Category Archives: Former Monarchies

Baroness Mary von Vetsera, Mistress of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Baroness Mary von Vetsera; Credit – Wikipedia

Baroness Mary von Vetsera was a mistress of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, the only son of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria. On January 30, 1889, Mary and Rudolf were found dead by suicide pact, at Rudolf’s hunting lodge Mayerling in the Vienna Woods, which this writer has visited.

Marie Alexandrine von Vetsera was born on March 19, 1871, in Vienna, Austria. Known by the English form of her name, Mary, she was the younger of the two daughters and the third of the four children of Albin von Vetsera, a diplomat in foreign service at the Austrian court, originally from Bratislava, Slovakia, and his wife Helene Baltazzi (link in German), daughter of a wealthy Greek banker. In 1870, Mary’s father was made a Baron (Freiherr in German) by Emperor Franz Joseph and his children were entitled to be styled Baron (Freiherr) and Baroness (Freiin, unmarried daughter)

Mary had three siblings:

  • Baron Ladislaus von Vetsera (1865 – 1881), died at age 16 in the Ringtheater fire
  • Baroness Johanna von Vetsera (1868 – 1901), married Graf (Count) Hendrik von Bylandt-Rheyd, had two children
  • Baron Franz Albin von Vetsera (1872 – 1915), married Gräfin (Countess) Margit Mária von Bissingen und Nippenburg, had three children

Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich (right) with Baroness Mary von Vetsera; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s mother Helene made the acquaintance of Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich, niece and confidante of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. It was through Marie that Helene gained access to the Imperial Court. Countess Marie eventually became Mary’s good friend. Helene even suggested to Crown Prince Rudolf that they should have an affair. Rudolf politely declined. Helene hoped her daughter Mary would finally enable the Vetseras to break into the high aristocracy.

In 1881, Rudolf married Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, daughter of King Leopold II of the Belgians and Archduchess Marie-Henriette of Austria. The marriage was happy at first, but shortly after the birth of their daughter in 1883, the relationship between Stéphanie and Rudolf began to deteriorate. Rudolf likely infected Stéphanie with a sexually transmitted disease, causing her to become infertile and unable to provide a male heir for the Austrian throne. Both Stéphanie and Rudolf began affairs with other people in the following years and intermittently spoke of divorce.

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

The affair of Crown Prince Rudolf and Mary was short-lived. On October 14, 1888, Emperor Franz Joseph, Crown Prince Rudolf, and The Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, attended the gala opening of the new Burgtheater in Vienna. The Prince of Wales noticed Mary von Vetsera in the audience and pointed her out to Rudolf. A meeting between Rudolf and Mary was later arranged by Countess Marie Larisch, Empress Elisabeth’s niece and Rudolf’s cousin, who had become Mary’s friend. On November 5, 1888, Countess Marie brought Mary to Rudolf’s rooms at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna and formally introduced them.

Soon many people at the court, including Rudolf’s parents, Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth, and Rudolf’s wife Stéphanie, knew that Rudolf and Mary were having an affair. Rudolf was summoned for a meeting with his father on January 26, 1889. There is no record of the conversation between father and son but court officials reported hearing shouting. It is certainly possible that Rudolf’s affair was a topic of discussion.

Mayerling, Crown Prince Rudolf’s hunting lodge; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 30, 1889, at Mayerling, a hunting lodge in the Vienna Woods that Rudolf had purchased, 30-year-old Rudolf shot 17-year-old Mary and then shot himself in an apparent suicide pact. Rudolf wrote in his farewell letter to his wife Stéphanie: Dear Stéphanie! You are free from my presence and plague; be happy in your way. Be good for the poor little one, who is the only thing left of me.

When the bodies were found, the Austrian security services sealed off the hunting lodge and the surrounding area. An official statement was released saying that Rudolf had died “due to a rupture of an aneurysm of the heart”. It was determined that Mary’s wounds were made by a gunshot at close range. The lethal bullet had penetrated Mary’s upper left skull area and emerged behind the right ear. Mary was right-handed so there were considerable doubts that she fired the gun herself. Eventually, another statement was released stating that Rudolf had first shot Mary in a suicide pact and then sat by her body for several hours before shooting himself. The police closed their investigations quite quickly, in response to Emperor Franz Joseph’s wishes.

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Citizens of Vienna are shocked to read of the death of Crown Prince Rudolf, 31st January 1889

Mary’s body was quietly taken out of Mayerling in the middle of the night and secretly buried in the village cemetery at nearby Heiligenkreuz. Her mother had a crypt built there and Mary’s remains were put into a splendid copper coffin and reinterred on May 16, 1889. In April 1945, near the end of World War II, Mary’s grave was looted by Soviet soldiers. Initially, the damage was repaired only superficially. On July 7, 1959, Mary’s remains were transferred to a new tin coffin and placed on top of the original copper coffin.

Mary’s grave was desecrated once again. Furniture dealer Helmut Flatzelsteiner, who was obsessed with the Mayerling story, stole Mary’s remains with the help of two assistants on July 8, 1991. Flatzelsteiner arranged for a forensic examination at his own expense. He told the forensic examiners that the remains were those of a relative killed one hundred years earlier who may have been shot in the head or stabbed. When Flatzelsteiner approached a journalist to sell both the story and Mary’s remains, the police became involved. Flatzelsteiner confessed and surrendered Mary’s remains which were subjected to further forensic examination.

The forensic examination determined that the remains were those of an approximately 18-year-old woman who had been buried approximately 115 years earlier. The skull had two bullet holes, the bullet’s entry and the bullet’s exit. Gunshot residue was on the hair. The clothing corresponded to Mary’s era and came from the Viennese stores where the Vetsera family shopped. On October 28, 1993, the remains were buried in a new coffin and the burial site was reinforced to prevent another desecration of the grave.

Baroness Mary Vetsera’s current grave in Heilingenkreuz, Austria. Her remains were desecrated twice and were finally reburied here in 1993; Credit – Von Peterpol48 – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35429380

After Rudolf’s death, Emperor Franz Joseph converted the Mayerling hunting lodge into a monastery for the nuns of the Discalced Carmelite Order, an order in which members dedicate themselves to a life of prayer. Prayers are still said daily by the nuns for the repose of Rudolf’s soul. Visitors to the monastery may visit the chapel where the position of the main cross is where Rudolf and Mary’s bed was located. This writer has visited both Mayerling and the Imperial Crypt in Vienna where Rudolf and many other Habsburgs are buried.

Mayerling, now a monastery; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

The altar in the chapel at Mayerling is on the location of Rudolf’s bedroom; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

In 2007, Mary’s original copper coffin was found by accident in the Heiligenkreuz Abbey. It was restored and has been on view in the small museum at the Mayerling monastery.

Mary’s original coffin; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

Inscription on Mary’s original coffin; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

Various Habsburgs have disputed the accepted version of events that occurred on the night of January 30, 1889. In 2013, Archduke Rudolf, the grandson of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, asserted that Crown Prince Rudolf was assassinated by the Freemasons. However, on July 31, 2015, the Austrian National Library released copies of Baroness Mary von Vetsera’s letters of farewell to her mother and other family members. These letters, previously believed to be lost or destroyed, were found in a safe deposit box in an Austrian bank, where they had been deposited in 1926. The letters state clearly that Mary was preparing to die by suicide alongside Rudolf, out of “love”. Mary’s letter to her mother translated into English: Dear Mother, Forgive me for what I did. I could not resist love. In accordance with him, I want to be buried beside him in the cemetery of Alland. I am happier in death than in life. Your Mary

Mary Vetsera’s farewell letter to her mother; 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.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Mary Vetsera. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Vetsera> [Accessed 4 April 2020].
  • DER SPIEGEL, G., 1980. „Bratfisch Hat Wundervoll Gepfiffen“-DER SPIEGEL 16/1980. [online] Spiegel.de. Available at: <https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-14326746.html> [Accessed 4 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Baroness Mary Vetsera. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroness_Mary_Vetsera> [Accessed 4 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Mayerling Incident. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayerling_Incident> [Accessed 4 April 2020].
  • Flantzer, S., 2019. Crown Prince Rudolf Of Austria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/crown-prince-rudolf-of-austria/> [Accessed 4 April 2020].
  • Van Der Kiste, John, 2005. Emperor Francis Joseph; Life, Death And The Fall Of The Habsburg Empire. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing Limited.

Anna Nahowski, Mistress of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Anna Nahowski; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna Nahowski was the mistress of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria from 1875 – 1889. Anna never spoke publicly about the affair during her life. She did keep a diary which was released in 1976 after the death of her daughter Helene. The diary revealed the true nature of the relationship between Anna and Franz Joseph.

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Emperor Franz Joseph in 1875

Anna Nowak was born on June 19, 1860, in Vienna Austria. When she was 14 years old, Anna married silk manufacturer Johann Heuduck, a gambler, and an alcoholic. The couple had one child, Carola Heuduck (1877 – 1946). On May 8, 1875, in the early morning, Anna, the not-quite 15-year-old, was walking in the park of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna with her maid. In Anna’s words from her diary, she met an “officer” who “stared at me in amazement and could not see enough”. “My maid told me, this is the emperor.” Emperor Franz Joseph was 45 years old and had many affairs but mostly short-term ones. Every day during her early morning walk, Anna looked for Franz Joseph and he looked for her. Their first kiss occurred on June 26, 1875, in the rain.

Anna continued coming to the park of Schönbrunn Palace to “kiss” the emperor while Anna’s maid served as a lookout. Their encounters became more and more intense. At one point, Franz Joseph wanted their physical relationship to go further and was insulted when Anna refused. It took three years for them to consummate their relationship.

Schönbrunn Palace; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer.

In 1878, Anna divorced her husband Johann Heuduck who had no idea about her affair with Franz Joseph. From funds given to her by the emperor, Anna deposited a large amount of money in her husband’s bank account. She married again, with Emperor Franz Joseph’s permission, to Franz Nahowski, a railroad official. The money continued to flow and arrangements were made for Anna to move to a villa near Schönbrunn Palace with a secret entrance for Franz Joseph. Anna was told not to wear a bodice when he came and to be “ready in bed”. Nahowski was agreeable with his wife being Franz Joseph’s mistress and with the generous gifts to Anna.

Anna gave birth to three children during her marriage to Franz Nahowski:

  • Anna Nahowski (1883 – 1973)
  • Helene Nahowski (link in German) (1885 – 1976) married composer Alban Berg
  • Franz Joseph Nahowski (1889 – 1942)
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Anna Nahowski in 1885

There were rumors regarding the paternity of all three children. The eldest child, also named Anna, was probably the daughter of Franz Nahowski because she closely resembled him. In 1885, when Anna gave birth to a daughter named Helene, she received 100,000 guldens (worth millions today) from Franz Joseph. In her diary, Anna wrote that Helene did not look like her husband Franz Nahowski. Helene’s photos strongly resembled Franz Joseph as a young man. In Viennese society, it was an open secret that Helene was the daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph.

The paternity of Anna’s son Franz Joseph is more questionable. According to Anna’s diary, her last meeting with the emperor occurred a year before her son was born. However, many believe he was the emperor’s son and Anna’s son himself believed he was the emperor’s son. On August 18, 1930, the hundredth anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph’s birth, the younger Franz Joseph cut off his left little finger with a razor while at the tomb of Franz Joseph in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna. He left the severed finger “as an atonement” on the emperor’s tomb. The younger Franz Joseph was diagnosed with schizophrenia and remained in the mental asylum for a long period. After his release, he retired to the country house of his sister Helene Berg, where he died in her arms in 1942.

Franz Joseph and Anna’s relationship lasted for fourteen years, overlapping Franz Joseph’s long-standing private relationship with actress Katharina Schratt. While Anna’s relationship with Franz Joseph was entirely sexual, the exact nature of Katharina Schratt’s relationship with him is unclear. Some historians believe that Katharina and Franz Joseph were lovers and others believe their relationship was platonic. Franz Joseph, whose wife was emotionally distant from him and fled from him and her duties at court by frequent traveling, needed someone to support him emotionally. Franz Joseph found the 29-year age gap and the lack of common interests between Anna and himself difficult. Although his affair with Anna lasted until 1889, Franz Joseph found Katharina Schratt a more compatible companion, and their relationship continued until he died in 1916.

In 1889, after Franz Joseph’s only son Crown Prince Rudolf killed his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera, and then killed himself, Franz Joseph broke off all contact with Anna. She was summoned to Hofburg Palace in Vienna on March 14, 1889, where she met with Baron von Mayr, General Director of the Habsburg Family Fund. Baron von Mayr informed Anna that she could determine her severance payment “for the fourteen years in the service of the emperor.” She asked for 200,000 guldens (millions of dollars today) and in return, she had to sign the following statement: “I hereby confirm that I received 200,000 guldens as a gift from His Majesty the Emperor today. I also swear that I will remain silent at all times about the relationship with His Majesty.”

Because of the payments from Emperor Franz Joseph, Anna’s children grew up in prosperity.  Anna Nahowski died in Vienna, Austria on March 23, 1931, at the age of 70. She was buried at Hietzing Cemetery (link in German) in Vienna, Austria, adjacent to Schönbrunn Palace. Katharina Schratt was buried in the same cemetery when she died in 1940.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anna Nahowski. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Nahowski> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Helene Berg. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_Berg> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • DER SPIEGEL, G., 1986. „Er Zog Mich Mit Gewalt Nach Meinem Bett“-DER SPIEGEL 45/1986. [online] Spiegel.de. Available at: <https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13520215.html> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anna Nahowski. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Nahowski> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anna Nahowski. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Nahowski> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Redaktion, M., 2015. Helene Berg. [online] Mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de. Available at: <https://mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de/artikel/Helene_Berg.html> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Sternenkaiserin. 2018. Kaiser Franz Joseph Und Die Frauen. [online] Available at: <https://sternenkaiserin.com/tag/uneheliche-kinder-kaiser-franz-joseph/> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Van Der Kiste, John, 2005. Emperor Francis Joseph; Life, Death And The Fall Of The Habsburg Empire. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing Limited.

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.

Jeanne of France, Queen of France, Saint Joan of Valois

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Jeanne of France, Queen of France, Saint Joan of Valois; Credit – Wikipedia

Born April 23, 1464, in Nogent-le-Roi, County of Dreux, now in France, Jeanne of France, Queen of France, known in the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Joan of Valois, was the first of the three wives of King Louis XII of France. She was the third of the three daughters and the fourth of the eight children of King Louis XI of France and his second wife Charlotte of Savoy. Jeanne’s father Louis XI decided to play her marriage card early. On May 19, 1464, shortly after Jeanne’s baptism, she was betrothed to her second cousin, two-year-old Louis of Orléans (the future King Louis XII of France), son of Charles, Duke of Orléans and Maria of Cleves.

Jeanne had seven siblings but her elder sister Anne and her younger brother Charles were her only siblings to survive childhood:

Jeanne’s sister Anne; Credit – Wikipedia

For the first five years of her life, Jeanne lived at the Chateau d’Amboise in Amboise, Indre-et-Loire, France, on the Loire River. She was often ill and probably had a spinal curvature as she had a hump on her back, and walked with a limp. In 1469, Jeanne and her sister Anne were placed in the home of François de Linières, a distant cousin of their father, and his wife Anne de Culan. The couple did not have children and became adoptive parents of the two sisters. In the home of François and his wife Anne, Jeanne and her sister learned reading, writing and mathematics, drawing and painting, embroidery tapestry, and lute playing.

François and his wife Anne were devout Catholics and instilled a deep and solid faith in the two sisters. In 1471, King Louis XI ordered the saying of the prayer Ave Maria (Hail Mary) for peace. Jeanne deeply appreciated this prayer and developed a special affection for the Blessed Virgin Mary. She would later write that during her childhood she received a prophecy from the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Before your death, you will found a religious order in my honor. In doing so, you will give me great pleasure and you will do me a service.”

King Louis XII of France, previously Duke of Orléans; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 8, 1476, twelve-year-old Jeanne married her betrothed, fourteen-year-old Louis, now Duke of Orléans, having succeeded his father in 1465. This marriage became quite political because it could secure the French succession due to the ill health of King Louis XI’s only son and heir, the future King Charles VIII of France. Although his descent from the French ruling line was somewhat distant, Louis was aware of his proximity to the throne should the main Valois line become extinct. Louis, Duke of Orléans was not pleased about marrying his second cousin, whom he considered deformed  The marriage was unhappy, the couple lived apart, and there were no children.

Jeanne’s brother King Charles VIII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

King Louis XI died in 1483, leaving his 13-year-old son to succeed him as King Charles VIII of France. Louis of Orléans was eager to annul his marriage with Jeanne as it now lacked dynastic importance due to the presumption that King Charles VIII would provide his own heirs. Louis’ request to annul his marriage to Jeanne and marry Anne of Brittany, the heiress of the Duchy of Brittany, was declined by the pope. Nevertheless, Louis of Orléans unsuccessfully attempted to join Charles VIII’s sister Anne as one of Charles’ regents in 1484, ending in Anne’s arrest of Louis. During Louis’ captivity, Charles VIII married Anne, Duchess of Brittany by force. Louis was pardoned by Charles VIII in 1491 and joined the king on his failed Italian campaigns.

King Charles VIII died unexpectedly in 1498. Although he and Anne of Brittany had had several children, none survived him, allowing Louis of Orléans’ succession as King Louis XII of France. Eager to gain control of Anne of Brittany’s funds and territories, Louis again attempted to annul his marriage to Jeanne. Unable to prove with any documented evidence his close relation to Jeanne (they were second cousins) or his young age at the time of their marriage, Louis XII claimed that the marriage was unconsummated due to witchcraft and a deformity on Jeanne’s part. Although Jeanne fought admirably to save her reputation, on December 15, 1498, Pope Alexander VI granted the annulment based on Louis and Jeanne having been forced into the marriage by Jeanne’s father. Louis XII married Anne of Brittany and although Anne had nine pregnancies, only two children survived childbirth. After Anne of Brittany’s death, Louis XII married Mary Tudor, the sister of King Henry VIII of England but Louis died three months later.

Annunciation (c. 1472–1475) is thought to be Leonardo da Vinci’s earliest complete work; Credit – Wikipedia

After the annulment ended her marriage, Jeanne was made Duchess of Berry and retired to Bourges, the capital of the Duchy of Berry, saying she would pray for her former husband. Soon, Jeanne confided to her confessor her call to the religious life. She began to make plans for the Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a new enclosed religious order of contemplative nuns in honor of the Annunciation – the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she would conceive a child and become the mother of Jesus.

Jeanne succeeded in founding a new religious order in honor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Rule of Life she wrote for her new community is entitled The Ten Virtues of the Blessed Virgin, the imitation of which she proposed as the goal for the members of the order. The Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was confirmed by Pope Alexander VI. On October 8, 1502, the first five members of the order received the veil. Jeanne took her solemn vows on June 4, 1503, receiving the name Sister Gabriela Maria.

Chapel in the former Convent of the Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bourges, France that holds the empty sarcophagus of Saint Joan of Valois; Credit – http://www.anuncjatki.pl/eng/history.php

Jeanne, aged 40, died on February 4, 1505, in Bourges, Duchy of Berry, now in France, and was buried in the chapel of the convent she founded in Bourges. On May 27, 1562, during the sack of Bourges by the Huguenots, Jeanne’s tomb was desecrated and her remains were burned.  Soon after her death, miracles and healings attributed to her were said to have occurred. The cause for her canonization was begun in 1631 and Pope Benedict XIV beatified her on April 21, 1742. Jeanne was canonized as a saint on May 28, 1950, by Pope Pius XII. Her feast day is February 4. The nuns of the Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary still maintain their way of life in four convents in France and convents in Belgium, Costa Rica, and Poland.

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.

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Anuncjatki.pl. 2020. The Annunciade — The Order Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. [online] Available at: <http://www.anuncjatki.pl/eng/nuns.php> [Accessed 1 June 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Joan Of France, Duchess Of Berry. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_France,_Duchess_of_Berry> [Accessed 1 June 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louis XI Of France. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XI_of_France> [Accessed 1 June 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Order Of The Annunciation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Annunciation_of_the_Blessed_Virgin_Mary> [Accessed 1 June 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Jeanne De France (1464-1505). [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_de_France_(1464-1505)> [Accessed 1 June 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louis XII. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XII> [Accessed 5 June 2020].
  • McMahon, Emily and Flantzer, Susan. 2013. Louis XII, King Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/june-27-daily-featured-royal-date/> [Accessed 1 June 2020].

Gabrielle d’Estrées, Mistress of King Henri IV of France

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Gabrielle d’Estrées.source: Wikipedia

Gabrielle d’Estrées was the mistress of King Henri IV of France from 1591 until her death in 1599. In addition to being his mistress, she was one of his closest confidantes and advisers and was instrumental in the King’s renunciation of Protestantism and conversion to Catholicism.

She was born in 1573 at the Château de Cœuvres in Picardy, France, one of 11 children of Antoine d’Estrées, Marquis de Cœuvres, and his wife Françoise Babou de La Bourdaisière.

Gabrielle was first introduced to King Henri in the fall of 1590, and he was quickly smitten with her. However, she resisted for many months before becoming his mistress the following year. The King was married to Marguerite of Valois, although the marriage was not a close or happy one. On June 8, 1592, in a marriage arranged by Henri – strictly for appearance – Gabrielle was married to Nicolas d’Amerval. She was the Henri’s constant companion, and the two were very publicly affectionate with each other.

King Henri IV of France. source: Wikipedia

Henri found Gabrielle to be quite intelligent and relied heavily on her advice, particularly on the issue of religion. A devout Catholic, Gabrielle encouraged Henri to convert to Catholicism as a way to end the religious wars and appease the Catholic League. He formally converted in July 1593, and was then finally able to be crowned in Chartres Cathedral the following February. He also arranged for Gabrielle’s marriage to be annulled.

Gabrielle and Henri had three children:

Soon after the birth of their first child, Henri formally recognized and legitimized him and made Gabrielle his official mistress. In March 1596, he purchased the Château de Montceaux as a gift for Gabrielle and gave her the title Marquise de Monceaux. The following year, he also created her Duchess de Beaufort, making her a peeress of France and solidifying her position at court. Disliked by many in the French aristocracy, Gabrielle continued to be Henri’s closest confidante and advisor and he used her connections to help ease the religious tensions that persisted at the time. Following the Edict of Nantes in 1598, Gabrielle and Henri’s sister worked to ease the objections of both the Catholics and the Huguenots to allow more religious freedom in France.

Château de Montceaux. source: Wikipedia

In March 1599, King Henri announced his intention to have his marriage to Marguerite of Valois annulled so he could marry Gabrielle. He applied to the Pope for an annulment, and so confident in the expected decision, Henri gave his Coronation Ring to Gabrielle. Sadly, a marriage would not happen. Pregnant at the time, Gabrielle suffered an attack of eclampsia on April 9, 1599, while in Paris. Henri was informed and began his return to Paris from the Château de Fontainebleau the following day. However, it was too late. Gabrielle d’Estrées, Duchess of Beaufort and Marquise of Montceaux, died in Paris on April 10, 1599.

Grief-stricken, King Henri decreed that she be given the funeral of a Queen, and wore all black while he was in mourning, something that had never been done before in the French royal family. Gabrielle’s funeral was held at the Church of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois, with her coffin traveling in a procession that included princes, princesses, and many of the highest nobility of France. Following the funeral, her remains were interred in the Notre-Dame-La Royale church at Maubuisson Abbey on the outskirts of Paris, where her sister was serving as Abbess at the time.

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.

Katharina Schratt, Confidante of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Katharina Schratt; Credit – Wikipedia

In December 1873, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and his wife Empress Elisabeth attended a gala performance of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew at the Stadttheater (link in German) in Vienna, Austria. No one could have foreseen that Katharina Schratt, the actress playing the female lead role, whom Franz Joseph saw for the first time that evening, would become an important person in his life.

Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria in 1885; Credit – Wikipedia

Katharina Schratt had a long-standing private relationship with Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, however, the exact nature of their relationship is unclear. Some believe that Katharina and Franz Joseph were lovers. Others believe that their relationship was platonic and that Franz Joseph, whose wife was emotionally distant from him and fled from him as well as her duties at court by frequent traveling, needed someone to support him emotionally. Franz Joseph had to deal with the violent deaths of relatives. His brother Emperor Maximilian of Mexico was executed by a firing squad, his only son Crown Prince Rudolf killed his mistress and himself, his wife Empress Elisabeth was assassinated by being stabbed, and the assassination in 1914 of his nephew Archduke Franz Ferdinand who had become his heir after his son’s suicide, sparked the beginning of World War I. Certainly, Katharina’s emotional support helped Franz Joseph to deal with all these tragedies. Katharina always maintained the strictest discretion regarding her relationship with Franz Joseph.

Born on September 11, 1853, in Baden bei Wien, Austria, Katharina Schratt was the only daughter and the second of the three children of paper and office supplies merchant Anton Schratt. Katharina’s older brother was Heinrich Schratt (1851-1940) and her younger brother was Rudolf Schratt (1860-1952). Katharina fell in love with the theater at a young age. Her parents tried to dissuade her, even sending her away to a boarding school. Nothing worked and they finally relented and allowed Katharina to attend Eduard Kirschner’s Theater Academy in Vienna.

Embed from Getty Images 

At the age of seventeen, Katharina made her acting debut in her hometown as a guest actress with the Vienna Theater Academy. In 1872, she obtained her first permanent position with the Königliches Hoftheater (link in German) in Berlin‎, Kingdom of Prussia where she achieved much success in a short period. She soon received an offer from the Stadttheater (link in German) in Vienna. Her performances there made her a leading lady on the Viennese stage. In the spring of 1879, Katharina married Hungarian diplomat Baron Miklós Kiss de Ittebe. The couple had a son Anton (1880–1970), and eventually separated but never divorced.

Katharina had a long and distinguished acting career and became one of the most popular actresses of her time in Austria. After appearing on the stage in New York City, she returned to Vienna in 1883 and joined the Burgtheater in Vienna, one of the most important stages in Europe. Katharina remained with the Burgtheater until 1900, when she disagreed with director Paul Schlenther (link in German), terminated her contract, and retired at the age of 47.

Katharina Schratt in her debut at the Burgtheater as Lorle in “Dorf und Stadt” on November 10, 1883; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1883, Katharina was presented to Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth after a performance at the Burgtheater. Further meetings between Katharina and Franz Joseph were arranged by Empress Elizabeth who felt remorse that her constant absence from the court deprived her husband of contact with women. Elisabeth had difficulties with the rigidity of the Austrian court and did not get along with Imperial Family members. Although Franz Joseph loved Elisabeth, she felt emotionally distant from her husband and fled from him as well as her duties at court, by frequent traveling. Elisabeth not only tolerated her husband’s relationship with Katharina but even seemed to encourage it. Except for short periods – a brief time after the assassination of Empress Elisabeth in 1898 and a disagreement between Franz Joseph and Katharina in 1900-1901, the relationship lasted until Franz Joseph died in 1916.

Katharina Schratt, circa 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

Katharina’s relationship with Franz Joseph garnered her a generous lifestyle. Her debts were paid off, she was showered with jewelry and she became the owner of a mansion on Vienna’s Gloriettegasse, near Schönbrunn Palace, and a mansion in the spa town of Bad Ischl. When her husband died in 1909, Katharina inherited the Palais Königswarter (link in German), a three-story palace on Vienna’s Ringstrasse, just across from the Vienna State Opera.

In 1902, Katharina returned to the stage at the Deutsches Volkstheater in Vienna portraying Franz Joseph’s great-great-grandmother Empress Maria Theresa. The journalist Karl Kraus wrote that Katharina portraying an Empress was the “summit of tastelessness”. Franz Joseph and Katharina had always taken care not to disclose their relationship but now she was seen to have left the limits of good taste. Even Franz Joseph was astounded. The play had a short run and Katharina never stepped on the stage again.

Katharina Schratt and Emperor Franz Joseph, circa 1910; Credit – Wikipedia

Katharina was a great support to Franz Joseph during the last years of his life which occurred amid the tumult of the assassination of his heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 and the first two years of World War I. Katharina last saw Franz Joseph two days before his death, which occurred on November 21, 1916, and she knew it would be the last time she would see him alive. Having received a phone call, informing her that Franz Joseph had died, Katharina was shocked to receive an invitation to Schönbrunn Palace from Emperor Karl I, Franz Joseph’s nephew and successor. Karl respected the three decades of his uncle’s close relationship with Katharina. The new emperor led Katharina to Franz Joseph’s deathbed where she laid two white roses on Franz Joseph’s chest.

Katharina Schratt in the silent film Der Ochsenkrieg; Credit – https://www.moviepilot.de/movies/der-ochsenkrieg/bilder/803462

After the death of Franz Joseph, Katharina lived at the Palais Königswarter, the palace she had inherited from her husband. She made one last foray into the world of acting. In 1920, she appeared in the silent film Der Ochsenkrieg (The War of the Oxen) (link in German), a German silent film directed by Franz Osten, made by Bavaria Film at the company’s Munich studios, and based on the 1914 historical novel The War of the Oxen by Ludwig Ganghofer, set against the backdrop of the War of the Oxen in the 1420s.

In the 1930s, Katharina was harassed by journalists wanting her to discuss her relationship with Franz Joseph and by book companies wanting her to write her memoirs. She always replied, “I’m an actress, no writer, and have nothing to say because I’ve never been a Pompadour or a Madame de Maintenon”, referring to two mistresses of French kings. In her later years, Katharina became deeply religious. Every day she visited the tombs of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna.

Katharina Schratt died on April 17, 1940, at the age of 86. She was buried at Hietzing Cemetery (link in German) in Vienna, Austria, adjacent to Schönbrunn Palace.

Grave of Katharina Schratt; Credit – Von Andreas Faessler – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30752834

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. 2020. Katharina Schratt. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_Schratt> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Katharina Schratt. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_Schratt> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
  • Pl.wikipedia.org. 2020. Katharina Schratt. [online] Available at: <https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_Schratt> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Шратт, Катарина. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A8%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%82,_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
  • Van Der Kiste, John, 2005. Emperor Francis Joseph; Life, Death And The Fall Of The Habsburg Empire. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing Limited.

Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, Queen of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Margravine Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach was the wife of Christian VI, King of Denmark and Norway. She was born at Schloss Schönberg in Lauf an der Pegnitz near the Imperial City of Nuremberg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on November 28, 1700. Sophia Magdalene was the ninth of the fourteen children and the fourth of the seven daughters of Margrave Christian Heinrich of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein.

Sophia Magdalene had thirteen siblings but seven did not survive childhood. Several of her siblings lived in Denmark and/or were appointed to Danish positions once Sophia Magdalena’s husband became King of Denmark and Norway.

Sophia Magdalene’s father Christian Heinrich of Brandenburg-Kulmbach was the father of two reigning Margraves of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and a Queen Consort of Denmark and Norway but never ruled as a sovereign himself. His title of Margrave was a nominal title. Because Christian Heinrich had few resources and was in debt, in 1694 he accepted the invitation of his relative, Georg Friedrich II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, to move in with his family at Schloss Schönberg where Sophia Magdelena was born in 1700.

In 1703, Christian Heinrich signed the Contract of Schönberg. Under the terms of this contract, he renounced his succession rights in Anhalt and Bayreuth in favor of Prussia. Friedrich I, King in Prussia then granted Christian Heinrich the use of Schloss Weferlingen (link in German) now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Four-year-old Sophia Magdalene moved to Schloss Weferlingen with her family. When she was eight years old, Sophia Magdalene’s father died at the age of 47, three months before the birth of his last child.

Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Queen of Poland, Electress of Saxony, who raised Sophia Magdalene; Credit – Wikipedia

After her father’s death, Sophia Magdalene was raised at Pretzsch Castle in Pretzsch, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, by Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, the wife of Augustus II, King of Poland, Elector of Saxony and Sophie Magdalene’s distant relative.  Christiane Eberhardine’s husband converted to Catholicism to become King of Poland, however, she remained a staunch Lutheran throughout her life. Besides Sophia Magdalene, Christiane Eberhardine took in several other relatives including Sophia Magdalene’s sister Sophie Caroline and Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel who married Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia. the son and heir of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia.

The future King Christian VI, husband of Sophia Magdalene; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1721, Crown Prince Christian of Denmark and Norway, the son and heir of Frederik IV, King of Denmark and Norway, was traveling throughout Europe seeking a princess to become his wife. At the court of Augustus II, King of Poland, Elector of Saxony, he fell in love with Sophia Magdalene who was serving as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Christiane Eberhardine. Although Sophia Magdalene came from an insignificant, poor family, King Frederik IV of Denmark granted permission for the couple to marry. Christian and Sophie Magdalene were married on August 7, 1721, at Pretzsch Castle in the Electorate of Saxony, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Christian and Sophia Magdalene had one son and two daughters:

Family of Christian VI, 1744, (left to right) Crown Prince Frederik (future Frederik V) King Christian VI; Queen Sophia Magdalene, and Crown Princess Louise (Frederik’s wife); Credit – Wikipedia

Sophia Magdalene’s husband succeeded his father upon his death on October 12, 1730, as Christian VI, King of Denmark and Norway. The coronation of the new King and Queen of Denmark and Norway was held on June 6, 1731, at the Fredensborg Palace Chapel in Fredensborg, Denmark. A new crown was made for Sophia Magdalene because she refused to wear the crown that the despised Queen Anna Sophie, her husband’s stepmother and longtime mistress of King Frederik IV, had worn. The majority of the Danish crown jewels come from Sophia Magdalene’s collection. Sophie Magdalen’s crown and other crown jewels can be seen today at  Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Left: The crown made for Queen Sophia Magdalene; Right: The Crown made for King Christian V, on display at Rosenborg Palace; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

Sophia Magdalene never forgot that she came from a poor family and that more fortunate people helped her family. She was responsible for bringing several family members to Denmark. Sophie Magdalen’s mother, Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein, came to Denmark during her daughter’s first pregnancy in 1723 and remained in Denmark, living at Sorgenfri Palace in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark. When she died in 1737, she was buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark, the burial site of the Danish royal family. Two of the Queen’s brothers became Danish admirals. Her widowed sister Sophie Caroline was brought to the Danish court in 1735. In 1737, Sophia Magdalene founded the Vallø Stift (Noble Vallø Foundation for Unmarried Daughters).  The foundation was headed by an abbess from a princely house and Sophia Magdalene appointed her sister Sophie Caroline as the first abbess.

Hirschholm Palace designed by Lauritz de Thurah for King Christian VI & Queen Sophia Magdalene; Credit – Wikipedia

Christian VI, King of Denmark and Norway died at the age of 46 on August 6, 1746, the day before his 25th wedding anniversary, at Hirschholm Palace located in present-day Hørsholm municipality just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. He was buried in Frederik V’s Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark.

Sophia Magdalene survived her husband by twenty-four years. She lived for the entire reign of her son King Frederik V and was alive for the first four years of the reign of her grandson King Christian VII. Her summers were spent at Hirschholm Palace and the winters at Christiansborg Palace. Queen Sophia Magdalene, aged 69, died at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 27, 1770. At her request, she was buried in a simple ceremony in Frederik V’s Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark.

Tomb of Queen Sophia Magdalene; 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 Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sophie Magdalene Af Danmark. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Magdalene_af_Danmark> [Accessed 1 May 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sophie Magdalene Von Dänemark. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Magdalene_von_D%C3%A4nemark> [Accessed 1 May 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sophie Magdalene Of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Magdalene_of_Brandenburg-Kulmbach> [Accessed 1 May 2020].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sofia Magdalena Av Danmark. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Magdalena_av_Danmark> [Accessed 1 May 2020].

Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow was the first wife of Frederik IV, King of Denmark and Norway, who made two bigamous marriages during Louise’s lifetime. She was born on August 28, 1667, in Güstrow, then in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Louise was the ninth of the eleven children and the sixth of the eight daughters of Gustav Adolf, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Magdalene Sibylle of Holstein-Gottorp. Louise’s father was the last Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Gustav Adolf survived his two sons and upon his death, there was an inheritance dispute that eventually led to the creation of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Louise had eight older siblings and two younger siblings:

Güstrow Castle, Louise’s childhood home; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise grew up at her father’s modest court at Güstrow Castle. Her parents were adherents to Pietism, a movement that originated in the Lutheran Church in the 17th century in Germany that stressed personal piety over religious formality and orthodoxy. Louise met her future husband Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Norway, son of Christian V, King of Denmark and Norway and Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel when he was looking for a wife at German Protestant courts. Frederik was instructed by his father to ask his aunt Anna Sophia of Denmark and Norway, Electress of Saxony for advice. Anna Sophia advised Frederik to marry Louise. Frederik was already partial to Louise and readily agreed. Like Frederik, Louise was a great-great-grandchild of King Frederik II of Denmark and Norway. On December 5, 1695, their wedding took place at Copenhagen Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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

Louise and Frederik had four sons and one daughter. Sadly, three sons died in infancy.

Frederik’s father King Christian V died on August 25, 1699, due to the after-effects of a hunting accident, ten months after he had suffered very severe injuries from being kicked by a deer. Frederik acceded to the Danish throne as King Frederik IV. Frederik and Louise were anointed King and Queen of Denmark and Norway on April 15, 1700, at the Frederiksborg Castle Chapel.

Queen Louise; Credit – Wikipedia

Growing up with parents who strictly adhered to Pietism, it was no surprise that Louise was very religious throughout her life. Her main interest was reading religious books and her 400-book collection, consisting largely of German ascetic writings, went to the Royal Library after her death. As dower properties, Louise owned Hirschholm Palace and the estates Rungstedgård and Ebberødgård, all near Copenhagen. In 1704, Louise built a gunpowder mill that was in operation until 1910.

Louise found it difficult to endure her husband’s infidelities and even worse, his two bigamous marriages. At times, Louise reproached her husband which often led to embarrassing situations at the court. It is suspected that Louise’s deep religiousness was also an escape from her disappointing marriage. Louise took part in the official court life and fulfilled her ceremonial duties. Otherwise, she led a withdrawn and quiet life.

In 1699, King Frederik IV began a relationship with Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg, a lady-in-waiting to his unmarried sister Sophia Hedwig. In 1703, without divorcing his wife Louise, Frederik made a bigamous marriage to Elisabeth. After Elisabeth died in 1704 due to childbirth complications giving birth to a son who lived only nine months, Frederik gave her an elaborate funeral.

After the death of Elisabeth, Frederik began an affair with her lady-in-waiting, Charlotte Helene von Schindel. In 1709, Frederik wanted to again make a bigamous marriage but received strong opposition from the church leaders who told him that the law against bigamy also applied to kings. Charlotte and Frederik had a daughter in 1710 who died in infancy.

After losing interest in Charlotte Helene von Schindel in 1711, Frederik then fell in love with 19-year-old Anna Sophie Reventlow, daughter of Grand-Chancellor Conrad Reventlow who held a position similar to Prime Minister. In 1712, Frederik abducted her from her parents’ home and took her to Skanderborg Castle where they were married bigamously while Louise was still alive.

Queen Louise died on March 15, 1721, aged 53, at Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark.

Tomb of Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow; Photo by Susan Flantzer

After the death of Louise, King Frederik IV and Anna Sophie Reventlow were married in a second formal wedding conducted with great ceremony. Although the marriage was still scandalous, it was not declared morganatic and Anna Sophie was crowned Queen of Denmark and Norway less than a month after Louise’s death. Anna Sophie and King Frederick IV had six children. Three were born before the legal marriage in 1721 but none survived. This was seen by many as divine punishment for their bigamy. The three children born after the 1721 marriage were styled as Prince/Princess of Denmark but none of them survived infancy either. Anna Sophie was hated by Frederik’s two surviving children from his first marriage.

Upon Frederik IV’s death, his son and successor King Christian VI banished Anna Sophie from the court and kept her under house arrest at Clausholm Castle, her family home. When Anna Sophie died in 1743, King Christian VI allowed her to be buried at Roskilde Cathedral but in the Trolle Chapel, on the opposite side of the cathedral, far away from his parents’ tombs – so Louise got some revenge in death.

Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louise Af Mecklenburg-Güstrow. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_af_Mecklenburg-G%C3%BCstrow> [Accessed 29 April 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louise Zu Mecklenburg. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_zu_Mecklenburg> [Accessed 29 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louise Of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_of_Mecklenburg-G%C3%BCstrow> [Accessed 29 April 2020].

Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Queen Charlotte Amalie with one of her children circa 1675; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel was the wife of Christian V, King of Denmark and Norway. During Christian V’s reign, colonies were established in the Caribbean. The islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island were originally a Danish colony, the Danish West Indies.  The city of Charlotte Amalie, on the island of St. Thomas, was named after Christian V’s wife. Denmark sold the islands to the United States in 1917, and now they are known as the United States Virgin Islands, and Charlotte Amalie is the capital.

Born on April 27, 1650, in Kassel, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, now in the German state of Hesse, Charlotte Amalie was the eldest of the seven children and the eldest of the three daughters of Wilhelm VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Hedwig Sophia of Brandenburg.

Charlotte Amalie had six younger siblings:

Charlotte Amalie  circa 1667; Credit – Wikipedia

Unlike many other German royals of the time who were Lutheran, Charlotte Amalie’s parents followed Reformed Christianity, which adhered to the teachings of John Calvin. Charlotte Amalie was a strict adherent to Reformed Christianity her whole life. She was well-educated in French, Italian, geography, history, and philosophy, and was interested in physics and pharmacy.

Charlotte Amalie’s husband King Christian V of Denmark, circa 1675; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 25, 1667, at Nykøbing Castle in Falster, Denmark, 17-year-old Charlotte Amalie married 21-year-old Crown Prince Christian of Denmark, the son of Frederik III, King of Denmark and Norway and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Charlotte Amalie is the only post-Reformation Danish queen who was not Lutheran or did not convert to the Lutheran religion. Because of her strict adherence to Reformed Christianity, the marriage contract stated that she was allowed to keep her religion and that she was allowed to hold services in an enclosed room with her own Reformed minister.

The couple had seven children:

Christian V with his eldest son Frederik and his other sons Christian and Carl; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte Amalie’s husband succeeded his father in 1670 as Christian V, King of Denmark and Norway. Christian was anointed at Frederiksborg Palace Chapel on June 7, 1671, but Charlotte Amalie did not participate because it violated her religious beliefs.

Double portrait of Christian V and Charlotte Amalie; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte Amalie’s relationship with her husband cannot be described as a love affair but rather a mutual, respected friendship. In 1672, King Christian V began a long-term affair with 16-year-old Sophie Amalie Moth. Sophie Amalie, the daughter of King Frederik III’s doctor, Paul Moth, had grown up at court with her siblings, so she and Christian were well acquainted. Christian had five children with Sophie Amalie, whom he publicly acknowledged. In 1677, Sophie Amalie was recognized as Christian’s official mistress and was created Countess of Samsø. Although Christian V’s public adultery caused an embarrassing situation for Charlotte Amalie, she always made the most of her position as queen, both in her public life as well as in her private interactions with her husband.

During her tenure as Queen, Charlotte Amalie worked for the rights of those who practiced Reform Christianity, especially for displaced Huguenots from France who had settled in Denmark. In 1685, Christian V issued orders for a certain degree of religious freedom for religious refugees. In 1689, the first Reformed Church in Denmark was consecrated in Copenhagen, and Charlotte Amalie was instrumental in its planning and funding. The church had a burial crypt, residences for the ministers, and later, two schools. Although Charlotte Amalie was deeply devoted to her faith, her view on religion was a Protestant ecumenical one, and she corresponded with Protestants of different churches.

Charlottenborg Palace by Jacob Coning, 1694; Credit – Wikipedia

King Christian V died in 1699 and was succeeded by his son, King Frederik IV. Charlotte Amalie allowed her daughter-in-law, Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, to take her rightful place as Queen. Charlotte Amalie kept a separate court and during the winter lived at Charlottenborg Palace, which is named after her, and then during the summer, she lived at Nykøbing Castle. She owned several estates and became quite wealthy from their income. In 1703, when her son Frederik IV made a bigamous marriage by marrying his mistress Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg while his wife was still living, Charlotte Amalie was deeply grieved by his behavior but never expressed her great displeasure to her son.

On March 27, 1714, Charlotte Amalie, Queen of Denmark and Norway, aged 63, died of scarlet fever after being ill for six days at Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was buried in a baroque marble tomb designed by Christoph Sturmberg next to King Christian V’s tomb in the nave of Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial place of the Danish royal family, in Roskilde, Denmark.

Tomb of Charlotte Amalie in Roskilde Cathedral; 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. 2020. Charlotte Amalie Af Hessen-Kassel. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Amalie_af_Hessen-Kassel> [Accessed 29 April 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Charlotte Amalie Von Hessen-Kassel. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Amalie_von_Hessen-Kassel> [Accessed 29 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Charlotte Amalie Of Hesse-Kassel. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Amalie_of_Hesse-Kassel> [Accessed 29 April 2020].

Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

NOTE: 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. 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.

Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera; Credit – Wikipedia

Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was born on May 13, 1895, at Schloss Ebersdorf (link in German) in Ebersdorf, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Saalburg-Ebersdorf in Thuringia, Germany. He was the youngest of the five children and the youngest of the three sons of Heinrich XXVII, 5th and the last reigning Prince Reuss of Gera and Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Heinrich XLV had four elder siblings:

  • Princess Viktoria Feodora Reuss of Gera (link in German) (1889 – 1918) married Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; Viktoria Feodora died in childbirth a day after giving birth to her only child, a daughter Woizlawa Feodora
  • Princess Luise Adelheid Reuss of Gera (1890 – 1951), unmarried
  • Prince Heinrich XL Reuss of Gera (born and died 1891)
  • Prince Heinrich XLIII Reuss of Gera (1893 – 1912), died at age 18

Sitting: Heinrich XLIII & Elise, Princess Reuss of Gera; Standing: Heinrich XLV & Viktoria Feodora; Credit – Wikipedia

Heinrich XLV attended the Rutheneum-Gymnasium (since 1949 the Goethe-Gymnasium), founded in 1608, the oldest high school in Gera, then the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in the German state of Thuringia. In the German education system, a Gymnasium is the most advanced of the three types of German secondary schools. He also attended the Vitzthum-Gymnasium in Dresden, then in the Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony.

Heinrich XLV was the only surviving son of his parents. The eldest son Heinrich XL died shortly after his birth in 1891 and the second son Heinrich XLIII died in 1912 at the age of 18. In 1913, when his father succeeded to the throne of the Principality of Reuss-Gera, Heinrich XLV became the Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera. During World War I, Heinrich XLV served as a first lieutenant in the Imperial German Army. After World War I, Heinrich XLV studied literature, musicology, and philosophy at universities in Leipzig, Marburg, Munich, and Kiel.

Heinrich XXVII, 5th Prince Reuss of Gera, Elise, Princess Reuss of Gera and their son Heinrich XLV; Credit – WIkipedia

On November 11, 1918, following the German defeat in World War I, Heinrich XLV’s father, Heinrich XXVII, abdicated his position as 5th Prince Reuss of Gera. The new government of Reuss-Gera made an agreement with Heinrich XXVII that granted him some castles and land. After his abdication, Heinrich XXVII continued to live with his family at Schloss Osterstein (link in German) in Gera. When Heinrich XXIV, the 6th and last Prince Reuss of Greiz died in 1927, the House of Reuss-Greiz became extinct and any claims to titles passed to Heinrich XXVII. When Heinrich XXVII, the 5th and last Prince Reuss of Gera died on November 21, 1928, Heinrich XLV became Head of the House of Reuss.

Heinrich XLV was a lover of theater and worked in the theater as a director, author, and consultant. In 1923, he became head of the dramaturgy at the Reussian Theatre (link in German) in Gera. In 1931, with Hans Oppenheim, he founded the Deutsche Musikbühne, a touring opera company. Hans Oppenheim was forced out of the opera company in 1933 because of his Jewish origins and immigrated to the United States. Heinrich XLV gave up his position in 1934.

Because Heinrich XLV was unmarried and had no heirs, he adopted Prince Heinrich I Reuss of Köstritz for inheritance reasons but not for succession rights as the Head of the House of Reuss. Prince Heinrich I Reuss of Köstritz married Duchess Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the daughter of Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Viktoria Feodora Reuss of Gera, the sister of Heinrich XLV. Viktoria Feodora had died delivering Woizlawa Feodora, her only child. Woizlawa Feodora was the only niece or nephew of Heinrich XLV and so Heinrich XLV’s private assests would remain in the family.

Heinrich XLV became a Nazi sympathizer and member of the Nazi Party. After World War II, the area that included the property and assets of Heinrich XLV was in the area of Germany which was controlled by the Soviet Union. It eventually became part of East Germany. In August 1945, Heinrich XLV was arrested at Schloss Ebersdorf 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 was transformed into one of the post–World War II internment camps in the Soviet-occupied parts of Germany. However, Heinrich XLV’s name is not on any of the internment camps’ lists of the dead. He was legally pronounced dead on January 5, 1962, by a court in Büdingen, West Germany, retroactive to December 31, 1953.

Heinrich XLV’s entire personal fortune was seized and confiscated in 1948 by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany, including Schloss Ebersdorf, Schloss Thallwitz, Schloss Osterstein and Jagdschloss Waidmannsheil (all links in German) as well as other property in Gera and works of art. After the German reunification in 1990, Heinrich XLV’s niece Woizlawa Feodora, as her husband’s heir, sued for restitution based on the fact that her late husband was of British nationality, as well as German, and his property should not have been confiscated under occupation law. A legal restitution claim for movable assets (works of art) was passed by the Bundestag (the German legislature) and many works of art in museums were returned to Woizlawa Feodora. In another settlement, Woizlawa Feodora received two castles and some forest property. Woizlawa Feodora lived to be 100 years old, dying in 2019.

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.

Reuss-Gera Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Heinrich XLV. (Reuß Jüngere Linie). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XLV._(Reu%C3%9F_j%C3%BCngere_Linie)> [Accessed 24 March 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Feodora Reuß Jüngere Linie. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feodora_zu_Reu%C3%9F> [Accessed 24 March 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Duchess Woizlawa Feodora Of Mecklenburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchess_Woizlawa_Feodora_of_Mecklenburg> [Accessed 24 March 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss Younger Line. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XLV,_Hereditary_Prince_Reuss_Younger_Line> [Accessed 24 March 2020].

Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Princess Reuss of Gera

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Princess Reuss of Gera; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was the wife of Heinrich XXVII, 5th and the last reigning Prince Reuss of Gera. Elise Victoria Feodora Sophie Adelheid was born on September 4, 1864, in Langenburg, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. She was the second of the three children and the elder of the two daughters of Hermann, 6th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Leopoldine of Baden. Elise’s paternal grandmother was Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and two of Elise’s names reflect that family connection.

Elise had two siblings:

  • Ernst, 7th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1863 – 1950), married Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (granddaughter of Queen Victoria via her son Prince Alfred), had three daughters and two sons; their son Gottfried married Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
  • Princess Feodora Viktoria Alberta of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1866 – 1932), married Emich, 5th Prince of Leiningen (grandson of Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen, half-brother of Queen Victoria), had four sons and one daughter; their son Karl married Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna of Russia, daughter of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia and Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (granddaughter of Queen Victoria via her son Prince Alfred)

Since 1806, the Princes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg were no longer reigning princes. The Principality of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was mediatized, annexed to another state while allowing certain rights to its former sovereign such as retaining titles, to the Kingdom of Württemberg in 1806. Württemberg was a County, a Duchy, and an Electorate before being recognized as Kingdom in 1806 by Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, in exchange for contributing forces to France’s armies. Between 1803 and 1806, the final years of the Holy Roman Empire, the vast majority of the states of the Holy Roman Empire were mediatized. These states lost their imperial rights and became part of other states. The number of states was reduced from about three hundred to just thirty-nine.

Heinrich XXVII Reuss of Gera and Elise, 1884; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 11, 1884 in Langenburg, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany Elise married Heinrich XXVII, the future 5th Prince Reuss of Gera, son of Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera and Duchess Agnes of Württemberg.

Heinrich XXVII and Elise had five children:

Elise with three of her children, before 1912; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1902, Elise’s father-in-law Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera became the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. Heinrich XXIV, 6th and last Prince Reuss of Greiz succeeded his father in 1902 but was unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Heinrich XIV was the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz until his death in 1913.

Elise with her husband Heinrich XXVII, circa 1910; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon the death of his father on March 29, 1913, Elise’s husband Heinrich XXVII became the 5th Prince Reuss of Gera and the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. His reign was only five years long. After the German defeat in World War I, on November 11, 1918, Heinrich XXVII abdicated his position as 5th Prince Reuss of Gera and as Regent abdicated for the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz. The new government of Reuss-Gera made an agreement with Heinrich XXVII that granted him some castles and land. The territory encompassing the Principality of Reuss-Gera is now located within the German state of Thuringia.

After his abdication, Heinrich XXVII and his wife Elise continued to live at Schloss Osterstein (link in German) in Gera. When the disabled Heinrich XXIV, the 6th and last Prince Reuss of Greiz died in 1927, the House of Reuss-Greiz became extinct and any claims to titles passed to Heinrich XXVII. Heinrich XXVII, the 5th and last Prince Reuss of Gera died at the age of 70 on November 21, 1928, at Schloss Osterstein in Gera, Germany. Elise survived her husband by only four months, dying on March 18, 1929, aged 64, at Schloss Osterstein in Gera, Germany. Elise and her husband were buried in the family cemetery in the Park of Schloss Ebersdorf (link in German), now in Saalburg-Ebersdorf in Thuringia, Germany.

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

Reuss-Gera Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. German Mediatisation. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_mediatisation> [Accessed 23 March 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Hohenlohe-Langenburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenlohe-Langenburg> [Accessed 23 March 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Princess Elise Of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Elise_of_Hohenlohe-Langenburg> [Accessed 23 March 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan., 2020. Heinrich XXVII, 5th Prince Reuss Of Gera. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/heinrich-xxvii-5th-prince-reuss-of-gera/> [Accessed 23 March 2020].