Category Archives: Former Monarchies

Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa of Parma, the wife of King Carlos IV of Spain, was born on December 9, 1751, in Parma, Duchy of Parma, now in Italy. She was the youngest of the three children and the second of the two daughters of Felipe, Infante of Spain, Duke of Parma (founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma) and Louise Élisabeth of France. Maria Luisa’s paternal grandparents were King Felipe V of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. King Felipe V, the founder of the Spanish House of Bourbon, was born a French prince, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, who was the son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV of France. Her maternal grandparents were King Louis XV of France and Maria Leszczyńska. Maria Luisa was given the names Luisa Maria Teresa Anna for her maternal grandparents and her mother’s twin sister Anne Henriette of France. Called Luisa by her family, she is known in history as Maria Luisa.

Left to Right: Maria Luisa’s brother Ferdinando, Maria Luisa, her mother Louise Élisabeth of France, her father Felipe, Duke of Parma, her older sister Isabella of Parma, and the children’s governess Marie Catherine de Bassecourt, Marchioness of Borghetto (on the right); Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had two older siblings:

Maria Luisa of Parma, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa’s French mother wanted to arrange a betrothal between Maria Luisa and her first cousin Louis Joseph, Duke of Burgundy. Louis Joseph was the same age as Maria Luisa, was also a grandchild of King Louis XV of France, and was second in the line of the French succession after his father Louis, Dauphin of France. However, neither of them became King of France. Ten-year-old Louis Joseph died from tuberculosis in 1761 and four years later, his father Louis, Dauphin of France also died from tuberculosis.

Maria Luisa’s husband, the future King Carlos IV of Spain, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1762, Maria Luisa was betrothed to her first cousin, the future King Carlos IV of Spain, the son of King Carlos III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. The marriage was intended to strengthen the relationships between the Bourbons ruling in Spain and Parma. When Maria Luisa’s older sister Isabella died in 1763 from smallpox, it was suggested that Maria Luisa should marry her sister’s widower, the future Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. However, the match was eventually rejected and the betrothal of Maria Luisa and Carlos was confirmed. The not-quite-seventeen-year-old Carlos and the not-quite fourteen-year-old Maria Luisa were married on September 4, 1765, at the La Granja Palace in San Ildefonso, Spain.

The Family of Carlos IV by Francisco de Goya, circa 1800. L to R: Infante Carlos, Count of Molina; the artist Francisco de Goya at the easel; the future King Fernando VII, Infanta Maria Josepha (sister of Carlos IV); a young woman whose face cannot be seen who is representing the future wife of King Fernando VII; Infanta Maria Isabel; Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Portugal; Infante Francisco de Paula; King Carlos IV; Infante Antonio Pascual (brother of Carlos IV); Carlota Joaquina or her sister Infanta Maria Amalia; Carlo Ludovico of Parma (husband of Maria Luisa); Infanta Maria Luisa; child in the arms of Maria Luisa, her son, the future Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had twenty-three pregnancies. Thirteen of the pregnancies resulted in live births, including a set of twins. The other ten pregnancies ended in miscarriages. Of the fourteen children who were born alive, only seven survived childhood:

Upon her arrival at the Spanish court, Maria Luisa immediately became the first lady of the court. Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, the mother of her husband, had died from tuberculosis in 1760, and Maria Luisa’s father-in-law King Carlos III never remarried. It was obvious that Maria Luisa was intelligent and ambitious and had a dominant personality. Her father-in-law attempted to control her and limit her personal freedom, but with little success. Maria Luisa was strong and intellectual and she completely controlled her husband. During the reign of her father-in-law King Carlos III, Maria Luisa led her husband into all sorts of court intrigues.

Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy who ran the Spanish government with Queen Maria Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 14, 1788, King Carlos III of Spain died and was succeeded by his son as King Carlos IV of Spain. Carlos IV would rather hunt than deal with government affairs and the running of the government was left mostly to Queen Maria Luisa and Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. It is probable that de Godoy had a long-term relationship with Maria Luisa and that he was the father of her youngest son Francisco de Paula.

King Carlos IV and Queen Maria Luisa, circa 1802; Credit – Wikipedia

The view of the Spanish monarchy among the Spanish people took a rapid decline due to economic troubles, rumors about a relationship between Queen Maria Luisa and de Godoy, and King Carlos IV’s incompetence. Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando, Prince of Asturias
was anxious to take over from his father and jealous of Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. He unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow his father in 1807. After riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII on March 19, 1808. However, less than two months later, Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon I, Emperor of the French on May 7, 1808, at the Castle of Marracq in Bayonne, France, where he forced them both to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.

Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando as Prince of Asturias, later King Fernando VII of Spain by Francisco de Goya, 1800; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa, her husband the former King Carlos IV, some of their children, and former Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy were held captive first in France, at Compiègne and Fontainebleau, and then in Marseilles and Nice, and finally in Rome, then in the Papal States, now in Italy. Napoleon kept Carlos and Maria Luisa’s son Fernando VII under guard in France for more than five years at the Château de Valençay in France until the Treaty of Valençay on December 11, 1813, provided for the restoration of Fernando VII as King of Spain.

Even after the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, King Fernando VII refused to allow his parents to return to Spain. Maria Luisa and Carlos IV settled in Rome at the Palazzo Barberini. On January 2, 1819, at the age of sixty-seven, Maria Luisa died from pneumonia. Her husband Carlos IV died just eighteen days later, on January 20, 1819, aged seventy. Their son King Fernando VII allowed them to return to Spain in death. They were both interred in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain.

Tomb of Maria Luisa of Parka, Queen of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Carlos IV, King of Spain. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-iv-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Maria Luisa of Parma (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_of_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • María Luisa de Parma (2023) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Luisa_de_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Philip, Duke of Parma (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip,_Duke_of_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).

Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, Queen of Naples and Sicily

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, Queen of Naples & Sicily; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Amalia of Saxony was the wife of King Carlos III of Spain who also was King Carlo VII of Naples from 1735 – 1759 and King Carlo V of Sicily from 1734 – 1759. Born on November 24, 1724, at Dresden Castle, in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga was a Princess of Poland and a Princess of Saxony. She was the fourth of the fourteen children and the eldest of the seven daughters of Augustus III, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was also Friedrich August II, Elector of Saxony, and Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria. Maria Amalia’s paternal grandparents were Augustus II, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was also Friedrich August I, Elector of Saxony, and Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Her maternal grandparents were Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick -Lüneburg.

Maria Amalia had thirteen siblings:

Dresden Castle where Maria Amalia was born and raised; Credit – By X-Weinzar – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7530258

Maria Amalia was raised at her father’s court at Dresden Castle in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. She received instruction in foreign languages, mathematics, foreign cultures, theater, and dancing. Maria Amalia was also an excellent musician and sang and played the piano from an early age.

Maria Amalia’s husband Carlos as King of Naples and Sicily; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1738, a marriage was arranged for fourteen-year-old Maria Amalia and twenty-two-year-old Carlos of Spain, then sovereign of two Italian kingdoms as King Carlo VII of Naples and King Carlo V of Sicily. Carlos was the eldest son of Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain and his second wife ​Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, who had arranged the marriage. Carlos was not expected to become King of Spain because he had two elder surviving brothers from his father’s first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy.

On May 8, 1738, a proxy marriage was held in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in Germany with the bride’s brother Friedrich Christian of Saxony standing in for Carlos. Shortly afterward, Maria Amalia traveled to the Kingdom of Naples, and on June 19, 1738, at Portella, a village on the border of the Kingdom of Naples, Carlos and Maria Amalia met for the first time and were married.

Three children of Maria Amalia and Carlos: Francisco Javier, Maria Luisa, and Carlos III’s successor, the future King Carlos IV; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Amalia and Carlos had thirteen children but only seven survived childhood. Their children who were born before Carlos became King of Spain were Princes and Princesses of Naples and Sicily. Their children who survived until Carlos became King of Spain were then Infantes and Infantas of Spain.

Royal Palace of Caserta in Caserta, Italy; Credit – By Carlo Pelagalli, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52612424

As Queen of Naples and Sicily, Maria Amalia had great influence and actively participated in state affairs. After the birth of her first son in 1747, she was given a seat on the council of state. Maria Amalia ended the careers of several politicians she disliked. She played an important role in the planning and construction of the Royal Palace of Caserta.

Maria Amalia’s in-laws: King Felipe V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Queen of Spain in 1739

Carlos’ father Felipe V, King of Spain died of a stroke at the age of 62 on July 9, 1746, and Carlos’ only surviving elder half-brother Fernando succeeded to the Spanish throne as Fernando VI, King of Spain, and reigned for thirteen years. However, Fernando’s marriage to Barbara of Portugal produced no children, and so upon his death in 1759, his elder surviving half-brother, Maria Amalia’s husband Carlos, succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain. With great sadness, by both Carlos and the people of Naples and Sicily, Carlos abdicated the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his eight-year-old third son Ferdinando with a regency council ruling until his sixteenth birthday.

Maria Amalia, her husband, and their surviving children moved from Naples to Madrid, Spain in the autumn of 1759. Besides leaving their third son Ferdinando who was now King of Naples and Sicily, they left their eldest son Felipe who was excluded from the succession due to learning disabilities and epilepsy. Felipe lived hidden away at the Palace of Portici in the Kingdom of Naples, occasionally being visited by his brother King Ferdinando. Felipe died, aged 30, in 1777, from smallpox.

Maria Amalia had lived in her husband’s Italian kingdoms for twenty-one years and did not like Spain. She complained about the food, the language, which she refused to learn, the climate, the Spaniards, whom she regarded as passive, and the Spanish courtiers, whom she regarded as ignorant and uneducated. She planned reforms for the Spanish court but did not have time to complete them.

A posthumous portrait of Maria Amalia, circa 1761; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 27, 1760, a year after arriving in Spain, 35-year-old Maria Amalia died from tuberculosis at the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, Spain. She was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial. Upon Maria Amalia’s death, her husband Carlos said, “In twenty-two years of marriage, this is the first serious upset that Amalia has given me.” After Maria Amalia’s death, Carlos remained unmarried. He survived his wife by twenty-eight years, dying, aged 72, on December 14, 1788, at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain. He was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial.

Tomb of Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

Works Cited

  • Augustus III of Poland (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_III_of_Poland (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Carlos III, King of Spain, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, King of Naples, King of Sicily, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-iii-king-of-spain-duke-of-parma-and-piacenza-king-of-naples-king-of-sicily/ (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • María Amalia de Sajonia (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Amalia_de_Sajonia (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Maria Amalia di Sassonia (2022) Wikipedia (Italian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_di_Sassonia (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Maria Amalia of Saxony (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_of_Saxony (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Maria Amalia von Sachsen (1724–1760) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_von_Sachsen_(1724%E2%80%931760) (Accessed: January 2, 2023).

Blanche of England, Countess Palatine

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Painting of Blanche in the chancel of the Church of St. Aegidius in Neustadt, Germany where she is buried; Credit – Wikipedia

Blanche of England was born in the spring of 1392 at Peterborough Castle in Peterborough, England. She was the fifth of the six children and the elder of the two daughters of King Henry IV of England and his first wife the wealthy heiress Mary de Bohun, Countess of Northampton, Countess of Derby. Blanche’s paternal grandparents were John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, (the third surviving son of King Edward III of England) and Blanche of Lancaster, Duchess of Lancaster, her namesake and the heiress of England’s wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. It was through Blanche of Lancaster that the Duchy of Lancaster came into the royal family. Since the reign of King Henry IV, the Duchy of Lancaster has provided a source of independent income to the British sovereign. Blanche’s maternal grandparents were Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, and Joan FitzAlan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and 8th Earl of Surrey.  When Blanche was two years old, her mother died while giving birth to her last child Philippa.

Blanche had five siblings:

In 1398, Blanche’s father, then known as Henry of Bolingbroke because he was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, England, quarreled with Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, who accused him of treason. The two men planned to duel, but instead, Henry’s first cousin King Richard II banished them from England. John of Gaunt died on February 3, 1399, and Richard II confiscated the estates of his uncle and stipulated that his cousin Henry would have to ask him to restore the estates. Henry returned to England while his cousin Richard II was on a military campaign in Ireland and began a military campaign of his own, confiscating the land of those who had opposed him. King Richard II eventually was abandoned by his supporters and was forced by Parliament on September 29, 1399, to abdicate the crown to his cousin Henry.  King Henry IV was crowned in Westminster Abbey on October 13, 1399.  Richard was imprisoned at Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire where he died on or around February 14, 1400. The exact cause of his death, thought to have been starvation, is unknown.

In 1403, Blanche’s father King Henry IV married again to Joan of Navarre, the widow of Jean IV, Duke of Brittany, and the daughter of Charles II, King of Navarre and Jeanne of Valois. Henry IV and Joan had no children but Joan got along well with her stepchildren.

After King Henry IV deposed his first cousin King Richard II, it was important for him to legitimize his rule. Ruprecht III, Elector Palatine and King of the Romans was a needed ally. A marriage between Ruprecht’s eldest surviving son and heir Ludwig, Count Palatine, the future Ludwig III, Elector Palatine, and Henry IV’s eldest daughter Blanche was arranged. The marriage contract was signed on March 7, 1401. Ten-year-old Blanche married twenty-four-year Ludwig on July 6, 1402, at Cologne Cathedral in the Free Imperial City of Cologne, now in Germany.

The Crown of Princess Blanche; Credit – By Allie Caulfield –  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65073992

Blanche’s dowry included a crown thought to have originally belonged to Anne of Bohemia, the first wife of King Richard II of England, whom she married in 1382. Known as the Crown of Princess Blanche, the Palatine Crown, and the Bohemian Crown, Blanche wore it at her wedding. Made of gold with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, enamel, and pearls, the crown has been the property of the House of Wittelsbach since 1402, and is displayed in the treasury of the Munich Residenz, where it has been kept since 1782. This writer has been fortunate to have seen the crown and can verify that it is spectacular.

Blanche and Ludwig had one child:

  • Ruprecht, Count Palatine (1406 – 1426), unmarried, nicknamed Ruprecht the Englishman

Ludwig III, Elector Palatine with his two wives: his first wife Blanche of England in the middle and his second wife Matilda of Savoy on the right; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 22, 1409, Blanche, aged seventeen, died while pregnant with her second child, possibly from the plague, at Neustadt, Electorate of the Palatinate, now in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She was buried in the Church of St. Aegidius (link in German) in Neustadt.

Blanche’s tomb at the Church of St. Aegidius in Neustadt.; Credit – Wikipedia

A year after her death, Blanche’s widower succeeded his father as Ludwig III, Elector Palatine. In 1417, Ludwig married Matilda of Savoy, and the couple had five children. However, Ruprecht, Ludwig’s son from his first marriage, remained the heir presumptive to the Electorate of Palatinate and Ludwig allowed Ruprecht to participate in the affairs of state.

On May 20, 1426, Blanche and Ludwig’s son Ruprecht died two days before his 20th birthday. Ludwig suffered immense grief and decided to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Upon his return from the pilgrimage, Ludwig became seriously ill, and he entered into a period of religious fervor that lasted the rest of his life. By 1430, Ludwig was nearly blind. Five years later, his wife Matilda and the Palatine councilors decided Ludwig could no longer rule and removed him from power. Ludwig’s younger brother Otto I, Count Palatine of Mosbach became Regent, and took over the affairs of state and the education of Ludwig’s sons from his second marriage. Twenty-seven years after Blanche’s death, Ludwig III, Elector Palatine died on December 30, 1436, in Heidelberg, Electorate of Palatinate, now in Germany.

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

  • Blanche of England (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanche_of_England (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
  • Blanca von England (2022) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanca_von_England (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013) King Henry IV of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/march-20-daily-featured-royal-date/ (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
  • Jones, Dan. (2012) The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
  • Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
  • Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British royalty: A Phrase and Fable dictionary. London: Cassell.

Funeral of King Constantine II of Greece

by Susan Flantzer and Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

King Constantine II of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

King Constantine II, the former King of Greece, died at Hygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece on January 10, 2023, at the age of 82. He had been admitted to the intensive care unit at the hospital a couple of days earlier. King Constantine II was survived by his wife, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece (born a Princess of Denmark), his elder sister Queen Sofia of Spain, his younger sister Princess Irene of Greece, his five children Princess Alexia, Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Theodora, and Prince Philippos, and nine grandchildren. King Constantine II was the only son of King Paul of Greece (reigned 1947 – 1964) and Princess Frederica of Hanover.

On March 6, 1964, King Paul died and twenty-three-year-old Constantine became king. On April 21, 1967, a coup d’état led by a group of army colonels took over Greece. A military junta ruled Greece from 1967 – 1974. For more information see Wikipedia: Greek military junta of 1967–74  On December 13, 1967, King Constantine attempted a counter-coup against the military junta which failed, and King Constantine and his family had to flee to Italy. The family lived for two months in the Greek embassy and then for the next five years in a house in a suburb of Rome. King Constantine remained the head of state in exile until June 1, 1973, when the junta abolished the monarchy.  In 1974, after the fall of the junta, a referendum by the Greek people confirmed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Third Hellenic Republic.

In 1973, the family moved to England, living first in Chobham, Surrey, and later in the London suburb of Hampstead. The Greek government did not permit King Constantine to return to Greece until 1981 when he was allowed to enter Greece for several hours to attend the funeral of his mother Queen Frederica. King Constantine and his family paid a private visit to Greece in 1993. After 2003, when a property dispute between Constantine and the Greek government was settled, Constantine and his family were able to make visits to Greece and purchase a summer home there. In 2013, former King Constantine II permanently returned to reside in Greece.

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Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation in Athens, Greece

Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation; Credit – By C messier – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51359657

The funeral for King Constantine II of Greece was held on January 16, 2023, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation in Athens, Greece, followed by the burial at the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace, the former summer palace of the Greek royal family, near Athens, Greece. Ieronymos II, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Athens presided over the ceremonies.

The Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation has been the site of important ceremonies including weddings and funerals of notable personalities including Greek royalty. It is likely that there would have been more royal events at the Metropolitan Cathedral had the Greek royals not been in exile from 1924 – 1935 during the Second Hellenic Republic and from 1967 – 2003, after the monarchy was abolished and until former King Constantine II was allowed to once again to enter Greece. The most recent royal event prior to King Constantine II’s funeral was the religious wedding of Prince Philippos, the youngest child of former King Constantine II, and Nina Nastassja Flohr, held at the Metropolitan Cathedral on October 23, 2021.

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Funeral Controversy

After the death of former King Constantine II, the Greek government held a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the following decisions were made:

  • The former King would not receive a state funeral and would be buried as a private citizen.
  • The burial would take place near his ancestors at the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace.
  • There would be no lying-in-state.
  • In consultation between the government and the family, the church would be designated in which the funeral will take place,
  • The government would be represented at the funeral by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni.
  • All the procedures provided by the protocol for the officials from abroad attending the funeral would be observed.

There was backlash over the Greek government’s decisions regarding King Constantine II’s funeral. As a result, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed to allow an unofficial lying-in-state and the honors of a state leader in a private funeral. King Constantine II would lie in state at the Agios Eleftherios Chapel in Athens, Greece, next to the Metropolitan Cathedral, from 6:00 AM – 11:00 AM on January 16, 2023, the day of the funeral, to allow members of the public to pay their respects. At 12:00 PM, there would be a procession to the nearby Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation. Two hundred guests were expected at the funeral including seven current monarchs who are also heads of state, which is why it was decided that Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos would represent the Greek government. Prime Minister Mitsotakis allowed any member of the Greek government to attend the funeral. After the funeral, King Constantine’s body would be taken to the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace for a private burial.

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The Lying-in-State at the Agios Eleftherios Chapel in Athens, Greece

Agios Eleftherios Chapel; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 16, 2023, from 6:00 AM to 11:00 AM, King Constantine’s coffin lay in state in the Agios Eleftherios Chapel, next to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens, Greece. Thousands of mourners filed past the coffin.

Members of the public pay their respects in the Agios Eleftherios Chapel

Afterward, there was a procession to the Metropolitan Cathedral, headed by a crucifer, followed by two priests and Ieronymos II, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Athens, then the coffin draped in the flag of Greece, and finally King Constantine’s three sons.

The procession leaving Agios Eleftherios Chapel, heading to the Metropolitan Cathedral

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The Funeral at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation in Athens, Greece

Embed from Getty Images
The coffin was carried into the nave of the Metropolitan Cathedral with King Constantine’s three sons following

After the procession from the Agios Eleftherios Chapel, King Constantine’s coffin was carried through the nave of the Metropolitan Cathedral and placed in the center of the chancel.

Crown Prince Pavlos pays his respects to his father with his brothers waiting for their turns. King Constantine’s honors can be seen beside the coffin.

Floral wreaths, icons, King Constantine’s honors, and his Olympic gold medal were placed beside the coffin. In the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, the then Crown Prince Constantine won a Gold Medal in Sailing Mixed Three Person Keel. The wreaths beside the coffin were made from lilies of the valley, the same flowers used for Queen Anne-Marie’s bridal bouquet.

Crown Prince Pavlos greets his first cousin King Felipe VI of Spain and his wife Queen Letizia on the steps of the Metropolitan Cathedral

Before the funeral started, Crown Prince Pavlos stood at the top of the cathedral’s steps and greeted the royal guests as they arrived.

 

The funeral was the traditional Greek Orthodox funeral, chanted by Archbishop Ieronymos II  and twenty other priests. To their right and left were two Byzantine choirs who also chanted part of the funeral service.

Crown Prince Pavlos gave a speech eulogizing his father

Crown Prince Pavlos, King Constantine II’s eldest son, gave a very moving eulogy, first in Greek and then in English, directly addressing his father. Pavlos made a poignant reference to his father as an Olympic gold medal winner.

Dear Papa, Constantine, Your Majesty, Grandfather, Olympic Champion,

For your dear Queen, our Mother, for us the children, your grandchildren, and for all those who come together on this day to say farewell to you for the last time, and for all those who honor your memory, and for all those for whom it is not possible to be here today.

My father, this is not the end. You shall always live in our minds and hearts, as it happens in every Greek family when they lost the dearest and most precious figure in their life.

At a very young age, you lost your father, King Pavlos, my grandfather, however, you always remained loyal to the legacy that he conveyed to you. When at the age of eighteen, you became Crown Prince of Greece and received your commission as an officer in the glorified Greek armed forces, his advice to you, and this was very dear to you, and I quote: “Devote your life to the happiness of the Motherland for it is the most noble, remarkable mission. Always remember that it is better for the king to suffer and not for the people or the country. You are the guardian and protector of your Church.” This is the legacy my grandfather left to you, that has now passed to myself, my brothers, your grandchildren, and we will protect it and honour it for the rest of our lives.

As an Olympian, you honoured your country by winning the gold medal for the 1960 Olympic Games. You brought honour to the blue and white flag of Greece and to our homeland. Your victory was a feat of tactical and physical endurance on the sea that you and your close crew navigated toward an ultimate victory.

It was a truly challenging era when you ascended the throne, dear Father. Hard conflicts, opposite passions, and the results that no one wished for. From the very first moment, you tried to overthrow the coup, your efforts did not come to a successful result. Yet you did not wish that your presence in Greece would provoke bloodshed. Always loyal to the legacy your father had given to you, you respectfully accepted the decision of the Greek people.

Your love for youth, education, and international sport has been constant. You formed the Hellenic College of London, the international school organisation of Round Square, as well as active participation in the International Olympic Committee and the World Sailing Federation. Your relationship with the International Olympic Committee led to our 2004 Olympics being here in Greece which was one of your greatest feats.

Family was a core value to you and our mother. It has always been our strong belief that it is the foundation of society. Together, you created a large family, inseparably united by love for each other and a sense of duty for the country. By the grace of God, you drew your last breath in our country, which you always loved above all else throughout your life.

On this day, we, your children, your grandchildren, we are the future of your family here in our land and around the world, are ready, as you have always been, to offer to Greece whatever the country asks of us.

My strength is in the love of the people. This has always been the motto and guiding light of our family. For us, and for all Greeks, the strength of the country lies in the love of the Greek people for their homeland. We, as you dear Papa, always love Hellas and its people.

Safe journey!

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The Burial at the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace

The burial of King Constantine

With the exception of King Otto, originally a Prince of Bavaria, and his wife, who returned to the Kingdom of Bavaria after Otto was deposed in 1862, and are buried in Munich, now in Germany, all other Greek kings and their wives, along with other family members, are buried at the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace, the former summer palace of the Greek royal family, near Athens, Greece. Tatoi Palace has not been used by the Greek royal family since 1967 and is now the property of the Greek government.

Some of the land surrounding Tatoi Palace was damaged in the 2021 wildfire season and there had not been any clean-up. After the announcement that King Constantine would be buried there, clean-up crews arrived. Burnt trees were removed, new trees were planted, new gravel paths were installed and the Church of the Resurrection near the Royal Cemetery was repaired. On January 12, 2023, Constantine’s sisters Queen Sofía of Spain and Princess Irene of Greece, his daughter-in-law Princess Nina of Greece, and Matthew Kumar, the fiancé of his daughter Princess Theodora of Greece, visited the Royal Cemetery to check on the clean-up effort.

After the funeral, King Constantine’s coffin was driven 18 miles/29 kilometers to Tatoi Palace in a convoy of forty cars carrying family and guests and accompanied by a police escort and two helicopters. Family, close friends, and some foreign royalty attended the burial. After a short ceremony at the Church of the Resurrection near the Royal Cemetery, King Constantine was buried next to his parents King Paul who died in 1964, and Queen Frederica who died in 1981.

King Constantine’s coffin is carried from the Church of the Resurrection to his grave

Constantine’s sons Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos, and Prince Philippos and his grandsons carried the coffin from the Church of the Resurrection to the grave. No press or photographers were allowed at the burial although the Private Office of HM King Constantine of Greece later provided photos of the burial.

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Family Background

Left to right: Constantine, his mother Queen Frederica, his elder sister Sofia, his younger sister Irene, and his father King Paul I in 1947; Photo Credit – www.britannica.com

King Constantine II was well-connected to many current and former royal families of Europe. King Constantine II’s parents were King Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover, both descendants of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom‘s eldest daughter Victoria, Princess Royal who married Friedrich III, German Emperor. Through his father, King Constantine II was also a descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark.

The descendants of Queen Victoria sit upon the thrones of Denmark, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and, the United Kingdom. King Christian IX’s descendants sit upon the thrones of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Their descendants also sat upon many former European thrones including Greece, Romania, and Serbia. Therefore, a large contingent of foreign royalty attended the funeral. Because King Constantine’s funeral was a private funeral and not a state funeral, many of the approximately 200 guests who attended the funeral were close or extended family members and other people close to the Greek royal family.

Royal Guests with Their Relationship to King Constantine II

King Constantine’s family

Family Members

Current Monarchies

Foreign royalty attending the funeral: In the front row are the monarchs of Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain, sitting in precedence according to the length of reign from right to left. Other members of royal families are behind them

Former Monarchies

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran, Stephanie, Margravine of Baden and Bernhard, Margrave of Baden

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

  • Athens Bureau. (2023) Former King Constantine was buried in Tatoi next to his parents, Greek City Times. Available at: https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/01/17/former-king-constantine-parents/ (Accessed: January 19, 2023).
  • Becatoros, Elena and Tongas, Theodora. (2023) Thousands turn out to bid farewell to Greece’s former king, The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. Available at: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/thousands-turn-out-to-bid-farewell-to-greeces-former-king/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all (Accessed: January 16, 2023).
  • Death and Funeral of Constantine II of Greece (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_funeral_of_Constantine_II_of_Greece (Accessed: January 16, 2023)
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  • Kitsantonis, N. (2023) Constantine II, the Last King of Greece, dies at 82, The New York Times. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/world/europe/constantine-dead.html (Accessed: January 16, 2023).
  • Kokkinidis, T. (2023) Former King of Greece Constantine laid to rest near Athens, GreekReporter.com. Available at: https://greekreporter.com/2023/01/16/thousands-last-respects-former-king-constantine-greece/ (Accessed: January 16, 2023).
  • Russell, R. (2023) Greece’s last king Constantine II buried in private funeral, BBC News. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64296757 (Accessed: January 16, 2023)
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Carlos III, King of Spain, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, King of Naples, King of Sicily

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Carlos III, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Born Carlos Sebastián, on January 20, 1716, at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid in Spain, Carlos III, King of Spain was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Carlo I (1731 – 1735), King of Naples, as Carlo VII (1735 – 1759), and King of Sicily, as Carlo V (1734 – 1759). Carlos III was the eldest of the six children and the eldest of the three sons of Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain and his second wife ​Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. His paternal grandparents were Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the heir apparent to the throne of France, and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria. Carlos’ maternal grandparents were Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma and Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg.

Carlos’ father had been born a French prince, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, who was the son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV of France. In 1700, King Carlos II of Spain, from the House of Habsburg, died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Louis, Le Grand Dauphin had the strongest genealogical claim to the Spanish throne because his mother Maria Theresa, Infanta of Spain had been the half-sister of Carlos II. However, neither Louis, Le Grand Dauphin nor his elder son Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, King Carlos II of Spain, in his will, named the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, 16-year-old Philippe, Duke of Anjou, as his successor. He reigned as Felipe V, King of Spain, the first Bourbon monarch of Spain.

Felipe V of Spain with his second wife Elisabeth and some of his children from his first and second marriages – from left to right: the future Fernando VI, King Felipe V, the future Luis I; Felipe, the future Duke of Parma, Queen Elisabeth, a portrait of the Infanta Mariana Victoria, and the future Carlos III: Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos had five younger siblings:

From his father’s first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy, Carlos had four half-siblings:

Carlos’ parents Felipe V and Elisabeth Farnese in 1739; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos’ mother Elisabeth Farnese of Parma never showed affection toward her two stepsons Luis and Fernando. She considered her stepsons to be obstacles to achieving her main objective: to provide her sons with realms to rule. On January 14, 1724, Felipe V abdicated the Spanish throne to Luis, his seventeen-year-old eldest son from his first marriage, for reasons that are still unclear. Perhaps it was because Felipe V suffered from mental instability and did not wish to reign due to his increasing mental decline. Another theory is that Felipe V was concerned about the succession to the French throne due to several deaths. Although the treaty that ended the War of the Spanish Succession forbade a union of the French and Spanish crowns, perhaps Felipe V hoped that by abdicating the Spanish throne, he could succeed to the French throne if necessary. However, seven months later, Felipe V was forced to once again ascend to the Spanish throne because his son King Luis I died of smallpox, and Felipe V’s younger son from his first marriage, the future King Fernando VI, was not yet of legal age.

In 1731, the male line of the House of Farnese ruling in the Duchy of Parma went extinct. The duchy passed to Felipe V, King of Spain whose second wife Elisabeth Farnese was the Farnese heiress. Felipe V made Carlos, his eldest son with Elizabeth Farnese, the Duke of Parma. However, Felipe V traded the Duchy of Parma to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine for the Kingdom of Naples in 1734 and the Kingdom of Sicily in 1735, and Carlos became King of Naples and Sicily. During his reign in Naples and Sicily as Carlo VII or Carlo di Borbone, which the people called him, he tried to reform and modernize the kingdoms, winning the affection of the citizens.

Carlos’ wife Maria Amalia of Saxony; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1738, Carlos’ mother Elisabeth Farnese arranged a marriage for him to fourteen-year-old Maria Amalia of Saxony, daughter of Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony and Maria Josepha of Austria. On May 8, 1738, a proxy marriage was held in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in Germany with the bride’s brother Friedrich Christian of Saxony standing in for Carlos. Shortly afterward, Maria Amalia traveled to the Kingdom of Naples, and on June 19, 1738, at Portella, a village on the border of the Kingdom of Naples, Carlos and Maria Amalia met for the first time and were married.

Three children of Carlos III and Maria Amalia: Francisco Javier, Maria Luisa, and Carlos III’s successor, the future King Carlos IV; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos III and Maria Amalia had thirteen children but only seven survived childhood. Their children who were born before Carlos became King of Spain were Princes and Princesses of Naples and Sicily. Their children who survived until Carlos became King of Spain were Infantes and Infantas of Spain.

As Carlos’ father King Felipe V grew older, his mental issues worsened. He experienced episodes of manic depression. During several periods, Felipe V was unable to handle government affairs and Carlos’ mother Elisabeth became the de facto ruler of Spain. Felipe V, King of Spain died of a stroke at the age of 62 on July 9, 1746, and Carlos’ elder half-brother Fernando succeeded to the Spanish throne as Fernando VI, King of Spain, and reigned for thirteen years. However, his marriage to Barbara of Portugal produced no children, and so upon his death in 1759, his elder surviving half-brother succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain.

Carlos abdicating the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his eight-year-old son Ferdinando; Credit – Wikipedia

With great sadness, by both Carlos and the people of Naples and Sicily, Carlos abdicated the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his eight-year-old third son Ferdinando with a regency council ruling until his sixteenth birthday. Ferdinando was deposed twice from the throne of Naples: once by the revolutionary Parthenopean Republic for six months in 1799 and again by Napoleon in 1805, before being restored in 1816 after the defeat of Napoleon. After the 1816 restoration, the two kingdoms were united into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and he reigned as King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies.

On September 27, 1760, a year after arriving in Spain, Carlos’ 35-year-old wife Maria Amalia suddenly died and was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial. Upon Maria Amalia’s death, Carlos said, “In twenty-two years of marriage, this is the first serious upset that Amalia has given me.” After Maria Amalia’s death, Carlos remained unmarried.

When Carlos became King of Spain, he was 43 years old and had ruled Naples and Sicily for twenty-five years, so he had far more experience than his predecessors. King Carlos III challenged the conservative Spanish government with his enlightened reform ideas and faced some opposition. The Spanish court was more rigid and somber than the cosmopolitan court of Naples and Sicily. Carlos III ruled as an enlightened despot, an absolute monarch who incorporated ideas of the Enlightenment. He promoted education, pushed back the influence of the Roman Catholic Church by expelling the Jesuits from the Spanish Empire, and strengthened the Spanish army and navy. Carlos III was responsible for some Spain’s national symbols. In 1770, he declared the Marcha Granadera to be used during official ceremonies. Since that time, it has been Spain’s national anthem except under the Second Republic ( 1931 – 1939 ). Carlos III also chose the colors and design of the Spanish flag as we see it today.

Tomb of Carlos III, King of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Carlos III, King of Spain, survived his wife by twenty-eight years, dying, aged 72, on December 14, 1788, at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain. He was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial.

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

  • Carlos III de España (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_III_de_Espa%C3%B1a (Accessed: December 24, 2022).
  • Charles III of Spain (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III_of_Spain (Accessed: December 24, 2022).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Felipe V, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-v-first-bourbon-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: December 24, 2022).
  • Maria Amalia of Saxony (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_of_Saxony (Accessed: December 24, 2022).

Barbara of Portugal, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Barbara of Portugal, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Infanta Barbara of Portugal was the wife of King Fernando VI of Spain. Born December 4, 1711, at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal, Barbara was the eldest of the six children and the only daughter of João V, King of Portugal and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria. Barbara’s parents remained childless for the first three years of their marriage. Her father promised God that he would build a great convent as a sign of gratitude if an heir to the throne was born. King João V fulfilled his promise and built the Palace-Convent of Mafra located in Mafra, Portugal, a short distance from Lisbon.

The facade of the Palace-Convent of Mafra; Credit – By Pedro S Bello – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=124113359

At birth, Barbara was styled Princess of Brazil as the heir presumptive and given the names Maria Madalena Bárbara Xavier Leonor Teresa Antónia Josefa, honoring several saints and relatives. She was called Barbara, a name that had never been used in the Portuguese royal family, after Saint Barbara whose feast day was on her birthday. Barbara’s paternal grandparents were Pedro II, King of Portugal and his second wife Maria Sophia of Neuburg. Her maternal grandparents were  Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and his third wife Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg. Barbara’s grandmothers were sisters and so her parents were first cousins.

The two eldest children in the family, Barbara with her brother Pedro who died at the age of two; Credit – Wikipedia

Barbara had five younger brothers. Two of her brothers died in childhood and one died in his teens. The surviving two brothers were both Kings of Portugal. After the birth of her brother Pedro, Barbara was no longer the heir presumptive. Pedro died when he was two but by that time Barbara had another brother, the future King José I of Portugal.

Barbara in 1725 Credit – Wikipedia

Barbara received an excellent education. She spoke Portuguese, French, German, and Italian fluently, and would later learn Spanish after her marriage. Like her father she loved music. When Barbara was eight years old, her father hired the great Italian harpsichordist and composer Domenico Scarlatti as her music master and music director of the Royal Chapel. Barbara became a talented keyboard player and when she married in 1729, Scarlatti followed her to Spain and composed hundreds of harpsichord sonatas for her. Scarlatti remained Barbara’s music master until he died in 1757, a year before Barbara died.

Barbara in 1729, the year of her marriage; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1725, Barbara was on a list of 99 princesses who were potential brides for King Louis XV of France. However, because of concerns about her health and her young age, she was removed from the list. To strengthen an alliance with Spain, a double marriage between Portugal and Spain was arranged between Barbara and the future Fernando VI, King of Spain, the son and heir of Felipe V, King of Spain, and Barbara’s brother the future José I, King of Portugal, her father’s heir, and Fernando’s half-sister Mariana Victoria of Spain.

A contemporary engraving depicting the Exchange of the Princesses over the Caia River on the Portugal-Spain border; Credit – Wikipedia

In a complex and protocol-filled arrangement called the Exchange of Princesses, on January 19, 1729, the two sets of princes and princesses were escorted to the Portugal-Spain border by the two royal courts, and the princesses were exchanged in a richly decorated wooden pavilion built on a bridge over the Caia River that linked the towns of Elvas, Portugal and Badajoz, Spain. Then, both couples were married in richly decorated pavilions on the same day on the grooms’ sides of the Caia River. Fernando and Barbara had no children except a stillborn son in 1733.

Barbara’s husband Fernando; Credit – Wikipedia

Barbara’s father-in-law King Felipe V suffered from mental instability and as he grew older, his mental issues worsened, and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma became the de facto ruler of Spain. Queen Elisabeth never showed affection toward her stepson Fernando. She considered him an obstacle to achieving her main objective: to provide her sons with King Felipe V of Spain with a realm to rule. Fernando and Barbara continually had to deal with the animosity of Queen Elisabeth who wanted to keep her stepson away from court. From 1733 until 1737, they were kept more or less under house arrest in their apartments, prevented from appearing in public, and watched by the spies of Queen Elisabeth, until Barbara’s father King João V of Portugal intervened.

Felipe V, King of Spain died of a stroke at the age of 62 on July 9, 1746, and Fernando succeeded to the Spanish throne. Fernando VI, King of Spain reigned for thirteen years. Benevolent but weak, Fernando VI left the government mostly to others. He allowed his troublesome stepmother Elisabeth to remain in Spain but banned her from court. As Queen Consort of Spain, Barbara did not have as much political ambition as Fernando’s stepmother Elisabeth. Instead, Barbara was focused mainly on a friendly relationship between Spain and Portugal. However, Barbara was the conduit through which the government ministers worked with King Fernando VI. She was presented with all documents of state before they were given to King Fernando VI because only she knew what should be said or hidden from him.

Barbara shortly before her death; Credit – Wikipedia

Barbara suffered from severe asthma for most of her life and became obese in the years before her death. On August 27, 1758, at the age of 46, Barbara died at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain. She was buried in the Church of Saint Barbara at the Convent of the Salesas Reales in Madrid, Spain which she had founded in 1748 as a school and home for young noblewomen. Barbara’s death broke Fernando’s heart. During the last year of his reign, probably at least partially caused by his wife’s death, Fernando VI rapidly lost his mental capacity. He lived at the Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón, near Madrid, where he died less than a year after Barbara’s death, on August 10, 1759, as the age of 45. Fernando was buried with his wife Barbara in the Church of Saint Barbara at the Convent of the Salesas Reales in Madrid.

Tomb of Barbara of Portugal; Queen of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

Works Cited

  • Bárbara de Braganza (2022) Wikipedia (Portuguese). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1rbara_de_Braganza (Accessed: November 28, 2022).
  • Bárbara de Braganza (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1rbara_de_Braganza (Accessed: November 28, 2022).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) João V, King of Portugal, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/joao-v-king-of-portugal/ (Accessed: November 28, 2022).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Fernando VI, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/fernando-vi-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: November 28, 2022).
  • Maria Bárbara de Bragança, Rainha de Espanha (2022) Wikipedia (Portuguese). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_B%C3%A1rbara_de_Bragan%C3%A7a,_Rainha_de_Espanha (Accessed: November 28, 2022).

Louise Élisabeth d’Orléans, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Louise Élisabeth d’Orléans, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of the short-reigning King Luis I of Spain, Princess Louise Élisabeth d’Orléans was born on December 9, 1709, at the Palace of Versailles in France. She was the sixth of the eight children and the fifth of the seven daughters of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, and Françoise Marie de Bourbon, the legitimized daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan, who were Louise-Élisabeth’s maternal grandparents. Her paternal grandparents were Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (the only sibling of King Louis XIV of France) and his second wife Elizabeth Charlotte (Liselotte) of the Palatinate, a great-granddaughter of King James I of England/James VI, King of Scots.

Louise Élisabeth had seven siblings:

Because she was one of six surviving daughters, there was no real hope for a good marriage for Louise Élisabeth. Therefore, she was politically irrelevant, little attention was paid to her, and her upbringing and education were neglected. In her letters, her paternal grandmother Liselotte often wrote about Louise Élisabeth’s cheekiness and bad manners. There were vague plans to marry her to an obscure German or Italian prince.

On September 1, 1715, King Louis XIV died. Because both his son Louis, Le Grand Dauphin and his grandson Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petite Dauphin predeceased him, King Louis XIV was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson King Louis XV, the son of Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petite Dauphin. King Louis XIV had stipulated in his will that a Regency Council be established until his great-grandson reached his majority. The Regency Council was led by King Louis XIV’s nephew, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, the father of Louise Élisabeth, who served as Regent of France.

In 1718, the War of the Quadruple Alliance broke out between France and Spain. Two years later, in 1720, King Felipe V of Spain wanted to make a peace agreement. King Felipe V of Spain was born a French prince, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV of France. In 1700, King Carlos II of Spain, from the House of Habsburg, died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Louis, Le Grand Dauphin had the strongest genealogical claim to the Spanish throne because his mother Maria Theresa, Infanta of Spain was the half-sister of Carlos II. However, neither Louis, Le Grand Dauphin nor his elder son Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, King Carlos II of Spain, in his will, named the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, 16-year-old Philippe, Duke of Anjou, as his successor. He reigned as Felipe V, King of Spain, the first Bourbon monarch of Spain.

King Felipe V of Spain and Louise Élisabeth’s father Philippe II, Duke of Orléans were first cousins once removed. In the 1720 peace agreement between France and Spain, King Felipe V proposed double marriages: his two-year-old daughter Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain was betrothed to marry ten-year-old King Louis XV of France. King Felipe V’s thirteen-year-old son and heir Luis, Prince of Asturias would marry one of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans’ daughters.

Louise Élisabeth’s husband King Luis I of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Louise Élisabeth of Orléans was chosen as the bride for the future King Luis I of Spain who was her second cousin once removed. In November 1721, fourteen-year-old Luis and eleven-year-old Louise Élisabeth were married by proxy, in Paris, France. On January 9, 1722, on the Isle of Pheasants in the Bidassoa River, on the border of France and Spain, the French Louise Élisabeth was exchanged for the Spanish Mariana Victoria. On January 20, 1722, Luis and Louise Élisabeth were married in person at the Ducal Palace of Lerma in Lerma, Burgos, Spain.

The marriage was unsuccessful and resulted in no children due to Louise Élisabeth’s young age and her increasingly erratic and impulsive behavior. She appeared in public dirty and unkempt, refused to use undergarments, and tried to provoke courtiers by showing her intimate parts in public. At meals, Louise Élisabeth would not eat but would hide the food and compulsively eat it later. She would suddenly undress in public to clean the windows and tiles with her clothes. Modern mental health professionals think she had borderline personality disorder. Her husband Luis wrote to his father, “I see no other solution but to lock her down as soon as possible, for her troubles keep increasing.” Luis had his wife confined to a convent. Louise Élisabeth cried and sent her husband letters asking for forgiveness. He later felt sorry for her and released her.

On January 14, 1724, Luis’s father King Felipe V abdicated the Spanish throne in favor of his son Luis for reasons that are still unclear. Perhaps it was because Felipe suffered from mental instability and did not wish to reign due to his increasing mental decline. Another theory is that Felipe was concerned about the succession to the French throne due to several deaths. Although the treaty that ended the War of the Spanish Succession forbade a union of the French and Spanish crowns, perhaps Felipe hoped that by abdicating the Spanish throne, he could succeed to the French throne if necessary. The problems with his wife Louise Élisabeth dominated Luis’s short reign.

Louise Élisabeth d’Orléans, Queen of Spain in 1724; Credit – Wikipedia

Luis became ill with smallpox in July 1724. Louise Élisabeth was his only company because his parents, fearful of the illness, left the Palacio del Buen Retiro in Madrid, Spain. Luis’s smallpox was complicated by pneumonia. Fourteen-year-old Louise Élisabeth cared for and remained with her seventeen-year-old husband until his death, on August 31, 1724. She also contracted smallpox but recovered from the illness. Luis’s father Felipe V was again forced to ascend to the Spanish throne because his younger son, the future King Fernando VI, was not yet of legal age. Louise Élisabeth, a widow at the age of fourteen, now of no use to the Spanish court and royal family, lost all support and became totally isolated.

In 1725, seven-year-old Mariana Victoria of Spain, the intended bride of King Louis XV of France,  was sent back to Spain. French Prime Minister Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon wanted his sister to be King Louis XV’s bride so he would have more influence. Because the marriage of King Luis I of Spain and Louise Élisabeth had not been consummated, Louise Élisabeth was sent back to France. Mariana Victoria left Versailles on April 5, 1725, and traveled to the Spanish border where she and Louise Élisabeth were once again exchanged. Five months later, 15-year-old Louis XV, King of France married but his bride was 22-year-old Marie Leszczyńska, daughter of Stanislaus I, the deposed King of Poland, not the sister of Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon.

The Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris where Louise-Élisabeth was buried; Credit – By Zairon – File:Paris Saint-Sulpice Fassade 4.jpgFile:Paris Saint-Sulpice Fassade 5.jpg, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95975368

Sixteen-year-old Louise-Élisabeth discreetly returned to Paris, arriving on May 23, 1725. She lived at the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris, away from the court of King Louis XV, her first cousin once removed. Lonely and forgotten, Louise Élisabeth died seventeen years later, on June 16, 1742. She was buried in the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris but her tomb was desecrated and destroyed during the French Revolution.

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. (2019) Felipe V, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-v-first-bourbon-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: November 24, 2022).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Luis I, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/luis-i-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: November 24, 2022).
  • Louise Elisabeth d’Orléans (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_%C3%89lisabeth_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans (Accessed: November 24, 2022).
  • Louise-Elisabeth d’Orléans (2022) Wikipedia (French). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise-%C3%89lisabeth_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans (Accessed: November 24, 2022).
  • Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_II,_Duke_of_Orl%C3%A9ans (Accessed: November 24, 2022).

Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, the second wife of Felipe V, King of Spain, was born on October 25, 1692, at the Palazzo della Pilotta in Duchy of Parma, now in Parma, Italy. She was the second but the only surviving of the two children and the only daughter of Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma and Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg. Elisabeth’s paternal grandparents were Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Isabella d’Este. Her maternal grandparents were Philipp Wilhelm of Neuburg, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Elisabeth had one older brother who died in early childhood:

  • Alessandro Ignazio Farnese (1691- 1693)

Elisabeth’s father died in 1693, only a month after the death of her brother. In 1696, Elisabeth’s mother Dorothea married her father’s half-brother, Francesco Farnese, who had become Duke of Parma when his father died in 1694. Francesco married his half-brother’s widow because he did not want to give up Dorothea’s dowry should she marry someone else. Their marriage was childless. Because of the lack of male heirs of Elisabeth’s father, her uncle-stepfather, and her youngest uncle, both succeeded one another as Duke of Parma. Changes were legally made for the succession of the Duchy of Parma in the female line through Elisabeth. Eventually, her second son Felipe, Infant of Spain became the Duke of Parma and founded the House of Bourbon-Parma.

Elisabeth as a teenager, circa 1706; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth had a good relationship with her uncle and stepfather Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma. After her marriage, Elisabeth maintained a correspondence with Francesco until he died in 1727. However, Elisabeth had a distant relationship with her mother who treated her very severely. Although Elisabeth had a mediocre intelligence and was not interested in intellectual pursuits, she spoke German, French, Latin, and Spanish in addition to her native Italian, and studied history, geography, philosophy, and religion.

In 1714, Maria Luisa of Savoy, the wife of Felipe V, King of Spain, died from tuberculosis at the age of twenty-five. Thirty-one-year-old Felipe V almost immediately sought a new wife and there was no shortage of possibilities. At this time, the key powerbroker at the Spanish court was Marie-Anne de la Trémoille, Princesse des Ursins, a French courtier and royal favorite known for her political influence. She had dominated Felipe V and his first wife Maria Luisa. The Princesse des Ursins worked with Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, the chief adviser of Felipe V, and they arranged for Felipe V to marry Elisabeth.

Elisabeth’s husband Felipe V, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe V, King of Spain had been born Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou. He was the second of the three sons of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the only surviving child of King Louis XIV of France, and the heir apparent to the throne of France. In 1700, Carlos II, King of Spain died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Philippe’s father Louis, Le Grand Dauphin had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain because his mother Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain had been the half-sister of Carlos II, King of Spain. However, neither Philippe’s father nor his elder brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, Carlos II, King of Spain named 16-year-old Philippe of Anjou, Duke of Anjou as his successor. Felipe V was the first Spanish monarch from the House of Bourbon, which is still the ruling house of Spain.

On September 16, 1714, Elisabeth and Felipe V were married by proxy in the Duchy of Parma. Elisabeth left Parma in September and traveled to Spain by land. On her way to Spain, she was the guest of Antonio I, Prince of Monaco, and she visited her maternal aunt Maria Anna of Neuburg, Dowager Queen of Spain who had settled in Bayonne, France after King Felipe V had exiled her from Spain. On December 24, 1714, ten months after the death of Felipe V’s first wife, Elisabeth and Felipe V were married in Guadalajara, Spain. Felipe V was enthusiastic about his new wife, and Elisabeth soon dominated her weak-willed and indecisive husband. She spent a great deal of time with him, often accompanying him on hunts, where she displayed her excellent riding and shooting skills.

Felipe V of Spain with his wife Elisabeth and some of his children from his first and second marriages – from left to right: the future Fernando VI, King Felipe V, the future Luis I; Felipe, the future Duke of Parma, Queen Elisabeth, a portrait of the Infanta Mariana Victoria, and the future Carlos III: Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth and Felipe V had six children:

Upon her marriage, Elisabeth became the stepmother of Felipe V’s children from his first marriage. By 1719, only two of the four children had survived. Elisabeth never showed affection toward her stepsons. She considered her stepsons to be obstacles to achieving her main objective: to provide her sons with a realm to rule.

Elisabeth’s stepsons:

King Felipe V of Spain experienced episodes of manic depression. During several periods (1717, 1722, 1728, 1731, 1732–33, and 1737), Felipe V was unable to handle government affairs and Elisabeth became the de facto ruler. Elisabeth was not interested in domestic policy and preferred foreign policy, where her goal was to enforce the Spanish presence in the Italian states, combined with her ambition for her own sons, who were initially not expected to succeed in Spain because her stepsons were ahead of them in the line of succession.

On January 14, 1724, Felipe V abdicated the Spanish throne to Luis, his seventeen-year-old eldest son from his first marriage, for reasons that are still unclear. Perhaps it was because Felipe suffered from mental instability and did not wish to reign due to his increasing mental decline. Another theory is that Felipe was concerned about the succession to the French throne due to several deaths. Although the treaty that ended the War of the Spanish Succession forbade a union of the French and Spanish crowns, perhaps Felipe hoped that by abdicating the Spanish throne, he could succeed to the French throne if necessary. However, seven months later, Felipe was forced to once again become King of Spain because King Luis I died of smallpox and Felipe’s younger son from his first marriage, the future King Fernando VI, was not yet of legal age.

Felipe V and Elisabeth in 1739; Credit – Wikipedia

As he grew older, Felipe V’s mental issues worsened and Elisabeth became the permanent de facto ruler of Spain. Only the singing of the Italian castrato opera singer Farinelli (born Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi) brought any peace to Felipe. Farinelli would sing eight or nine arias for Felipe and Elisabeth every night, usually with a trio of musicians.

On July 9, 1746, 62-year-old Felipe V had a stroke and died a few hours later in Elisabeth’s arms. Just thirteen days later, Elisabeth’s 20-year-old daughter Maria Theresa Rafaela died three days after giving birth to a daughter who died two years later. Elisabeth had long feared that when her husband died, she would lose power, especially since the heir to the throne, the future King Fernando VI, was not her own son, but Felipe V’s last surviving son from his first marriage. Elisabeth was unpopular with the Spanish people, had ill-treated Fernando, and excluded him from government affairs. After Fernando became king, he allowed Elisabeth to stay in Spain. However, she had to move out of the Royal Palace in Buen Retiro and into the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, known as La Granja.

Elisabeth’s stepson Fernando VI, King of Spain reigned for thirteen years. During the last year of his reign, Fernando VI rapidly lost his mental capacity and was held at the Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón, near Madrid, until his death on August 10, 1759. Fernando VI’s marriage to Barbara of Portugal was childless and so upon his death, Elisabeth’s elder surviving son succeeded his half-brother as King Carlos III of Spain.

All subsequent monarchs of Spain from the House of Bourbon are descendants of King Carlos III of Spain. Therefore, Elisabeth is the ancestor of the House of Bourbon that still reigns in Spain. And so Elisabeth achieved the goal she set so long ago. Her elder son became King of Spain and her younger son Felipe became sovereign Duke of Parma and founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma. Although the House of Bourbon-Parma no longer reigns, the pretender to the throne of the Duchy of Parma is Elisabeth’s descendant.

Tomb of Elisabeth and Felipe V, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth spent the last years of her life at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. On July 11, 1766, aged 73, Elisabeth died at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez in Aranjuez, Spain. When Elisabeth’s husband King Felipe V of Spain, born a Prince of France, died, he requested not to be buried at the traditional burial site, the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. Instead, Felipe V requested to be buried in the Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, known as La Granja, in the province of Segovia in central Spain. The architecture of La Granja reminded him of the longed-for French court of his childhood. Elisabeth was buried at his side.

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

  • Elisabeth Farnese (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Farnese (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
  • Isabel Farnesio (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Farnesio (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Felipe V, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-v-first-bourbon-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
  • Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odoardo_Farnese,_Hereditary_Prince_of_Parma (Accessed: November 23, 2022).

Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss and the 2022 Attempted Coup d’etat in Germany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss; Credit – By Steffen Löwe  Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=126413465

On December 7, 2022, Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss was arrested on suspicion of being one of the ringleaders of a terrorist organization planning a coup d’etat in Germany. A total of 25 people were arrested.

Why so many Heinrichs? Why do they all have numbers?

All males of the House of Reuss were and still are named Heinrich plus a number. In the Reuss-Greiz, Elder Line, the numbering covered all male children and the numbers increased until 100 was reached and then started again at 1. In the Reuss-Gera, Younger Line, the system was similar but the numbers increased until the end of a century before starting again at 1. This tradition was seen as a way of honoring Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI (reigned 1191 – 1197) who had benefitted the family. Therefore, the Roman numerals seen after names are NOT regnal numbers.

Modern Use of Titles

After World War I ended in 1918, all German monarchies were abolished. In August 1919, Germany’s first democratic constitution officially abolished royalty and nobility, and any privileges previously held. However, former hereditary titles were and still are permitted as part of surnames. These surnames can then be inherited by a person’s children. Therefore, “Prince Reuss” is the surname of Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss.

The title Fürst was used for a reigning German sovereign ruler. Non-reigning descendants of a Fürst are referred to in German as Prinz (prince) or Prinzessin (princess).

Who is Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss?

Heinrich XIII and his mother in 2018; Credit – By Steffen Löwe – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=126411903

Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss was born on December 4, 1951 in Büdingen, West Germany, now in Hesse, Germany. He is the fifth of the six children and the fourth of the five sons of Prince Heinrich I Reuss of Köstritz (1910 – 1982) and Duchess Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1918 – 2019). Heinrich XIII comes from the Reuss-Köstritz branch of the House of Reuss, a cadet branch of the House of Reuss-Gera (Younger Line).

Heinrich XIII’s mother was the first cousin of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (wife of King Christian X of Denmark), Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (wife of Wilhelm, the last German Crown Prince and Crown Prince of Prussia), and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. Heinrich XIII’s paternal grandparents were Prince Heinrich XXXIV Reuss of Köstritz and Princess Sophie Renate Reuss of Köstritz. His maternal grandparents were Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Viktoria Feodora Reuss of Gera.

To many reading this article, the names Viktoria and Feodora may be familiar. Heinrich XIII’s maternal grandmother Viktoria Feodora Reuss of Gera was the eldest child of Heinrich XXVII, 5th and the last reigning Prince (Fürst) Reuss of Gera (reigned 1913-1918) and Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (full name: Elise Victoria Feodora Sophie Adelheid), a granddaughter of Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Therefore, Heinrich XIII is a descendant of Queen Victoria’s mother Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and her first husband Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen.

Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera, the son of Heinrich XXVII, 5th and the last reigning (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Gera, was the Head of the House of Reuss from 1927 until his arrest by the Soviet military and subsequent disappearance in 1945. As Heinrich XLV was unmarried and had no heirs, he named Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz to succeed him as the Head of the House of Reuss. However, Heinrich XLV wanted his money to stay within his family. Only two of his siblings, both sisters, survived to adulthood and only one sister had a child, Princess Viktoria Feodora Reuss of Gera who died in childbirth a day after giving birth to her only child, a daughter Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Heinrich XIII’s mother. Therefore, Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera adopted Woizlawa Feodora’s husband and Heinrich XIII’s father Prince Heinrich I Reuss of Köstritz for inheritance reasons only, and his private assets remained in the family.

Heinrich XIII has one sister and four brothers:

  • Feodora Princess Reuss (born 1942), married Gilbert Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode, had two sons
  • Heinrich VIII Prince Reuss (born 1944), married Dorit Baroness von Ruffin, had two sons
  • Heinrich IX Prince Reuss (born 1947), Amelie Besserer von Thalfingen
  • Heinrich X Prince Reuss (born 1948), married (1) Elisabeth Åkerhielm af Margrethelund, had one daughter and one son, divorced (2) Antonia von Arnim, no children
  • Heinrich XV Prince Reuss (born 1956), married Anja Charlotte Nooth-Cooper, had children

Heinrich XIII operated a company in Frankfurt, Germany called Büro Prinz Reuss which dealt in real estate and the production of sparkling wine. In 1989, Heinrich XIII married Iranian-born Susan Doukht Jalali (born 1956), who uses the name Princess Susan Reuss. She practices naturopathy, a form of alternative medicine, and served as Germany’s representative to UNESCO in support of its program Education for Children in Need. The couple, now divorced, had two children:

  • Elena Princess Reuss (born 1989), has Down’s Syndrome
  • Heinrich XXVIII Prince Reuss (born 1991)

Heinrich XIII left the House of Reuss Family Association in 2008. His great-grandfather Heinrich XXVII, was the 5th and last reigning Prince (Fürst) Reuss of Gera. However, this descent is through his mother. In his male line, Heinrich XIII would be 17th in the line of succession as Head of the House of Reuss as of the writing of this article in December 2022.

German Empire (1871 – 1918)

The Constituent States of the German Empire; Credit – Wikipedia

The Principality of Reuss-Gera and the Principality of Reuss-Greiz were two of the 26 constituent states of the German Empire. The German Empire existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the abdication of Wilhelm II, German Emperor (also King Wilhelm II of Prussia) in 1918 after World War I when all the constituent monarchies in the German Empire were abolished. The German Empire consisted of 26 states, most of them ruled by royal families. They included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory.  The King of Prussia was also the German Emperor (Kaiser) and the capital of the German Empire was Berlin. The member states retained their own governments but lost some aspects of sovereignty. For example, both postage stamps and currency were issued for the German Empire as a whole.

House of Reuss-Greiz (Older Line)

The House of Reuss began its rule circa 1010. Heinrich XI, Count Reuss of Greiz, Lower-Greiz (Untergreiz) and Upper-Greiz (Obergreiz) was elevated to princely status in 1778 and then used the title of (Fürst) Prince Reuss, Older Line, or (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Greiz. Heinrich XXIV, the 6th and last (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Greiz, succeeded his father in 1902 but was unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Instead, a Regent ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz: Heinrich XIV, 4th (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Gera from 1901 – 1913, and then his son Heinrich XXVII, 5th and last (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Gera from 1913 – 1918.

On November 11, 1918, the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz, Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss of Gera (Younger Line) abdicated in the name of the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Greiz. After the abdication, Heinrich XXIV, the last (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Greiz retained the right of residence of the Lower Castle in Greiz and lived there until his death in 1927.

House of Reuss-Gera (Younger Line)

Heinrich XLII became Count of Reuss-Schleiz in 1784, and then also became Count of Reuss-Gera in 1802. In 1806, the united county was raised to the Principality of Reuss-Gera or Reuss Younger Line, and Heinrich XLII became the 1st (Fürst) Prince of Reuss-Gera. Between 1824 and 1848, the senior line of Gera gradually combined the territory of the surviving cadet branches of Lobenstein, Köstritz, and Ebersdorf.

On November 11, 1918, Heinrich XXVII, 5th (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Gera abdicated his position as Prince Reuss of Gera. The new government of Reuss-Gera made an agreement with Heinrich XXVII and granted him some castles and land. The territory encompassing the Principality of Reuss-Gera is now located within the German state of Thuringia.

In 1927, upon the death of the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Greiz, the House of Reuss-Greiz became extinct and the claims to its titles passed to Heinrich XXVII, the 5th and the last reigning (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Gera. When he died in 1928, the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera passed to his son Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera. However, Heinrich XLV was unmarried and childless and he named Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz his successor as the Head of the House of Reuss. The childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera, disappeared after he had been arrested in August 1945 by the Soviet military. He was legally declared dead in 1962 and the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera officially went to Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz, Head of House of Reuss-Köstritz. Upon the death of Heinrich IV in 2012, his son Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz became Head of the House of Reuss.

Why was Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss arrested?

Jagdschloss Waidmannsheil, Heinrich XIII’s ancestral hunting lodge where the plot was planned and weapons were stored

Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss and 24 others were accused of plotting to overthrow the German government, conspiring to execute Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor of Germany, and conspiring to replace the Federal Republic of Germany with an authoritarian state modeled on pre-1918 Germany with Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss as the monarch. Those arrested belonged to the right-wing terrorist group Patriotic Union. One of the other twenty-four people arrested was Vitalia B., a Russian citizen, and Heinrich XIII’s partner. She is suspected of having helped Heinrich XIII in contacting representatives of the Russian Federation.  However, there is no evidence that the Russian Federation would have cooperated with the plot.

The Patriotic Union was divided into a political arm, the “Council” under Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, and a military arm led by former German Army Lieutenant Colonel Rüdiger von Pescatore. Members of the Patriotic Union believe that the Federal Republic of Germany is not a sovereign country but a corporation set up by the Allies after World War II. The plot was planned and weapons were stored at Jagdschloss Waidmannsheil, Heinrich XIII’s ancestral hunting lodge in the spa town of Bad Lobenstein in the German state of Thuringia.

Heinrich XIV Prince Reuss, Head of the House of Reuss called Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss a “confused old man” and “a marginal figure” and noted that their last common ancestor lived in the early 19th century. He said, “We are 60 family members, 30 of them Heinrich with different numbers. It’s very confusing.” Heinrich XIV said the behavior of Heinrich XIII was a “catastrophe” for the Reuss family, who had been tolerant rulers and were now associated with “terrorists and reactionaries”. Heinrich XIV Prince Reuss, Head of the House of Reuss has had no personal contact with Heinrich XIV Prince Reuss since 2012.

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

  • 2022 German coup d’état plot (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_German_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_plot (Accessed: December 19, 2022).
  • Duchess Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchess_Woizlawa_Feodora_of_Mecklenburg (Accessed: December 19, 2022).
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Maria Luisa of Savoy, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Maria Luisa of Savoy, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

The first of the two wives of Felipe V, King of Spain, Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy was born on September 17, 1688, at the Royal Palace of Turin in Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy. She was the third of the six children and the third of the three daughters of Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia and Anne Marie of Orléans. Maria Luisa’s paternal grandparents were Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy and his second wife Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Nemours. Her maternal grandparents were Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (son of King Louis XIII of France and the only sibling of King Louis XIV of France) and Princess Henrietta of England (daughter of King Charles I of England).

Maria Luisa had five siblings:

In 1700, Carlos II, King of Spain died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, son of King Louis XIV of France and the heir apparent to the French throne had the strongest genealogical claim to the Spanish throne because his mother Maria Theresa, Infanta of Spain had been the half-sister of Carlos II. However, neither Louis, Le Grand Dauphin nor his elder son Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, Carlos II, King of Spain, in his will, had named the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, 16-year-old Philippe, Duke of Anjou, as his successor. He reigned as Felipe V, King of Spain, the first Bourbon monarch of Spain.

Felipe V, King of Spain, 1701; Credit – Wikipedia

Soon after he arrived in Spain, King Felipe V’s grandfather King Louis XIV arranged a marriage for him. In order to strengthen Felipe V’s shaky authority over Spain due to his French birth, King Louis XIV decided to maintain ties with Vittorio Amadeo II, then Duke of Savoy, whose eldest daughter Marie Adelaide of Savoy was already married to Felipe V’s elder brother Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin. Felipe V was betrothed to thirteen-year-old Maria Luisa of Savoy. In Turin, Duchy of Savoy, Felipe and Maria Luisa were married by proxy on September 12, 1701. Maria Luisa then left for Spain where the young couple met for the first time on November 2, 1701, and were married in person at a local parish church in Figueres, Spain.

Maria Luisa with her eldest child, the future King Luis I of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa and Felipe V had four sons but only two survived childhood and they both had childless marriages:

The death of Maria Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa and Felipe V had a loving, happy marriage. She acted as Regent of Spain from 1702 until 1703 during Felipe V’s absence due to the War of the Spanish Succession and had great influence over him as his adviser. Sadly, Maria Luisa died from tuberculosis at the age of 25 on February 14, 1714. She was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain.

Tomb of Maria Luisa of Savoy, Queen of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan (2019) Felipe V, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-v-first-bourbon-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
  • Flantzer, Susan (2021) Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/vittorio-amedeo-ii-king-of-sardinia/ (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
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