Monthly Archives: March 2016

King William III of England, also Willem III, Prince of Orange

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King William III of England; Credit – Wikipedia

King William III of England was born on November 14, 1650, at Binnenhof Palace in The Hague in the Dutch Republic, now in the Netherlands. He was the only child of Willem II, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and Mary, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England. William’s father died at age 24 of smallpox eight days before William’s birth, so from birth, William was the sovereign Prince of Orange. His 19-year-old widowed mother wanted to name her son Charles after her brother (King Charles II of England), but her mother-in-law insisted that her grandson be named William Henry (in Dutch Willem Hendrik), and she got her way. During William’s minority as Prince of Orange, his mother had to share his guardianship with his paternal grandmother Amalia of Solms-Braunfels and Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, whose wife Louise Henriette of Nassau, was the elder sister of William’s father.

William III, Prince of Orange in 1654; Credit – Wikipedia

The infant Willem III, Prince of Orange had an impressive royal genealogy. He was the great-grandson of Willem I, Prince of Orange, better known as William the Silent, the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau and the ancestor of the monarchy of the Netherlands. His maternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Princess Henrietta Maria of France. His great-grandparents on his mother’s side were King James I of England/James VI of Scotland (son of Mary, Queen of Scots) and Princess Anne of Denmark (daughter of King Frederik II of Denmark), and King Henri IV of France and Marie de’Medici.

William’s parents: Mary, Princess Royal and William II, Prince of Orange in 1647 by Gerard van Honthorst; Credit – Wikipedia

William’s early education, conducted by tutors, was designed to prepare him to carry out the destiny of the House of Orange-Nassau and to raise him in the Reformed Church which used the theology of John Calvin. From 1659-1666, William attended the University of Leiden although he never formally enrolled as a student. On December 23, 1660, his mother died at the age of 29 of smallpox while visiting her brother King Charles II in London.

Portrait of William III of Orange, aged 10, within a flower garland filled with symbols of the House of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1667, William was admitted to the Council of State of the Dutch Provinces. His first visit to England was in 1670 where he met Mary, his eight-year-old first cousin, daughter of his uncle James, Duke of York (the future King James II of England), who later became his wife. William was appointed Stadtholder of the United Provinces in 1672, an office practically hereditary in his family. However, 1672 is known in Dutch history as Rampjaar (disaster year). France under King Louis XIV invaded the United Provinces in the Franco-Dutch War. William led the Dutch forces against the French and in 1678 he forced a peace with France in which the Dutch received all the terms they wanted.

William in 1672; Credit – Wikipedia

During the war with France, William’s uncle King Charles II of England acted as a mediator between France and the Netherlands. Savvy William negotiated a political marriage with England by marrying his first cousin Mary, the elder surviving daughter of James, Duke of York, later King James II of England/James VII of Scotland. 27-year-old William and a weepy 15-year-old Mary, prodded on by her uncle King Charles II, were married at St. James’ Palace in London on November 4, 1677. William and Mary formally entered into The Hague on December 14, 1677. Mary soon became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage which may have prevented any successful pregnancies. It is suspected that she had at least two more miscarriages. Her inability to have children was Mary’s greatest unhappiness. Despite their physical mismatch, Mary was quite tall (5 feet 11 inches; 180 cm) and towered over the undersized and asthmatic William (5 feet 6 inches; 167 cm), William adored Mary, and Mary was devoted to William. Unlike his uncles, Charles II and James II who had many mistresses, William reputedly had only one mistress, Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney.

Mary in 1677 by Sir Peter Lely; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1685, William and Mary’s uncle King Charles II died without any legitimate children despite having at least 14 illegitimate children. Mary’s father, who had converted to Roman Catholicism, succeeded his brother as King James II. Mary and her younger sister Anne were James’ only surviving children and were first and second in the line of succession followed by William who was third as the only child of King Charles I’s eldest surviving daughter. King James II was set on a course to restore Catholicism to England. He issued a Declaration of Indulgence removing restrictions imposed on those that did not conform to the Church of England. England might have tolerated King James II knowing that his heirs were the Protestant daughters of his first wife Anne Hyde, Mary and Anne. However, on June 10, 1688, James’ second wife Maria Beatrice of Modena, who had no surviving children, gave birth to a son, James Francis Edward. Immediately, false rumors swirled that the infant had been smuggled into the queen’s chambers in a warming pan.

On November 5, 1688, William III, Prince of Orange, the nephew and son-in-law of King James II, landed in England vowing to safeguard the Protestant interest. He marched to London, gathering many supporters. James panicked and sent his wife and infant son to France. He tried to flee to France about a month later but was captured. William had no desire to make his uncle a martyr, so he allowed him to escape. James was received in France by his first cousin King Louis XIV of France, who offered him a palace and a pension.

Back in England, Parliament refused to depose James but declared that having fled to France, James had effectively abdicated the throne. Therefore, the throne had become vacant. James’s elder daughter Mary was declared Queen Mary II and was to rule jointly with her husband William, who would be King William III. This overthrow of King James II is known as the Glorious Revolution.  James was determined to regain the throne and landed in Ireland with a French force in 1689. James’ nephew William defeated him at the Battle of the Boyne on July 1, 1690. James was forced to withdraw again to France where he lived in exile for the rest of his life.

The Battle of the Boyne by Jan van Huchtenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

William and Mary were crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, England on April 11, 1689. Since they were joint sovereigns, a duplicate coronation chair and a duplicate set of regalia were required for the coronation ceremony. At previous coronations, monarchs had sworn to uphold the laws made by their ancestors. However, William and Mary swore to rule according to “the statutes in Parliament agreed upon and laws and customs of the same” and promised to uphold the Protestant reformed religion.

On December 16, 1689, Parliament passed the Bill of Rights 1689 which limited the monarch’s powers and set out the rights of Parliament. The Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701 are still in effect in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms. However, both have been amended by the Perth Agreement 2011 which took effect on March 26, 2015. The Bill of Rights also confirmed the succession to the throne. Following the death of either William or Mary, the other was to continue to reign. Next in the line of succession would be any children of the couple, followed by Mary’s sister Anne and her children. Last in the line of succession stood any children William III might have from any future marriage. Beginning in 1690, William was often on military campaigns and Mary was left to reign. She was not keen on assuming such power but did so with the advice of a nine-member Cabinet Council.

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

William and Mary depicted on the ceiling of the Painted Hall, Greenwich, by Sir James Thornhill; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary died of smallpox at Kensington Palace in London, England on December 28, 1694, at the age of 32. The same disease had killed both of William’s parents. William was devastated by Mary’s death and said “from being the happiest” he was “now going to be the miserablest creature on earth.” William continued to reign alone for the remainder of his life.

Queen Mary II, 1690 by Sir Godfrey Kneller – Credit – Wikipedia

Perhaps the greatest blow in William’s last years was the death of the 11-year-old William, Duke of Gloucester, the only surviving child of his sister-in-law and his heir presumptive Princess Anne in July of 1700. This death and the failure of the Protestant Stuarts to produce heirs meant the end of the Protestant Stuart dynasty, as the legitimate descendants of King Charles I were either childless or Roman Catholic. The Act of Settlement 1701 secured the Protestant succession to the throne after William’s sister-in-law and heir presumptive Princess Anne. The act excluded the former King James II (who died a few months after the act received royal assent) and the Roman Catholic children from his second marriage and also excluded the descendants of King James II’s sister Henrietta, the youngest daughter of King Charles I. Parliament’s choice was limited to the Protestant descendants of Elizabeth Stuart, Electress Palatine, the only other child of King James I not to have died in childhood. The senior Protestant descendant was Elizabeth’s youngest daughter Sophia, Electress of Hanover.  The Act of Settlement put Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs in the line of succession after Anne. Ultimately, Sophia died on June 8, 1714, before the death of Queen Anne on August 1, 1714, and Sophia’s son became King George I and started the Hanover dynasty.

Princess Anne embraces her only surviving child, the Duke of Gloucester, in a painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller, c. 1694; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 20, 1702, William went riding on his horse Sorrel at Hampton Court Palace. The horse stumbled on a molehill and fell. William tried to pull the horse up by the reins, but the horse’s movements caused William to fall on his right shoulder. His collarbone was broken and was set by a surgeon. However, instead of resting, William insisted on returning to Kensington Palace that evening by coach. A week later, it was discovered that the fracture was not mending well and William’s right hand and arm were puffy and did not look right. His condition continued to worsen and by March 3, William had a fever and had difficulty breathing. King William III died on March 8, 1702. When the servants undressed William’s body, they found Mary’s small gold ring on a black ribbon around his neck. He had made it into a locket after Mary’s death and it contained a lock of Mary’s hair. While Mary had been buried with pomp, William was buried at Westminster Abbey in a private, modest ceremony at midnight on April 12, 1702.

Inscription on the floor of the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey marking the grave of William III; Credit – findagrave.com

Stuart Royal Vault at Westminster Abbey; Credit – www.westminster-abbey.org

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

Recommended Book: William and Mary by John Van der Kiste, 2003

House of Stuart Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Anne Hyde, Duchess of York

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Anne Hyde, Duchess of York; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne Hyde, the first wife of James, Duke of York, later King James II of England, died before her husband became king. She was born on March 12, 1637, at Cranbourne Lodge in Windsor, England. Her parents were Edward Hyde (later created 1st Earl of Clarendon) and his second wife, Frances Aylesbury, the daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Aylesbury, 1st Baronet, and his wife Anne Denman.

Anne, who was the eldest child, had five younger siblings:

Anne’s father Edward Hyde was a lawyer and Member of Parliament. At first, Hyde was a moderate critic of King Charles I, but he gradually became more supportive of the king. In 1641, Hyde became an informal adviser to King Charles I. In February 1643, Hyde was knighted and was appointed to the Privy Council. The following month, he was made Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1649, after the execution of King Charles I, when Anne was 12 years old, her family fled to the Netherlands. They settled in Breda, where they were offered a home by the eldest daughter of King Charles I, Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, who was known for helping many royalist fugitives from England. In his early years of exile, Hyde played no political role but instead began writing a history of the English Civil War, The History of the Rebellion. In 1651, Hyde became an adviser to the king in exile, Charles II, and soon became his chief adviser. Charles appointed Hyde Lord Chancellor in 1658.

Edward Hyde by Jacob van Reesbroeck, 1649-1653; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1654, Anne Hyde was appointed a maid of honor to Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, the widow of Willem II, Prince of Orange and the mother of the young Willem III, Prince of Orange who would marry Anne’s daughter Mary. The couple would eventually co-reign in England as King William III and Queen Mary II. Given the situation, it was natural that Anne should come into contact with members of the exiled English royal family, including King Charles I’s second surviving son, James, Duke of York. Anne was attractive and stylish and attracted many men, including James, Duke of York. On November 24, 1659, in Breda, Anne and James married secretly in front of witnesses.

Contemporaries of Edward Hyde assumed that he had arranged the royal marriage of his daughter, but modern historians generally agree that he played no part. The marriage came as an unwelcome shock to Hyde, and he is supposed to have told his daughter that he would rather see her dead than disgrace her family. Anne Hyde was the first non-royal spouse to marry into the royal family since King Henry VIII‘s marriage to Catherine Parr in 1543. There would not be another non-royal spouse until 1871 when Queen Victoria‘s daughter Princess Louise married John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne and heir to the Dukedom of Argyll.

The monarchy was restored in 1660, and King Charles II and the rest of the royal family returned to England. In the fall of 1660, it was obvious that Anne was pregnant. The royal family was embarrassed, and society viewed the pregnancy as a scandal. The king was consulted, resulting in James and Anne being officially married at Worcester House in London on September 3, 1660, just seven weeks before the birth of their first child.

James and Anne Hyde in the 1660s, by Sir Peter Lely; Credit – Wikipedia

James and Anne had eight children, but only two survived childhood, and both were Queens Regnant:

  • Charles, Duke of Cambridge (1660 – 1661): Conceived before his parents’ official marriage, Charles was styled Duke of Cambridge but never formally created Duke of Cambridge. He died at the age of six months from smallpox and was buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England.
  • Queen Mary II of England (1662 – 1694), married her first cousin William III, Prince of Orange in 1677, ascended to the throne in 1689 as co-ruler with her husband after the deposition of her father, no surviving issue
  • James, Duke of Cambridge (1663 – 1667): James was created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Cambridge and Baron of Dauntsey by his uncle King Charles II.  He was also named a Knight of the Garter but was never officially installed. Both James and his younger brother Charles, Duke of Kendal became ill with what was likely smallpox or the bubonic plague.  Little Charles died first, and three-year-old James died three weeks later and was buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England.
  • Queen Anne of Great Britain (1665 – 1714), married Prince George of Denmark ; Anne had 17 pregnancies, five live births, but two died on the day of their birth, two died at less than two years old within six days of each other from smallpox, and one died at age 11
  • Charles, Duke of Kendal (1666 – 1667): Charles was styled Duke of Kendal but was never officially created Duke of Kendal because of his early death. He died at the age of ten months and was buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England.
  • Edgar, Duke of Cambridge (1667 – 1671): Edgar was created was Duke and Earl of Cambridge and Baron of Dauntsey by his uncle King Charles II. Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts was named after him. Edgar died at the age of three and was buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England.
  • Henrietta (born and died 1669): Named after her paternal grandmother Henrietta Maria of France, Henrietta was born at the Palace of Whitehall in London, England. She died at St. James’ Palace in London, England, when she was ten months old and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
  • Catherine (born and died 1671): Catherine was born at the Palace of Whitehall in London, England. Her mother died seven weeks after her birth from breast cancer. Catherine did not survive her mother for very long. She died at the age of ten months at St. James’ Palace in London, England, and was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Family of James, Duke of York. The Duke (later King James II and VII) and Duchess of York (previously Anne Hyde), painted by Peter Lely between 1668 and 1670. Their two daughters, Mary (left) and Anne (right), later Queen Mary II and Queen Anne, were added by Benedetto Gennari after 1680. Windsor Castle is in the background; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne was not particularly maternal and spent much of her time holding her own court at St. James’ Palace, a more brilliant court than that of King Charles II’s wife, Catherine of Braganza at Whitehall Palace. Queen Catherine failed to produce heirs for her husband, so Anne had the advantage of having produced heirs to the throne. Anne knew of her husband’s mistresses and comforted herself by overeating and buying expensive jewelry.

Anne and James had been exposed to Roman Catholicism while they were abroad, and Anne converted secretly in 1670. She was instrumental in James’ conversion to Roman Catholicism shortly afterward, although he continued to attend Church of England services until 1676. King Charles II insisted that their children be brought up in the Church of England.

In 1667, Anne gave birth to her last son Edgar (died in 1671), and admitted that she never again felt well after his birth. 1667 was a difficult year for Anne: her mother died, and her father fell from power, was exiled, and spent the rest of his life in France. Anne never saw him again. By 1670, Anne was very ill with breast cancer, and once again pregnant. She gave birth to her last child Catherine, on February 9, 1671 (died in December 1671) while in the advanced stages of breast cancer.

Anne, Duchess of York by Sir Peter Lely around 1670; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 30, 1671, after returning home to St. James’ Palace from a dinner, Anne collapsed. Queen Catherine, who was fond of Anne, rushed to her bedside. Anne’s Church of England brother Henry Hyde (later 2nd Earl of Clarendon) refused to come to her deathbed because he suspected that she had become a Catholic. Anne’s husband James ran interference with the well-intentioned Church of England clergy at the deathbed and quietly informed them of Anne’s conversion to Catholicism. The clergy was kind enough to offer just general prayers. Anne, Duchess of York died on March 31, 1671, at the age of 34, and was buried at Westminster Abbey in the vault of Mary, Queen of Scots in the Henry VII Chapel. By the end of the year, Anne’s children Edgar and Catherine had died, and Mary and Anne, both future Queens Regnant, were the only survivors of the eight children of the Duke and Duchess of York.

House of Stuart Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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King Charles II of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King Charles II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

King Charles II was born on May 29, 1630, at St. James’ Palace in London, England. He was the eldest surviving son of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, daughter of King Henri IV of France.  Charles was the Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay from birth and was declared Prince of Wales in 1638, but was never formally created Prince of Wales. Charles’ mother was not happy with his appearance. She wrote in a letter: “He is so ugly. I am ashamed, but his size and fatness make up for what he lacks in beauty.”

Charles II as an infant in 1630; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles had eight siblings:

Charles with his siblings in 1637: Left to right: Mary, James, Charles, Elizabeth, and Anne; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1631, Charles was placed under the care of Mary Sackville, Countess of Dorset, whose husband Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset, was lord chamberlain to Queen Henrietta Maria. His education was overseen by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle and Brian Duppa, Bishop of Winchester and then later by John Earle, Bishop of Salisbury. The philosopher Thomas Hobbes was Charles’ mathematics teacher.

Charles as Prince of Wales in 1642; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles was still young when the English Civil War broke out between his father King Charles I and the Parliamentarian and Puritan forces. He accompanied his father to the Battle of Edgehill in 1642 and participated in the campaigns of 1645 as commander of the royalist forces in the West Country. When the situation deteriorated in the spring of 1646, Charles was sent out of England, eventually settling in France, where his mother already lived in exile with his sister Henriette and where his young first cousin King Louis XIV was on the throne.

In 1648, Charles traveled to The Hague where he lived for a while with his sister Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange. While living in The Hague, Charles met his first known mistress Lucy Walter. Her son James, born on April 9, 1649, was immediately recognized by Charles as his son and later became James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.

The execution of King Charles I on January 30, 1649, made Charles the de jure King. In 1650, he landed in Scotland and raised an army of 10,000 men. After being crowned King of Scots at Scone on January 1, 1651, Charles marched the army into England and suffered an overwhelming defeat at the Battle of Worcester.  After being a fugitive for six weeks, Charles escaped England and fled to France. Oliver Cromwell was declared Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. England remained a Commonwealth and then a Protectorate until 1659.

Charles in exile, painted by Philippe de Champaigne, circa 1653; Credit – Wikipedia

During his years in exile, Charles, a de jure King, had no kingdom and therefore no income. He depended on the payments he received from his mother from the money she received from the French government. On September 3, 1658, Oliver Cromwell died. His son Richard Cromwell ruled only until April 1659 and there was a real possibility for the restoration of the monarchy. On May 1, 1660, Parliament formally invited Charles, as King Charles II, to be the English monarch in what has become known as the Restoration. On May 23, 1660, Charles landed at Dover, and on his 30th birthday, May 29, 1660, King Charles II entered London in a procession. Charles was crowned at Westminster Abbey on April 23, 1661, on the feast day of St. George, the patron saint of England.

Coronation portrait by John Michael Wright, circa 1661

Catherine of Braganza, the daughter of King João IV of Portugal, had first been suggested as a bride for Charles in 1645 during the reign of Charles’ father and again in 1660 when the monarchy was restored in England. 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 1662 and landed at Portsmouth, England on May 13, 1662. On May 21, 1662, King Charles II and Catherine were married in Portsmouth twice, in a private Catholic ceremony and a public Anglican ceremony. Catherine’s Roman Catholicism made her an unpopular queen.

Catherine of Braganza; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite fathering many 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.

King Charles II, Portrait by John Riley, c. 1680–1685; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 2, 1685, King Charles II suffered an apparent stroke and died four days later at the age of 54. Modern analysis of his symptoms seems to indicate he may have died from uremia, a symptom of kidney failure. 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.” Charles asked his brother James to look after his mistresses: “…be well to Portsmouth, and let not poor Nelly starve,” referring to Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and Nell Gwyn. He also apologized to his courtiers: “I am sorry, gentlemen, for being such a time a-dying.” The night before his death, Charles converted to Roman Catholicism, although it is unclear that his level of consciousness allowed for a true commitment. On the morning of his death, February 6, 1685, Charles received the Last Rites of the Roman Catholic Church from Father John Huddleston. King Charles II was buried at Westminster Abbey using the Church of England rites. He was the last monarch to have an effigy carried at his funeral. The effigy is still displayed at Westminster Abbey.

Wax effigy of Charles II, Westminster Abbey Museum

Wax effigy of Charles II, Westminster Abbey Museum; Photo Credit – http://www.westminster-abbey.org

King Charles II left no legitimate offspring, but he left behind quite a number of illegitimate children, whom he ennobled and officially recognized.  Charles was succeeded by his younger brother King James II of England/King James VII of Scotland, who had converted to Catholicism and was unpopular.  James was the last Catholic King of England and was dethroned in 1688 during the Glorious Revolution.

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

Illegitimate Children

by Lucy Walter

by Elizabeth Killigrew

by Catherine Pegge

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

by Nell Gwyn

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

by Mary ‘Moll’ Davis

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.

House of Stuart Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Princess Frederica of Hanover, Queen of the Hellenes

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Embed from Getty Images 

Queen Frederica was the wife of King Paul of the Hellenes, and the mother of the last Greek king, Constantine II. She was born Princess Frederica Louisa Thyra Victoria Margareta Sophie Olga Cécilie Isabelle Christa of Hanover, on April 18, 1917, in Blankenburg am Harz, in the Duchy of Brunswick, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, the daughter of Prince Ernst August of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick, and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia. Her father was the senior male-line descendant of King George III of the United Kingdom via his son Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland. Her mother was the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

Frederica had four brothers:

Although known as Princess Frederica of Hanover, this was merely by courtesy. The Kingdom of Hanover ceased to exist after being annexed by Prussia in 1866. She was, however, a Duchess of Brunswick, as her father had been the reigning Duke of Brunswick since 1913. This title would also become merely a courtesy after her father was forced to abdicate in 1918. And to confuse things further, at the time of her birth she was also a British princess. In 1914, King George V of the United Kingdom issued Letters Patent granting the title of Prince/Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with the style of Highness, to any children born to The Duke and Duchess of Brunswick. (You can read the Letters Patent here.)

Wedding of Paul and Frederica, 1938. source: Greek Royal Family

Wedding of Paul and Frederica, 1938. source: Greek Royal Family

While studying in Florence, Italy in 1935, Frederica began a romance with the future King Paul of the Hellenes. First cousins once removed, they had first met in 1927, and again in 1934 at the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece and Prince George, Duke of Kent. Paul soon asked her father for permission to marry, but the Duke of Brunswick refused, based on Frederica’s age. However, in 1936, while both were attending the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, Paul proposed again and this time the answer was yes. Their engagement was formally announced on September 28, 1937, and the couple married at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens on January 8, 1938. They soon settled at a villa in the Psychiko district of Athens, and went on to have three children:

 

In 1941, the Greek royal family was evacuated to Crete and then forced to flee the German invasion. She and her children eventually settled in South Africa and then Egypt. They returned to Greece in September 1946, following a referendum to restore King George II to the throne. Just seven months later, on April 1, 1947, King George died and Paul became King of the Hellenes. As the country was in the midst of civil war, Queen Frederica set up a group of camps around Greece, to provide shelter, food, and education for orphans and needy children.

Following the war, Frederica and her husband traveled extensively, building support for the monarchy and promoting Greece. Despite this, there was always a faction against the monarchy, and Queen Frederica in particular. Her membership, as a child, in the Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls) – a branch of the Hitler Youth – made her a target of the anti-monarchists. In addition, she was known for publicly straying into politics, even campaigning against the election of Prime Minister Papagos in 1952. Many historians feel that Frederica’s foray into politics contributed to the instability of the monarchy. In 1974 when her son was campaigning for a restoration of the monarchy, he promised to keep his mother out of Greece and its politics.

On March 6, 1964, King Paul died of cancer and was succeeded by his son King Constantine II. Later that year, Constantine married Princess Anne Marie of Denmark, giving Greece a new Queen. Frederica stepped aside, allowing her new daughter-in-law to take center stage. However, she was accused in the media of being the ‘power behind the throne’. In response, the Dowager Queen relinquished her appanage from the State and retired from public life. While she remained active in family and social events, she stayed out of the official, and political, spotlight.

 

In 1967, the Greek Royal Family was once again forced to leave the country following a failed counter-coup led by King Constantine II. They settled in Rome, and Queen Frederica and her daughter Irene spent some time living in India. In later years, Frederica would divide her time between her son’s home in the United Kingdom and the home of her elder daughter Sofia in Spain.

On February 6, 1981, after undergoing cataract surgery in Madrid, Spain, Queen Frederica died from a massive heart attack. After receiving permission from the Greek government, she was buried beside her late husband in the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace in Greece. Her son and his family were permitted to attend but had to leave immediately after the burial.

Grave of King Paul and Queen Frederica; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Greece Resources at Unofficial Royalty