Category Archives: Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Wedding of Queen Victoria of The United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2017

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha were married at the Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace in London, England on February 10, 1840.

Queen Victoria’s Family

Queen Victoria with her mother; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 6, 1817, a great tragedy struck the British Royal Family. Twenty-one-year-old Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of George, Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, died after delivering a stillborn son. At the time of her death, Charlotte, who was second in line to the throne, was the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, despite the fact that thirteen of his fifteen children were still alive. Her death left no legitimate heir in the second generation and prompted the aging sons of George III to begin a frantic search for brides to provide for the succession.

George III’s eldest son (Charlotte’s father) and his second son Frederick, Duke of York, were in loveless marriages, and their wives, both in their late forties, were not expected to produce heirs. William, Duke of Clarence, age 53, married 26-year-old Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. 50-year-old Edward, Duke of Kent, married 32-year-old widow Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld. Victoria was the sister of Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Princess Charlotte’s widower, and the future Leopold I, King of the Belgians. Twenty-one-year-old Augusta of Hesse-Kassel married 44-year-old Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge. It was then the scramble to produce an heir began.

Within a short time, the three new duchesses and Frederica, the wife of Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, became pregnant. Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a son on March 26, 1819, and Adelaide, Duchess of Clarence had a daughter the following day. Victoria, Duchess of Kent produced a daughter on May 24, 1819, and three days later Frederica, Duchess of Cumberland had a boy. Adelaide’s daughter would have been the heir but she died in infancy. The child of the next royal duke in seniority stood to inherit the throne. This was Alexandrina Victoria, daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent and Victoria. The baby was fifth in line to the throne after her uncles George, Frederick, and William, and her father Edward.

The baby’s father, Edward, Duke of Kent died on January 23, 1820, eight months after her birth. Six days later, King George III’s death brought his eldest son to the throne as King George IV. Frederick, Duke of York, died in 1827, bringing the young princess a step closer to the throne. George IV died in 1830 and his brother William IV succeeded him. During William IV’s reign, little Drina, as she was called, was the heiress presumptive. There was always the possibility that King William IV and Queen Adelaide would still produce an heir, but it was not to be. William died on June 20, 1837, and left the throne to his 18-year-old niece, who is known to history as Queen Victoria.

Sources:
“Brewer’s British Royalty” by David Williamson
“Her Little Majesty” by Carolly Erickson
“Royal Weddings” by Dulcie M. Ashdown

Prince Albert’s Family

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Franz Albrecht August Karl Emanuel of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, better known by his anglicized name Albert, was born at Rosenau Castle near Coburg, in the Duchy of  Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in the German state of Bavaria, on August 26, 1819. Albert was the second son of the reigning Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. In 1825, the House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg became extinct and the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty were rearranged. Albert’s father then became the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Albert became a Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Albert’s parents had marital problems shortly after his birth. Ernst was a notorious womanizer and Louise also sought affection elsewhere. The couple separated in 1824 and divorced in 1826. After Louise’s early death from cancer in 1831, Ernest married his niece, Marie of Württemberg. Albert grew up at Rosenau Castle with Ernst, his older brother. The two brothers were complete opposites. Ernst grew up to be a womanizer like his father. Albert was serious-minded and had a great love for the arts and sciences.

The Coburg family had strong ties to the British Royal Family. Albert and Ernst’s uncle Leopold had married Princess Charlotte of Wales, who died tragically in childbirth. Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, their aunt, married George III’s son, Edward, Duke of Kent, and was the mother of Princess Victoria. Augusta Reuss of Erbesdorf, the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, grandmother of Victoria and Albert, suggested the possibility of marriage between them in a letter to her daughter Victoria, Duchess of Kent, in 1821, when the children were but two years old. Later, the idea was taken up by their uncle Leopold, who became the first King of the Belgians in 1831.

First cousins Victoria and Albert met for the first time in 1836 when Albert and Ernst visited England. Seventeen-year-old Victoria seemed instantly infatuated with Albert. She wrote to her uncle Leopold, “How delighted I am with him, and how much I like him in every way. He possesses every quality that could be desired to make me perfectly happy.”

In October 1839, Albert and Ernst again visited England, staying at Windsor Castle with Victoria, who was now Queen. On October 15, 1839, the 20-year-old monarch summoned her cousin Albert and proposed to him. Albert accepted, but wrote to his stepmother, “My future position will have its dark sides, and the sky will not always be blue and unclouded.”

Sources:
“Brewer’s British Royalty” by David Williamson
“Her Little Majesty” by Carolly Erickson
“Uncrowned King” by Stanley Weintraub
“Royal Weddings” by Dulcie M. Ashdown

The Wedding 

The wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Victoria proposed to her cousin Albert on October 15, 1839. He accepted, and the couple was married in the Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace on February 10, 1840, at 1 pm. Traditionally, royal weddings took place at night, but this wedding was held during the day so the Queen’s subjects could see the couple as they traveled down The Mall from Buckingham Palace, the short distance to St. James’ Palace.

WEDDING GUESTS

The Bride’s Family

  • The Dowager Duchess of Kent (Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld), the bride’s mother
  • Prince Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen and the Princess of Leiningen, the bride’s half-brother and his wife
  • Ernst Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Leiningen, the bride’s half-nephew
  • The Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (Princess Feodora of Leiningen) and Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the bride’s half-sister and her husband
  • Carl Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the bride’s half-nephew
  • Queen Adelaide, widow of the bride’s paternal uncle King William IV
  • Princess Augusta Sophia, the bride’s paternal aunt
  • King Ernst August and Queen Frederica of Hanover, the bride’s paternal uncle and aunt
  • George, Crown Prince of Hanover, the bride’s first cousin
  • Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex and Cecilia Underwood, 1st Duchess of Inverness, the bride’s paternal uncle and aunt
  • Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge and Duchess of Cambridge (Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel), the bride’s paternal uncle and aunt
  • Prince George of Cambridge, the bride’s first cousin
  • Princess Augusta of Cambridge, the bride’s first cousin
  • Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the bride’s first cousin
  • Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the bride’s paternal aunt
  • Princess Sophia, the bride’s paternal aunt

The Groom’s Family

(Note: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were first cousins.  Victoria’s mother and Albert’s father were siblings and so they share Saxe-Coburg-Gotha first cousins, aunts, and uncles)

  • Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his second wife Marie of Württemberg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the groom’s father and stepmother, and the bride’s maternal uncle and aunt
  • Ernst, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the groom’s brother, and the bride’s first cousin
  • Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia (Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld), the groom’s paternal aunt, and the bride’s maternal aunt
  • Prince Ferdinand and Princess Maria Antonia of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, the groom’s paternal uncle and aunt, and the bride’s maternal uncle and aunt
  • King Consort Ferdinand (Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry) and Queen Maria II of Portugal, the groom and bride’s first cousin and his wife
  • Prince August and Princess Clémentine of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry (Princess Clémentine of Orléans), the groom and bride’s first cousin and his wife
  • Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, the groom and bride’s first cousin
  • Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, the groom and bride’s first cousin
  • King Leopold I (Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld) and Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians (Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans), the groom’s paternal uncle and aunt, and the bride’s maternal uncle and aunt
  • Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant, the groom and bride’s first cousin
  • Prince Philippe of Belgium, the groom and bride’s cousin
  • The Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (Princess Karoline Amalie of Hesse-Kassel), the groom’s maternal step-grandmother

Wedding Attire

Victoria’s Wedding Dress; Credit – Wikipedia

Bridesmaid’s Dress; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

Albert wore the uniform of a British field marshal, over which hung the collar of the Order of the Garter, an honor Queen Victoria had recently bestowed on him. Victoria’s wedding dress was made from rich white satin trimmed with orange flower blossoms. On her head, she wore a wreath of the same flowers, over which was a veil of Honiton lace. She wore her Turkish diamond necklace and earrings and Albert’s wedding present of a sapphire brooch.

While Queen Victoria may have popularized the white wedding dress, she was not the first royal bride to wear one. Documentation from the 1406 wedding of Philippa of England, daughter of King Henry IV of England, and Eric of Pomerania, King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway indicates that Philippa wore a tunic and cloak in white silk bordered with gray squirrel and ermine, making her the first documented princess to wear a white wedding dress. In 1558, when Mary, Queen of Scots married the first of her three husbands, the future (and short-reigned) François II, King of France, she also wore white defying the tradition that white was the color of mourning for Queens of France.

Bridesmaids

The twelve bridesmaids, all daughters of peers of the realm, were dressed in tulle and white roses. Each bridesmaid received a gold brooch in the shape of an eagle covered in turquoise, rubies, and pearls with a diamond beak, designed by Victoria herself.

  • Lady Mary Howard, daughter of Henry Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk
  • Lady Caroline Gordon-Lennox, daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond
  • Lady Adelaide Paget, daughter of Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
  • Lady Eleanora Paget, granddaughter of Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
  • Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle
  • Lady Wilhelmina Stanhope, daughter of Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope
  • Lady Sarah Villiers, daughter of George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey
  • Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West, daughter of George Sackville-West, 5th Earl de la Warr
  • Lady Ida Hay, daughter of William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll
  • Lady Frances Cowper, daughter of Peter Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper
  • Lady Mary Grimston, daughter of James Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam
  • Lady Jane Pleydell-Bouverie, daughter of William Pleydell-Bouverie, 3rd Earl of Radnor

William Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, Edward Venables-Vernon, Archbishop of York, and Charles James Blomfield, Bishop of London performed the wedding ceremony. There had been no rehearsal and the chapel was too small for the large wedding party. The bridesmaids stepped on each other’s dresses and kicked each other’s heels. At times it appeared Albert was not quite sure what he should be doing, and he seemed rather awkward and embarrassed.

After the Wedding

The Wedding Cake; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

After the ceremony, the couple returned to Buckingham Palace for a wedding breakfast. Hundreds of wedding cakes were distributed, mainly to members of the royal family. The main wedding cake was more than nine feet in diameter, but only sixteen inches high. This remarkable piece of Victoriana consisted of Britannia gazing at the royal couple while they pledged their vows at the top of the cake. At their feet were two turtledoves and a dog. The letters “V & A” were visible as well as Cupid writing the date of the wedding on his tablet.

After the wedding breakfast, the couple changed into their traveling outfits. Prince Albert wore a dark suit, while Victoria wore a white satin cloak trimmed with swansdown and a textured white velvet bonnet with plumes of feathers and a deep fall of Brussels point lace. They set off for Windsor Castle, where they spent their two-day honeymoon.

Sources:
“Victoria & Albert: A Family Life at Osborne House” by The Duchess of York
“Prince Albert: A Biography” by Robert Rhodes James
“Queen Victoria” by Cecil Woodham-Smith
Wikipedia: Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

The Honeymoon

View from Coopers Hill, with Runnemede and Windsor Castle, engraved by E. Radclyffe after a picture by Thomas Allom, published 1842; Credit -Wikipedia

Newlyweds Victoria and Albert set off in a coach for Windsor Castle for a short honeymoon. There were so many well-wishers along the route that their arrival at Windsor was delayed. Victoria had a “sick headache” and had to lie down on a sofa. Despite this, she described her wedding night as “bliss beyond belief” and confided to her diary, “we did not sleep much.”

Anna Russell, The Duchess of Bedford, one of Victoria’s Ladies of the Bedchamber, observed that Albert seemed “not a bit” in love with Victoria and gave the impression of “not being happy.” He spent the afternoon lying down recovering from the previous day’s and night’s activities. After a very short stay at Windsor Castle, the couple returned to London where Victoria resumed her duties.

Sources:
“Brewer’s British Royalty” by David Williamson
“Her Little Majesty” by Carolly Erickson
“Uncrowned King” by Stanley Weintraub

Children of Victoria and Albert

Carte-de-visite photomontage, circa 1861 by John Mayall; Credit- Wikipedia

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children.

Unofficial Royalty: Queen Victoria’s Children and Grandchildren

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.

Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Consort

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

NPG x24138; Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha by Vernon Heath, printed and published by Samuel E. Poulton

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha by Vernon Heath, published by Samuel E. Poulton, albumen carte-de-visite, 1861 NPG x24138 © National Portrait Gallery, London

The husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Prince Franz Albrecht August Karl Emanuel of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, better known by his anglicized name Albert, was born at Rosenau Castle near Coburg, in the Duchy of  Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in the German state of Bavaria, on August 26, 1819. Albert was the second of the two sons of the reigning Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. In 1825, the House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg became extinct and the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty were rearranged. Albert’s father then became the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Albert became a Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Albert was christened with the German names Franz Albrecht August Karl Emanuel but was called Albrecht, Albert in English. His godparents were:

Albert had one brother who was fourteen months older:

Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, with her children, Albert and Ernst; Credit – Wikipedia

Since Albert and Ernst were close in age, they were also close companions during their childhood. However, their childhood was marred by their parents’ disastrous marriage, separation, and divorce. Albert’s mother and father, who were seventeen years apart in age, were very different and drifted apart soon after Albert’s birth. Albert’s father was a notorious womanizer and as a result, his young wife Louise sought consolation with Baron Alexander von Hanstein, the Duke’s equerry. Louise was exiled from court in 1824 and divorced in March 1826. Seven months later, Louise secretly married von Hanstein. She died in 1831 at the age of 30 from cancer of the uterus. After Louise’s exile from court in 1824, she probably never saw her sons again. In 1831, the Duke married again to Duchess Marie of Württemberg, his niece, the daughter of his sister Antoinette. The Duke and Marie had no children, but Marie had a good relationship with her stepsons, also her first cousins, and maintained a correspondence with Albert throughout their lives.

Albert was first educated at home by a caring tutor, Johann Christoph Florschütz, who had a lifelong correspondence with Albert. Albert then studied with private tutors in Brussels, Belgium, where his paternal uncle was King Leopold I of the Belgians. He then studied at the University of Bonn, which many German princes attended. While at the University of Bonn, Albert studied law, political economy, philosophy, and art history. In his free time, he played music and excelled in gymnastics, fencing, and riding.

The Coburg family had strong ties to the British royal family. Albert’s uncle Leopold (the previously mentioned King of the Belgians) had married Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of King George IV, who had died in childbirth. His aunt Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld had married King George III’s son, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and was the mother of the future Queen Victoria. Plans for a possible marriage between first cousins Victoria and Albert had first been mentioned by their grandmother the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg in letters to her daughter the Duchess of Kent in 1821. The idea was later taken up by their uncle Leopold.

In 1836, the cousins met for the first time when Ernst and Albert were taken by their father on a visit to England. Seventeen-year-old Victoria seemed instantly infatuated with Albert. She wrote to her uncle Leopold, “How delighted I am with him, and how much I like him in every way. He possesses every quality that could be desired to make me perfectly happy.” In October of 1839, Albert and Ernst again visited England, staying at Windsor Castle with Victoria, who was now Queen. On October 15, 1839, the 20-year-old monarch summoned her cousin Albert and proposed to him. Albert accepted, but wrote to his stepmother Marie, “My future position will have its dark sides, and the sky will not always be blue and unclouded.” The couple was married in the Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace on February 10, 1840, at 1 p.m. Traditionally, royal weddings took place at night, but this wedding was held during the day so the Queen’s subjects could see the couple as they traveled down The Mall from Buckingham Palace.

NPG D11227; The Bridal Morn (Queen Victoria; Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) by Samuel William Reynolds Jr, after Frederick William Lock

The Bridal Morn (Queen Victoria; Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) by Samuel William Reynolds Jr, after Frederick William Lock, mezzotint, published 1844 NPG D11227 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Shortly after his marriage, Albert wrote to a friend, “I am only the husband and not the master in my house.” Albert was expected to be ready at a moment’s notice to go to his new wife to read aloud, play the piano, be petted, or blot her signature. Victoria was delighted to parade Albert before her court and, as she confided to her diary, to have him put her stockings on her feet. During Victoria’s early pregnancies, Albert showed a talent for diplomatic dealings with her ministers and an ability to understand complex government documents. Soon Albert was dealing with more and more of Victoria’s governmental duties and they worked with their desks side-by-side. As Albert’s influence over Victoria grew, she began to defer to him on every issue.

Victoria was quite temperamental and had a strong sexuality which Albert apparently met, as evidenced by the birth of nine children. Albert was somewhat prudish and his high moral standards would never allow extramarital affairs. He found marriage to Victoria a full-time job which exhausted him physically and mentally. Victoria rewarded Albert by creating him Prince Consort in 1857.

All of Victoria and Albert’s nine children grew to adulthood. However, their youngest son, Leopold, was afflicted with the genetic blood clotting disease hemophilia and two of their daughters, Alice and Beatrice, were hemophilia carriers.

Albert and Victoria had nine children:

Victoria and Albert’s children and grandchildren married into other European royal families giving Victoria the unofficial title of “Grandmother of Europe.” Their grandchildren sat upon the thrones of Germany/Prussia, Greece, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom as monarchs or consorts. Through these marriages, Victoria and Albert’s daughters and granddaughters transmitted the genetic disease hemophilia to other royal families. Victoria and Albert’s descendants currently sit upon the thrones of Denmark, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Victoria and Albert and their nine children in 1857; Credit – Wikipedia

Victoria and Albert, whose primary residences were Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, felt they needed residences of their very own. Albert’s architectural talents are evident in the seaside Italian-style palace Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and in Balmoral, a castle in the Scottish highlands. Osborne and Balmoral became their favorite homes. Following Victoria’s death, Osborne was given to the state and served as a Royal Navy training college from 1903-1921. Today it is open to the public as a home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Balmoral Castle remains the private property of the monarch and is used by the British Royal Family for their summer holidays.

Balmoral Castle; Credit – By Stuart Yeates from Oxford, UK – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=728182

Besides helping Victoria privately with her paperwork, Prince Albert took on several public roles. He became President of the Society for the Extinction of Slavery. Slavery had already been abolished throughout the British Empire but was still legal in many places including the United States and the French colonies. After being appointed Chancellor of Cambridge University, Albert had the curriculum modified to include modern history and the natural sciences in addition to the traditional mathematics and classics.

Albert’s interest in applying science and art to the manufacturing industry led to the Great Exhibition of 1851.  Prince Albert and Sir Henry Cole, a civil servant and an inventor, organized the exhibition. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, the exhibition allowed countries to show their modern and technological achievements. Queen Victoria opened the exhibition in a specially designed glass building known as the Crystal Palace on May 1, 1851. It was a huge success and a surplus of £180,000 was used to purchase land in South Kensington, London on which was established educational and cultural institutions, including what would later be the Victoria and Albert Museum.

NPG D16397; The Great Industrial Exhibition of 1851. Plate 2. The Foreign Nave by Joseph Nash

The Great Industrial Exhibition of 1851. Plate 2. The Foreign Nave by Joseph Nash, hand-coloured lithograph, published 1851, NPG D16397 © National Portrait Gallery, London

After years of mismanagement by the previous Hanover monarchs, Albert managed to modernize the royal finances and investments, and under his watch, the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, the hereditary property of the Prince of Wales, steadily increased. Today’s British royal family can thank Prince Albert for their financial situation.

On March 16, 1861, Queen Victoria’s mother died. Because of Victoria’s grief, Albert took over many of her duties although he was chronically suffering from stomach problems. In the fall, Victoria and Albert learned that their 20-year-old eldest son Bertie (the future King Edward VII) was having an affair with an Irish actress. Devastated by this news, Albert traveled to Cambridge to discuss the matter with his son. On November 25, 1861, the two walked together in the pouring rain while Albert explained how horrified he and the Queen felt about the situation. Victoria later blamed her son for Albert’s final illness – “That boy…I never can, or ever shall look at him without a shudder.”

When Albert returned to Windsor Castle, he complained of shoulder, leg, back, and stomach pain and could not eat or sleep. He was examined by doctors who assured Victoria that Albert would be better in two or three days. Even while Albert was feeling ill, he was still working. When the Trent Affair, the forcible removal of Confederate diplomats from a British ship by Union forces during the American Civil War, threatened war between the United States and the United Kingdom, Albert intervened on November 30, 1861, to soften the British diplomatic response. His action probably prevented war between the United States and the United Kingdom.

However, Albert’s condition continued to worsen. Victoria continued to hope for a recovery, but finally, on December 11, the doctors told her the dismal prognosis. At 10:50 PM on December 14, 1861, Albert died in the presence of his wife and five of their nine children.

Sir William Jenner, one of Prince Albert’s doctors, diagnosed his final illness as typhoid fever, but Albert’s modern biographers have argued that the diagnosis is incorrect. Albert had been complaining of stomach pains for two years and this may indicate that he died of some chronic disease, perhaps complications from Crohn’s disease, kidney failure, or cancer.

L0021975 The last moments of HRH the Prince Consort.

The last moments of HRH the Prince Consort, Credit: Wellcome Library, London

Left a widow with nine children at the age of 42, the Queen’s grief was immense. She withdrew from public life and wore black for the 40 years that she survived Albert. The Blue Room in Windsor Castle where Albert had died was kept as it had been when he was alive, complete with hot water brought in the morning, and linen and towels changed daily.  Queen Victoria’s family called December 14 “Mausoleum Day”. They were expected to attend the annual memorial service in the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore where Albert was buried. After her death on January 22, 1901, at the age of 81, Victoria was interred alongside her beloved Albert in the Royal Mausoleum.

Sarcophagus of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, Credit – www.findagrave.com

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 Hanover and Queen Victoria Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, King Consort of Portugal

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, King Consort of Portugal – source: Wikipedia

Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the husband of Queen Maria II of Portugal and was created King Consort following the birth of their eldest son.

He was born Ferdinand August Franz Anton on October 29, 1816, in Vienna, Austria the eldest child of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág. Ferdinand had three younger siblings:

Through his father, Ferdinand was a first cousin of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert, as well as King Leopold II of Belgium and Empress Carlota of Mexico, born Princess Charlotte of Belgium.

Queen Maria II of Portugal, painted by John Simpson. source: Wikipedia

Ferdinand married Queen Maria II of Portugal at the Palácio das Necessidades in Lisbon, Portugal on April 9, 1836, and was created Prince Consort. The marriage, arranged by Ferdinand’s uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium, proved to be a happy one. Over the next seventeen years, they had eleven children:

In keeping with tradition, Ferdinand was elevated to King Consort following the birth of their eldest son, the future King Pedro V. Although titled as King, Ferdinand preferred to stay out of politics and left the affairs of state to his wife. He instead focused his attention on the arts. However, like his cousin Albert, Ferdinand often stood in for his wife during her numerous pregnancies. The Queen supported Ferdinand’s love of the arts and his interest in maintaining and restoring the architectural heritage of many buildings and monuments in Portugal. In the late 1830s, Ferdinand purchased the former monastery of Our Lady of Pena and its surrounding land, and the nearby Castle of the Moors, located in the Sintra Mountains. Having stood unused for some time, the buildings at the monastery were in desperate need of repair. Ferdinand restored them and built around them a stunning palace that would serve as a summer residence for the royal family. Today, the Pena National Palace is a national monument and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal and is used for state functions.

King Ferdinand with his daughter-in-law, Queen Maria Pia, and his sons Infante Augusto, and King Luís, 1862. source: Wikipedia

On November 15, 1853, Queen Maria II died after giving birth to their last child. Ferdinand served as Regent for his eldest son King Pedro V until he came of age. In 1862, after the overthrow of King Otto of Greece, Ferdinand was named as a candidate for the Greek throne, which he quickly declined. Several years later, after the overthrow of Queen Isabella II of Spain, he was offered the Spanish throne. Again, he declined, preferring to enjoy his private life.

King Ferdinand and The Countess of Edla, c1885. source: Wikipedia

On June 10, 1869, in Lisbon, Ferdinand married again to Elise Hensler, a Swiss-born American actress. The couple first met in 1860 when Elise was performing in an opera in Lisbon. A relationship quickly began, as the two found their shared passion for arts and gardening. Just before they married, Ferdinand’s cousin, Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, created Elise Countess of Edla in her own right. They had no children. Ferdinand and Elise lived at the Pena National Palace where they indulged their love of gardening and continued their unyielding support for the arts, including sponsoring several noted Portuguese artists and musicians.

King Ferdinand died at the Pena National Palace in Sintra, Portugal on December 15, 1885, survived by only three of his children. He is buried beside his first wife in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza, at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal.

Several years after Ferdinand’s death, his widow sold his estates, including the Pena National Palace and the Palace of the Moors, to Ferdinand’s grandson, King Carlos I. The Countess of Edla survived her husband by 44 years. She passed away in Lisbon on May 21, 1929, and is buried in the Prazeres Cemetery in Lisbon.

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.

Portugal Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria – source: Wikipedia

Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria was born on February 26, 1861, at the Palais Coburg in Vienna, Austria. At birth, he was Prince Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry, a member of the Catholic Koháry branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was the son of Prince August of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry and Princess Clémentine of Orléans, daughter of King Louis Philippe I of the French.

Ferdinand had four older siblings:

Ferdinand with his mother, c1866. source: Wikipedia

The Koháry branch began with Ferdinand’s grandfather who married Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya, who was Catholic. She was the daughter and heiress of one of the largest landowners in Hungary. Upon her father’s death in 1826, the couple inherited his estates and fortune, at which point her husband and the rest of the family converted to Roman Catholicism and added Koháry to the family name.

Prince Ferdinand grew up in Vienna, where his father was a General in the Austrian military. He attended and graduated from the Theresianum Academy and became a Colonel in the Second Regiment of the Austrian Hussars, where he would remain until 1887. From a young age, he developed an interest in ornithology, entomology, and botany – subjects that fascinated him his entire life. During his schooling, Ferdinand and his brother Ludwig August embarked on a scientific expedition on the Amazon River, after which Ferdinand published a study, ‘Description of Birds by Prince Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg and Gotha’ in 1884.

Ferdinand – source: Wikipedia

In 1886, after the abdication of Alexander of Battenberg as reigning Knyaz (Prince) of Bulgaria, a search began for a new prince. Many European princes refused, fearing the same fate as Alexander Battenberg. However, Prince Ferdinand’s mother put forth his name. Following a vote by the National Assembly, Ferdinand was elected Knyaz of Bulgaria on July 7, 1887, although he remained unrecognized by the Great Powers.

Ferdinand and Maria Luisa, 1893. source: Wikipedia

Knowing that establishing a royal house and ensuring the succession would be crucial, Ferdinand married Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma on April 20, 1893. She was the daughter of Robert I, Duke of Parma and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Ferdinand’s mother arranged the marriage before the couple had met each other. Despite Ferdinand’s complete disinterest in his wife, the couple had four children:

The early years of Ferdinand’s reign brought Bulgaria to the forefront of the Balkan countries, primarily due to the efforts of Prime Minister Stefan Stambolov. However, Russia had severed diplomatic relations, and Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia was strongly opposed to recognizing Ferdinand as Prince. After Alexander’s death, his son Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, who was much more moderate, proposed a reconciliation providing that Ferdinand’s heir was raised in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Despite the feelings of Ferdinand’s Catholic family, he realized that formal recognition from Russia would be necessary before any European country would recognize him. On February 2, 1896, Ferdinand had his son Boris baptized in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church with Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia as a godparent. Soon after, Ferdinand was recognized as Prince of Bulgaria by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Ferdinand quickly began to bring Bulgaria to the level of other European monarchies.

Prince Ferdinand, c1897. source: Wikipedia

The Bulgarian army became one of the most powerful in the Balkan region and Ferdinand established universities, an arts academy, a seminary, and technical schools around the country. He founded the Institute of Natural Sciences with a museum, zoo, and botanical gardens. The nation’s railway and road network was developed, and new post offices and telegraph stations opened throughout Bulgaria.

Ferdinand and his second wife, Eleonore, on their wedding day. source: Wikipedia

Having given birth to three children, and expecting a fourth within five years had taken a toll on Maria Louise’s already frail health. She developed pneumonia while pregnant with her youngest child, and died on January 31, 1899, just a day after giving birth. Nine years later, on February 28, 1908, Ferdinand married Princess Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz. She stepped in as a mother to his children, although the couple did not have children.

Since its establishment as a principality, Bulgaria was under the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire. However, on October 5, 1908, Ferdinand proclaimed independence, elevating Bulgaria to a kingdom and becoming Tsar Ferdinand I. Much of the next ten years was consumed by war. The First Balkan War in 1912 saw significant land gains, but these were nearly all negated by losses during the Second Balkan War the following year, and soon, World War I began. In the beginning, Bulgaria remained neutral while being courted by both sides due to the country’s location and strong military. Having entered the war in the fall of 1915, siding with the Central Powers, initial successes were soon overshadowed by significant losses and defeats. On October 3, 1918, taking full responsibility for the loss of the war, Tsar Ferdinand abdicated in favor of his son Boris. Ferdinand settled in Coburg, where he devoted his time to his favorite pastimes – art, gardening, travel, and history.

In 1943, his son Tsar Boris III died after visiting Hitler in Germany and was succeeded by his son Simeon who was just six years old. In 1945, Ferdinand’s other son Kyril was executed, and in 1946, the young Simeon was deposed, and the Bulgarian monarchy was abolished. Heartbroken at the loss of his family and his kingdom, Ferdinand died in Coburg on September 10, 1948. Unable to be buried in Bulgaria at the time, his remains were temporarily placed in the crypt of St. Augustine’s Church in Coburg, besides those of his parents. On May 29, 2024, the remains of Ferdinand I were transported from Coburg to Sofia, Bulgaria where they were interred in the Palace Crypt at Vrana Palace on the outskirts of Sofia.

Reburial of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria in the Palace Crypt at Vrana Palace; Credit – Photo: King Boris and Queen Giovanna Royal Heritage Fund

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Bulgaria Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Leopold I, King of the Belgians

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Leopold I, King of the Belgians; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold I, King of the Belgians was born a Prince of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld on December 16, 1790, at Ehrenburg Palace in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany. He was the youngest surviving son of Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf. Among his siblings was the mother of Queen Victoria and the father of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband. In 1826, during the reign of his brother Ernst I, Saxe-Coburg acquired the city of Gotha from the neighboring Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and gave up Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen, thereby becoming the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Leopold had eight siblings:

Due to the marriage of his sister Juliane to Grand Duke Konstantine Pavlovich of Russia, Leopold, at the age of five, received the honorary rank of Colonel of the Izmaylovsky Regiment, part of the Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army. When the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was conquered in 1806 by Napoleon’s troops, Leopold went to Paris and became part of Napoleon’s court. Emperor Napoleon offered Leopold the position of Adjutant by Emperor Napoleon, but Leopold refused. In 1812, Leopold joined the Russian Imperial Army and was assigned to the staff of his brother-in-law Grand Duke Konstantine Pavlovich. At the time, Russia was at war with France and Leopold fought against Napoleon’s army and distinguished himself at the Battle of Kulm leading the cuirassier division. In 1815, the year of Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Leopold was 25 and had reached the rank of Lieutenant General in the Imperial Russian Army.

In 1814, at a party at the Pulteney Hotel in London, England, Leopold met Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV). Charlotte was second in the line of succession to the British throne and assuredly would succeed her father on the throne. Charlotte invited Leopold to call on her, and he did, remaining for 45 minutes, and then writing a letter to Charlotte’s father apologizing for any indiscretion. This letter impressed George very much, although he did not consider the impoverished Leopold as a possible husband for his daughter.

Charlotte’s father and his advisers had selected Willem, Hereditary Prince of Orange, son and heir-apparent of Prince Willem VI of Orange, as her future husband. Charlotte was not impressed with Willem and now had in her mind that Leopold would be her husband. Her father refused to give up hope that Charlotte would agree to marry the Dutch Prince. However, Charlotte wrote, “No arguments, no threats, shall ever bend me to marry this detested Dutchman.” In January 1816, Charlotte made a desperate plea to her father to allow her to marry Leopold. Leopold came to England in February 1816 to be interviewed by the Prince of Wales, who was impressed with Leopold and agreed to the marriage. On March 14, 1816, an announcement was made in the House of Commons that Charlotte and Leopold were to marry. Parliament voted Leopold £50,000 per year, purchased Claremont House for the couple, and allowed them a generous single payment to set up house.

Charlotte and Leopold were married on May 2, 1816, in the Crimson Drawing Room at Carlton House, the Prince of Wales’ London home. Oatlands in Surrey, the country home of Charlotte’s uncle Prince Frederick, Duke of York, was the site of the honeymoon. After the honeymoon, the newlywed couple settled at Claremont House near Esher, England which the British nation had purchased by an Act of Parliament as a wedding gift for Charlotte and Leopold. Leopold was made a British citizen, received the honorary rank of Field Marshal, and was created a Knight of the Order of the Garter The marriage was deemed to be a success and the couple was blissfully happy.

Engraving of the wedding of Charlotte and Leopold in 1816; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte suffered two miscarriages in the early months of her first two pregnancies, but the third pregnancy in 1817 gave Charlotte and Leopold hope. Charlotte was second in the line of succession, and she would have succeeded her father, the future George IV, as the queen but on November 6, 1817, a great tragedy struck the British Royal Family. After a labor of over 50 hours, Charlotte delivered a stillborn son. Several hours later, twenty-one-year-old Princess Charlotte, the only child of George, Prince of Wales and King George III’s only legitimate grandchild, died of postpartum hemorrhage. The British people mourned Charlotte like the mourning of Diana, Princess of Wales. She was buried in the Royal Tomb House at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle with her stillborn son at her feet. Charlotte’s pregnancy and delivery had been grossly mismanaged, and the doctor in charge later died by suicide.

After Charlotte’s death, Leopold continued to live at Claremont House and was granted the British style of Royal Highness. In 1828-1829, Leopold had an affair with actress Karoline Bauer, a cousin of his adviser Baron Christian Friedrich von Stockmar. Karoline came to England with her mother and took up residence at Longwood House, a few miles from Claremont House. In 1830, after the Greeks rebelled against the Ottoman Empire, Leopold was offered the Greek throne. He refused because he considered the country too unstable, and Otto of Bavaria became King of Greece.

In August 1830, the southern provinces (modern-day Belgium) of the Netherlands rebelled against Dutch rule. International powers meeting in London agreed to support the independence of Belgium, even though the Dutch refused to recognize the new country. On April 22, 1831, Leopold was asked by the Belgian National Congress if he wanted to be King of the Belgians. Leopold swore allegiance to the new Belgian constitution on July 21, 1831, and became the first King of the Belgians. Each year July 21 is celebrated as Belgian National Day.

Leopold taking the constitutional oath by Gustaf Wappers; Credit – Wikipedia

Less than two weeks after Leopold became King of the Belgians, the Netherlands invaded Belgium. The small Belgian army was overwhelmed by the Dutch attack. Leopold appealed to the French for support and after the arrival of the French Armée du Nord in Belgium, the Dutch were forced to accept a diplomatic intervention and retreat to the pre-war border. Skirmishes continued for eight years, and finally, in 1839, Belgium and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of London establishing Belgium’s independence.

Leopold had to marry to provide for the Belgian succession. On August 9, 1832, Leopold married Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans, daughter of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French and Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, at the Château de Compiègne, in France. Since Leopold was Protestant and Louise-Marie was Catholic, they had a Catholic and a Protestant ceremony. Although Leopold remained Protestant, his children were raised as Catholics because the majority of Belgians were Catholic. Louise-Marie died on October 11, 1850, at the age of 38 from tuberculosis. She expressed a desire to be buried in Laeken in Brussels, Belgium. Leopold had the Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium built in her memory. Louise-Marie was buried there and the crypt there has become the burial site for the Belgian royal family.

Wedding of Leopold and Marie Louise of Orleans in the chapel of the Château de Compiègne; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold and Louise-Marie had four children:

Drawing of King Leopold I and his family; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1840, Leopold helped arrange the marriage of his niece Queen Victoria, his sister’s daughter, to his nephew Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, his brother’s son. Even before Victoria succeeded to the throne, Leopold had been advising her by letter, and after her accession continued to influence her.

Leopold (right), with Queen Victoria and the British royal family, in an early photograph of 1859; Credit – Wikipedia

In foreign policy, Leopold’s principal objective was Belgium’s neutrality. Because of his family connections and position as the head of a neutral and non-threatening country, Leopold acted as an important intermediary in European politics during his reign. Leopold played a particularly important role in moderating relations between the Great Powers, especially between Great Britain and the French Empire under Napoleon III.

Leopold had a twenty-year relationship with Arcadie Claret (1826-1897). Arcadie was from Brussels and was the daughter of Major Charles-Joseph Claret (1789-1867), a veteran of Napoleon’s army and the treasurer of the Ministry of War’s Fund for Widows and Orphans of the Belgian Army. Leopold met Arcadie sometime between 1842-1844. She was only in her late teens, and almost immediately became his mistress. Leopold installed her in a luxurious house in Saint-Josse-ten-Node near Brussels. Because the affair did not go unnoticed and was discussed in detail in the press, Leopold arranged a marriage in 1845 between Arcadie Claret and his servant and friend Ferdinand Meyer, originally from Coburg.

Arcadie Claret; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold and Arcadie had two sons: George (1849-1904), born a few days before the death of Queen Marie-Louise, and Arthur (1852-1940). The boys were recognized as the sons of Ferdinand Meyer. After Queen Marie-Louise’s death, with financial and political support from Leopold, Arcadie bought Castle Stuyvenberg in Laeken, and she lived there with her children until Leopold died in 1865. Her second son was born there, and her mother, sisters, and brothers also lived there. In 1862, at Leopold’s request, his sons were created Freiherr von Eppinghoven (Baron of Eppinghoven) by his nephew, Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1863, Arcadie was created Freifrau von Eppinghoven (Baroness of Eppinghoven).

George and Arthur had a princely upbringing and were privately taught by tutors. Leopold spent much of his afternoons, and sometimes whole days with Arcadie and their sons. Arcadie often accompanied him on his trips. In Leopold’s old age, Arcadie was his nurse and she was with him during his last illness. Before his death, Leopold secured the futures of Arcadie and their sons. After Leopold’s death, Castle Stuyvenberg was secretly sold to his son and successor King Leopold II. In 1900, the castle became part of the Royal Trust.

After Leopold’s death, his son George was placed in the protection of his first cousin Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Later he became an officer in the Prussian army. Arthur became the Grand Marshal of the Ducal Court of Coburg. As a representative of Coburg in 1909, he was present at the funeral of his half-brother King Leopold II.

King Leopold I of the Belgians; Credit – Wikipedia

King Leopold I of the Belgians died on December 10, 1865, at the age of 74 at the Royal Palace in Laeken, Belgium.  Among his last words were “Charlotte…Charlotte.”  Was he calling to his daughter or his beloved first wife Princess Charlotte of Wales? King Leopold was buried in the Royal Crypt in the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, in Brussels, Belgium with his wife Queen Marie-Louise.

Funeral of Leopold in Brussels; Credit – Wikipedia

Tomb of Leopold and Louise-Marie; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Kingdom of Belgium Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Alexandrine of Baden, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: In 1675, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died. Initially, his seven sons collectively governed the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, as set out in their father’s will. In 1680, the seven brothers concluded a treaty of separation, with each brother getting a portion of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha Altenburg and becoming a Duke. One of the seven new duchies was the Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld and Johann Ernst, one of the seven sons of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg became the first Duke of Saxe-Saalfeld.  When two of his brothers died without male heirs, Johann Ernst took possession of Coburg (in 1699) and Römhild (in 1714). In 1699, Johann Ernst’s title changed to Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

In 1825, 145 years after the initial split, another line became extinct and there was another split between three surviving duchies. Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld became Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. For more information on the switch, see Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Index.

On November 9, 1918, after the German Empire lost World War I, the Workers’ and Soldiers Council of Gotha, deposed the last Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Charles Edward, a grandson of Queen Victoria.  Five days later, he signed a declaration relinquishing his rights to the throne. The territory that encompassed the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is now in the German states of Bavaria and Thuringia.

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Alexandrine of Baden, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexandrine of Baden (Alexandrine Luise Amalie Friederike Elisabeth Sophie) was born Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on December 6, 1820. She was the eldest of the eight children of Leopold I, Grand Duke of Baden and Princess Sophie of Sweden.

Alexandrine had seven siblings:

Alexandrine, standing next to her mother, with four of her siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexandrine was first courted by the future Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. He visited her in Baden and preliminary marriage negotiations took place. However, on his way home to Russia, Alexander visited Hesse-Darmstadt and met Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine who was eventually his bride. On May 13, 1842, in Karlsruhe, Baden (now in Germany) Alexandrine married the future Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Before the marriage, Ernst was suffering from a venereal disease as a result of his many affairs. He had been warned that continued promiscuity could leave him unable to father children. Ernst had at least three illegitimate children, but his marriage was childless, perhaps due to Ernst passing the venereal disease to Alexandrine causing her to become infertile. Alexandrine was loyal and devoted to her husband despite his infidelities and believed that their lack of children was her fault.

Alexandrine, Painting by Franz Winterhalter, 1842; Credit – Wikipedia

After his marriage, Ernst continued to have affairs that Alexandrine apparently accepted. At one point, Ernst had two mistresses living with him and Alexandrine. Ernst’s sister-in-law Queen Victoria could not understand how Alexandrine accepted this and wrote to one of her children, “Uncle E.’s conduct is perfectly monstrous and I must blame Aunt very much. They have not written to me yet – but when they do I shall have to write very strongly.”

On January 29, 1844, Ernst’s father died and he became Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernst was not well-loved by his people, but Alexandrine was. She supported many charities including the Ernst Foundation for needy students. During the Franco-German War, Alexandrine worked with the Red Cross dealing with the German wounded soldiers. For her work, she was awarded the Bavarian Order of Theresa and the Prussian Order of Louise. Alexandrine founded the Gymnasium Alexandrinum, an all-girls school that was funded by her school foundation. Upon her death, she left 620,000 marks from her personal assets for the good of the people of Coburg.

Alexandrine (in black) with the family of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Credit – Wikipedia

Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha died after a short illness at the age of 75 at Schloss Reinhardsbrunn in Coburg on August 22, 1893. Alexandrine survived him by eleven years, dying at Schloss Callenberg in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany on December 20, 1904, at the age of 84. She was buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in the Glockenberg Cemetery in Coburg.

Ducal Mausoleum in Glockenberg Cemetery; Credit – Wikipedia

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Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: In 1675, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died. Initially, his seven sons collectively governed the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, as set out in their father’s will. In 1680, the seven brothers concluded a treaty of separation, with each brother getting a portion of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha Altenburg and becoming a Duke. One of the seven new duchies was the Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld and Johann Ernst, one of the seven sons of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg became the first Duke of Saxe-Saalfeld.  When two of his brothers died without male heirs, Johann Ernst took possession of Coburg (in 1699) and Römhild (in 1714). In 1699, Johann Ernst’s title changed to Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

In 1825, 145 years after the initial split, another line became extinct and there was another split between three surviving duchies. Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld became Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. For more information on the switch, see Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Index.

On November 9, 1918, after the German Empire lost World War I, the Workers’ and Soldiers Council of Gotha, deposed the last Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Charles Edward, a grandson of Queen Victoria.  Five days later, he signed a declaration relinquishing his rights to the throne. The territory that encompassed the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is now in the German states of Bavaria and Thuringia.

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Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Credit – Wikipedia

Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born on June 21, 1818, at Ehrenburg Palace in Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany. He was the elder of the two sons of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his first wife Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Ernst had one brother:

Ernst (right) with his younger brother Albert and his mother Louise; Credit – Wikipedia

Since Ernst II and Albert were close in age, they were also close companions during childhood. However, their childhood was marred by their parents’ disastrous marriage, separation, and divorce. Ernst II’s mother and father were very different and drifted apart soon after Albert’s birth. Ernst I was a notorious womanizer, and as a result, his young wife Louise (who was 17 years younger than her husband) sought consolation with Baron Alexander von Hanstein, the Duke’s equerry. Louise was exiled from court in 1824 and divorced in March 1826. Seven months later, Louise secretly married von Hanstein. She died in 1831 at the age of 30 from cancer. After Louise’s exile from the court in 1824, she probably never saw her sons again. In 1831, Ernst I married again to Duchess Marie of Württemberg, his niece, the daughter of his sister Antoinette. Ernst I and Marie had no children but Marie had a good relationship with her two stepsons who were also her first cousins.

Ernst II and his brother Albert were first educated at home by a caring tutor, Johann Christoph Florschütz. Florschütz supervised the brothers over the next 15 years and was their primary caregiver. The brothers had lessons in German, Latin, English, French, history, science, philosophy, and geography. Their father often took lunch with his sons and occasionally took them hunting, but played only a minor role in their education. From June 1836 – April 1837, Ernst II studied mathematics, philosophy, foreign languages, and public and constitutional doctrine with private tutors in Brussels, Belgium, where his paternal uncle was King Leopold I of the Belgians. He then studied at the University of Bonn, which many German princes attended. While at the University of Bonn, Ernst II studied law and philosophy. In Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, Ernst II received a military education with the Royal Saxon Guards Cavalry.

Ernst II in 1842; Credit – Wikipedia

At the urging of his brother Albert, who had married Queen Victoria in 1840, Ernst II began his search for a bride. He was suffering from a venereal disease as a result of his many affairs and had been warned that continued promiscuity could leave him unable to father children.  However, he did not have an affair with Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland as depicted in the television series Victoria. The real Harriet was twelve years older than Ernst II and her husband George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland did not die until 1861. Harriet and her husband had a successful, loving marriage and had eleven children.

On May 13, 1842, in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, Ernst II married Princess Alexandrine of Baden, the daughter of Leopold I, Grand Duke of Baden and Princess Sophie of Sweden.  Ernst II had at least three illegitimate children, but his marriage was childless, perhaps due to his passing the venereal disease to Alexandrine causing her to become infertile. Alexandrine was loyal and devoted to her husband despite his infidelities and believed their lack of children was her fault.

Alexandrine in 1842, painted by Franz Winterhalter; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 29, 1844, Ernst II’s father died and he became Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernst II had financial difficulties throughout his reign due to his extravagance. In 1852, the constitutions of Coburg and Gotha merged into one constitution, converting the personal union of the two duchies into a real union. Ernst II was against his nephew Edward, Prince of Wales (Bertie) marrying Princess Alexandra of Denmark due to the Schleswig-Holstein Question, the relation of two duchies, Schleswig and Holstein to the Danish crown and the German Confederation. He had a reputation for being a strong friend of the United States. However, Ernst II was the only European sovereign to appoint an ambassador to the Confederate States of America. In 1862, after Otto of Bavaria, King of Greece was deposed, Ernst II was considered as Otto’s replacement. Eventually, the Princess of Wales’ younger brother Prince William of Denmark would become King George I of Greece. Ernst II was in favor of a German unified, federal state and supported Prussia in the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian Wars. In 1871, he was on the podium in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles when King Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor.

The Proclamation of the German Emperor by Anton von Werner, Ernst II in the white uniform on the podium on the far left; Credit – Wikipedia

Ernst II was an excellent musician, an amateur composer, and a great patron of the arts and sciences in Coburg. He was the friend and patron of the German writer Gustav Freytag and the “Waltz King” Johann Strauss. From February to May 1862, Ernst II took a trip to Africa with travel writer Friedrich Gerstäcker and the zoologist Alfred Brehm and described his experiences in a book. Ernst II enriched the art collection at the Veste Coburg and Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha and the collection became part of the Ducal Museum in Gotha.

Although Queen Victoria loved Ernst II because he was her dear Albert’s brother, he annoyed her. In 1891, when Victoria and Ernst II met in France, one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting wrote “…the old Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha has been here today with his wife. He is the Prince Consort’s only brother and an awful looking man, the Queen dislikes him particularly. He is always writing anonymous pamphlets against the Queen and Empress Frederick, which naturally creates a great deal of annoyance in the family…” Queen Marie of Romania, born Princess Marie of Edinburgh, said of her great uncle, he is “… an old beau, squeezed into a frock-coat too tight for his bulk and uncomfortably pinched in at the waist’, sporting a top hat, lemon coloured gloves, and a rosebud in his lapel.”

The Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1893; Credit – Wikipedia

Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha died after a short illness at the age of 75 at Schloss Reinhardsbrunn in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany, on August 22, 1893. Thousands of people came to view the funeral procession. He was buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in the Glockenberg Cemetery in Coburg. Ernst was succeeded by his nephew Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.

Ducal Mausoleum in Glockenberg Cemetery; Credit – Wikipedia

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.

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Marie of Württemberg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: In 1675, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died. Initially, his seven sons collectively governed the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, as set out in their father’s will. In 1680, the seven brothers concluded a treaty of separation, with each brother getting a portion of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha Altenburg and becoming a Duke. One of the seven new duchies was the Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld and Johann Ernst, one of the seven sons of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg became the first Duke of Saxe-Saalfeld.  When two of his brothers died without male heirs, Johann Ernst took possession of Coburg (in 1699) and Römhild (in 1714). In 1699, Johann Ernst’s title changed to Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

In 1825, 145 years after the initial split, another line became extinct and there was another split between three surviving duchies. Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld became Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. For more information on the switch, see Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Index.

On November 9, 1918, after the German Empire lost World War I, the Workers’ and Soldiers Council of Gotha, deposed the last Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Charles Edward, a grandson of Queen Victoria.  Five days later, he signed a declaration relinquishing his rights to the throne. The territory that encompassed the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is now in the German states of Bavaria and Thuringia.

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Marie of Württemberg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Credit – Wikipedia

Marie of Württemberg (Antoinette Friederike Auguste Marie Ann) was the second wife and the niece of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Born on September 17, 1799, in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany, she was the eldest child and the only daughter of Duke Alexander of Württemberg and Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.  Marie had four brothers, but only two survived childhood. Marie and her brothers were first cousins of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

  • Paul of Württemberg (1800–1801)
  • Alexander of Württemberg (1804-1881), married (1) Marie d’Orléans, daughter of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, had one son; (2) Katharine Amalie Pfennigkaüfer, no issue
  • Ernest of Württemberg (1807–1868), married Nathalie Eschborn, had one daughter
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand of Württemberg (1810 – 1815)

Marie’s first three years were spent at Schloss Fantaisie in Bayreuth, Bavaria (Germany). Her paternal aunt Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg (known as Maria Feodorovna after her marriage) was the second wife of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. After serving in the Württemberg and Austrian armies, Marie’s father joined the Imperial Russian Army as a Lieutenant General and commander of the Riga Cuirassier Regiment. As a result, Marie lived on an estate at Mitau in present-day Latvia and in a palace in St. Petersburg, Russia from 1802-1832.

On December 23, 1832, Marie married her uncle Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha at Schloss Ehrenburg in Coburg. The groom was 48 and the bride was 33. Ernst had been anxious to find a new bride after the death of his first, estranged wife, Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. However, Ernst’s age and his negative reputation left him with limited choices for a bride. His mother Augusta, Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha arranged the marriage between her son and her granddaughter. After her marriage, Marie was not only the first cousin but also the stepmother of her husband’s sons from his first marriage, Ernst (later Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) and Albert (later husband of Queen Victoria). Marie and Ernst had no children, but Marie had a good relationship with her stepsons and maintained a correspondence with Albert throughout their lives.

Marie was interested in literature, music, theater, art, and education. The newly built Landestheater Coburg opened on her 41st birthday. The composer Franz Liszt frequently visited her. In 1836, Marie took over the management of the Gothaer Marien-Institut, a private school for girls. The Marienschulstiftung (Marie School Foundation) opened in 1842 and still runs the kindergarten and nursery school that Marie started.

After Ernst died in 1844, Marie lived in her three dower castles in Gotha, Schloss Reinhardsbrunn, Schloss Friedrichsthal, and Schloss Friedenstein. She returned to Coburg whenever her English relatives visited. Marie died at Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Thuringia, Germany on September 24, 1860, at the age of 61 and was buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in the Glockenberg Cemetery in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany.

The Ducal Mausoleum in the Glockenberg Cemetery. photo: by Störfix – Selbst fotografiert, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4010189

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Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: In 1675, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died. Initially, his seven sons collectively governed the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, as set out in their father’s will. In 1680, the seven brothers concluded a treaty of separation, with each brother getting a portion of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha Altenburg and becoming a Duke. One of the seven new duchies was the Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld and Johann Ernst, one of the seven sons of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg became the first Duke of Saxe-Saalfeld.  When two of his brothers died without male heirs, Johann Ernst took possession of Coburg (in 1699) and Römhild (in 1714). In 1699, Johann Ernst’s title changed to Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

In 1825, 145 years after the initial split, another line became extinct and there was another split between three surviving duchies. Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld became Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. For more information on the switch, see Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Index.

On November 9, 1918, after the German Empire lost World War I, the Workers’ and Soldiers Council of Gotha, deposed the last Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Charles Edward, a grandson of Queen Victoria.  Five days later, he signed a declaration relinquishing his rights to the throne. The territory that encompassed the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is now in the German states of Bavaria and Thuringia.

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Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Credit – Wikipedia

Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Ernst Anton Karl Ludwig) was born January 2, 1784, in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany. He was the eldest son of Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf.

Ernst had eight siblings:

Because his sister had married into the Russian Imperial Family, Ernst received commissions as colonel and general of Russian army regiments. On May 10, 1803, Ernst was legally declared an adult so he could participate in the duchy’s government as his father was seriously ill. In October of 1806, Ernst fought on the Prussian side in the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt which pitted the forces of Emperor Napoleon I of France and King Frederick William III of Prussia against each other. The loss suffered by the Prussian army subjugated the Kingdom of Prussia to the French Empire for six years.

Ernst’s father died on December 9, 1806, and Ernst succeeded him as Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. However, as Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was occupied by Napoleon’s troops and under French administration, Ernst could not gain control of the government. In 1807, with the help of Russia, the Treaties of Tilsit restored control of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to Ernst.

Ernst served as a general in the Prussian Army and participated in campaigns against Napoleon. After the Napoleonic Wars, Ernst worked on rebuilding the duchy. In 1821, he gave the country a new constitution. He promoted science and the arts and built theaters in Coburg and Gotha. Ernst oversaw romantic neo-Gothic renovations to the castles Rosenau, Ehrenburg, Callenberg, and Reinhardsbrunn and established the English-style landscape park at the castles.

Ernst was long content with bachelorhood until his mother insisted he marry to provide the duchy with heirs. Ernst considered several candidates for marriage, including some of the daughters of Paul, Emperor of All Russia, but settled on Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, the only child and heiress of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. She was a lively, romantic, and well-educated girl who was excited at the prospect of marrying Ernst, whom she thought was handsome and kind. There is some indication that Louise had heard about Ernst’s womanizing (and his several illegitimate children) before her marriage, she was optimistic about a happy life with him.

Ernst was her distant cousin and 33 years old to Louise’s 16 at the time of the wedding. The match was arranged by Ernst’s mother to bring Louise’s territory of Gotha to the duchy. Due to the Salic Law in force in the duchy, Louise could not rule the territories herself, but a husband or son could claim them on her behalf. Louise also brought a healthy dowry to the marriage, which could be used to restore Saxe-Coburg’s long-faltering finances.

The wedding was held in Gotha on July 3, 1817. The couple had two sons:

Albert (left) and Ernst (right) with their mother Louise; Credit – Wikipedia

Although the marriage was initially happy, the couple soon grew apart due to Ernst’s infidelities. After discovering Louise’s affair with her chamberlain in 1824, Ernst forced Louise out of the duchy. She was exiled and permanently cut off from her children. The couple was officially divorced on March 31, 1826. Louise died of cancer in 1831 at the age of 30.

In 1825, while Ernst and Louise’s divorce proceedings were occurring, Friedrich IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Louise’s uncle, died without an heir. This necessitated a rearrangement of the Ernestine duchies. Ernst received Gotha and ceded Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen. He subsequently became Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

On December 23, 1832, Ernst married his niece Marie of Württemberg, the daughter of his sister Antoinette. The couple had no children and had little in common, but Marie had a loving relationship with her stepsons.

Marie of Württemberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Ernst died on January 29, 1844, at Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Thuringia, Germany. He was initially buried in the crypt of the Church of St. Moritz in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany. In 1860, his remains were re-interred in the Ducal Mausoleum in Glockenberg Cemetery in Coburg

Ducal Mausoleum in Glockenberg Cemetery; Credit – Wikipedia

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Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Galliera

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Galliera; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Beatrice (Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria) was the youngest child of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (the second son of Queen Victoria) and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (the daughter of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia). She was born Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria on April 20, 1884, at Eastwell Park in Kent, England, her parents’ leased country home.

Beatrice was christened at Eastwell House on May 17, 1884. Her godparents were:

Beatrice had four siblings:

Beatrice (on her mother’s lap), with her mother and siblings. source: Wikipedia

Due to her father’s military career, as well as his future role in Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Beatrice grew up in England, Malta, and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The youngest child in the family, she was perhaps more doted upon than her elder sisters and was known as ‘Baby’ or ‘Baby-Bee’. In July 1893, Beatrice was one of the bridesmaids at the wedding of her first cousin The Duke of York, to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (later King George V and Queen Mary). The following month, her father became the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha upon the death of his uncle. The family moved permanently to Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in the German state of Bavaria, taking up residence at Schloss Ehrenburg in Coburg. During their years in Coburg, Beatrice’s sisters were all married, and her brother survived an attempted suicide but died in a sanatorium a month later.

Following her father’s death in 1900, Beatrice remained with her mother in Coburg, living at the Palais Edinburg (which her father had purchased in the mid-1880s) and Schloss Rosenau. In 1902, she became involved in a relationship with her first cousin, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia. However, the Russian Orthodox Church forbade marriages between first cousins, and Michael’s brother, Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, refused to allow an exception. Michael ended the relationship the following year.

In 1906, Beatrice’s cousin, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, married King Alfonso XIII of Spain in Madrid. It was at the wedding that Beatrice met her future husband, Alfonso XIII’s first cousin Infante Alfonso of Spain, son of Infante Antonio, Duke of Galliera, and Infanta Eulalia of Spain.

The couple was married on July 15, 1909, in Coburg. A civil ceremony was held at Schloss Rosenau, followed by a Catholic Ceremony at St. Augustine’s Church, and a Lutheran ceremony at Schloss Callenberg. Unlike her cousin, Victoria Eugenie, Beatrice chose not to convert to Catholicism before her marriage. She did later convert in 1913.

Because of the difference in religion, there was dissent within the Spanish government. While King Alfonso XIII of Spain personally encouraged and supported the marriage, the government would not allow him to give formal consent. Therefore, upon marriage, the couple was banished from Spain, and Alfonso was stripped of his honors and titles, including that of Infante of Spain. They lived in Coburg until 1912, when they were permitted to return to Spain, and Alfonso’s titles and honors were restored. Beatrice and Alfonso had three sons:

  • Infante Alvaro (1910 – 1997) – married Carla Parodi-Delfino, had issue
  • Infante Alonso (1912 – 1936) – killed in action during the Spanish Civil War, unmarried, no issue
  • Infante Ataúlfo (1913 – 1974) – unmarried, no issue

Beatrice with her three sons, circa 1913. source: Wikipedia

In 1916, Beatrice and Alfonso were sent to Switzerland. Under the guise of an official mission, rumors quickly spread that it was due to either Beatrice’s influence on Queen Victoria Eugenie or because she had rebuffed the romantic advances of King Alfonso XIII, a notorious womanizer. After some time in Switzerland, the couple moved to England where their sons were educated at Winchester College. Eight years later, they were finally permitted to return to Spain.

In the following years, the Spanish monarchy was overthrown, and the country was thrown into civil war. Beatrice’s second son Alonso was killed in action, and the family lost their properties. Initially exiled to England, they eventually returned to Spain in 1937, and settled at a new estate, El Botánico, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where they would live for the rest of their lives. Beatrice died on July 13, 1966, at El Botánico. She is buried with her husband at the Convent of Capuchin Fathers in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain.

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