Category Archives: Former Monarchies

Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Mary, Duchess of Burgundy; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right was the only child of Charles I the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and the second of his three wives Isabella of Bourbon. She was born on February 13, 1457, at the Palace of Coudenberg in Brussels, Duchy of Brabant in the Burgundian State, now in Belgium. Mary’s paternal grandparents were Philip III the Good, Duke of Burgundy and the third of his three wives Isabella of Portugal. Her maternal grandparents were Charles I, Duke of Bourbon and Agnes of Burgundy, also Mary’s paternal great-aunt. At the time of Mary’s birth, her paternal grandfather Philip III the Good was Duke of Burgundy.

Mary was baptized Marie-Blanche (in French) on February 17, 1457, in the chapel at the Palace of Coudenberg by Jean of Burgundy, Bishop of Cambrai, who was the illegitimate son of Mary’s great-grandfather Jean I the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. Mary’s grandfather Philip III the Good, Duke of Burgundy chose not to attend the baptism as it was only for a girl.

Mary’s godparents were:

Mary’s aunt Anne of Burgundy, the illegitimate daughter of Mary’s grandfather Philip III the Good, Duke of Burgundy, was put in charge of her niece and appointed Jeanne de Clito as Mary’s governess. Jeanne was Mary’s most constant companion for the rest of her life. Mary received an excellent education befitting a future reigning Duchess of Burgundy. She enjoyed music, art, and chess but physical exercise was her greatest love. Mary especially enjoyed hunting, riding, falconry, and skating on the frozen ponds of the Palace of Coudenberg.

Mary’s father Charles I the Bold, Duke of Burgundy; Credit – Wikipedia

When Mary was eight years old, in 1465, her mother Isabella of Bourbon died from tuberculosis. In 1467, Mary’s grandfather Philip III the Good, Duke of Burgundy died and her father succeeded as Charles I, Duke of Burgundy. Charles had three marriages but ten-year-old Mary was his only child and became his heir presumptive.

Margaret of York, Mary’s stepmother; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1468, Mary’s widowed father married his third wife, the English Margaret of York, the daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, the leader of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses until he died in battle in 1460, and the sister of King Edward IV of England and King Richard III of England. Margaret and Charles were half-second cousins. They were both great-grandchildren of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the third surviving son of King Edward III, but from different wives of John. The first meeting of Margaret of York with Charles’s mother Isabella of Portugal and 11-year-old Mary was a resounding success, and the three of them would remain close for the rest of their lives.

The Burgundian State during the reign of Charles the Bold; Credit – By Marco Zanoli, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3977827

The vast and rich Burgundian State comprised parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany. Because of this, Mary had many suitors for her hand in marriage including the future King Charles VIII of France, Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine, and George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, supported by his sister and Mary’s stepmother Margaret of York. As early as 1463, when Mary was just six years old, Pope Pius II first suggested a marriage between Mary and four-year-old Archduke Maximilian of Austria, son of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria and Infanta Eleanor of Portugal. In the fall of 1473, the two fathers, Friedrich III and Charles the Bold, met to discuss a possible marriage. However, the negotiations failed and ended after two months.

Mary’s husband Maximilian; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s father’s main objective was to become a king by acquiring territories bordering and in between the territories of the Burgundian State. This caused the Burgundian Wars (1474 – 1477). On January 5, 1477, Charles I (the Bold), Duke of Burgundy was killed at the Battle of Nancy, and twenty-year-old Mary of Burgundy became the Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. Because Mary feared that King Louis XI of France would try to force her to marry his eldest son, she resumed marriage negotiations with Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III to marry his son Maximilian. King Louis XI of France tried to prevent the marriage by declaring that he was Mary’s overlord and refusing to consent to the marriage. However, Friedrich III agreed to the marriage of his son Maximilian and Mary. A proxy marriage was held on April 21, 1477, at Mary’s home, the Priesendorf in Bruges, County of Flanders, one of Mary’s lands, now in Belgium. On August 18, 1477, Maximilian arrived in Ghent, County of Flanders, now in Belgium, and on the next day, Maximilian and Mary were married in person.

Mary and Maximilian had three children:

Mary and Maximilian’s grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

It was through the marriage of Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip to Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon that the Habsburg lands would be joined with the Spanish lands. Philip and Juana’s son Carlos, best known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had many titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms. Carlos I was not only the first King of a united Spain and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, but he was also Charles I, Archduke of Austria, and Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, among many other titles.

Mary’s reign as Duchess of Burgundy and her marriage to Maximilian lasted only five years. In March 1482, despite being pregnant, Mary participated in a hunt in the woods near Wijnendale Castle in Flanders. She was an experienced rider and held her falcon in one hand and the reins in the other hand. However, Mary’s horse stumbled over a tree stump while jumping over a newly dug canal. The saddle belt under the horse’s belly broke causing Mary to fall out of the saddle and into the canal with the horse on top of her. Mary died from internal injuries, aged twenty-five, several weeks later, on March 27, 1482, at Wijnendale Castle, Flanders, Burgundian Netherlands, now Wijnendale, West Flanders in Belgium. She was buried in a beautiful tomb next to her father in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges in the County of Flanders, now in Belgium. Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip, who was not quite four years old, succeeded his mother as ruler of the Burgundian State under the guardianship of his father Maximilian.

Tomb of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

After Mary’s death, Maximilian’s father Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria died in 1493, and Maximilian succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands, becoming the reigning Archduke of Austria. He also became the de facto ruler of the Holy Roman Empire via his election as King of the Romans, heir to the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1486. In 1508, Maximilian proclaimed himself the elected Holy Roman Emperor with the approval of Pope Julius II, ending the long tradition of requiring a papal coronation for the adoption of the Holy Roman Emperor title.

After a very short marriage in name only to Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right, which the French forced Anne to annul, Maximilian married again, in 1494, to Bianca Maria Sforza. The marriage was not a happy one. Maximilian complained that Bianca Maria may have been more beautiful than his first wife Mary of Burgundy, but she was not as intelligent. Maximilian survived his first wife Mary by thirty-seven years, dying on January 12, 1519, aged 59 at the Castle of Wels in Wels, Upper Austria, now in Austria. He was buried at St. George’s Cathedral in Wiener Neustadt Castle in Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria, now in Austria. However, as per his will, Maximilian’s heart was placed in the tomb of his first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, County of Flanders, now in Belgium.

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

Works Cited

  • Abernethy, Susan. (2013) Mary of Burgundy, The Freelance History Writer. Available at: https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2013/03/23/mary-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 03 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/margaret-of-york-duchess-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 03 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maximilian-i-holy-roman-emperor-duke-of-styria-carinthia-and-carniola-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 03 May 2023).
  • Marie de Bourgogne (2023) Wikipedia (French). Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_de_Bourgogne (Accessed: 03 May 2023).
  • Maria von Burgund (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_von_Burgund (Accessed: 03 May 2023).
  • Mary of Burgundy (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Burgundy (Accessed: 03 May 2023).

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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Maximilian’s parents Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian I reigned as King of the Romans, the de facto leader of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 – 1508, Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 – 1519, and ruled his family lands as Archduke of Austria from 1493 – 1519. Maximilian was born on March 22, 1459, at Wiener Neustadt Castle in Wiener Neustadt, Archduchy of Austria now in the state of Lower Austria in Austria. He was the second of the five children and the second but the eldest surviving son of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria and Infanta Eleanor of Portugal. As his father was sovereign of the Austrian hereditary lands, Maximilian and his siblings received the title of Archduke/Archduchess of Austria at birth. Maximilian’s paternal grandparents were Ernst II, Duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola and his second wife Cymburgis of Masovia, a member of the Polish Piast dynasty. His maternal grandparents were King Duarte of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon.

Maximilian had four siblings but only one survived childhood:

  • Archduke Christoph of Austria (1455 – 1456), died in infancy
  • Archduchess Helene of Austria (1460 – 1462), died in early childhood
  • Archduchess Kunigunde of Austria (1465 – 1520), married Albrecht IV, Duke of Bavaria, had seven children
  • Archduke Johannes of Austria (1466 – 1467), died in early childhood

Since his elder brother died in infancy, Maximilian was prepared to be his father’s heir from an early age. When Maximilian was eight-years-old, his mother Eleanor, aged 32, died on September 3, 1467, from dysentery. In 1486, Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor ensured that his son Maximilian would succeed him as Holy Roman Emperor when the prince-electors unanimously elected Maximilian King of the Romans. The title King of the Romans was used to designate the successor to a Holy Roman Emperor elected during the lifetime of a sitting Emperor.

As early as 1463, when Maximilian was just four years old, Pope Pius II, who had previously been an advisor to Maximilian’s father as Enea Silvio Piccolomini, suggested a marriage between Maximilian and six-year-old Mary of Burgundy, the only child of Charles the Bold of Burgundy and the second of his three wives Isabella of Portugal. In 1467, Charles succeeded his father Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, and became Charles I, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast and rich Burgundian State that consisted of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany. If Charles the Bold did not have a son, his daughter Mary would become the Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. In the fall of 1473, the two fathers, Friedrich III and Charles the Bold, met to discuss a possible marriage. However, the negotiations failed and ended after two months.

Maximilian’s first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 5, 1477, during the Burgundian Wars, Charles I (the Bold), Duke of Burgundy was killed at the Battle of Nancy. Twenty-year-old Mary of Burgundy, the only child of Charles I, became the Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. Mary feared that King Louis XI of France would try to force her to marry his eldest son and resumed the marriage negotiations with Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III to marry his son Maximilian. King Louis XI of France tried to prevent the marriage by declaring that he was Mary’s overlord and refusing to consent to the marriage. However, Friedrich III agreed to the marriage of his son Maximilian and Mary. A proxy marriage was held on April 21, 1477, at Mary’s home, the Priesendorf in Bruges, County of Flanders, one of Mary’s lands, now in Belgium. On August 18, 1477, Maximilian arrived in Ghent, County of Flanders, now in Belgium, and on the next day, Maximilian and Mary were married in person.

Maximilian and Mary had three children:

It was through the marriage of Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip to Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon that the Habsburg lands would be joined with the Spanish lands. Philip and Juana’s son Carlos, best known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms. Carlos I was not only the first King of a united Spain and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, but he was also Charles I, Archduke of Austria, and Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, among many other titles.

Sadly, Maximilian and Mary’s marriage lasted only five years. In March 1482, despite being pregnant, Mary participated in a hunt in the woods near Wijnendale Castle in Flanders. She was an experienced rider and held her falcon in one hand and the reins in the other hand. However, Mary’s horse stumbled over a tree stump while jumping over a newly dug canal. The saddle belt under the horse’s belly broke causing Mary to fall out of the saddle and into the canal with the horse on top of her. Mary was seriously injured and was transported to Prinsenhof, her palace in Bruges, where she died, aged twenty-five, several weeks later from internal injuries. Mary was buried next to her father in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges in Flanders, now in Belgium. Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip, who was not quite four years old, succeeded his mother as ruler of the Burgundian State under the guardianship of his father Maximilian.

Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Maximilian’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian had a short second marriage to Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right. On September 9, 1488, Anne’s father François II, Duke of Brittany died as a result of a fall from his horse, and Anne became the Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Anne feared for the independence of her duchy against the might of France and so she arranged a marriage for herself with Maximilian. Maximilian and Anne were married by proxy in 1490, a marriage in name only. King Charles VIII succeeded his father as King of France in 1483. However, he was a minor, and his elder sister Anne of France and her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon served as regents. They refused to allow an in-person marriage between Anne and Maximilian because it would put the Habsburgs, Maximilian’s family, on two French borders. A month before Anne of Brittany’s father died, he had been forced to sign the Treaty of Verger, becoming a vassal of King Charles VIII of France and agreeing to seek Charles’ consent before arranging the marriage of his daughters. The Treaty of Verger was used to force Anne of Brittany to annul her proxy marriage to Maximilian and marry King Charles VIII of France.

On August 19, 1493, Maximilian’s father died and he succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands, becoming the reigning Archduke of Austria. He also became the de facto ruler of the Holy Roman Empire via his election as King of the Romans in 1486. In 1508, Maximilian proclaimed himself the elected Holy Roman Emperor with the approval of Pope Julius II, ending the long tradition of requiring a papal coronation for the adoption of the Holy Roman Emperor title.

Bianca Maria Sforza, Maximilian’s third wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian married again to twenty-one-year-old Bianca Maria Sforza, the daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 5th Duke of Milan and his second wife Bona of Savoy. In 1476, at the age of 4, Bianca Maria had been married to her 11-year-old first cousin Philibert I, Duke of Savoy, who died from tuberculosis at the age of 17. Maximilian and Bianca Maria were married by proxy on November 30, 1493, in the Duchy of Milan. Bianca Maria then traveled with her large dowry and large escort to Innsbruck. However, because Maximilian was dealing with a Turkish invasion of his Duchy of Styria, Bianca had to wait until March 16, 1494, to marry Maximilian in person.

The marriage was not a happy one. Maximilian complained that Bianca Maria may have been more beautiful than his first wife Mary of Burgundy, but she was not as intelligent. He considered Bianca Maria uneducated, talkative, naive, wasteful with money, and careless. Bianca Maria had a miscarriage shortly after her marriage and it seems that she was never able to conceive again. After 1500, Maximilian lost all interest in Bianca Maria. She lived with her own court of people from Milan in various castles. Bianca Maria, aged 38, died on December 31, 1510, in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria. Maximilian was not in Innsbruck when she died and did not return to attend her funeral.

Maximilian’s grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, also King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, and Duke of Burgundy by Bernard van Orley, 1519; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian’s reign was marked by the military and political restoration of the House of Habsburg and by the modernization of the administration of the Holy Roman Empire. Maximilian expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war, through his own marriage to Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, and the marriage of his son Philip to Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon. His grandson, the son of Philip and Juana, was Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, (reigned 1519 – 1556), King of Spain (reigned 1516 – 1556), Archduke of Austria (reigned 1519 – 1521), Lord of the Netherlands, and Duke of Burgundy (reigned 1506 – 1555). Charles, one of the most powerful ever monarchs, inherited and reigned over the dominions of his mother Juana (Castile and León, and Aragon) which would be united under Charles as the Kingdom of Spain, the dominions of his father Philip (the Burgundian State Philip had inherited from his mother Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, consisting of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany), and also the Habsburg dominions of his paternal grandfather Maximilian (Archduchy of Austria, Duchy of Styria, Duchy of Carinthia, and Duchy of Carniola, today parts of Austria and Slovenia). Charles would be elected Holy Roman Emperor after the death of his grandfather Maximilian in 1519.

Maximilian in the last year of his life, holding his personal emblem, a pomegranate Credit – Wikipedia

In 1501, Maximilian fell from his horse and badly injured his leg, causing him pain for the rest of his life. From 1514, he traveled everywhere with his coffin. In 1518, feeling his death was near after seeing an eclipse, he tried to return to his beloved Innsbruck but made it only to Wels in Upper Austria, where he suffered a stroke on December 15, 1518, that left him bedridden. However, Maximilian continued to read documents and receive foreign envoys. On January 12, 1519, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor,  Archduke of Austria died, aged 59 at the Castle of Wels in Wels, Upper Austria.

Tomb of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – By krischnig – Self-photographed, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87779171

Maximilian was buried under the steps of the altar at St. George’s Cathedral in Wiener Neustadt Castle in Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria, now in Austria. As per his will, his heart was placed in the tomb of his first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, County of Flanders, now in Belgium.

Tomb of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, where Maximilian’s heart was interred; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/friedrich-iii-holy-roman-emperor-duke-of-styria-carinthia-and-carniola-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021) What was the Holy Roman Empire?, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/what-was-the-holy-roman-empire/ (Accessed: May 2, 2023).
  • Mary of Burgundy (2023) Encyclopedia.com. Available at: https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mary-burgundy-1457-1482 (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
  • Maximilian I. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I._(HRR) (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
  • Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (2023a) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
  • Максимилиан I (император Священной Римской империи)  Maximilian (2023) Wikipedia (Russian). Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BD_I_(%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80_%D0%A1%D0%B2%D1%8F%D1%89%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A0%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8) (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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Infanta Eleanor of Portugal (Leonor in Portuguese) was the wife of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, who was also the reigning Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola and Duke (Duchy of Austria) and then Archduke of Austria (Archduchy of Austria). Eleanor was born on September 18, 1434, in Torres Vedras, Portugal. She was the sixth of the nine children and the third but the eldest surviving of the five daughters of King Duarte of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon. Eleanor’s paternal grandparents were King João I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster. Philippa was the daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, son of King Edward III of England, and therefore Eleanor’s father King Duarte was a great-grandson of King Edward III of England, a nephew of King Henry IV of England, and first cousin of King Richard II of England and King Henry V of England. Eleanor’s maternal grandparents were King Fernando I of Aragon and Eleanor, 3rd Countess of Alburquerque.

Eleanor had eight siblings:

In 1438, when Eleanor was four years old, her father King Duarte died from the plague, causing a political crisis in Portugal. Eleanor’s six-year-old brother became King of Portugal as Afonso V. It was assumed that King Duarte’s brothers would be the regents for the underage Afonso but in his will, Duarte had named his unpopular wife Eleanor of Aragon as regent. Duarte’s brother Infante João, Constable of Portugal gained the backing of the bourgeoisie in the Cortes, an assembly of representatives of the estates of the realm – the nobility, clergy, and bourgeoisie –  to elect his brother Infante Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, as regent. However, the nobility backed Eleanor of Aragon’s claim to be regent and threatened civil war. The crisis was defused by a complicated and tense power-sharing arrangement between Eleanor’s mother Eleanor of Aragon and her uncle Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra. Eleanor and her siblings were placed under the guardianship of their uncle Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra. In 1440, Eleanor of Aragon was removed from sharing the regency, and she left Portugal, living in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile where she died in 1445. It was in this tense atmosphere that Eleanor grew up.

Eleanor’s paternal aunt Isabella of Portugal had married Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast Burgundian State. In 1440, 25-year-old Friedrich, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola and then Duke of Austria, later Archduke of Austria, was unanimously elected King of the Romans. Although effectively Holy Roman Emperor, he would not officially become Holy Roman Empire until his coronation by the pope in Rome. A marriage with Friedrich was probably suggested by Eleanor’s aunt Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy. Eleanor was also suggested as a bride for the future King Louis XI of France but she preferred Friedrich because a marriage with him would make her an empress instead of a queen.

Eleanor meeting Friedrich for the first time by Pinturicchio, circa 1502-1507; Credit – Wikipedia

Marriage negotiations were conducted by Eleanor’s maternal uncle King Alfonso V of Aragon and Naples and completed in 1451. In November 1451, Eleanor left Portugal for the port city of Livorno, then in the Republic of Florence, now in Italy. After an arduous voyage, with stormy weather, skirmishes with pirates, and rumors that the ship had been lost at sea, Eleanor finally arrived in Livorno in January 1452 after a 104-day voyage. 18-year-old Eleanor met her 37-year-old groom-to-be in Siena on February 24, 1452, and together they traveled to Rome. On March 16, 1452, Eleanor and Friedrich were married by Pope Nicholas V. Finally, on March 19, 1452, Friedrich and Eleanor were anointed in St. Peter’s Basilica by Cardinal Francesco Condulmer, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, and then they were crowned as Holy Roman Emperor and Holy Roman Empress by Pope Nicholas V.

Eleanor and her son Maximilian from Empress Eleanor’s Book of Hours; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich and Eleanor had five children but only two survived childhood:

Eleanor and Friedrich were very different and their marriage was not happy. Eleanor loved dancing, gambling, and hunting while Friedrich was more serious. Friedrich sent Eleanor’s Portuguese entourage back to Portugal because of the cost which caused Eleanor to suffer from homesickness. Friedrich blamed Eleanor for causing the deaths of three of their children by making them eat Portuguese food, so he entirely took on the responsibility of raising their two surviving children.

A depiction of Eleanor’s tomb lid; Credit – Wikipedia

After fifteen years of marriage, Eleanor, aged 32, died on September 3, 1467, from dysentery in Wiener Neustadt, Duchy of Styria, now in Austria. She was buried at the Neukloster Abbey in Wiener Neustadt which was founded by her husband and where her three children who died in childhood were buried. Friedrich survived his wife Eleanor by twenty-six years, dying on August 19, 1493, at the age of 77. He was buried at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria in a magnificent tomb.

Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor in old age; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor had laid the foundation that would keep the House of Habsburg in a power play position until its fall after World War I in 1918. Friedrich and Eleanor’s son Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor married Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, the ruler of the Burgundian State. Friedrich’s and Eleanor’s grandson Philip of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy married Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon. Friedrich’s and Eleanor’s great-grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also King Carlos I of Spain among other titles), one of the most powerful ever monarchs, had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Austrian, Burgundian, and Spanish realms.

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

Works Cited

  • Edward, King of Portugal (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward,_King_of_Portugal (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
  • Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Portugal,_Holy_Roman_Empress (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/friedrich-iii-holy-roman-emperor-duke-of-styria-carinthia-and-carniola-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021) What was the Holy Roman Empire?, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/what-was-the-holy-roman-empire/ (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
  • Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_III,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
  • Friedrich III. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_III._(HRR) (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
  • Leonor de Portugal, Imperatriz Romano-germânica (2022) Wikipedia (Portuguese). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonor_de_Portugal%2C_Imperatriz_Romano-Germ%C3%A2nica (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

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Friedrich III reigned as Holy Roman Emperor effectively from 1440 to 1493, as Friedrich V, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola from 1424 to 1493, and as Friedrich V, Duke (Duchy of Austria) and then Archduke of Austria (Archduchy of Austria) from 1457 to 1493. He would lay the foundation that would keep the House of Habsburg in a power play position until its fall after World War I. Friedrich was born on September 21, 1415, in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria. He was the eldest of the nine children and the eldest of the six sons of Ernst II, Duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, the Inner Austrian duchies, and his second wife Cymburgis of Masovia, a member of the Polish Piast dynasty. Friedrich’s paternal grandparents were Leopold III, Duke of Austria and Viridis Visconti, a member of the House of Visconti which ruled in Milan, now in Italy. His maternal grandparents were Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia and Alexandra of Lithuania.

Friedrich had eight siblings but only three survived infancy:

In 1424, when Friedrich was nine years old, his father Ernst II died and Friedrich became the Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. Although the young duke lived with his mother in Graz or in Wiener Neustadt, both in Duchy of Styria, now in Austria, Friedrich’s paternal uncle Friedrich IV, Duke of Austria, Count of Tyrol became the guardian of Friedrich and his brother Albrecht and the Regent of the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. Friedrich’s uncle ensured that his nephews received a good education. In 1429, when he was fourteen years old Friedrich’s mother Cymburgis of Masovia died.

In 1435, Friedrich was deemed old enough to rule over his duchies although his younger brother Albrecht tried to assert himself as co-ruler, the beginning of a long rivalry. In 1436, Friedrich made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was knighted by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre which greatly increased his status. When his uncle Friedrich IV, Duke of Austria, Count of Tyrol died in 1439, Friedrich served as Regent for his twelve-year-old first cousin Sigismund until 1446.

Friedrich also served as Regent of Austria for Ladislaus the Posthumous, Duke of Austria. As his name indicates, Ladislaus was born four months after the death in 1439 of his father Albrecht V, Duke of Austria. In 1438, Albrecht V had been elected King of the Romans, a title used after the election but before the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor. Albert was effectively the Holy Roman Emperor, however, due to his death, he was never crowned Holy Roman Emperor and could not use the title. When Ladislaus died at the age of seventeen, unmarried, his branch of the House of Habsburg became extinct, and Friedrich became Duke of Austria. Friedrich was now the ruler of all the sovereign Austrian states and was the undisputed head of the House of Habsburg. Because of the death in 1439 of Albert V, who would have been Holy Roman Emperor upon his coronation, a successor had to be elected by the prince-electors. On February 2, 1440, 25-year-old Friedrich was unanimously elected King of the Romans and although effectively Holy Roman Emperor, he would not officially become Holy Roman Empire until his coronation by the pope in Rome.

The woman Friedrich would eventually marry was Infanta Eleanor of Portugal, the daughter of King Duarte of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon. A marriage with Friedrich was probably suggested by her aunt Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy. Eleanor was also suggested as a bride for the future King Louis XI of France but Eleanor preferred Friedrich because a marriage with him would make her an empress instead of a queen. Marriage negotiations were conducted by Eleanor’s maternal uncle King Alfonso V of Aragon and Naples.

Friedrich meets Eleanor of Portugal for the first time by Pinturicchio, circa 1502-1507; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1452, 37-year-old Friedrich traveled to Rome to marry 18-year-old Infanta Eleanor of Portugal and be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. On March 16, 1452, Friedrich and Eleanor were married by Pope Nicholas V. Finally, on March 19, 1452, Friedrich and Eleanor were anointed in St. Peter’s Basilica by Cardinal Francesco Condulmer, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, and Friedrich was then crowned with the Imperial Crown by Pope Nicholas V. Friedrich III was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned in Rome.

Empress Eleanor and her son Maximilian from Empress Eleanor’s Book of Hours; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich and Eleanor had five children but only two survived childhood:

During his reign, Friedrich concentrated on re-uniting the Habsburg hereditary lands of Austria. In 1453, Friedrich elevated the Duchy of Austria to an Archduchy and took on the title Archduke of Austria. Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, was, in her own right, the ruler of the Burgundian State which consisted of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany. Mary had many suitors and Friedrich had the good fortune that Mary chose his eldest surviving son Maximilian, the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, as her husband. The couple married in 1477 and Maximilian became her co-ruler. With the inheritance of the Burgundian State, the House of Habsburg began to rise to predominance in Europe. Looking into the future, Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip of Habsburg, also known as Philip the Handsome, was the heir to both his father’s and mother’s dominions. Philip married Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon, thereby adding Spain’s dominions to the House of Habsburg. Philip and Juana’s son Charles, best known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Austrian, Burgundian, and Spanish realms.

Friedrich’s wife Eleanor, aged 32, died on September 3, 1467, from dysentery in Wiener Neustadt, Duchy of Styria, now in Austria. She was buried at the Neukloster Abbey in Wiener Neustadt where her three children who died in childhood were buried. In 1486, Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor ensured that his son Maximilian would succeed him as Holy Roman Emperor when the prince-electors unanimously elected Maximilian King of the Romans.

Friedrich III, Holy Roman in old age; Credit – Wikipedia

In February 1493, Friedrich’s health began to worsen. He had an issue with his left leg which contemporary sources referred to as gangrene but in today’s modern medicine, the issue was caused by arteriosclerosis. Friedrich’s doctors decided to amputate the affected leg. Although Friedrich survived the amputation, he died on August 19, 1493, in Linz, Duchy of Austria, now in Austria, at the age of 77. Contemporary sources say the cause of his death was complications from the leg amputation, old age, or dysentery-like diarrhea from eating melon. Friedrich III’s reign of 53 years, from the time he was elected King of the Romans in 1440 until he died in 1493, is the longest reign of a Holy Roman Emperor.

Tomb of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – By Uoaei1 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24993194

Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria was initially buried at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, in the Ducal Crypt. In 1463, thirty years before his death, Friedrich commissioned Dutch sculptor Nikolaus Gerhaert van Leyden to build a monumental tomb in St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Van Leyden died in 1473 and the work was completed by Austrian stonemason and sculptor Michael Tichter (link in German). On November 12, 1513, the remains of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor were transferred in a grand ceremony from the Ducal Crypt to the tomb. The tomb lid shows Emperor Friedrich in his coronation regalia surrounded by the coats of arms of all his dominions. The sides of the tomb are decorated with 240 small statues. The tomb is considered a masterpiece of medieval sculptural art.

Depiction of the tomb lid; Credit – Von Georges Jansoone – Selbst fotografiert, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1061466

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

Works Cited

  • Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Portugal,_Holy_Roman_Empress (Accessed: March 2, 2023).
  • Ernest, Duke of Austria (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest,_Duke_of_Austria (Accessed: March 2, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/st-stephens-cathedral-in-vienna-austria/ (Accessed: March 2, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021) What was the Holy Roman Empire?, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/what-was-the-holy-roman-empire/ (Accessed: March 2, 2023).
  • Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_III,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: March 2, 2023).
  • Friedrich III. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_III._(HRR) (Accessed: March 2, 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven, 3rd Husband of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Arms of Henry Stewart, 1st Lord MethvenCredit – By Sodacan  Own work, Based on: [1], CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38492949

Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven was the third of the three husbands of Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of King Henry VII of England and the sister of King Henry VIII of England. Margaret’s first husband was James IV, King of Scots who was killed in 1513 at the Battle of Flodden Field. Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus was Margaret’s second husband. Their marriage ended when Pope Clement VII granted Margaret a divorce on March 11, 1527,

Born circa 1495, at Avondale Castle, (now called Strathaven Castle) in Avondale (now called Strathaven) Lanarkshire, Scotland, Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven was one of the seven children of Andrew Stewart, 1st Lord Avondale and Margaret Kennedy.

Henry had six siblings:

  • Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Avondale (? – 1549), married Margaret Hamilton, had two sons
  • Sir James Stewart of Beath (1506 – 1547), married Margaret Lindsay, had six children
  • Anne Stewart (circa 1507 – ?), married Bartholemew Crawford of Carse, had two sons
  • Barbara Stewart ( ? ), married (2) Sir James Sinclair of Sanday, had one daughter (2) Roderick MacLeod of Lewis, had two children
  • William Stewart, 1st Laird of Dunduff (? – circa 1552), married Isobel Stewart
  • Agnes Stewart ( ? ), married John Boswell of Auchinleck, had one son

It seems likely that Henry first married The Lady Leslie and that they had a son, possibly John Stewart, Master of Methven, who died in the Battle of Pinkie on September 10, 1547, a battle that Henry also fought in.

After the death of her first husband James IV, King of Scots, Margaret Tudor married the Scottish nobleman Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus For many reasons, the marriage was ultimately unsuccessful, and Margaret Tudor transferred her affections to Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven. On March 11, 1527, Pope Clement VII granted Margaret a divorce from Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus to the consternation of her brother King Henry VIII of England who insisted that marriage was “divinely ordained” and protested against the “shameless sentence sent from Rome.” Ironically, several years later Henry VIII would seek to end his marriage with Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn.

Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 3, 1528, Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven and Margaret Tudor were married. At the end of March 1528, Margaret and Methven were besieged by Margaret’s former husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus and some of his Douglas relatives at  in Stirling, Scotland. This caused James V, King of Scots to issue an order that his former stepfather Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus and all the Douglases were forbidden to come within seven miles of him or his mother. Henry and Margaret had one child, Dorothea Stewart, born circa April 1528, and died in infancy.

Henry was the stepfather to Margaret Tudor’s two surviving children from her previous marriages:

Methven Castle; Credit – Credit – By Arthur Bruce, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=482685

Shortly after Henry‘s marriage to Margaret, her son James V, King of Scots granted his mother and stepfather Methven Castle in Methven, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and raised Henry to the peerage creating him Lord Methven.

Margaret’s third husband Henry was proving himself to be even worse than Margaret’s second husband in his desire both for other women and for Margaret’s money. Henry kept a mistress in one of Margaret’s castles. When Margaret tried to divorce Henry, her son James V blocked the proceedings and Margaret felt that Henry had bribed her son. Margaret often wrote to her brother King Henry VIII about her situation but he never helped her. In 1537, Margaret tried to escape to England but was brought back to Methven Castle where she lived until her death. After suffering a stroke, Margaret died at Methven Castle on October 18, 1541, at the age of 51.

in November 1544, Henry married his mistress Lady Janet Stuart, daughter of John Stuart, 2nd Earl of Atholl, and Lady Janet Campbell. Janet had been married twice previously, to Alexander Gordon, Master of Sutherland and Hugh Kennedy of Girvanmains, and had children with both her first and second husbands who were now the stepchildren of her third husband Henry.

Henry and Janet had four children, probably all born before their marriage. If so, it is likely that they were all legitimized.

When Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven died is unknown. The last documentation that he was alive was dated October 10, 1551, when he would have been about fifty-six years old. After Henry’s death, his widow Janet married for a fourth time to Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven and they had one son.

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

Works Cited

  • DeLisle, Leanda. (2013) Tudor – Passion, Manipulation, Murder. New York: PublicAffairs.
  • Flantzer, S. (2016) James V, King of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/james-v-king-of-scots/ (Accessed: March 3, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/margaret-tudor-queen-of-scotland/ (Accessed: March 3, 2023).
  • Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stewart,_1st_Lord_Methven (Accessed: March 3, 2023).
  • Henry Stewart, 1. Lord Methven (2022) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stewart,_1._Lord_Methven (Accessed: March 3, 2023).
  • Стюарт, Генри, 1-й лорд Метвен (Stewart, Henry 1st Lord Methven) (2022) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%8E%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82,_%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%80%D0%B8,_1-%D0%B9_%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B4_%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD (Accessed: March 3, 2023)

Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Lady Margaret Douglas; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Margaret Douglas was third in the line of succession to the English throne at the time of her birth. Her elder son was Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley who married his first cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, the daughter and successor of Lady Margaret’s half-brother James V, King of Scots. Darnley and Mary’s son James VI, King of Scots succeeded as King James I of England upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Margaret and her family suffered the dangerous misfortune of being a threat to the English throne. All British monarchs from King James I onward, and many European royals are the descendants of Lady Margaret Douglas.

Margaret’s mother Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on October 7, 1515, at Harbottle Castle in Harbottle, Northumberland, England, Lady Margaret Douglas was the only child of Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots and the second of her third husbands, Scottish noble Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. Her mother was the widow of James IV, King of Scots (who was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513), the daughter of King Henry VII, the first Tudor King of England, and the sister of King Henry VIII of England. Lady Margaret’s paternal grandparents were George Douglas, Master of Angus (who was also killed at the Battle of Flodden Field), and Elizabeth Drummond. Her maternal grandparents were King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of King Edward IV of England. Lady Margaret was christened on October 8, 1515, with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the Lord High Chancellor of England and close advisor to the infant Margaret’s uncle King Henry VIII of England, serving as godfather, represented by a proxy.

Margaret’s half-brother James V, King of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Margaret had four half-brothers from her mother’s first marriage to James IV, King of Scots but only one survived infancy:

Lady Margaret had been born in England to an English mother and was treated as an English subject. At the time of Margaret’s birth in 1515, the first three in the line of succession to the English throne were:

  1. Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots (born 1489), elder sister of King Henry VII
  2. James V, King of Scots (born 1512), son of Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots from her first marriage
  3. Lady Margaret Douglas (born 1515), daughter of Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots from her second marriage

Sometime after the birth of their daughter, Margaret Tudor and her second husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus went to London where they were well treated by Margaret’s brother King Henry VIII of England. They lived in Scotland Yard, the traditional residence of Scottish diplomats and Scottish kings while visiting London. During their stay in London, King Henry VIII’s first child Mary Tudor, the future Queen Mary I of England, was born to his first wife Catherine of Aragon, and Mary Tudor was now the heir presumptive to the English throne.

Margaret’s father Archibald Douglas 6th Earl of Angus; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1517, Lady Margaret and her parents returned to Scotland. Her parents became estranged and her father had a daughter with his mistress. There was an Anglophile sentiment among some Scottish nobility, supported by King Henry VIII of England. This allowed Lady Margaret’s father Archibald Douglas to carry out a coup d’état in 1525. Her thirteen-year-old half-brother James V, King of Scots was placed under Archibald’s supervision in Edinburgh. Archibald’s relatives and associates were appointed to high political offices. This caused discontent among the Scottish nobility but all attempts to rebel against Archibald were crushed.

Meanwhile, Margaret Tudor transferred her affections to Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven. On March 11, 1527, Pope Clement VII granted Margaret Tudor a divorce from Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. Margaret and Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven were married on March 3, 1528. The marriage produced a daughter, Dorothea Stewart, born circa April 1528, who died in infancy. At the end of March 1528, Margaret Tudor and Methven were besieged by Archibald and some of his Douglas relatives at Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland. A few weeks later, James V, King of Scots escaped from custody and took refuge at Stirling Castle. James V issued an order that his former stepfather Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and all the Douglases were forbidden to come within seven miles of him.

Lady Margaret’s father wanted to flee Scotland and he sought refuge with brother-in-law King Henry VIII in England. Under the terms of her parents’ divorce, Lady Margaret remained legitimate and was fourth in the line of succession to the English throne. She was considered a desirable potential bride and her father used this to his advantage. Lady Margaret was taken from her mother and sent to England as a goodwill gesture to her uncle King Henry VIII who ignored his sister’s pleas to return her daughter.

Lady Margaret’s first cousin Mary Tudor; Credit – Wikipedia

Accompanied by her governess Isobel Hoppar, Lady Margaret joined the household of her godfather Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. After the death of Cardinal Wolsey in 1530, Lady Margaret joined the household of her first cousin Mary Tudor, the future Queen Mary I of England. Because of her place in the line of succession to the English throne, Lady Margaret continued to be brought up at the English court with her first cousin Mary Tudor, who was only four months younger than Margaret and remained her lifelong friend. Even though Lady Margaret’s father Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus lived in England for a period of time, Lady Margaret’s uncle King Henry VIII kept her guardianship.

In 1533, when King Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn, Lady Margaret became one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting. While at Anne’s court, Lady Margaret met Lord Thomas Howard, a younger son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and his second wife Agnes Tilney. Lord Thomas was a half-brother of the well-known Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (son of the 2nd Duke of Norfolk by his first marriage and the uncle of King Henry VIII’s beheaded wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard), and is often confused with his elder brother. By the end of 1535, Lord Thomas and Lady Margaret had fallen in love and become secretly engaged.

King Henry VIII was enraged when he found out about Lady Margaret and Lord Thomas because of Lady Margaret’s place in the line of succession. Lady Margaret and Thomas were sent to the Tower of London. In July 1536, an Act of Attainder was passed in Parliament against Lord Thomas Howard accusing him of interrupting and impeding the succession of the crown. Lord Thomas was sentenced to death but the execution was never carried out. While at the Tower of London, Lady Margaret became quite ill and was allowed to be moved to Syon Abbey under the supervision of the abbess. On October 29, 1537, Lady Margaret was released from Syon Abbey. Two days later, Lord Thomas Howard died at the Tower of London from an illness although there was speculation that he was poisoned.

In 1540, Lady Margaret again angered King Henry VIII when she had an affair with a gentleman at the court, Charles Howard, the son of Lord Edmund Howard (Lord Thomas Howard’s half-brother) and brother of King Henry VIII’s fifth wife Catherine Howard. In 1543, Lady Margaret was one of the few witnesses of King Henry VIII’s sixth and final marriage to Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace. Lady Margaret had known Catherine Parr since they had both come to court in the 1520s, and became one of Catherine Parr’s chief ladies.

Margaret’s husband, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox; Credit – Wikipedia

By 1544, it seemed as if 29-year-old Lady Margaret would never be married. Instead of invading Scotland, King Henry VIII decided to build Scottish support for a marriage between his only son and heir, the future but short-reigned King Edward VI, and the year-old Mary, Queen of Scots which would unite the crowns of England and Scotland. The marriage never happened and the possibility of the marriage caused a war called the Rough Wooing. Lady Margaret was to be a pawn in her uncle’s plan. King Henry VIII offered his niece as a bride to Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, one of Scotland’s leading noblemen and a descendant of James I, King of Scots.

King Henry VIII generously allowed Lady Margaret and Lennox to accept or reject the marriage once they met. Lady Margaret and Lennox were equally delighted with each other. They were married on June 29, 1544, in the presence of King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine Parr.

Margaret’s two surviving children Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Margaret, now Countess of Lennox and Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox had eight or nine children, probably four sons and four (unnamed daughters) but only two sons survived childhood:

During the reign of her first cousin Queen Mary I of England, Margaret had rooms at the Palace of Westminster in London. While Margaret had been removed from the line of succession in the wills of her uncle King Henry VIII and first cousin King Edward VI, Queen Mary I thought that Margaret was best suited to succeed her but was ultimately convinced that it would be problematic. Margaret was the chief mourner at Queen Mary’s funeral in December 1558. After her first cousin Queen Elizabeth I succeeded to the throne, Margaret spent much more time at her home Temple Newsam in Leeds Yorkshire, England. Margaret had remained Roman Catholic and her home became a center for Roman Catholics.

Meanwhile, in France in 1560, where 18-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots had lived since she was five years old, her husband of two years, 16-year-old King François II of France died after a reign of only seventeen months. Left a childless widow, Mary decided to return to Scotland. She needed a husband to provide an heir to the throne of Scotland. Margaret Douglas, calculating her political possibilities, realized that her elder surviving son 15-year-old Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was a potential groom for his first cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. Darnley and Mary had already met in 1559 when Margaret had sent her son to congratulate King François II of France on his accession to the French throne. Margaret wrote to Mary about a possible marriage, and the Queen of Scots was intrigued. Mary and Darnley were married at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland on July 29, 1565. The marriage angered Queen Elizabeth I who felt that Darnley, as her cousin and an English subject, needed her permission to marry. Because of her involvement in the marriage, Margaret was sent to the Tower of London.

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots had one son:

Mary, Queen of Scots soon became disillusioned by Darnley’s uncouth behavior and his insistence upon receiving the Crown Matrimonial which would make him co-sovereign of Scotland. Mary refused and their relationship became strained. At the end of 1565, Mary became pregnant. Darnley was jealous of Mary’s friendship with her private secretary David Riccio, rumored to be the father of her child, and formed a conspiracy to do away with Riccio. On March 9, 1566, Riccio was at supper with Mary and her ladies at Holyrood Palace. The conspirators, led by Darnley, burst into the room, dragged Riccio away, and killed him in an adjoining room. Mary was roughly pushed and shoved and although the conspirators hoped she would miscarry, she did not. All the conspirators were banished except for Darnley who was forgiven.

Mary’s marriage was all but over and she began to be drawn to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. Bothwell entered into a conspiracy with  Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll and George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly to rid Mary of her husband. On February 10, 1567, Darnley was killed when the house he was staying at was blown up.

Margaret and her husband with their son Charles and grandson James VI of Scotland mourning Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; Credit – Wikipedia

After the murder of her son, Margaret was released from the Tower of London. Margaret’s husband Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox pursued justice against the Scottish lords who had conspired in the murder of their son Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. He also became the main witness against Mary, Queen of Scots due to her possible involvement in Darnley’s murder. On July 24, 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate in favor of her one-year-old son James VI, King of Scots. James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, the illegitimate brother of Mary, Queen of Scots, served as Regent for his young nephew until his assassination in 1570. After Moray’s assassination, King James VI’s paternal grandfather Margaret’s husband Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox served as his grandson’s Regent. However, on September 3, 1571, supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots broke into the Regent’s residence in Stirling, Scotland, and killed Lennox. Margaret was now a widow.

In 1574, Margaret’s son Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox married Elizabeth Cavendish, daughter of Elizabeth Hardwick (known as Bess of Hardwick), a notable figure of Elizabethan society, and her first husband Sir William Cavendish. At the time of the marriage, Bess of Hardwick was married to her second husband George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. The marriage took place without Shrewsbury’s knowledge, who was aware of the suggested match but declined to accept any responsibility. Because Margaret’s son Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox had a claim to the English throne, the marriage was considered potentially treasonous because Queen Elizabeth I’s consent had not been obtained. Margaret was again sent to the Tower of London. She was released after the death of her son Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox in April 1576 from tuberculosis.

Tomb of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox in Westminster Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox died, aged 62, in London, England on March 7, 1578. A few days before her death, Margaret dined with Queen Elizabeth I’s favorite Robert Dudley. After her death, rumors swirled that Dudley had poisoned her, although there is no evidence for this. Margaret’s first cousin Queen Elizabeth I arranged a magnificent funeral at Westminster Abbey where Margaret was buried with her son Charles in the Henry VII Chapel. A monument was commissioned by her executor and former servant Thomas Fowler. Her alabaster effigy wears a French cap and ruff and a red fur-lined cloak, over a dress of blue and gold. On either side of the tomb chest are weepers of her four sons and four daughters.

Margaret’s unfortunate granddaughter Lady Arabella Stuart; Credit – Wikipedia

The potentially deadly problems for heirs to the throne followed Margaret’s granddaughter Lady Arabella Stuart, the only child of her son Charles. Arabella was then fourth in line to the succession to her second cousin to James VI, King of Scots (later King James I of England), through their great-grandmother Margaret Tudor. Arabella had been considered a possible successor to the childless Queen Elizabeth I. During the reign of King James VI and I, Arabella was married on June 22, 1610, without the King’s permission, to William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset. Seymour was another claimant to the English throne, sixth in the line of succession. Seymour was the grandson of Lady Katherine Grey, a sister of Lady Jane Grey, giving him a claim to the throne through Katherine’s descent from Mary Tudor, younger sister of King Henry VIII.

King James I considered Arabella’s marriage a threat to the ruling dynasty. William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset was condemned to life imprisonment in the Tower of London and Arabella was placed under house arrest. In June 1611, Seymour escaped from the Tower of London and planned to meet Arabella who had escaped her house arrest, and then flee together to continental Europe. However, Arabella was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Seymour managed to make it to Ostend, Flanders, now in Belgium. Arabella was kept in the Tower of London where she died, aged 40, on September 25, 1615, from illnesses caused by her refusal to eat.

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

Works Cited

  • Дуглас, Маргарита (Margaret Douglas) (2023) Wikipedia – Russian. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81,_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0 (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • DeLisle, Leanda. (2013) Tudor – Passion, Manipulation, Murder. New York: PublicAffairs.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2017) Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, King Consort of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/henry-stuart-lord-darnley/ (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) James V, King of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/james-v-king-of-scots/ (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015) King James VI of Scotland/King James I of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-james-vi-of-scotlandking-james-i-of-englan/ (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • Flanzter, Susan. (2017) Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/margaret-tudor-queen-of-scotland/ (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Mary, Queen of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/mary-queen-of-scots/ (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • Lady Arbella Stuart (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Arbella_Stuart (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • Margaret Douglas (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Douglas (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • Margaret Douglas: Life Story (2015) Tudor Times. Available at: https://tudortimes.co.uk/people/margaret-douglas-life-story (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Stewart,_4th_Earl_of_Lennox (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • William Seymour, 2. Duke of Somerset (2023) Wikipedia – German. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Seymour,_2._Duke_of_Somerset (Accessed: April 20, 2023).

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, 2nd Husband of Margaret Tudor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus; Credit – Wikipedia

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V, King of Scots and Mary, Queen of Scots, was a leader of the Anglophile faction in Scotland in the early decades of the 16th century, seizing power several times. In his later years, Archibald was once again a Scottish patriot. He was the second of the three husbands of Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots, daughter of King Henry VII of England, sister of King Henry VIII of England, and the widow of James IV, King of Scots. Through their daughter Lady Margaret Douglas, Archibald and Margaret are the grandparents of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, the first cousin and second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, the great-grandparents of James VI, King of Scots, later also James I, King of England, and the ancestors of the British royal family and most other European royal families.

Ruins of Douglas Castle, the birthplace of Archibald Douglas; Credit – By User:Supergolden – Taken by User:Supergolden, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1082856

Born November 29, 1489, at Douglas Castle in Douglasdale, Lanarkshire, Scotland, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus was the eldest of the seven children and the eldest of the three sons of George Douglas, Master of Angus, who was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field, and Elizabeth Drummond. His paternal grandparents were Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus and Elizabeth Boyd. Archibald’s maternal grandparents were John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond and Elizabeth Lindsay.

Archibald had six younger siblings:

  • Sir George Douglas of Pittendreich (circa 1493 – 1552), married Elizabeth Douglas, had three children
  • William Douglas, Prior of Coldingham and Abbot of Holyrood (circa 1493 – 1528)
  • Elizabeth Douglas, married John Hay, 3rd Lord Yester, had two children
  • Alison Douglas (1480 – 1530), married (1) Robert Blackadder, had one daughter, killed at the Battle of Flodden Field (2) David Home, 4th Baron Wedderburn, had four children
  • Janet Douglas (circa 1498 – 1537), married (1) John Lyon, 6th Lord Glamis, had four children (2), Archibald Campbell of Skipnish, had one son, Janet was executed by burning for witchcraft during the reign of James V, King of Scots
  • Margaret Douglas married Sir James Douglas, 7th of Drumlanrig, had three children, divorced

In 1509, when he was about 20 years old, Archibald married Margaret Hepburn, daughter of Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell and his second wife Margaret Gordon. The marriage was childless and Margaret died four years later.

Margaret Tudor and her first husband James IV, King of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 24, 1502, England and Scotland concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace, agreeing to end the two hundred years of warfare between England and Scotland. As part of the treaty, a marriage was arranged between 28-year-old James IV, King of Scots and twelve-year-old Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England. A proxy marriage was held on January 25, 1503, at Richmond Palace in England with Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell, Archibald’s future father-in-law, standing in for James IV. In June 1503, Margaret left London to make the journey to Scotland. Margaret and James IV, King of Scots were married in person on August 8, 1503, at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Margaret Tudor and James IV had two stillborn daughters and four sons, but only one of their sons survived infancy, the future James V, King of Scots. In 1509, Margaret’s father King Henry VII died and her brother King Henry VIII came to the throne. Henry VIII did not have his father’s diplomatic patience and was heading toward a war with France. James IV was committed to his alliance with France and invaded England. Ultimately, the Scots were defeated at the Battle of Flodden Field near Branxton, Northumberland, England on September 9, 1513, and Margaret’s husband, 30-year-old James IV, King of Scots was killed in the battle. Margaret’s seventeen-month-old son succeeded his father as James V, King of Scots. James V was the father of Mary, Queen of Scots and therefore, Margaret Tudor was her grandmother.

Margaret Tudor; Credit – Wikipedia

Under the terms of James IV’s will, Margaret was the Regent of Scotland for her son as long as she did not remarry. Margaret sought an ally with the pro-English Clan Douglas. On August 6, 1514, Margaret secretly married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. The marriage stirred up the nobles and the opposition of the faction supporting French influence in Scotland. Civil war broke out, and Margaret lost the regency to John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, grandson of James II, King of Scots. Margaret and Douglas escaped to England where she gave birth to their only child at Harbottle Castle in Northumberland, England:

Sometime after the birth of their daughter, Margaret and her second husband Archibald went to London where they were well treated by her brother King Henry VIII of England, and lived in Scotland Yard, the traditional residence of the Scottish diplomats and Scottish kings when they visited London. After returning to Scotland in 1517, Archibald and Margaret became estranged. Archibald began a relationship with Lady Jane de Truquare. They had one daughter:

Newark Castle, now in ruins; Credit – By Walter Baxter, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13836998

Archibald took over Margaret’s dower estate Newark Castle near Selkirk, Selkirkshire, Scotland, and settled there with his mistress and illegitimate daughter. It greatly angered Margaret that Archibald had confiscated her property and used her dowry income as Dowager Queen of Scots. Archibald tried to seize power, causing a conflict with James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran. This escalated to armed skirmishes over the control of Edinburgh and threatened to escalate into civil war. John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland regained power, and Archibald was charged with treason and sent to France as a prisoner. However, within two years, he managed to escape to England.

There was an Anglophile sentiment among some Scottish nobility, supported by King Henry VIII of England. This allowed Archibald Douglas to carry out a coup d’état in 1525. Thirteen-year-old James V, King of Scots was placed under Archibald’s supervision in Edinburgh. Archibald’s relatives and associates were appointed to high political offices. This caused discontent among the Scottish nobility but all attempts to rebel against Archibald were crushed.

Meanwhile, Margaret Tudor transferred her affections to Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven. On March 11, 1527, Pope Clement VII granted Margaret a divorce from Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus to the consternation of her brother King Henry VIII of England who insisted that marriage was “divinely ordained” and protested against the “shameless sentence sent from Rome.” Ironically, several years later Henry VIII would seek to end his marriage with Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn.

Margaret and Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven were married on March 3, 1528. The marriage produced a daughter Dorothea Stewart, born circa April 1528, who died in infancy. At the end of March 1528, Margaret and Methven were besieged by Archibald and some of his Douglas relatives at Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland. A few weeks later, James V, King of Scots escaped from custody and took refuge at Stirling Castle. James V issued an order that his former stepfather Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus and all the Douglases were forbidden to come within seven miles of him.

The ruins of Tantallon Castle; Credit -By Stephencdickson – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95033608

Archibald was attainted (lost his titles) and his lands were confiscated. As a condition of a truce between England and Scotland, he surrendered Tantallon Castle near North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland, his family’s 14th-century fortress. In May 1529, Archibald sought refuge with King Henry VIII in England. He took an oath of allegiance to Henry VIII and obtained an allowance and a promise that Henry VIII would work on restoring his title and lands.

James V, King of Scots took revenge against many Douglases remaining in Scotland. Archibald’s sister Janet, Lady Glamis, was summoned to answer a charge of communicating with her brothers, and when she failed to appear, her estates were forfeited. In 1537, James V had Janet accused of witchcraft against him, although it was clear that the accusations were false. To gain “evidence”, James V had Janet’s family and servants tortured. Janet was convicted and burned at the stake on July 17, 1537, outside of Edinburgh Castle.

On her deathbed in 1541, Archibald’s divorced wife Margaret Tudor asked Archibald Douglas to forgive her for divorcing him, telling him that he was her lawful husband and their marriage was valid. It is not clear whether her motivation was regret or an attempt to ensure the legitimacy of her daughter Margaret Douglas to preserve her position in the line of succession to the English throne.

Archibald remained in England, joining in attacks upon the Scots at the border. James V refused Henry VIII’s demands to restore Archibald’s titles and land and continued to suppress the Douglas faction. Despite Archibald living in England, Henry VIII kept the guardianship of his daughter Margaret Douglas who was raised in the English royal household with her first cousin, the future Queen Mary I of England. Margaret and Mary remained lifelong friends.

In 1542, upon the death of thirty-year-old James V, King of Scots, Archibald returned to Scotland, his titles and lands restored, with instructions from King Henry VIII of England to negotiate a marriage between James V’s successor, the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry VIII’s five-year-old son and heir, the future King Edward VI of England. The marriage was negotiated but because of the English hostilities, Scotland eventually abandoned the possibility of an English marriage.

In 1543, Archibald married Margaret Maxwell, daughter of Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell. They had one son James Douglas, Master of Angus who died when he was three years old. In the same year, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset’s Burning of Edinburgh during the Rough Wooing damaged Archibald’s land and this caused him to give up any allegiance to England and join the anti-English faction. Archibald allied with James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, Regent of Scotland, during the early part of Mary, Queen of Scots’ reign. Archibald gave his support to the diplomatic mission sent to France to offer a marriage between Mary, Queen of Scots (the first of Mary’s three marriages) and François, Dauphin of France (the future King François II), the son and heir of King Henri II of France. In July 1544, Archibald was appointed commander of the Scottish troops on the border with England, and his troops defeated the English at the Battle of Ancrum Moor in 1545.

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus died, aged 67, on January 22, 1557, at Tantallon Castle near North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. He may have been buried in Abernethy, Perthshire, Scotland but his burial information is uncertain.

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

Works Cited

  • Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (2022) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Archibald-Douglas-6th-Earl-of-Angus/6000000003232538566 (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
  • Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Douglas,_6th_Earl_of_Angus (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
  • DeLisle, Leanda. (2013) Tudor – Passion, Manipulation, Murder. New York: PublicAffairs.
  • Flantzer, S. (2016) James V, King of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/james-v-king-of-scots/ (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/margaret-tudor-queen-of-scotland/ (Accessed: February 23, 2023).

Julie Clary Bonaparte, Queen of Spain, Queen of Naples

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Julie Clary; Credit – Wikipedia

Marie Julie Clary was the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother Joseph Bonaparte who was King of Naples from 1806 – 1808, and King of Spain from 1808 – 1813. Born on December 26, 1771, in the family mansion at 70 Roma Street in Marseille, France, Julie was the seventh of the nine children and the fifth of the six daughters of François Clary, a wealthy French merchant, and his second wife Françoise Rose Somis.

Julie had eight siblings:

  • Joseph Nicolas Clary, 1st Comte Clary et de l’Empire (1760 – 1823), married Anne Jeanne Rouyer, had three children
  • Joseph Honoré Clary (1762 – 1764), died in early childhood
  • Marie Anne Rose Clary (1764 – 1835), married Antoine-Ignace Anthoine, Baron de Saint-Joseph et de l’Empire, Mayor of Marseille, had three children
  • Marseille Clary (1764 – 1784), unmarried
  • Justinien François Clary (1766 – 1794), unmarried
  • Catherine Honorine Clary (1769 – 1843), married Henri Joseph Gabriel Blait de Villeneufve, had one daughter
  • Basile Clary (1774 – 1781), died in childhood
  • Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden and Norway (1777 – 1860), married Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, later King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden and Norway, had one son King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway, the royal families of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden descend from this marriage

Julie had four half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Gabrielle Fléchon (1732 – 1758):

  • François-Joseph Clary (1752 – 1753), died in infancy
  • Marie-Jeanne Clary (1754 – 1815), married (1) Louis Honoré Lejeans (2) Emmanuel Mathieu Pézenas, Baron de Pluvinal
  • Marie Thérèse Catherine Clary (1755 – 1818), married Lazare Lejeans
  • Étienne François Clary (1757 – 1823), married Marcelle Guey, had two children

Julie and her sister Désirée by Robert Lefèvre, 1810; Credit – Wikipedia

Starting in 1789, the French Revolution brought major changes to France, and the Clary family went through periods of great insecurity. Julie and her sister Désirée had ties to the Bonaparte brothers before their ascent to power. Joseph Bonaparte, the eldest of the five Bonaparte brothers, had studied law at the University of Pisa and worked as a lawyer. The French First Republic was declared in September 1792, and Joseph was elected chairman of his local district council. The second eldest brother Napoleon joined the French army and quickly advanced.

Julie’s husband Joseph Bonaparte; Credit – Wikipedia

Julie’s younger sister Désirée met Joseph Bonaparte first, and the two became engaged. Soon after, Napoleon suggested that Joseph should instead marry Désirée’s sister Julie and that he would marry Désirée. Julie and Joseph Bonaparte were married on August 1, 1794. Napoleon and Désirée became engaged in April 1795, but Napoleon soon became involved with Joséphine de Beauharnais, and the engagement ended in September 1795. Napoleon and Joséphine de Beauharnais were married in March 1796. Désirée Clary married Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, a noted French general and a Marshal of France. In 1810, Désirée’s husband was elected Crown Prince of Sweden because King Carl XIII of Sweden had no heirs. Jean Baptiste Bernadotte became Crown Prince of Sweden and in 1818, became King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden. Their descendants have reigned in Sweden ever since as the House of Bernadotte.

Julie’s family was very wealthy and her marriage to Joseph Bonaparte helped establish the Bonaparte fortune and made her a favorite with her mother-in-law Letizia Bonaparte. During the latter part of the French Revolution, Napoleon rose to prominence and in 1799, at the age of 30 was the First Consul of France. Eventually, Napoleon was created First Consul for life. Joseph’s fortunes rose along with his brother’s.

Julie with her daughters Zénaïde and Charlotte by Jean-Baptiste Wicar, 1809; Credit – Wikipedia

Julie and Joseph had three daughters:

In 1804, Joseph’s brother Napoleon declared himself Emperor of the French, and Joseph and his siblings became Imperial Princes and Princesses. Napoleon sent Joseph to Naples in 1806 to expel the Bourbons ruling there because they had sided against him in the War of the Third Coalition. After a successful French invasion, Napoleon proclaimed Joseph as King of Naples. Julie, now Queen of Naples, remained in Paris, at the court of her brother-in-law Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. While Joseph was King of Naples, he had a son and a daughter from his affair with Maria Giulia Colonna, daughter of Andrea Colonna, 3rd Prince of Stigliano, and wife of Giangirolamo Acquaviva d’Aragona, 11th Duke of Nardò. In 1808 Julie was sent to Naples to help Joseph calm riots and revolts and to help keep the Kingdom of Naples stable. However, Napoleon became increasingly dissatisfied with his brother, and later in 1808, Joseph was replaced as King of Naples by Joachim Murat, the husband of Caroline Bonaparte, the sister of Joseph and Napoleon.

Meanwhile in Spain, after riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV of Spain was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII on March 19, 1808. Napoleon saw the weaknesses in the Spanish monarchy and decided to make a move. Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon on May 7, 1808, at the Castle of Marracq in Bayonne, France, where Napoleon forced them both to abdicate their rights to the Spanish throne, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph as King of Spain.

Joseph and Julie, circa 1811

Julie never lived in or even traveled to Spain, preferring to live in Paris or Mortefontaine Castle (link in French) in France. In Spain, she was referred to as Reina Ausent, The Absent Queen, but Julie was given all the honors of a Queen of Spain at Napoleon’s court. Through her correspondence with Joseph, Julie informed him of Napoleon’s plans for Spain. She warned Joseph that Napoleon would never allow Spain to be too independent and that he should do everything possible to control Spain, especially its finances and army.

Immediately after Joseph was proclaimed King of Spain, uprisings broke out and resistance against him spread, leading to a guerrilla war that overshadowed Joseph’s entire reign. The resistance against Joseph made it nearly impossible for him to reign. In addition, Portugal and the United Kingdom came to the aid of the Spanish guerrilla forces in the Peninsular War. Due to the defeats in the Peninsular War, Napoleon was forced to reinstate Ferdinand VII as King of Spain and to make peace via the 1813 Treaty of Valençay.

Napoleon’s quest for power led to wars throughout Europe. In 1814, Paris was captured by the coalition fighting against Napoleon and his marshals decided to mutiny. Napoleon had no choice but to abdicate. The 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau exiled Napoleon to the Mediterranean island of Elba, 12 miles/20 km off the coast of Tuscany, Italy.

After the first fall of Napoleon in 1814, Joseph and his daughters went into exile at Prangins Castle in Switzerland, which Julie had purchased. Julie remained in Paris because of the illness of her mother, who died in 1815. While in Paris, Julie was arrested because of her relationship to the exiled Napoleon. She was brought before King Louis XVIII of France, the new king installed during the Bourbon Restoration, and Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia. Only through the intervention of her brother-in-law Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, then Crown Prince Carl Johan of Sweden, was Julie freed.

Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba on February 26, 1815, and arrived in France two days later. He attempted to regain power during the Reign of the Hundred Days but was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, a British possession, in the Atlantic Ocean, 1162 miles/1,870 km from the west coast of Africa, where he died in 1821. After Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Joseph Bonaparte emigrated to the United States, where he first lived in New York City and then in Philadelphia. He then purchased an estate, Point Breeze, in Bordentown, New Jersey, on the Delaware River. Joseph had two American daughters born at Point Breeze, by his mistress Annette Savage.

Julie in exile in Florence by Michel Ghislain Stapleaux, 1834; Credit – Wikipedia

Julie did not accompany her husband Joseph to the United States. Her sister Désirée, then Crown Princess of Sweden, wanted to bring Julie and her daughters to Sweden but Désirée’s husband Crown Prince Carl Johan thought it was politically unwise. Julie was a member of the Bonaparte family and if she lived in Sweden it might be interpreted as a sign that Crown Prince Carl Johan had sided with the deposed Napoleon. Instead, Julie lived with her daughters in the Free City of Frankfurt (now in Germany) and Brussels, Belgium. She finally settled in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, at the Palazzo Serristori, near the residence of her brother-in-law Camillo Borghese, 6th Prince of Sulmona, the second husband of Joseph’s sister Pauline.

Joseph Bonaparte in 1832, the year he returned to Europe; Credit – Wikipedia

Julie’s husband Joseph stayed in the United States for seventeen years before returning to Europe in 1832, where he lived in London, England. He occasionally returned to his estate in the United States. In 1840, Joseph joined Julie in Florence. Julie accepted him back despite his adultery. On July 28, 1844, Joseph died in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, at the age of seventy-six. Julie survived him by eight months dying in Florence on April 7, 1845, aged seventy-three. They were buried next to each other at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy.

Tomb of Julie Clary Bonaparte; Credit – By Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada – Italy-1089 – Marie Julie Bonaparte, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64847474

In 1864, Joseph’s remains were brought back to France by his nephew Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, and interred in Les Invalides in Paris, France where his brother Napoleon I was interred. The remains of Julie are still at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy beside the remains of her daughter Charlotte, who died in 1839, aged 36, giving birth to a stillborn child.

Tomb of Joseph Bonaparte; Credit – By Jean-Pol GRANDMONT – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91124533

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

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, King of Naples, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/joseph-bonaparte-king-of-spain-king-of-naples (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
  • François Clary (2022) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Fran%C3%A7ois-Clary/6000000003004013794 (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
  • François Clary (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Clary (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
  • Julie Clary (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Clary (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
  • Julie Clary (2022) Wikipedia (Italian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Clary (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
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  • Mehl, Scott. (2015) Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden and Norway, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/desiree-clary-queen-of-sweden/ (Accessed: February 1, 2023).

Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, King of Naples

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Joseph Bonaparte; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, was King of Naples from 1806 – 1808 and King of Spain from 1808 – 1813. Born Guiseppe Buonaparte, later Frenchified to Joseph Bonaparte, on January 7, 1768, in Corte on the island of Corsica, now in France, Joseph was the third of the twelve children and the eldest of the five sons of Carlo Buonaparte, a lawyer and diplomat, and Maria Letizia Ramolino. In the year of Joseph’s birth, the island of Corsica was invaded by France and conquered the following year. Joseph’s father was originally a follower of the Corsican patriots but became a supporter of the French.

Joseph had eleven siblings and eight survived childhood. Notice the titles of the siblings, given to them by their brother Napoleon I, Emperor of the French.

Maison Bonaparte, where Joseph grew up; Credit – By Jean-Pol GRANDMONT – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4400916

Joseph spent his childhood at the Bonaparte family home Maison Bonaparte on the Rue Saint-Charles in Ajaccio, Corsica. Maison Bonaparte was continuously owned by members of the Bonaparte family from 1682 to 1923. As part of the 1768 Treaty of Versailles, the Republic of Genoa ceded the island of Corsica to France to repay its debts. Joseph and his brother Napoleon attended the College of Oratorians, a secondary school, in Autun, France through a royal grant for impoverished French nobles. Joseph was originally going to be a priest but instead studied law at the University of Pisa where his father had also studied law.

After graduating from the University of Pisa in 1788, Joseph returned to Ajaccio in Corsica and worked as a lawyer. Starting in 1789, the French Revolution brought major changes to France. The French First Republic was declared in September 1792, and Joseph was elected chairman of the district council of Ajaccio. His brother Napoleon joined the French army and quickly advanced. During the latter part of the French Revolution, Napoleon rose to prominence and in 1799, at the age of 30 was the First Consul of France. Eventually, Napoleon was created First Consul for life. Joseph’s fortunes rose along with his brother’s.

On August 1, 1794, Joseph married Julie Clary, the daughter of François Clary, a wealthy merchant. Julie’s sister Désirée Clary, once engaged to Joseph’s brother Napoleon, married Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, a noted French general and a Marshal of France. In 1810, Désirée’s husband was elected Crown Prince of Sweden, and Jean Baptiste Bernadotte eventually became King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden. Their descendants have reigned in Sweden ever since as the House of Bernadotte.

Julie with her daughters Zénaïde and Charlotte; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph and Julie had three daughters:

Joseph as King of Naples; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1804, when Joseph’s brother Napoleon declared himself Emperor of the French, Joseph and his siblings became Imperial Princes and Princesses. Napoleon sent Joseph to Naples in 1806 to expel the Bourbons ruling there because they had sided against him in the War of the Third Coalition. After a successful French invasion, Napoleon proclaimed Joseph as King of Naples. However, Napoleon became increasingly dissatisfied with his brother, and in 1808, he was replaced as King of Naples by Joachim Murat, the husband of Caroline Bonaparte, Joseph and Napoleon’s sister.

While Joseph was King of Naples, he had a son and a daughter from his affair with Maria Giulia Colonna, daughter of Andrea Colonna, 3rd Prince of Stigliano and wife of Giangirolamo Acquaviva d’Aragona, 11th Duke of Nardò:

  • Giulio Acquaviva d’Aragona y Colonna (1806 – 1838)
  • Maria Teresa Acquaviva d’Aragona Colonna (born and died 1808)

Joseph as in his coronation robes as King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Meanwhile in Spain, after riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV of Spain was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII on March 19, 1808. Napoleon saw the weaknesses in the Spanish monarchy and decided to make a move. Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon on May 7, 1808, at the Castle of Marracq in Bayonne, France. Napoleon forced them both to abdicate, then he declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed and installed his brother Joseph as King of Spain. Immediately after Joseph was proclaimed King of Spain, uprisings broke out and resistance against him spread, leading to a guerrilla war that overshadowed Joseph’s entire reign. The resistance against Joseph made it nearly impossible for him to reign. In addition, Portugal and the United Kingdom came to the aid of the Spanish guerrilla forces in the Peninsular War. Due to the defeats in the Peninsular War, Napoleon was forced to reinstate Ferdinand VII as King of Spain and to make peace via the 1813 Treaty of Valençay.

Napoleon’s quest for power led to wars throughout a large part of Europe. In 1814, Paris was captured by the coalition fighting against Napoleon and his marshals decided to mutiny. Napoleon had no choice but to abdicate. The 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau exiled Napoleon to the Mediterranean island of Elba, 12 miles/20 km off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. Napoleon escaped from Elba on February 26, 1815, and arrived in France two days later. He attempted to regain power during the Reign of the Hundred Days, but he was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, by a coalition of forces from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Nassau, Brunswick, and Prussia. Napoléon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, a British possession, in the Atlantic Ocean, 1162 miles/1,870 km from the west coast of Africa, where he died in 1821.

After the first fall of Napoleon, Joseph went into exile at Prangins Castle in Switzerland, which his wife Julie had purchased. During the Reign of the Hundred Days, Joseph went to Paris where he conducted government affairs for his brother Napoleon. After Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Joseph emigrated to the United States. His wife Julie did not accompany him. Instead, she settled with her two daughters in the Free City of Frankfurt (now in Germany), Brussels, Belgium, and then Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. Joseph first lived in New York City and then in Philadelphia. He then purchased an estate, Point Breeze, in Bordentown, New Jersey, on the Delaware River. Joseph’s homes became meeting places for other Napoleonic exiles. At Point Breeze, Joseph entertained many of the leading American intellectuals and politicians of the time.

Point Breeze, the estate of Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte in Bordentown, New Jersey; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph had two American daughters born at Point Breeze, his estate in Bordentown, New Jersey, by his mistress Annette Savage:

  • Pauline Anne Savage, died young
  • Catherine Charlotte Savage (1822 – 1890), married Colonel Zebulon Howell Benton of Jefferson County, New York, had four daughters and three sons

Joseph at Point Breeze, painted during a visit to Point Breeze in New Jersey; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph stayed in the United States for seventeen years before returning to Europe in 1832, when he lived in London, England. He occasionally returned to his estate in the United States. In 1840, Joseph joined his wife Julie in Florence. Julie accepted him back despite his adultery. On July 28, 1844, Joseph died in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, at the age of seventy-six. Julie survived him by eight months dying in Florence on April 7, 1845, aged seventy-three. They were buried next to each other at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.

Tomb of Julie Clary Bonaparte; Credit – By Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada – Italy-1089 – Marie Julie Bonaparte, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64847474

In 1864, Joseph’s remains were brought back to France by his nephew Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, and interred in Les Invalides in Paris, France where his brother Napoleon I was interred. The remains of Joseph’s wife Julie are still at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy beside the remains of her daughter Charlotte, who died in 1839, aged 36, giving birth to a stillborn child.

Tomb of Joseph Bonaparte; Credit – By Jean-Pol GRANDMONT – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91124533

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

Works Cited

  • Carlo Buonaparte (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Buonaparte (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/napoleon-bonaparte-emperor-of-the-french/ (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Joseph Bonaparte (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bonaparte (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Joseph Bonaparte (2022) Wikipedia (French). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bonaparte (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Joseph Bonaparte (2022) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bonaparte (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Joseph I Bonaparte, King of Spain and Naples (2022) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Joseph-I-Bonaparte-king-of-Spain-and-Naples/6000000006187372389 (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Julie Clary (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Clary (Accessed: January 27, 2023).

Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia in 1938

Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia was the pretender to the throne of Russia from 1938 – 1992.

About the Russian Succession

Russian Imperial Coat of Arms; Credit – Wikipedia

The succession to the former Russian throne has been in dispute, mainly due to disagreements over the validity of marriages. In 1924, after Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich (son of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and brother of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia) was declared legally dead, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, a male-line grandson of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, declared himself Guardian of the Throne and later assumed the title Emperor of All Russia. In 1938, upon the death of Kirill Vladimirovich, his son Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich assumed the Headship of the Russian Imperial Family.

Vladimir Kirillovich’s only child, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna (born 1953), claims to have succeeded her father upon his death in 1992. Her claim to the Headship of the Russian Imperial Family is based on a claim that all male lines of the Romanov family are either extinct, illegitimate, or morganatic, triggering semi-salic succession, and that she is the closest female to the last dynast. The claim of Maria Vladimirovna as Head of the Russian Imperial Family is disputed by the Romanov Family Association made up of the majority of the male-line descendants of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and father Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, male-line descendants of Nicholas I, never joined.

Pre-revolutionary Romanov house law allowed only those born of an equal marriage between a Romanov dynast and a member of a royal or sovereign house to be in the line of succession to the Russian throne. The throne could only pass to a female and through the female line upon the extinction of all legitimately-born, male dynasts.

Maria Vladimiovna’s mother Princess Leonida of Bagration belonged to a family that had been kings in Georgia from medieval times until the early 19th century. However, no male line ancestor of Leonida had reigned as a king in Georgia since 1505 and her branch of the Bagrations, the House of Mukhrani, had been naturalized as non-ruling nobility of Russia after Georgia was annexed to the Russian empire in 1801. Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen, another pretender, and his supporters, the Monarchist Party of Russia, argue that there is a precedent for a marriage with the House of Bagration-Mukhrani being an unequal marriage. They argue that the House of Bragation-Mukhrani, the house of Leonida Bagration-Mukhrani, Maria Vladimirovna’s mother, did not possess sovereign status and was not recognized as an equal marriage by Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia for the purpose of dynastic marriages at the time of the marriage of Princess Tatiana Konstantinovna of Russia and Prince Konstantine Bragation-Mukhrani in 1911, thirty-seven years before the marriage of Princess Leonida of Bragation-Mukhrani and Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich. The couple married but Princess Tatiana Konstantinovna was required to renounce her rights to the Russian throne and she was no longer a member of the House of Romanov.

Therefore, after the death of Vladimir Kirillovich in 1992, Prince Nicholas Romanov claimed that he was the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia. Except for Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, who said that the marriage of Nicholas’ parents was not in conformity with the house laws, Nicholas was recognized by the rest of the family as head of the Romanov family. However, Maria Vladimirovna seems to be more accepted by European royalty and she is sometimes invited to royal events. She attended the 2023 funeral of former King Constantine II of Greece.

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

Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia was born on August 30, 1917, in Porvoo, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire, now in Finland. He was the third of the three children and the only son of first cousins Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia and Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a granddaughter of both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Alexander, Emperor II of All Russia. Vladimir’s paternal grandparents were Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia (son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia) and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. His maternal grandparents were Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (son of Queen Victoria) and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (daughter of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia).

Vladimir’s family: (left to right) Maria Kirillovna, Victoria Melita, Kirill Vladimirovich holding Vladimir Kirillovich, and Kira Kirillovna; Credit – Wikipedia

Vladimir had two older sisters:

Vladimir had one half-sister from his mother’s first marriage, which ended in divorce, to her first cousin Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine:

Soon after the abdication of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia in March 1917, Vladimir’s parents Kirill and Victoria Melita, known in Russia as Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna, decided it was best to leave Russia. Victoria Melita was pregnant with Vladimir. They traveled to Finland, then part of Russia, where Vladimir was born on August 30, 1917. In the fall of 1919, they moved to Germany where they reunited with Vladimir’s maternal grandmother Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia who was the widow of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

After the death of Victoria Melita’s mother in 1920, Kirill and Victoria Melita now had two homes at their disposal, a villa in Nice, France and the Villa Edinburg, which later became known as the Kirill Palace, in Coburg, formerly in the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany. For the next several years, the family split their time between the two homes. In 1924, when Kirill assumed the title Emperor of All Russia, he granted Vladimir the style Imperial Highness and the titles Grand Duke and Tsesarevich (heir apparent). In 1926, the family moved for the last time, purchasing a villa in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer on the coast of Brittany in France. Here the family settled into a quiet life, while Victoria Melita put her energies into raising her son Vladimir and ensuring her two daughters made significant marriages.

Vladimir’s family in 1926: (left to right) Vladimir Kirillovich, Victoria Melita, Kira Kirillovna, Kirill Vladimirovich; Credit – Wikipedia

Vladimir was educated privately and was fluent in Russian, English, French, German, and Spanish. He lived in London, England for a period of time, studying at the University of London. Vladimir’s mother Victoria Melita suffered a stroke in February 1936, while attending the christening of her fifth grandchild, and died on March 1, 1936.

Vladimir (in the center) in Paris, France in 1938

Upon the death of his father Kirill on October 12, 1938, the 21-year-old Vladimir was recognized as the Head of the Russian Imperial House by the Grand Dukes and Princes of Imperial Blood behind him in order of dynastic seniority and by the majority of the reigning houses of Europe. Unlike his father, Vladimir did not proclaim himself Emperor of All Russia. Instead, he used the style and title His Imperial Highness The Sovereign Grand Duke for the rest of his life.

During World War II, Vladimir lived in the family villa in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer on the coast of Brittany in France. However, in 1944, the Germans, who had occupied the area, feared the Allies might invade the Brittany coast, Vladimir and other family members were moved to the interior of France. When the interior of France was deemed unsafe, Vladimir and family members were allowed to move to Amorbach Castle in Amorbach, Bavaria, Germany which had long belonged to the family of Vladimir’s brother-in-law Karl, 6th Prince of Leiningen.

After Germany’s defeat in World War II, Vladimir feared that he might be captured by the Soviet army. For his safety from the Soviets, Vladimir wanted to settle in Liechtenstein or Switzerland. However, neither country would give him an entrance visa. Vladimir’s maternal aunt Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had married Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Galliera, the first cousin of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. Beatrice was able to obtain a Spanish visa for Vladimir. After living with his aunt at her estate El Botánico in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, Vladimir settled in Madrid, Spain, but frequently visited the family villa in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, Brittany France, and Paris, France.

Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhrani; Credit – Wikipedia

Vladimir first met his future wife Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhrani at a restaurant in Paris, France during World War II. They did not meet again until they were both staying in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain. Leonida was the daughter of Prince George Alexandrovich Bagration-Mukhrani, a Georgian nobleman, and Elena Sigismundovna Zlotnitskaya, the daughter of a Russian nobleman of Polish origin. Leonida had been married to Sumner Moore Kirby, a wealthy American in 1934. They had one daughter Helen Louise Kirby and divorced after three years of marriage. Vladimir and Leonida were married on August 13, 1948, at St. Gerasimus Orthodox Church in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Vladimir and Leonida had one daughter:

Pre-revolutionary Romanov house law allowed only those born of an equal marriage between a Romanov dynast and a member of a royal or sovereign house to be in the line of succession to the Russian throne. Princess Leonida of Bagration belonged to a family that had been kings in Georgia from medieval times until the early 19th century. However, no male line ancestor of Leonida had reigned as a king in Georgia since 1505 and her branch of the Bagrations, the House of Mukhrani, had been naturalized as non-ruling nobility of Russia after Georgia was annexed to the Russian empire in 1801. There is controversy as to whether Vladimir’s marriage to Leonida was equal or morganatic.

By the end of Vladimir’s life, there were no longer members of the Russian Imperial House in the male line who were not in unequal, dynastic marriages. Children from such marriages, according to the laws of the Russian Empire and the Institution of the Russian Imperial Family, are not members of the Russian Imperial House. Vladimir declared his daughter Maria Vladimirovna was born from an equal marriage and that she was his heiress.

Vladimir and his wife Leonida visiting St. Petersburg, Russia in 1991

After the Soviet Union fell in 1991, Vladimir was the first member of the Russian Imperial Family to visit Russia. Upon arriving, as he set foot on the land of his ancestors, where he had never been, he was moved to tears.

Funeral of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich

Vladimir frequently traveled to the United States. On April 21, 1992, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich died from a heart attack at the age of 74 while addressing a gathering of Spanish-speaking bankers and investors at Northern Trust Bank in Miami, Florida. Vladimir was buried in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia, the first Romanov to be buried in Russia since the Russian Revolution. At that time, it was noted in the Russian press, that the funeral “was regarded by civic and Russian authorities as an obligation to the Romanov family rather than a step toward restoration of the monarchy.”

Grave of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia; Credit – www.findagrave.com The inscription reads: Reads: His Imperial Highness the Blessed Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich Born in Borgo, 1917 August 30th Died in Miami, 1992 April 21st Interred 1993 May 29th

After the death of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, his only child, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna claims to have succeeded her father. Her claim to the Headship of the Russian Imperial Family is based on a claim that all male lines of the Romanov family are either extinct, illegitimate, or morganatic, triggering semi-salic succession, and that she is the closest female to the last dynast. Maria Vladimirovna’s claim is disputed by the Romanov Family Association, a private organization of living male-line descendants of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia (except Maria Vladimirovna and her son). Prince Nicholas Romanov claimed that he was the Head of the Russian Imperial Family. Except for Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, who said that the marriage of Nicholas’ parents was not in conformity with the house laws, Nicholas was recognized by the rest of the Romanov family as the Head of the Russian Imperial Family.

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.

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