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Wedding of King George V and Princess Mary of Teck

George, Duke of York (later George V) and Mary of Teck, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

July 6, 1893 – Wedding of George, Duke of York (later King George V of the United Kingdom) and Princess Mary of Teck, at the Chapel Royal, St. James Palace in London, England
The paternal grandparents of Queen Elizabeth II married on July 6, 1893 at the Chapel Royal of St. James Palace.  At that time, royal weddings were not the big public affairs that they are now, and this wedding was no different.  Members of the public lined the very short route from Buckingham Palace to St. James Palace to try to catch a glimpse of the wedding party and guests as their carriages proceeded along the route.

The groom was HRH Prince George Frederick Ernest Albert who was born on June 3, 1865 at Marlborough House, London. His parents were Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), known as Bertie, and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, known as Alix. George was related to many other royals. Through his father, he was first cousin to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, Queen Marie of Romania, Queen Sophie of Greece, Queen Ena of Spain, Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden and was brother to Queen Maud of Norway. Through his mother, he was first cousin to King Christian X of Denmark, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, King Constantine I of Greece and King Haakon VII of Norway.

The bride, Her Serene Highness Princess Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes of Teck, was born at Kensington Palace, London on May 26, 1867. Mary’s mother was HRH Princess Mary Adelaide, the youngest child of HRH Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (the seventh son and tenth child of King George III and Queen Charlotte) and HRH Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel. The new princess was known as Mary or May.  The bride’s father was His Serene Highness Prince Francis of Teck, the product of a morganatic marriage. Prince Francis’ father, Duke Alexander of Württemberg, was once heir to the throne of Württemberg. However, Duke Alexander contracted a morganatic marriage (marriage to a person of a lower rank) to a Hungarian countess, Claudine Rhedey. Alexander lost his rights to the throne and his children lost the right to use the Württemberg name. Francis’ cousin King Karl of Württemberg eventually elevated him to the more important Germanic title of Duke of Teck.

Mary had been previously engaged to George’s elder brother Prince Albert Victor, known as Prince Eddy.  Eddy was the oldest son and eldest child of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Alexandra of Denmark, and was second in line for the throne held by his grandmother Queen Victoria.  Eddy proposed to Mary during a ball on December 3, 1891. The engagement was announced three days later and the wedding set for February 27, 1892.  In the midst of the wedding preparations, Eddy developed a high fever on January 7, 1892 at Sandringham. His sister Victoria and other household members already had been ill with influenza, which Eddy also developed. Two days later, his lungs became inflamed and pneumonia was diagnosed.  In the early morning hours of January 14, 1892, Eddy died.  Eddy’s funeral was held at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor and he is buried in the Albert Memorial Chapel in St. George’s Chapel.  Mary’s wedding bouquet of orange blossoms lay on his coffin.

After the death of Prince Eddy, Mary and George spent much time together. As time passed and their common grief eased, there was hope that a marriage might take place between them. George proposed to Mary beside a pond in the garden of his sister Louise’s home, East Sheen Lodge, on April 29, 1893. The engagement was announced on May 3, 1893 with the blessing of Queen Victoria.

The wedding was set for July 6, 1893 at the Chapel Royal, St. James’ Palace. St, George’s Chapel, Windsor, had been the choice for Mary’s planned marriage to Eddy, but it was considered inappropriate because it had been the site of Eddy’s funeral.  There was much excitement about the upcoming wedding. Women’s magazines produced special editions detailing Mary’s trousseau. Crowds visited London’s Imperial Institute where royal wedding gifts were displayed for the first time.

Ten bridesmaids had been selected: Princesses Victoria and Maud of Wales (the groom’s sisters), Princesses Victoria Melita, Alexandra and Beatrice of Edinburgh, Princesses Margaret and Patricia of Connaught, Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (all first cousins of the groom), and Princess Alice of Battenberg (daughter of the groom’s first cousin Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine). At least three of the bridesmaids wished they were in Mary’s shoes.

George, Duke of York (later George V) and Mary of Teck and their bridesmaids, Photo Credit – womenshistory.about.com

Back row: Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh, Princess Helena of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Victoria-Melita of Edinburgh, Prince George-Duke of York, Princess Victoria of Wales, Princess Maud of Wales
In the middle: Princess Alice of Battenberg, Princess Margaret of Connaught, Princess Mary of Teck-Duchess of York
Front row: Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh, Princess Victoria-Eugenie of Battenberg, Princess Patricia of Connaught

The summer of 1893 had been hot and July 6, the wedding day, was no different. Crowds gathered in the morning along the bridal procession route on Constitution Hill, Piccadilly and St. James Street.  At 11:30 a.m., the first of the carriage processions left Buckingham Palace. Royalty from Britain and abroad rode in twelve open state landaus driven by cream-colored horses. The bridegroom and his father left the Palace at 11:45 a.m. followed by Queen Victoria in the Glass Coach. Accompanying the Queen was her cousin, the beaming Princess Mary Adelaide, the mother of the bride. The bride’s procession came last. Mary was accompanied by her father and her brother Adolphus.

As Mary walked down the aisle of the Chapel Royal towards George, she leaned stiffly on her father’s arm and smiled at those guests she recognized. While exchanging vows, George gave his answers distinctly while Mary spoke quietly. After the wedding service, the royals returned in state to Buckingham Palace where they feasted at round tables covered with food in a room separate from the other guests. The other guests enjoyed themselves in the ballroom where large buffet tables were set up. After the meal, there was a royal wedding “first.” Queen Victoria led George and Mary out onto the balcony at Buckingham Palace and presented them to the cheering crowds.

George and Mary had six children:

  • Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor after his abdication): (1894-1972) married Wallis Simpson, no issue
  • George VI (1895-1952) married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, had issue: Queen Elizabeth II; Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
  • Mary, Princess Royal (1897-1965) married Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood, had issue: George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood; The Honourable Gerald Lascelles
  • Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900-1974) married Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott, had issue: Prince William of Gloucester; Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
  • George, Duke of Kent (1902-1942) married Princess Marina of Greece, had issue: Prince Edward, Duke of Kent; Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy; Prince Michael of Kent
  • John (1905-1919), suffered from epilepsy, died in childhood

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Much of this article is taken from a more detailed article I previously wrote.  For more details, that article can be seen at: Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of George V and Princess May of Teck

Wikipedia: George V of the United Kingdom
Wikipedia: Mary of Teck

Check out other royal dates posted daily on our forum.

Maria Pia of Savoy, Queen of Portugal

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Maria Pia of Savoy, Queen of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

Born at the Royal Palace of Turin in the Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy, on February 14, 1847, Princess Maria Pia of Savoy was the second daughter and youngest surviving child of Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia (later king of a united Italy) and Archduchess Adelheid of Austria.  She was named in honor of her godfather Pope Pius IX.  Maria Pia had seven siblings:

After her mother died in 1855, Maria Pia was cared for almost exclusively by her governesses and her older sister.   Maria Pia and her sister Maria Clotilde lived at Stupingi Palace, officially under the guardianship of their mother’s former lady-in-waiting, the stern Countess of Villa Maria.  The two sisters saw their father intermittently, although he often sent the girls gifts and letters.  Maria Pia was not much of an academic, but show interest and ability in drawing, dancing, and music.

The marriage of Maria Pia and Luis; source: Wikipedia

At the age of fifteen, Maria Pia was engaged to King Luis I of Portugal, the eldest son of Queen Maria II of Portugal and Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  The couple married by proxy on September 27, 1862.  Maria Pia set out from Turin for Portugal two days later, arriving in Lisbon on October 5.   The religious wedding was held at the Church of St Dominic the following day.  Celebrations continued in Lisbon for the next three days.

After the wedding, the new couple settled at the Ajuda Palace, which Luis had refurbished for his new wife.  During the early months at the palace, Maria Pia passed the time with music lessons, attendance at the opera, billiards, and sketching.  Maria Pia and Luis had two sons:

Queen Maria Pia with her sons Carlos and Alfonso – source: Wikipedia

Maria Pia was fond of her sons.  She was known to walk the streets of Lisbon with them, sometimes accompanied by nannies and sometimes alone.  She was also known to sit on the ground with her boys during playtime, uncommon for royal women at the time.  The Countess of Daupiás gave the first pair of roller skates in Portugal to Maria Pia in 1873.  Maria Pia would skate down the halls of Ajuda Palace with her children, screaming, “Make way!” to surprised servants and courtiers.

Maria Pia was infamous for her wild spending.  She rarely wore the same dress twice and enjoyed hosting balls, parties, and masquerades.  She tended to throw expensive glassware when her Savoy temper flared.  In addition, she drove her servants crazy with her love of expensive cigars and her habit of throwing still-smoldering butts wherever she happened to be walking.  Maria Pia’s excessive debts caused endless headaches for the Portuguese parliament.  She insisted that her spending was justified for her work as a queen.

As much as she loved to splurge, Maria Pia was fond of charity work.  In 1876, she raised funds to care for those displaced by floods in Portugal and for Brazilians hit by a drought and famine.  Maria Pia founded a children’s hospital in Porto, Portugal in 1882.  Upon hearing of a fire that destroyed much of Porto in 1888, Maria Pia visited the homes of those affected, distributing food, clothing, and funds.

King Luis I died in October 1889.  Although he and Maria Pia were fond of one another, Luis’ many affairs caused a rift with his wife that never subsided.  Maria Pia continued to devote herself to charity work and served as regent for her son Carlos when he was abroad.

Dowager Queen Maria Pia (right) with Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom and Queen Amélia of Portugal, 1905. source: Wikipedia

The early 1900s were a difficult time for Maria Pia.  Her brother King Umberto I of Italy was assassinated in 1900.  Following the assassination of her son King Carlos I of Portugal and his son Crown Prince Luis Filipe in 1908, and the deposing of her grandson King Manuel II of Portugal two years later, Maria Pia fell into a deep depression.  She returned to her native Italy soon after, where she died on July 5, 1911, at the Royal Chateau at Stupingi Palace in Turin, Italy.  She is buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin, Italy, making her one of just a few Portuguese consorts not to be buried in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal in Lisbon.

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Portugal Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Born on the Fourth of July

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

At Prince Michael of Kent’s christening: Princess Alexandra of Kent, The Duke of Kent, The Duchess of Kent holding Prince Michael, Prince Edward of Kent (the current Duke of Kent), Credit – regalmajesty.tumblr.com

Prince Michael of Kent, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was born on July 4, 1942.  Prince Michael is the youngest child of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece.  Because Prince Michael was born on American Independence Day, the Duke of Kent asked President Franklin Roosevelt to be one of his son’s godparents.  President Roosevelt accepted and the baby prince was named Michael George Charles Franklin.

Telegram regarding Prince Michael’s christening:

Prince Michael was christened on August 4, 1942, at the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle.  His godparents were:

Sadly, six weeks after his son’s birth, on August 25, 1942, the Duke of Kent died in a Royal Air Force plane crash in the service of his country. See Unofficial Royalty: Tragedy in the British Royal Family at the End of August (scroll down).

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King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

King Oscar I was born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte on July 4, 1799, at 291 Rue Cisalpine (today’s address: 32 Rue de Monceau) in Paris, France.  His father was General Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, a Marshal of France and the French Minister of War.  His mother Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, known as Désirée, was the first fiancée of Napoleon Bonaparte.  Julie Clary, his mother’s sister, was married to Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother, and Jean-Baptiste and Désirée’s son was named after Joseph Bonaparte.  The name Oscar was suggested by Napoleon Bonaparte, the baby’s godfather.  Napoleon was an admirer of the 18th-century Scottish poet James Macpherson and the name Oscar was used in Macpherson’s works.

In 1809, King Carl XIII of Sweden ascended the throne of Sweden. He had no living children, and his adopted son and heir died the following year. The Swedes had the idea to offer the position of Crown Prince to one of Napoleon’s Marshals. On August 21, 1810, the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates elected Oscar’s father  Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as Crown Prince of Sweden. He arrived in Stockholm in November 1810 and was formally adopted by the King Carl III of Sweden, taking the name Carl Johan, and converting from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism. The new Crown Prince of Sweden was actively involved in the events leading up to the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, in which Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden. Unlike the previous union with Denmark, this was a personal union under a single sovereign, and Norway remained an independent state with its own constitution. King Carl XIII of Sweden also reigned as King Karl II of Norway. The separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway were under a common monarch from 1814 until its dissolution in 1905.

Oscar was eleven years old when his father was elected Crown Prince of Sweden and in December 1810, he traveled to Stockholm with his mother Désirée. Oscar was given the title Duke of Södermanland, and, unlike his mother, quickly learned Swedish and adapted to life in Sweden. As Crown Princess, Désirée had difficulty adjusting to the Swedish court and despised the weather in Stockholm. She left Sweden in 1811 and did not return until 1823, five years after her husband became king.  As a result, Oscar did not see his mother for twelve years.

Oscar’s father prescribed guidelines for his son’s education. Upon arriving in Sweden, Oscar was immediately schooled in Swedish, quickly became proficient, and served as his father’s translator.  Besides Swedish, Oscar was also taught Norwegian and German.  He studied humanities, administration, constitutional law, science, art, and music.  Oscar was particularly talented in music and composed a funeral march performed at King Carl XIII’s funeral in 1818.  When the composer Ludwig van Beethoven heard of this, he wrote to Oscar’s father and was invited to help develop Oscar’s musical talent.  Besides his musical talent, Oscar was an expert in social-political issues and wrote articles on education and prison reform.  He was elected an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and was appointed chancellor of Uppsala University.

Oscar married Princess Joséphine of Leuchtenberg (known by the Swedish form of her name Josefina) by proxy at the Leuchtenberg Palace in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria on May 22, 1823, and in person at a wedding ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden on June 19, 1823.  Princess Joséphine of Leuchtenberg’s father was Eugène de Beauharnais, the son of Empress Joséphine (who was Napoleon’s first wife) from her first marriage to Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais who had been guillotined during the French Revolution.   Her mother was Princess Augusta of Bavaria, a descendant of King Gustav I of Sweden and King Charles IX of Sweden, thereby ensuring that future members of the House of Bernadotte were descendants of the House of Vasa which ruled Sweden from 1523-1654.  Joséphine brought to Sweden jewelry that belonged to her grandmother Empress Josephine. Members of the Swedish and Norwegian royal families still wear the jewelry. For instance, Empress Jospéhine’s Cameo Tiara was worn by her descendant Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden on her wedding day.

Queen Josefina wearing the Cameo Tiara; Credit – Wikipedia

Oscar and Josefina  (as she was known in Sweden) had five children, four sons and one daughter.

Oscar and Josefina’s marriage was a happy one.  They shared interests in music and art and had similar personalities. While he was crown prince, Oscar had an affair with a lady-in-waiting which produced a daughter.  After his marriage, Oscar had another well-known affair with Emilie Högquist, a famous Swedish actress at the Royal Dramatic Theatre.  Oscar had two sons with his mistress Emilie.  In 1832, Queen Josefina wrote in her diary that a woman was expected to endure a husband’s extramarital affairs: “A woman should suffer in silence.”  Josefina and her husband continued to appear together in public.  Oscar discontinued his extramarital affairs when he became King of Sweden and Norway in 1844 upon the death of his father.

Oscar I’s health had never been strong and he began to suffer periods when he would fall silent in mid-sentence and then continue a minute later as if nothing had happened.  By the early 1850s, these symptoms worsened and in 1852 he was forced to make a trip to the spa at Bad Kissingen in Bavaria in hopes of recovery.  In the fall of 1852, he became ill with typhoid fever and it took a year for him to fully recover.  He continued to have neurological symptoms and by 1857, it was suspected that Oscar had a brain tumor.  By September 1857, Oscar was paralyzed and the doctors recommended that he be relieved of his duties.  On September 25, 1857, Oscar’s eldest son Carl was declared Regent.  After being bedridden for a long period, King Oscar I died at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on July 8, 1859, at the age of 60. An autopsy confirmed that he had a brain tumor.  King Oscar I was buried in the Bernadotte Chapel at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm.

Bernadotte Chapel at Riddarholmen Church; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, Queen of Bavaria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, Queen Consort of Bavaria: Credit – Wikipedia

Born on July 2, 1849, in Brno, Austrian Empire (now in the Czech Republic), Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este was the last Queen Consort of Bavaria and the Jacobite claimant to the British throne from 1875 until she died in 1919. She was the only child of Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este and Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria. When Maria Theresia was only five months old, her father Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor, aged 28, died from typhoid fever.

In 1854, her mother Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska married a second time to her first cousin Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria-Teschen. From this marriage, Maria Theresia had six half-siblings:

Maria-Theresia (left) with her brother Friedrich and his wife Isabella (standing), sister Maria Christina (center), and their mother (right). source: Wikipedia

Francesco V, Duke of Modena, the current Jacobite claimant and Maria Theresia’s uncle and guardian, wanted his niece to marry Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany who was fourteen years older than Maria Theresia. In June 1867, Maria Theresia arrived in Vienna to attend the funeral of her friend Archduchess Mathilde of Austria who had tragically died due to burns after hiding a forbidden cigarette behind her very flammable dress. At that time, Maria Theresia met a first cousin of Archduchess Mathilde of Austria, Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, who was representing King Ludwig II of Bavaria at the funeral, and the couple fell in love.

Prince Ludwig, the future King Ludwig III of Bavaria, was the eldest child of Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, a son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, and Archduchess Augusta of Austria. Prince Luitpold served as Prince Regent of Bavaria from 1886 to 1912, due to the mental incompetency of his nephews, King Ludwig II and King Otto. In August 1867, Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Prince Luitpold of Bavaria met in Salzburg, Austria to discuss the marriage. After initial outrage, the Duke of Modena agreed to the marriage, and the engagement was announced on October 22, 1867. Ludwig and Maria Theresia were married at the Augustinian Church, adjacent to the Hofburg Palace, in Vienna, Austria on February 20, 1868.

Maria Theresa inherited two large estates from her father: the Sárvár estate in Hungary and the Eiwanowitz estate in Moravia (now in the Czech Republic). With the income from these estates, Ludwig and Maria Theresa purchased the Leutstetten estate in Bavaria which became quite profitable. While they lived mostly at Leutstetten, they also had a residence at the Leuchtenberg Palace in Munich, Bavaria.

Their marriage was a happy one and they had thirteen children:

In 1875, after the death of her childless uncle Francesco V, Duke of Modena, Maria Theresia became the Jacobite claimant to the British throne. After James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots, 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  King James II of England died out, the Jacobite claims to the British throne descended from his sister Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans. Maria Theresia was the senior surviving descendant of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans who was the youngest sister of James II/VII and the daughter of King Charles I. However, unlike the Stuart Jacobite pretenders – James II’s son James Edward Francis Stuart and James II’s grandsons Charles Edward Stuart and Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart – none of the later Jacobite pretenders ever claimed the title.

See how the Jacobite succession arrived in the House of Austria-Este, Maria Theresia’a birth House via Henrietta of England below.

Charles I of England → his daughter Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans → her daughter Anne Marie d’Orléans, Queen of Sardinia → her son Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia → his son Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia → his son Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia, first Jacobite Pretender from the House of Savoy → his brother Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia → his eldest surviving daughter Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena → her eldest son → Francesco V, Duke of Modena → his niece Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Bavaria

In 1912, Prince Regent Luitpold died and Ludwig became the Prince Regent for his first cousin King Otto. On November 4, 1913, the Bavarian constitution was changed to allow the Prince Regent to become King if the incapacitation of a king had lasted for ten years and there was no reasonable expectation that the incapacitated king would ever reign. On November 5, 1913, King Otto was deposed by Prince Regent Ludwig who assumed the title King Ludwig III. The Bavarian parliament gave its approval on November 6, 1913, and on November 8, 1913, King Ludwig III took the constitutional oath.

The Queen, The King, and The Crown Prince. source: Wikipedia

When World War I started in August of 1914, King Ludwig III sent an official dispatch to Kaiser Wilhelm II in Berlin to express Bavaria’s solidarity. Queen Maria Theresia appealed to Bavarian women and girls to support the country and the soldiers at the front by making packages with clothes and food for soldiers and the wounded. On February 20, 1918, amid World War I, Ludwig and Maria Theresia celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by donating ten million marks to charity.

As World War I progressed, the conditions in Bavaria deteriorated. The population was restless, soldiers were dying at the front, women had to work harder and harder in the factories, and food was always scarce. Through all of this, the Bavarian royal family remained loyal to Kaiser Wilhelm II. On November 7, 1918, King Ludwig III of Bavaria was deposed and the Republic of Bavaria was proclaimed. When mass demonstrations occurred throughout Munich Ludwig and his family fled the Residenz Palace in Munich. He was the first of the monarchs in the German Empire to be deposed.

Ludwig and Maria Theresia first fled to Schloss Anif, near Salzburg, Austria. They returned to Bavaria and settled at Schloss Wildenwart in the village of Wildenwart about 80 kilometers southeast of Munich. Maria Theresia, aged 69, died at Schloss Wildenwart on February 3, 1919, and was buried in its chapel. Ludwig was afraid he might be assassinated, and fled to Hungary, later moving to Liechtenstein and Switzerland. He returned to Bavaria in April 1920 and lived once again at Schloss Wildenwart. He remained there until September 1921 when he took a trip to his Sárvár estate in Hungary. He died there on October 18, 1921, at the age of 76.

On November 5, 1921, Ludwig’s body was returned to Munich along with the remains of his wife. They were given a state funeral and were buried in the crypt of the Frauenkirche in Munich, Germany, Despite the abolition of the monarchy, the former King and Queen were laid to rest in the presence of the royal family, the Bavarian government, military personnel, and an estimated 100,000 spectators in the streets.

Tombs of King Ludwig III and Queen Maria Theresa in the Frauenkirche, Munich, Photo © Susan Flantzer, August 2012

Tombs of King Ludwig III and Queen Maria Theresa in the Frauenkirche, Munich. Photo © Susan Flantzer

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King Henri II of France

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2013

King Henri II of France, Credit – Wikipedia

“The young lion will overcome the older one,
On the field of combat in a single battle;
He will pierce his eyes through a golden cage,
Two wounds made one, then he dies a cruel death.”

The above quatrain by Nostradamus, a French apothecary and reputed seer, is often interpreted as predicting the death of King Henri II of France. The interpretation usually goes something like this:  King Henri II of France (older one) jousted Gabriel de Lorges, Comte de Montgomery, captain of his Scotch Guard (young lion), who was eleven years younger, during a tournament (field of combat).  Both had lions on their shields. In their final pass, Montgomery’s lance tilted up, and went through Henri’s visor, splintering into pieces. Two shards, one through the eye (pierce his eyes through a golden cage), and one through the temple, lodged in Henri’s head (two wounds made one).  Henri suffered for eleven days (then he dies a cruel death) before dying.

King Henri II of France was born on March 31, 1519, at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, France.  He was the second son of King François I of France and Claude, Duchess of Brittany, a daughter of King Louis XII of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany.

Henri had six siblings:

Catherine de Medici, Queen of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Due to her wealth, Catherine de Medici, the daughter of Lorenzo II de Medici, Duke of Urbino and Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne, had several potential bridegrooms. Both her parents died before she was one month old, and she was raised by various members of the wealthy banking family and political dynasty, the House of Medici. The Medici family jumped at the offer of François I, King of France to marry her to his second son Henri, the Duke of Orléans.

At this time, Henri’s elder brother François III, Duke of Brittany, Dauphin of France was the heir to the throne. There was little prospect of Henri becoming King of France. Henri and Catherine, both fourteen years old, were married at the Église Saint-Ferréol les Augustins in Marseille, France on October 28, 1533. Henri paid little attention to Catherine during the first ten years of their marriage, preferring mistresses, particularly Diane de Poitiers who became Henri’s mistress when he was fifteen and she was 35 years old. She remained Henri’s mistress for the rest of his life. Henri and his wife Catherine did not have children until they were married for nearly eleven years.

Henri, Catherine, and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Eventually, they had ten children, seven surviving to adulthood.

In 1536, Henri’s elder brother François, the Dauphin (the title of heir to the French throne) and Duke of Brittany, died at the age of 18.  There were suspicions that he was poisoned, but he probably died from natural causes, most likely from tuberculosis. Henri became the heir to the throne and succeeded his father on March 31, 1547, his 28th birthday. He was crowned King of France on July 25, 1547, at Reims Cathedral. Henri’s reign was marked by the Italian Wars against the House of Habsburg and the suppression of the Protestant Reformation, particularly the persecution of the Protestant French Huguenots, who were becoming a large minority.

On June 30, 1559, a great celebration and tournament were held in Paris at the Hôtel des Tournelles (now the site of the Place des Vosges) in honor of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis with France’s longtime enemies, the Habsburgs and the two marriages that occurred as a result of the Peace: Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy marrying Henri’s sister Marguerite of France, Duchess of Berry and King Felipe II of Spain marrying Elisabeth, the eldest daughter of Catherine and Henri II.

King Henri II, at age 40, still liked to participate in tournaments even though he had been advised not to participate because of dizziness after physical exertion.  Henri and Gabriel de Lorges, Comte de Montgomery, captain of the Scotch Guard, jousted, and Henri had been almost unseated from his horse.  He insisted upon a rematch despite the urgings of his wife, the Duke of Savoy, and other friends to stop.  The Comte de Montgomery reluctantly agreed to participate.  de Montgomery’s lance struck the king’s helmet, splintered, and went through the visor, going through the king’s right eye and his temple into the brain.  The king, bleeding profusely and nearly unconscious, was carried into the Hôtel des Tournelles.

Tournament between Henri II and Lorges,  Credit – Wikipedia

Henri received immediate treatment from the court physicians and renowned surgeon Ambroise Paré.  The splinter from the king’s eye was removed, and he was bled as that was the medical practice at the time.  It was hoped that losing an eye would be the worst thing to happen. King Felipe II of Spain arranged for one of his physicians, the great Belgian anatomist Andreas Vesalius, to go to Paris from Brussels for a consultation. Vesalius arrived on July 3, 1559, and determined that the king would not recover. Queen Catherine, desperate to find a way to cure her husband, had four criminals beheaded and then had splintered lances poked through the eyes at the same angle the lance had gone through Henry’s eye. Henri’s condition continued to worsen. On July 9, he was given the last rites. He died on July 10, 1559, at the age of 40, probably from a subdural hematoma and sepsis.

Deathbed of King Henri II of France, Credit – Wikipedia

King Henri II of France was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, the traditional burial place of French royalty.  During the French Revolution, Henry’s coffin was removed and thrown into a mass grave with the remains of other French royals.  However, the tomb of Henri II and Catherine de Medici can still be seen at the Basilica of Saint-Denis.  In 1817, the mass graves containing the royal remains were opened, and the remains were then placed in the crypt of the basilica.  Nearby are several large metal plates bearing the names of those royals whose graves had been desecrated during the French Revolution.

Tomb of Henri II of France and Catherine de Medici, Credit – Susan Flantzer

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Archduke Franz Ferdinand with his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg and their three children, Princess Sophie; Maximilian, Duke of Hohenburg; and Prince Ernst von Hohenberg, Credit – Wikipedia

For many people, the name Archduke Franz Ferdinand immediately evokes his assassination in 1914 which led to a diplomatic crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to Serbia.  In turn, this caused several alliances formed over the previous decades to come into play, and within weeks, the major powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world becoming World War I.

Franz Ferdinand was born on December 18, 1863, in Graz, Austria, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Archduke Karl Ludwig’s elder brothers were Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and Maximilian, the executed Emperor of Mexico. As his father’s first marriage to Margaretha of Saxony did not produce children, Franz Ferdinand was his father’s eldest son.

Franz Ferdinand had three younger siblings:

Franz Ferdinand had two younger half-siblings via his father’s third marriage to Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal:

Franz Ferdinand’s life changed when his cousin Crown Prince Rudolf died by suicide in 1889 at his hunting lodge Mayerling.  Crown Prince Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, had no sons so that the succession would pass to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Archduke Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Archduke Franz Ferdinand. 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, Franz Ferdinand became the heir to his uncle’s throne.

In 1894, Franz Ferdinand fell in love with Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin, the daughter of Count Bohuslaw Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin and Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau.  Because Sophie was not a member of a reigning or formerly reigning family, she could not marry a member of the Imperial Family.  Franz Ferdinand refused to give Sophie up and he was helped in his efforts to marry her by Archduchess Maria Theresa (born Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal), Emperor Franz Joseph’s sister-in-law and Franz Ferdinand’s stepmother.

The emperor finally agreed to the marriage, but there were some catches.  Franz Ferdinand would keep his place in the succession, but Sophie could never be empress and their children would never have succession rights.  Before the marriage, Franz Ferdinand had to sign an agreement in front of the whole court declaring that Sophie would be his morganatic wife, would never bear the titles of empress, queen, or archduchess, and acknowledged that their descendants would not be in the line of succession.

Sophie and Franz Ferdinand were married on July 1, 1900, at Reichstadt (now Zákupy in the Czech Republic).  The only members of the Imperial Family to attend the wedding were Franz Ferdinand’s stepmother Archduchess Maria Theresa and her two daughters Archduchess Maria Annunciata and Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie.  Upon marriage, Sophie was given the style and title Her Serene Highness Princess of Hohenberg and in 1909, she was given the higher style and title Her Highness Duchess of Hohenberg.  Sophie never had the precedence of her husband, and at functions, she was forced to stand or sit far away from her husband.

Franz Ferdinand and Sophie had three children, two sons and a daughter.

There was one loophole in which Sophie could share her husband’s precedence and that was when he was acting in a military capacity.  Emperor Franz Joseph sent Franz Ferdinand to Sarajevo, Bosnia to observe military maneuvers and 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 on June 28, 1914, 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.

Five minutes before the assassination, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

The bodies of the Archduke and his wife were transported to Trieste, Italy by the battleship SMS Viribus Unitis, the same ship that the couple used to travel to Sarajevo.  From Trieste, a special train took the bodies back to Vienna.  Because Sophie was not a member of the Imperial Family, she could not be interred at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.  Instead, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenburg were buried at Artstetten Castle in Artstetten-Pöbring, Austria with only immediate family in attendance.

The death of Franz Ferdinand was very difficult for the 84-year-old Emperor Franz Joseph to deal. He had suffered the tragedies of the execution of his brother Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico in 1867, the suicide of his son Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889, and the assassination of his wife Empress Elisabeth in 1898.  Emperor Franz Josef died in 1916 and was succeeded by his grandnephew Karl, the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Tombs of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg at Artstetten Castle in Artstetten-Pöbring, Austria, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Memorial Plaque of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Prince Albert I of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Prince Albert I of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

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.  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.

Albert Honoré Charles was born in Paris, France on November 13, 1848.  His father was Prince Charles III of Monaco and his mother was Antoinette de Merode, daughter of Count Werner de Merode and Countess Victoire de Spangen d’Uyternesse. Albert was his parents’ only child.

Albert’s first marriage was to Scottish Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, daughter of William Alexander Anthony Archibald Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and  Princess Marie Amélie of Baden. The couple was married on September 21, 1869, a month after their first meeting, at the Château de Marchais in Champagne, France.

The couple had one child:

Having been more or less forced into marriage, Mary Victoria and Albert were less than compatible.   Albert thought that his new wife was empty-headed and although Mary Victoria thought her husband to be handsome, she did not particularly like him.  Additionally, Mary Victoria did not like Monaco and the Mediterranean, so unlike her native Scotland.  19-year-old, pregnant Mary Victoria left Monaco with her mother and headed to her mother’s family home in the Grand Duchy of Baden now in Germany.

It was in Baden that Mary Victoria gave birth to the future Prince Louis II of Monaco on July 12, 1870.  Mary Victoria and Albert never reconciled.  Their marriage was annulled by the Roman Catholic Church in 1880 and civilly dissolved the same year by Prince Charles III of Monaco.  Their son Louis was raised in Baden by his maternal grandmother and did not see his father until he was 11 years old when he returned to Monaco to be trained for his future royal duties.

On September 10, 1889, upon the death of his father Prince Charles III, Albert became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. The following month, on October 30, Albert married the Dowager Duchess de Richelieu, born Marie Alice Heine in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Alice’s family was a German Berlin and Paris banking family and she was a cousin of the German poet Heinrich Heine.   Alice had married Marie Odet Armand Aimable Chapelle de Jumilhac, Marquis of Jumilhac, 7th Duke of Richelieu and Fronsac while a teenager, was widowed at age 21, and was left with a son and a daughter.  Alice and Charles did not have children, but Alice did much to make Monaco a cultural center with world-class opera, theater, and ballet.  Both Albert and Alice had affairs and the couple legally separated in 1902 but remained married.

Albert’s great interest for much of his life was the ocean.  In his younger days, he had served in the Spanish and French navies, and by the age of 22, he began to study the new science of oceanography.  He devised several techniques and instruments used for oceanographic measurement and exploration and participated in 28 scientific expeditions.  Albert was nicknamed “The Prince of the Seas” and his four research yachts, Hirondelle, Princesse Alice, Princesse Alice II, and Hirondelle II, took him all over the Mediterranean Sea, the Azores, and the Arctic.  Albert made four scientific voyages to Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the northernmost part of Norway for oceanographic and zoological study. In honor of his Arctic journeys, the northwestern part of Spitsbergen, Svalbard was named Albert I Land.  The Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, which he founded, has a world-class aquarium, museum, library, and research facilities in Paris.

Statue of Prince Albert I in Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Albert I of Monaco died in Paris, France on June 26, 1922, at the age of 73.  He was buried at the Cathedral of Monaco.  His second wife Alice died in Paris, France on December 22, 1925, and was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France.

Grave of Prince Albert I in Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco, Photo Credit – findagrave.com

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Principality of Monaco Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Philippa of Hainault, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Philippa of Hainault, Queen of England; Credit: Wikipedia

I’ve felt a closeness to Philippa of Hainault since 2005 when I made my second visit to Westminster Abbey.  My first visit was in 1990 with my sister and two children.  In 2005, I was with my husband and kept telling him I was sure I saw Edward the Confessor’s tomb in 1990, but couldn’t see it in 2005.  There was a verger nearby whose duty it was to answer questions, so I asked him.  He said that the route tourists go through the Abbey had changed since 1990 and he would show me how to see Edward the Confessor’s tomb.  He brought me to the tomb of Philippa of Hainault, located on a side aisle next to the main altar.  He told me to stand on the tomb’s edge and then I would be able to see into the Chapel of Edward the Confessor.  So there I was looking into the face of Philippa on her effigy while being able to see Edward the Confessor’s tomb.

Born June 24, 1314, Philippa was fourth of the nine children and the second of the five daughters of William I, Count of Hainault (also Count of Holland, Count of Avesnes and Count of Zeeland) and Joan of Valois.

Philippa’s siblings:

When Philippa was only eight years old, she was already being considered as a bride for the future King Edward III of England who was only seven. Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter was sent to inspect Philippa.  The bishop gave a very detailed report to King Edward II of England.  Seven years later in 1326, Prince Edward and his mother Queen Isabella were able to check out Philippa themselves when they visited the court of Hainault.  The young prince liked what he saw and he and Philippa were betrothed in the summer of 1326.

In January 1327, King Edward II abdicated after he had been politically opposed and his 14-year-old son became King Edward III.  A year later on  January 24, 1328, Edward and Philippa married at York Minster in York, England.  The couple’s main home was Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire, England.  It was Philippa’s favorite residence and the birthplace of four of her thirteen children including her eldest child, Edward the Black Prince, who was born days before her sixteenth birthday.  The sons of Edward and Philippa married into the English nobility and their descendants who later battled for the throne in the Wars of the Roses.

The children of Edward III and Philippa:

Like other medieval consorts, Philippa often accompanied her husband on military campaigns.  She was known for her kind nature and successfully pleaded for the lives of six burghers who had surrendered their city of Calais to King Edward III.  Philippa acted as regent for her husband several times while he was away from England. She was a patron of the chronicler Jean Froissart who said of her “The most gentle Queen, most liberal, and most courteous that ever was Queen in her days.”

Philippa died on August 15, 1369, of a “dropsical malady” (edema) that had bothered her for about two years.  She was 55 years old and had outlived seven of her children.  According to the chronicler Jean Froissart, Philippa died holding the hands of her husband and her youngest child Thomas who was fourteen years old.  She was buried in a tomb with an alabaster effigy in Westminster Abbey in London, England. Her husband King Edward III survived her by eight years.  He died in 1377 and was succeeded by his ten-year-old grandson Richard, the only child of his eldest son Edward the Black Prince who had died in 1376.

Effigy of Philippa of Hainault; Credit – www.westminster-abbey.org

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England: House of Plantagenet Resources at Unofficial Royalty

John, 1st Duke of Bedford

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

John, 1st Duke of Bedford praying before St. George, Credit – Wikipedia

Born on June 20, 1389, John was the third surviving son of the future King Henry IV of England and his first wife Mary de Bohun.  His paternal grandparents were John of Gaunt (son of King Edward III of England) and Blanche of Lancaster, the heiress of England’s wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster.  It was through Blanche that the Duchy of Lancaster came into the royal family.  His maternal grandparents were Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, and Joan Fitzalan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel  When John was five years old, his mother died while giving birth to her last child Philippa.

John had five surviving siblings:

In 1399, John’s father declared himself King Henry IV, imprisoned his cousin King Richard II, who died in 1400 under mysterious circumstances, and bypassed Richard’s seven-year-old heir-presumptive Edmund de Mortimer.  In 1403, John was made Constable of England and in 1410 he was confirmed in that position for life.  His father King Henry IV died in 1413 and his brother became King Henry V.  In 1414, John’s brother created him Duke of Bedford, Earl of Kendal, and Earl of Richmond.

When King Henry V died at the early age of 35 in 1422, he left his nine-month-old son to succeed him as King Henry VI.  John served as Regent for his young nephew and fought many battles against the French.  It was John who tried and executed Joan of Arc.

Anne of Burgundy, Duchess of Bedford; Credit – Wikipedia

John married Anne of Burgundy, daughter of John II the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy and Margaret of Bavaria in June of 1423.  The couple was childless.  Anne died on November 14, 1432, at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris, France from the plague.

Jacquetta of Luxembourg; CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=135902202

On April 22, 1433, John married 17-year-old Jacquetta of Luxembourg, daughter of Peter I, Count of Saint-Pol, Conversano and Brienne and Margaret de Baux in Thérouanne, France.  The marriage was short-lived and childless as John, Duke of Bedford died on September 14, 1435, at age 46 at his Castle of Joyeux Repos in Rouen, Normandy, France.  He was buried at Rouen Cathedral in France. John’s widow Jacquetta married Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers in 1437 and had fourteen children including Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of King Edward IV.

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