Maria Josepha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Josepha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria, circa 1910 – 1915; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony was the wife of Archduke Otto Franz of Austria and the mother of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria. Maria Josepha Louise Philippina Elisabeth Pia Angelica Margaretha was born on May 31, 1867, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. She was the fifth of the eight children and the youngest of the four daughters of King Georg of Saxony and Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal. Maria Josepha’s paternal grandparents were King Johann of Saxony and Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Maria II of Portugal and her second husband Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry.

Maria Josepha had seven siblings:

Maria Josepha, circa 1893; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josepha was raised in a strict Catholic environment. In 1883, her youngest sibling Albert became very ill. Their mother Maria Ana took care of him intensively for months until he recovered, but overworked herself so much that she died of exhaustion on February 5, 1884, at the age of 40. Maria Ana’s death occurred before her husband, who never remarried, became King of Saxony.

Otto Franz and Maria Josepha at the time of their engagement, 1886; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 2, 1886, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, 19-year-old Princess Maria Josepha married her 21-year-old second cousin Archduke Otto Franz of Austria, the son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Maria Josepha’s father-in-law Karl Ludwig was the younger brother of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the executed Emperor of Mexico. Her new husband Otto Franz was the brother of the ill-fated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination in 1914 was one of the causes and World War I

The marriage was not a love match. Both Otto Franz’s first cousin Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Otto’s brother Franz Ferdinand had snubbed the Saxony court by rejecting Maria Josepha’s elder sister Mathilde as a bride. Relations between Austria-Hungary and Saxony improved only when Otto Franz, under pressure from the Austrian-Hungarian court, married Mathilde’s younger sister Maria Josepha. The marriage of Otto Franz and Maria Josepha was increasingly unhappy. Otto Franz had many affairs and Maria Josepha was very religious and was insultingly called “the nun” by her husband because of the deeply pious beliefs.

Otto Franz and Maria Josepha with their two sons Karl and Maximilian Eugen, circa 1897; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josepha and Otto Franz had two sons:

In 1889, Otto Franz’s first cousin Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria died by suicide at his hunting lodge Mayerling. Crown Prince Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, had no sons, so the succession would pass to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Archduke Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Maria Josepha’s father-in-law and brother-in-law. There have been suggestions that Karl Ludwig renounced his succession rights in favor of his son Franz Ferdinand. However, an act of renunciation was never formally signed and Karl Ludwig was never officially designated heir to the throne. He was only three years younger than Franz Joseph and not a realistic choice. When Karl Ludwig died in 1896, Maria Josepha’s brother-in-law Franz Ferdinand became the heir to his uncle’s throne.

Meanwhile, Otto Franz was involved in many scandals, including jumping nude from a window in a private dining room in the Hotel Sacher in Vienna in front of a visiting British peeress and being spotted in the hallway at the same hotel about to enter a lady’s room, wearing nothing but a sword. The imperial court gradually became alienated from Otto Franz as did his wife.


Maria Josepha and Otto Franz in 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

By 1900, it was clear that Maria Josepha’s husband Otto Franz had contracted the sexually transmitted disease syphilis. He withdrew from public life and spent a year in Egypt where he temporarily improved. After returning to Austria, Otto Franz became quite ill. He was in agonizing pain for the last two years of his life and was forced to replace his nose with a rubber prosthetic due to the facial deformity caused by syphilis. During the last months of his life, Otto Franz lived in a villa in Währing, a district of Vienna, and was nursed by his last mistress Luise Robinson and by his stepmother, his father’s second wife Maria Theresa of Portugal. On November 1, 1906, Archduke Otto Franz, aged forty-one, died. He was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. After the death of her husband, Maria Josepha remained unmarried. The German-Austrian stage and film actor Otto Tressler was a close friend, and possibly Maria Josepha and Otto had a relationship.

Karl and Zita’s wedding: (L – R) Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Archduchess Maria Josepha, Emperor Franz Joseph, Karl, and Zita; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 21, 1911, Maria Josepha’s son Karl married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, the daughter of the deposed Robert I, Duke of Parma and his second wife, Maria Antonia of Portugal at Schwarzau Castle, an Austrian home of Zita’s family. 

Maria Josepha’s son Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josepha’s brother-in-law Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne until his assassination on June 28, 1914, an event that was one of the causes of World War I. Franz Ferdinand had been allowed to make a morganatic marriage with the condition that the children of the marriage would not have succession rights. Upon Franz Ferdinand’s death, Maria Josepha’s son Karl became the heir to the Austrian throne. He succeeded to the throne as Emperor Karl I of Austria upon the death of Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1916. Karl reigned until the monarchy was abolished in 1918, at the end of World War I.

At the end of World War I, the armistice required that the Austrian-Hungarian Empire allow for autonomy and self-determination of the government of its various ethnic populations. The various areas proclaimed independence and by October 1918 there was not much left of the empire. On November 11, 1918, the same day as the armistice ending World War I, Karl issued a proclamation in which he recognized the rights of the people of Austria to determine their form of government and released his government officials from their loyalty to him. On November 13, 1918, Karl issued a similar proclamation for Hungary. Karl did not use the term “abdicate” in his proclamations and would never admit that he abdicated.

On March 23, 1919, Karl and his family, including his mother Maria Josepha, left for Switzerland. On April 3, 1919, the Austrian Parliament passed the Habsburg Law which forbade Karl or his wife Zita from ever returning to Austria. The law also prevented other Habsburgs from returning to Austria unless they renounced all intentions of claiming the throne and accepted the condition of living as ordinary citizens. In 1921, Karl returned to Hungary twice, attempting to regain the throne of Hungary. After the second attempt, the Council of Allied Powers decided to exile Karl and his family to the Portuguese island of Madeira. In March 1922, Karl caught a cold which developed into bronchitis and further developed into pneumonia. After suffering two heart attacks and respiratory failure, Karl died on April 1, 1922, at the age of 34. Due to the Habsburg Law, Karl could not be buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. He was buried at the Church of Our Lady of the Mount on the island of Madeira in Portugal.

The restrictions on the Habsburgs entering Austria were eventually rescinded, but only for those Habsburgs born after April 10, 1919. In 1982, the restrictions were eased and after 63 years, Karl’s widow Zita could return to Austria for visits. When Zita died in 1989, the government of Austria allowed her funeral to take place in Austria provided that the Habsburg family pay the cost and Zita was allowed to be buried in the Habsburg traditional burial site, the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. However, the remains of her husband Karl are still interred in Portugal.

Beatification of Karl in 2004

Maria Josepha had raised Karl with a very religious upbringing, and upon marrying Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, also a very devout Roman Catholic, Karl told her, “Now, we must help each other to get to Heaven.” Karl was beatified on October 3, 2004, by Pope John Paul II, and he is known as Blessed Karl of Austria. Beatification is the third of four steps toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.

Tomb of Maria Josepha, to the right of her husband’s tomb in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna; Credit – www.findagrave.com

After Karl and his family were exiled to the Portuguese island of Madeira, Maria Josepha settled in Bavaria, Germany where she lived in Geiselgasteig near Munich. Because of Allied bombings during World War II, Maria Josepha moved to the safety of Wildenwart Castle in Chiemgau, Bavaria, Germany. The castle belonged to the former Bavarian royal family, and Maria Josepha lived there with Princess Hildegard and Princess Helmtrud, two unmarried daughters of Ludwig III, the last King of Bavaria. Maria Josepha died at Wildenwart Castle on May 28, 1944, at the age of 76, and was allowed to be buried in the New Vault of the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, beside her husband.

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2014) Karl I, Emperor of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-i-emperor-of-austria/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Archduke Otto Franz of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/archduke-otto-franz-of-austria/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Maria Josepha von Sachsen (1867–1944) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Josepha_von_Sachsen_(1867%E2%80%931944) (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1867–1944) (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Josepha_of_Saxony_(1867%E2%80%931944) (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

June 30: Today in Royal History

© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Henrietta-Anne of England, Duchess of Orléans; Credit – Wikipedia

June 30, 1470 – Birth of King Charles VIII of France at the Château d’Amboise in Amboise, France
Upon the death of King Louis XI in 1483, his thirteen-year-old son King Charles VIII of France succeeded him. The coronation of King Charles VIII took place on May 30, 1484, in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Reims, France, the traditional site for the coronation of the Kings of France. He married the wealthy heiress Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right.  Anne and Charles had seven children but only one survived infancy and died at age three.
Unofficial Royalty: King Charles VIII of France

June 30, 1670 – Death of Henrietta-Anne of England, Duchess of Orléans, daughter of King Charles I of England, wife of Philippe of France, Duke of Orléans, at the Château de Saint-Cloud in Hauts-de-Seine, France; buried at Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France
Known as Henrietta-Anne during her years at the French court, she is an ancestor of the royal families of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Spain.  When the line of Henriette-Anne’s brother King James II of England died out, the Jacobite claims to the British throne descended from her daughter Anne Marie d’Orléans, Queen of Sardinia. The Orléanist pretenders to the French throne and the Savoy pretenders to the Italian throne descend from Henrietta-Anne. Beginning in 1667, Henriette-Anne’s health started to suffer.  She had pains in her side and her digestive problems became so severe that she could only drink milk.  On June 29, 1670, Henriette-Anne drank a glass of iced chicory water and immediately felt severe pain in her side.  She thought she had been poisoned and asked to be given an antidote.  Henriette-Anne died the next day, at the age of 26. There were rumors that her husband’s lover Philippe, Chevalier de Lorraine had poisoned her.
Unofficial Royalty: Henrietta-Anne of England, Duchess of Orléans
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

June 30, 1975 – Birth of Prince Giuseppe of Bourbon-Parma, Titular Duke of Parma in Biarritz, France

Unofficial Royalty: Prince Giuseppe of Bourbon-Parma

June 30, 1964 – Birth of Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, first wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark, born Alexandra Christina Manley in Hong Kong
Alexandra and Prince Joachim married in 1995 and had two sons. In 2004, rumors circulated that there were marriage problems, and the couple divorced in 2005.  In 2007, Alexandra married Martin Jørgensen, a photographer 14 years younger than her. The couple divorced in 2015. Prince Joachim and Alexandra have maintained close ties and are often seen together with their sons. Alexandra attends events involving the Danish Royal Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

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.

Prince François of Luxembourg

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Prince François of Luxembourg; Credit – StudioByC / Celine Maia

Prince François of Luxembourg was born on March 27, 2023, at Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. He is the second of the two sons of Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy, and is third in the line of succession to the throne of Luxembourg after his father and his elder brother. François’ paternal grandparents are  Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg born Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista Falla. His maternal grandparents are Count Philippe de Lannoy and Alix della Faille de Leverghem, both from noble Belgian families.

François has one elder brother:

Prince François, held by his grandmother Grand Duchess Maria Theresa with his grandfather Grand Duke Henri, his parents and his brother on the day of his baptism; Credit – House of the Grand Duke / Sophie Margue

On June 3, 2023, at Fischbach Church, near Fischbach Castle, the home of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, Prince François was baptized during a mass presided over by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxemburg.

François’s godparents were:

He was given the names:

  • François: This is the first time the name has been used as a first name in the grand ducal family. François is one of the middle names of Prince Robert of Luxembourg, a paternal first cousin of Grand Duke Henri. François is the French version of Francis, the name of Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church when François was baptized. It is also the name of several Catholic saints.
  • Henri: for his paternal grandfather Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
  • Louis: possibly for his paternal uncle Prince Louis of Luxembourg
  • Marie: in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a common name among male and female Roman Catholic royalty
  • Guillaume: for his father

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

  • Baptême de S.A.R. le Prince François (2023) Cour Grand-Ducale. Available at: https://monarchie.lu/fr/actualites/bapteme-de-sar-le-prince-francois (Accessed: 29 June 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2014) Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/prince-guillaume-hereditary-grand-duke-of-luxembourg/%C2%A0 (Accessed: 29 June 2023).
  • H.R.H. Prince François (2023) Cour Grand-Ducale. Available at: https://monarchie.lu/en/grand-ducal-family/hrh-prince-francois (Accessed: 29 June 2023).
  • Toureille, Claire. (2023) Royal Family of Luxembourg Baptise Little Prince Francois, Daily Mail Online. Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12157341/Royal-family-Luxembourg-baptise-little-Prince-Francois.html (Accessed: 29 June 2023).

June 29: Today in Royal History

© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

June 19, 1282 – Death of Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon, wife of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, in childbirth at the Palace of Aber Garth Celyn in Gwynedd, Wales; buried at Llanfaes Friary in Llanfaes, close to what is now Beaumaris, in Anglesey, Wales

Unofficial Royalty: Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon

June 29, 1509 – Death of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII of England, in the Deanery of Westminster Abbey; buried in the Henry VII Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey in London, England
Margaret was alive for the birth of all seven of her grandchildren but only three survived into adulthood. Through her granddaughter and namesake Margaret Tudor, Margaret is an ancestor of the British royal family and many other European royal families. On June 23, 1509, Margaret watched the coronation procession of her grandson King Henry VIII from a window. Six days later, the day after King Henry VIII’s eighteenth birthday, Lady Margaret Beaufort died. Her tomb, with a gilded bronze effigy, was created by the Italian sculptor Pietro Torrigiano, who also created the beautiful tomb of her son King Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York. Both tombs are in the Henry VII Chapel of Westminster Abbey and Margaret’s tomb is situated between the later graves of her descendants King William III and Queen Mary II and the tomb of her great-great-granddaughter Mary, Queen of Scots.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby

June 29, 1725 – Birth of Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right, Duchess of Modena and Reggio, wife of Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio, in Novellara, then in the County of Novellara and Bagnolo, later in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy
Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina was the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right from 1731 until her death in 1790, and the wife of Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. The marriage was not a happy one. After Maria Teresa gave birth to two children, Ercole humiliated her with his open relationships with his mistresses. Eventually, the couple began to live apart. Maria Teresa and Ercole’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand’s marriage created the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. As far as ruling her Duchy of Massa and Carrara, now in Italy, Maria Teresa was an enlightened ruler and demonstrated excellent administrative skills.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa and Carrara, Duchess of Modena and Reggio

June 29, 1794 – Birth of Heinrich XX, 4th Prince Reuss of Greiz in Offenbach, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, now in Hesse, Germany
Heinrich XX ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz as an absolute monarch until the German Revolutions of 1848 – 1849 which aimed to remove the old monarchy structures and create independent nation-states. The people of Reuss-Greiz were not really in a revolutionary mood.  This caused procrastination by Heinrich XX and his government and led to only minor changes. Heinrich XX was forced to issue a new constitution for the Principality of Reuss-Greiz but it never went into effect.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XX, 4th Prince Reuss of Greiz

June 29, 1816 – Birth of Lord Alfred Paget, Queen Victoria’s Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal 1846 – 1858 and 1859-1874 and Clerk Marshal 1874 – 1888, in Cavendish Square, London, England
Lord Alfred first served Queen Victoria as Chief Equerry.  Except for some brief periods, he remained in her service until his death in 1888. In 1847, Alfred married Cecilia Wyndham, co-heiress with her elder sister of George Thomas Wyndham. Alfred and Cecilia had fourteen children. Their first child was named Victoria Alexandrina after Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Lord Alfred Paget

June 29, 1841 – Death of Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Hanover, first cousin and wife of Ernst August, Duke of Cumberland, King of Hanover, in Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried at Chapel of Schloss Herrenhausen in Hanover
Upon the death of Frederica’s husband’s brother King William IV of the United Kingdom, his niece succeeded to the throne as Queen Victoria. However, because the Kingdom of Hanover did not allow for female succession, Frederica’s husband succeeded him as King Ernst August I of Hanover, and she became Queen of Hanover. Frederica was only Queen of Hanover for a little less than three years. In April 1841, she fell ill and died two months later.
Unofficial Royalty: Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Hanover

June 29, 1844 – Birth of Peter I, King of Serbia in Belgrade, Serbia
Peter’s father had been elected Sovereign Prince of Serbia (then a principality) in 1842. However, in 1858 he was forced to abdicate when the House of Obrenović took the throne and the family went into exile. In 1882, Serbia become a kingdom under the House of Obrenović. In 1903,  a group of army officers who supported Peter’s rival House of Karađorđević led a coup d’état known as The May Coup in which King Alexander I and Queen Draga of the House of Obrenović were brutally assassinated. The assassination resulted in the extinction of the House of Obrenović. Prince Peter Karađorđević was proclaimed the new King of Serbia.
Unofficial Royalty: Peter I, King of Serbia

June 29, 1870 – Death of Sir James Clark, 1st Baronet, Queen Victoria’s Physician-in-Ordinary from 1837 – 1860, at  Bagshot Park in Surrey, England; buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, England
Even though Clark treated renowned patients, his abilities as a medical doctor were doubtful. George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon said he would not trust Clark to “attend a sick cat.” It seems his medical career owed more to his diplomatic treatment of his patients rather than his medical competence. There were several instances of his medical incompetence while he served as the royal Physician-in-Ordinary.
Unofficial Royalty: Sir James Clark, 1st Baronet

June 29, 1875 – Death of Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia at Hradčany Palace in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now the Czech Republic; buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
Ferdinand was developmentally delayed and suffered from epilepsy, hydrocephalus, neurological problems, and a speech impediment. Upon the death of his father, Ferdinand became Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. His epilepsy caused him to have as many as twenty seizures per day, and this severely restricted his ability to rule with any effectiveness. His father’s will stipulated that Ferdinand’s uncle Archduke Ludwig be consulted on government matters and during Ferdinand’s reign a council called the Secret State Conference controlled the government. Ferdinand abdicated the throne in favor of his nephew Franz Joseph during the Revolutions of 1848 and lived out the rest of his life at Hradčany Palace in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic).
Unofficial Royalty: Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria

June 29, 1911 – Birth of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, husband of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, born Count Bernhard von Lippe-Biesterfeld in Jena, Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Bernhard Leopold Friedrich Eberhard Julius Kurt Karl Gottfried Peter
Bernhard was the elder son of Prince Bernhard of Lippe (younger brother of Leopold IV, the reigning Prince of Lippe) and his wife Armgard von Cramm. Bernhard and Armgard’s marriage was considered morganatic, Bernhard was styled Graf von Biesterfeld (Count of Biesterfeld) at birth. In 1916, Bernhard’s uncle, Leopold IV, the reigning Prince of Lippe, created Armgard Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld with the style Serene Highness and this title and style also was extended to her two sons.  In February 1936, Bernhard attended the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. There he met and fell in love with Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, the only child, and heir of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, whom he married in 1937.
Unofficial Royalty: Bernhard von Lippe-Biesterfeld

June 29, 1921 – Death of Lady Randolph Churchill (born Jennie Jerome), mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at her home at 8 Westbourne Street in London, England; buried in the Churchill family plot at St Martin’s Church in Bladon, Oxfordshire, England (mother of Sir Winston Churchill)
Jennie Jerome was an American socialite who was the mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, among others. Through her first marriage to Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill, a younger son of John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, she was the mother of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. She is also reported to have had affairs with King Milan I of Serbia, Prince Karl Kinsky, and Herbert von Bismarck. After breaking her ankle in May 1921, Jennie suffered from gangrene and had to have her lower leg amputated the following month. Two weeks later, she died at her home in London as a result of a hemorrhage in her thigh. She is buried in the Spencer-Churchill family plot at St. Martin’s Church, Bladon, alongside her first husband, her two sons, and their families.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Randolph Churchill

June 29, 1923 – Death of Sir James Reid, 1st Baronet, Queen Victoria’s Resident Physician 1881 – 1889 and Physician-in-Ordinary 1889 – 1901, Physician-in-Ordinary to King Edward VII and King George V, in London, England; buried at the Ellon Cemetery in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Over the years, Reid became not only Queen Victoria’s doctor but her adviser and confidant. Except when he was on leave, he was always at court and he always traveled with her in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. The last service Reid did for Queen Victoria was to carry out her written instructions in the event of her death. Victoria had finalized the instructions in December 1897, sealed them in an envelope marked “For my Dressers to be opened directly after my death and to be always taken and kept by the one who may be traveling with me.” Victoria had chosen Reid to be responsible for her body until her coffin was sealed. He was determined to precisely follow Queen Victoria’s wishes.
Unofficial Royalty: Sir James Reid, 1st Baronet

June 29, 1926 –  Birth of Jaber III al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, 3rd Emir of Kuwait in Kuwait City, Kuwait
Jaber III Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah reigned as the 13th Ruler and 3rd Emir of Kuwait from 1977 – 2006. He was Emir of Kuwait during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and the subsequent Persian Gulf War. Unlike many other rulers in the Middle East, Emir Jaber stood out for his modest style. He declined to put his own image on the nation’s currency and he lived in what Kuwaitis considered a relatively simple home. The Kuwaiti people often referred to him as Baba Jaber or Father Jaber.
Unofficial Royalty: Jaber III al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, 3rd Emir of Kuwait

June 29, 1977 – Death of Magda Lupescu, mistress and third wife of King Carol II of Romania, in Estoril, Portugal; first interred with King Carol in the Pantheon of the Royal House of Braganza in Lisbon, Portugal; in 2003, their remains were returned to Romania, not being of royal blood, Magda was buried in the cemetery of the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral, rather than in the cathedral
Magda Lupescu was the mistress, and then the third wife of King Carol II of Romania. The couple was married several years after Carol abdicated the Romanian throne.
Unofficial Royalty: Magda Lupescu

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.

Archduke Gottfried of Austria

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Archduke Gottfried of Austria was the Pretender to the former Grand Ducal throne of Tuscany from 1948 until his death in 1984.

source: Wikipedia

Archduke Gottfried Maria Joseph Peter Ferdinand Hubert Anton Rupert Leopold Heinrich Ignaz Alfons was born Mary 14, 1902 in Linz, Austria, the elder son of Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria and Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He had three siblings:

He was raised in Salzburg and Vienna until the family relocated to Lucerne, Switzerland at the end of World War I.

Gottfried married Princess Dorothea of Bavaria in civil and religious ceremonies held on August 2 and 3, 1938 in Sárvár, Hungary. She was the daughter of Prince Franz of Bavaria and Princess Isabella Antonie of Croÿ. The couple had four children:

  • Archduchess Elisabeth (1939) – married Friedrich Edler von Braun, had issue
  • Archduchess Alice (1941) – married Baron Vittorio Manno, had issue
  • Archduke Leopold Franz of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (1942) – married Laetitia de Bezunce d’Arenberg, had issue
  • Archduchess Marie Antoinette (1950) – married Baron von Proff zu Irnich, had issue

Following World War II, Gottfried and his family settled in Sankt Gilgen, just outside of Salzburg. They lived a very quiet life, despite Gottfried succeeding his father as pretender to the former Grand Ducal throne of Tuscany in 1948.

Archduke Gottfried died in Bad Ischl, Austria on January 21, 1984. He is buried in the parish cemetery of Sankt Gilgen, in Salzburg. Gottfried was succeeded by his only son, Archduke Leopold Franz.

* * * * * * * * * *

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

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

June 28: Today in Royal History

© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart, daughter of the deposed King James II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

June 28, 1189 – Death of Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony and Bavaria, daughter of King Henry II of England, wife of Heinrich the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Duke of Bavaria, in Brunswick, Duchy of Saxony, now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried at the Cathedral of St. Blasius in Brunswick
Matilda married Heinrich the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Duke of Bavaria, one of the most powerful princes of his time and one of the most important allies of his cousin Friedrich I (Barbarossa), Holy Roman Emperor. Through their youngest child, Wilhelm of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg, they are ancestors of the House of Hanover. Matilda died at Brunswick at the age of 33, about a week before the death of her father King Henry II of England. She was buried at the still incomplete Brunswick Cathedral where her husband Heinrich was also buried upon his death in 1195.
Unofficial Royalty: Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony and Bavaria

June 28, 1491 – Birth of King Henry VIII of England at Greenwich Palace in Greenwich, England
Henry VIII was the third child and the second son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV of England. Henry and his six siblings represented the merging of the Lancasters (their father) and the Yorks (their mother) who fought for power during the Wars of the Roses. After the death of his elder brother Arthur, Henry was the heir to the throne. He immediately became Duke of Cornwall and was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on February 18, 1503.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry VIII of England

June 28, 1692 – Birth of Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart, daughter of the deposed King James II of England and his second wife Maria Beatrice of Modena, at the Château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Louisa Maria Teresa was born at the Chtâeau of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a residence King Louis XIV of France provided for his exiled first cousin James II and his family. She was the sister of James Francis Edward, The Young Pretender and the half-sister of Queen Mary II of England and Queen Anne of Great Britain. Louisa Maria Teresa died from smallpox at the age of 19.
Unofficial Royalty: Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart

June 28, 1716 – Death of George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, in Epsom, England
Wikipedia: George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (Unofficial Royalty article coming soon.)

June 28, 1757 – Death of Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, Queen of Prussia, daughter of King George I of Great Britain, wife of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, at Monbijou Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany; buried at the Berlin Cathedral
Sophia Dorothea was eight-years-old when her disgraced mother was divorced and banished for the rest of her life. She was brought up by her paternal grandmother Sophia, Electress of Hanover at Herrenhausen, the Hanover home. She married her first cousin Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, son of Friedrich, King I of Prussia. Sophia Dorothea and Friedrich Wilhelm had met as children as they shared a grandmother, Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and they had disliked each other ever since. Their interests were very different and Friedrich Wilhelm contemplated divorcing Sophia Dorothea the same year they were married, but nothing ever came of it. Sophia Dorothea became Queen of Prussia in 1713 when her husband acceded to the Prussian throne.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, Queen of Prussia

June 28, 1796 – Birth of Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Queen of Denmark, second wife of King Christian VIII of Denmark, in Copenhagen, Denmark
Caroline Amalie was the only daughter of Friedrich Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, and Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark. Caroline Amalie’s mother was the only daughter of King Christian VII of Denmark and Caroline Matilda of Wales, the sister of King George III of the United Kingdom. There is strong evidence that Louise Auguste’s father was her mother’s lover Johann Friedrich Struensee. In December 1814, Caroline Amalie married the future King Christian VIII of Denmark as his second wife but their marriage remained childless. In 1839, Caroline’s husband inherited the Danish throne but he died after a nine-year reign and was succeeded by King Frederik VII, his son from his first marriage. Caroline Amalie outlived her stepson King Frederik VII and in 1863, saw the resolution of the Danish succession crisis with the establishment of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg when King Christian IX, born Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, became the King of Denmark. Queen Caroline Amalie survived her husband by 33 years, dying on March 9, 1881, surrounded by the Danish royal family, at the age of 84.
Unofficial Royalty: Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Queen of Denmark

June 28, 1799 – Birth of Amalie of Württemberg, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg, wife of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, in Wallisfurth, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Wolany, Poland
Full name: Amalie Therese Luise Wilhelmine Philippine
Following her marriage to Joseph, the future Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, Amalie became involved with charitable causes in her new home. She founded the Industrial School for orphaned children in Hildburghausen and founded a Woman’s Association the following year. After her father-in-law became Duke of Saxe-Altenburg in 1826, the family moved to Schloss Altenburg, and she continued with her philanthropic work, establishing several schools and institutions in Altenburg.
Unofficial Royalty: Amalie of Württemberg, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg

June 28, 1800 – Death of Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried at the Stadtkirche St. Marien in Greiz, now in the German state of Thuringia
Heinrich XI was only eight-months-old when his father died on November 17, 1722. His four-year-old brother Heinrich IX succeeded their father as Count Reuss of Obergreiz but he reigned only four months, dying on March 17, 1723. Heinrich XI became Count Reuss of Obergreiz the day before his first birthday. Heinrich XI was a reigning Count and then a reigning Prince from 1723 until his death in 1800, a total of 77 years.
Unofficial Royalty: Death of Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz

June 28, 1838 – Coronation of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Wikipedia: Coronation of Queen Victoria

June 28, 1899 – Death of Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia, son of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, brother of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, from tuberculosis, in Abbas Touman, a spa town, now Abastumani in the country of Georgia, then in Russia; buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia
Because of the severity of George’s tuberculosis, his doctors suggested that he should be sent to live in the dry mountain climate of Abbas Touman, a spa town, now Abastumani in the country of Georgia, then in Russia. On June 28, 1899, 28-year-old George had gone out alone to ride his motorcycle and when he did not return, his staff sent out a search party. George had been found lying on the side of the road, struggling to breathe, with blood oozing from his mouth, by a peasant woman who supported him in her arms until he died. The peasant woman later made the trip to St. Petersburg to tell George’s mother Empress Maria Feodorovna about George’s last moments. On the site of George’s death, a memorial made of Carrara marble was built.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia

June 28, 1914 – Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg  in Sarajevo, by Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Prinzip, an event leading to World War I; both are buried at Artstetten Castle, Austria
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria sent Franz Ferdinand to Sarajevo, Bosnia to observe military maneuvers and his wife Sophie accompanied him out of fear for his safety. After the military maneuvers, the couple was to open a state museum in Sarajevo. The Black Hand, a secret military society formed by members of the Serbian Army, conspired to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand on his visit to Sarajevo. Seven conspirators were in the crowds lining the streets of Sarajevo, each ready to assassinate the Archduke should there be an opportunity. One attempt, a bomb thrown at the archduke’s car, failed. Later, after a reception at the Town Hall, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip saw his chance and fired two shots at the couple as they rode in their car. The first shot hit Sophie in the abdomen and the second shot hit Franz Ferdinand in the neck. Sophie died soon after being shot and Franz Ferdinand died about 10 minutes later.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

June 28, 1994 – Birth of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan, son of King Abdullah II of Jordan, in Amman, Jordan
When King Hussein of Jordan died in 1999, his son Abdullah became King and respected his father’s wishes, appointing his half-brother Hamzah as Crown Prince of Jordan. However, in 2004, Abdullah stripped Hamzah of the Crown Prince title. As he did not name a replacement, this made the young Prince Hussein his father’s heir-apparent under the existing succession laws. On July 2, 2009, the King issued a decree formally granting Prince Hussein the title of Crown Prince. Crown Prince Hussein married Rajwa Al Saif on June 1, 2023 at Zahran Palace in Amman, Jordan.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan

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.

June 27: Today in Royal History

© Unofficial Royalty 2023

King Louis XII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

June 27, 1462 – Birth of King Louis XII of France at the Château de Blois in Blois, France
Louis succeeded his father as Duke of Orléans at the age of three. Although his descent from the French ruling line was somewhat distant, Louis was aware of his close proximity to the throne should the main Valois line become extinct. King Charles VIII died unexpectedly in 1498. Although Charles VIII and his wife had had several children, none survived him, allowing Louis’ succession as King Louis XII of France. Louis XII married three times. His last wife was 18-year-old Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England and sister of King Henry VIII of England. The 52-year-old Louis XII was still eager to provide himself with a male heir. However, the marriage lasted only four months due to Louis’s death.
Unofficial Royalty: King Louis XII of France

June 27, 1550 – Birth of King Charles IX of France at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris, France
Charles became King of France at the age of nine upon the death of his 16-year-old brother François II who was the first husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. The horrific St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, in which thousands of Protestant Huguenots were killed, occurred during Charles’ reign. Although Charles IX publicly approved of the results of the St. Bartholomew Day’s Massacre, it left him with a psychological trauma that lasted for the remaining two years of his life. He became increasingly depressed and his already weak constitution could no longer resist the tuberculosis that ravaged his body and he died at the age of 23.
Unofficial Royalty: King Charles IX of France

June 27, 1655 – Death of Eleonora Gonzaga of Mantua, Holy Roman Empress, second wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Inner Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, in Vienna, Austria; buried in Vienna at the Discalced Carmelites Monastery, in 1782, Eleonora’s remains were reinterred in the Ducal Crypt at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria

Unofficial Royalty: Eleonora Gonzaga of Mantua, Holy Roman Empress, 2nd wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (article coming soon)

June 27, 1704 – Death of Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg, mistress and bigamous wife of Frederik IV, King of Denmark and Norway; buried at the Church of Our Savior in Copenhagen, Denmark
Without divorcing his wife, Frederik IV made a bigamous marriage to Elisabeth and then created her Countess of Antvorskov. Elisabeth died due to childbirth complications shortly after giving birth to King Frederik IV’s son Frederik Gyldenløve. Elisabeth was greatly mourned by Frederik IV who gave her a lavish funeral and commanded that the bells of three churches should ring for two hours. Elisabeth was buried at the Church of Our Savior in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Her son lived for only nine months and was buried with Elisabeth.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg

June 27, 1880 – Birth of Natalia Sergeyevna Sheremetyevskaya, Countess Brasova, morganatic wife of Grand Duke Michael of Russia, son of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, at a rented summer dacha outside of Moscow, Russia
Natalia was the lover and then the morganatic wife of Grand Duke Michael of Russia, brother of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. After the birth of a son named George after Michael’s deceased brother, Natalia and her first husband were divorced. Nicholas II issued a decree giving George the surname Brasov after Michael’s estate at Brasov, granted Natalia permission to use the surname Brasova and allowed her to live with Michael at his estate Brasovo.  When Michael and Natalia were secretly married without Nicholas II’s permission, Nicholas stripped Michael of his military rank, froze all his assets in Russia, seized control of his estates, and banished him from Russia. Eventually, Michael was allowed to return to Russia, his son George was legitimized and created Count Brasov but neither he nor his descendants could be in the line of succession. At the same time, Natalia was created Countess Brasova. Michael and his secretary were killed during the Russian Revolution and their bodies were never found. George died in a car accident at the age of 20. Natalia died at the age of 71 in 1952.
Unofficial Royalty: Natalia Sergeyevna Sheremetyevskaya, Countess Brasova

June 27, 1889 – Wedding of Princess Louise, Princess Royal, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, and Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife, at the Private Chapel, Buckingham Palace
Despite the possessiveness of her mother Alexandra, then Princess of Wales, and the matchmaking of her grandmother Queen Victoria, Louise decided that she wanted to marry for love. Louise preferred to marry a British subject rather than a European prince that would take her away from home and so, like her aunt Princess Louise who had married the future 9th Duke of Argyll, she chose a husband from the British aristocracy, Alexander Duff, then the 6th Earl Fife. When Louise’s grandmother Queen Victoria arrived at Sandringham to discuss a potential engagement with Louise’s parents, she was met by Louise who tearfully explained that if she was not allowed to marry Alexander, she would die an old maid. Queen Victoria, who had known Alexander since his childhood, explained to her that as her grandmother and sovereign, she had to spend some time with her potential groom before she could make a decision about the marriage. Queen Victoria was partial to Scotsmen and when she spent some time with Alexander, she approved of the marriage.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife

June 27, 1959 – Death of Prince Elia of Bourbon-Parma in Friedberg, Austria; buried nearby in Mönichkirchen, Austria
Prince Elia of Bourbon-Parma was head of the House of Bourbon-Parma and pretender to the former ducal throne of Parma from 1950 until his death in 1959. Additionally, he served as regent from 1907-1950 for two of his elder brothers, Enrico and Giuseppe, who were mentally disabled.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Elia of Bourbon-Parma

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.

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

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

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1564 – 1576) was also King of Bohemia (reigned 1562 – 1576), King of Hungary and Croatia (reigned 1563 – 1576), Archduke of Austria (reigned 1564 – 1576), among many other titles. Born on July 31, 1527, in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, Maximilian was the second of the fifteen children and the eldest of the four sons of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. His paternal grandparents were Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León. His maternal grandparents were King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third wife Anne of Foix-Candale.

Maximilian with his younger brothers Ferdinand and Johann; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian had fourteen siblings, and all but two reached adulthood:

Maximilian’s powerful uncle Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among other titles; Credit – Wikipedia

At the time of Maximilian’s birth, his paternal uncle Charles V was the Holy Roman Emperor and King (Carlos I) of Spain, among many other titles. Charles was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms from his parents Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Archduke of Austria, the ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State and the Austrian Habsburg realms, and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon which were combined into the Kingdom of Spain under Charles.

Archduke Maximilian, circa 1544; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian II spent his early childhood at his father’s court in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Italy. Among his teachers were humanist scholars Kaspar Ursinus Velius and Georg Tannstetter. While Maximilian and his family were Roman Catholic, some rulers of the constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire had converted to Lutheranism during the Reformation. He developed a relationship with the Lutheran Augustus, Elector of Saxony who spent some time at the court of Maximilian’s father in Vienna. Maximilian learned about Lutheranism and then corresponded with Augustus, Elector of Saxony after he left Vienna. At the age of seventeen, Maximilian began to gain some military experience during the Italian War of 1542 – 1546 which pitted Maximilian’s uncle Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King Henry VIII of England against King François I of France and Sultan Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire.

Maximilian’s wife and first cousin Maria of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 13, 1548, Maximilian married his first cousin Infanta Maria of Spain, the daughter of his uncle Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was also King Carlos I of Spain and Isabella of Portugal. Maria and her siblings were raised in Spain and with this marriage, Charles V intended to strengthen the ties between the Austrian Habsburgs and the Spanish Habsburgs. While Maria’s father Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was occupied with the affairs of his other realms, Maria and Maximilian acted as regents of Spain from 1548 to 1551, during the absence of Maria’s brother, the future King Felipe II of Spain. In 1552, the couple moved to live at the court of Maximilian’s father in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria.

Maximilian and his wife Maria with their three eldest surviving children Anna, Rudolf, and Ernst; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian and Maria had fifteen children:

Maximilian’s first cousin Felipe II, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Physically exhausted after forty years of ruling, Maximilian’s paternal uncle Charles abdicated in 1555 and retired to the peace of the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain where he died in 1558. Charles’ younger brother, Maximilian’s father Ferdinand, who had already been given Charles’ Austrian lands in 1521, became the Holy Roman Emperor. The Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands, Italy, and the New World, was inherited by Charles’ son and Maximilian’s first cousin who reigned as Felipe II, King of Spain. In December 1562, Ferdinand had his eldest son Maximilian elected King of the Romans, meaning that he would become Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, Ferdinand passed the crown of Hungary to his son in 1563. Plagued by fever attacks during the last years of his life, Ferdinand died in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, on July 25, 1564, aged 61. Maximilian was now Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and Archduke of Austria.

During his reign, Maximilian II had to deal with the ongoing Ottoman-Habsburg wars, conflicts with his Spanish Habsburg cousins, and the effects of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg officially ended the religious struggle between Lutherans and Catholics, and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing the rulers of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their state.

There has been much debate about the nature of Maximilian’s religious beliefs. There was a pro-Protestant contingent among the nobility at the court in Vienna. Johann Sebastian Pfauser, Maximilian’s court chaplain, had originally been Roman Catholic but converted to Lutheranism. Through his influence, Maximilian abandoned purely Catholic customs, read Protestant writings, and refused to receive Communion according to the Catholic rite. He once told his father that worshiping saints was meaningless and idolatrous. Maximilian’s wife Maria was a devout Catholic and frequently disagreed with her religiously ambiguous husband about his religious tolerance. However, Maximilian remained Roman Catholic and never converted to Lutheranism.

Maximilian’s son and successor Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1572, Maximilian II passed the crown of Hungary to his son Rudolf, and in 1575, Rudolf was also granted the crown of Bohemia and the Habsburg hereditary territories. Rudolf was elected King of the Romans in 1575, ensuring that he would succeed his father as Holy Roman Emperor.

Tomb of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, his wife Anna, and their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 27, 1576, after a family outing, Maximilian suffered a severe relapse of an illness that had been bothering him for a long time, with attacks of sharp gastrointestinal pain. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged forty-nine, in the Imperial City of Regensburg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 12, 1576, while planning an invasion of Poland. On his deathbed, Maximilian refused to receive the Last Rites of the Roman Catholic Church. He was interred with his parents in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. After Maximilian’s death, his wife Maria of Spain remained in Vienna for six years and had great influence over her sons, Rudolf and Matthias who were both Holy Roman Emperors. Maria returned to Spain in 1582, where she died, aged seventy-four, on February 26, 1603, having survived her husband by twenty-seven years.

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/charles-v-holy-roman-emperor-carlos-i-king-of-spain-karl-i-archduke-of-austria-charles-ii-lord-of-the-netherlands-duke-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 17 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, S. (2023) Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinand-i-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 21 May 2023).
  • Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 21 May 2023).
  • Maximilian II. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_II._(HRR) (Accessed: 21 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

June 26: Today in Royal History

© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Anna Katharina of Brandenburg, Queen of Denmark & Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

June 26, 1575 – Birth of Anna Katharina of Brandenburg, Queen of Denmark, first wife of King Christian IV of Denmark, in Halle upon Saale, Electorate of Brandenburg, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Anna Katharina of Brandenburg married King Christian IV of Denmark in 1597 and they had six children. Anna Katharina was praised for her modesty and piety. She often accompanied Christian IV on his trips but had no influence on the politics of Denmark. Christian IV had affairs during his marriage and Anna Katharina was certainly aware of them. A little more than a year after the birth of her last child, Anna Katharina died on April 8, 1612, at the age of 36.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna Katharina of Brandenburg, Queen of Denmark

June 26, 1726 – Birth of Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia at the Royal Palace in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy
Vittorio Amedeo III was a great-great-grandson of King Charles I of England from the House of Stuart. After King James II, a son of King Charles I, lost his throne via the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Jacobite (from Jacobus, the Latin for James) movement formed. The goal of the Jacobites was to restore the Roman Catholic Stuart King James II of England/VII of Scotland and his Roman Catholic heirs to the thrones of England and Scotland. When the line of the deposed King James II of England died out in 1807, the Jacobite claims to the British throne descended from the line of his sister Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans whose daughter Anne Marie d’Orléans had married Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia. In 1807, Vittorio Amedeo’s son Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia became the Jacobite heir from the House of Savoy
Unofficial Royalty: Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia

June 26, 1760 – Birth of Prince Johann I Josef of Liechtenstein in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Johann Baptist Josef Adam Johann Nepomuk Aloys Franz de Paula
Because he had an elder brother and was not expected to succeed to the throne of Liechtenstein, Johann Josef chose a military career in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire, of which Liechtenstein was a constituent state. In 1792, Johann Josef married Landgravine Josefa of Fürstenberg-Weitra, and the couple had fourteen children. Upon the death of his childless brother Alois I, Prince of Liechtenstein in 1805, Johan Josef became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. As Prince of Liechtenstein, Johann Josef carried out progressive reforms, and in 1818, however, he approved a new constitution that limited the power of the monarch. He established modern practices in agriculture and forestry and reorganized the government administration to meet modern needs. On April 20, 1836, Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein, aged 75, died at Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna, Austria.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Johann I Josef of Liechtenstein

June 26, 1830 – Death of King George IV of the United Kingdom at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England
Upon the death of King George III on January 29, 1820, The Prince Regent succeeded to the throne as King George IV. At the time of his succession, George IV was obese and probably addicted to laudanum.  He suffered from gout, arteriosclerosis, edema, and possibly porphyria and towards the end of his life, he spent more and more time in seclusion at Windsor Castle. Because of his excessive lifestyle, he had become so fat (his weight in 1830 was 130 kg/280 lbs) that he increasingly was an object of ridicule when he appeared in public. George IV’s final illness began in January 1830 with a severe cough. He improved slightly in March 1830 but continued to have respiratory problems, faintness, and urinary tract pain. When George IV died, the throne passed to the next surviving son of King George III, Prince William, Duke of Clarence who reigned as King William IV.
Unofficial Royalty: King George IV of the United Kingdom

June 26, 1878 – Death of Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans, Queen of Spain, first wife of King Alfonso XII of Spain, at the Palacio Real de Madrid; originally buried at the Monastery of El Escorial, reburied at the Cathedral of la Almudena in Madrid, Spain in 2000
In June 1878, six months after her marriage, 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.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans, Queen of Spain

June 26, 1899 – Birth of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia, daughter of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, at Peterhof near St. Petersburg, Russia
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg, a maternal uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) was a son of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna’s eldest sister Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. In his childhood, Lord Mountbatten was close to his aunt Alexandra’s children, his first cousins. At a very young age, he began a “lifelong love affair” with Maria and kept a framed photo of her by his bed until he, like his Romanov first cousins, was also violently murdered. He wrote about Maria: “I was mad about her, and determined to marry her. You could not imagine anyone more beautiful than she was!”
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia

June 26, 1914 – Birth of Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, Princess of Hesse, Princess of Hanover, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Mon Repos on the isle of Corfu, Greece
Sophie married twice, both descendants of Queen Victoria as she was. Her first husband was Prince Christoph of Hesse, the son of Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse and Princess Margarete of Prussia, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Prince Christoph was killed in a plane crash during World War II. Her second husband was Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover, the son of Ernst August III, Duke of Brunswick, a descendant of King George III through his son Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland, and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor who was a grandson of Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, Princess of Hesse, Princess of Hanover

June 26, 1922 – Death of Prince Albert I of Monaco in Paris, France; buried at the Cathedral of Monaco in Monaco
Besides being the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Albert I left an interesting legacy.  He was a pioneer of oceanography and founded the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco which has a world-class aquarium, museum, library, and research facilities in Paris.  His interest in the origins of man caused him to found the Institute for Human Paleontology in Paris, which conducted many archeological digs. Because of his quest for world peace, the prince founded the International Institute for Peace, a predecessor of the League of Nations and the United Nations.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Albert I of Monaco

June 26, 2005 – Birth of Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, daughter of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, at Bronovo Hospital in The Hague, The Netherlands
Full name: Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentian
Alexia is the second of the three daughters of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Alexia of the Netherlands

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.

Royal Birthdays & Anniversaries: June 25 – July 1

© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait; Credit – Wikipedia

86th birthday of Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait born in Kuwait City, Kuwait on June 25, 1937
Unofficial Royalty: Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait

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

Embed from Getty Images

18th birthday of Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, daughter of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands; born at Bronovo Hospital in The Hague, the Netherlands on June 26, 2005
Full name: Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentian
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Alexia of the Netherlands

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

Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan, Credit – Wikipedia

29th birthday of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan, son of King Abdullah II of Jordan; born in Amman, Jordan on June 28, 1994
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Prince Hussein

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

Crown Prince Akishino of Japan and Kiko Kawashima; Credit – goddesssaintnoblewomannun.blogspot.com

33rd wedding anniversary of Crown Prince and Crown Princess (Kiko) Akishino of Japan; married at the Tokyo Imperial Palace on June 29, 1990
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Prince Akishino of Japan
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Princess Akishino of Japan

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

Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg; Credit – MaleneThyssen – https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31458

59th birthday of Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, first wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark; born Alexandra Christina Manley in Hong Kong on June 30, 1964
Queen Margrethe of Denmark gave her former daughter-in-law the personal title, Countess of Frederiksborg.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

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

 

45th wedding anniversary of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent; married at the Rathaus (City Hall) in Vienna, Austria on June 30, 1978
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Michael of Kent
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Michael of Kent

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