Category Archives: Former Monarchies

Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Effigy of Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg, the first of the three wives of Gustav Vasa I, King of Sweden, was born on September 24, 1513, in Ratzeburg, Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. She was the third of the six children and the second of the five daughters of Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1470 – 1543) and Katharina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1488 – 1563), daughter of Heinrich IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Katharina’s parents, Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and Katharina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel; Credit – Wikipedia

Katharina had five siblings:

Since 1397, Sweden was part of the Kalmar Union in which the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were ruled by one monarch. Denmark was dominant in the Kalmar Union,  and this occasionally led to uprisings in Sweden. In 1520, King Christian II of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden asserted his claim to Sweden by force when he ordered a massacre of Swedish nobles in Stockholm. The actions of King Christian II stirred the Swedish nobility to a new resistance. During the Swedish War of Liberation (1521 – 1523), Swedish nobleman Gustav Vasa successfully deposed King Christian II from the throne of Sweden, ending the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Gustav Vasa was then elected King of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag.

Gustav I Vasa, King of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

The fledgling King of Sweden needed heirs for his new House of Vasa. After being rejected by several potential brides’ families, Gustav Vasa was advised to consider the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg. Although the duchy was small and poor, the ducal family was related to many of the most powerful dynasties of Europe and was Protestant, which was important for the ongoing Swedish Reformation. With all this in mind, Gustav Vasa chose Katharina as his wife.

In September 1531, Katharina was escorted to Stockholm, Sweden where she married Gustav I Vasa, King of Sweden on September 24, 1531, her eighteenth birthday. On December 13, 1533, Katharina fulfilled her most important duty as queen consort when she gave birth to a son, the future Erik XIV, King of Sweden.

Katharina and Gustav Vasa’s son Erik XIV, King of Sweden had an unsuccessful reign. Erik was deposed via a rebellion by his half-brother from his father’s second marriage who reigned as King Johan III of Sweden. Erik was imprisoned in various castles for eight years. He was most likely murdered due to the three major conspiracies that attempted to depose his half-brother Johan III and place Erik back on the Swedish throne. An examination of his remains in 1958 confirmed that Erik probably died of arsenic poisoning.

In September 1535, during a ball given in honor of her brother-in-law, Christian III, King of Denmark and Norway, who was visiting Sweden, the pregnant Katharina fell while dancing with Christian III. The fall confined her to bed and led to complications, and she died on September 23, 1535, the day before her twenty-second birthday along with her unborn child. Katharina was initially buried in the Storkyrkan (Great Church) in Stockholm, Sweden. Following her husband’s death in 1560, Katharina’s remains were reburied at Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden, together with her husband King Gustav I and his second wife Margareta Leijonhufvud.

Effigies of Gustav I Vasa and his first two wives; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Effigy of Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

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

Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Katharina von Sachsen-Lauenburg (1513–1535) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_von_Sachsen-Lauenburg_(1513%E2%80%931535)> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Saxe-Lauenburg> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Gustav I, King of Sweden. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/gustav-vasa-i-king-of-sweden-reigned-1523-1560/> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2021. Katarina av Sachsen-Lauenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katarina_av_Sachsen-Lauenburg> [Accessed 4 April 2021].

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.

Maria Annunciata of the Two Sicilies, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Annunciata of the Two Sicilies was the second of the three wives of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, and the mother of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I.

Maria Annunciata Isabella Filomena Sabasia was born on March 24, 1843, at the Royal Palace of Caserta in Caserta, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy. She was the eldest of the four daughters and the fourth of the twelve children of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies (1810 – 1859) and his second wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1816 – 1867), daughter of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. Maria Annunciata’s paternal grandparents were Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife and first cousin Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain.

Maria Annunciata’s birth family in 1861; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Annunciata had eleven siblings:

Maria Annunciata, on the right with her three sisters, circa 1862; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Annunciata had one-half-brother from her father’s first marriage to Maria Cristina of Savoy:

Maria Annunciata’s half-brother Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Annunciata’s father died in 1859 and her half-brother Francesco II became King of the Two Sicilies. However, his reign was short. He was the last King of the Two Sicilies, as invasions by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia brought an end to his rule, as part of Italian unification. After Francesco II was deposed, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy, ruled by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia as Vittorio Emanuele I, the first King of Italy. Maria Annunciata’s mother moved the family to Rome where they were guests of Pope Pius IX at the Quirinal Palace. Soon the family moved to the Farnese Palace which was owned by Maria Annuciata’s family.

Maria Annunciata and Karl Ludwig; Credit – Wikipedia

A year after her family moved to Rome, Maria Annunciata was married to Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, the third son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria, and the brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. Nineteen-year-old Maria Annunciata married twenty-nine-year-old Karl Ludwig by proxy in Rome on October 16, 1862, and then in person in Venice on October 21, 1862. This was the second marriage for Karl Ludwig. His first marriage was happy but childless. His wife and first cousin Margaretha of Saxony died from typhoid fever while on a trip to Italy after less than two years of marriage.

One day after the wedding, Maria Annunciata suffered an epileptic seizure during mass, which caused quite a concern because it occurred in front of the members of the House of Habsburg. Soon Maria Annunciata’s domineering mother-in-law Sophie realized her daughter-in-law was ill with tuberculosis.

Karl Ludwig with his children after the death of Maria Annunciata, 1873; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite her poor health, Maria Annunciata gave birth to four children including Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the eventual heir to the Austrian throne whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War II:

Karl Ludwig bought a palace on Favoritenstrasse in Vienna, Austria, now called Palais Archduke Karl Ludwig (link in German) and it became the family home. After the birth of her third child, Maria Annuciata’s health worsened and she was not expected to recover. However, because of her strong will to live, she somehow overcame her illness and she attended balls, the theater, and the opera.

Maria Annunciata on her deathbed; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Annunciata became seriously ill after the birth of her fourth child in 1870. For the last year of her life, she was in agony, and died May 4, 1871, at the age of 28, from tuberculosis. She was buried in the New Crypt in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria, the traditional burial site of the House of Habsburg.

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. 2021. Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Annunciata_of_Bourbon-Two_Sicilies> [Accessed 11 June 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Annunziata di Borbone-Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Annunziata_di_Borbone-Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 11 June 2021].
  • Van der Kiste., John, 2005. Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire. London: Sutton Publishing.
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1997. The Habsburgs. London: Penguin Books.

Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl Ludwig Joseph Maria was born on July 30, 1833, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. He was the third of the fours sons and the third of the five children of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria, son of Emperor Franz I of Austria and the second of his four wives Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, and Sophie of Bavaria, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden.

 

Karl Ludwig and his brothers: (Left to Right) Karl Ludwig, Franz Joseph, Maximilian, and Ludwig Viktor; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl Ludwig had four siblings:

Karl Ludwig’s mother ensured he was raised as a very devout Roman Catholic. As a result, he developed religious mania in his later years. In 1855, Karl Ludwig’s brother Emperor Franz Joseph appointed him the Governor of Tyrol. However, he gave up the position in 1861, when the new constitution made the minister of the interior his supervisor. Karl Ludwig thought it was inappropriate for a member of the imperial family to be placed in such a situation. He was more interested in art than politics and the military served as the patron of several artists’ associations, and enjoyed hosting balls and charity events.

Karl Ludwig’s first wife and first cousin Margaretha of Saxony; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl Ludwig’s mother Sophie was rather domineering and chose all three of his wives, although she died shortly before his third wedding. He married his first cousin Margaretha of Saxony (1840–1858), daughter of King Johann of Saxony and his mother’s sister Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, on November 4, 1856. The marriage was happy but childless and Margaretha died from typhoid fever while on a trip to Italy on September 15, 1858.

Karl Ludwig and his second wife Maria Annunciata; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie then picked Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, daughter of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies and Maria Theresa of Austria, to be her next daughter-in-law. Karl Ludwig and Maria Annunciata married on October 21, 1862. The marriage lasted only eight-and-a-half years as Maria Annunciata died from tuberculosis on May 4, 1871. Karl Ludwig and Maria Annunciata had four children including Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the eventual heir to the Austrian throne whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War II:

Karl Ludwig and his third wife Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie’s last pick of a wife for Karl Ludwig was Maria Theresa of Portugal (1855 – 1944), daughter of the deposed King Miguel I of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. The 17-year-old Maria Theresa married the 39-year-old Karl Ludwig on July 23, 1873, and had two daughters. Maria Theresa survived Karl Ludwig by 48 years, dying on February 12, 1944, at the age of 88.

The Execution of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico by Edouard Manet; Credit – Wikipedia

Through the machinations of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, Karl Ludwig’s second elder brother Maximilian became Emperor of Mexico. The Liberal forces led by Mexican President Benito Juarez refused to recognize him as Emperor. Three years later, Maximilian was taken into custody. He was court-martialed, sentenced to death, and executed by a firing squad. Karl Ludwig’s eldest brother Emperor Franz Joseph had only one son, Crown Prince Rudolf and now, Karl Ludwig was the second in the line of succession.

Karl Ludwig’s nephew Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1889, Crown Prince Rudolf died by suicide at his hunting lodge Mayerling. Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, had no sons, so the succession passed to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Franz Ferdinand. There have been suggestions that Karl Ludwig renounced his succession rights in favor of his son Franz Ferdinand. However, an act of renunciation was never formally signed and Karl Ludwig was never officially designated heir to the throne. He was only three years younger than Franz Joseph and not a realistic choice.

Karl Ludwig; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl Ludwig’s religious mania increased as he aged, and it ultimately caused his death. It was a common sight to see him bless pedestrians from his carriage as he traveled through the streets of Vienna. On May 19, 1896, at the age of 62, Karl Ludwig died from typhoid fever at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. His death occurred shortly after returning from a trip to Palestine. Allegedly, he developed typhoid fever after drinking contaminated water from the Jordan River in an episode of religious mania. Karl Ludwig was buried in the New Crypt in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria, the traditional burial site of the House of Habsburg.

The New Crypt in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria; Credit – By Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada – Austria-00835 – Casket Room, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66921958

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. 2021. Karl Ludwig von Österreich – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Ludwig_von_%C3%96sterreich> [Accessed 9 June 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Karl_Ludwig_of_Austria> [Accessed 9 June 2021].
  • Van der Kiste., John, 2005. Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire. London: Sutton Publishing.
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1997. The Habsburgs. London: Penguin Books.

Crown Prince Leka I of the Albanians

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Crown Prince Leka I of the Albanians. photo: Albanian Royal Court

Crown Prince Leka I was born at the Royal Palace in Tirana on April 5, 1939, the only child of King Zog I of the Albanians and Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Appony.

Embed from Getty Images 

Just two days after his birth, Fascist forces invaded Albania, and the family quickly fled into exile. They settled briefly in France before moving to England where they lived through the end of World War II and eventually moved to Egypt in 1946. During that time, Leka attended the British Boys School and Victoria College in Egypt before graduating from Aiglon College in Switzerland in 1956.

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Upon his 18th birthday in 1957, Leka formally became Crown Prince of the Albanians, although the monarchy had already been formally abolished several years earlier by the communist regime. When King Zog died in 1961, monarchists declared Leka to be King Leka I, although this title was merely in pretense. Having settled in France, he later moved to Spain in the early 1960s and continued his efforts to bring the monarchy back to Albania. During that time, with the assistance of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Leka began working as a commodities broker and established several businesses in the Middle East and Asia. Continuing his quest for the restoration of the monarchy and the abolishment of the communist regime in Albania, Leka traveled extensively, seeking out support in building up forces to overtake the country. With the support of the Thai army, he began training Albanian volunteers for a potential rebellion.

On April 8, 1975, Leka married Susan Cullen-Ward in a civil ceremony held in Biarritz, France. The couple had met while studying at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France several years earlier. In Toledo, Spain, on October 10, 1975, the marriage was blessed by Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican clergy during a religious ceremony.

They had one son:

Leka first returned to Albania in 1993 but was quickly forced to leave within 24 hours. He returned in 1997 when a referendum regarding the restoration of the monarchy was being held. The referendum failed with only ⅓ of the votes in favor of restoration. Leka publicly questioned and challenged the independence of the election, leading to unrest – “police intervened, gunfire broke out, one person was killed, and Leka fled.” Later, the Albanian president at that time said that the referendum had been “held in the context of flames of the communist rebellion and therefore cannot be considered a closed matter. The Stalinist principle of: ‘you vote, but I count the votes’ was applied in that referendum. But the fact is the Albanians voted massively for their King, but the referendum failed to meet quotas as it was manipulated.” Leka ended up leaving Albania and then was tried and found guilty of sedition for causing the unrest following the failed referendum. He was later pardoned in March 2002, when the Albanian Parliament strove to make amends and officially allowed and invited the former Royal Family to return to the country.

Embed from Getty Images

On June 28, 2002, Leka, along with his wife, his son, and his mother Queen Geraldine, arrived in Albania and were greeted by thousands of supporters. Leka quickly established a public role, becoming an outspoken advocate for national unity and the restoration of the monarchy. He maintained an outspoken voice for rebuilding his country for several years before health issues led him to withdraw from public life in 2006.

On November 30, 2011, Crown Prince Leka I died at the Mother Teresa Hospital in Tirana, Albania. The government declared a National Day of Mourning, and he was given a state funeral, with full military honors. He was initially buried in the Sharra cemetery in Tirana next to his wife and mother. In November 2012, their remains were exhumed and reinterred in the newly rebuilt Royal Mausoleum.

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Albanian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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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.

Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The ruins of the abbey church of Holyrood Abbey; Credit – By Brian Holsclaw from Seattle, WA, USA – 20090513_Edinburgh_034Uploaded by Kurpfalzbilder.de, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9562367

The abbey church of Holyrood Abbey, which this writer has visited, now stands in roofless ruins adjacent to Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland. Rood is a word for the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified and so the name Holyrood is equivalent to Holy Cross. Holyrood Abbey was founded by David I, King of Scots in 1128 as an abbey of the Augustinian Canons Regular. The legend is that David I was inspired to found Holyrood Abbey after seeing a vision of the Holy Cross when attacked by a stag in what is now Holyrood Park.

Holyrood Palace, adjacent to the ruins of the abbey church of Holyrood Abbey; Credit – By XtoF – Own work CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60549142

The abbey guesthouse was used as an occasional residence by medieval Kings of Scots. When James IV, King of Scots made Edinburgh the undisputed capital of Scotland, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, Holyrood Palace or the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and after the Reformation, the palace was further expanded. Today it is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.

David I, King of Scots presented the Holyrood Abbey with a relic of the Holy Cross that had belonged to his mother St. Margaret of Scotland, a granddaughter of Edmund II (Ironside), King of England, who held it on her deathbed.  The relic was placed in a golden reliquary and was known as the Black Rood of Scotland. It was removed from Scotland by King Edward I of England in 1296, along with other Scottish treasures including the Stone of Scone. The Black Rood was returned to Scotland in 1328, however, in 1346, following the Battle of Neville’s Cross during the Second War of Scottish Independence, the Black Rood was taken by the English once again. It remained in Durham Cathedral in Durham, England until the English Protestant Reformation when it was presumably destroyed.

The main west door of the abbey church of Holyrood Abbey with part of Holyrood Palace on the right; Credit – © Howard Flantzer

During the Anglo-Scottish Wars in the reign of King Henry VIII of England, the English sacked the abbey causing great damage to the buildings. In 1559, during the Scottish Reformation, the abbey church suffered much damage when a Protestant mob destroyed the altars and looted the rest of the church. In 1569, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland decided to demolish the east end of the abbey church because of the damage. The abbey church served as the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) parish church for the Canongate section of Edinburgh. Only the nave was retained, all but two of the windows in the nave were blocked up, and the royal tombs were removed to a new royal burial vault in the south aisle.

In 1687, James VII, King of Scots (also James II, King of England) founded the Order of the Thistle and designated the Holyrood abbey church, where a Presbyterian congregation worshipped, to be the chapel of the new order. The abbey church was converted into a Catholic chapel, as James had converted to Roman Catholicism. A new church, the nearby Canongate Kirk, replaced the abbey church as the local Presbyterian parish church. In 1688, the abbey church was ransacked by a mob, furious with King James’ Roman Catholic allegiance. The Order of the Thistle was left without a chapel until the Thistle Chapel was added to the nearby St. Giles’ Cathedral in 1911.

There was some restoration work done on the abbey church in 1758 – 1760 including the rebuilding of the roof but during a storm in 1768 the roof collapsed, leaving the abbey in its current ruins. Restoration of the abbey church has been proposed several times – in 1835 by architect James Gillespie Graham as a meeting place for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and in 1906, as a chapel for the Knights of the Thistle but both proposals were rejected.

The ruins of Holyrood Abbey; Credit – © Susan Flantzer,

Coronations at Holyrood Abbey

Most Scottish coronations took place at Scone Abbey or Stirling Castle.

Royal Weddings at Holyrood Abbey

Royal Burials at Holyrood Abbey

Royal Vault in the ruins of Holyrood Abbey; Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

The royal tombs of Scotland suffered much destruction during the Scottish Reformation. Practically all the tombs and the remains were destroyed. (See Unofficial Royalty Scottish Royal Burial Sites.) The few surviving remains are mainly interred at Holyrood Abbey.

Royals originally interred at the abbey church include:

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. 2021. Holyrood Abbey – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyrood_Abbey> [Accessed 3 April 2021].
  • Historicenvironment.scot. 2021. Holyrood Abbey. [online] Available at: <https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/holyrood-abbey/> [Accessed 3 April 2021].
  • Rct.uk. 2021. Highlights of the Palace of Holyroodhouse – Holyrood Abbey. [online] Available at: <https://www.rct.uk/visit/palace-of-holyroodhouse/highlights-of-the-palace-of-holyroodhouse#/#holyroodabbey> [Accessed 3 April 2021].
  • Sacred-destinations.com. 2021. Holyrood Abbey – Edinburgh, Scotland. [online] Available at: <http://www.sacred-destinations.com/scotland/edinburgh-holyrood-abbey-and-palace> [Accessed 3 April 2021].

Queen Geraldine of the Albanians

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Queen Geraldine of the Albanians photo: Albanian Royal Court

Queen Geraldine of the Albanians, the wife of King Zog I, was born Countess Geraldine Margit Virginia Olga Maria Apponyi de Nagy-Appony on August 6, 1915 in Budapest. Her father, Count Gyula Apponyi de Nagy-Appony was from a prominent family of Hungary’s high upper nobility. Her mother, Gladys Steuart, was the daughter of an American diplomat who had served as Consul in Belgium. Geraldine had two siblings, a sister, Virginia, and a brother, Gyula.

When the Austrian Empire fell, the family moved to Switzerland for several years before returning to Hungary in 1921. Three years later, Geradline’s father died and the family moved to France. She began her education at an English school in Menton, France, before attending a Catholic boarding school near Vienna, graduating in Social Sciences and Finance. She excelled at languages, becoming fluent in French, German, Spanish, English, Hungarian, and Albanian. With little of the family’s fortune remaining, Geraldine took several jobs, including working as a typist and a salesperson in a museum gift shop.

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Geraldine first met her future husband, King Zog I of the Albanians, in December 1937. The King, having seen a photo of her, asked one of his sisters to invite Geraldine to a New Year’s Ball where they were introduced. Quickly smitten, the King proposed within days and Geraldine accepted. The couple married on April 27, 1938 in a civil ceremony at the Royal Palace in Tirana. Despite their religious differences – the King was a Muslim while Geraldine was Catholic – the marriage was blessed by all of the religious leaders, including the Pope who had initially refused.

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The new Queen quickly worked to promote causes in Albania, particularly those focused on helping those in need. She facilitated the building of numerous hospitals and orphanages, including the first maternity hospital in Albania. She also was an outspoken proponent of women’s rights within the country. On April 5, 1939, Geraldine gave birth to the couple’s only child, Crown Prince Leka I. Two days later, Italian forces invaded and took control of Albania, and the royal family went into exile. They settled in France for several years before moving to England for the duration of World War II. Geraldine worked alongside her husband in his efforts to bring peace to Albania and to restore the monarchy. Following the war, they spent several years living in Egypt before returning to France in 1952.  Sometime after King Zog’s death in 1961, Geraldine moved with her son to Spain and then Rhodesia, before settling in South Africa by the early 1980s. During this time, she continued to support the Albanian people in every way she could.

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After over 62 years in exile, the Albanian government changed the law in 2002, allowing the Royal Family to return to the country. In June 2002, Queen Geraldine, her son and his family, returned home to a massive welcome.

Sadly, just five months later, Queen Geraldine of the Albanians died at a military hospital in Tirana on October 22, 2002. Following a ceremonial funeral, she was buried in the Sharra cemetery there. In November 2012, her remains were exhumed and moved to the newly built Royal Mausoleum in Tirana, along with those of her husband, son, and daughter-in-law.

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Albanian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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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.

Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg was born on March 24, 1628, at Herzberg Castle, in Herzberg am Harz, Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. She was the second but the only surviving of the four daughters and the fifth of the eight children of Georg, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1582 – 1641) and Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt (1601 – 1659), daughter of  Ludwig V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Magdalene of Brandenburg.

Sophie Amalie’s parents are ancestors of the British royal family and other European royal families through their sons Ernst August and Georg Wilhelm – the fathers of King George I of Great Britain and his wife Sophia Dorothea of Celle. Sophia Amalie’s youngest brother Ernst August married Sophia of the Palatinate, daughter of Elizabeth Stuart, eldest daughter of King James I of England, and wife of Friedrich V, Elector of the Palatinate. Sophia of the Palatinate was a granddaughter of King James I of England and first cousin of King Charles II of England and King James II of England.

In 1692, Ernst August was appointed Prince-Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg (which eventually became the Electorate of Hanover). Over in Great Britain, due to the lack of heirs in the House of Stuart, and not wanting the throne to go to a Roman Catholic, Parliament passed the 1701 Act of Settlement, giving the British throne to Sophia of the Palatinate, Electress of Hanover and her Protestant descendants. Sophia of the Palatinate died on June 8, 1714. Her son George was now the heir to the British throne. Queen Anne of Great Britain died on August 1, 1714, only 54 days after Sophia died. Sophie Amalie’s nephew, King George I of Great Britain, was only 56th in line to the throne according to primogeniture, but the nearest Protestant according to the 1701 Act of Settlement.

Sophie Amalie had four brothers and three sisters. Her sisters all died young.

Frederik III and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, circa 1643; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie Amalie’s family lived at her birthplace Herzberg Castle until 1636 when her father moved his residence to Hanover. There he built the Leineschloss, a palace by the Leine River, that became the residence of the Hanoverian dukes, electors, and kings. In March 1640, 12-year-old Sophia Amalie was betrothed to 31-year-old Prince Frederik of Denmark, the third but the second surviving of the four sons of Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway and his first wife Anna Katharina of Brandenburg. Frederik had an elder brother Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark who had been elected heir apparent in 1608 (Denmark was an elected monarchy at that time) and was expected to succeed their father. Because of the bride’s young age, the marriage was delayed for three years. On October 1, 1643, at Glücksborg Castle in Glücksborg, Duchy of Schleswig, then a Danish possession, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, Frederik and Sophie Amalie were married.

Sophie Amalie’s five eldest children: left to right: Wilhelmina Ernestina, Anna Sophia, Frederika Amalia holding Frederik, and Christian; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie Amalie and Frederik had eight children including Jørgen who married Queen Anne of Great Britain and had his name anglicized to George and Ulrika Eleonora who married King Karl XI of Sweden.:

Before Frederik’s marriage, his father King Christian IV sought to provide him with a pathway to his future and also to use Frederik to gain influence in the northern German areas of the Holy Roman Empire. Despite being christened a Protestant, Frederik became the administrator of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen and the Prince-Bishopric of Verden. In 1647, Friedrich was appointed governor of the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Sophie Amalie and Frederik lived in the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen and the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein until a sudden event changed their lives. On June 2, 1647, Frederik’s 44-year-old childless elder brother Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark and heir apparent to the Norwegian throne, died and his death opened up the possibility for Frederik to be elected heir apparent to the Danish throne. However, when King Christian IV died less than nine months later, on February 28, 1648, Frederik had not yet been elected heir apparent to the Danish throne. After long deliberations between the Danish Estates and the Rigsraadet (royal council), he was finally elected King of Denmark. King Frederik III and Queen Sophie Amalie were crowned on November 23, 1648, at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Sophie Amalie as Queen of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

As Queen of Denmark, Sophie Amalie became the center of court life. She replaced the old medieval court entertainment with opera and ballet. She enjoyed fashion, parties, theatre, and masquerades, and made the French taste fashionable in Denmark. Sophie Amalie was ambitious, participated in state affairs, with her husband’s blessing of her husband, and influenced policy as his adviser.

From the start of King Frederik III’s reign, Sophie Amalie was involved in the power struggle between the crown and the Danish nobility, symbolized by the Sons-In-Law Party composed of the Danish nobles who married Frederik III’s half-sisters, the daughters of King Christian IV and his morganatic second wife Kirsten Munk. Count Corfitz Ulfeldt, married to Frederik’s half-sister Leonora Christina, Countess of Schleswig-Holstein, was the leading member. There were rumors that Count Corfitz Ulfeldt was associated with a plot to poison Frederik III and Ulfeldt and his wife left Denmark and settled in Sweden. The plot was proven to be false but Ulfeldt agreed to accept the offer of King Karl X Gustav of Sweden to enter his service because he wanted to humiliate King Frederik III. Ulfeldt participated in the Swedish invasion of Denmark in the Danish-Swedish War of 1657 – 1658  and is considered the most notorious traitor in Danish history. He was tried in absentia for high treason, his property was confiscated, and his children were banished. Ulfeldt, who was seriously ill, died in 1664 while on the run. Because of her alleged involvement in the intrigues of her husband Count Corfitz Ulfeldt, Leonora Christina was imprisoned for 22 years as a political prisoner. Only after the death of Sophie Amalie did Leonora Christina gain her freedom.

Sophie Amalie, circa 1670; Credit – Wikipedia

Frederik III, King of Denmark and Norway died at the age of 60, after three days of a painful illness, on February 9, 1670, at Copenhagen Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. During the reign of her son King Christian V, Sophie Amalie remained a player in state affairs despite her son’s dislike of her interference. Sophie Amalie’s relationship with her daughter-in-law Charlotte Amalie was not positive. She refused to give up her position as queen and her precedence as the first lady of the court to her daughter-in-law. King Christian V frequently resorted to moving to another palace with his wife so that Queen Charlotte Amalie and Queen Dowager Sophie Amalie would not be present in the same palace at the same time.

The Death of Queen Sophie Amalie by Kristian Zahrtmann; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie Amalie survived her husband King Frederik II by fifteen years, dying on February 20, 1685, aged 56. They were interred with Frederik’s parents in the crypt of Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial site of the Danish royal family in Roskilde, Denmark. In 1613, a year after the death of his first wife and Frederik’s mother Anna Katharina of Brandenburg, King Christian IV ordered the construction of a new burial chapel because the space inside Roskilde Cathedral for burials was running out. However, the interior of the Christian IV Chapel was not completed until 1866. At that time, the caskets of Christian IV (died 1648), his first wife Anna Katharina of Brandenburg (died 1612), his eldest son and heir apparent Christian who predeceased him (died 1647), his second son who succeeded him as King Frederik III (died 1670); and Frederik III’s wife Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneberg (died 1685) were placed in the completed Christian IV Chapel.

Christian IV Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral: Caskets front row left to right: Anna Katharina, Christian IV,  Christian, Prince-Elect; back row left to right: Sophie Amalie, Frederik III; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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

Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Sophie Amalie af Braunschweig-Lüneburg. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Amalie_af_Braunschweig-L%C3%BCneburg> [Accessed 13 March 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Georg (Braunschweig-Calenberg). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_(Braunschweig-Calenberg)> [Accessed 13 March 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Sophie Amalie von Braunschweig-Calenberg. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Amalie_von_Braunschweig-Calenberg> [Accessed 13 March 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Calenberg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Amalie_of_Brunswick-Calenberg> [Accessed 13 March 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan. Unofficial Royalty. Frederik III, King of Denmark and Norway. [online] Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/frederik-iii-king-of-denmark-and-norway/> [Accessed 13 March 2021].

King Zog I of the Albanians

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

King Zog I of the Albanians; photo: Albanian Royal Court

King Zog I was born Ahmed Muhtar Zogolli on October 8, 1895 at Burgajet Castle in Burrel, the Ottoman Empire, now in Albania. He was the second child and only son of Xhemal Pasha Zogolli and his second wife Sadije Toptani. His father was the Hereditary Governor of Mati (one of Albania’s former districts), a position Zog himself would inherit upon his father’s death in 1908. His mother was from the Toptani family, one of the leading noble families in Ottoman Albania, and one of the largest landowners in the country. Zog had six sisters:

He also had one older half-brother from his father’s first marriage:

  • Xhelal Bey Zogolli (1881) – married 4 times, had issue including a son, Skënder Zogu, born 1933, who would be second in line to the Albanian throne today, following Crown Prince Leka II

The future King was educated at the Galatasaray Lyceum in Istanbul, and succeeded his father as Governor of Mati in 1908. He returned to Albania in 1912, and led a revolt against the Young Turks, and gained fame as a military leader for his victory over invading Montenegrin forces. Later that year, he participated in Albania’s Declaration of Independence and continued to gain attention for his military successes.

Prince Wilhelm of Wied; Prince of Albania. source: Wikipedia

Upon Albania’s independence, the Great Powers created Albania as a Principality, and Prince Wilhelm of Wied was selected as its Prince. However, due to intense in-fighting, Wilhelm would last only six months in Albania before being forced into exile. Zogolli went on to serve with the Austrian-Hungarian forces during World War before returning to Albania and becoming involved in politics. Rising quickly through the ranks, he held numerous positions within the government, including Minister of the Interior, and Chief of the Albanian Military. In 1922, he formally changed his surname from Zogolli to Zogu which sounded more Albanian and would help to gain further support from the Albanian people.

Zogu became Prime Minister of Albania in December 1922 and served until February 25, 1924 – just two days after being shot and wounded in an assassination attempt in Parliament. Several months later, a coup d’etat forced Zog into exile for several months. Returning and restoring the legitimate government in December 1924, formally ending the Principality and declaring Albania a Republic. A month later, he was elected President.

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Just three years later, several Albanian politicians suggested that Albania should become a monarchy once again. A commission was quickly established and on August 30, 1928, the Constitutional Assembly overwhelmingly approved the vote. The Kingdom of Albania was established, and President Zogu was offered the throne. The following day, September 1, 1928, Ahmet Zogu took the oath, becoming King Zog I of the Albanians – the country’s first and only reigning King. One of his first official acts – fully supported by the National Assembly – was to give titles to his mother and sisters. His mother became Her Majesty The Queen Mother of the Albanians, and his sisters were all created Princesses, with the style of Royal Highness.

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On April 27, 1938, the Muslim King Zog married the Catholic Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Appony in a civil ceremony held at the Royal Palace in Tirana.  Despite their different religions, religious leaders, including the Pope, blessed their marriage.  The couple had one son, Crown Prince Leka I, born in April 1939.

On April 7, 1939, just two days after Queen Geraldine gave birth to the couple’s only child, Italian forces invaded Albania. Despite attempts to hold them off, the Albanian military was unsuccessful. The National Assembly quickly voted to allow the King and his family to leave the country, thus allowing him to retain sovereignty in exile. Two days later, on April 9th, King Zog and the entire royal family crossed into Greece. The Italians, under the leadership of Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, took control of Albania, declaring it a Protectorate of Italy under King Vittorio Emanuele III.

With the entire government forced into exile, King  Zog established his base in France, hoping to coordinate support with the Allies. He arrived in Paris on August 8, 1939, and settled at the Chateau de la Maye in Versailles, previously used as a temporary residence by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor just two years earlier.

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However, with German forces approaching, the family fled once again in June 1940 and made their way to England. One of the British officers who helped organize their escape was Commander Ian Fleming, later a successful writer, creating the character of James Bond.

The family initially stayed at the Ritz Hotel in London before settling at Parmoor House in Buckinghamshire. Due to the bombings, however, they continued to move around quite often. While in England, King Zog developed friendships with numerous other royals in exile and continued to work toward Albania’s liberation.

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Another move in 1946 took the family to Egypt, where they lived at the invitation of King Farouk. On a trip to the United States in 1951, King Zog purchased the Knollwood Estate in Muttontown, New York. He intended to settle there in the coming years but never occupied the house.

An attempt to stage a coup d’etat and regain control of Albania was organized in 1954 with the support of British and American intelligence. However, the plans failed when they were revealed to the Soviets by Kim Philby, a British spy working as a double agent. The next year, Zog and his family returned to France, settling in Cannes. By then, his health was deteriorating, and King Zog abandoned his hope of moving to the United States and sold the Knollwood Estate.

The former grave of King Zog I at the Thiais Cemetery near Paris. photo: By Martin Ottmann – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4602279

Following several years of ill health, King Zog I of the Albanians passed away on April 9, 1961, at the Foch Hospital in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, on the outskirts of Paris. He was buried in the Thiais Cemetery in Paris.

photo: Albanian Royal Court

In November 2012, the King’s remains were exhumed and returned to Albania where they were reinterred in the newly rebuilt Royal Mausoleum in Tirana, Albania. At the same time, the remains of Queen Geraldine, Crown Prince Leka I, and Crown Princess Susan were also moved to the new mausoleum.

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Albanian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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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.

Anna Katharina of Brandenburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Anna Katharina of Brandenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

The first wife of Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway, Anna Katharina of Brandenburg was born on June 26, 1575, in Halle, Archbishopric of Magdeburg, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. She was the second of the nine children and the eldest of the two daughters of Joachim Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg and his first wife Katharina of Brandenburg-Küstrin.

Anna Katharina had eight siblings:

Anna Katharina had one much younger half-sister from her father’s second marriage to Princess Eleonore of Prussia:

Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

In the autumn of 1595, eighteen-year-old Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway made a trip through some of the German monarchies. He met twenty-year-old Anna Katharina and decided to marry her. After a life-threatening crossing over the Baltic Sea to Denmark, Anna Katharina and her parents attended Christian’s coronation in Copenhagen in 1596. Christian and Anna Katharina met again in January 1597 and later that year, the marriage contract was signed. The wedding took place on November 27, 1597, at Haderslevhus Castle in Denmark. Anna Katharina was crowned Queen of Denmark on June 11, 1598, at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Anna Katharina with her eldest son Christian who predeceased his father; Credit – Wikipedia

Christian IV and Anna Katharina had six children:

Beate Huitfeldt, a Danish noble who had served as maid of honor to Christian IV’s mother, was appointed as principal lady-in-waiting to Anna Katharina and remained in that position until Anna Katharina’s death. After Anna Katharina died in 1612, Beate Huitfeldt then served as the royal governess of the household of Anna Katharina’s sons. Anna Katharina was praised for her modesty and piety. She often accompanied Christian IV on his trips but had no influence on the politics of Denmark. Christian IV had affairs during his marriage and Anna Katharina was certainly aware of them. Her maid of honor Kirsten Madsdatter gave birth to Christian’s son the day after Anna Katharina gave birth to her last child.

A little more than a year after the birth of her last child, Anna Katharina died on April 8, 1612, at the age of 36, and was buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark. After the Christian IV Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral, was completed, Anna Katharina’s casket was moved to the chapel along with the caskets of her husband King Christian IV (died 1648, the silver-plated casket in the photo below), her eldest son Christian (died 1647) who predeceased his father, her second son who succeeded his father as King Frederik III (died 1670) and Frederik III’s wife Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneberg (died 1685).

Sarcophagus of Anna Katharina of Brandenburg in the foreground – Photo Credit © Susan Flantzer

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

Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Cathrine af Brandenburg. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Cathrine_af_Brandenburg> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Katharina von Brandenburg. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Katharina_von_Brandenburg> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anne Catherine of Brandenburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Catherine_of_Brandenburg> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Frederick,_Elector_of_Brandenburg> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan. 2021. Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway. [online] Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/christian-iv-king-of-denmark-and-norway/> [Accessed 26 February 2021].

Cardinal Jules Mazarin, Favorite of King Louis XIV of France

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Cardinal Mazarin was a favorite of King Louis XIV of France, and perhaps the most influential person in the French court at the time. Having served prominently in the court for several years during the reign of King Louis XIII, he was formally appointed Chief Minister by Queen Anne when she assumed the Regency for her young son, King Louis XIV, and remained in that position until his own death in 1661.

Cardinal Jules Mazarin – source: Wikipedia

Cardinal Jules Mazarin was born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino on July 14, 1602, in Pescina, Italy, the second of seven children of Pietro Mazzarino and Ortensia Bufalini. His father served as Chamberlain for Filippo I Colonna, the Grand Constable of Naples, and his mother came from a prominent noble family in Rome. His siblings were:

  • Geronima (1601) – died in infancy
  • Michele Alessandro (1605) – later Cardinal Michel Mazzarino, unmarried
  • Anna-Maria (1607) – unmarried
  • Laura Margherita (1608) – married Geronimo Martinozzi, had issue. They were the grandparents of Mary of Modena, consort of King James II of England
  • Cléria (1609) – married Pietro Muti, no issue
  • Girolama – 1614 – married Baron Michele Lorenzo Mancini, had issue

After attending the Jesuit College in Rome, Jules traveled to Spain and studied law at the Complutense University in Madrid. After completing his degree in Rome, and serving in a Papal army regiment, he came to the attention of Pope Urban VIII who appointed him to serve as a secretary to a papal diplomat. Quickly developing a keen sense for diplomacy, he traveled extensively between Italy, Spain, and France, hoping to establish peace between the Spanish and French before an impending war. During these travels, Jules came to the attention of Cardinal Richelieu, under whom he would later serve in the French court.

Jules’ diplomatic skills brought about his first success, resulting in the Treaty of Cherasco in 1631, and the following year, he had his first meeting with King Louis XIII and Queen Anne of France. Having proven himself a valuable asset to the Pope, he was given the title of prelate, and papal vice-legate, and by 1634 was appointed nuncio extraordinary to Paris. Over the next few years, he became close to the King and Queen of France and began to gain the trust of Cardinal Richelieu. In 1641, he was formally created a Cardinal, despite never becoming a priest.

Following Richelieu’s death in 1642, Mazarin was one of three primary advisors to King Louis XIII. Upon the King’s death in 1643, he had instructed in his will that Queen Anne not serve as regent for their young son, the new King Louis XIV. However, the Queen had the will annulled, was declared Regent, and named Mazarin as Chief Minister of France.

Jules’ tenure as Chief Minister saw the end of the Thirty Years War, thanks primarily to his diplomatic skills in establishing the Peace of Westphalia (1646-1648), and the expansion of France with the addition of the Alsace region.  After skillfully negotiating a peaceful agreement following several years of rebellion within France, known as The Fronde, Mazarin continued with numerous diplomatic victories. These included establishing a military alliance with England, and creating the League of the Rhine in 1658. He carefully negotiated the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, which resulted in the addition of several new provinces in France, and led to the successful arrangement of a marriage for King Louis XIV to Maria Theresa of Spain.

In addition to his diplomatic skill, Mazarin was a prominent patron of the arts in France. He established the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648 and introduced Italian opera to France. He amassed a large collection of art and jewels, most of which he later bequeathed to the King and the nation.

Cardinal Mazarin died on March 9, 1661 at the Château de Vincennes, just outside of Paris. Several days before his death, in an attempt to silence false rumors that he was taking money from the King, Mazarin published a will in which he left his entire fortune to The King. Louis XIV quickly declined this, and a second will was drafted, in which he left the majority of his fortune to his niece, Hortense Mancini.

The Sancy (center), displayed in the Louvre. photo: By Pavel Rudanovsky – Louvre, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63677557

An avid jewel collector, Mazarin amassed a large collection of priceless gems during his lifetime. Upon his death, he left several to the King, including the famed Sancy and a collection of diamonds known as the ‘Mazarins’.

The Bibliothèque Mazarine. photo: By Marie-Lan Nguyen – Own work, CC BY 2.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10312236

Mazarin also bequeathed a large amount of money to establish the Collège des Quatre-Nations. The college, now the Institut de France, was built just across the Seine River from the Louvre Palace, and his wish was to be entombed in the chapel of the college once it was completed. In addition, he left his extensive library to the new college. Containing nearly 40,000 books, the collection formed the basis for the Bibliothèque Mazarine which still exists today, and was the first public library in France.

Cenotaph of Cardinal Mazarin. photo: Par NonOmnisMoriar — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22344978

Following his death, Mazarin’s were temporarily placed in a vault in the chapel at the Château de Vincennes. In 1684, his remains were moved to the vault beneath the college chapel, and finally to a large marble tomb in the chapel in 1693. The tomb was destroyed during the French Revolution and his remains were thrown into the street. The monument was rebuilt years later, and, after being displayed at several museums, returned to the college chapel in 1964.

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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.