rumors circulated that Isabella’s children were not fathered by Francisco due to his suspected homosexuality and that Alfonso’s biological father was Enrique Puigmoltó y Mayans, a captain of the guard.

Alfonso had eight siblings, but only four survived childhood:

Alfonso was first educated by tutors. He then attended the Collège Stanislas de Paris, the Theresianum in Vienna, Austria and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England.

Alfonso in 1870; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Isabella II’s authoritarianism, her religious fanaticism, her alliance with the military, and the chaos of her reign — sixty different governments — helped bring about the Revolution of 1868 that exiled her to Paris, France. The new government replaced Isabella with Amadeo I, the second son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.  During Amadeo’s reign, there were many republican uprisings so he abdicated in 1873 and returned to Italy. The First Spanish Republic was declared but it lasted a little less than two years.  Isabella had officially abdicated in 1870 and after the First Spanish Republic collapsed, 17-year-old Alfonso became king on December 29, 1874.

During Alfonso XII’s reign, the monarchy was consolidated and government institutions were stabilized, repairing the damage that the recent internal struggles had left. For this Alfonso earned the nickname “The Peacemaker.” The new Constitution of 1876 was adopted and in the same year the Third Carlist War ended.

Wedding of King Alfonso XII and his first wife Princess Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 23, 1878, at the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha in Madrid, Alfonso married his first cousin Princess Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans, daughter of Antoine, Duke of Montpensier and his maternal aunt Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain.  Less than five months later, Mercedes developed typhoid fever and died two days after her 18th birthday, on June 26, 1878. A year later, Alfonso agreed to marry Mercedes’ sister Maria Cristina, but she developed tuberculosis and died during their engagement.

Alfonso married for a second time on November 29, 1879, at the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha in Madrid. His bride was Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, daughter of Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria and Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria, and a second cousin of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria.

The couple had three children:

King Alfonso XII and his second wife Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Alfonso was not faithful to Maria Christina and at the beginning of their marriage, she endured these infidelities. Alfonso had an affair with Italian opera singer Adela Borghi, but his affair with Spanish opera singer Elena Sanz, with whom Alfonso had two children, Alfonso Sanz (1880 – 1970) and Fernand Sanz (1881 – 1925), was the final straw. Maria Christina was finally able to prevail and Elena Sanz had to go into exile in Paris. Competing for the French Olympic Team, Fernand Sanz won a silver medal in cycling at the 1900 Olympics in Paris.

On November 25, 1885, three days before his 28th birthday, King Alfonso XII died from tuberculosis at the Royal Palace of El Pardo in Madrid, leaving two daughters and his queen pregnant with her third child. It was decided that Alfonso’s widow Maria Christina would rule as regent until the child was born. If the child were a male, he would become king and if the child were a female, Alfonso and Maria Christina’s elder daughter María Mercedes would become queen. On May 17, 1886, a son was born who immediately became King Alfonso XIII.

“The Death of Alfonso XII” or “The Last Kiss” by Juan Antonio Benlliure, 1887; Credit – Wikipedia

King Alfonso XII was interred in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial.

Tomb of King Alfonso XII (top); Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1902, Alfonso’s widow Maria Christina held a national contest for a design to build a monument in memory of King Alfonso XII. Catalan architect José Grases Riera won the contest and his design was built in an artificial lake in Madrid’s Parque del Buen Retiro in 1922.

Monument to King Alfonso XII; Photo Credit – Carlos Delgado, Wikipedia

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Kingdom of Spain Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

The fourth wife of King Ferdinand VII of Spain and the wife who finally gave him an heir, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies (Italian: Maria Cristina Ferdinanda) was born in Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily, now in Italy, on April 27, 1806. She was the second of the twelve children of King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife, Infanta María Isabella of Spain, sister of King Ferdinand VII of Spain.

Maria Christina had two half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Maria Clementina of Austria:

Maria Christina had five sisters and six brothers:

Included in the portrait are Ferdinando, Maria Carolina, and their children Maria Theresa, Maria Luisa, Maria Amelia, Francesco, Maria Cristina, and Gennaro, 1783; Credit – Wikipedia

Irish novelist and journalist Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington, who met Maria Christina on her Grand Tour of Europe, described her as having flawless facial features, beautiful teeth, expressive eyes, and a charming smile. Maria Christina was lively and cheerful, showed an early fondness for hunting, and had a talent for painting. In 1829, the thrice-widowed King Ferdinand VII of Spain was asked by the government to marry again to provide an heir to the throne. Luisa Carlotta of the Two Sicilies, Maria Christina’s elder sister, was married to her maternal uncle and Ferdinand’s brother, Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain, and she suggested Maria Christina as a marriage candidate. It did not take long for the 45-year-old Spanish king, Maria Christina’s maternal uncle, to decide that Luisa Carlota’s 23-year-old sister was an ideal choice. The court of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies agreed, and Maria Christina traveled to Madrid. On December 11, 1829, the wedding took place at the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha in Madrid, Spain, and the celebrations continued until the new year.

Ferdinand and Maria Christina, 1831; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinand was delighted with his young wife, who soon had a great influence on him. Until his marriage to Maria Christina, he had fathered no surviving child. While the moderate and liberal parties now pinned their hopes on an heir from the new queen, the absolutists (Carlists) favored Ferdinand’s younger brother, Infante Carlos, Count of Molina, as the heir apparent.  Maria Francisca of Portugal, first wife of Infante Carlos, and her sister, Maria Teresa, Princess of Beira, second wife of Infante Carlos, competed with Maria Christina and her sister Luisa Carlota for influence at the Spanish court. Soon after her marriage, Maria Christina became pregnant. On March 29, 1830, Ferdinand VII issued the Pragmatic Sanction, allowing daughters to succeed to the Spanish throne as well as sons. This meant that Infante Carlos would be displaced in the line of succession by Ferdinand’s children of both genders. Infante Carlos and the Carlists fiercely resisted this decision.

Ferdinand and Maria Christina had two daughters:

María Isabel Luisa, Ferdinand’s elder daughter, was Princess of Asturias, the title of the heir to the Spanish throne, from birth. In Spain, even if there is no heir apparent, the title can be (but is not necessarily) given to the heir presumptive – a daughter, sibling, or matrilineal descendant of the monarch. King Ferdinand VII died on September 29, 1833, and his daughter, not quite three years old, succeeded to the throne as Queen Isabella II with Maria Christina acting as Regent. This precipitated a series of wars known as the Carlist Wars in which Ferdinand’s brother Carlos, and later his descendants, fought over the succession. Ultimately, the army’s loyalty to Isabella II proved the decisive issue in the war.

Two months after Ferdinand died, on December 28, 1833, Maria Christina secretly married an ex-sergeant of the royal guard, Agustín Fernández Muñoz (1808-1873). The couple had eight children.

Maria Christina painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, circa 1841; Credit – Wikipedia

Eventually, the news of the marriage became public, and it made Maria Christina very unpopular. The doubts about her support of the Liberal ministers and their policies added to her unpopularity. Finally, the army, which had been the stalwart supporter of Queen Isabella II, and the Liberal leaders of the legislature, the Cortes Generales, demanded an end to Maria Christina’s regency. On October 12, 1840, she resigned as regent and left Spain with her husband. General Baldomero Espartero became regent.

Maria Christina and Agustín spent a brief time in Rome, where Pope Gregory XVI gave them a dispensation for their morganatic marriage. Next, Maria Christina visited her parents in Naples and then settled in Paris, where King Louis Philippe received her with military honors and gave her apartments in the Palais-Royal.  In 1842, Maria Christina purchased the Château de Malmaison, formerly the home of Empress Josephine, after Napoleon I divorced her.

In 1843, after General Baldomero Espartero was overthrown as regent, Maria Christina and Agustín returned to Spain. In 1844, Queen Isabella II bestowed the title Duke of Riánsares upon Agustín and gave official consent to Agustín’s marriage to her mother. In 1854, when there was a change in political leadership, Maria Christina was again exiled. She returned to France with her husband, where they spent the rest of their lives. In 1868, Isabella II was deposed during the Glorious Revolution and lived the rest of her life in exile in France.

Maria Christina in later life; Credit – Wikipedia

Agustín died in 1873, at the home he shared with his wife, Villa Mon Désir in Sainte-Adresse, near Le Havre, France. Maria Christina survived him by five years, dying at the age of 72 on July 22, 1878, in their home near Le Havre, France. As Ferdinand VII’s widow and mother of Isabella II’s mother, Maria Cristina was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in Royal Crypt at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain.

Maria Christina of Spain_tomb

Tomb of Maria Christina; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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King and Queen of Bhutan expecting their first child

Photo Credit – Zimbio

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan and Queen Jetsun Pema are expecting their first child in February 2016. The couple married on October 13, 2011 in a traditional Buddhist ceremony. As part of the ceremony, the King proclaimed his bride Queen of Bhutan. Several days later, the couple also celebrated a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony.
Unofficial Royalty: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan
Unofficial Royalty: Jetsun Pema, Queen of Bhutan
Daily Mail: It’s a boy! The King and Queen of Bhutan reveal they are expecting their first child, four years after lavish Buddhist wedding ceremony held in a 17th century fortress

Maria Isabel of Portugal, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Maria Isabel of Portugal, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

The second of the four wives of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, Infanta Maria Isabel of Portugal (Maria Isabel Francisca), was born on May 19, 1797, at the Palace of Queluz in Portugal. She was the third of the nine children of King João VI of Portugal and Infanta Carlota Joaquina of Spain, the elder sister of King Ferdinand VII.

Maria Isabel had three brothers and five sisters:

On September 29, 1816, Maria Isabel married her maternal uncle, King Ferdinand VII of Spain, who was thirteen years older than her. Ferdinand’s first wife had died childless ten years earlier. The marriage was made to strengthen relations between Spain and Portugal, and of course, to provide heirs to the throne.

Maria Isabel pointing to the Prado; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Isabel was noted for her culture and love of art. Because of this, she took the initiative to gather works of art from the collection of the Spanish monarchs and create a museum. The Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain, opened on November 19, 1819, and today it is the main Spanish national art museum.

Maria Isabel had a daughter, María Luisa Isabel, who was born on August 21, 1817, but sadly, she died on January 9, 1818. Maria Isabel soon became pregnant again, but the pregnancy was difficult. On December 26, 1818, at the Palace of Aranjuez in Spain, Maria Isabel went into labor, and there were terrible complications. The child, a daughter also named María Luisa Isabel, was in a breech position and died in utero. Maria Isabel lost consciousness and appeared to have stopped breathing, so the doctors believed she had died. When they began to cut her open to remove the dead child, she let out a cry of pain, fainted, and bled to death. Maria Isabel was only 21 years old and was buried in the Pantheon of Princes in the Monastery of El Escorial, and not in the Pantheon of the Kings, traditionally reserved for monarchs and spouses of monarchs who had been parents of monarchs.

Maria Isabel of Spain_tomb

Tomb of Maria Isabel (Isabel = Elisabeth); Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily, Princess of Asturias

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily, Princess of Asturias; Credit – Wikipedia

The first of the four wives of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, Princess Maria Antonietta of Naples and Sicily (Maria Antonietta Teresa Amelia Giovanna Battista Francesca Gaetana Maria Anna Lucia), known as Maria Antonia, was named after her mother’s favorite sister Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, born Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria.  Princess Maria Antonia was the eleventh of the seventeen children of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (before 1816, Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand III of the Kingdom of Sicily) and Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria, daughter of Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia.  Maria Antonia was born on December 14, 1784, at the Royal Palace of Caserta in Caserta, Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, now in Italy

Maria Antonia and her  family in 1783; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia had sixteen siblings but eight died in childhood from smallpox:

Maria Antonia married her first cousin Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias, heir to the Spanish throne, on October 10, 1802, in Barcelona, Spain. At the same time, Maria Antonia’s eldest brother, Francesco of Naples and Sicily (later King of the Two Sicilies), married Ferdinand’s sister Maria Isabella of Spain.

Maria Antonia’s two pregnancies in 1804 and 1805 ended in miscarriages. Guided by her mother from Naples, Maria Antonia encouraged her husband to confront his mother, Queen Maria Luisa, with whom she had a bad relationship, and the Queen’s possible lover, Manuel Godoy, the Prime Minister of Spain. At the same time, Maria Antonia sought support for Ferdinand in the Spanish court.

Maria Antonia, aged 21, died on May 21, 1806, at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez from tuberculosis. There were rumors that Manuel Godoy and Queen Maria Luisa poisoned Maria Antonia, but there is no evidence that this is true. However, Maria Antonia’s mother, Queen Maria Carolina of Naples, was convinced that her daughter had been poisoned. Maria Antonia was buried in the Pantheon of Infantes in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial in Spain. The inscription on her tomb reads: ” Who God has loved, He has quickly freed from life.” Her husband succeeded to the Spanish throne as King Ferdinand VII and went on to have three additional marriages.

Maria Antonia of Spain_tomb

Tomb of Maria Antonia, Princess of Asturias; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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