Category Archives: Royal Deaths and Illnesses

Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1587)

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire, England on February 8, 1587.  She was 44-years-old and had spent the last nineteen years of her life imprisoned in English castles  Mary was the last of five Stewart/Stuart monarchs of Scotland who died a violent death: James I, King of Scots was assassinated, James II was accidentally killed when a cannon nearby where he was standing exploded, and James III and James IV were killed in battle.

Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots, circa 1559; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on December 8, 1542, at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland, Mary became Queen of Scots when she was six-days-old upon the death of her father. She was the third and the only surviving child of James V, King of Scots and his second wife Marie of Guise, a French princess. James V was the son of James IV, King of Scots and Margaret Tudor, the eldest surviving daughter of King Henry VII of England, and the sister of King Henry VIII of England. Therefore, Mary’s father was the nephew of King Henry VIII and the first cousin of his children, all monarchs of England, King Edward VI, Queen Mary I, and Queen Elizabeth I. As all Henry VIII’s children turned out to be childless, this gave their first cousin once removed, Mary, Queen of Scots, a strong claim to the English throne.

Mary and her first husband François II, King of France; Credit – Wikipedia

In July 1548, the Scottish Parliament approved Mary’s marriage to François, Dauphin of France, the son and heir of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici. On August 7, 1548, five-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots set sail for France where she would be raised with her future husband. She would not return to Scotland for thirteen years. Upon the death of his father in 1559, and Mary’s husband succeeded his father as King François II of France. However, François died after only a 17-month reign and 18-year-old Mary returned to Scotland in 1561.

During Mary’s thirteen-year absence, the Protestant Reformation had swept through Scotland, led by John Knox who is considered the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Therefore, Catholic Mary returned to a very different Scotland from the one she had left as a child. Mary needed an heir, so a second marriage became necessary. Her choice was her first cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Both Mary and Darnley were grandchildren of Margaret Tudor. Darnley was the son of Lady Margaret Douglas, Margaret Tudor’s only child from her second marriage to Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. Mary and Darnley married at Holyrood Palace on July 29, 1565. They had one child, James VI, King of Scots, the future King James I of England, who succeeded Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Mary with her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s marriage with Darnley was unsuccessful and she began to be drawn to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. Bothwell entered into a conspiracy with Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll and George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly to rid Mary of her husband. On February 10, 1567, Darnley was killed when the house he was staying at was blown up.

Mary and Bothwell were married on May 15, 1567. The marriage angered many Scottish nobles who raised an army against Mary and Bothwell. After negotiations at the Battle of Carberry Hill, Bothwell was given safe passage and the lords took Mary to Edinburgh. The following night, Mary was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle, on an island in the middle of Loch Leven. Between July 20-23, 1567, Mary miscarried twins, and on July 24, 1567, she was forced to abdicate in favor of her one-year-old son James, whom she never saw again. Bothwell was driven into exile. He was imprisoned in Denmark, became insane, and died in 1578.

In 1568, Mary escaped from her imprisonment at Loch Leven Castle. After being defeated at the Battle of Langside by the forces of her Protestant illegitimate half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, Mary was forced to flee to England, where she was subsequently imprisoned by her first cousin once removed, Queen Elizabeth I of England, because Elizabeth saw Mary as a threat to her throne. Mary was first taken to Carlisle Castle and then moved to Bolton Castle because it was further from the Scottish border.

In 1569, Mary was moved to Tutbury Castle and placed in the custody of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife Bess of Hardwick. From 1569 – 1585, Mary was confined to properties of Shrewsbury, including Sheffield Castle, Sheffield Manor Lodge, Wingfield Manor, and Chatsworth House, all of which were in the interior of England and away from the sea for security reasons.  In 1585, Mary was moved to Chartley Hall in Staffordshire, England and Sir Amias Paulet became her keeper. Mary was always held in comfortable captivity, with her own domestic staff, which never numbered fewer than sixteen. Her chambers were decorated with fine tapestries and carpets, her bedlinens were changed daily, her own chefs prepared meals that were served on silver plates, and sometimes she was allowed outside to walk and ride.

Why was Mary, Queen of Scots executed?

Mary in captivity, 1578; Credit – Wikipedia

Since Mary was Catholic, she was seen by many English Catholics as the legitimate English sovereign instead of the Protestant Elizabeth I. There were various plots to replace Elizabeth on the English throne with Mary, possibly without Mary’s knowledge. After the 1583 Throckmorton Plot, Elizabeth I had issued a decree which prevented all communication to and from Mary. However, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, Elizabeth’s Secretary of State and Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth’s spymaster, who wanted to entrap Mary, realized that the decree would hinder their plans.

Walsingham established a new line of communication that he could control without Mary’s knowledge. With the help of Gilbert Gifford, a double agent, it was arranged for a local brewer to deliver and receive messages between Mary and her supporters by placing them in a watertight casing inside the stopper of a beer barrel which would be delivered and then picked up at Chartley Hall in Staffordshire, England where Mary was confined. Double agent Gilbert Gifford approached the unsuspecting Guillaume de l’Aubespine, the French ambassador to England, and described the new correspondence arrangement that had been designed by Walsingham. Gifford then submitted a code table to de l’Aubespine supplied by Walsingham and requested the first message be sent to Mary.

Cipher and code tables of Mary in the United Kingdom National Archives; Credit – Wikipedia

All messages to Mary would be sent via diplomatic packets to the French ambassador de l’Aubespine who then passed them on to double agent Gifford. Gifford would then pass the messages on to Walsingham who would have them decoded. The letter was then resealed and given back to Gifford who would pass it on to the brewer. The brewer would then smuggle the letter to Mary. If Mary sent a letter to her supporters, it would go through the reverse process. Every message coming to and from Chartley Hall was intercepted and read by Walsingham.

The letter that incriminated Mary, from the United Kingdom National Archives; Credit – Wikipedia

Eventually, the Babington Plot was detected. The goals of the Babington Plot were to assassinate Elizabeth I and then for England to be invaded by Spanish-led Catholic forces. When Mary gave her consent to the plot by replying to a letter, her days were numbered.

There were fourteen conspirators:

What happened to the conspirators?

Anthony Babington; Credit – Wikipedia

John Ballard was arrested on August 4, 1586, and under torture, he confessed and implicated Anthony Babington. All of the conspirators were arrested by August 15, 1586. They were tried at Westminster Hall in London on September 13-14, 1586, found guilty of treason and conspiracy and sentenced to be executed.

On September 20, 1586, Ballard along with Babington, Tichborne, Salisbury, Donn, Barnewell, and Savage were executed by hanging, drawing, and quartering.  Their horrific and bloody executions terribly shocked the witnesses. When Elizabeth I was told of their suffering and the shock of the witnesses, she gave a slight reprieve to the remaining seven conspirators who were to be executed the next day. She ordered that they were to be left hanging until they were dead before being cut down, disemboweled, and quartered.

What happened to Mary, Queen of Scots?

On August 11, 1586, Mary was out riding from Chartley Hall with her musician Bastian Pagez, her doctor Dominique Bourgoing and others. They were surprised by armed soldiers who took them to nearby Tixall Hall so that Mary’s rooms at Chartley Hall could be searched and her papers could be seized. Mary was kept at Tixall Hall until late September 1586, when she was moved to her final place of imprisonment, Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire where King Richard III of England had been born.

Contemporary drawing of the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

In October 1586, at Fotheringhay Castle, Mary was tried for treason before a court of thirty-six commissioners appointed by Elizabeth I, including the two men who had plotted her downfall, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and Sir Francis Walsingham. She protested that as a foreign anointed queen she had never been an English subject and therefore could not be convicted of treason. Mary was not permitted legal counsel, not permitted to review the evidence against her, and not permitted to call witnesses. On October 25, 1586, Mary was convicted of treason and sentenced to death with only one commissioner, Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, voting against the conviction and death penalty.

Queen Elizabeth I procrastinated signing Mary’s death warrant. She was reluctant to sign the death warrant of an anointed queen as she felt it would set a bad precedent and feared that Mary’s son James VI, King of Scots, now twenty years old, would form an alliance and invade England. Additionally, Elizabeth feared the reaction of her Catholic subjects and Catholic Europe. With the intense pressure from Parliament and her Council continuing, Elizabeth finally signed the death warrant on February 1, 1587, and it was immediately sent to Fotheringhay Castle. Later, Elizabeth would deny that she had approved the sending of the death warrant to Fotheringhay Castle and punished those responsible.

The Execution

Execution of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, from Robert Beale’s The Order and Manner of the Execution of Mary Queen of Scots, Feb. 8, 1587; Credit – Wikipedia

The death warrant arrived at Fotheringhay Castle on February 7, 1587. Having just found out she was to be executed the next day, Mary spent her final night praying in the castle’s small chapel. She wrote her last letter to King Henri III of France, the brother of her first husband. At two in the morning, Mary lay down on her bed but did not sleep. Throughout the rest of the night, the sound of hammering came from the Great Hall where the scaffold was being built.

Mary’s request to have her ladies and servants accompany her to her execution was initially denied. Mary countered with the disbelief that Elizabeth I would allow her to die without any ladies to attend her. She further explained that she was “cousin to your Queen, descended from the blood of Henry VII, a married Queen of France, and the anointed Queen of Scotland.” After some discussion, it was decided that Mary could choose six servants to accompany her. Her secretary James Melville, her doctor Dominique Bourgoing, her surgeon Jacques Gervais, and her porter Didier were allowed to accompany her. In addition, her ladies Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth Curle were also allowed to accompany her.

Mary on the way to the scaffold by Scipione Vannutelli, 1861; Credit – Wikipedia

Three hundred people had gathered in the Great Hall of Fotheringhay Castle to witness the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots on February 8, 1587. Mary wore a black satin dress embroidered with black velvet. On her head, she wore a white peaked headdress with a white veil flowing down her back. Mary held a crucifix and a prayer book in her hands. Two rosaries hung from her waist. Around her neck, she wore a pomander and an Agnus Dei, a disc of wax impressed with the figure of a lamb.

The scaffold, draped with black fabric, was in the center of the Great Hall. On the scaffold were the block, a cushion for Mary to kneel on, and three stools, for Mary and the official witnesses, George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and Henry Grey, 6th Earl of Kent. Mary was led up the three steps to the scaffold and listened calmly as the commission for her execution was read aloud. When Richard Fletcher, the Protestant Dean of Peterborough Cathedral began Protestant payers, Mary said, “I am settled in the ancient Catholic Roman religion and mind to spend my blood in defense of it.” The Dean continued to pray and Mary also began to pray in Latin from her prayer book. When the Dean had finished praying, Mary switched to English and prayed aloud for the English Catholic Church, her son, and for Elizabeth that she might serve God in the years to come.

When Mary was done praying, the executioner asked for forgiveness for taking her life. Mary answered, “I forgive you with all my heart for now I hope you shall make an end to all my troubles.” Then the executioner assisted by Mary’s ladies Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth Curle helped Mary to undress. When her black dress was removed, Mary was wearing a red petticoat, trimmed with lace with a low neckline and back. Mary’s ladies gave her a pair of red sleeves. She was now dressed all in red, the color of blood, and the liturgical color of martyrdom in the Roman Catholic Church.

Embed from Getty Images 
Mary’s rosary and prayer book

It was the usual practice for executioners to receive any items of adornment that the condemned person was wearing. When the executioner touched Mary’s gold rosary, Jane Kennedy protested. Mary intervened saying that the executioner would be compensated with money in lieu of the rosary and the Agnus Dei. The beautiful gold rosary was meant for Mary’s friend Anne Dacre, the wife of Philip Howard, 13th Earl of Arundel, canonized a saint in 1970. Jane Kennedy later delivered the rosary to Anne and it has been in the possession of the Earl of Arundel’s descendants, the Dukes of Norfolk, ever since. However, on May 21, 2021, burglar alarms alerted staff at Arundel Castle, the home of the Dukes of Norfolk. Items of great historical significance, including Mary’s rosary, were stolen by force from a display cabinet.

Mary remained calm but had to admonish her weeping women to stop their crying. Mary then turned to her four male servants who were sitting on benches, smiled at them, and told them to be comforted. The time had come for the execution. Jane Kennedy had a white cloth embroidered in gold. She kissed the cloth and gently wrapped it over Mary’s eyes and over her head so that her hair was covered and her neck was bare. Then Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth Curle left the scaffold.

This watercolor was made for a Dutch magistrate who compiled an album of historical prints and drawings in 1613. The costume and architecture look very Dutch, but the picture does reflect eyewitness accounts of the event. Mary’s clothes were burned to prevent supporters from keeping them as relics, and this scene is shown on the far left. Credit Wikipedia from the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland

Mary knelt down on the cushion in front of the block. She said, in Latin, the psalm “In you Lord is my trust, let me never be confounded.” Mary then felt for the block and put her head down on it. She stretched out her arms and legs and cried out in Latin, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit” three or four times. The executioner’s assistant put his hand on her body to steady her. The first blow missed her neck and cut into the back of her head. Her servants thought they heard her say, “Sweet Jesus.” The second blow severed her neck except for a small sinew which was cut by using the ax as a saw.

The executioner held up Mary’s head and said, “God save the Queen!” However, Mary’s auburn hair separated from her head which then fell to the floor. Mary’s hair had been gray and cut very short and she had chosen to wear an auburn wig. The spectators sat stunned until the Dean of Peterborough called out, “So perish all the Queen’s enemies!” The Earl of Kent then cried out, “Such be the end of all the Queen’s and the Gospels’ enemies.” The Earl of Shrewsbury who had been Mary’s official keeper between 1569 – 1585, sat on the scaffold speechless, with tears streaming down his face. Then, Mary’s lapdog, a Skye terrier, appeared from under Mary’s red petticoat and sadly stationed itself between Mary’s head and her shoulder.

The Earl of Shrewsbury’s eldest son rode hard to London to break the news of Mary’s execution to Queen Elizabeth I. He reached London at nine the next morning. Elizabeth first received the news with indignation which quickly turned to distress and then sorrow and many tears.

Aftermath

Copy of Mary’s death mask at Falkland Palace in Scotland; By Kim Traynor – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21201424

Mary had requested that she be buried in France at either the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, the traditional burial site of the French royal family, or at the Reims Cathedral but Elizabeth denied her request. Mary’s ladies and servants were allowed one requiem mass to be said for Mary by Father de Preau, her almoner and confessor, on the morning after her execution.

Mary’s body was embalmed and her heart and entrails, removed as part of the embalming process, were buried secretly within Fotheringhay Castle to prevent them from becoming relics. Mary’s body was wrapped in a wax winding-sheet, put in a lead coffin, and left in Fotheringhay Castle until August 1, 1587, when they were buried at Peterborough Cathedral where Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII’s first wife had been buried.

In 1603, as Queen Elizabeth I, the last of the Tudors, lay dying, she gave her assent that Mary, Queen of Scots’ son James VI, King of Scots, should succeed her. By primogeniture, James was the next in line to the English throne. Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603. Now James I, King of England and James VI, King of Scots, Mary’s son entered London on May 7, 1603, and his coronation was held on July 25, 1603. In 1612, the remains of Mary, Queen of Scots were exhumed upon the orders of her son and were reburied in a marble tomb with a beautiful effigy in Westminster Abbey in a chapel directly across the aisle from the chapel containing the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I. Mary, Queen of Scots is the ancestor of the current British royal family and many other European royal families.

Tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots in Westminster Abbey; Credit – Wikipedia

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

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Babington Plot. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babington_Plot [Accessed 25 Nov. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Mary, Queen of Scots. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Queen_of_Scots [Accessed 25 Nov. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016). Mary, Queen of Scots. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/mary-queen-of-scots/ [Accessed 25 Nov. 2019].
  • Fraser, Antonia. (1969). Mary Queen of Scots. New York: Dell Publishing Company.
  • Weir, Alison. (2003). Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley. New York: Ballantine Books.

Assassination of James I, King of Scots (1437)

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

On February 20, 1437, 42-year-old James I, King of Scots was assassinated by conspirators including his uncle Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, the son of Robert II, King of Scots and his second wife Euphemia de Ross, who wanted to be on the throne instead of James.  James I was the first of five Stewart monarchs to die a violent death.  His son James II was accidentally killed when a cannon nearby where he was standing exploded. The violent deaths continued with the deaths in battle of James III and James IV and the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots.

James I, King of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

James I, King of Scots

James I, King of Scots was born on July 25, 1394, at Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, Scotland. He was the second surviving son of Robert III, King of Scots and Anabella Drummond. James’ father Robert III was the eldest child of Robert II, King of Scots and his mistress Elizabeth Mure. The couple married in 1346, but the marriage was not in agreement with the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church. After receiving a papal dispensation, the couple remarried. The children born before their marriage were legitimized. Despite the legitimization of Elizabeth’s children, there were family disputes over her children’s right to the crown.

At the time of his birth, James’ much older brother David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay was the heir to the throne of Scotland. However, serious problems began to emerge between David and his uncle Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, who was the third in line to the throne after David and James. Through the machinations of Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, David was accused unjustifiably of appropriating and confiscating funds and was arrested in 1402. He was imprisoned at Falkland Palace and died on March 26, 1402, at the age of 22, probably of starvation.

Eight-year-old James, now heir to the throne, was the only one in the way of transferring the royal line to the Albany Stewarts. Eventually, fearing for the safety of his only surviving son James, Robert III, King of Scots decided to send him to France. However, the ship 12-year-old James was sailing on was captured on March 22, 1406, by English pirates who delivered James to King Henry IV of England. Robert III, King of Scots, aged 68, died at Rothesay Castle on April 4, 1406, after hearing of his son’s captivity. 12-year-old James was now the uncrowned King of Scots and would remain in captivity in England for eighteen years. While in England, James was more of a guest than a hostage.

While in England, James met his future wife Lady Joan Beaufort. She was the third of the six children and the first of the two daughters of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and Margaret Holland. Joan’s father was the eldest of the four children of John of Gaunt, son of King Edward III, and his mistress and later his wife, Katherine Swynford. Joan was a great grand-daughter of King Edward III, a first cousin once removed of King Richard II, a niece of King Henry IV, and a first cousin of King Henry V. Her paternal uncle Henry Beaufort was a Cardinal, Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England.

James I, King of Scots and Joan Beaufort; Credit – Wikipedia

The English considered that a marriage to a Beaufort gave the Scots an alliance with the English instead of the French. James and Joan were married on February 12, 1424, at St. Mary Overie Church, now known as Southwark Cathedral in Southwark, London, England. James was released from his long captivity on March 28, 1424, and the couple traveled to Scotland. James and Joan had eight children including James’ successor James II, King of Scots.

For more information about James I, King of Scots, see Unofficial Royalty: James I, King of Scots

What caused a conspiracy to assassinate James I, King of Scots?

Upon his return to Scotland in 1424, James found that there were still doubts about the validity of the first marriage of his grandfather Robert II and this raised questions about James’ own right to the throne of Scotland. James found himself facing challenges from descendants of his grandfather’s two marriages. Those descendants included:

James knew he had to crush the power of his cousin Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany to strengthen his power. He also could not forget that it was Murdoch’s father who had caused the death of his elder brother David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay. In 1425, Duncan, Earl of Lennox, Murdoch’s father-in-law,  raised his men of Lennox in a revolt against  James I in support of Murdoch.  A Parliament held in Perth, Scotland in 1425 issued orders for Murdoch’s arrest and in May 1425 a trial was held at Stirling Castle where Murdoch, his sons Alexander and Walter Stewart, and his father-in-law Duncan, Earl of Lennox were all found guilty of treason and executed at Stirling Castle. Murdoch’s third son James Stewart fled to Ireland, where he would spend the remainder of his life in exile.

The Albany Stewarts were no longer a problem but his uncle, the only surviving son of Robert II and his second wife Euphemia de Ross, Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, now had a stronger claim to the throne. In 1425, James I had only one infant child, a daughter. His only surviving son, the future James II, would not be born until 1430 and the remaining five children of James I would be all daughters.

Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl had been instrumental in negotiating James I’s release from captivity in England in 1424. Atholl also served as a member of the jury that tried and executed his nephew Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany. Atholl’s elder son David, Master of Atholl had been one of the hostages sent to England as a condition of James I’s release and had died there in 1434. Atholl’s younger son Alan died at the Battle of Inverlochy in 1431. Atholl’s grandson Robert, the son of David, was now Atholl’s heir and both were in line to the throne after James I’s son who had been born in 1430.

James I showed his uncle Atholl favor by appointing him Great Justiciar of Scotland, basically equivalent to a modern Prime Minister, and giving him an additional earldom, the Earldom of Strathearn. In addition, James appointed Atholl’s grandson Robert as his personal chamberlain. However, the true nature of Atholl’s loyalty to his nephew James I is unclear. Atholl was upset with issues with the lands he held and how they would and would not be inherited by his grandson. Some historians think that the imprisonment and subsequent death of his son David in England turned Atholl against James. Other historians think that Atholl’s efforts to return James to Scotland from his English captivity and support him against the Albany Stewarts was a well-thought-out plan for those two branches of the House of Stewart to destroy each other and clear Atholl’s own way to the throne because of the claims of the illegitimacy against his half-brother Robert III.

The Assassination

A 17th- century depiction of James I’s assassination; Credit – Wikipedia

Whatever the cause of Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl’s issues with his nephew James I, King of Scots, he decided to assassinate the king and take the throne for himself. Some disaffected supporters of the Albany Stewarts joined in the conspiracy. The number of conspirators is thought to be around thirty but the main conspirators were:

  • Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl – the only surviving son of Robert II and his second wife Euphemia de Ross
  • Robert Stewart, Master of Atholl – Atholl’s grandson and heir and personal chamberlain of James I
  • Sir Robert Graham – a former supporter of the Albany Stewarts
  • Thomas Graham – son of Sir Robert Graham
  • Christopher and Robert Chambers – former supporters of the Albany Stewarts, Robert was a member of the royal household

James I, King of Scots and his wife Joan Beaufort were staying at the Blackfriars Priory in Perth, Scotland. They had spent Christmas there and stayed on for a general council held in Perth in February 1437. On the evening of February 20, 1437, Robert Stewart, Master of Atholl, the personal chamberlain of James I, let about thirty conspirators into the Blackfriars Priory.

While James, his wife Joan, and her ladies were in their chambers, they heard a great noise and became fearful. It was discovered that the chamber door had been tampered with and would not lock. Unbeknownst to them, Robert Stewart, James’ chamberlain, had broken the locks. James asked the women to guard the door while he searched for a means of escape.

James was unable to open any windows so he grabbed iron tongs from the fireplace and managed to open a plank of the chamber’s floor. He crawled under the floorboards and put them back in their place. He was in the passage that led to a large drain but because the drain had been blocked, James could not escape.  James had played a lot of tennis while at the Blackfriars Priory and had hit many balls off the court and down the large drain. Just three days before his assassination, James had ordered the drain blocked up with stones so that he would not lose any more tennis balls.

Catherine Douglas barring the door, by J R Skelton, from H E Marshall’s Scotland’s Story of 1906.

Catherine Douglas, one of Queen Joan’s ladies, used her arm to bar the door closed against the assassins. Eventually, the assassins forced their way into the chamber, breaking Catherine’s arm. Catherine’s story has been retold over the centuries and she has been nicknamed Kate Barless.  James I was eventually discovered and hacked to death by Sir Robert Graham. Queen Joan had been a target of her husband’s killers, and although wounded, she escaped.  James I, King of Scots was only 42 years old when he was killed and left a 7-year-old son to succeed him as James II, King of Scots.  Some people were glad to see James I dead. They considered him a tyrant who without reason attacked the nobility by imposing forfeiture on their estates and who failed to deliver justice to his people.

A monument now marks the site of the Carthusian Charterhouse in Perth; Photo Credit – By kim traynor, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29398897

James I, King of Scots was buried in the Carthusian Charterhouse in Perth, which he had founded. On May 11, 1559, following a sermon by John Knox, a leader of the Scottish Reformation and the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, a mob of Protestant reformers attacked the Carthusian Charterhouse in Perth. Everything was destroyed including the tombs and remains of James I, his wife Joan, and Margaret Tudor, the wife of James IV, King of Scots and the daughter of King Henry VII of England.

What happened to the conspirators?

There was no strong support for the conspiracy and James I’s assassins were soon captured and brutally executed on March 26, 1437. They were dragged naked through the street and stabbed with red-hot irons. Then they were beheaded, torn limb from limb, and quartered. Their heads were placed on iron spikes and their limbs were hung on gates in towns and cities throughout Scotland as a warning to other would-be traitors.

The would-be King of Scots, Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, had the most brutal torture and execution. He was tortured for two days and then killed on the third day. On the first day, he was put in a cart with a crane, pulled up, and then violently dropped. He was then put in a pillory and a crown of burning iron was placed upon his head with the inscription King of all Traitors. On the second day, Atholl was dragged naked through the streets. On the third day, he was disemboweled while still alive. His entrails and heart were torn out and burned. Finally, he was beheaded and quartered. Like the other assassins, his head and the quarters were displayed throughout Scotland.

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

Works Cited

  • Abernethy, S. (2013). The Assassination of King James I of Scotland. [online] The Freelance History Writer. Available at: https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2013/05/24/the-assassination-of-king-james-i-of-scotland/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). James I of Scotland. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_I_of_Scotland [Accessed 24 Nov. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Stewart,_Earl_of_Atholl [Accessed 24 Nov. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2017). James I, King of Scots. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/james-i-king-of-scots/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 2019].
  • Scotsman.com. (2015). How King James’ love of tennis sealed his murder. [online] Available at: https://www.scotsman.com/news-2-15012/how-king-james-love-of-tennis-sealed-his-murder-1-4367436 [Accessed 24 Nov. 2019].

Assassination of Gustav III, King of Sweden (1792)

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On March 16, 1792, 46-year-old King Gustav III of Sweden was shot at a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, Sweden. He died thirteen days later. Giuseppe Verdi’s 1859 opera Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) is based on King Gustav III’s assassination and death.

King Gustav III by Lorens Pasch the Younger, 1791; Credit – Wikipedia

King Gustav III of Sweden

Born in 1746, King Gustav III was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederik of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, daughter of King George I of Great Britain. He was the first cousin of Empress Catherine II (the Great) of Russia and the nephew of King Friedrich II of Prussia (the Great). In 1766, Gustav married Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, the eldest daughter of King Frederik V of Denmark and his first wife Louisa of Great Britain, daughter of King George II of Great Britain. Gustav and Sophia Magdalena had two sons but only the future King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden survived infancy.

In 1771, King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died and Gustav succeeded his father as King Gustav III of Sweden. In 1772, Gustav arranged for a coup d’état known as the Revolution of 1772 or Coup of Gustav III. The coup d’état reinstated an absolute monarchy and ended parliamentary rule. Gustav imprisoned opposition leaders and established a new regime with extensive power for the king.

For more information, see Unofficial Royalty: King Gustav III of Sweden.

The Assassination

Royal Opera House in Stockholm in 1880, demolished in 1892 and a new opera house was built. Credit – Wikipedia

The Russo-Sweden War and the implementation of the Union and Security Act in 1789, which gave the king more power and abolished many of the privileges of the nobility, contributed to the increasing hatred of King Gustav III, which had existed among the nobility since the 1772 coup. In the winter of 1791-1792, a conspiracy was formed within the nobility to kill the king and reform the government. The conspirators were:

  • Jacob Johan Anckarström, a Swedish military officer, from a noble family
  • Johan Ture Bielke, member of the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament)
  • Jacob von Engeström, former cabinet secretary and governor of Uppsala County
  • Johan von Engeström, member of the Riksdag
  • Count Claes Fredrik Horn, major in the Swedish Army, former court chamberlain
  • Carl Pontus Lilliehorn, colonel of the Svea Life Guards
  • Baron Carl Fredrik Pechlin, a former major general in the Swedish army and a member of the Riksdag
  • Count Adolph Ribbing, member of the Riksdag

The assassination was scheduled to take place on March 16, 1792, during a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm. On that day, members of the conspiracy gathered at the home of Baron Carl Fredrik Pechlin to plan what would happen with the government once the king was dead. Jacob Johan Anckarström, Count Claes Fredrik Horn, and Count Adolph Ribbing met that afternoon and agreed that all three would go to the masked ball dressed in black robes and white masks. Anckarström then went to his home, where he loaded two pistols with bullets, furniture tacks, and bits of lead clippings and sharpened a butcher’s knife. Anckarström and Horn went to the opera house together and Ribbing met them there.

The mask Anckarström wore, his knife, pistols, and the bullets, furniture tacks and lead clippings he loaded in the pistols; Credit – Av LSH – http://emuseumplus.lsh.se/, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27229892

King Gustav III and his friends ate a light supper at the opera house before the masked ball. Towards the end of the supper, a letter arrived for Gustav. At the last moment, one of the conspirators, Carl Pontus Lilliehorn, regretted his part in the conspiracy and sent an anonymous letter to Gustav warning him of the murder plans. Gustav’s friend Count Hans Henric von Essen begged him not to go to the masked ball. However, Gustav had received many threatening letters and ignored the warning.

King Gustav III’s masquerade dress; Credit – Wikipedia

King Gustav III, wearing a mask, a triangular hat, a Venetian cape, and the star of the Royal Order of the Seraphim, walked arm in arm with Count Hans Henric von Essen around the theatre once and then into the foyer where they met Captain Carl Fredrik Pollet. King Gustav, von Essen, and Pollet continued through the foyer towards the masked ball. Due to the crowd, Pollet receded behind the king, who then turned backward to talk to Pollet. Gustav was easily recognized because of the Royal Order of the Seraphim and was soon surrounded by conspirators Jacob Johan Anckarström, Count Claes Fredrik Horn, and Count Adolph Ribbing. One of the conspirators said to him in French: “Bonjour, beau masque” (“Good day, fine masked man.”). Anckarström edged himself behind Gustav, took out a pistol from his left inner pocket, and pulled the trigger. Because the king turned back to talk to Pollet, the shot went in at an angle left of the third lumbar vertebrae towards the left hip region.

King Gustav twitched but did not fall. Anckarström then lost courage because he thought that the king would immediately fall. He dropped the pistol and knife on the floor, took a few steps, and shouted fire. Then he quickly moved towards the door but von Essen had ordered the doors to be closed. Anckarström’s intention had been to shoot himself with the second pistol but instead, he hid the second pistol and mixed with the crowd. The police had everyone unmasked and recorded their names.

What happened to King Gustav III?

The chair where King Gustav rested after being shot. Blood can still be seen on the chair; Credit – Av Mats Landin, Nordiska museet – www.digitaltmuseum.se, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24839722

Immediately after being shot, King Gustav III looked pale as his friend Count Hans Henric von Essen and several army officers escorted him away. As they passed a chair, Gustav said, “I’m hurt – stop here.” von Essen extinguished the king’s clothes which had begun to burn because of the gunshot. After a while, Gustav, who did not lose consciousness, said, “I feel weak, bring me to my room.” He was then taken up to the room where he had supper to rest. Eventually, Gustav was brought back to the Royal Palace in Stockholm.

King Gustav III had not been shot dead as the conspirators had hoped and continued functioning as the head of state while he recovered. However, suddenly he weakened and, as often happened in the days before antibiotics, his wound became infected, and sepsis, a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs, developed. On March 29, 1792, King Gustav III of Sweden died at the age of 46. He was succeeded by his 13-year-old son King Gustav IV Adolf.

The castrum doloris and King Gustav III’s casket in the Riddarholmen Church by Olof Fridsberg; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 14, 1792, King Gustav III was given a magnificent funeral at Riddarholmen Church, a former 13th-century abbey in Stockholm, Sweden, the burial site for Swedish monarchs until 1950. A castrum doloris, a structure with decorations that enclosed the catafalque (raised box or a similar platform to support the casket) was built. The castrum doloris was built in the shape of an Old Norse burial mound that was used from the Neolithic Age to the Viking Age. On the top was a bust of King Gustav III by Swedish sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel. Over the king’s bust hung a shining North Star (Polaris). Beneath the king’s bust was a grieving Mother Svea, a female national personification for Sweden, usually portrayed as a shield-maiden (in Scandinavian folklore and mythology, a female warrior) with one or two lions. The arched opening of the castrum doloris led to the stairs to the royal crypt where Gustav was buried.

King Gustav’s coffin, draped in purple velvet with ermine edges, was placed beneath the castrum doloris. Adjacent to the coffin were the royal regalia on the right and the orders which had been bestowed upon the king on the left. On the right of the coffin was the Riksbaneret, the Swedish national banner used at various royal ceremonies, such as christenings, weddings, and funerals. Two runestones, which described what the king had accomplished during his reign, were on either side of the castrum doloris. All of what is described can be seen in the painting above.

Joseph Martin Kraus, the royal chapel music master, considered the “Swedish Mozart,” composed and conducted a dramatic funeral cantata that was performed by a large orchestra, choir, and four vocal soloists. After the funeral, Gustav was buried in the crypt of Riddarholmen Church.

Tomb of King Gustav III; Credit – www.findagrave.com

What happened to the conspirators?

Jacob Johan Anckarström; Credit – Wikipedia

Jacob Johan Anckarström had left his two guns and his knife at the opera house and the next morning the guns were brought to several gunsmiths. A gunsmith who had repaired the guns for Anckarström recognized them and identified him as their owner. Anckarström was arrested the same morning and immediately confessed to the murder but initially denied that there was a conspiracy. Eventually, he implicated Count Claes Fredrik Horn and Count Adolph Ribbing.

A baker’s boy who had delivered Carl Pontus Lilliehorn’s letter to Gustav III at the opera house led the investigators to Lilliehorn. The deeply repentant Lilliehorn spilled the beans about the conspiracy and his fellow conspirators. It was decided that a limited number of the conspirators would be charged and that Anckarström would be the scapegoat. Anckarström’s principal accomplices Horn and Ribbing were sentenced to death and deprived of their nobility but were then pardoned and exiled from Sweden. Horn settled in Denmark, changed his name to Fredrik Claesson, and wrote for a newspaper. Ribbing changed his name to Adolphe de Leuven and lived in France. He was a writer, married, and had a son. Carl Pontus Lilliehorn was also sent into exile. He settled in Germany where he changed his name to Berg von Bergheim, became a teacher, and later married a wealthy woman.

The fate of the other conspirators:

  • Johan Ture Bielke – died by suicide with poison six days after the assassination
  • Jacob von Engeström – sentenced to life imprisonment and deprived of his nobility but the sentence was reduced to three years in prison
  • Johan von Engeström – a year’s suspension from his service
  • Baron Carl Fredrik Pechlin – died after four years in prison

A contemporary drawing of Anckarström being flogged; Credit – Wikipedia

Anckarström was sentenced on April 16, 1972. He was deprived of his estates and nobility privileges, sentenced to be chained in irons for three days, and publicly flogged and then executed. On his execution day, April 27, 1792, Anckarström’s right hand was cut off, he was beheaded, and then his corpse was quartered.

Anckarström had been married and his wife, born Gustaviana von Löwen, and four of their children were living at the time of his execution. After Anckarström’s execution, his family adopted the name Löwenström with royal permission. The new surname was a combination of Löwen, the birth surname of Anckarström’s wife, and – ström, the end of Anckarström’s name.

Un Ballo in Maschera – The Masked Ball, opera by Guiseppe Verdi

Frontispiece to the 1860 vocal score of Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera published by Ricordi, showing the final scene; Credit – Wikipedia

The plot of Italian composer Guiseppe Verdi‘s 1859 opera Un Ballo in Maschera is based on the assassination and death of King Gustav III of Sweden. Although the subject of the assassination had been used by other composers, Verdi ran into frustrating censorship issues. Originally, the opera was entitled Gustavo III but Verdi’s librettist Antonio Somma was told that the censors in Naples refused to allow the depiction of an actual monarch on the stage, and certainly not the monarch’s murder. Changes were then made to the setting (Stockholm to Stettin, then in the Kingdom of Prussia) and the main character (King Gustav III to the fictional Duke of Pomerania). However, an assassination attempt in 1858 of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, led to further censorship issues. Censors demanded the setting not be in Europe. With the basic plot still remaining the assassination of King Gustav III, the setting was moved to Boston during the British colonial period, and the leading character became Riccardo, Earl of Warwick and governor of Boston.

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

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Gustav III of Sweden. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_III_of_Sweden [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Jacob Johan Anckarström. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Johan_Anckarstr%C3%B6m [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Un ballo in maschera. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_ballo_in_maschera [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. (2019). Gustav III. [online] Available at: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_III [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. (2019). Gustav III:s begravning. [online] Available at: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_III:s_begravning [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. (2019). Mordet på Gustav III. [online] Available at: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordet_p%C3%A5_Gustav_III [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].

January 28, 1919 – Execution of Four Russian Grand Dukes

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

On January 28, 1919, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (58 years old), Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich (58 years old), and two brothers, Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich (59 years old) and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich (55 years old) were taken to the courtyard of the Fortress of Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg and executed by a firing squad. The four Grand Dukes were all first cousins as their fathers were all sons of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia.  They were the last of the eighteen Romanovs killed as a result of the Russian Revolution.

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Grand Duke Paul, Alexandrovich; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Born in 1860, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich was the youngest of the six sons and the youngest of the eight children of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine) and the paternal uncle of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. Paul was only eight years older than his nephew Nicholas and the two had a close relationship.

Paul was educated with his brother Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich who was assassinated in 1905 when a bomb was thrown into his carriage. In 1881, Paul’s father Alexander II had also been assassinated in the same way. Paul served in the Russian Army as a general in the Cavalry and an adjutant general to his brother Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia.

In 1889, Paul married Princess Alexandra of Greece, the daughter of King George I of Greece and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. Alexandra gave birth to a daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, in 1890. When she was seven months pregnant with her second child in 1891, Alexandra slipped while entering a boat. This caused premature labor and a son, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, was born the next day. Sadly, Alexandra did not recover and died six days later. In 1916, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich was one of the conspirators in the murder of Grigori Rasputin.

In 1895, Paul began an affair with a married woman Olga Valerianovna Karnovich. Olga gave birth in 1897 to a son, later titled Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, who was killed on July 18, 1918, with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and four other Romanovs. Paul made a morganatic marriage to Olga in 1902 and they had two more children: Princess Irina Pavlovna Paley and Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley. Because he married without Nicholas II’s permission, Paul was banished from Russia, dismissed from his military commissions and all his properties were seized. His brother Grand Duke Sergei was appointed the guardian of Maria and Dmitri. Eventually, Nicholas II relented and allowed Paul to return to Russia. Nicholas II recognized Paul’s second marriage and gave Olga the title Princess Paley.

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Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Born in 1860, Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich was the third son and fifth child of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (a son of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia) and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna (born Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg). Dmitri’s family life was not happy because of some family issues. His father had an affair with a ballerina and his eldest brother Nicholas Konstantinovich was disinherited and sent into internal Russian exile after stealing some of his mother’s diamonds.

Dmitri’s father was Admiral General of the Russian Navy and hoped one of his sons would follow in his footsteps. Despite the fact that he had early naval training, Dmitri joined the Horse Guards Grenadiers Regiment in the Russian Army. Eventually, he was given command of the House Guards Grenadiers Regiment by Alexander III and was appointed Adjutant General to Nicholas II.

Dmitri was religious, a lifelong bachelor, was never involved in any scandals, and never played any role in Russian politics. When he retired from the army, he focused on his passion for horses. Dmitri created a model equestrian center, became president of the Imperial Society of Horse Racing, and was named the Honorary President of the Russian Society of Care and Protection of Animals. In the autumn of 1913, he started the Russian Imperial Horse Exposition and the Russian Sports Competition, a kind of Slavic Olympic Games.

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Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, known in the family as Bimbo, was born in 1859 and was the eldest of the six sons and the eldest of the seven children of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia (a son of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia) and Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna (born Princess Cecilie of Baden). Three sons of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna were killed by the Bolsheviks. Along with their sons Nicholas and George who were both killed on January 28, 1919, their son Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich was killed on July 18, 1918, with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and four other Romanovs.

Nicholas never married. He had fallen in love with his first cousin Princess Victoria of Baden but the Russian Orthodox Church prohibited marriage between first cousins. Nevertheless, Nicholas asked his uncle Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia for permission to marry, saying that he would never marry if he could not marry Victoria. Permission was denied and Victoria eventually married King Gustav V of Sweden. Nicholas did try a second time, but the potential bride, Princess Amélie of Orléans, the eldest daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris. was Catholic and unwilling to convert to Russian Orthodoxy. Amélie later married King Carlos I of Portugal.

Nicholas had a career in the Russian army but his passion, even in childhood, was Russian history. In 1905, Nicholas left the military and pursued his interest in history full-time. Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia granted him unlimited access to the Romanov Family Archives and Library. Grand Duke Nicholas was the author of many historical books about Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia and the Napoleonic Wars. He was chairman of the Russian Historical Society and also headed the Russian Geographical Society and the Society for the Protection and Preservation of Art and Antiquities. In 1915, Moscow University awarded Nicholas an honorary doctorate in Russian history.

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Grand Duke George Mikhailovich; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Born in 1863, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich was the third of the six sons and the fourth of the seven children of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia (a son of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia) and Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna (born Princess Cecilie of Baden).

In 1900, George married Princess Maria of Greece (Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna), daughter of King George I of Greece and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. The couple had two daughters: Princess Nina Georgievna and Princess Xenia Georgievna. Grand Duchess Maria and her two daughters were in England when World War I broke out and chose not to return to Russia. They never saw George again.

George’s daughter Princess Xenia married millionaire William Leeds and lived in an estate on Long Island in New York State for years. For a few months in 1927, Xenia took in a woman claiming to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, later found to be Anna Anderson, an impostor.

While George did have a military career and served as a General in the Russian Army, he was a passionate coin collector. His collections of Russian coins and medals included practically every coin ever used in the Russian Empire and he wrote ten books on coins. One of them, Catalogue of Imperial Russian Coins 1725–1891, was reprinted in the United States in 1976 and is still an important reference on the subject. In 1895, George was appointed the curator of the Alexander III Museum, today the Russian Museum in St Petersburg. His knowledge of coins was invaluable in increasing the museum’s coin collection. In 1909, George donated his own collection to the museum.

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In March 1918, all the male members of the Romanov family were ordered to register at Cheka headquarters, and then they were sent into exile in internal areas of Russia. Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich, Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich were sent to Vologda, a town north of Moscow. They could move freely around town and were able to visit each other frequently. Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich avoided the exile order because he was too ill to travel. He remained in a dacha near Tsarskoye Selo.

An incident on June 13, 1918, during the execution of Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, the brother of Nicholas II, changed the way the remaining Romanovs were treated. It appeared to his executioners that Michael had been trying to escape after the gun that was intended for him misfired. The incident was used to justify the necessity of keeping all exiled Romanovs under a strict regime of imprisonment.

On July 1, 1918, Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich, Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich were arrested in Vologda where they had been exiled. They were sent back to St. Petersburg to the Shpalernaia Prison where would remain for most of their incarceration. The Bolsheviks were determined to round up all the Grand Dukes still in Russia and so Paul was arrested on August 13, 1918. He joined the three other Grand Dukes at Shpalernaia Prison. Each Grand Duke was held in a cell, only seven feet by three feet. Each day, they were all allowed to gather in the courtyard for exercise which gave the Grand Dukes an opportunity to exchange a few words.

Grand Duke George somehow managed to smuggle letters to his wife Grand Duchess Maria in England. The last letter was dated November 27, 1918. Grand Duchess Maria unsuccessfully tried to buy her husband’s freedom and that of the other three Grand Dukes for fifty thousand pounds through the Danish ambassador in St. Petersburg. Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, a niece of Grand Dukes Nicholas and George, tried unsuccessfully to obtain the release of the four Grand Dukes also through the intervention of the Danish ambassador. On December 6, 1918, Grand Duke Paul’s health, which was already bad, declined sharply, and he was transferred to a prison hospital.

The writer Maxim Gorky had been a supporter of Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks but after seeing the terror of the new regime, he was changing his mind. Princess Paley, Grand Duke Paul’s wife, asked Gorky to intercede on behalf of the four Grand Dukes. In January 1919, Gorky went to Lenin to plead the case of the four Grand Dukes. Gorky pleaded the merits of each Grand Duke. When Gorky came to Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, he said, “Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich is a historian.” Lenin replied, “The Revolution does not need historians.” Gorky did not give up and eventually, Lenin promised to release the four Grand Dukes. Gorky, with the release document signed by Lenin, rushed to the station in Moscow to catch the train to St. Petersburg. When he reached St. Petersburg, Gorky saw the headline in the newspaper, “Four Grand Dukes Shot” and he nearly fainted.

Unlike the execution of Nicholas II and his family and the execution of Elizabeth Feodorovna and the five other Romanovs, there are no written eyewitness accounts of the execution of the four Grand Dukes. What is known is based on versions of second-hand information.

Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg; The Peter and Paul Cathedral with its golden spire can be seen in the middle; Photo Credit – By Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51488758

On January 27, 1919, Grand Duke Paul was transferred from the prison hospital to another prison and was kept there until 10 PM, when he was driven to the Peter and Paul Fortress, originally built by Peter the Great to protect his new city of St. Petersburg and the site of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the burial place of the Romanovs. At 11:30 pm on January 27, 1919, Grand Dukes Dmitri, Nicholas, and George were awakened in their cells at Shpalernaya Prison and were driven to the Peter and Paul Fortress. When Dmitri, Nicholas, and George arrived at the Fortress, they were roughly pushed from the truck into the Trubetskoy Bastion where prisoners arrested by the Bolsheviks were held. The Grand Dukes were told to remove their shirts and coats, despite the frigid temperature.

The Trubetskoy Bastion in the late 1920s; Photo Credit – Автор: Анонимный автор – http://encspb.ru/object/2804023013, Общественное достояние, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26266039

Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich, Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich were escorted toward a ditch that had been dug in the courtyard. As they passed the Peter and Paul Cathedral where their ancestors were buried, they each made the sign of the cross. Guards appeared carrying Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich on a stretcher. The three Grand Dukes were lined up before the ditch, in which there were already bodies. Nicholas Mikhailovich, who had been carrying his cat, handed it to a soldier, asking him to look after it. Grand Duke Paul was shot on his stretcher. Grand Dukes Nicholas, George, and Dmitri were all killed by the same blast, causing them to fall into the ditch.

Most likely, the ditch is the burial place of the four Grand Dukes. In 2004, in the Grand Ducal Burial Mausoleum adjoining the Peter and Paul Cathedral, a commemorative plaque was placed with the names of four Grand Dukes shot nearby in the Peter and Paul Fortress. In 2009, during the construction of a road to a parking lot at the Peter and Paul Fortress, nine unmarked mass graves were discovered and a total of 112 remains were unearthed.  Perhaps eventually the remains of the four Grand Dukes will be identified.

In 1981, Grand Duke Paul, Grand Duke Dmitri, and Grand Duke George were canonized as New-Martyrs of Russia by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Grand Duke Nicholas was the only Romanov who had been executed by the Bolsheviks not to be canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

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

Works Cited

  • Angelfire.com. (2018). ROYAL RUSSIA NEWS. THE ROMANOV DYNASTY & THEIR LEGACY, MONARCHY, HISTORY OF IMPERIAL & HOLY RUSSIA. [online] Available at: http://www.angelfire.com/pa/ImperialRussian/blog/index.blog/1450058/excavations-for-grand-dukes-remains-to-resume-at-peter-and-paul-fortress/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Dmitry_Konstantinovich_of_Russia [Accessed 19 Feb. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia (1863–1919). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_George_Mikhailovich_of_Russia_(1863%E2%80%931919) [Accessed 19 Feb. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Nicholas_Mikhailovich_of_Russia [Accessed 19 Feb. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich_of_Russia [Accessed 19 Feb. 2018].
  • Perry, J. and Pleshakov, K. (2008). The flight of the Romanovs. New York: Basic Books.
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December 14 – Queen Victoria’s Dire Day

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Oakley; The Last Moments of HRH the Prince Consort; Wellcome Library; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-last-moments-of-hrh-the-prince-consort-126148

December 14 was the worst day of the year for Queen Victoria.  On that day in 1861, her beloved husband Prince Albert had died at the age of 42.  Left a widow with nine children at the age of 42, the Queen’s grief was immense.  She withdrew from public life and wore black for the 40 years that she survived Albert.  The Blue Room in Windsor Castle where Albert had died was kept as it had been when he was alive, complete with hot water brought in the morning, and linen and towels changed daily.  Among themselves, Queen Victoria’s family called December 14 “Mausoleum Day.”  They were expected to attend the annual memorial service in the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore where Albert was buried.  Besides the death of Prince Albert, December 14 marked several other events in Queen Victoria’s family.

Prince Albert, the Prince Consort; Credit – Wikipedia

December 14, 1861 – Death of Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, husband of Queen Victoria, at Windsor Castle; buried in the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore in Windsor
In March of 1861, Queen Victoria’s mother died.  Because of Victoria’s grief, Albert took over many of her duties despite the fact that he was chronically suffering from stomach problems.  In the fall, Victoria and Albert learned that their 20-year-old eldest son Bertie (the future King Edward VII) was having an affair with an Irish actress.  Devastated by this news, Albert traveled to Cambridge to discuss the matter with his son.  On November 25, 1861, the two walked together in the pouring rain while Albert explained how horrified he and the Queen felt about the situation.

When Albert returned to Windsor Castle, he complained of shoulder, leg, back, and stomach pain and could not eat or sleep.  He was examined by doctors who assured Victoria that Albert would be better in two or three days.  However, Albert’s condition continued to worsen.  Victoria continued to hope for a recovery, but finally, on December 11, the doctors told her the dismal prognosis.  At 10:50 PM on December 14, 1861, Albert died in the presence of his wife and five of their nine children.

Sir William Jenner, one of Prince Albert’s doctors, diagnosed his final illness as typhoid fever, but Albert’s modern biographers have argued that the diagnosis is incorrect.  Albert had been complaining of stomach pains for two years and this may indicate that he died of some chronic disease, perhaps Crohn’s disease, kidney failure, or cancer.

Tomb of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; Photo Credit – findagrave.com

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Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, Credit – Wikipedia

December 14, 1871 – Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) begins to recover from typhoid fever
In November of 1871, the Prince of Wales, called Bertie in the family, was not feeling well and took to his bed at Sandringham.  Typhoid fever, a bacterial disease transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, was diagnosed and it was realized by the family that he might die.  Within a few weeks, it would be the 10th anniversary of the death of Bertie’s father, Prince Albert, who, it was believed, had died of typhoid fever. Bertie’s sister Princess Alice, who was visiting with her husband, was there to help nurse her brother as she had done ten years earlier with her father.  The Princess of Wales, called Alix, spent most of her time at her husband’s bedside and was quite alarmed by his delirium and violent and hysterical ravings.

On December 7, it seemed the worst might be over and Alix and Alice went for a sled ride.  When they returned, they found Bertie had suffered a relapse.  On December 8, Sir William Jenner sent a telegram to Queen Victoria: “The Prince passed a very unquiet night.  Not so well. Temperature risen to 104. Respiration more rapid. Dr. Gull and I are both very anxious.”  The Queen, who had visited her son in the early stages of his illness, returned to Sandringham, sure that Bertie would die on December 14, the 10th anniversary of her husband’s death.

On December 13, Bertie’s condition was grave.  Alix wrote in her diary that she and Princess Alice said to each other in tears, “There can be no hope.”  Bertie’s doctors consulted with Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria’s second son, about whether they should issue a bulletin saying that the Prince of Wales’ strength was failing.  Prince Alfred later told one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting, there had been “36 hours of the wildest, loudest, incessant talking, in all languages, whistling, and singing.”  The worst attack came just hours before the start of December 14, and it seemed certain Bertie would die.

Dawn broke on December 14 and miraculously, Bertie had slept through the night.  Queen Victoria came into his room early in the morning and found him awake and smiling.  That day the bulletin regarding the Prince of Wales’ condition said, “…there is some abatement of the gravity of the symptoms.”  Within 24 hours, the fear of a relapse had all but disappeared.  A thanksgiving service was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral for the recovery of the Prince of Wales from typhoid fever on February 27, 1872.

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Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine; Credit – Wikipedia

December 14, 1878 – Death of Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine at the New Palace in Darmstadt, Hesse (Germany); buried at the Grand Ducal Mausoleum at Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt
Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection affecting the mucous membranes of the nose and throat. Diphtheria causes a sore throat, fever, swollen glands, and weakness, but the determining sign is a thick, gray membrane covering the back of the throat. The membrane can block the windpipe so that the patient has to struggle for breath. Today, diphtheria is extremely rare in developed countries due to the vaccination against the disease.  However, before the advent of modern medicine, diphtheria could be epidemic and it often killed its victims.

In November of 1878, diphtheria invaded the household of the Grand Ducal Family of Hesse and by Rhine, where the reigning Grand Duke was Ludwig IV, the husband of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria.  Victoria, Alice’s eldest child was the first to become ill, on November 5, and soon Alice’s husband and four of Alice’s other children, Irene, Ernest, Alix, and Marie, developed diphtheria.  Only Elizabeth remained healthy and she was sent to the palace of her paternal grandmother.

On November 15, 1878, Alice’s youngest child, four-year-old Marie, choked to death because of the membrane covering her throat. Alice kept Marie’s death secret from her other children, however, she finally told them in early December.  Alice’s son Ernest was inconsolable, and to comfort him, Alice hugged and kissed him despite the risk of infection. On December 7, Alice realized that she had diphtheria. By December 14, 1878, the 17th anniversary of her father’s death, Alice became gravely ill and died that day.  Her last words were “Dear Papa.”

Tomb of Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine (She is hugging her daughter Marie on her left side); Credit – findagrave.com

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Queen Victoria with her York great-grandchildren in 1900 (Princess Mary, the future Princess Royal, and Prince Edward, the future King Edward VIII, standing; Prince Albert, the future King George VI, in front; Prince Henry, the future Duke of Gloucester, being held by the Queen)

December 14, 1895 – Birth of King George VI at York Cottage at Sandringham in Norfolk, England
Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George was born on the anniversary of the death in 1861 of his great-grandfather Prince Albert and of his great-aunt Princess Alice in 1878.  Queen Victoria received the news with mixed feelings. Her son, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) wrote to his son, the new baby’s father (later King George V): “Grandmama was rather distressed that this happy event should have taken place on a darkly sad anniversary for us, but I think – as well as most of us in the family here – that it will break the spell of this unlucky date.”

The Prince of Wales later wrote to his son: “I really think it would gratify her [Queen Victoria] if you yourself proposed the name Albert to her”.  Queen Victoria was pleased to hear of the proposal to name the new baby Albert, and wrote to the baby’s mother: “I am all impatience to see the new one, born on such a sad day but rather more dear to me, especially as he will be called by that dear name which is a byword for all that is great and good.”

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King Paul I of Greece and his siblings, clockwise from left: Helen, George, Alexander, Paul, and Irene (Katherine was born after this photograph was taken.); Credit – Wikipedia

December 14, 1901 – Birth of King Paul I of Greece in Athens, Greece
A Greek great-grandson of Queen Victoria was also born on December 14, 11 months after Queen Victoria’s death and on the 40th anniversary of Prince Albert’s death.  The future King Paul I of Greece was the son of King Constantine I of Greece and Princess Sophie of Prussia, the daughter of Queen Victoria’s eldest child Victoria, Princess Royal.  Paul was the father of Queen Sofia of Spain and of former King Constantine II of Greece.

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Princess Maud on the left with her mother and sister; Credit – Wikipedia

December 14, 1945 – Death of Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk at a nursing home in London, England
Maud was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and died of bronchitis at the age of 52  on the 84th anniversary of Prince Albert’s death. She was born Lady Maud Duff, the youngest daughter of Princess Louise, Princess Royal, and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife. In 1905, her grandfather King Edward VII granted Maud and her older sister Alexandra the title of Princess with the style of “Highness” and they received precedence immediately after all members of the royal family bearing the style of “Royal Highness.”

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

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Works Cited

  • “Albert, Prince Consort.” Wikipedia. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Albert>.
  • Erickson, Carolly. Her Little Majesty: The Life of Queen Victoria. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1997. Print.
  • Hough, Richard. Edward and Alexandra: Their Private and Public Lives. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 1992. Print.
  • Pope-Hennessy, James. Queen Mary. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1959. Print.
  • Princess Alice of the United Kingdom.” Wikipedia. Web. 14 Dec. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Alice_of_the_United_Kingdom>

July 18, 1918 – Execution of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Five Other Romanovs

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

On July 18, 1918, the day after the execution of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and his family, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (age 53) and five other Romanovs, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (age 59), Prince Ioann Konstantinovich (age 32), Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich (age 28), Prince Igor Konstantinovich (age 24), and Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley (age 21) along with Varvara Alexeievna Yakovleva, a nun from Elizabeth’s convent, and Feodor Semyonovich Remez, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich’s secretary, were executed by the Bolsheviks.

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Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna in her nun’s habit; Credit – Wikipedia

The second of the seven children of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was born Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine.  She was known in her family as Ella and was an elder sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (born Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine), the wife of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia.

In 1884, Ella married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the second youngest son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. The couple had no children but they later became the guardians of the children of Sergei’s brother Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (the younger), and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich. The children’s mother Alexandra of Greece and Denmark had died in 1891 giving birth to Dmitri, and they spent much time with Sergei and Ella.

In 1905, Grand Duke Sergei was assassinated when a bomb was thrown into his carriage. Four years after her husband’s assassination, Ella sold all her jewelry and with the proceeds opened the Convent of Saints Martha and Mary in Moscow and became its abbess. A hospital, pharmacy, and orphanage were opened on the convent’s grounds, and Ella and her Russian Orthodox nuns spent their time serving the poor of Moscow.

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Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich; Credit – Wikipedia

Born in 1869, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia and Cecile of Baden (Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna). His father was a son of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. Sergei had a military career, achieving the rank of Adjutant General. He served as General Inspector of the Artillery and Field Inspector General of Artillery. Grand Duke Sergei never married but had a long affair with the famous ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska who had previously been the mistress of Nicholas II while he was still unmarried and the heir to the throne.

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Prince Ioann Konstantinovich; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Ioann Konstantinovich was born in 1886 and was the eldest of the six sons and the eldest of the nine children of Grand Duke Konstantine Konstantinovich, a grandson of Nicholas I, and Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg (Elizaveta Mavrikievna). Ioann was very religious and thought about becoming a monk but he fell in love. In 1911, he married Princess Helen of Yugoslavia, daughter of King Peter I of Yugoslavia and Zorka of Montenegro, and she took the name Yelena Petrovna. The couple had two children:

Ioann fought in World War I and was a decorated war hero. His sister Princess Vera Konstantinovna, his mother Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna, and his wife Princess Yelena Petrovna left Russia in April 1919 with help from Swedish and Norwegian diplomats.

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Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich; Credit – Wikipedia

Nicknamed Kostya, Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich was born in 1891, the third of the six sons and fourth of the nine children of Grand Duke Konstantine Konstantinovich, a grandson of Nicholas I, and Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg (Elizaveta Mavrikievna). Prince Konstantin wanted to act in the theater but instead, he attended the Corps des Pages, a military academy in St. Petersburg. He served as an officer in the Izmaylovsky Regiment during World War I.

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Prince Igor Konstantinovich; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Igor Konstantinovich was the fifth of the six sons and the six of the nine children of Grand Duke Konstantine Konstantinovich, a grandson of Nicholas I, and Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg (Elizaveta Mavrikievna). He was born in 1894 and like his brother Konstantin, Igor liked the theater and attended the Corps des Pages, a military academy in Saint Petersburg. Despite having fragile health, Igor served with the Izmaylovsky Regiment during World War I and was a decorated war hero.

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Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley; Credit – Wikipedia

Born in 1896, Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley was the son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (the youngest child of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia) and his mistress Olga Valerianovna Karnovich. In 1902, Grand Duke Paul, a widower, made a morganatic marriage with Vladimir’s mother. Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria created Olga Valerianovna Countess von Hohenfelsen in 1904, and Vladimir was titled Count Vladimir von Hohenfelsen. In 1915, Olga Valerianovna was created Princess Paley by Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia which allowed Vladimir to use the title of Prince Paley.

Vladimir grew up in Paris and then attended the Corps des Pages, a military academy in Saint Petersburg. During World War I, he fought with the Emperor’s Hussars and was a decorated war hero. A talented poet from an early age, Vladimir published two volumes of poetry and wrote several plays and essays.

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What Happened

On March 9, 1918, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich was arrested in St. Petersburg and, with his secretary Feodor Semyonovich Remez, was sent to Perm, a city in Perm Krai, Russia. The three brothers – Princes Ioann, Konstantin, and Igor – along with Prince Vladimir Paley, were arrested in St. Petersburg on March 26, 1918. In late April, all four were transferred to the “red capital of the Urals” – Yekaterinburg, a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was arrested in Moscow on May 7, 1918, along with Varvara Alexeievna Yakovleva, the nun from her convent, and was first sent to Perm and then to Yekaterinburg. With the family of Nicholas II also in Yekaterinburg, the Bolsheviks decided that there was too much of a concentration of Romanovs and decided to move them. On May 20, 1918, they were all taken to Alapaevsk, a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, where they were kept in the Napolnaya School.

During the beginning of their confinement, the prisoners had a certain amount of freedom. They were allowed to write letters, leave the school to go to church, and were able to walk in a nearby field. Elizabeth Feodorovna spent her time praying, painting, and embroidering. The prisoners could sit in a small garden where they drank tea in the fresh air. Their so-called freedom disappeared in mid-June 1918 when there was an incident during the execution of Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, the brother of Nicholas II. It appeared to his executioners that Michael had been trying to escape after the gun that was intended for him misfired. The incident was used by local authorities to justify the necessity of keeping all imprisoned Romanovs under a strict regime of imprisonment. All their property was confiscated including shoes, clothes, linens, pillows, jewelry, and money. They were left with only one set of clothes, one pair of shoes, and two sets of linens. In addition, they were prohibited from leaving the school, could not write letters, and had limited food rations.

On the night of July 18, 1918, the prisoners were awakened and told they needed to be taken to a safe place because there was a risk of armed raids. The prisoners were blindfolded and their hands were tied behind their backs. The women were placed in a horse-drawn cart and the men in another. Only Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich resisted. The prisoners were taken out of town to one of the abandoned iron ore mines known as Lower Selimskaya. When the carts reached their destination, the prisoners were made to walk into the forest.

They walked to the edge of a mine shaft partially filled with water. According to the personal account of Vassili Ryabov, one of the killers,  the prisoners were then hit in the head and thrown into the mine shaft. Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich once again resisted and he was shot in the head and thrown down the mine shaft. When it was obvious that the prisoners were not dead, grenades were thrown down the mine shaft. All was quiet but after a short time, talking was heard and more grenades were thrown down the mine shaft. The prisoners then started singing the prayer “Lord, Save Your People.” This terrified the executioners. They had no more grenades and they needed to finish their job. The executioners set fire to wood and threw it down the shaft. The hymns and prayers continued for a while and then stopped. The mission was accomplished.

The mineshaft in Alapaevsk where remains of the Romanovs killed there were found; Photo Credit – By Витольд Муратов – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7964735

On September 28, 1918, the White Army captured Alapayevsk, hoping to rescue the prisoners from the school building. Some local peasants directed them to the abandoned mine and on October 8, 1918, bodies began to be retrieved from the mine shaft. After a medical examination and autopsy, the bodies were washed, wrapped in white shrouds, and placed in wooden coffins. Funeral services were held and the coffins were placed in the crypt of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Alapayevsk where they remained until July 1919.

Holy Trinity Cathedral in Alapayevsk; Credit – Wikipedia

For their safety, the coffins were moved around Russia during struggles between the White Army and the Red Army. The coffins made their way to Beijing, China where they were interred in a chapel at the former Russian Mission. In 1921, the remains of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna were interred at the St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem along with the remains of her fellow nun Varvara Yakovleva. The church was built in 1886 by Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia to honor his mother Empress Maria Alexandrovna, born Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, a first cousin once removed of Elizabeth.

Tomb of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna; Photo Credit – Автор: Deror Avi – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6527236

In 1957, the chapel at the former Russian Mission in Beijing, China was demolished and the coffins of the five Romanov men were moved to the Russian Orthodox cemetery in Beijing. However, in the late 1980s, the Chinese converted the cemetery into a park and it is believed that the coffins are now buried under a parking lot.

Tombs of Prince Ioann Konstantinovich, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich and Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich at the crypt of All Holy Martyrs Church (Beijing) circa 1938-1947; Credit – Wikipedia

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was canonized in 1981 as New-Martyr Elizabeth by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia along with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, Prince Ioann Konstantinovich, Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich, Prince Igor Konstantinovich, Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, and Varvara Yakovleva. However, Feodor Remez, Grand Duke Sergei’s personal secretary, was not canonized. They are known as the Martyrs of Alapaevsk. In 1992, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Varvara Yakovleva were canonized as New-Martyr Elizabeth and New-Martyr Barbara by the Russian Orthodox Church. The others killed with them were not canonized.

Icon of the Martyrs of Alapaevsk; Credit – Автор: группа иконописцев Православного Свято-Тихоновского Богословского Института – [1], Добросовестное использование, https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1807234

The mine shaft in Alapayevsk became a site of religious pilgrimage and a Russian Orthodox chapel was built there in 1992.  On July 18, 2001, the Monastery of the New Martyrs of Russia, also built on the site of the mine shaft, was consecrated.

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna is one of the ten 20th-century martyrs depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in London, England. Ella’s convent was closed in 1920 during the Soviet regime, but the convent was re-opened in 1994 and the sisters there continue doing the work Ella started.

Statue of Elizabeth (far left) and other martyrs of the 20th century at Westminster Abbey in London; Credit – Wikipedia

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

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Sergei_Mikhailovich [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Prince Constantine Constantinovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Constantine_Constantinovich_of_Russia [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Prince Igor Constantinovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Konstantinovich_of_Russia [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Prince John Konstantinovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioann_Konstantinovich_of_Russia [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (1864–1918). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Elisabeth_of_Hesse_and_by_Rhine_(1864%E2%80%931918) [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Vladimir Paley. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Paley [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
  • Mager, H. (1998). Elizabeth Grand Duchess of Russia. New York: Carol & Graf Publishers, Inc.
  • Perry, J. and Pleshakov, K. (2008). The flight of the Romanovs. New York: Basic Books.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Алапаевские мученики. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%BC%D1%83%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8 [Accessed 18 Feb. 2018].
  • Unofficial Royalty. (2018). Elisabeth of Hesse and By Rhine, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/july-18-daily-featured-date/ [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
  • Warwick, C. (2006). Ella, Princess, Saint and Martyr. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

July 17, 1918 – Execution of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia and His Family

by Emily McMahon and Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

On floor: Tsarevich Alexei; Seated: Grand Duchess Maria, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Emperor Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Anastasia; Standing: Grand Duchess Olga, Grand Duchess Tatiana – 1913; Credit – Wikipedia

The Execution

Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, their five children, along with three of their most loyal servants and the court doctor, were shot to death by firing squad on July 17, 1918.

Ivan Mikhailovich Kharitonov; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Alexei Yegorovich Trupp; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Anna Stepanovna Demidova; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

The family had been in exile in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Siberia, Russia since the previous spring. The residence was also known as The House of Special Purpose, as the Bolsheviks had wanted to bring Nicholas to trial eventually.

At the time of the family’s execution, the Bolshevik Red Army controlled Yekaterinburg with the anti-communist White Army gaining strength in the surrounding area. Additionally, Czechoslovak troops were also gaining on the city but (unknown to Red Army forces) this was to protect the Trans-Siberian Railway rather than the imperial family. To prevent the family from possible escape into White Army hands, the decision was made to execute them.

The family doctor, Eugene Botkin, awoke the family around midnight on July 17, urging them to dress quickly. All seven of the Romanov family plus Botkin and three servants (maid Anna Demidova, cook Ivan Kharitonov, and footman Alexei Trupp) were escorted to a basement room. Anastasia also took the family dog. Chairs were brought in for Nicholas, Alexandra, and Alexei. The family believed they were being evacuated to a new location.

Eight members of the firing squad entered the basement room along with Yakov Yurovsky, the commandant of the Ipatiev House. A few minutes later Yurkovsky informed the prisoners that they were about to be executed. Nicholas arose in shock but was quickly shot down. Chaos ensued as the executioners gunned down the family members and their servants.

Alexandra and her daughters had sewn jewels into their clothing to provide money if the family was sent into exile and these jewels acted for a time as shields against the bullets. Anna Demidova carried a pillow also sewn with jewels. Eventually, the soldiers brought out bayonets to kill the last remaining survivors. After several minutes of ricocheting bullets and stabbings, all eleven members of the party were dead. Vladimir Lenin had ordered the assassination.

After much debate and multiple vehicle problems, the bodies were taken to a remote site north of Yekaterinburg. The initial plan was to burn the bodies but when this took longer than expected, the remaining bodies were buried in an unmarked pit. Acid was poured on the corpses, the bodies were covered with railroad ties, and the pit was smoothed over with dirt and ash.

The murder of the imperial family shocked Russia and the world. The ensuing Soviet regime and the considerable length of time between the executions and the discovery of their bodies gave way to many different legends of the survival of at least one of the family members. Many different people claimed to be Alexei or one of his sisters in the 1920s and 1930s, the best known of which was Anna Anderson who was later proven to be a Polish woman.

Discovery of Remains and Burial

In 1934, Yakov Yurovsky, the commandant of the Ipatiev House, produced an account of the execution and disposal of the bodies. His account later matched the remains of nine bodies found north of Yekaterinburg in 1991. In 1994, when the bodies of the Romanovs were exhumed, two were missing – one daughter, either Maria or Anastasia, and Alexei. The remains of the nine bodies recovered were confirmed as those of the three servants, Dr. Botkin, Nicholas, Alexandra, and three of their daughters. The remains of Olga and Tatiana were identified based on the expected skeletal structure of young women of their age. The remains of the third daughter were either Maria or Anastasia.

Icon of the Romanov Family; Credit – By Aliksandar – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45616224

The family and their servants were canonized as new martyrs in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in 1981, and as passion bearers in the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000. The formal burial of Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, Dr. Botkin, and the three servants took place on July 17, 1998, the 80th anniversary of their deaths, in St. Catherine Chapel at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg which this author has visited. Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, many Romanov family members, and family members of Dr. Botkin and the servants attended the ceremony. Prince Michael of Kent represented his first cousin Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Three of Prince Michael’s grandparents were first cousins of Nicholas II.

St. Catherine’s Chapel at the Peter and Paul Cathedral; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Until 2009, it was not entirely clear whether the remains of Maria or Anastasia were missing. On August 24, 2007, a Russian team of archaeologists announced that they had found the remains of Alexei and his missing sister in July 2007. In 2009, DNA and skeletal analysis identified the remains found in 2007 as Alexei and his sister Maria. In addition, it determined that the royal hemophilia was the rare, severe form of hemophilia, known as Hemophilia B or Christmas disease. The results showed that Alexei had Hemophilia B and that his mother Empress Alexandra and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia were carriers of the disease. The remains of Alexei and Maria have not yet been buried. The Russian Orthodox Church has questioned whether the remains are authentic and blocked the burial.

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

June 13, 1918 – Execution of Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich; Credit – Wikipedia

Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich was the first of the eighteen Romanovs who were killed during the Russian Revolution.  Born on December 4, 1878, he was the third of the three surviving sons and the fourth of the five surviving children of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and Princess Dagmar of Denmark (Empress Marie Feodorovna). After his brother George died in 1899, Michael was the heir to the Russian throne until the birth of his hemophiliac nephew Alexei, the only son of Michael’s eldest brother Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, in 1904.

In 1910, Michael’s mistress Natalia Sergeyevna Wulfert gave birth to a son named George after Michael’s deceased brother. Michael and Natalia married morganatically in 1912 in Vienna, Austria, and were exiled from Russia until 1914 when Michael’s brother Nicholas allowed the couple and their son to return to Russia.

Natalia and Michael; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 15, 1917, when Nicholas II signed his abdication manifesto, he decided to abdicate in favor of his son Alexei but changed his mind after conferring with doctors who said the hemophiliac Alexei would not survive without his parents, who would surely be exiled. Nicholas then decided to abdicate in favor of his brother Michael. However, Michael declined to accept the throne unless the people were allowed to vote for the continuation of the monarchy or for a republic. Of course, that vote never happened.

After going through several periods of house arrests, Michael was arrested on March 7, 1918, along with his British secretary Nicholas Johnson, and imprisoned at the Bolshevik headquarters in St. Petersburg. Four days later, Michael and Johnson were sent to Perm, a thousand miles to the east. In Perm, the Bolshevik orders were that “Michael Romanov and Johnson are entitled to live in freedom under the surveillance of the local Soviet authorities.” Meanwhile, Natalia obtained a travel permit so she could join Michael in Perm. However, Michael and Natalia’s reunion did not last long. Because the Bolsheviks and the White Army were fighting in the area, Michael and Natalia feared that she could become trapped in Perm in a dangerous situation and so Natalia left on May 18, 1918, for Moscow. On May 21, 1918, Michael made the first of a number of “required” visits to the Perm office of the Cheka, the Soviet secret police.

Grand Duke Michael and Nicholas Johnson in Perm, April 1918; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Fears that the White Army might move into Perm and an unsuccessful White Army raid in Ekaterinburg, where Michael’s brother Nicholas and his family were being held, made the Cheka leaders in Perm develop a plan to abduct and kill Michael. Gavril Ilyich Myasnikov, the leader of the Perm Cheka who had spent seven years in a Siberian labor camp after the Russian Revolution of 1905, gathered a team of four men who, like him, were all former prisoners of the Tsarist regime. The five men met on the evening of June 12, 1918. The plan was simple – Michael was to be abducted from his room, taken into the woods, and shot. To avoid complications, the official story would be that Michael attempted to escape and was therefore shot. The conspirators’ meeting ended at 9:30 PM and Michael’s abduction was set for midnight.

Gavril Ilyich Myasnikov, in the middle, with his four conspirators; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

With forged orders to evacuate Michael, the group made their way to Michael’s room. The guards there said they needed to telephone the Cheka to confirm the evacuation orders which the armed men would not allow them to do. Michael also refused to cooperate. Eventually, the armed men had enough. One of them grabbed Michael, ordered him to go outside and motioned Johnson to follow. The armed men, Michael and Johnson drove three miles in horse-drawn carriages to the execution site.

Michael had been told they were going to a railroad crossing where he would board a train. The carriages stopped and Michael was told they would walk to the railroad crossing. After Michael and Johnson took only a few steps, two of the armed men simultaneously shot them. Johnson was wounded and the gun that was intended for Michael misfired. Michael, with his arms outstretched, ran to Johnson begging to say goodbye to him. Michael was shot and as he fell, he pulled Johnson down with him. Guns were then put to their temples and fired. It was approximately 2:00 AM on June 13, 1918. Michael was 39 and Johnson was 40.  Before the bodies were buried, they were stripped of all their clothes and possessions to prove that the executions had taken place. The remains of Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich and Nicholas Johnson have never been found.  In 1981, Grand Duke Michael and Nicholas Johnson were canonized as New-Martyrs of Russia by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

Michael’s wife and son, Natalia and George, escaped from Russia. In 1931, George died in a car accident in Sens, France shortly before his 21st birthday. In 1952, Natalia died penniless in a charity hospital in Paris, France. Natalia and George were buried next to each in Passy Cemetery in Paris, France

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

Works Cited

  • Crawford, R. and Crawford, D. (2000). Michael and Natasha. New York: Post Road Press.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Michael_Alexandrovich_of_Russia [Accessed 4 Nov. 2017].
  • Perry, J. and Pleshakov, K. (2008). The Flight of the Romanovs. New York: Basic Books.

When The British Monarch Dies: Royal Titles and Arms

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Letters Patent creating Prince Charles as Prince of Wales, 1958

Royal Titles

As already discussed, when the Monarch dies, the heir apparent immediately takes the throne. This includes all of the titles and trappings of the monarchy. The titles of the Monarch remained relatively unchanged from the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 to the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 (with the exception of the title Emperor/Empress of India, which was held from 1876 until 1947). Currently, the British monarch is also the monarch of 14 other realms and is titled differently in each one. Barbados became a republic on November 30, 2021, and the British monarch ceased to be the monarch of Barbados.  The titles of the Monarch remain the same following the accession of King Charles III in 2002.

United Kingdom
His Majesty Charles III, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

Antigua and Barbuda
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Antigua and Barbuda and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Australia
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Australia and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

The Bahamas
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Belize
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Belize and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Canada
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

Grenada
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Grenada and His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Jamaica
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Jamaica and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

New Zealand
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of New Zealand and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

Papua New Guinea
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Papua New Guinea and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Saint Kitts and Nevis
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Saint Christopher and Nevis and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Saint Lucia
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Saint Lucia and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Solomon Islands
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Solomon Islands and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Tuvalu
His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Tuvalu and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

The monarch also immediately becomes Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces, and Sovereign of all of the Honours and Orders of Chivalry both in Britain and the other realms.  It is expected that the titles will remain the same, with the possible exception of ‘Head of the Commonwealth’. In 1949, King George VI became the first Head of the Commonwealth, and the role and title passed to his daughter Queen Elizabeth II upon her accession. When the Commonwealth was formally established, the Declaration states that the King will serve as Head of the Commonwealth. In keeping with that sense of heredity, when Prince Charles was created Prince of Wales in 1958, the Letters Patent issued stated that he, and his heirs, will serve as Heads of the Commonwealth. However, there are those who feel that, when the current reign ends, the various members of the Commonwealth should collectively determine who will succeed in the role.  In 2018, Commonwealth leaders agreed that Charles would become Head of the Commonwealth upon his accession, while acknowledging that the position was non-hereditary.  The new King Charles III became Head of the Commonwealth in September 2022.

Upon becoming monarch, any and all titles held by that person revert to the Crown, meaning that they cease to exist. For example, Prince Charles ceased being Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, etc., the moment he became King. Some of his previous titles will pass automatically to the new heir apparent, and others must be specifically granted. You can read more about those titles in our previous article – When The Monarch Dies: Immediately and Automatically.

Titles and Styles of the Descendants of the Monarch

For the most part, the titles and styles of a Monarch’s descendants are determined by the Letters Patent issued by King George V in 1917. Under these Letters Patents, the style of ‘Royal Highness’ and title of ‘Prince/Princess’ is granted to:

  • children of the monarch
  • grandchildren in the male line
  • the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales

Several additional LPs have been issued since then, which make some alterations to the original LPs:

  • 1948 – King George VI issued LPs declaring that all children of then-Princess Elizabeth would be styled as HRH and titled as Prince/Princess. Without these LPs, Charles and Anne would not have become HRH until The Queen’s accession in 1952. Instead, they would have been styled as children of a Duke. Charles would have been Charles Mountbatten, Earl of Merioneth (using his father’s most senior subsidiary title by courtesy), and Anne would have been Lady Anne Mountbatten.
  • 1957 – Queen Elizabeth II issued LPs creating her husband a Prince of the United Kingdom. Until that point, he was merely HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, and not ‘Prince Philip’ as the media often referred to him.
  • 2012 – Queen Elizabeth II issued LPs declaring that all children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales would be styled as HRH, with the title Prince/Princess. While this had no effect on Prince George, who was already entitled as the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, it did affect his younger sister Princess Charlotte. Were it not for these LPs, Charlotte would be styled Lady Charlotte Mountbatten-Windsor until her grandfather became King.

Children of the Monarch

Upon the accession of a new monarch, two changes take place when it comes to the titles and styles of the monarch’s children. Children of a sovereign are formally styled with the article ‘The’ preceding their names. They also cease using any territorial designation. For example, Prince George of Wales, (the son of Prince William, Prince of Wales) upon his father’s accession, will become The Prince George. Should he have a peerage by that point, he would continue to be formally styled as such – ‘HRH The Duke/Earl of XXX’.  These changes remain in place, even after that monarch has passed away.  For example, the younger daughter of King George VI became The Princess Margaret upon her father’s accession in 1936 and remained so for the rest of her life.  That style did not end upon her father’s death.

Based on the assumption that the current line of succession remains unchanged, the following changes will occur with the next reign: Prince William will become HM The King, and Prince George will automatically become HRH The Duke of Cornwall. It would then be expected that Prince George would at some point be created Prince of Wales. At that time, any children of Prince George would take ‘of Wales’ as their territorial designation.

Here is a great article that explains further – Unofficial Royalty: What’s In a Title: The Changing Royal Style

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Royal Arms

The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom. photo: By Sodacan – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21101265

The Royal Arms have remained unchanged since Queen Victoria’s accession in 1837. On the shield, they feature the three gold lions in the 1st and 4th quarter (representing England), the red rampant lion in the second quarter (representing Scotland), and the gold harp in the 3rd quarter (representing Ireland).  There is also a second version used in Scotland which features the Scottish emblem in the 1st and 4th quarter, with the English in the 2nd.

Arms of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (son of Queen Victoria), featuring the Arms of Saxony. photo: By SodacanThis vector image was created with Inkscape. – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11758689

Until 1917, when King George V changed the name to the House of Windsor and removed all German styles and titles, the arms of male-line descendants of Queen Victoria also featured in inescutcheon of the Arms of Saxony in recognition of their descent from Prince Albert (who was a Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and a Duke of Saxony).

Children and grandchildren of the monarch, in the male line, are typically granted their own coats of arms around the time they reach the age of 18, and all are based on the Royal Arms. They are made unique by the use of a label – with three points for children of a monarch (and the eldest son of the Prince of Wales), and five points for grandchildren.

Arms of The Prince of Wales; Credit – By Sodacan – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122806074

The arms of the Prince of Wales feature a plain three-point label and also feature an inescutcheon of the traditional arms of the Principality of Wales. As Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, he also has a different coat of arms (here).

The labels on the arms of children and grandchildren of the monarch also feature a mark of cadence on one or more of the points. This makes each coat of arms unique to that person. For example, Prince Harry’s arms – granted on his 18th birthday – featured a five-point label (as a grandchild of the monarch), with a red scallop shell on the first, third and fifth point. These are taken from the Spencer arms, used by his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Similar marks of cadence appear on all of the arms granted to children and grandchildren of the monarch.

These arms are granted for the person’s lifetime and do not pass to their children. They do, however, change slightly when there is a new monarch. A grandchild who now becomes a child of the monarch will see their label change from five points to three. (Example: the arms of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, changed to a three-point label, with red scallop shells on each point).  And the new heir apparent – once created Prince of Wales – will assume the arms of the Prince of Wales.

Arms of the Duchess of Cambridge. photo: By SodacanThis vector image was created with Inkscape. – Own work, Based on: BBC News and Official website, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14960090

Wives traditionally use their husband’s arms impaled with their own (or their father’s) arms. Such is the case with the arms of the Duchess of Cambridge seen above. They feature the Duke of Cambridge’s arms on the left and the arms of her father on the right.  Upon the accession of her father-in-law, King Charles III, the now-Princess of Wales’s arms will change to reflect her husband’s new coat of arms as Prince of Wales.

Up until 1975, none of these individual grants of arms were heritable. But in 1975, The Queen issued a Royal Warrant declaring that the arms of grandsons of a monarch (other than the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) are heritable with appropriate differentiation. This means that the arms of the current Dukes of Gloucester and Kent, as well as Prince Michael of Kent, will pass on to their eldest sons.

British Monarchy: Coat of Arms
Wikipedia: Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom
Unofficial Royalty: English Royal Heraldry

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

When The British Monarch Dies: Royal Wills and Inheritance

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

While wills are typically public records, those of members of the royal family are traditionally sealed. This goes back to the death of Queen Mary’s younger brother, Prince Francis of Teck, in October 1910. (One very notable exception is the will of Diana, Princess of Wales, which was made public after her death in 1997. You can read her will here.)

 

Born in 1870, Prince Francis was the third of four children of Francis, Duke of Teck, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. In addition to being a career military officer, Frank – as he was known – was also known for his love of gambling and women. He never married but had a long affair with The Countess of Kilmorey (née Ellen Constance Baldock), a former mistress of King Edward VII.

When Francis died suddenly of pneumonia in 1910, he left a large collection of emeralds to The Countess of Kilmorey in his will. These emeralds, known as the Cambridge Emeralds, had a very interesting history. Years earlier, Francis’s grandmother, The Duchess of Cambridge (née Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel), had won a box of emeralds in a charity lottery during a visit to Frankfort. Believed to be between 30-40 cabochon emeralds, they passed to Francis’s mother in 1889, and upon her death in 1897, they passed to Francis.

 

Mary – who had become Queen several months before Francis’s death, and was due to be crowned several months later – was mortified that the jewels would be passing out of the family, and to a mistress no less! She quickly set out to get the emeralds back and ended up purchasing them from The Countess for £10,000. Queen Mary was also very aware that the details of the will, and Francis’s affair, would cause a public scandal and could potentially tarnish the monarchy, so she successfully petitioned The High Court to have her brother’s will sealed. (Queen Mary later used the emeralds in creating some of the jewelry for the Delhi Durbar in 1911. To read more about the emeralds and the jewelry that was created, check out this great article from our friends at From Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault — CLICK HERE!)

 

Even though the wills are sealed, there are several clear traditions for how some assets are passed from one generation to the next. By tradition, Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House – both of which are personal property – pass from monarch to monarch. For the most part, this has been a smooth transition. However, when King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, the properties remained his personal property, and the new King George VI was forced to purchase them from his elder brother.

The Queen Mother wearing the Oriental Circlet and crown rubies

A similar tradition applies to some of the more important pieces of jewelry. When Queen Victoria died in 1901, she designated several items as jewels of the Crown – meaning that they pass automatically from monarch to monarch. Some of these include the Coronation necklace and earrings, the Oriental Circlet, and Queen Victoria’s ruby necklace and earrings.

We must remember that many of the monarch’s assets are technically not his or hers to give away, but are instead simply held by the monarch in trust for the nation. These include the royal palaces, the Crown Jewels, and much of the Royal Collection. These belong to the Sovereign, although not to the individual who holds the title.

As for personal property, the majority is usually left to the new monarch. A 1993 agreement with the government allows for bequests from monarch to monarch (or consort to monarch) to be free from inheritance tax. This arrangement avoids the need to sell assets in order to pay the nearly 40% inheritance tax when a monarch or consort dies. Sadly, many other royals have been forced to sell jewels and other assets in order to pay the tax bill, and historic pieces have left the family.

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