Category Archives: Royal Deaths and Illnesses

Assassination of King Henri IV of France (1610)

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On May 14, 1610, while his carriage was stopped on a Paris street, 56-year-old King Henri IV of France was stabbed to death by Catholic zealot François Ravaillac.

King Henri IV of France

King Henri IV of France; Credit – Wikipedia

King Henri IV of France was the first French king of the House of Bourbon. Born in 1553, in Pau, Kingdom of Navarre, now in France, Henri was the son of Queen Jeanne III of Navarre and Antoine de Bourbon, Duke de Vendôme. Although he was baptized in the Catholic Church, Henri was raised as a Protestant. His mother Queen Jeanne III of Navarre became a Calvinist Protestant, also known in France as French Huguenots, while Henri was a boy. She then became a spiritual and political leader of the French Huguenot movement.

Upon his mother’s death in 1572, Henri took the throne as King Henri III of Navarre. Two months later, he married Marguerite of Valois, the daughter of King Henri II of France. As Henri was a Protestant French Huguenot, he was not permitted inside Notre Dame Cathedral so the ceremony was held just outside the building. Days later, the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre took place, in which thousands of Protestant French Huguenots were killed. Henri narrowly escaped death, mostly thanks to his new Catholic wife, and his promise to convert to Catholicism.

In 1584, Henri became the heir-presumptive to the French throne, as the last heir to King Henri III of France had died. Henri was the senior agnatic descendant of King Louis IX, and therefore the rightful heir. King Henri III of France was assassinated on August 2, 1589, and King Henri III of Navarre, as the heir-presumptive, became King Henri IV of France. After several years of issues with French Catholic nobles who refused to recognize him as their new king and with the encouragement of his mistress Gabrielle d’Estrées, Henri once again renounced his religion and converted to Catholicism. This gained him the support of the French people and he was finally able to rule his kingdom.

In a loveless and childless marriage, and knowing that he needed an heir, Henri began negotiations to end his first marriage to Marguerite of Valois. In 1600, Henri married Marie de’ Medici, from the wealthy House of Medici that came to prominence in the 15th century, as founders of the Medici Bank in Florence, Tuscany, now in Italy. Henri and Marie had six children including King Louis XIII of France, Elisabeth who married King Felipe IV of Spain, Christine Marie who married Vittorio Amedeo I, Duke of Savoy (ancestors of the Kings of Italy), and Henrietta Maria who married King Charles I of England.

For more information, see Unofficial Royalty: King Henri IV of France.

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Roots of the Assassination

Despite Henri’s conversion to Roman Catholicism, along with his quote, “Paris is well worth a Mass,” hard-core Catholic zealots were not convinced of his sincerity. There were eighteen documented cases of attempted assassination or conspiracy to commit an assassination against Henri. In 1598, Henri issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted toleration to the French Huguenots. While Roman Catholicism remained the state religion, Huguenots were granted the reinstatement of their civil rights, including the right to work in any field or for the state and to bring grievances directly to the king. The Edict of Nantes restored peace and internal unity to France but pleased neither Catholics nor Protestants. Catholics rejected the recognition of Protestantism as a permanent element in French society. They still hoped to return to religious uniformity when Roman Catholicism was the only religion. Protestants wanted parity with Catholics in all matters.

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The Assassin

François Ravaillac; Credit – Wikipedia

François Ravaillac was born circa 1577-1589 in Angoulême, France. He was the youngest son of Jean Ravaillac, secretary-clerk of the mayor of Angoulême, and Françoise Dubreuil. His maternal uncles, Julien and Nicolas Dubreuil, were priests at Saint-Pierre Cathedral of Angoulême and taught François reading and writing and instilled in him hatred of the Huguenots.

François worked eleven years as a valet and clerk of the Maître du Port des Rosiers, a lawyer of the court of justice for Angoulême. He then became a courier for the Angoulême prosecutor. Because Angoulême fell under the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Paris, François was frequently in the city. Around 1602, he moved to Paris where he served as the correspondent for the Angoulême prosecutor for four years.

François became obsessed with religion. In 1606, he entered the strict Order of the Feuillants as a lay brother but was dismissed after a short period because of his unusual mystical visions. He then applied to the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) but his application was rejected. To make ends meet, François became a school teacher, teaching catechism (religious instruction).

In 1609, François claimed to have had a vision instructing him to convince King Henri IV to convert the Huguenots to Catholicism. Between the spring of 1609 and the spring of 1610, François made three unsuccessful three trips to Paris to tell King Henri IV of his vision.

François then interpreted Henri IV’s decision to intervene militarily in the War of the Jülich Succession on the side of the Protestant forces against the Catholic Habsburg forces as the beginning of a war against the Pope. To François, this was an act against God and so he decided to kill King Henri IV of France.

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The Assassination

The assassination of Henri IV and arrest of Ravaillac on May 14, 1610, oil on canvas by Charles-Gustave Housez (1860); Credit – Wikipedia

The coronation of Henri’s second wife Marie de’ Medici was planned after their marriage in 1600 but it was postponed for financial reasons. Because of his imminent departure to fight in the War of the Jülich Succession, Henri decided to have a coronation for his wife to give her greater legitimacy in case it became necessary for her to be regent in his absence. The coronation of Queen Marie took place on May 13, 1610, at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris. After the coronation, Henri returned to the Louvre Palace in Paris to find the doctor and astrologer of his cousin Charles de Bourbon, Count of Soissons waiting to warn him about the next day. Henri refused to see him. He had a busy next few days. On May 14, Henri planned to work on the last details of his military expedition. He planned to relax and go hunting on May 15. Queen Marie’s solemn entry into Paris after her coronation was planned for May 16 and on May 17, Henri planned to join his army as they began to fight in the War of the Jülich Succession.

In the late afternoon of May 14, 1610, Henri IV left the Louvre Palace to meet with Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, one of his closest advisers, who was ill at his home. Since Sully’s home was nearby, Henri decided it was unnecessary to be escorted by the Horse Guard. Instead, the king was accompanied by an escort of a few soldiers. Riding in the carriage with Henri were Jean-Louis de Nogaret, Duke of Épernon and Hercule de Rohan, Duke of Montbazon.

François Ravaillac had stolen a knife from an inn and followed Henri’s carriage as it left the Louvre Palace. François caught up with Henri’s carriage in the Rue de la Ferronnerie, a narrow street in today’s Les Halles district, not far from the Louvre. A hay cart and a cart loaded with barrels of wine had difficulty moving and caused congestion. Henri lifted up the leather curtain of his carriage to see what was causing the delay. The footmen standing on Henri’s carriage’s step moved away to disperse the crowd that had recognized the king.

François took advantage of the situation and rushed at the carriage, stabbing three times. The first blow hit Henri’s armpit and did not cause much damage. However, the second blow was fatal, cutting Henri’s vena cava and aorta, the main blood vessels in and out of the heart. The last blow cut the Duke of Montbazon’s sleeve. Henri’s carriage raced back to the Louvre Palace where he soon died. Henri’s death left his wife Queen Marie with six children, aged one to eight. Henri was succeeded by his eldest son, the eight-year-old King Louis XII, with Queen Marie serving as Regent.

The commemorative plaque embedded in the pavement of the Rue de la Ferronnerie in Paris, marking the site of the assassination of Henri IV; Credit – Wikipedia

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What happened to François Ravaillac?

The execution of François Ravaillac; Credit – Wikipedia

Having done what he set out to do, François Ravaillac did not flee. The Duke of Épernon intervened to prevent François from being lynched by the crowd. François was brought to the Hôtel de Retz where he stayed for two days. The next day he was taken to the Hotel du Duc d’Épernon before being taken into custody at the Conciergerie prison.

François was tortured to make him identify accomplices but he denied that he had any and insisted that he acted alone. He said to his interrogators, “I know very well he is dead; I saw the blood on my knife and the place where I hit him. But I have no regrets at all about dying because I’ve done what I came to do.” At the end of a ten-day trial by the Parliament of Paris, it was determined that the assassination of King Henri IV was the isolated act of a Catholic fanatic and François Ravaillac was sentenced to death.

On May 27, 1610, François Ravaillac was brought from the Conciergerie the short distance to the square in front of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral where he did his penance with bare feet, in his shirt, holding a candle in his hand. François then climbed into a garbage cart which took him to the Place de Grève (the current Place de l’Hotel-de-Ville) where on a small scaffold the tortures of the executioner Jean Guillaume and his assistants lasted for hours.

François Ravaillac’s right hand, which held the knife that had killed King Henri IV, was burned off with sulfur fire. Molten lead, boiling oil, pitch, hot resin, wax, and sulfur were melted and poured over his body. A horse was attached to each of his arms and legs. When the horses pulled, his body was dismembered. The remains of his body were thrown into the fire, reduced to ashes, and thrown to the wind.

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The Funeral and Burial of King Henri IV of France

King Henri IV laying in state in the State Bedchamber in the Louvre Palace, engraving after François Quesnel; Credit – Wikipedia

King Henri IV’s remains were autopsied on May 15, 1610. His heart was placed in a silver urn, and in keeping with a promise made some years earlier, it was entombed at the Church of Saint Louis of La Flèche in the province of Maine, France. The funeral ceremonies were elaborate and lasted until the burial on July 1, 1510. Henri’s body was embalmed and then placed on a bier in the Chambre de Parade du Roi (State Bedchamber) in the Louvre Palace. One hundred low masses and six high masses were said there each day.

On June 10, 1610, Henri’s casket was taken to the Salle des Caryatides (Cariatides Room) in the Louvre Palace. An effigy was constructed out of wicker with a wax face molded from the face of the king, wearing coronation dress and the royal crown. Twice a day, servants pretended to serve him a meal, a traditional ritual symbolizing the continuity of the royal dignity beyond the death of the King.

The effigy was removed on June 21, 1510. Funeral orations were heard in all the parishes of the kingdom, followed by a week of tributes to King Henri IV by the various government officials including a blessing from eight-year-old King Louis XIII. On June 29, 1510, Henri’s casket was taken to Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral where several ceremonies were held, including the funeral mass on June 30, 1510.

After the funeral, Henri’s casket was brought to the traditional burial site of the French royal family, the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The casket was placed in a chapel with the effigy awaiting burial the next day. Henri’s tomb was destroyed during the French Revolution but there is a memorial to him at the Basilica of Saint-Denis.

Memorial to Henri IV at the Basilica of Saint-Denis; Credit – Wikipedia

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Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. (2020). François Ravaillac. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Ravaillac [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].
En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Henry IV of France. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV_of_France [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].
Fr.wikipedia.org. (2020). Assassinat d’Henri IV. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassinat_d%27Henri_IV [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].
Fr.wikipedia.org. (2020). François Ravaillac. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Ravaillac [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].
Fr.wikipedia.org. (2020). Henri IV (roi de France). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_IV_(roi_de_France) [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].
Mehl, Scott. (2016). King Henri IV of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henri-iv-of-france/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].

Assassination of George I, King of the Hellenes (1913)

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On March 18, 1913, King George I of the Hellenes was shot and killed while out walking in Thessaloniki, Greece. His assassin, Alexandros Schinas, died six weeks later under somewhat mysterious circumstances.

King George I of the Hellenes. source: Wikipedia

King George I of the Hellenes

King George I was born Prince Christian Vilhelm Ferdinand Adolf Georg, a younger son of the future King Christian IX of Denmark. His siblings included King Frederik VIII of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia.

In 1863, at just 17 years old, he was elected unanimously by the Greek National Assembly as King of the Hellenes, replacing King Otto who had been deposed to the previous year. Taking the name George I of the Hellenes, he was enthroned in Denmark on June 6, 1863, and arrived in Greece in October of that year. He married Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia and the couple had eight children. King George I went on to reign for nearly 50 years and was much loved by the Greek people.

For more information, see Unofficial Royalty: King George I of the Hellenes

The Assassin – Alexandros Schinas

Not much is known about Alexandros Schinas’s life before the King’s assassination. Born in Greece, it was reported that he had left the country and moved to New York City for several years. Shinas stated that he had been deported from Thessaloniki because he was “a good Greek patriot” in 1910. However, in a later interview, he stated that he had sought financial assistance from the palace in 1911 and been turned away, suggesting that he had remained in Greece. What is known is that by 1913 he was back in Greece, and told authorities that he had contracted tuberculosis and had suffered from fits of delirium.

For more information, see Wikipedia: Alexandros Schinas

The Assassination

A depiction of the King’s assassination. source: Wikipedia

Thessaloniki – Greece’s second-largest city – had been under the Ottoman Empire until the Greeks successfully took the city on November 9, 1912, during the First Balkan War. Several days later, King George I, accompanied by his son Crown Prince Constantine, rode through the streets in triumph.

By March 1913, King George I was approaching his 50th year on the Greek throne and was planning to step down in favor of his son, Crown Prince Constantine, in October of that year. On March 18, the King went for an afternoon walk through the streets of Thessaloniki. As he was known to do, he went out with just an aide-de-camp and very little security protection. That day, it would prove to be a fatal choice. Various reports exist of exactly what happened – some state that Schinas was lying in wait and leaped out from hiding to shoot the King. Others, including Schinas’s interviews with authorities, state that he wandered from a nearby cafe, happened to see King George I and in a fit of delirium, pulled his gun and fired. Either way, the result was the same. The bullet entered the king’s back, piercing his heart and lungs, and exited through his abdomen. The king collapsed and was quickly put into a carriage and taken to the hospital but died before arriving.

What happened to King George?

Tomb of King George I. photo by Kostisl – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25375493

The King collapsed following the attack and died in the carriage before arriving at the nearby hospital. His family traveled to Salonika, where the king’s body lay for a week. On March 25, a grand procession took place with the King’s coffin being borne on a gun carriage and accompanied by the rest of the Greek royal family, making its way to the Royal Yacht Amphitrite and sailing for Athens.

In Athens, the King lay in state for three days in the Metropolitan Cathedral followed by a lavish state funeral. The coffin was then interred in the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace, the summer home of the Greek Royal Family.

What happened to the assassin?

Alexandros Schinas in custody. source: Wikipedia

Alexandros Schinas made no attempt to flee after shooting King George I and was quickly subdued and taken into custody. In an interrogation, he claimed that he had no prior plans to kill the King, but stated that he was delirious due to his tuberculosis. He stated that he simply saw the King walking just behind him, and pulled his gun, and fired. However, it was also widely reported that he held some animosity toward the King, having been turned away when seeking financial assistance at the palace.

Six weeks later, on May 6, 1913, Schinas died after falling from a window in the Magistrate’s office. The guards claimed that he jumped, while others claimed that he was thrown from the window.

Assassination of Willem I the Silent, Prince of Orange (1584)

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On July 10, 1584, 51-year-old Willem I the Silent, Prince of Orange was shot and killed by Balthasar Gérard, who acted on King Philip II of Spain’s offer of 25,000 crowns to anyone who killed Willem.

Willem I the Silent, Prince of Orange

Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

In the Netherlands, Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange is known as the Vader des Vaderlands (Father of the Fatherland), and the Dutch national anthem, the Wilhelmus, was written in his honor. He got his nickname “the Silent” (in Dutch De Zwijger) not because he was quiet, but because of his habit of holding his tongue in difficult situations. Willem is the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau and the ancestor of the Dutch monarchs, the British monarchs from King George I forward, and other European royal families.

Born in 1533, Willem was the eldest of the twelve children of Willem, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg and his second wife Juliana of Stolberg-Wernigerode. Willem was being raised as a Lutheran but when he was eleven years old, his childless cousin René of Châlon, Prince of Orange died and left the Principality of Orange to Willem. Willem would receive land in present-day France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. However, Charles V, Lord of the Netherlands and Holy Roman Emperor attached the condition that eleven-year-old Willem would convert to Roman Catholicism and receive a Catholic education. Because of the immense inheritance, Willem would receive, his parents agreed.

As a young man, Willem served at the court of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in Brussels and became a confidant of Charles. When Charles V abdicated, his younger brother Ferdinand became the Holy Roman Emperor and received Charles’ Austrian lands. The Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands and Italy, was inherited by Charles’s son King Philip II of Spain.

In 1559, Philip appointed Willem Stadtholder (governor) of the provinces of Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht (all in the present-day Netherlands), greatly increasing his political power. Willem had been brought up as a Lutheran but had converted to Roman Catholicism. However, he was a strong proponent of freedom of religion and was increasingly disturbed by the persecution of Protestants by the Catholic Spaniards in the Netherlands. In addition, Willem wanted to see the end of Spanish troops in the Netherlands.

In 1568 the Netherlands, led by Willem, revolted against Philip II. This disagreement eventually caused the Eighty Years War resulting in the independence of the northern United Provinces in 1581. The United Provinces, also known as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation of seven provinces, now in the present-day Netherlands, which had their own governments and were very independent.

For more information, see Unofficial Royalty: Willem I the Silent, Prince of Orange

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Roots of the Assassination

Philip II berating William the Silent, by Cornelis Kruseman; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1573, Willem left the Roman Catholic Church and became a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, a Calvinist reformed religion that followed the practices of John Calvin. Philip II declared him an outlaw in 1580, and called Willem “a pest on the whole of Christianity and the enemy of the human race.” Philip offered 25,000 crowns to anyone who killed Willem. Willem responded with a document, Apology, which defended his actions, attacked Philip II, and restated his allegiance to the Protestant reform religion.

On March 18, 1582, Juan de Jáuregui, a Spaniard, attempted to assassinate Willem. Willem was severely wounded but survived due to the care of his third wife Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier and his sister Maria. Unfortunately, while William slowly recovered, Charlotte became exhausted from providing intensive care and died.

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The Assassin

Balthasar Gérard; Credit – Wikipedia

Balthasar Gérard was born circa 1557 in Vuillafans, Franche-Comté, in eastern France. He was the ninth of eleven children from a strict Roman Catholic family. The struggle between the Catholics and the Protestants in those years did not affect Franche-Comté but it aroused Gérard’s anger. He firmly believed in the cause of the Catholic Church and King Philip II of Spain and regarded Willem the Silent as a traitor. Gérard studied law at the University of Dole. He then worked in Dole as a clerk at the Registry of the Court and as secretary to Count Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort, Governor of Luxembourg.

When Gérard heard of King Philip’s offer of 25,000 crowns to kill Willem the Silent, he decided he would be the one to kill Willem. He served in the army of his former employer Count Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort, for two years, hoping to get close to Willem when the armies met. This never happened, and Gérard left the army in 1584. He then went to the Duke of Parma to present his plans for the assassination but the Duke was unimpressed. In May 1584, Gérard presented himself to Willem as François Guyon, a Protestant nobleman who had fled from France and wanted to join Willem. Gérard showed Willem forged letters with the seal of Count Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort and gained Willem’s trust.

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The Assassination

Site of the assassination, bullet holes are still in the wall; Credit – Door Looi uit nl, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2287221

On Sunday, July 8, 1584, Gérard loitered in the courtyard of the Prinsenhof, the royal palace in Delft, examining the premises. The next day he purchased two wheel-lock pistols from a soldier. Gérard went to the Prinsenhof at noon on Tuesday, July 10, 1584, announcing that he wanted to speak to Willem. He was told that Willem was at lunch and would speak to him afterward. Gérard went to his inn to get the pistols and returned to the Prinsenhof. Willem had finished his lunch and went up the stairs to his second-floor chamber where he worked and slept. Gérard, who had been hiding behind a pillar, jumped out and fired two shots, hitting Willem in the chest at close range. Willem collapsed and died instantly.

Bullet holes from the assassination of Willem the Silent at the Prinsenhof in Delft; Credit – By Juvarra – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10297655

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What happened to Balthasar Gérard?

Balthasar Gérard fled the Prinsenhof, chased by soldiers and servants. He climbed over the city wall but before he could jump into the water, he was captured. He was imprisoned and at his own request, he wrote a long statement about his motives. He was interrogated that same day but did not give much information.

Gérard was brutally tortured. During the first night of his imprisonment, Gérard was hung on a pole and whipped. His wounds were covered with honey so that a goat would lick his skin with its shape tongue and scrape the skin away but the goat was uncooperative. Gérard’s hands and feet were bound together to make his sleep difficult.

During the next three days, Gérard was hung on a pole with his hands tied behind his back. Then a 330-pound (150 kg) was attached to his big toes for thirty minutes. After the thirty minutes, Gérard was fitted with too-small shoes made of oiled, uncured leather and placed before a fire. When the shoes warmed up, they contracted, crushing his feet. The shoes were removed and his broiled skin was torn off. Next, torches were held under his armpits and he was then dressed in a shirt soaked in alcohol. Burning bacon fat was poured over him and sharp nails were stuck between the flesh and the nails of his hands and feet. Gérard is said to have remained calm during his torture and refused to answer any questions.

Gérard’s trial was held on July 13, 1584. To make an example of him, he was sentenced to an extremely cruel execution. On July 14, 1584, Gérard was executed. His right hand, which committed the crime, was burned off with a red-hot iron. His flesh was torn from his bones with pincers in six different places. He was quartered and disemboweled alive. His heart was torn from his chest and thrown in his face, and finally, he was beheaded.

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Willem the Silent’s Funeral and Burial

Memorial to Willem the Silent; Photo Credit – Door Zairon – Eigen werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56280054

Willem had been planned to be buried at the Grote Kerk in Breda, where the House of Orange was traditionally buried, but Breda was under Spanish control. Instead, Willem was buried in the Old Crypt at the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Delft, located in South Holland (Zuid-Holland), now in the Netherlands. His memorial was originally very modest but was replaced in 1623 by a new one, made by Hendrik de Keyser and his son Pieter. Since then, most of the members of the House of Orange-Nassau, including all Dutch kings, queens, and consorts, have been buried in the same church in the royal vault whose entrance, sealed by a large stone cover with four brass rings, is behind the tomb of Willem the Silent. Willem’s fourth wife Louise de Coligny was buried with him.

The Old Crypt with the body-like lead sarcophagus of Louise de Coligny on the bottom right and Willem I, Prince of Orange’s coffin on the bottom left; Credit – Wikipedia

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Aftermath

Reward letter of King Philip II of Spain to the family of Balthasar Gérard, 1590; Credit – Wikipedia

Balthasar Gérard’s parents claimed the 25,000 crowns (around 3,000,000 euros or 3,240,000 US dollars) that King Philip II of Spain had promised the murderer of Willem the Silent. However, Philip II could not afford to pay that amount of money. Instead, Philip II gave Gérard’s parents three country estates in Lievremont, Hostal, and Dampmartin in the Franche-Comté, and the family was raised to the peerage. The estates remained with the Gérard family.

Sasbout Vosmeer, the first apostolic vicar to the Dutch Mission, the Roman Catholic missionary district in the Dutch Republic, obtained the head of Balthasar Gérard and kept it in Cologne. He took it to Rome in a failed attempt to have Gérard canonized as a saint.

The village of Vuillafans, France renamed the street where Balthasar Gérard was born “Rue Gérard” in his memory.

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Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Balthasar Gérard. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balthasar_G%C3%A9rard [Accessed 24 Feb. 2020].
En.wikipedia.org. (2020). William the Silent. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Silent [Accessed 24 Feb. 2020].
Flantzer, Susan. (2018). Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/willem-i-the-silent-prince-of-orange/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2020].
Nl.wikipedia.org. (2020). Balthasar Gerards. [online] Available at: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balthasar_Gerards [Accessed 24 Feb. 2020].
Nl.wikipedia.org. (2020). Willem van Oranje. [online] Available at: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_van_Oranje [Accessed 24 Feb. 2020].

Assassination of Henri III, King of France (1589)

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On August 1, 1589, King Henri III of France was stabbed by Jacques Clément, a Dominican friar. He died the following morning from his injuries. Henri was the last French king from the House of Valois, and as he had no children, was succeeded by King Henri III of Navarre who became King Henri IV of France, establishing the House of Bourbon on the French throne.

King Henri III of France. source: Wikipedia

Henri III, King of France

Henri was born September 19, 1551, at the Château de Fontainebleau, the fourth son of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici. Two of his elder brothers reigned as French kings – François II and Charles IX. Henri was created Duke of Angoulême and Duke of Orléans in 1560, and Duke of Anjou in 1566.

Henri was elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in May 1573. However, after becoming King of France in 1574, Henri never returned to Poland, and the Polish parliament declared the throne vacant in May 1575. Following his coronation, Henri married Louise of Lorraine, but the couple had no children. This led to the French throne passing to his distant cousin, Henri of Navarre, who took the throne as King Henri IV, the first French king from the House of Bourbon.

For more information, see Unofficial Royalty: King Henri III of France

The Assassination

The assassination of Henri III, King of France; Credit – Wikipedia

While staying with his forces in Saint-Cloud, intending to attack Paris the following day, the King received a visit from a Dominican friar, Jacques Clément. During the French Wars of Religion, Clément had become a supporter of the Catholic League and fanatically religious. He developed a plan to kill the King and was encouraged by some of the leaders of the Catholic League, including Catherine de Guise, the Duchess of Montpensier. With forged papers alleged to be for the King, Clément made his way to Saint-Cloud. Arriving on August 1, 1589, Clément was permitted to meet with the King. After handing the papers to the King, Clément told him he also had a private message to deliver. The King ordered his guards to step away and Clément approached him and began to whisper in his ear. At the same time, he drew a dagger from beneath his cloak and stabbed the King in the abdomen. The attendants quickly stepped in and Clément was immediately killed.

What happened to King Henri III?

Basilica of Saint-Denis. photo: By Thomas Clouet – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42109690

At first, it appeared that the King was not fatally injured. However, sensing his impending death, the King insisted that his officers pledge their loyalty to Henri of Navarre as their new king, should he not survive. The following morning, King Henri III of France died from his injuries. He was interred in the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris, the traditional burial site of the French kings and royal family.

What happened to Jacques Clément?

The King’s guards immediately killed Clément. Later his body was quartered and burned. For his act, he was seen by many as a martyr, particularly by those who supported the Catholic League. He was praised by Pope Sixtus V, and it was even discussed that he should be canonized as a saint.

Assassination of Mohammed Nadir Shah, King of Afghanistan (1933)

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On November 8, 1933, Mohammad Nadir Shah, King of Afghanistan was shot and killed by an assassin while taking part in a high school awards ceremony at the royal palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Mohammed Nadir Shah, King of Afghanistan. source: Wikipedia

Mohammed Nadir Shah, King of Afghanistan

Mohammed Nadir Shah (born Mohammad Nadir Khan) reigned as King of Afghanistan from October 15, 1929, until his assassination on November 8, 1933. He was born in Dehradun, British India on April 9, 1883 to Mohammad Yusuf Khan and Sharaf Sultana Hukumat Begum.

Raised in British India (where his family had been exiled by the British government), he later came to Afghanistan and served as a General under King Amanullah Khan, leading the Afghan National Army in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Following the war, he served as Minister of War, and later as Ambassador to France. Following a rebellion against the monarchy, led by Habibullah Kalakani, Mohammed was exiled once again. After Kalakani overthrew the monarchy, Mohammad returned to Afghanistan with his forces and retook most of the country. Declaring himself King upon his arrival in Kabul on October 15, 1929, he captured Kalakani and executed him. His reign, just four years, saw numerous uprisings and rebellions, all of which he managed to overcome. He established the country’s first university, worked to strengthen both diplomatic and commercial relations with the surrounding countries and put into place the country’s first banking system. After just four years on the throne, Mohammad Nadir Shah was killed by an assassin on November 8, 1933.

For more information, see: Wikipedia: Mohammed Nadir Shah

The Assassination

The assassin, Abdul Khaliq. source: Wikipedia

The assassin was Abdul Khaliq, a 16-year-old student at Nejat High School. After Khaliq’s father, uncle, and brothers were arrested in 1933 by King Mohammed Nadir Shah’s regime (after the execution of an Amanullah supporter), Khaliq began plotting to kill the King. His opportunity came when he and other student-athletes were invited to the palace in Kabul to receive medals for their achievements. Seeing no security at the gates, Khaliq quickly went home and borrowed a gun from a friend before returning to the palace.

With the gun wrapped in a handkerchief in his pocket, Khaliq waited until King Mohammed Nadir Shah entered the garden where the ceremony was taking place. As the King approached the students, Khaliq drew the gun and fired several shots. The first hit the King in the mouth, the second in his heart, and the third through his lung. A fourth shot was also fired, striking a guard who was rushing to subdue the assassin.

For more information see: Wikipedia: Abdul Khaliq

What happened to Mohammed Nadir Shah?

Embed from Getty Images

Tomb of Mohammed Nadir Shah

King Mohammed Nadir Shah died instantly from the gunshots. He was succeeded by his son, Mohammed Zahir Shah, who would become the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 1933 until the overthrow of the Afghani monarchy in 1973.

King Mohammed Nadir Shah was buried in a large mausoleum at Teppe Maranjan overlooking east Kabul. Now in near ruins, the mausoleum was constructed of marble and topped with a large metal dome. The crypt beneath the structure holds King Mohammed Nadir Shah’s tomb and the tombs of several family members. Nearby is the tomb of Sultan Mohammed Telai, the king’s great-great-grandfather.

What happened to Abdul Khaliq?

Following the assassination, Khaliq was quickly apprehended and imprisoned. Tortured by the guards, he named several of his family members as accomplices, although this claim has been questioned by surviving members of his family. Along with sixteen family members, Khaliq was sentenced to death by hanging at the Deh Mazang prison. However, only sixteen nooses were prepared. On December 18, 1933, Khaliq and his family members were led to the prison yard to be hanged. Instead, however, Khaliq was tortured to death in front of the others, before they were then hanged.

Assassination of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia (1801)

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On the night of March 23, 1801, at the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, Russia, a group of conspirators charged into the bedroom of 46-year-old Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, forced him to abdicate, and then strangled and trampled him to death.

Paul I, Emperor of All Russia

Paul I, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Paul I, Emperor of All Russia was born on October 1, 1754, at the Summer Palace of Empress Elizabeth in St. Petersburg, Russia. As the son of Grand Duchess Catherine Alexeievna (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, later Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia), Paul was recognized by Catherine’s husband Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich (born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp, later Peter III, Emperor of All Russia) as his son. Peter and Catherine’s marriage was not a happy one. Peter took a mistress and Catherine had many lovers. It is possible that Paul’s father was Sergei Vasilievich Saltykov. If this is true, then all subsequent Romanovs were not genetically Romanovs. Catherine later claimed that her son and successor Paul had not been fathered by Peter and that they had never consummated their marriage.

Paul was taken from his mother immediately after birth and spent the first eight years of his life at the court of his great-aunt, Elizabeth I, Empress of All Russia, the daughter of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia and the younger sister of Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna, Peter III’s mother who died shortly after his birth. The unmarried and childless Empress Elizabeth had named her nephew Peter as her heir when he was ten-years-old.

In 1762, when Paul was eight-years-old, Empress Elizabeth died and she was succeeded by her nephew as Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. However, the reign of Peter III lasted only six months. Paul’s mother engineered a coup that not only deposed her husband but also got him killed by her supporters. In the summer of 1762, Paul’s mother began her 34-year-reign as Catherine II, Empress of All Russia, known in history as Catherine the Great. When Catherine was finally able to retrieve her eight-year-old son after the death of Empress Elizabeth, it was too late to repair their relationship. Paul’s early isolation from his mother created a distance between them which would only be reinforced by later events.

Family of Paul I of Russia, by Gerhard von Kügelgen, 1800; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1773, Paul married Wilhelmine Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt who became Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna after her marriage. Three years later, Natalia Alexeievna and her first child, a boy, died after six days of agonizing labor. Less than six months after his first wife’s death, Paul married Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg who took the name Maria Feodorovna after her marriage. Paul and Maria Feodorovna had ten children with nine surviving to adulthood including two Emperors of All Russia, a Queen of the Netherlands, a Queen of Württemberg, and a Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

The Road to Assassination

Portrait of Paul I in Coronation Robes by Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon the death of his mother Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia in 1796, Paul succeeded her as Emperor of All Russia. Ironically, Paul I, Emperor of All Russia suffered a fate similar to Peter III. Paul’s reign lasted five years, ending with his assassination by conspirators. As Emperor, Paul agreed with the practices of autocracy and tried to prevent liberal ideas in the Russian Empire. He did not tolerate freedom of thought or resistance against autocracy. Because he overly taxed the nobility and limited their rights, the Russian nobles, by increasing numbers, were against him. Paul’s reign was becoming increasingly despotic. Eventually, the nobility reached their breaking point. As early as the end of 1797, rumors began swirling of a coup d’état being prepared by the nobility.

A conspiracy was organized, some months before it was executed, by Count Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen, Count Nikita Petrovich Panin, and Admiral José de Ribas, with the alleged support of British ambassador in Saint Petersburg, Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth. The total number of people involved in the conspiracy, according to various estimates, ranges from 180 to 300 people. It is probable that Paul’s son and heir Alexander knew of the coup d’état plans and that Paul’s wife Maria Feodorovna knew about the existence of plans.

Afraid of intrigues and assassination plots, Paul disliked the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg where he never felt safe. He ordered his birthplace, the dilapidated Summer Palace of Empress Elizabeth in St. Petersburg to be demolished and replaced with a new fortified residence, the Mikhailovsky Castle. In February 1801, Paul and his family moved into the Mikhailovsky Castle.

The Assassination

The assassination of Emperor Paul I, French engraving, 1880s; Credit – Wikipedia

At 1:30 AM on March 23, 1801, a group of twelve officers led by Count Nikolai Alexandrovich Zubov and Levin August von Bennigsen, a German general in the service of the Russian Empire, broke into Paul’s bedroom at the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg. Also present at the murder were two of the original conspirators Count Nikita Petrovich Panin and Count Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen. The group charged into the bedroom and found Paul hiding behind some drapes in a corner. The conspirators pulled him out and forced him to a table so he could sign an abdication document. When Paul offered some resistance, Count Nikolai Alexandrovich Zubov struck him with a sword, after which the assassins strangled and trampled him to death.

Aftermath

Tomb of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – By El Pantera – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36434001

The official cause of Paul’s death was “an apoplexy stroke.” The truth about his assassination was suppressed by censorship. Paul’s body was worked on by a team of doctors all night so it could be displayed in evidence of a natural death. Despite the doctors’ efforts, blue and black spots were visible on Paul’s face. Court painter Jacob Mettenleyter, the curator of the Gatchina Palace art gallery, was summoned with his brushes and paints to make Paul’s face presentable.

One of the doctors described Paul’s body: “There were many traces of violence on the body. A wide strip around the neck, a strong mark on the temple (from a blow … caused by a pistol), a red spot on the side, but not a single wound with a sharp weapon, two red scars on both thighs; significant damage to the knees which prove that he was forced to kneel down to make it easier to strangle. In addition, the whole body was generally covered with small marks; they probably came from blows delivered after death.”

A triangular hat was pulled over Paul’s forehead to hide the injuries to his left eye and his temple. Paul was placed in his coffin in a way that viewers passing by would not be able to see his body clearly. The teenaged Nikolay Ivanovich Gretsch, a future journalist, wrote: “As soon as you enter the door, they pointed to another with an exhortation: if you please go through. I went to Mikhailovsky Castle about ten times and could only see the soles of the emperor’s overboots and a wide hat pulled over his forehead.”

Paul’s eldest son Alexander, who probably knew about the coup but not the murder plot, succeeded as Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia at the age of 23. When Alexander was informed about the murder of his father, he sobbed. Count Nikolai Alexandrovich Zubov told Alexander, “Time to grow up! Go and rule!” Alexander went out on the palace balcony to show himself to the troops and said: “My father died of apoplexy. I will be like my grandmother.” On the first day of his reign, Alexander freed 12,000 prisoners who had been sentenced by his father to prison or exile without a trial. Within a month, Alexander began restoring freedoms that his father revoked. None of the conspirators of the coup d’état that resulted in the murder of Emperor Paul were punished. However, over time Alexander I gradually removed the conspirators from their positions, not because he considered them dangerous, but because of the disgust that he felt at their very sight.

Paul I, Emperor of All Russia was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Paul I of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_I_of_Russia [Accessed 25 Jan. 2018].
Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
Flantzer, Susan. (2018). Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/emperor-paul-i-of-russia/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2020].
Massie, Robert. (2016). Catherine the Great. London: Head of Zeus.
Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Павел I. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB_I [Accessed 25 Jan. 2018]. (Paul I in Russian)
Ru.wikipedia.org. (2020). Убийство Павла I. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE_%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B0_I [Accessed 5 Jan. 2020]. (The assassination of Paul I in Russian)

Assassination of Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia (1764)

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

The story of Ivan VI and his family is one of the most tragic stories in royal history. Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia (Ivan Antonovich) succeeded to the throne in 1740 at the age of two months. A little more than a year later, Ivan was deposed by Elizabeth Petrovna, the only surviving child of Peter I the Great, Emperor of All Russia, and spent the next 23 years imprisoned before being murdered in 1764 during the reign of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia. Ivan’s parents spent the rest of their lives imprisoned and with the exception of his sister Catherine, all his other siblings were born while their parents were imprisoned. His siblings remained imprisoned until 1780.

Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia

Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Ivan Antonovich, the future Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia, was born on August 23, 1740, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the oldest of the five children of Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Ivan’s mother was the only niece of the childless Anna, Empress of All Russia (daughter of Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia), and the only grandchild of Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia. She had been born in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Germany, but moved to Russia with her mother after her parents’ marriage failed. Ivan’s mother converted to Russian Orthodoxy and was given the name Anna Leopoldovna and the title Grand Duchess. When Anna Leopoldovna married, she and her husband made their home in Russia, expecting that Anna Leopoldovna or her children would inherit the throne upon the death of Empress Anna.

Empress Anna adopted the infant Ivan Antonovich on October 5, 1740, and proclaimed him heir to the Russian throne. Twenty-three days after proclaiming the infant Ivan Antonovich her heir, Anna I, Empress of All Russia was dead at the age of 48 and two-month-old Ivan Antonovich was Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia. Before Empress Anna died, she had agreed that her longtime lover and advisor Ernst Johann von Biron would serve as regent until Ivan came of age. The Russian nobility had enough of Biron during Empress Anna’s reign. Biron was regent for three weeks and on November 19, 1740, he was seized and banished to Siberia. Ivan’s mother Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna was named regent.

A Coup to Overthrow the Infant Emperor

The Preobrazhensky Regiment soldiers proclaim Elizabeth Petrovna Empress of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

22-year-old Anna Leopoldovna was not qualified to be regent. She did as little as possible concerning state affairs and argued with her advisers. A conspiracy soon arose intending to obtain the Russian throne for Elizabeth Petrovna, the only surviving child of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia. A coup took place during the night of December 5-6, 1741 with financial support from France and military support from the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Elizabeth Petrovna arrived at the regiment’s headquarters wearing armor over her dress asking, “Who do you want to serve, me, your natural sovereign, or those who have stolen my inheritance?” The Preobrazhensky Regiment marched to the Winter Palace and arrested the infant Emperor Ivan and his parents. It was a daring coup and succeeded without bloodshed. The new 32-year-old Empress of All Russia, Elizabeth Petrovna, vowed that she would not sign a single death sentence, a promise she kept throughout her 20-year reign.

What happened to Ivan?

Now that she had the throne, Elizabeth had a problem. A living Emperor, the great-grandson of her father’s elder half-brother Ivan V, and his mother, the granddaughter of Ivan V, remained in St. Petersburg. They were both threats to her throne. Even though 15-month-old Ivan did not know he had been Emperor, his image was on coins used throughout Russia and prayers had been said for him in all Russian churches. Elizabeth originally planned to send Ivan, his mother Anna Leopoldovna, his father Anton Ulrich, and his sister Catherine Antonovna somewhere in Europe so she sent them to Riga (now in Latvia) as the first stage of their journey. However, once the family arrived in Riga, Elizabeth had second thoughts – perhaps it would be a better idea to keep her young, dangerous prisoner under guard in Russia. Ivan was separated forever from his parents and his sister and classified as a secret state prisoner.

Fortress of Shlisselburg; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Ivan was first sent to Kholmogory, where, seeing no one other than his jailer, he remained for the next twelve years. Eventually, news of Ivan’s whereabouts began to be known. He was then secretly transferred to the Fortress of Shlisselburg where he was under heavy guard and not even the commandant of the fortress knew his true identity. Although instructions had been given not to educate him, Ivan had been taught his letters and could read his Bible. He also seemed aware of his former imperial status and always called himself Gosudar (Sovereign).

Peter III visits Ivan at the Fortress of Shlisselburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Empress Elizabeth died in 1762 and her nephew succeeded her as Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. Ivan’s situation then improved a bit and Peter III even visited him. However, Peter III’s reign lasted only six months. He was deposed by his wife, born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, who reigned as Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, and he died soon afterward, most likely murdered by Catherine’s supporters.

Vasily Mirovich Standing over the Corpse of Ivan VI by Ivan Tvorozhnikov (1884); Credit – Wikipedia

Catherine II ordered Ivan to be placed in manacles and further ordered that if any attempt were made to free the prisoner, he was to be put to death immediately. Ivan’s presence at the Fortress of Shlisselburg could not remain concealed forever. In 1764, Vasily Mirovich, one of the men guarding Ivan, learned his identity and formulated a plan for freeing and proclaiming him Emperor. At midnight on July 15, 1764, Mirovich and his supporters attempted to free Ivan. However, another guard immediately murdered Ivan, following Catherine II’s orders. Mirovich and his supporters were executed. Ivan VI’s burial place is unknown but it is commonly believed that he was buried in the Fortress of Shlisselburg.

What happened to Ivan’s parents and siblings?

Ivan’s parents were imprisoned for the rest of their lives. Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich had three additional children while imprisoned, born between 1743-1746. On March 18, 1746, Anna Leopoldovna died during childbirth at the age of 27. In 1762, Catherine II offered Anton Ulrich permission to leave Russia with the condition he would leave his children behind but he declined. At the age of 59, Anton Ulrich died in prison on March 19, 1776, after spending 36 years in captivity.

Silhouettes of Ivan’s siblings, done after their release from imprisonment; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1780, Ivan’s four siblings, ranging in age from 34-39, were released into the custody of their maternal aunt, born Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, but then the Queen Dowager of Denmark. The four siblings had spent their entire lives imprisoned. They lived under house arrest in Horsens in Jutland, Denmark under the guardianship of Juliana Maria and at the expense of Catherine II. Although they were really prisoners, they lived in relative comfort and had a small court of between 40 and 50 people, all Danish except for their Russian Orthodox priest. The siblings were unhappy in Denmark because they were not used to their new degree of freedom in a new environment and were surrounded by people whose language they could not understand.

Ivan’s four younger siblings:

Catherine Antonovna of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1741–1807)
Elizabeth Antonovna of Brunswick -Lüneburg (1743–1782)
Peter Antonovich of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1745–1798)
Alexei Antonovich of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1746–1787)

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Anna Leopoldovna. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Anna_Leopoldovna_of_Russia [Accessed 28 Dec. 2017].
En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Ivan VI of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_VI_of_Russia [Accessed 28 Dec. 2017].
Flantzer, Susan. (2018). Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/emperor-ivan-vi-of-russia/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2020].
Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
Massie, R. (2016). Catherine the Great. London: Head of Zeus.
Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Иван VI. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD_VI [Accessed 28 Dec. 2017].

Assassination of Peter III, Emperor of All Russia (1762)

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Peter III, Emperor of All Russia died at the age of 34 on July 17, 1762, at Ropsha Palace, a country estate outside of St. Petersburg, Russia. He was probably murdered but the circumstances of his death remain unclear.

Peter III, Emperor of All Russia

Peter III, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Peter III, Emperor of All Russia was born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp on February 21, 1728, at Kiel Castle in Kiel, then in the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. His father was Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. His mother was Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia, the elder of the two surviving daughters of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia and his second wife, born Marta Helena Skowrońska, the daughter of an ethnic Polish peasant, renamed Catherine (Ekaterina) Alexeievna, and later the successor to her husband Peter the Great as Catherine I, Empress of All Russia. Peter was his parents’ only child. His mother died at the age of 20, three months after his birth.

Peter was left in the care of the Holstein household guards who put sergeant’s stripes on Peter’s sleeve and let him drill with them. Peter lacked a serious education and any training in governing. Knowing nothing else but what the guards taught him, Peter became passionate about military drilling. In 1739, Peter’s father died, and at the age of eleven, he became Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.

Peter’s aunt, Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1742, Peter’s life dramatically changed when his unmarried maternal aunt, his mother’s younger sister, Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia, declared him her heir and brought him to St. Petersburg, Russia. Peter converted from Lutheranism to Russian Orthodoxy, was given the name Peter Feodorovich, the title Grand Duke and was officially named the heir to the Russian throne.

Peter and Catherine; Credit – Wikipedia

It was important to Empress Elizabeth that Peter marry so that the Romanov dynasty would be continued. Elizabeth arranged for Peter to marry his second cousin, Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst (later Catherine II the Great), daughter of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst and Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. Sophie converted to Russian Orthodoxy, took the name Ekaterina (Catherine) Alexeievna, and married Peter on August 21, 1745. Peter and Catherine’s marriage was not happy, but Catherine gave birth to one son, the future Emperor Paul, and one daughter Anna Petrovna, who died in early childhood. Both children were taken by Empress Elizabeth to her apartments immediately after their births to be raised by her. Both Peter and Catherine had affairs. Catherine later claimed that her son Paul was not Peter’s son and they had never consummated their marriage.

Peter never attempted to gain more knowledge about Russia, its people, and its history. He neglected Russian customs, behaved inappropriately during church services, and did not observe fasts and other rites. He spoke Russian poorly and infrequently. Empress Elizabeth did not allow Peter to participate in government affairs. On January 5, 1762, Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia died at the age of 52 after a massive stroke and her nephew became Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. Peter was unpopular and few were looking forward to his reign.

Roots of a Conspiracy

After he became Emperor of All Russia, Peter did little to win the support of Empress Elizabeth’s friends and courtiers. His foreign policy also did little to win supporters. The last straw for Peter may have been how he treated the Russian army. Peter abolished “the guard within the guard”, a group within the Preobrazhensky Regiment, created by Empress Elizabeth as her personal guard in remembrance of their support in the coup which brought her to the throne. He replaced “the guard within the guard” with his own Holstein guard and often spoke about their superiority over the Russian army.

Meanwhile, Catherine’s position deteriorated along with the position of three groups – the clergy, senior statesmen and the Imperial Guard, the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Peter began to think about divorcing Catherine and marrying his mistress. Wisely, Catherine quietly aligned herself with the three groups. She remained calm and dignified even when Peter grossly insulted her in public. The devotion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment to Catherine was never in doubt because her favorite Grigory Orlov and his four brothers were all members of the Guard.

A Conspiracy to Overthrow Peter

Alexei and Grigory Orlov in the 1770s; Credit – Wikipedia

A conspiracy to overthrow Peter was planned and centered around the five Orlov brothers with Grigory, Catherine’s favorite, and Alexei being the main conspirators.

On July 9, 1762 (June 29 in Old Style, the feast day of St. Peter and Paul), at Peterhof, a celebration of Peter’s name day was planned. It was no coincidence that the conspirators chose this time for their attack. The day before, Peter was to travel from Oranienbaum to Peterhof. The brothers Alexei Orlov and Grigory Orlov made preparations during weeks before the planned celebration. With threats and bribes of vodka and money, the Orlov brothers set up the guards against Peter.

Peter was late leaving Oranienbaum due to a hangover and his daily habit of reviewing his Holstein troops. He was to meet Catherine at Peterhof but she was not there when he arrived. Eventually, Peter and the few advisers he had with him began to suspect what was happening. Peter sent members of his entourage to St. Petersburg to find out what was happening but none returned. Eventually, he learned that Catherine had proclaimed herself Catherine II, Empress of All Russia, and that the senior government officials, the clergy, and all the Guards supported her.

Catherine II on a balcony of the Winter Palace on July 9, 1762, the day of the coup; Credit – Wikipedia

Peter ordered his Holstein guards to take up defensive positions at Peterhof. They did so but were afraid to tell Peter they had no cannonballs to fire. Peter thought about fleeing but was told that there were no horses available because his entourage had all arrived in carriages. Learning that Catherine and the Guards were approaching Peterhof, Peter made a desperate decision to sail Kronstadt, a fortress on an island. Upon arrival, Peter was refused admittance because all those in the fortress had sworn allegiance to Catherine. Peter rejected the advice of his advisors to go to the Prussian army and returned to Oranienbaum.

Peter and his Holstein guards were behind the gates at Oranienbaum when Alexei Orlov and his men surrounded Oranienbaum. Peter sent a message that he would renounce the throne if he, his mistress, and his favorite Russian general were allowed to go to Holstein. Catherine sent Grigori Orlov with a Russian general to Oranienbaum insisting that Peter must write a formal announcement of abdication in his own handwriting. Grigori Orlov was to deal with the abdication and the general was to lure Peter out of Oranienbaum and back to Peterhof to prevent any bloodshed. Grigori Orlov rode back to Peterhof with the signed abdication announcement and the general convinced Peter to go to Peterhof and beg Catherine for mercy. Upon arrival at Peterhof, Peter was arrested and taken by Alexei Orlov to Ropsha Palace, a country estate outside of St. Petersburg.

Catherine had to deal with the same dilemma that Empress Elizabeth had to deal with regarding Ivan VI who she had deposed – keeping a former emperor around was a threat to her throne. Catherine intended to send Peter to Shlisselburg Fortress where Ivan VI, who had been deposed in 1741 as an infant, was still imprisoned. However, Catherine did not have to deal with a living deposed emperor for long.

Peter’s Death

Ropsha Palace where Peter died. The palace needs restoration. In 2016 the palace was rented to the state-owned Rosneft oil corporation which has promised to restore the palace and allow tourists to visit; Credit – Wikipedia

One thing was certain – Peter was dead. He died at the age of 34 on July 17, 1762, at Ropsha Palace. What is uncertain is how he died. In the early afternoon of July 17, 1762, Peter was invited to dine with Alexei Orlov and Prince Feodor Baryatinsky, one of the officers of his guards. At 6:00 PM, a rider from Ropsha Palace reached St. Petersburg with a letter from Alexei Orlov for Catherine. Orlov wrote: “At dinner he [Peter] started quarreling and struggling with Prince Baryatinsky at the table. Before we could separate them, he was dead. We ourselves know not what we did. But we are equally guilty and deserve to die.”

Whether Peter’s death was planned or the result of an accidental drunken altercation is unknown. Catherine certainly benefitted from Peter’s death which happened in the presence of one of her key allies and his men. The Orlov brothers and the officers guarding Peter hated him. They would have known that they were doing the new empress a favor. The official cause of Peter’s death was “a severe attack of hemorrhoidal colic.”

Aftermath

Catherine was advised to have Peter’s body displayed so that it would be known he was dead and not hidden away like Ivan VI still was. Peter lay in state at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg in the blue uniform Holstein cavalry officer, drawing to his foreign birth. He wore a large tricornered hat covering his forehead and the part of his face that was visible was black and swollen. Around his neck and up to his chin was a wide cravat. It is common for those of the Russian Orthodox faith to be buried holding a cross in their bare hands but Peter was wearing leather riding gloves. It seems likely that Peter was dressed to hide the results of strangulation – the cravat to cover a bruised throat and gloves to hide injuries from trying to fight for his life. Despite the attempt to hide Peter’s injuries, there were rumors among the thousands of people who filed past his coffin that Peter had been poisoned and/or strangled.

Peter was denied a burial place at the Cathedral of Peter and Paul at the Peter and Paul Fortress that his grandfather Peter I “the Great” had built. Instead, Peter was buried without honors in the Annunciation Church at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg.

Never destined at birth to be a monarch or even married to a monarch, Catherine II, Empress of All Russia, born Princess Sophie Auguste Friederike of Anhalt-Zerbst, reigned for thirty-four years. During Catherine’s reign, Russia grew larger and stronger and was recognized as one of the great powers of Europe. Five years after she came to the throne, the Legislative Assembly voted to name her Catherine the Great but she refused. Later in her reign, when she was again called Catherine the Great, she replied, “I beg you no longer to call me Catherine the Great because my name is Catherine II.” After her death, Russians began speaking of her as Catherine the Great and she is still called that today.

When Catherine II died in 1796, her son and successor Paul I, Emperor of All Russia sought to seek revenge for the deposed and disgraced Peter III and for the coup of his mother Catherine II. Paul ordered the remains of Peter III, Emperor of All Russia to first be transferred to the church in the Winter Palace and then to be moved to the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, the burial site of the Romanovs. 60-year-old Alexei Orlov, who had played a role in deposing Peter III, was made to walk in the funeral cortege, holding the Imperial Crown as he walked in front of the coffin. Peter III was reburied in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg at the same time as the burial of his wife Catherine II. Peter III had never been crowned so at the time of his reburial, Paul I personally performed the ritual of coronation of his Peter’s remains. Ironically, Paul I, Emperor of All Russia suffered a fate similar to Peter III. Paul’s reign lasted five years, ending with his assassination by conspirators.

The tombs of Catherine II and Peter III (back row) at the Peter and Paul Cathedral; Photo Credit – Автор: Deror avi – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8368144

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Peter III. (Russland). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_III._(Russland) [Accessed 10 Jan. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Peter III of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_III_of_Russia [Accessed 10 Jan. 2018].
Flantzer, Susan. (2018). Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/emperor-peter-iii-of-russia/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2020].
Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
Massie, R. (2016). Catherine the Great. London: Head of Zeus.
Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Пётр III. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%91%D1%82%D1%80_III [Accessed 10 Jan. 2018].

Execution of Charles I, King of England (1649)

On January 30, 1649, Charles I, King of England was beheaded for treason and other high crimes at the Palace of Whitehall in London, England where a scaffold had been built outside the Banqueting House.

Charles I, King of England

Charles I, King of England by Anthony van Dyck, circa 1638; Credit – Wikipedia

Born at Dunfermline Palace in Fife, Scotland on November 19, 1600, Charles I, King of England was the second son and fourth of the seven children of James VI, King of Scots (later also King James I of England) and Anne of Denmark. At the time of Charles’ birth, his six-year-old elder brother Henry Frederick was the heir apparent to the throne of Scotland. On March 24, 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England died and Charles’ father became King James I of England. Since none of the children of King Henry VIII of England had children, James was the senior heir of King Henry VII of England through his eldest daughter Margaret Tudor who had married James IV, King of Scots.

Charles overcame early physical problems, although he grew no taller than five feet four inches, and learned to ride, shoot, and fence. However, he was no physical match for his stronger and taller elder brother Henry, whom he adored. When 18-year-old Henry died in 1612 from typhoid, it was a loss that Charles felt greatly. Charles had automatically become Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay upon his brother’s death and was created Prince of Wales in 1616.

On March 27, 1625, King James I died and Charles succeeded him as King of England and King of Scots. Charles married Henrietta Maria of France, daughter of Henri IV, King of France, several months later. Charles’ coronation was held on February 2, 1626, at Westminster Abbey, but the Roman Catholic Henrietta Maria was not crowned because she refused to participate in a Church of England ceremony. Charles and Henrietta Maria had nine children including King Charles II, King James II, and Mary, the first Princess Royal, who married Willem II, Prince of Orange and had one child: Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England.

The Road to the English Civil War and Charles I’s Downfall

Charles had the same issues with Parliament as his father had, clashing with its members over financial, political, and religious issues. In the early years of Charles’ reign, Parliament was summoned and dissolved three times. Finally, in 1629, Charles, who believed in the divine right of kings, decided to govern without Parliament, beginning eleven years of personal rule. During his personal rule, William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury and Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford were Charles’ most influential advisers. Parliament was finally summoned again in 1640 and demanded the execution of Stafford. Charles signed the death warrant, but never forgave himself. After this incident, the reconciliation of the King and Parliament became impossible.

Speaker Lenthall asserting the Privileges of the Commons (Speaker of the House William Lenthall kneels to Charles during the attempted arrest of the Five Members), fresco in the Houses of Parliament by Charles West Cope, fresco done 1865-1866; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 4, 1642, a point of no return was reached. On that day, Charles committed the unprecedented act of entering the House of Commons with an armed guard and demanding the arrest of five Members of Parliament. There was a great public outcry, Charles fled London and civil war appeared inevitable. Since that day no British monarch has entered the House of Commons when it is sitting and a tradition recalling this is enacted at every State Opening of Parliament. When the monarch arrives in the House of Lords to read the speech from the throne, the Lord Great Chamberlain raises the wand of office to signal to the Gentleman/Lady Usher of the Black Rod (known as Black Rod), whose duty is to summon the House of Commons. On Black Rod’s approach, the doors to the House of Commons are slammed shut in Black Rod’s face, symbolizing the rights of the House of Commons and its independence from the monarch. Black Rod then strikes with the end of the ceremonial staff (the Black Rod) three times on the closed doors of the House of Commons and is then admitted. This is a show of the refusal by the House of Commons never again to be entered by force by the monarch or one of the monarch’s representatives when the House of Commons is sitting.

English Civil War

Raising the royal standard at Nottingham: King Charles I, with his left arm upraised, his right around the shoulders of his son, the future Charles II. This was the event that signaled the start of the Civil War; Credit – http://www.explore-parliament.net/

On August 22, 1642, at Nottingham, Charles raised the Royal Standard and called for his loyal subjects to support him, and the Civil War between the Royalists or Cavaliers (Charles’ supporters) and the Roundheads (Parliament’s supporters) had begun. The Battle of Edgehill, the first real battle, was fought on October 26, 1642, and proved indecisive. The Cavaliers were defeated at the Battle of Marston Moor on July 2, 1644, and at the Battle of Naseby on June 14, 1645. The balance was now permanently tipped to the parliamentary side. In April of 1646, Charles left Oxford, which had served as his capital city during the conflict, and surrendered to the Scottish Army expecting to be safe and well-treated. However, the Scots delivered Charles to Parliament in 1647. Except for one brief period in 1647, when he escaped, Charles was confined in several castles and great homes for the rest of his life.

The Trial

Engraving from “Nalson’s Record of the Trial of Charles I” in the British Museum. Charles (in the dock with his back to the viewer) facing the High Court of Justice; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 20, 1649, Charles’ trial at Westminster Hall in London, England, began. He was accused of treason against England by using his power to pursue his personal interest rather than the good of England. A High Court of Justice was appointed to try Charles for high treason in the name of the people of England. There were 135 commissioners appointed but only 68 would sit in judgment.

As the trial opened, Solicitor General John Cook, standing immediately to Charles’ right, rose to read the indictment. Cook had just uttered only a few words when Charles tried to stop him by tapping him on the shoulder with his cane and ordering him to “Hold.” Cook ignored Charles and so he poked him again but Cook still continued. Angry at being ignored, Charles then hit Cook so forcefully across the shoulders that the silver tip of his cane broke off and fell to the floor between Cook and Charles. Charles waited for someone to pick up the silver tip. When no one did so, Charles had to bend down and pick it up himself. Perhaps Charles realized that this incident was a foreshadowing of things to come.

Charles at his trial, by Edward Bower, 1649. He let his beard and hair grow long because Parliament had dismissed his barber, and he refused to let anyone else near him with a razor; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles refused to enter a plea saying that no court had jurisdiction over a monarch. He insisted that the trial was illegal and his authority to rule came from the divine rights of kings given by God. The court challenged Charles, saying “the King of England was not a person, but an office whose every occupant was entrusted with a limited power to govern by and according to the laws of the land and not otherwise.”

On Saturday, January 27, 1649, Charles was declared guilty and sentenced to death. His sentence read: “That the court being satisfied that he, Charles Stuart, was guilty of the crimes of which he had been accused, did judge him tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good people of the nation, to be put to death by the severing of his head from his body.” To show their agreement with the sentence, all of the commissioners who were present rose to their feet.

The Execution

Contemporary German print of Charles I’s beheading; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 29, 1649, the day before his execution, Charles burned his personal papers. He was allowed to see the two of his children who were still in England, 13-year-old Elizabeth and 8-year-old Henry. He told Elizabeth to be faithful to the “true Protestant religion” and to tell her mother that “his thoughts had never strayed from her.” He warned Henry to “not be made a king” by the Parliamentarians because he suspected they would make the boy a puppet king. Charles divided his jewels among the two children, keeping only his George, an enameled figure of St. George, worn as a part of the ceremonial dress of the Order of the Garter. Charles spent a restless last night, only going to sleep at 2:00 AM.

Charles awoke early on January 30, 1649, the day of his execution, and dressed all black and wore a blue sash. He requested one extra shirt from Thomas Herbert, his Gentleman of the Bedchamber so that the crowd gathered would not see him shiver from the cold and mistake it for fear. Charles walked the short distance from St. James’ Palace to the Palace of Whitehall where a scaffold had been built outside the Banqueting House.

From the first floor of the Banqueting House, Charles stepped onto the scaffold from a window. Before his execution, Charles delivered a speech that can be read at this link: Execution Speech of Charles I.

In the speech, Charles declared his innocence and said he was a “martyr of the people”. The crowd could not hear the speech because of the many parliamentarian guards blocking the scaffold but Charles’ supporter on the scaffold, William Juxon, then Bishop of London, later Archbishop of Canterbury, recorded the speech in shorthand.

Charles then had a conversation with the executioner which was recorded by an eyewitness:

Charles: Is my hair well? (Charles had let his beard and hair grow long because Parliament had dismissed his barber and he refused to let anyone else near him with a razor. The executioner put some of Charles’ hair under his cap.)

Then Charles took off his cloak and his George, the enameled figure of St. George, which he gave to Bishop Juxon, saying: “Remember.”

Charles took off his doublet and put his cloak on again. Then looking upon the block, Charles said to the executioner: “You must set it fast.”

Executioner: It is fast, sir.

Charles: It might have been a little higher. (About the block)

Executioner: It can be no higher, sir.

Charles: When I put out my hands this way, then.

Charles then said a few words to himself with his hands lifted up and his eyes looking upward. He then immediately stooped down and laid his neck on the block. The executioner again put some of Charles’ hair under his cap.

Charles: Stay for the sign.

Executioner: Yes, I will, and it please Your Majesty.

After a short pause, Charles stretched out his hands, and the executioner, with one blow, severed his head from his body.

The Aftermath

Charles I’s coffin being brought to St.George’s Chapel in a snowstorm; Credit – http://www.explore-parliament.net/

Following the reattachment of the head and the embalming of the body, Charles I’s remains were placed in a simple wooden coffin which was then placed in a leaden coffin. The coffin was taken to St. James’ Palace in London while Parliament decided where to inter Charles’ remains. No state funeral or public mourning would be allowed and Charles would not be permitted to be buried at Westminster Abbey. Instead, Charles would be buried at the more private St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle to avoid Charles’ burial site from becoming a place of pilgrimage. A week after the execution Charles’ coffin was transported to Windsor Castle in Windsor, England.

On February 9, 1649, in a snowstorm, the body of Charles I was taken from Windsor Castle to St. George’s Chapel. The coffin was carried by James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond (Charles’s 3rd cousin), William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset (grandson of Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford and Lady Katherine Grey, sister of Lady Jane Grey), Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton and Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey. However, Bishop Juxon was barred by a Parliamentary officer from entering St. George’s Chapel as seen in the picture above. Charles I’s coffin was lowered into the vault in the choir aisle where King Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour were buried.

The slab in the aisle indicates where Charles I was buried; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Coffins of King Charles I with a child of Queen Anne (left), King Henry VIII (center, damaged), and Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour (right), vault under the choir, St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, marked by a stone slab in the floor; Credit – Wikipedia

England was a republic (Commonwealth of England) for eleven years until the monarchy was restored and Charles I’s eldest son Charles II became king in 1660.

Charles I’s eldest son Charles, Prince of Wales (the future King Charles II) and his second son James, Duke of York (the future King James II) spent their exile in France, where their mother Henrietta Maria also lived in exile with their sister Henriette, and where their first cousin King Louis XIV was on the throne. Henriette married her first cousin Philippe, Duke of Orléans, King Louis XIV’s younger brother. Charles and James also lived some of the time with their sister Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange in the Dutch Republic, now the Netherlands.

Charles I’s two children Elizabeth and Henry, whom he was able to see before his execution, both died young. Elizabeth was never reunited with her family after her father’s execution. She died in 1650, a year after her father’s execution, at the age of 14, from pneumonia at Carisbrooke Castle in the Isle of Wight, England. In 1660, soon after his eldest brother Charles II was restored to the throne, Henry died at age 20 from smallpox.

Works Cited

Ashley, M. and Lock, J. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.
Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London, p.Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd.
Emersonkent.com. (2020). Execution Speech – Charles I 1649. [online] Available at: http://www.emersonkent.com/speeches/execution_speech_charles_i.htm [Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].
En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Charles I of England. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England [Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].
Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-i-of-england/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].
Fraser, Antonia. (2007). King Charles II. London: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd).
Williamson, D. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Execution of Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England (1553)

On February 12, 1554, 16/17-year-old Lady Jane Grey was executed for high treason by beheading at the Tower of London.

Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England

The Streatham Portrait of Lady Jane Grey; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Jane Grey was born in 1536 or 1537, the eldest of the three daughters of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk and Lady Frances Brandon. Lady Frances was the granddaughter of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, and the daughter of King Henry VIII’s younger sister Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Frances was the elder of her parents’ two surviving children. Two sons died in childhood, so the only surviving children were Frances and her younger sister Lady Eleanor Brandon who died in 1547.

Lady Jane was very well educated. She studied Greek and Hebrew with John Aylmer, later Bishop of England, and Italian and Latin with Michelangelo Florio, a former Franciscan friar who converted to Protestantism. In 1547, Jane was sent to live in the household of King Edward VI’s uncle, Thomas Seymour, who married King Henry VIII’s sixth wife and widow, Catherine Parr. Jane lived with the couple until the death of Catherine in childbirth in September 1548 and acted as chief mourner at Catherine’s funeral.

The current monarch, King Edward VI, the only son of King Henry VIII, was a minor and a council was to rule until he reached the age of 18. By 1550, John Dudley, Viscount Lisle headed the Privy Council as Lord Protector and was the de facto ruler of England. John Dudley was created Duke of Northumberland in 1551.

The powerful Duke of Northumberland thought marrying one of his sons to Lady Jane Grey would be a good idea. On May 25, 1553, three weddings were celebrated at Durham Place, the Duke of Northumberland’s London home. Lord Guildford Dudley, the fifth surviving son of the Duke of Northumberland married Lady Jane Grey, Guildford’s sister Lady Katherine Dudley married Henry Hastings, Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon’s heir and Jane’s sister Lady Catherine Grey married Henry Herbert, the heir of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke.

How did Lady Jane get to be Queen of England?

Embed from Getty Images
‘Lady Jane Grey’s Reluctance to Accept the Crown’, (19th century). Artist: Herbert Bourne

In the early summer of 1553, fifteen-year-old Protestant King Edward VI, King Henry VIII‘s only son, lay dying, probably of tuberculosis. His eldest half-sister Mary (the future Queen Mary I), the Catholic daughter of King Henry VIII’s first wife Catherine of Aragon, was the heir presumptive. The Third Succession Act of 1543 had restored Mary and Edward’s other half-sister Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I), daughter of King Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn, to the succession. In addition, the Third Succession Act stipulated that if the children of King Henry VIII did not have heirs, the heirs of his younger sister Mary Tudor should inherit the throne. The heirs of Henry’s elder sister Margaret Tudor who married James IV, King of Scots were excluded presumably to ensure the English throne was not inherited by a Scot. However, in 1603, upon the death of the unmarried and childless Queen Elizabeth I, Margaret Tudor’s great-grandson James VI, King of Scots inherited the English throne and reigned as King James I of England.

As King Edward VI lay dying in the early summer of 1553, the succession to the throne according to the Third Succession Act looked like this, and note that number four in the succession was the Duke of Northumberland’s daughter-in-law.

1) Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
2) Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
3) Lady Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, daughter of Mary Tudor
4) Lady Jane Grey, daughter of Lady Frances Brandon
5) Lady Catherine Grey, daughter of Lady Frances Brandon
6) Lady Mary Grey, daughter of Lady Frances Brandon
7) Lady Margaret Clifford, daughter of Countess of Cumberland (born Lady Eleanor Brandon, daughter of Mary Tudor)

King Edward VI’s death and the succession of his Catholic half-sister Mary would spell trouble for the English Reformation. Many of Edward’s Council members feared this, including the Duke of Northumberland. What exact role the Duke of Northumberland had in what followed is still debated, but surely he played a big part in the unfolding of the events. King Edward VI opposed Mary’s succession not only for religious reasons but also because of her illegitimacy and his belief in male succession. He also opposed the succession of his half-sister for reasons of illegitimacy and belief in male succession. Both Mary and Elizabeth were still considered to be legally illegitimate.

King Edward composed a document “My devise for the succession” in which he passed over his half-sisters and the Duchess of Suffolk (Frances Brandon). Edward meant for the throne to go to the Duchess’ daughters and their male heirs. The Duke and Duchess of Suffolk were outraged at the Duchess’ removal from the succession, but after a meeting with the ailing king, the Duchess renounced her rights in favor of her daughter Jane. Many contemporary legal experts believed the king could not contravene an Act of Parliament without passing a new one that would have established the altered succession. Therefore, many thought that Jane’s claim to the throne was weak. Apparently, Jane did not have any idea of what was occurring.

After great suffering, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI died on July 6, 1553, most likely from tuberculosis. On July 9, Jane was told that she was Queen, and reluctantly accepted the fact. She was publicly proclaimed Queen with much pomp after Edward’s death was announced on July 10. Queen Jane made a state entry into the Tower of London.

What happened to Jane?

Entry of Queen Mary I with Princess Elizabeth into London in 1553 by John Byam Liston Shaw, 1910; Credit – Wikipedia

The Duke of Northumberland had to find Mary and hopefully capture her before she could gather support. However, as soon as Mary knew her half-brother was dead, she wrote a letter to the Privy Council with orders for her proclamation as Edward VI’s successor and started to gather support. By July 12, 1553, Mary and her supporters assembled a military force at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk. The Duke of Northumberland set out from London with troops on July 14. The nobility was incensed with Northumberland and the people, for the most part, wanted Mary as their Queen, not Jane. In Northumberland’s absence, the Privy Council switched their allegiance from Jane to Mary and proclaimed her Queen on July 19, 1553. Mary arrived triumphantly into London on August 3, 1553, accompanied by her half-sister Elizabeth and a procession of over 800 nobles and gentlemen.

Jane and Guildford had been in residence at the Tower of London following Jane’s proclamation as Queen. They were separated and remained at the Tower. After a few days, Guildford’s father John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and Guildford’s four surviving brothers were imprisoned at the Tower of London along with Jane’s father Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk. All the men were eventually attainted and condemned to death. John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland was executed on August 22, 1553.

Jane and her husband were charged with high treason. Their trial took place on November 13, 1553, at Guildhall in London and they were found guilty and sentenced to death. Jane’s sentence was to “be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases.” Queen Mary appeared as if she was going to be lenient and perhaps pardon Jane but the Protestant rebellion of Thomas Wyatt the Younger in January 1554 sealed Jane’s fate, although she had nothing to do with the rebellion. Wyatt’s Rebellion was a reaction to Queen Mary’s planned marriage to the future King Philip II of Spain.

The Execution

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche, 1833; Credit -Wikipedia

16/17-year-old Lady Jane Grey and her 18/19-year-old husband Lord Guildford Dudley were both beheaded on February 12, 1534. The day before their execution, Guildford asked for a last meeting with his wife but Jane refused saying that it “would only … increase their misery and pain, it was better to put it off … as they would meet shortly elsewhere, and live bound by indissoluble ties.” About ten o’clock on the morning of February 12, 1534, Guildford was led to Tower Hill outside the Tower of London where he was to have a public execution. He gave a brief speech to the assembled crowd, as was customary. Guildford then knelt down, prayed, and asked the people to pray for him. He was killed with a single blow of the ax.

From the window of her room, Jane witnessed a horse and cart bringing Guildford’s body back to the Tower. Jane was then brought out to Tower Green inside the Tower of London where she was to have a private execution. Jane gave a short speech before her execution:

“Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, against the Queen’s highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day.”

Jane then recited Psalm 51, a penitential psalm (“Have mercy upon me, O God) in English and handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maid. The executioner asked for her forgiveness, which she granted him, adding, “I pray you dispatch me quickly.” Referring to her head, she asked, “Will you take it off before I lay me down?” The executioner answered, “No, madam.” Jane then blindfolded herself but she failed to find the block with her hands, and cried, “What shall I do? Where is it?” Probably Sir Thomas Brydges, the Deputy Lieutenant of the Tower, helped her find her way. With her head on the block, Jane spoke the last words of Jesus, “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!”

Jane and Guildford were buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London where many executed there were buried including the two beheaded wives of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

Memorial in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London, Credit: www.findagrave.com

Aftermath

The effigy of Lady Frances Brandon on her tomb in Westminster Abbey; Credit – Wikipedia

Jane’s father, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was executed on February 23, 1554. The life of his wife Frances was now in ruins. Because her husband was a traitor, all his possessions reverted to the Crown. Frances managed to plead with her first cousin Queen Mary I to show mercy. Mary agreed that some of the Duke of Suffolk’s property could remain with the family. Frances married her Master of the Horse Adrian Stokes in March 1555. They had two stillborn children and a daughter who died in infancy. Frances, aged 42, died on November 20, 1559, at her residence Charterhouse in London with her daughters Catherine and Mary at her bedside. The cost of her funeral was paid by her first cousin Queen Elizabeth I. With her daughter Catherine acting as chief mourner, Frances was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Lord Guildford Dudley’s brothers John, Ambrose, Henry, and Robert Dudley remained imprisoned at the Tower of London in the Beauchamp Tower where they made carvings in the walls. John carved their heraldic devices with his name “IOHN DVDLI” which can still be seen. In 1554, Guildford’s mother Jane Dudley and his brother-in-law Sir Henry Sidney were busy befriending the Spanish nobles around Queen Mary’s new husband, Prince Philip of Spain, hoping they would use their influence to have the Dudley brothers released. In October 1554, John, Ambrose, Henry, and Robert Dudley were released due to their efforts. Robert Dudley, later Earl of Leicester, was the favorite of Queen Elizabeth I from her accession until his death.

Works Cited

Ashley, M. and Lock, J. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.
Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London, p.Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd.
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dudley,_1st_Duke_of_Northumberland [Accessed 28 Nov. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Lady Jane Grey. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Jane_Grey [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].
Flantzer, Susan. (2013). Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/july-10-daily-featured-royal-date/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].
Flantzer, Susan. (2018). Lord Guildford Dudley. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/lord-guildford-dudley/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].
Williamson, D. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

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