Category Archives: Former Monarchies

Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz and his wife at the 2011 of Otto von Habsburg; Credit – Wikipedia

IMPORTANT: All males of the House of Reuss were named Heinrich plus a number. In the Reuss-Greiz (Older 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 the century before starting again at 1. Reuss-Köstritz was a cadet branch of the House of Reuss-Gera. 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.

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 the surname. These surnames can then be inherited by a person’s children. Therefore, “Prince Reuss” is used as a surname.

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

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Born on July 14, 1955, in Vienna, Austria, Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz has been Head of the House of Reuss since 2012. He is the only son and the eldest of the four children of Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (1919 – 2012) and Marie Luise, Princess of Salm-Horstmar (1918 – 2015).

Henirich XIV has three younger sisters:

  • Anna Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1957), married Phillip Baron von Hohenbuhl Ansitz Gleifheim
  • Karoline Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1959), married Carl Philipp Baron von Hohenbuhel gennant Heufler zu Rasen
  • Esperance Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1962), married Johannes Ferdinand Count of Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau

On April 30, 1995, in Regensburg, Germany, Heinrich IV married Johanna Baroness Raitz von Frentz (born 1971), daughter of Jan Baron Raitz von Frentz and Kunigunde Baroness von Hoenning O’Carroll. The couple had two sons and two daughters:

  • Heinrich XXIX Hereditary Prince Reuss (born 1997)
  • Tatiana Princess Reuss (born 2001)
  • Luise Princess Reuss (born 2005)
  • Heinrich V Prince Reuss (born 2012)

Ernstbrunn Palace in Austria which the family still owns; Credit – Von Henry Kellner – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42911625

Heinrich IV and his family live in the Reuss-Köstritz family home, Ernstbrunn Palace (link in German) in Ernstbrunn, Austria. They have another home in Bad Köstritz in the German state of Thuringia, but previously a part of the Principality of Reuss-Gera.

Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz became Head of the House of Reuss upon the death of his 92-year-old father Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz on June 20, 2012. Originally, there were two Reuss principalities, both constituent states of the German Empire, the Principality of Reuss-Greiz and the Principality of Reuss-Gera. Both ceased to be monarchies in 1918, at the end of World War I. In 1927, upon the death of Heinrich XXIV, the 6th and last reigning 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 Prince Reuss of Gera. When Heinrich XXVII 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.

In August 1945, the childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was arrested by the Soviet military and has been missing ever since. He was likely imprisoned and killed at NKVD special camp Nr. 2, the former German concentration camp Buchenwald, which had been transformed into one of the post–World War II internment camps in the Soviet-occupied parts of Germany. The childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera had named Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz his successor as the Head of the House of Reuss. Heinrich IV unofficially became Head of the House of Reuss in 1945 when Heinrich XLV went missing. In 1962, when Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was legally declared dead, the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera went to Heinrich XIV’s father Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz who officially became Head of House of Reuss.

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

  • Heinrich lV Reuß zu Köstritz, Fürst (2022) Geni. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Heinrich-lV-Reu%C3%9F-zu-K%C3%B6stritz-F%C3%BCrst-G1/6000000014594770830 (Accessed: December 16, 2022).
  • Heinrich XIV Prinz Reuss zu Köstrit (2004) The Peerage. Available at: http://www.thepeerage.com/p11136.htm (Accessed: December 16, 2022).
  • Obituary – Fürst Heinrich IV Reuß (1919-2012) (2012) Eurohistory. Available at: http://erhj.blogspot.com/2012/07/furst-heinrich-iv-reu-1919-2012.html (Accessed: December 16, 2022)

Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Heinrich IV in 2011 at the funeral of Otto von Habsburg in Vienna, Austria Credit – By János Korom Dr. from Wien, Austria – Kondukt in Wien (305), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24604547

IMPORTANT: All males of the House of Reuss were named Heinrich plus a number. In the Reuss-Greiz (Older 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 the century before starting again at 1. Reuss-Köstritz was a cadet branch of the House of Reuss-Gera. 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.

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 the surname. These surnames can then be inherited by a person’s children. Therefore, “Prince Reuss” is used as a surname.

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

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Born at Ernstbrunn Palace (link in German) in Ernstbrunn, Austria on October 26, 1919, Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz was unofficially Head of the House of Reuss after 1945, and then officially in 1962 until his death in 2012. He was the eldest of the six children and the eldest of the three sons of Prince Heinrich XXXIX Reuss of Köstritz (link in German) and Countess Antonia of Castell-Castell.

Heinrich IV had five younger siblings:

  • Heinrich VI, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (1922 – 1942), unmarried, killed in action in the Siege of Leningrad during World War II
  • Amadea Caroline, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (1923 – 2015), married Dr. Reinhold Sachs, had ? children
  • Gertrud Renata, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (1924 – 2011), married Baron Henri-Charles-Alexandre Grand d’Esnon, had five children
  • Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (1927 – 2002), married Baroness Brigitte van Tuyll van Serooskerken, had three children
  • Elisabeth-Donata, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (1932 – 2022), married Peter Coleman, Bishop of Crediton (UK), had four children

During World War II, Heinrich served as a 1st Lieutenant in the 24th Panzer Division (tanks) of the German Army. He was a Commander of the Order of Saint John (German: Johanniterorden), the German Protestant branch of the Knights Hospitaller, the oldest surviving chivalric order.

Originally, there were two Reuss principalities, both constituent states of the German Empire, the Principality of Reuss-Greiz and the Principality of Reuss-Gera. Both ceased to be monarchies in 1918, at the end of World War I. In 1927, upon the death of Heinrich XXIV, the 6th and last reigning 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 Prince Reuss of Gera. When Heinrich XXVII 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.

In August 1945, the childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was arrested by the Soviet military and has been missing ever since. He was likely imprisoned and killed at NKVD special camp Nr. 2, the former German concentration camp Buchenwald, which had been transformed into one of the post–World War II internment camps in the Soviet-occupied parts of Germany. The childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera had named Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz his successor as the Head of the House of Reuss. Heinrich IV unofficially became Head of the House of Reuss in 1945 when Heinrich XLV went missing. In 1962, when Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was legally declared dead, the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera went to Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz who officially became Head of House of Reuss.

Ernstbrunn Palace in Austria which the family still owns; Credit – Von Henry Kellner – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42911625

After World War II, Heinrich IV’s family estates in the state of Thuringia in Germany were now in Communist-controlled East Germany and the estates were confiscated. However, Ernstbrunn Palace, the summer estate in Austria remained under family control. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of Germany, the family regained some of the confiscated lands in Thuringia. In 1990, the family began a forestry operation on their regained land.

On June 10, 1954, Heinrich IV married Marie Luise, Princess of Salm-Horstmar (1918 – 2015). The couple had one son and three daughters:

  • Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (born 1955), current Head of the House of Reuss, married Johanna Raitz, Baroness von Frentz, had two sons and two daughters
  • Anna, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1957), married Phillip Baron von Hohenbuhl Ansitz Gleifheim
  • Karoline, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1959), married Carl Philipp, Baron von Hohenbuhel gennant Heufler zu Rasen
  • Esperance, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1962), married Johannes Ferdinand Count of Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau

On June 20, 2012, Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz died at Ernstbrunn Palace in Ernstbrunn, Austria at the age of 92, and was buried in the park of Ernstbrunn Palace. His only son Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz became Head of the House of Reuss.

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

  • Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (2022) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_IV,_Prince_Reuss_of_K%C3%B6stritz (Accessed: December 16, 2022).
  • Heinrich lV Reuß zu Köstritz, Fürst (2022) Geni. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Heinrich-lV-Reu%C3%9F-zu-K%C3%B6stritz-F%C3%BCrst-G1/6000000014594770830 (Accessed: December 16, 2022).
  • Obituary – Fürst Heinrich IV Reuß (1919-2012) (2012) Eurohistory. Available at: http://erhj.blogspot.com/2012/07/furst-heinrich-iv-reu-1919-2012.html (Accessed: December 16, 2022)

Maria Anna of Neuburg, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Maria Anna of Neuburg, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Anna of Neuburg, the second wife of Carlos II, King of Spain was born on October 28, 1667, at Schloss Benrath in Düsseldorf, Duchy of Berg, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. She was the twelfth of the seventeen children and the fifth of the eight daughters of Philipp Wilhelm, Elector of the Palatinate, Count Palatine of Neuburg, Duke of Jülich and Berg and his second wife Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. Maria Sophie’s paternal grandparents were Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg, Duke of Jülich and Berg and Magdalene of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Georg II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Sophia Eleonore of Saxony.

Maria Anna’s mother had 23 pregnancies and 17 live births and the family gained the reputation as a fertile family. Maria Anna had sixteen siblings:

Neuburg Castle; Credit – By User: Bbb at wikivoyage shared, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22660132

Maria Anna was raised with her many siblings at Neuburg Castle, the seat of the Electors of the Palatinate in Neuburg an der Donau in Palatinate-Neuburg, now in Bavaria, Germany. With her sisters, Maria Anna received a comprehensive education that included languages, science, and music, supervised by their governess Frau von Klau. Jesuit priests instructed the sisters in religion.

Maria Anna’s husband Carlos II, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1679, 18-year-old Carlos II, King of Spain married 17-year-old Marie Louise of Orléans, the eldest niece of King Louis XIV of France and daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and his first wife Henrietta of England. Ten years later, in 1689, the marriage was childless and Marie Louise of Orléans died, probably from appendicitis. The lack of an heir to the Spanish throne and concerns over King Carlos II’s health made a second marriage an urgent matter. Carlos’ mother Mariana of Austria selected twenty-two-year-old Maria Anna of Neuburg based on the family’s history of fertility. Maria Anna’s eldest sister Eleonor Magdalene had married Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, strengthening her ties to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg.

The House of Habsburg, which ruled over Austria, Spain, and their many territories, was notorious for its inbreeding. The Habsburgs had built their empire by marriage and wanted to keep the land they amassed all in the family, so they began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves. Seven of King Carlos II of Spain’s eight great-grandparents were descended from Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Aragon and her husband Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy. While a person in the fifth generation normally has thirty-two different ancestors, Carlos II had only ten different ancestors in the fifth generation.

King Carlos II of Spain had a severe type of mandibular prognathism (Habsburg jaw) which can be seen in this painting; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos was a weak, sick child from birth. He did not learn to talk until he was four years old and could not walk until he was eight years old. Like many members of the Habsburg family, Carlos had the Habsburg jaw (mandibular prognathism), a disfiguring genetic disorder in which the lower jaw outgrows the upper jaw. However, Carlos’ very pronounced Habsburg jaw was so severe that he swallowed his food without thoroughly chewing. Carlos was educated by the Jesuit priests, however, because of his developmental disability, both physically and mentally, he only received a basic education. Carlos’ conditions showed clear signs of the long-time inbreeding of the House of Habsburg.

Maria Anna in 1689, the year of her marriage; Credit – Wikipedia

The proxy wedding was held on August 28, 1689, in Ingolstadt, Duchy of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. Among the many distinguished guests at the ceremony were Maria Anna’s brother-in-law Leopold I and her sister Eleonor Magdalene, the Holy Roman Emperor and Empress. Maria Anna arrived in Spain in the spring of 1690. 28-year-old King Carlos II of Spain and 22-year-old Maria Anna of Neuberg were married in person on May 14, 1690, in the Church of the Convent of San Diego, within the complex of the Royal Palace of Valladolid in Spain. During the celebration after the wedding, Carlos II, who was still mourning his first wife, did not pay any attention to Maria Anna. It seemed that he was present only to eat cakes. On their wedding night, Carlos and Maria Anna slept in separate quarters, and this practice continued throughout their marriage. Likely, the marriage was never consummated.

The grand entrance of Maria Anna of Neuburg, Queen of Spain into Madrid following her marriage; Credit – Wikipedia

During her marriage, under pressure to provide an heir, Maria Anna faked several pregnancies and encouraged Carlos to undergo treatments to increase his fertility, making it clear the failure to produce an heir was not her fault. Maria Anna attempted to influence the decision of the successor to the Spanish throne. In succession disputes, Maria Anna always supported the claims of her nephew Archduke Karl of Austria, the future Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, the son of her older sister, Eleonor Magdalene and Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. As the years passed, it became increasingly clear that King Carlos II would never have an heir. It seemed that Carlos was almost certainly infertile and his autopsy did reveal he had only one atrophied testicle.

Felipe V, King of France, grandson of King Louis XIV of France and the successor of the childless King Carlos II of Spain, 1701; Credit – Wikipedia

In September 1700, Carlos became ill, and by September 28, 1700, was no longer able to eat. Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the only surviving child of King Louis XIV of France and Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain, Carlos’ half-sister, had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain. However, neither Louis, Le Grand Dauphin nor his elder son, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, in his will, Carlos II, King of Spain named 16-year-old Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, and the grandson of Carlos’ half-sister Maria Teresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain and her husband King Louis XIV of France, as his successor. Carlos II, King of Spain died on November 1, 1700, five days before his thirty-ninth birthday, and was succeeded by his half-sister’s grandson Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou who reigned as Felipe V, King of Spain, the first monarch of the House of Bourbon which still reigns in the Kingdom of Spain today.

Although Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou succeeded to the Spanish throne as Felipe V, King of Spain, the political struggle over the Spanish throne between the French faction, which supported Felipe V, and the Austrian faction, which supported Maria Anna’s nephew, Archduke Karl of Austria, the future Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, resulted in the 1701 – 1714 War of the Spanish Succession that involved the Great Powers of Europe. Ultimately, the War of the Spanish Succession resulted in the recognition of Felipe V as King of Spain, and the renouncing of the rights of Felipe V, formerly Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, and his descendants to inherit the French throne.

Maria Anna of Neuburg, Queen of Spain as a widow; Credit – Wikipedia

In his will, King Carlos II had stipulated that Maria Anna be given a good annual pension and be treated with respect by his successors. However, King Felipe V ordered Maria Anna to leave Madrid before he entered the capital. Maria Anna had no choice but to reside in the Alcazar of Toledo in Toledo, Spain. Having limited funds, Maria Anna wrote to her relatives asking for financial help. In 1701, her brother Johann Wilhelm, Elector of the Palatinate wrote to their sister Eleonor Magdalene, Holy Roman Empress: “About the Queen of Spain, I sincerely sympathize with this unfortunate lady, but, in truth, everything that she had to face was her own fault, as a result of her terrible behavior. And I think what she’s asking Your Majesty is more unrealistic than feasible. But, if you could help this poor woman and console her in such a difficult situation, I would consider this a personal service to me .”

Maria Anna’s 1704 letter to her mother revealed her desperate situation: “I am abandoned by everyone. They do not pay me a full pension, they do not even pay a third…Therefore, I do not always have servants – I simply have nothing to pay them. Sometimes I don’t even have enough food…I became pathetic because I can’t trust anyone, but at the same time, I’m afraid that everyone will leave me.” In 1706, Maria Anna’s situation improved when forces of the Holy Roman Empire led by her nephew Archduke Karl of Austria occupied Toledo. Maria Anna was overjoyed and warmly welcomed her nephew and his army. Because of this, two years later, King Felipe V exiled Maria Anna from Spain. She settled in Bayonne, France where she lived from 1708 – 1739.

Palacio del Infantado in Guadalajara, Spain, Maria Anna’s last home, where she died; Credit – By tiger rus, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58620784

In 1739, elderly and in ill health, Maria Anna was allowed to return to Spain. This was probably due to the influence of her niece Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, the daughter of Maria Anna’s sister Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg and Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma, who had become the second wife of King Felipe V of Spain in 1714. Because of Felipe V’s mental condition, Elisabeth Farnese was the de facto ruler of Spain and later the Regent of Spain. Maria Anna was given a home at the Palacio del Infantado in Guadalajara, Spain, where she died on July 16, 1740, at the age of 72. She was interred in Chapel IX of the Pantheon of the Infantes at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. The Pantheon of the Infantes is the burial place for Infantes and Infantas (corresponding to Prince and Princess) of Spain and for Queen Consorts of Spain who were not mothers of Kings of Spain.

Maria Anna’s tomb is the first tomb on the right; Credit – By José Luis Filpo Cabana – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26540368

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. (2022) Carlos II, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-ii-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Maria Anna of Neuburg (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_of_Neuburg (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Philip William, Elector Palatine (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_William,_Elector_Palatine (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Marie-Anne de Neubourg (2022) Wikipedia (French). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Anne_de_Neubourg (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Maria Anna von der Pfalz (1667–1740) (2022) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_von_der_Pfalz_(1667%E2%80%931740) (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Мария Анна пфальц-нейбургская (2022) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9F%D1%84%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%86-%D0%9D%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%B1%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B3%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Mariana de Neoburgo (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_de_Neoburgo (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew (1995). The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

Marie Louise d’Orléans, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

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

Marie Louise d’Orléans was the first wife of Carlos II, King of Spain. She was born on March 26, 1662, at the Palais-Royal in Paris, France. Marie Louise had an impeccable royal genealogy. Her parents were first cousins. Her father was Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger of the two sons of Louis XIII, King of France and Anne of Austria, Infanta of Spain and Portugal, and the only sibling of Louis XIV, King of France. Her mother was Henrietta of England, the youngest child of Charles I, King of England and Henrietta Maria of France. Philippe’s father Louis XIII and Henrietta’s mother Henrietta Maria were siblings, the children of Henri IV, King of France and Marie de Medici from the famous House of Medici. As the granddaughter of Louis XIII, King of France, Marie Louise was entitled to the style and title Her Royal Highness Petite-fille de France (Granddaughter of France).

French Royal Family in a mythological setting: Henrietta Maria of France, Queen of England; Philippe I, Duke of Orléans; his daughter Marie Louise; his wife Henrietta of England; Anne of Austria, Queen Mother; King Louis XIV: Louis XIV’s children Louis, Marie Thérèse, and Philippe; Marie Teresa of Austria, Queen of France; Anne Marie Louise d’Orleans, la Grande Mademoiselle; Credit – Wikipedia

Marie Louise had two younger siblings. The Jacobite claim to the British throne goes through Marie Louise’s younger sister Anne Marie because their brother had died in childhood and Marie Louise had no children. Through her mother, Anne Marie was a granddaughter of King Charles I of England. When Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) and his brother Cardinal Henry Stuart, both died without legitimate issue, Anne Marie’s descendants inherited the Jacobite claim.

Marie Louise’s siblings:

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans with his favorite daughter Marie Louise; Credit – Wikipedia

Marie Louise had a happy early childhood, living at the Palais-Royal in Paris and the Château de Saint-Cloud, overlooking the Seine, just outside Paris. She spent a lot of time with both her paternal grandmother Anne of Austria, Infanta of Spain who left most of her fortune to her when she died in 1666, and her maternal grandmother Henrietta Maria of France (died 1669), the widow of the beheaded King Charles I of England, who had returned to her native France after her husband was deposed and executed.

Marie Louise with her mother Henrietta; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1670, when Marie Louise was eight years old, her mother Henrietta died at the age of 26. Marie Louise’s uncle King Louis XIV wanted a male heir for her father to continue the Orléans line and looked for a second wife for Philippe himself. King Louis XIV rejected many potential second brides for his brother before settling on the Protestant Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, known as Liselotte. She was the only daughter of Karl I Ludwig, Elector Palatine and his first wife Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel. Liselotte’s paternal grandmother was Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I of England and granddaughter of Mary, Queen of Scots. Liselotte converted to Roman Catholicism and married Philippe on November 19, 1671.

Marie Louise’s stepmother Liselotte with her two surviving children, Marie Louise’s step-siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Due to the attitude of the court, as well as the homosexual relations of her husband Philippe, which he did not hide, Liselotte devoted much attention to Philippe’s daughters. Liselotte acted as a mother to Marie Louise and her younger sister Anne Marie and maintained correspondence with them throughout their lives. As with his first marriage, Philippe had homosexual affairs but was intent on fulfilling his dynastic responsibility of having children. Philippe and Liselotte had three children who were the half-siblings of Marie Louise:

Maria Louise’s husband Carlos II, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

After the 1678 Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen were signed between France and Spain, a marriage was arranged between 16-year-old Marie Louise and 17-year-old Carlos II, King of Spain. King Louis XIV was married to Carlos II’s half-sister Maria Teresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain, who was also his double first cousin. Carlos II was also a first cousin of Louis XIV and Louis XIV wanted to have his brother-in-law/first cousin, weakened by years of inbreeding in the House of Habsburg, under French influence. Having no daughter, King Louis XIV offered his elder niece Marie Louise as a bride for Carlos II, King of Spain. Thinking to the future, Louis XIV knew that if Marie Louise and Carlos II had a child who became the monarch of Spain, then French influence would remain. If Marie Louise and Carlos II did not have children, Louis XIV’s own line could inherit the Spanish throne. Louis XIV’s wife Maria Teresa was the elder surviving of two daughters of King Felipe IV of Spain and had senior succession rights after her half-brother King Carlos II of Spain, also a child of Felipe IV.

The House of Habsburg, which ruled over Austria, Spain, and their many territories, was notorious for its inbreeding. The Habsburgs had built their empire by marriage and wanted to keep the land they amassed all in the family, so they began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves. Seven of King Carlos II of Spain’s eight great-grandparents were descended from Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Aragon and her husband Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy. While a person in the fifth generation normally has thirty-two different ancestors, Carlos II had only ten different ancestors in the fifth generation.

King Carlos II of Spain had a severe type of mandibular prognathism (Habsburg jaw) which can be seen in this painting; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos was a weak, sick child from birth. He did not learn to talk until he was four years old and could not walk until he was eight years old. Like many members of the Habsburg family, Carlos had the Habsburg jaw (mandibular prognathism), a disfiguring genetic disorder in which the lower jaw outgrows the upper jaw. However, Carlos’ very pronounced Habsburg jaw was so severe that he swallowed his food without thoroughly chewing. Carlos was educated by the Jesuit priests, however, because of his developmental disability, both physically and mentally, he only received a basic education. Carlos’ conditions showed clear signs of the long-time inbreeding of the House of Habsburg.

Even though the French ambassador to Spain wrote that Carlos “… is so ugly as to cause fear, and looks ill”, Carlos’ appearance and condition were considered irrelevant to the political benefits. Marie Louise was distressed by the arranged marriage and spent most of her time crying. She even confronted her uncle King Louis XIV, who retorted with irony, that it was not worthy that the “Catholic Queen” (nickname of the Spanish Queens) should throw herself at the feet of “The Very Christian King” (nickname of the Kings of France). Trying to reason with his niece, King Louis XIV asked Marie Louise if she thought he could have found a better marriage for his own daughter if he had one. Marie Louise replied, “No, but you could have found a better marriage for your niece,” referring to her desire to marry Louis XIV’s only surviving (legitimate) child and her first cousin, Louis, Le Grand Dauphin of France.

On August 30, 1679, Marie Louise and Carlos II, King of Spain were married via a proxy marriage at the Palace of Fontainebleau in France with Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, the bride cousin, standing in for the groom. When Marie Louise left France for Spain, her uncle King Louis XIV, worried that like his first cousin Marguerite-Louise d’Orléans, who married Cosimo III de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Marie Louise would leave her husband to return to France, said to his niece, “Goodbye Madame, and forever.” Marie Louise never returned to France.

On November 19, 1679, Marie Louise married Carlos II in person in Quintanapalla, near Burgos, Spain. She found the Spanish court etiquette even more regulated and restrictive than the French court. Marie Louise did not speak Spanish and Carlos II did not speak French, so they were dependent on an interpreter when they first met. Carlos had fallen in love with Marie Louise the first time he saw her portrait. Despite not feeling passion for her husband, over time Marie Louise became fond of Carlos. Carlos taught her Spanish and Marie Louise taught him French. The Spanish court became increasingly desperate regarding the delay in the arrival of an heir. More likely than not, it was Carlos who was infertile. He did not have any children with his second wife either. The lack of a child and the strict Spanish court caused Marie Louise to show signs of depression. She longed more and more for her happy life in France, developed an enormous appetite, and became overweight.

Marie Louise, Queen of Spain, lying in state in the Royal Alcazar of Madrid by Sebastián Muñoz; Credit – Wikipedia

The childless marriage lasted ten years. One day after taking a ride on horseback, Marie Louise began to feel strong pain in her stomach. She died the next day, aged 26, on February 12, 1689, at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid in Spain. Although many reasons were considered as causes of Marie Louise’s death including poison, it is most likely that she died from appendicitis, a fatal infection until the mid-nineteenth century when the advent of anesthesia and new surgical techniques allowed for successful appendectomies. Marie Louise was interred in Chapel IX of the Pantheon of the Infantes at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. The Pantheon of the Infantes is the burial place for Infantes and Infantas of Spain and for Queen Consorts of Spain who were not mothers of Kings of Spain. Infante and Infanta are Spanish royal titles that basically correspond to Prince and Princess.

In 1690, Carlos II married Maria Anna of Neuberg but that marriage was also childless. Carlos II’s autopsy revealed he had only one atrophied testicle, the cause of infertility in his two marriages. In September 1700, Carlos became ill and was no longer able to eat. Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the heir to the French throne and the only surviving child of King Louis XIV of France and Maria Teresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain, Carlos’ half-sister, had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain, just as King Louis XIV of France had thought could happen. However, neither Louis, Le Grand Dauphin nor his elder son, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin (the father of King Louis XV who succeeded his great-grandfather King Louis XIV) could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, in his will, Carlos II, King of Spain named 16-year-old Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, and the grandson of Carlos II’s half-sister Maria Teresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain and her husband King Louis XIV of France, as his successor. When Carlos II, King of Spain died on November 1, 1700, five days before his thirty-ninth birthday, he was succeeded by his half-sister’s grandson Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou who reigned as Felipe V, King of Spain, the first monarch of the House of Bourbon which still reigns in the Kingdom of Spain today.

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. (2022) Carlos II, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-ii-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: October 23, 2022).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/philippe-i-duke-of-orleans/ (Accessed: October 23, 2022).
  • María Luisa de Orleans (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Luisa_de_Orleans (Accessed: October 23, 2022).
  • Marie Louise d’Orléans (2022) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Louise_d%E2%80%99Orl%C3%A9ans (Accessed: October 23, 2022).
  • Marie Louise d’Orléans (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Louise_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans (Accessed: October 23, 2022).
  • Marie-Louise d’Orléans (2022) Wikipedia (French). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Louise_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans (Accessed: October 23, 2022).
  • Мария луиза орлеанская (2021) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%9B%D1%83%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B0_%D0%9E%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F (Accessed: October 23, 2022).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew (1995). The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

Wedding of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Alix of Hesse and by Rhine

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Nicholas and Alexandra’s Feodorovna engagement photo; Credit – Wikipedia

Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine were married on November 26, 1894, at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.

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Nicholas’ Early Life

Nicholas (standing behind his father) with his parents and siblings

Nicholas was the eldest of the four sons and the eldest of the six children of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Princess Dagmar of Denmark). He was born May 18, 1868, at the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, Russia. Nicholas’s brother Alexander, who was one year younger, died at the age of ten months from meningitis, and so Nicholas was raised with his brother George who was three years younger in a relatively simple manner considering their status. Nicholas and George slept in cots, woke up at 6:00 AM, took cold baths, and ate simple, plain meals. Their rooms were furnished with simple furniture. Both brothers were fluent in Russian, English, French, German, and Danish. The boys enjoyed shooting and fly fishing with their English tutor.

On March 13, 1881, Nicholas’ grandfather Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia was assassinated in St. Petersburg, a victim of a bombing by the underground organization, Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will), and Nicholas’ father succeeded to the Russian throne as Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia. 13-year-old Nicholas became the Tsesarevich of Russia, the heir to the throne.

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Alix’s Early Life

Alix (in the middle, being hugged by her mother) with her parents and siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine was the sixth of the seven children and the fourth of the five daughters of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria. Alix was born on June 6, 1872, at the Neues Palais in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany,

Nicknamed Sunny, she was a happy and beautiful child. The family lived a rather simple life, as they were not very wealthy by royal standards. In 1877, Alix’s father became the reigning Grand Duke, but the children’s lives remained mostly unchanged. They spent time with their grandmother Queen Victoria each year, relishing their visits to ‘Grandmama’ and looking forward to the next one. This relationship would become even closer in the coming years.

Tragedy struck the family in 1873, a week before Alix’s first birthday. Alix’s two-and-a-half-year-old brother Friedrich, known as Frittie had been diagnosed with hemophilia after a cut on his ear took several days to stop bleeding. On May 29, 1873, Frittie and his brother Ernst were playing in their mother’s bedroom. Ernst went into another room to look through the window which was at an angle to the window in Alice’s bedroom. While Alice was out of the room to get Ernst, Frittie climbed up to the window in the bedroom to try to see Ernst. From all accounts, the chair he had climbed on tipped over and Frittie fell from the window to the ground below. Due to his hemophilia, Frittie died from his injuries. As it turned out, Alix and her sister Irene were hemophilia carriers.

Tragedy struck again in 1878, when Alix was six-and-a-half years old. In November 1878, the family began to fall ill with diphtheria. Alix’s mother Alice quickly slipped into her role as caregiver, nursing her husband and children back to health. Sadly, her youngest child, four-year-old May, succumbed to the illness and died on November 16, 1878. Alice tried to keep the news from her husband and other children until they were in better health. Eventually telling her son Ernst, who was quite devoted to the young May, Alice broke the one rule of nursing this horrible illness. She comforted him with hugs and a kiss. Soon after, Alice herself began to fall ill and was also diagnosed with diphtheria. Her condition quickly deteriorated, and in the early morning of December 14, 1878, the 17th anniversary of the death of her father Prince Albert, Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine died at the age of 35. Queen Victoria stepped in to serve as a surrogate mother to the children, managing nearly every detail of their lives.

On March 13, 1892, when Alix was nineteen years old, her father Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine died from a heart attack at the age of 54. Alix deeply felt the loss of her father because he had been her only parent since she was six years old.

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The Engagement


Queen Victoria, surrounded by her extended family, gathered for the wedding of Alix’s brother Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine to his first cousin Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1894. Nicholas and Alix are standing in the first row, second and third on the left. The photo was taken on April 21, 1894, the day after their engagement; Credit – Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2022

In June 1884, 16-year-old Nicholas attended the wedding of his uncle Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich to Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (Ella) in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was during the wedding festivities that he first met the bride’s younger sister, 12-year-old Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine. The two were second cousins through their mutual great-grandparents, Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his wife Wilhelmine of Baden.

In 1889, 17-year-old Alix visited her sister Ella in St. Petersburg, Russia for six weeks. Alix and 21-year-old Nicholas saw each other at receptions, suppers, and balls. Nicholas took Alix ice skating and sledding. Before Alix returned home, Nicholas persuaded his parents to give her a special tea dance at the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo which later would become their favorite residence. Nicholas was smitten with Alix. In 1892, he wrote in his diary: “ My dream is someday to marry Alix H. I have loved her a long time and still deeper and stronger since 1889 when she spent six weeks in St. Petersburg. For a long time, I resisted my feeling that my dearest dream will come true.”

After the 1889 meeting, Alix thought Nicholas was polite, charming, and gentle and liked his blue eyes. She noticed that Nicholas quietly persisted in pursuing her against his parents’ wishes. However, as a devout Lutheran, she was unwilling to give up her religion and convert to the Russian Orthodox religion, as would be required of her. Alix did have feelings for Nicholas and this caused her much turmoil, doubt, and self-examination.

A possible marriage between Alix and Nicholas was met with opposition from both Nicholas’ parents, and Alix’s grandmother Queen Victoria. Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna felt that Alix was not suitable enough for their son, in part because of their dislike and distrust for all things German. They also hoped for a higher-profile bride and future Empress. As for Queen Victoria, she quite liked Nicholas personally. Ironically, considering what would happen to both Alix and her sister Ella in 1918, Queen Victoria also felt uneasy about another of her granddaughters marrying into the Russian Imperial Family. Instead, Queen Victoria pushed for a marriage between Alix and her first cousin Prince Albert Victor, known as Prince Eddy. Eddy was then second in line to the British throne after his father, the future King Edward VII. Eddy did propose and Alix rejected his proposal. Eddy died in 1892, resulting in his brother eventually succeeding to the throne as King George V.

In April 1894 in Coburg, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, Nicholas represented his father at the wedding of Alix’s brother Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Nicholas and Alix’s mutual first cousin. The wedding was attended by Queen Victoria, the grandmother of both the bride and groom, and much of her extended family. Before Nicholas left for Coburg, after much pestering, he received permission from his father to propose to Alix.

When Nicholas arrived in Coburg, Alix greeted him at the train station. That evening, they went to dinner and an operetta with the family. The next morning Nicholas proposed to Alix. Tearfully, Alix rejected his proposal because she objected to changing her religion. Later that day Queen Victoria arrived in Coburg. Apparently, she had a change of heart and now supported the marriage. Queen Victoria told her granddaughter that the Russian Orthodox religion was really not all that different from Lutheranism. The following day, Alix’s first cousin Wilhelm II, German Empire had a conversation with Alix, insisting that it was her duty to marry Nicholas, despite her religious objection. However, it was Alix’s sister Ella who made all the difference. Although Ella’s husband Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was the son of an Emperor of All Russia, he was far removed from the throne and Ella was not required to convert to Russian Orthodoxy. However, she had converted voluntarily and she told Alix that a change of religion was not an enormous or unusual experience.

On April 19, 1894, during the wedding ceremony, a still saddened Nicholas closely watched Alix. Later in the day, he wrote in his diary, “How much I would have liked to have been able to look into the depths of Alix’s soul.” However, by the next day, things had completely changed. Alix had decided to marry Nicholas. The jubilant Nicholas wrote in his diary: “A marvelous, unforgettable day. Today is the day of my engagement to my darling, adorable Alix. After ten she came to Aunt Miechen [Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, the wife of Nicholas’ eldest uncle Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich] and after a talk with her, we came to an understanding. O God, what a mountain has rolled from my shoulders…The whole day I have been walking in a dream, without fully realizing what was happening to me…I went straight with Alix to the Queen [Victoria]… The whole family was simply enraptured.”

Alix’s first cousin Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, who was the same age as Alix, wrote in her memoir: “I remember sitting in my room. I was quietly getting ready for a luncheon party when Alix stormed into my room, threw her arms around my neck, and said, ‘I’m going to marry Nicky!’”

The wedding was planned for the spring of 1895 but another tragedy caused those plans to be disrupted.

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Disruption of the Wedding Plans

Alexander III’s death in Livadia by M.Zichy (Hermitage); Credit – Wikipedia

In 1894, Nicholas’s father Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia became ill with nephritis, a kidney disorder. Alexander was on his way to the Greek isle of Corfu where he hoped to recuperate at Mon Repos, the villa of his wife’s sister-in-law, Queen Olga of Greece. Born Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, Queen Olga was also Alexander III’s first cousin. However, when Alexander reached Crimea, he was too ill to continue traveling and stayed at the Small Palace in Livadia, his home in Crimea. It was soon obvious that Alexander III would not survive and various relatives came to Crimea.

Alexander III instructed Nicholas to send for Alix, who arrived on October 22, 1894. Despite his ailing health, Alexander III insisted on greeting Alix in full uniform and gave her his blessing. Alexander III’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he died on November 1, 1894, at the age of 49, leaving the 26-year-old Nicholas as the new Emperor of All Russia. Since her engagement in April, Alix had been receiving instruction in the Russian Orthodox religion. The day after the death of Alexander III, Alix was received into the Russian Orthodox Church and was given the title and name Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. On November 18, 1894, after two weeks of Russian Orthodox ceremonies, and a procession from Crimea to St. Petersburg, via Moscow, Nicholas’s father was interred at the Cathedral of Peter and Paul in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Nicholas and Alix’s wedding had been scheduled for the spring of 1895. Planning for the wedding had been ongoing since the April engagement and would have included a week of public celebrations and parades. However, Alexander III’s death necessitated a change in the wedding plans due to court mourning. Nicholas wanted to be married privately in Livadia before his father’s funeral and his mother agreed to this. However, his uncles, the brothers of his father, Grand Dukes Vladimir, Alexei, Sergei, and Paul argued that, as Nicholas was now the Emperor of All Russia, the wedding should be held in St. Petersburg with some pomp. With Nicholas unwilling to wait until the end of official mourning to marry, it was decided to hold the wedding on his mother’s birthday (November 26), which would allow for court mourning to be somewhat relaxed.

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The Wedding Site

The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia; Credit – By Alex ‘Florstein’ Fedorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49250446

The wedding site was the Grand Church of the Winter Palace on the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the photo above of the Winter Palace, the golden cupola of the Grand Church can be seen on the left side. The Grand Church of the Winter Palace was a Russian Orthodox church that had cathedral status and was the site of most Romanov christenings, weddings, conversions of foreign princesses marrying into the family, and memorial services.

The Grand Church of the Winter Palace; Credit – By Januarius-zick – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42460200

This author has visited the Winter Palace on the banks of the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Russia and it is truly awe-inspiring. It was the official residence of the Russian Emperors and Empresses from 1732 to 1917. Today, part of the palace houses the State Hermitage Museum, one of the world’s premier art museums. The Winter Palace’s monumental scale was intended to reflect the might and power of Imperial Russia and it is still a mighty and powerful building. It is said to contain 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms, and 117 staircases.

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The Wedding Guests

Many of the foreign royalty who had come to St. Petersburg for the funeral of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia remained in Russia for the wedding.

Family of the Groom

  • Empress Dowager Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (born Dagmar of Denmark), mother of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia, sister of Nicholas II, and Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia, brother-in-law and first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, brother of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, sister of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, paternal uncle and his wife Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna of Russia (born Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
  • Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, paternal uncle of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, paternal uncle of Nicholas II, and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (born Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine), sister of Alexandra
  • Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, paternal uncle of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia (born Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg), paternal great aunt by marriage of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II, and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna of Russia (born Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg)
  • Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Duchess Vera of Württemberg (born Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna of Russia), first cousin once removed of Nicholas II (representing the King Wilhelm II of Württemberg)
  • Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia, paternal great-uncle of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Christian IX, King of Denmark, maternal grandfather of Nicholas II
  • George I, King of the Hellenes, maternal uncle of Nicholas II, and his wife Queen Olga of the Hellenes (born Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia), first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Prince George of Greece and Denmark, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Prince Valdemar of Denmark, maternal uncle of Nicholas II

Family of the Bride

  • Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, brother of Alexandra
  • Prince Heinrich of Prussia, brother-in-law and first cousin of Alexandra, and Princess Heinrich of Prussia (born Irene of Hesse and by Rhine), sister of Alexandra (representing
  • Wilhelm II, German Emperor, first cousin of Alexandra)
  • The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom), maternal uncle of Alexandra, and The Princess of Wales (born Alexandra of Denmark), maternal aunt of Nicholas II (representing Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, maternal grandmother of Alexandra)
  • The Duke of York (the future King George V of the United Kingdom), first cousin of both Nicholas II and Alexandra
  • Prince Alfred of the United Kingdom, Duke of Edinburgh and Sovereign Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, maternal uncle of Alexandra, and The Duchess of Edinburg and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia), paternal aunt of Nicholas II
  • Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania (the future King Ferdinand I of Romania), husband of Marie of Edinburgh, Crown Princess of Romania, first cousin of both Nicholas II and Alexandra (representing King Carol I of Romania)

Foreign Royalty

  • Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg, second cousin once removed of Nicholas II (representing Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
  • Prince Wilhelm of Baden and Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Baden (born Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg), second cousin once removed of both Nicholas and Alexandra, and first cousin once removed of Nicholas II (representing Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden)
  • Prince Eugen Maximilianovich Romanowsky, 5th Duke of Leuchtenberg, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Prince George Maximilianovich Romanowsky (the future 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg), first cousin once removed of Nicholas II, and his wife Princess Anastasia of Leuchtenberg (born Anastasia of Montenegro)
  • Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg, second cousin once removed, and Duchess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Oldenburg (born Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg), first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg, second cousin of Nicholas II
  • Duke Konstantin Petrovich of Oldenburg, second cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Duke Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, second cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Duke Karl Michael of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, second cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Prince Albrecht of Saxe-Altenburg, third cousin once removed of both Nicholas and Alexandra, and Princess Helene of Saxe-Altenburg (born Helene of Mecklenburg-Strelitz), second cousin once removed of Nicholas II (representing Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg)

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Groomsmen

In Romanov weddings, there were no bridesmaids, only groomsmen. Their main job was to hold the gold marriage crowns over the heads of the bride and groom during the Russian Orthodox wedding ceremony. The groomsmen for Nicholas and Alexandra’s wedding were:

  • Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, brother of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Prince George of Greece and Denmark, first cousin of Nicholas II

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The Wedding Attire

Nicholas wore the ceremonial dress uniform of a colonel in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. The red tunic of the uniform was decorated with gold braid, gold epaulets, several rows of medals, and the orange sash of the Order of Hesse and by Rhine. The dark blue breeches were trimmed with gold braid.

Alexandra wore a dress modeled on the traditional Russian court dress. The silver brocade bodice was adorned with diamonds and embroidered with a leaf design in gold thread. The neckline was edged in white ermine and revealed Alexandra’s neck and shoulder. The long sleeves were edged in white ermine and hung in folds below the waist. The silver brocade overskirt was open in the front in an inverted V, revealing a silver tissue underskirt edged in ermine. The overskirt spread out from the waist into a fifteen-foot train edged in white ermine.

Alexandra’s hair was styled in the traditional style of Romanov brides. Her hair was in a bun at the back of her head and two ringlets that hung down to her shoulders were attached on either side of her head. She wore the same lace wedding veil designed by her grandfather Prince Albert for her mother Princess Alice. Alexandra’s sisters Victoria, Elisabeth, and Irene also wore the same veil when they got married. On her head, Alexandra wore the diamond Romanov nuptial tiara, formed like the traditional Russian kokoshnik headdress. In addition, she wore the diamond Romanov nuptial crown with a cross. For more information on the Romanov wedding jewelry see: The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Russian Imperial Wedding Splendor

The photo below is not Alexandra but rather the first cousin of Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna. The photo was taken on the day of Elena Vladimirovna’s wedding to Prince Nicholas of Greece in 1902. There is no photo of Alexandra on her wedding day but she would have been dressed in a similar manner. Notice on Elena’s head the Romanov nuptial tiara, in the front and the Romanov nuptial crown with the cross in the back.

Maria Alexandrovna’s niece Elena Vladimirovna dressed as her aunt would have been dressed on her wedding day; Credit – Wikipedia

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The Wedding

The Wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra by Laurits Tuxen, 1895; Credit – Wikipedia

As the guns from the Peter and Paul Fortress, just across the Neva River, fired a fifty-one-gun salute, the wedding procession began. Three thousand guests had been invited to witness the procession and they lined the halls of the Winter Palace. Proceeded by one hundred officials in pairs, Nicholas’ mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna led Alexandra at the head of the procession, with Nicholas right behind. Members of Nicholas’s entourage came next, followed by the foreign royal guests headed by King Christian IX of Denmark, Nicholas’ maternal grandfather. Members of the Russian imperial family came next followed by Russian high-ranking government officials. As the procession reached the 1812 Gallery, members of the diplomatic corps, the Imperial Council, and the Council of Ministers joined the procession.

This 1894 painting by Ilya Repin shows the golden nuptial crowns being held over the heads of the bride and groom and shows where the guests stood; Credit – Wikipedia

Father Ioann Yanishev, the private imperial confessor and chief of the palace clergy, along with other clergymen, conducted the wedding service. After Nicholas walked up the several steps to the dais, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna led Alexandra up the steps. Nicholas and Alexandra stood on a crimson carpet before a lectern on which lay the Gospels in a bejeweled cover. Father Yanishev announced the betrothal of Nicholas to Alexandra and then handed them their rings. After exchanging the rings three times in recognition of the Holy Trinity, Nicholas and Alexandra knelt and exchanged formal wedding vows. The four groomsmen took turns holding the golden nuptial crowns over the heads of the bride and groom, exchanging them three times. Nicholas and Alexandra joined hands and were led around the altar three times. They then knelt before the lectern and kissed a gold cross. Following a final prayer, Nicholas and Alexandra were pronounced man and wife. The church bells rang across St. Petersburg and guns were fired from the Peter and Paul Fortress.

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After the Wedding

After the wedding, it was straight back to strict court mourning. There was no wedding breakfast or reception, and no honeymoon trip. Nicholas and Alexandra changed into traveling clothes and left the Winter Palace in an open landau drawn by four horses for the nearby Anichkov Palace, where Nicholas had spent his childhood. Nicholas wrote in his diary, “The streets were so crowded that we could hardly drive through them.” Nicholas saluted the crowds and Alexandra, in tears, nervously repeatedly bowed her head. The couple stopped at Kazan Cathedral, crowded with people, to pray before its famous icon. The landau proceeded to Anichkov Palace where the newlyweds were met by Nicholas’ mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna with the traditional Russian welcome of bread and salt signifying plenty and good luck. Nicholas and Alexandra spent their first night as husband and wife in Nicholas’ former childhood bedroom. Meanwhile, in England, Queen Victoria held a banquet at Windsor Castle to celebrate the wedding, toasting the bride and groom and reading telegraphs from the new Empress Alexandra and from The Prince and Princess of Wales, who had traveled to Russia as her representatives.

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Children

Nicholas and Alexandra with their children (circa 1913-1914); Credit – Wikipedia

Nicholas and Alexandra had four daughters and one son. Unfortunately, Alexandra was a hemophilia carrier and her son was a hemophiliac.

Nicholas, Alexandra, their five children, along with three of their most loyal servants and the court doctor, were shot to death by a firing squad during the Russian Revolution on July 17, 1918.

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

  • Ceremony of the wedding of Nicholas and Alexandra. Available at: https://www.alexanderpalace.org/wedding/ (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • King, Greg. (2006) The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power, and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II. Hoboken: Wiley.
  • Laurits Regner Tuxen (1853-1927) – The Marriage of Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, 26th November 1894 (no date) Royal Collection Trust. Available at: https://www.rct.uk/collection/404465/the-marriage-of-nicholas-ii-tsar-of-russia-26th-november-1894 (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • Massie, Robert K. (1967) Nicholas and Alexandra. New York: Random House.
  • Mehl, Scott. (2015) Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-alix-of-hesse-and-by-rhine-empress-alexandra-feodorovna-of-russia/ (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • Mehl, Scott. (2015) Nicholas II of Russia, Emperor of All Russia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/tsar-nicholas-ii-of-russia/ (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • Royal Wedding,: 1894-12-01: Weekly Mail – Welsh Newspapers (1894) ROYAL WEDDING,|1894-12-01|Weekly Mail – Welsh Newspapers. Available at: https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3369740/3369752/105/ (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • The Court Jeweller (2021) Romanov Splendor: The wedding tiara and jewels of Russia’s last Empress, The Court Jeweller. Available at: https://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2021/11/romanov-splendor-the-wedding-tiara-and-jewels-of-russias-last-empress.html (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • The life and tragedy of Alexandra – chapter V – marriage and first year in Russia. Available at: https://www.alexanderpalace.org/alexandra/V.html (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • To re-form the Russian Ministry; the usual pomp will be wanting in the marriage of czar Nicholas II. (1894) The New York Times. The New York Times. Available at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/11/19/106879632.html?pageNumber=1 (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • Wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Nicholas_II_and_Alexandra_Feodorovna (Accessed: November 22, 2022).

Mariana of Austria, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Mariana of Austria, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Mariana of Austria was the second wife of her uncle Felipe IV, King of Spain, and Regent of Spain for her son Carlos II, King of Spain from 1665 – 1675. Born Maria Anna of Austria (she was called Mariana after her marriage to Felipe IV) on December 24, 1634, in Wiener Neustadt, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire, now in Austria, she was the second of the six children and the elder of the two daughters of first cousins Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria and his first wife Maria Anna of Austria, Infanta of Spain and Portugal. Her paternal grandparents were Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria and his first wife Maria Anna of Bavaria. Mariana’s maternal grandparents were Felipe III, King of Spain and Margaret of Austria.

Mariana, on the right, with her brother Ferdinand, circa 1636; Credit Wikipedia

Mariana had five siblings but only two of her siblings survived childhood:


Mariana’s parents Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III and Maria Anna of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

When Mariana was twelve-years-old her 39-year-old mother died. On May 12, 1646, Mariana’s pregnant mother Maria Anna suddenly felt ill with a fever and heavy bleeding. She died the next morning, and her unborn child, a girl named Maria, was delivered by cesarean section but she lived only a few hours.

In 1648, Mariana’s father married sixteen-year-old Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Tyrol, daughter of Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria and Claudia de’ Medici. A year later, Maria Leopoldine died in childbirth giving birth to Mariana’s half-brother who died at the age of fourteen:

In 1650, Mariana’s father made a third marriage to 21-year-old Eleonora Gonzaga, born a Princess of Mantua, Nevers, and Rethel. Eleanora was the daughter of Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers, the heir of the Duchy of Mantua, and his wife and cousin Maria Gonzaga, heiress to the Duchy of Montferrat.

Mariana had four half-siblings from her father’s marriage to Eleonora Gonzaga but only two survived childhood:

The House of Habsburg was notorious for its inbreeding. The Habsburgs had built their empire by marriage and they wanted to keep the land they amassed all in the family, so they began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves. In 1646, continuing the Habsburg practice of intermarriage, King Felipe IV of Spain, Mariana’s uncle, the brother of her mother, arranged a marriage for his son and heir Balthasar Carlos, Prince of Asturias with his first cousin Mariana. However, Balthasar Carlos died three months later from smallpox, leaving his father with no male heir.

Mariana’s uncle and husband Felipe IV, King of Spain, circa 1644; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1644, Elisabeth of France, the wife of King Felipe IV of Spain, weakened by her multiple pregnancies and miscarriages, died at the age of forty-one, after miscarrying a son. After the death of his son Balthasar Carlos in 1646 left King Felipe IV with no male heir, he arranged to marry his son’s former fiancée Mariana. As Mariana was still young, the marriage was delayed. On October 7, 1649, the 44-year-old Felipe IV married his 14-year-old niece Mariana in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain. Of course, this marriage led to more inbreeding in the House of Habsburg.

Mariana and Felipe IV had five children but only two survived childhood:

Mariana and King Felipe IV’s son King Carlos II of Spain had a severe type of mandibular prognathism (Habsburg jaw); Credit – Wikipedia

The Spanish House of Habsburg would end with the reign of Mariana and Felipe IV’s physically and mentally disabled son Carlos II, King of Spain. While a person in the fifth generation normally has thirty-two different ancestors, Carlos II had only ten different ancestors in the fifth generation. Seven of his eight great-grandparents were descended from Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and her husband Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy. See the family tree of the ancestors of Carlos II, King of Spain at Wikipedia: Ancestors of Charles II of Spain. Carlos II’s Habsburg jaw (mandibular prognathism), a disfiguring genetic disorder in which the lower jaw outgrows the upper jaw, was so severe that he swallowed his food without thoroughly chewing. He did not learn to walk until he was eight and was unable to be educated as befitted the heir to the throne.

In early September 1665, Mariana’s husband Felipe IV began to feel unwell. His stools were bloody which meant he may have had dysentery. After great suffering, Felipe IV, King of Spain, aged 60, died on September 17, 1665, at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, located at the site of today’s Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain. He was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Mariana was appointed Regent for their nearly four-year-old son Carlos II, King of Spain. In his will, Felipe IV ordered the creation of a government commission consisting of carefully selected important people from politics, the church and, society to assist Mariana in her role as Regent of Spain. Although Mariana ceased to be Regent when her son Carlos II reached the age of 14 on November 6, 1675, due to Carlos’ physical and mental issues, Mariana remained an influential figure during his reign, until her death.

The Mariana Islands, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, were named after Mariana. In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were the first Europeans to see the islands while on a Spanish expedition of world circumnavigation under Magellan’s command. In 1667, Spain formally claimed the islands as a colony and established a capital on the largest island, Guam. The following year, Mariana approved the establishment of a Jesuit mission on the islands under Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores and Saint Pedro Calungsod. After the 1898 Spanish-American War, the Mariana Islands were ceded to the United States. Today, Guam is a United States territory and the Northern Mariana Islands are a commonwealth of the United States. The deepest trench in the Earth’s oceans, located to the southeast of the Mariana Islands, owes its name to Queen Mariana.

Mariana in her later years, circa 1683–1693; Credit – Wikipedia

Mariana survived her husband by thirty-one years, dying on May 16, 1696, at Uceda Palace in Madrid, Spain, at the age of sixty-one, probably from breast cancer. She was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Tomb of Queen Mariana of Spain; Credit – De AldanaN – Trabajo propio, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15342544

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

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Charles II of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_Spain> [Accessed 18 November 2022].
  • Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_III,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: November 18, 2022).
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Felipe IV, King of Spain, Filipe III, King of Portugal. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-iv-king-of-spain-filip-iii-king-of-portugal/> [Accessed 18 November 2022].
  • Mariana de Austria (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_de_Austria (Accessed: November 18, 2022).
  • Mariana of Austria (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_of_Austria (Accessed: November 18, 2022).
  • Maria Anna von Österreich (1634–1696) (2021) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_von_%C3%96sterreich_(1634%E2%80%931696) (Accessed: November 18, 2022).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew (1995). The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

Felipe IV, King of Spain, Filipe III, King of Portugal

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Felipe IV, King of Spain, Filipe III, King of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

Besides being King of Spain, Felipe was also King of Portugal (from 1621 to 1640) and King of Sardinia, King of Naples, King of Sicily, Duke of Milan, Duke of Lothier, Duke of Brabant, Duke of Limburg, Duke of Luxemburg, Count Palatine of Burgundy, Count of Flanders, Count of Hainaut and Count of Namur from 1621 until his death in 1665.

Felipe Domingo Víctor de la Cruz was born on April 8, 1605, at the Royal Palace of Valladolid in Valladolid, Spain. He was the eldest of the four sons and third but the second surviving of the eight children of Felipe III, King of Spain and Margaret of Austria. His paternal grandparents were Felipe II, King of Spain and his fourth wife and niece Anna of Austria. Felipe IV’s maternal grandparents were Karl II, Archduke of Austria-Styria and his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria. As the heir to the Spanish throne, Felipe was titled Prince of Asturias.

The House of Habsburg was notorious for its inbreeding. The Habsburgs had built their empire by marriage and they wanted to keep the land they amassed all in the family, so they began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves. Of the eleven marriages of Spanish monarchs between 1450 and 1661, nearly all contained some element of consanguinity, marriages between very closely related people. Felipe IV’s parents, King Felipe III and Margaret of Austria, both children of parents who were an uncle and his niece, were first cousins once removed and second cousins, adding to more inbreeding.

Felipe with his elder sister Ana María Mauricia: Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe IV had seven siblings but only four survived childhood. His elder sister Ana María Mauricia, better known as Queen Anne of France, married King Louis XIII of France. They were the parents of King Louis XIV of France. When Felipe IV was ten years old, his mother died at the age of twenty-six from childbirth complications eleven days after giving birth to her eighth child.

Felipe IV’s siblings:

An assassination caused an early marriage for Felipe IV. On May 14, 1610, King Henri IV of France was assassinated by a Catholic zealot François Ravaillac, and his nine-year-old son ascended the French throne as King Louis XIII. The widowed Queen, Marie de’ Medici, was appointed Regent for her son. During this period, there were struggles in France between the Catholics and the Protestants (French Huguenots). The new Regent, Marie de’ Medici promoted a strong alliance with the Spanish monarchy and favored Catholicism over Protestantism. To strengthen this bond, she arranged the marriages of her son King Louis XIII to Felipe IV’s elder sister Ana María Mauricia and her eldest daughter Elisabeth of France to the future King Felipe IV of Spain.

Felipe IV’s first wife Elisabeth of France; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 13, 1615, at the Louvre Palace in Paris, France, both young couples were married by proxy and soon, Elisabeth and her brother Louis XIII left Paris to meet their respective spouses. On Pheasant Island in the Bidassoa River that divides France and Spain, the two couples first met and the brides were exchanged. On November 25, 1615, at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Burgos, Spain, 13-year-old Elisabeth married 10-year-old Felipe in a religious ceremony.

Because of the couple’s young age, the marriage was not consummated. The situation changed when Elisabeth’s father-in-law King Felipe III became ill, the marriage was consummated, and Elisabeth quickly became pregnant. King Felipe III died on March 31, 1621, and was succeeded by his 16-year-old son as King Felipe IV of Spain and King Filip III of Portugal

Felipe IV and Elisabeth’s only child to survive to adulthood, Maria Theresa, at age 14; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe and Elisabeth had eight children but only their youngest child survived to adulthood. Besides having so many children die young, Elisabeth had three miscarriages. It is very probable that her husband transmitted a venereal disease he had contracted with one of his mistresses to Elisabeth. This may explain the miscarriages and the many dead infants.

  • Maria Margarita of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1621)
  • Margarita Maria Catalina of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1623)
  • Maria Eugenia of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1625 – 1627)
  • Isabella Maria of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1627)
  • Balthasar Carlos of Austria, Infante of Spain, Prince of Asturias (1629 – 1646), died at age 16 from smallpox
  • Francisco Fernando of Austria, Infante of Spain (born and died 1634)
  • Maria Ana Antonia of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1636)
  • Maria Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1638 – 1683), married King Louis XIV of France, had six children but only one son survived childhood

Elisabeth was aware of Felipe IV’s mistresses. There were rumors about her relationship with the diplomat Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana, her gentleman-in-waiting. Throughout her marriage, Elisabeth suffered in silence over the deaths of her children and her miscarriages. The fact that Felipe IV’s mistresses gave him children – it has been estimated that Felipe IV was the father of at least thirty illegitimate children – made Elisabeth feel even worse. Her feelings are evident in her letters to her brother King Louis XIII and sister-in-law Queen Anne of France. Weakened by her multiple pregnancies and miscarriages, Elisabeth died at the Royal Alcázar in Madrid, Spain on October 6, 1644, at the age of forty-one, after miscarrying a son. She was buried in the Pantheon of the Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Mariana of Austria, Felipe IV’s niece and second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1646, continuing the Habsburg practice of intermarriage, Felipe IV arranged a marriage for his son and heir Balthasar Carlos, Prince of Asturias with his first cousin Mariana of Austria, the daughter of King Felipe IV’s sister Maria Anna and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III. However, Balthasar Carlos died three months later from smallpox, leaving his father no male heir. Three years later, on October 7, 1649, 44-year-old Felipe IV married his son’s former fiancée, his 14-year-old niece Mariana of Austria, adding to more inbreeding.

Felipe IV and Mariana had five children but only two survived childhood:

Felipe IV and Mariana’s son King Carlos II of Spain had a severe type of mandibular prognathism (Habsburg jaw); Credit – Wikipedia

The Spanish House of Habsburg would end with the reign of Felipe IV and Mariana’s physically and mentally disabled son Carlos II, King of Spain. While a person in the fifth generation normally has thirty-two different ancestors, Carlos II had only ten different ancestors in the fifth generation. Seven of his eight great-grandparents were descended from Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and her husband Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy. See the family tree of the ancestors of Felipe IV’s parents, Felipe III and his wife, at Wikipedia: Family Tree of Felipe III of Spain.

Carlos II’s Habsburg jaw (mandibular prognathism), a disfiguring genetic disorder in which the lower jaw outgrows the upper jaw, was so severe that he swallowed his food without thoroughly chewing. He did not learn to walk until he was eight and never was educated as befitted the heir to the throne. Carlos II died at the age of thirty-eight. Neither of his two marriages produced children, and so Carlos was succeeded by 16-year-old Philip of Anjou, the  French grandson of his elder half-sister Maria Theresa of Austria and King Louis XIV of France who reigned as Felipe V, King of Spain, the first Spanish king of the House of Bourbon which is still the reigning house of Spain.

Felipe IV painted by Diego Velázquez in 1656; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe IV, King of Spain is best remembered for his patronage of the arts, including supporting such artists as Diego Velázquez, and his rule over Spain during the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648), one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history. In 1640, Felipe IV lost the Kingdom of Portugal which the King of Spain had held since 1580. The Portuguese House of Braganza came to power in Portugal after deposing the Spanish Habsburg dynasty in the Portuguese Restoration War, resulting in João, 8th Duke of Braganza becoming King João IV of Portugal. During the reign of Felipe IV, the Spanish Empire reached approximately 4.7 million square miles/12.2 million square kilometers in area. However, in other aspects, the Spanish Empire was in decline, and Felipe IV’s inability to achieve successful domestic and military reform was part of the reason.

In early September 1665, Felipe IV began to feel unwell. His stools were bloody which meant he may have had dysentery. After great suffering, Felipe IV, King of Spain, aged 60, died on September 17, 1665, at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, located at the site of today’s Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain. He was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Tomb of Felipe IV, King of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Felipe IV’s second wife Mariana of Austria was appointed Regent for their three-year-old son Carlos II, King of Spain. Due to Carlos’ physical and mental issues, Mariana remained an influential figure during his reign, until her death. She survived her husband by thirty-one years, dying on May 16, 1696, at Uceda Palace in Madrid, Spain, at the age of sixty-one.

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

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Mariana of Austria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_of_Austria> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Philip IV of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_IV_of_Spain> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
  • Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Felipe IV de España – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felipe_IV_de_Espa%C3%B1a> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
  • Flantzer, S., 2019. Elisabeth of France, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/elisabeth-of-france-queen-of-spain/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Felipe III, King of Spain, King of Portugal. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-iii-king-of-spain/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew (1995). The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

Archduchess Margaret of Austria was the wife of Felipe III, King of Spain who was also Filipe I, King of Portugal. Born on December 25, 1584, in Graz, Duchy of Styria, now in Austria, Margaret was the eleventh of the fifteen children and the seventh of the nine daughters of Karl II, Archduke of Austria-Styria and his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. Margaret’s maternal grandparents were Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Austria.

Margaret had fourteen siblings:

Margaret and Felipe III’s grandson, King Carlos II of Spain, had a severe type of mandibular prognathism (Habsburg jaw); Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret and her sisters were not considered beauties. The Habsburg jaw, (mandibular prognathism) a disfiguring genetic disorder in which the lower jaw outgrows the upper jaw, was evident in all the sisters.

In 1596, Francisco de Mendoza, Admiral of Aragon, a Spanish nobleman, arrived at the court in Graz to obtain portraits of three daughters of Karl II, Archduke of Austria-Styria: Gregoria, Eleanor, and Margaret, who were potential brides for Felipe, Prince of Asturias, the son and heir of Felipe II, King of Spain. Felipe, Prince of Asturias preferred the portrait of Margaret but his father chose Gregoria because she was the oldest of the three sisters.

Preparations began for the wedding celebrations, which were going to be held in Milan, the capital of the Duchy of Milan, under the rule of the House of Habsburg. On September 17, 1597, Felipe, Prince of Asturias arrived at the court of his future father-in-law in Graz. At this time, sixteen-year-old Gregoria, Felipe’s intended bride, was seriously ill. In addition to the Habsburg jaw, Gregoria had several serious physical disabilities. She died three days after Felipe’s arrival. After the death of her sister, Margaret became betrothed to Felipe. However, because of her young age, the wedding was delayed.

Felipe III, King of Spain in 1600; Credit – Wikipedia

In the meantime, Felipe II, King of Spain died on September 13, 1598, and his twenty-year-old son succeeded him as Felipe III, King of Spain. Besides being King of Spain, Felipe III was also King of Portugal, King of Sardinia, King of Naples, King of Sicily, and Duke of Milan. On April 18, 1599, at Valencia Cathedral in Valencia, Spain, 21-year-old Felipe III married 14-year-old Margaret of Austria. Felipe and Margaret, both children of parents who were an uncle and niece, were first cousins once removed and also second cousins, adding to more inbreeding in the House of Habsburg.

Margaret and Felipe III’s two eldest surviving children, the future King Felipe IV and the future Queen Anne of France, wife of King Louis XIII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret and Felipe III had eight children, including King Felipe III’s successor King Felipe IV and Ana María Mauricia (better known as Queen Anne of France) who married King Louis XIII of France. They were the parents of King Louis XIV of France.

Like many women of the House of Habsburg, Queen Margaret was a skilled politician. Queen Margaret, Maria of Austria (Felipe’s maternal grandmother and paternal aunt, and the widow of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II), and Maria’s daughter Archduchess Margaret of Austria, a Poor Clare nun, were a powerful Catholic and pro-Austrian faction in the court of King Felipe III.

Tomb of Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal; Credit – www.findagrave.com

On October 3, 1611, at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain, Margaret died at the age of twenty-six from childbirth complications eleven days after giving birth to her eighth child Alonso who lived for only one year. Margaret was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Felipe III never remarried. He survived his wife by ten years, dying in Madrid, Spain on March 31, 1621, two weeks before his forty-third birthday, due to erysipelas, a bacterial skin infection. He was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de 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

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Margarete von Österreich (1584–1611) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarete_von_%C3%96sterreich_(1584%E2%80%931611)> [Accessed 5 October 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Charles II, Archduke of Austria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_Austria> [Accessed 5 October 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_Austria,_Queen_of_Spain> [Accessed 5 October 2022].
  • Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Margarita de Austria-Estiria – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarita_de_Austria-Estiria> [Accessed 5 October 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Felipe III, King of Spain, King of Portugal. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-iii-king-of-spain/> [Accessed 5 October 2022].

Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

Helena of Nassau was the first wife of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Helena Wilhelmine Henriette Pauline Marianne was born on August 18, 1831, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse. She was the eldest of the three surviving children and the elder of the two surviving daughters of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau and his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg. Both Helena’s parents were descendants of King George II of Great Britain. Helena’s paternal grandparents were Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, and Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Paul of Württemberg and his wife Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

Helena had two surviving siblings:

Helena had eight half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen including Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg:

Georg Viktor and Helena; Credit – Pinterest 

On September 26, 1853, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse, Helena married Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the son of  Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. Helena proved to be very successful in finding suitable marriages for their children by making contacts with various European royal houses. Because of her efforts, the relatively poor House of Waldeck-Pyrmont was linked to the richer ruling dynasties of Würtemberg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Georg Viktor and Helena are the ancestors of the Dutch royal family through their daughter Emma and the Swedish royal family through their daughter Helena.

Georg Viktor and Helena with their five elder daughters circa 1864; Credit – Wikipedia

Georg Viktor and Helena had six daughters and one son:

Helena focused on charitable work, chairing many charitable organizations, and involving her children in charitable work from a very young age. Her daughter Emma said of Helena, “Mother had a great talent for dealing with people, to do them justice. We daughters have tried to follow mother’s example, also in her social interest.”

Princely Mausoleum and Cemetery; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Helena was in ill health for the last decade of her life. She died on October 28, 1888, aged 57, in Pyrmont, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. She was buried at the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden (link in German) in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse.

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

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Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna of Austria was the niece and the fourth of the four wives of Felipe II, King of Spain, King of Portugal. Born on November 2, 1549, in Cigales, Spain, Anna was the eldest of the six daughters and the eldest of the fifteen children of first cousins Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria and Maria of Spain. Anna’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anne of Bohemia and Hungary. Her maternal grandparents were Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, among many other titles, and Isabella of Portugal.

Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, his wife Maria of Spain with their three eldest surviving children Anna, Rudolf, and Ernst in the cradle; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna had fourteen younger siblings:

As the eldest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, Anna was considered a desirable royal wife. Her parents thought that a Spanish marriage would strengthen the relationships between the Austrian branch and the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg. Talks began to arrange a marriage between Anna and her first cousin Carlos, Prince of Asturias, the only son of Felipe II, King of Spain and his deceased first wife and double first cousin Maria Manuela of Portugal. However, the marriage plans were scrapped when Carlos died in 1568 at the age of twenty-three.

Felipe II, King of Spain, circa 1568; Credit – Wikipedia

Later in 1568, Felipe II’s third wife Elisabeth of Valois died a few hours after giving birth to a premature daughter who also died. Felipe was a widower for a third time, with two young daughters who had lost their mother. He planned to remarry because he no longer had a male heir. Despite being his niece and twenty-two years younger than him, Felipe decided to marry Anna. The consanguinity or close genetic relationship between Felipe and his niece Anna caused Pope Pius V to have serious reservations but eventually he granted the necessary dispensation. The marriage contract was signed in Madrid on January 24, 1570, and a proxy wedding was held at Prague Castle on May 4, 1570.

In the autumn of 1570, Anna traveled from Austria to Spain accompanied by her brothers Albrecht and Wenceslaus. When Anna traveled through the English Channel, Queen Elizabeth I of England sent her admirals, Charles Howard and William Wynter, to offer support and safe passage. Anna arrived in Spain on October 3, 1570. Anna and Felipe were married in person on November 14, 1570, in the chapel of the Alcázar of Segovia. Anna’s new household was under the direction of Margarita de Cardona, who Anna knew well as she had previously been the lady-in-waiting of her mother Maria of Spain, Felipe II’s sister.

Anna and Felipe II’s only surviving child, the future Felipe III, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna and Felipe had five children but only one survived childhood:

Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela, Anna’s stepdaughters, the daughters of Felipe II and his third wife Elisabeth of Valois; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna was the stepmother of Felipe’s two daughters from his third marriage to Elisabeth of Valois who died in 1568:

Contemporary accounts show that Anna and Felipe’s marriage was happy and that Anna was Felipe’s most beloved wife. There are no records of Felipe having lovers during his marriage to Anna. Anna was a good stepmother to Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela. She also managed to ease some of the rather stiff atmosphere of the Spanish court.

In 1578, King Sebastian of Portugal from the House of Aviz was killed in battle without any heirs, causing a succession crisis. He was succeeded by his elderly great-uncle Henrique, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who had no descendants because he had taken a vow of chastity as a priest. When Cardinal-King Enrique died two years later, three grandchildren of Manuel I, King of Portugal (1469 – 1521) claimed the Portuguese throne. Ultimately, the grandchild who was successful in his claim was Felipe II, King of Spain. The Iberian Union was the union of the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Portugal that existed between 1580 and 1640, under the Spanish Habsburg kings Felipe II, Felipe III, and Felipe IV who reigned in Portugal under the names and regnal numbers Filipe I, Filipe II, and Filipe III.

Tomb of Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain in the Pantheon of the Kings, Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial; Credit – www.findagrave.com

In 1580, Felipe’s court was in the Spanish city of Badajoz, close to the border with Portugal, because of Felipe’s claim to the Portuguese throne. While in Badajoz, Anna died from influenza at the age of 30, on October 26, 1580, eight months after giving birth to her youngest child Maria. Initially, Anna was buried in the Royal Monastery of Santa Ana in Badajoz. Several years later, Anna’s remains were transferred to the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain. Anna’s entrails were allowed to remain buried in the floor of the choir at the Royal Monastery of Santa Ana in Badajoz, and they remain buried there today.

The Pantheon of Kings where Anna and Felipe II are interred; Credit – By Bocachete – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6493547

Felipe never remarried. He survived Anna by eighteen years, dying after a long illness, at the age of 71 on September 13, 1598, in his chambers at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. He was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

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Works Cited

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