Monthly Archives: December 2013

Catherine of Braganza, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Credit – Wikipedia

Catherine of Braganza (Catarina Henriqueta) was born on November 25, 1638, at the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa in Vila Viçosa, Portugal. Her parents were João, 8th Duke of Braganza and Luisa de Guzmán.  When Catherine was two years old, her father became King João IV of Portugal when the Portuguese Restoration War ended the sixty-year rule of Portugal by the Spanish Habsburgs.

Catherine had six siblings:

The accession of Catherine’s father as King of Portugal brought a great change in the family’s status and Catherine became a potential royal bride for John of Austria (illegitimate son of King Philip IV of Spain), François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort (illegitimate grandson of King Henry IV of France and cousin to King Louis XIV of France), King Louis XIV of France, and King Charles II of England.  She had first been suggested as a bride for King Charles II of England in 1645 during the reign of Charles’ father King Charles I of England and again in 1660 when the monarchy was restored in England.

Already there were rumors of Catherine’s inability to have children, but the newly restored King Charles II was eager to have the £300,000 dowry.  The marriage contract was signed on June 23, 1661.  Catherine set sail for England in April of 1662 and landed at Portsmouth, England on May 13, 1662.  On May 21, 1662, King Charles II and Catherine were married in Portsmouth in two ceremonies, a private Catholic one, and a public Anglican one.  Catherine’s Roman Catholicism made her an unpopular queen.

Despite fathering at least 16 illegitimate children with his mistresses, Charles had no children with Catherine.  It is thought that Catherine did have at least three miscarriages.  Despite having many mistresses, Charles insisted that Catherine be treated with respect, and sided with her over his mistresses when he felt she was not receiving the respect she was due.  After an initial shock at being presented to Charles’ mistress right after her marriage, Catherine maintained a dignified attitude towards her husband’s mistresses and showed many acts of kindness to his illegitimate children. When it became apparent that Catherine would not produce an heir to the throne, it was suggested that Charles divorce his wife and marry a Protestant princess.  Charles refused the suggestion.

On  February 2, 1685, King Charles II suffered an apparent stroke and died four days later.  While Charles was dying, Catherine was ill and sent a message begging his forgiveness for being unable to come to him. Charles replied to her, “Alas, poor woman, it is I who should be begging forgiveness.”

After the death of King Charles II and the accession of Charles’ brother King James II, Catherine continued to live at Somerset House in London.  Catherine was present at the 1688 birth of King James II’s son James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales, and was his godmother.  When rumors began to spread that he was an impostor baby, and had been smuggled into the royal birth chamber in a warming pan, Catherine was one of the witnesses giving evidence of his legitimacy.  Catherine remained in England after King James II was overthrown in 1688 by the Glorious Revolution and his daughter and her husband and first cousin took the throne as King William III and Queen Mary II.  However, Catherine found that her position with the new monarchs deteriorated and she decided to return to Portugal in 1693.

After living in the homes of noblemen in Lisbon, Portugal for a period of time, Catherine decided to build her own palace, the Palace of Bemposta.  Catherine was an important female figure to her nephew, the future King João V of Portugal after his mother died.  When her brother King Pedro II grew tired of government, Catherine served as his regent.

Catherine died at her Palace of Bemposta in Lisbon, Portugal on December 31, 1705, at the age of 67.  She was originally buried at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, Portugal.  On September 29, 1855, Catherine’s remains along with the remains of other family members were re-interred at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora.

Tomb of Catherine of Braganza; Credit: www.findagrave.com

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House of Stuart Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen of Denmark

by Emily McMahon and Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Born on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1879, in the city of Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Alexandrine Auguste was the eldest daughter and the eldest of the three children of Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, a granddaughter of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia.

Alexandrine had one brother and one sister:

Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia with her three children, circa 1890; left to right: Cecilie, Alexandrine, Friedrich Franz, Grand Duchess Anastasia; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

It was in the French city Cannes, located on the French Riviera, that Alexandrine met her future husband, the future King Christian X of Denmark.  Because of the poor health of Alexandrine’s father, the family spent much time in warm climates including Cannes where they had a large estate, Villa Wenden.  Grand Duchess Anastasia had a poor reputation for her dislike of her adopted country and her extravagances.  She also had an illegitimate child during her widowhood. Although concern there were concerns for Alexandrine’s and Cecilie’s futures due to their mother’s lifestyle, both made impressive marriages. It was Anastasia who urged Alexandrine to marry the future King Christian X of Denmark, to which Alexandrine complied. The two were married in Cannes, France (her mother’s preferred residence) in 1898. Christian and Alexandrine were married in Cannes, France on April 26, 1898.

Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Christian of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

The couple had two sons:

Prince Frederik and Prince Knud, 1912; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Christian and Alexandrine received the newly built Marselisborg Palace in Aarhus as a wedding present from the Danish public, but it was not completed until 1902. The couple made Christian VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg their Copenhagen base. The couple also spent a considerable amount of time at Sorgenfri Palace just outside Copenhagen. It was at Sorgenfri that both of the couple’s children, the future Frederik IX and Knud, were born.

Marselisborg Palace; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Christian and Alexandrine were devoted to one another and enjoyed a happy marriage. The couple became king and queen of Denmark in 1912. While their popularity waxed and waned throughout Christian’s rule, he and Alexandrine are generally viewed successful as king and queen. Prior to the World Wars, Alexandrine and Christian traveled extensively, often returning to Cannes where they met and married.

Alexandrine was somewhat shy and disliked the ceremonial and public aspects of being queen. She preferred more solitary activities and was known for her talents in needlework and for her avid interest in gardening. She also had a deep appreciation for music and was the patron of several musical organizations. Her eldest son Frederik shared his mother’s passion for music.

At the start of the German occupation of Denmark during World War II, it was unknown whether Alexandrine’s sympathies would ally with her native country or her adoptive one. Alexandrine proved herself loyal to Denmark by working with various relief organizations to bring aid to the Danes affected by the occupation. She also received General Kaupisch, the German head of the occupation, with a less than warm welcome. Alexandrine and her husband were lauded by the Danish public for their devotion to the country during wartime. Alexandrine was also able to save the sizable Danish royal jewel collection from Nazi looters by hiding it in churches and even farmhouses.

King Christian X with his wife Queen Alexandrine and grandchildren – Standing in back, from left to right: Princess Elisabeth, Prince Ingolf, Princess Margrethe (later Queen Margrethe II), Front, from left to right: Prince Christian, Queen Alexandrine holding Princess Anne-Marie (later Queen Consort of Greece), Princess Benedikte, King Christian X

 

Alexandrine was widowed in 1947. During her time as dowager queen, she devoted most of her time to charitable causes, particularly those dedicated to children. She was known simply as Queen Alexandrine until her own death in 1952, the first former queen to forgo the title of Dowager Queen.

On December 28, 1952, Alexandrine died in her sleep four days after her 73rd birthday,  at a hospice, Saint Lukas Foundation in Hellerup, Denmark. She had undergone an intestinal operation a week and a half before her death. At her funeral, her son Frederik conducted her favorite song, Edvard Grieg’s “Springtime.” Alexandrine is buried with her husband in the Glücksburger Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark.

Tombs of Alexandrine and her husband at Roskilde Cathedral; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Maria de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Countess of Barcelona

by Emily McMahon
© Unofficial Royalty 2013

Maria de las Mercedes, Countess of Barcelona at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Source: Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor

Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was born in Madrid, Spain on December 23, 1910, the daughter of Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and his second wife, Princess Louise of Orléans. Maria Mercedes had a very impressive royal lineage – on her father’s side, she was descended from multiple branches of the Bourbon-Two Sicilies family who ruled in Italy until the late 19th century. On her mother’s side, Maria Mercedes was descended from both recent Spanish and French royalty. Maria Mercedes’ father had previously been married to Mercedes, Princess of Asturias (a sister of King Alfonso XIII of Spain), giving the family a further tie to the Spanish monarchy. These connections made Maria Mercedes a very desirable potential royal bride, particularly to the Spanish royalty.

Maria Mercedes had four siblings:

Maria Mercedes spent a large part of her childhood in Seville, Spain and she remained fond of the city for the rest of her life. However, like her future husband Maria Mercedes and her family were exiled from Spain at the start of the Second Spanish Republic. During her time in exile in France, Maria Mercedes studied art and nursing.

Maria Mercedes attended the wedding of her second cousin, Infanta Beatriz of Spain (a daughter of Alfonso XIII of Spain) to Italian Count Alessandro Torlonia of Civitella-Cesi in January 1935. It was there that she became reacquainted with Beatriz’s brother Juan, Count of Barcelona, also the heir to the defunct Spanish throne. The two quickly began a romance and married the following October, settling initially in Cannes and later in Italy, Switzerland, and Portugal.  Maria Mercedes and Juan had four children:

Maria Mercedes’ adult life was dominated by the actions of Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator. It was Franco who kept the family from living in Spain, Franco who was constantly at odds with Don Juan, and Franco alternately named Juan Carlos his successor and refused to consider the monarchy restored. In 1949, when Maria Mercedes’ father was terminally ill in Seville, Franco denied her entrance into Spain. Maria Mercedes’ father died before she could visit, and she was said to have never forgiven Franco for this action.

 

Still, the family lived in relative comfort in Estoril, Portugal, alongside other deposed royalty. Maria Mercedes represented the Spanish royal family at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Maria Mercedes and her family were among the royals who sailed on the 1954 Agamemnon cruise through Greece, where her son Juan Carlos first met his future wife Sofia. It was also Maria Mercedes’ nursing training that saved Juan Carlos who, while sailing home after the trip, developed appendicitis. While the crew wanted to keep Juan Carlos warm, Maria Mercedes knew that an inflamed lower right quadrant should be iced until medical help could be sought. Juan Carlos had his appendix removed during an emergency stop in Algeria.

In 1969, Franco ultimately decided that the Spanish monarchy should be restored following his death. As suspected, Franco passed over the Count of Barcelona for his successor in favor of Juan Carlos. The Count was furious and cut off all communication with his son. It was up to Maria Mercedes to enable communication between her husband and son for several years. The two finally reconciled in 1976, the year in which Maria Mercedes and her husband finally returned to live in Spain.  In 1977, the Count of Barcelona formally renounced his rights to the Spanish throne.

The last twenty years of Maria Mercedes’ life were spent in relatively ill health due to a broken hip and femur. Her husband Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, died of laryngeal cancer on April 1, 1993. Maria Mercedes still attended family events whenever possible, including the marriages of her grandchildren and baptisms of her great-grandchildren. Maria Mercedes died at La Mareta at Lanzarote in the Canary Islands of a heart attack on January 2, 2000. In accordance with her son’s wishes, Maria Mercedes was buried at the Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial in El Escorial, Spain with the rites of a Queen of Spain.

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Princess Louisa of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2013

Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Louisa of Great Britain was born on December 18, 1724, at Leicester House in London, England.  Her father was the future King George II of Great Britain and her mother was Caroline of Ansbach.  Louisa was the fifth daughter and the youngest child of her parents’ eight children:

Louisa was christened on December 22, 1724, at Leicester House in London, England. Her godparents were:

Louisa’s husband, King Frederik V; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 11, 1743, in Altona, Duchy of Holstein, now in Germany, the 19-year-old princess married Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Norway, the son and heir of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway.  King Christian hoped that this marriage would cause the British government to support his or his son’s claim to the Swedish throne.  Furthermore, the Danish government hoped (incorrectly) that marriage would put a damper on Crown Prince Frederik’s affairs and drunkenness.  The couple got along reasonably well and although Frederick continued his affairs, Louisa pretended not to notice them.  The couple had five children:

Louisa was popular with the Danish people and was interested in music, dance, and theater.  The Danish people greatly appreciated Louisa’s efforts to learn and speak Danish and her insistence that her children learn Danish, a rarity in an almost German-language Danish court.

Louisa’s husband succeeded his father as King Frederik V in 1746, but sadly Louisa died only five years later at the age of 27.  While pregnant with her sixth child, Louise died due to complications from a miscarriage on December 19, 1751, a day after her 27th birthday, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was buried in Roskilde Cathedral, the burial place of the kings and queens of Denmark, in Roskilde, Denmark.

Tomb of Queen Louisa; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2013

Photo: Wikipedia

Prince Lorenz of Belgium was born December 16, 1955, in the Belvedere Clinic in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France, the second child and eldest son of Archduke Robert of Austria-Este, the second son of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, and Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta. Since 1996, Lorenz has been the head of the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Lorenz’s full name and title at birth was His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Lorenz Otto Carl Amadeus Thadeus Maria Pius Andreas Marcus d’Aviano of Austria-Este, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary.

Lorenz has four siblings:

  • Archduchess Maria Beatrice of Austria-Este (born 1954), married Count Riprand of Arco-Zinneberg, a great-grandson of Ludwig III, the last King of Bavaria, had six daughters
  • Archduke Gerhard of Austria-Este (born 1957), married Iris Jandrasits
  • Archduke Martin of Austria-Este (born 1959), married Princess Katharina of Isenburg, had three sons and one daughter
  • Archduchess Isabella of Austria-Este (born 1963), married Count Andrea Czarnocki-Lucheschi, had three sons and one daughter

Lorenz attended secondary school in France, after which he fulfilled his military obligations in the Austrian Army. He then attended the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, and the University of Innsbruck in Austria, where he received a degree in Economics and Social Science. He worked at several banks in Paris, London, and Rome, before joining a private firm in Switzerland in 1983.

In September 1984, Lorenz married Princess Astrid of Belgium, the only daughter of the future King Albert II and Queen Paola at the Church of Notre-Dame au Sablon in Brussels, Belgium. The couple had five children, who all have the styles Imperial and Royal Highness and titles Prince/Princess of Belgium and Archduke/Archduchess of Austria-Este:

  • Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 1986). married Elisabetta “Lili” Maria Rosboch von Wolkenstein, had one daughter and one son
  • Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 1988)
  • Prince Joachim of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1991)
  • Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 1995)
  • Princess Laetitia Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 2003)

Initially, the children of Lorenz and Astrid were not in the line of succession to the Belgian throne, as Belgium followed male-only primogeniture. They were born as Archdukes and Archduchess of Austria-Este. However, the laws were changed in 1991, and Astrid and their children were added to the line of succession. Their children were also granted the title of Prince/Princess of Belgium. In 1995, Lorenz was created Prince of Belgium in his own right. The following year, upon the death of his father, Lorenz became head of the House of Austria-Este.

Photo: Zimbio

Photo: Zimbio

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Willem I, King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

by Emily McMahon  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Willem I, King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

King Willem I of the Netherlands was the fourth of the five children and the eldest surviving son of Willem V, Prince of Orange, the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, and Wilhelmina of Prussia.   He was born August 24, 1772, at Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, Dutch Republic (now The Netherlands).

Willem had four siblings, but only two survived infancy:

  • Unnamed son (born and died 1769), lived only one day
  • Louise of Orange-Nassau (1770 – 1819), married Karl, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, no issue
  • Unnamed son (born and died August 6, 1771)
  • Frederick of Orange-Nassau (1774 – 1799), unmarried, no issue

Willem’s parents with their three children (left to right) Frederick, Willem, and Louise by Pieter le Sage, 1779; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem was descended from the British Hanoverian kings through his mother and father. He received an education with a strong military focus, which would aid him when it was necessary to fight to win control of the Netherlands.

Wilhelmine in the 1790s; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem married his first cousin Wilhelmine of Prussia, daughter of  King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia and Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt on October 1, 1791, in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg. Although it was a political match intended to strengthen Dutch ties to Prussia, the marriage was also a very happy one.

The couple had three surviving children and two stillbirths:

The Napoleonic Wars disrupted Wilhelmine and Willem’s family life.  The French invaded the Dutch Republic in 1795 and the family went into exile first in England and then in 1796 in Prussia where they lived until 1813. In 1806, Willem’s father died and he inherited the title Prince of Orange. In 1813, after Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Leipzig, the French retreated all over Europe including the Dutch Republic.

On November 13, 1813, Willem returned to his homeland, landing only a few yards from the place where he had left with his father 18 years before. The provisional government offered Willem the title of King, which he refused, instead proclaiming himself Sovereign Prince. He was also made Grand Duke of Luxembourg, receiving that territory in return for trading his hereditary German lands to Prussia and the Duke of Nassau. When Napoleon escaped from Elba, his place of exile, Willem felt threatened. Urged on by the powers who met at the Congress of Vienna, Willem proclaimed the Netherlands a monarchy on March 16, 1815. After Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and his second exile, the Congress of Vienna formally confirmed Willem as the hereditary ruler of what was known as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Inauguration of Willem I of the Netherlands, Credit – Wikipedia

Willem worked toward furthering economic progress in the Netherlands, concentrating on the industry in present-day Belgium. He also increased educational opportunities, founding the University of Leuven, the University of Ghent, and the University of Liege. The increase in industry and knowledge along with flourishing trade in the north and from the colonies resulted in great wealth for the new kingdom – and resentment in the south (Belgium), which saw the fewest benefits from the economic growth. This eventually led to a revolution in the south and the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium in 1831.

King Willem I abdicated in 1840 due to constitutional changes he disagreed with, anger over the loss of Belgium, and his desire to make a morganatic second marriage with Henriëtte d’Oultremont after the death of Wilhelmine in 1837.  His eldest son succeeded him as Willem II.  After his abdication, Willem was styled King Willem Frederick, Count of Nassau.

Henriette d’Oultremont, Credit – Wikipedia

In 1841, Willem morganatically married Henriette, who received the title Countess of Nassau and the couple lived in exile in Berlin, Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany.  Willem died in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany, died on December 12, 1843, at the age of 71, and was buried in the crypt Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands.

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

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

Kingdom of the Netherlands Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2013

Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

Her Royal Highness Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau was born December 7, 2003, at the Bronovo Hospital in The Hague, Netherlands, the eldest daughter of then Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti. At birth, she was second in line to the Dutch throne.

On June 12, 2004, Catharina-Amalia was baptized by Reverend Carel ter Linden in the Grote of Sint-Jacobskerk in The Hague. She was given the names Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria, but she is known as Amalia.

  • Catherina: possibly for Henriette Catharina, daughter of Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange and for Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, mother of Queen Sophie, first wife of King Willem III
  • Amalia: possibly for Amalia van Solms, wife of Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange and for Amalia of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach, the first wife of Prince Hendrik, brother of King Willem III
  • Beatrix: for her paternal grandmother Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
  • Carmen: for her maternal grandmother María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart
  • Victoria: for her godmother Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

Her godparents were:

Amalia’s family in 2022: Queen Máxima, King Willem-Alexander, Princess Ariane, Princess Amalia, and Princess Alexia

Amalia has two younger sisters:

The princess attended school at the Bloemcampschool in Wassenaar, near the family’s home at Villa Eikenhorst.  In the fall of 2015, Amalia started to attend , an independent Protestant school in The Hague, The Netherlands. Her parents made a list of several schools in The Hague and left the decision up to Amalia, who visited the schools before she made up her mind. Amalia graduated with distinction from Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in June 2021.

At the time of her graduation, Amalia sent a handwritten letter to Prime Minister Rutte stating that she did not want to take her allowance until she had proper royal duties. At the age of eighteen, Amalia would be entitled to €1.6m (£1.4m) a year in income and personal and household expenses. In the letter, the princess wrote: “On 7 December 2021 I will be 18 and, according to the law, receive an allowance. I find that uncomfortable as long as I do not do anything for it in return, and while other students have a much tougher time of it, particularly in this period of coronavirus.” Amalia said she intended to take a gap year and then begin her undergraduate studies. She spent her gap year in an internship at the Orange Fund and volunteered at other organizations.

On December 8, 2021, the day after her 18th birthday, when she reached the age of majority, Amalia assumed her seat in the Advisory Division of the Council of State. On the same day, she gave her first public speech at the Council of State meeting in Kneuterdijk Palace.

In September 2022, Princess Amalia began her studies to obtain a  bachelor’s degree in Politics, Psychology, Law, and Economics at the University of Amsterdam. She applied for the degree and went through the same testing and application process as any other student.

Source: Dutch Royal House © RVD; photo: Jeroen van der Meyde

Source: Dutch Royal House © RVD; photo: Jeroen van der Meyde

On April 30, 2013, her grandmother, Queen Beatrix abdicated the Dutch throne. Amalia’s father became King Willem-Alexander, and the young princess became heir-apparent to the Dutch throne, becoming Princess of Orange in her own right. The Netherlands changed its succession law in 1983 to absolute primogeniture where the succession passes to the eldest child of the sovereign regardless of gender. Males and females have equal succession rights. This means that Amalia is the heir apparent and comes first in the line of succession as the eldest child. Following Catharina-Amalia in the line of succession are her two sisters in order of their birth. Even if King Willem-Alexander had a son, born after his three daughters, the succession would remain the same and the brother would follow his three elder sisters in the line of succession.

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

Kingdom of the Netherlands Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Princess Augusta of Cambridge, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Augusta of Cambridge, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; By Alfred Ellis: 51 Baker Street, London – RCIN 2109487, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88769843

On December 5, 1916, Her Royal Highness The Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz died at the age of 94.  She had been born a British Princess on July 19, 1822, and was the longest-lived grandchild of King George III of the United Kingdom and the last link to the British branch of the House of Hanover.

Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta Caroline Charlotte Elizabeth Mary Sophia Louisa of Cambridge was the elder daughter and the second of three children of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (the seventh son of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz) and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel.  At the time of her death, Augusta was 94 years, 4 months, and 16 days old which made her, at that time, the longest-lived British Princess of the Blood Royal.  Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone, the daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Leopold, became the longest-lived British Princess of the Blood Royal in 1977 and died four years later at the age of at age 97 years and 313 days.

Princess Augusta was born at the Palace of Montbrillant in the Kingdom of Hanover, where her father was serving as Governor-General and later Viceroy of the Kingdom of Hanover for his brothers King George IV and King William IV.  She was christened Augusta Caroline Charlotte Elizabeth Mary Sophia Louisa on August 16, 1822, at the Palace of Montbrillant in the Kingdom of Hanover.  Her godparents were:

When Augusta’s first cousin Queen Victoria succeeded their uncle King William IV in 1837, their uncle Ernest became King of Hanover because the Salic Law did not allow female succession in Hanover.  Augusta’s family then returned to England and lived at Cambridge House in Piccadilly, London.

Augusta had two siblings:

Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 28, 1843, Augusta married Friedrich Wilhelm, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz at the Private Chapel in Buckingham Palace in London, England.  The bride and groom were first cousins through their mothers and second cousins through their fathers.  This marriage meant that Augusta would live in Neustrlitz, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. However, the couple visited London frequently, staying with the Duchess of Cambridge at Kensington Palace, and Augusta retained close ties with the British Royal Family.

The couple had two sons, but only one survived to adulthood:

In 1860, Friedrich Wilhelm succeeded his father as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Augusta became Grand Duchess.  Because she had no daughter of her own, Augusta became very close with her niece Mary (May) of Teck, later the wife of King George V of the United Kingdom, and the two corresponded regularly until Augusta’s death.  In 1887, Augusta participated in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of her first cousin Queen Victoria.  When Augusta’s mother died in 1889, Augusta purchased a home near Buckingham Palace and stayed there for a portion of each year until her infirmity made it difficult to travel.  Augusta also attended Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 1897 and was heard to say in a loud voice, “Why is she thanking God in the street?” as Queen Victoria sat in her carriage in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral for a blessing because she was too infirm to enter the cathedral.

Before the coronation of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and his wife Queen Alexandra in 1902, Augusta was consulted on matters of ceremony and attire as she was almost the only person alive who could remember the coronation of King William IV and Queen Adelaide.  Her recollection of Queen Victoria’s coronation also proved invaluable.

Augusta, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz at the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902, Credit – Wikipedia

1904 was not a good year for Augusta as both her brother and husband died.  Augusta had been on a visit to England when her husband died.  Their son succeeded his father as Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  Unfortunately, due to old age, Augusta was unable to attend the coronation of her niece May (Queen Mary) and her husband King George V of the United Kingdom in 1911.

In August 1914, Augusta was 92 when World War I started.  Her only child had died two months earlier and now her grandson Adolf Friedrich VI was the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.   Adolf Friedrich was devoted to his grandmother, and the war was stressful for both.  Because Augusta was living in an enemy country, the British government suspended paying her pension.  Sadly, two years after Augusta’s death, her grandson Adolf Friedrich VI died by suicide. During the war, Augusta was able to keep up her correspondence with her niece May through Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, born Princess Margaret of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

In the autumn of 1916, Augusta’s health began to fail. She lay in her bed for a month, sleeping most of the time.  When she was awake, she was lucid and listened to letters or newspapers read aloud to her.  Augusta sent a message to King George V: “Tell the king that it is a stout old English heart which is ceasing to beat.”  She died in Neustrelitz, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, on the morning of December 5, 1916.  Her last word was “May,” the name of her beloved niece.  Augusta was interred in the New Crypt at Johanniterkirche (link in German) in Mirow, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now a small town in northeastern Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.  The church, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, has two crypts that have been the burial place for the Mecklenburg-Strelitz family for the past 300 years.

Johanniterkirche in Mirow; Credit – Von Niteshift (talk) – Selbst fotografiert, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9970572

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