Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Model of Old St. Paul’s Cathedral; Credit – By Ben Sutherland – https://www.flickr.com/photos/bensutherland/7083572515, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51702266

Old St. Paul’s Cathedral stood on the site of the present St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England until it was severely damaged in the Great Fire of London in 1666. There have been churches and religious communities on the site since Roman times. The first cathedral built on the site dedicated to St. Paul dates from 604. Historians think Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was the fourth church on the site. A major fire occurred in London in 1087, at the beginning of the reign of William II Rufus, King of England. The previous church was the most significant building to be destroyed in the 1087 fire. The fire also damaged the Palatine Tower, built by William I (the Conqueror), King of England on the banks of the River Fleet in London, so badly that the remains had to be pulled down. Part of the stone from the Palatine Tower was then used in the construction of Old St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Work on Old St. Paul’s Cathedral began in 1087 and construction was delayed by another fire in 1135. The cathedral was completed in 1240 and enlarged in 1256 – 1314, although it had been consecrated in 1300. In 1314, Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was the third-longest church in Europe at 586 feet/178 meters. The spire was completed in 1315 and, at 489 feet/149 meters, it was the tallest in Europe at that time. The walls of the cathedral were made of stone. However, the roof was mostly wood because stone would have been too heavy to support. The decision to use wood for the roof would lead to dire consequences in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

1916 engraving of Old St Paul’s as it appeared before the fire of 1561 in which the spire was destroyed; Credit – Wikipedia

By the 16th century, Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was deteriorating. In 1549, radical Protestant preachers incited a mob to destroy much of the cathedral’s interior. The spire caught fire in 1561 and crashed through the nave roof. The roof was repaired but the spire was never rebuilt. In 1621, King James I of England appointed architect Inigo Jones to restore the cathedral but the work stopped during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth of England. In 1660, after the restoration of the monarchy, King Charles II of England gave architect Sir Christopher Wren the job of continuing the restoration of the cathedral. That restoration was in progress when Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was severely damaged in the 1666 Great Fire of London. What remained of Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was demolished, and the present cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was built on the site.

Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in flames; Credit – Wikipedia

Royal Events at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral

Richard II, King of England was deposed by his first cousin Henry of Bolingbroke who then reigned as Henry IV, King of England. Held in captivity at Pontefract Castle in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England, Richard is thought to have starved to death and died on or around February 14, 1400.  Although Henry IV has often been suspected of having Richard murdered, there is no substantial evidence to prove that claim. It can be positively said that Richard did not suffer a violent death. After his death, Richard’s body was put on public display for three days at the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, both to prove to his supporters that he was truly dead and also to prove that he had not suffered a violent death. Whether Richard did indeed starve himself or whether that starvation was forced upon him is still up for speculation.

Richard II’s body is brought to Old St Paul’s Cathedral to let everyone see that he is dead – engraving from A Chronicle of England: B.C. 55 – A.D. 1485 by James William Edmund Doyle (1864); Credit – Wikipedia

English monarchs were often in attendance at the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the court occasionally held sessions there. Arthur, Prince of Wales, son of King Henry VII of England, married Catharine of Aragon at Old St. Paul’s on November 14, 1501. Several kings, including Henry VI, and Henry VII, lay in state in Old St. Paul’s before their funerals at Westminster Abbey.

Royal Burials at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral

Commemoration of those who were buried or memorialized in Old St. Paul’s Cathedral but whose tombs or memorials have not survived; Credit – Wikipedia

Only the monument to poet John Donne survived the 1666 Great Fire of London. No other memorials or tombs of the many famous people buried at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral survived the fire. In 1913, an inscribed stone, set up on a wall in the crypt of the new St. Paul’s Cathedral, lists those known to have tombs or memorials lost in the Great Fire of London, including several royals listed below

Tomb of John of Gaunt and his first wife Blanche of Lancaster, lost in the 1666 Great Fire of London; Credit – Wikipedia

Works Cited

  • Britain Express. 2021. St. Paul’s Cathedral, London – early history. [online] Available at: <https://www.britainexpress.com/London/st-pauls.htm> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Old St Paul’s Cathedral – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_St_Paul%27s_Cathedral> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
  • Es.wikipedia.org. 2021. Antigua catedral de San Pablo – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua_catedral_de_San_Pablo> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
  • The Inside Page Ltd, 2004. St Paul’s Cathedral – Official Guide. London: Jerrold Publishing.

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.

Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Kingdom of Sardinia: The House of Savoy had been Counts and then Dukes of Savoy, since the 11th century and ruled from the city of Turin, now in northern Italy. Vittorio Amedeo II, Duke of Savoy became King of Sicily in 1713 as a result of his participation in the War of the Spanish Succession. However, in 1720, Vittoria Amedeo II was forced to exchange the Kingdom of Sicily for the less important Kingdom of Sardinia after objections from the Quadruple Alliance (Great Britain, France, Habsburg Austria, and the Dutch Republic).

Sardinia, now in Italy, is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily, also now in Italy, but the Kings of Sardinia of the House of Savoy ruled from Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy. They styled themselves as Kings of Sardinia because the title was superior to their original lesser title as Dukes of Savoy. However, they retained the regnal numerical order of the Dukes of Savoy.

Vittorio Emanuele II became the last King of Sardinia upon the abdication of his father in 1849. He then became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, while the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Note: Children of Kings of Sardinia were often styled “of Savoy” as their fathers were also Dukes of Savoy from the House of Savoy.

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Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

Vittorio Amedeo II reigned as King of Sardinia from 1720 – 1730 but he had also reigned as King of Sicily from 1713 – 1720, and was Duke of Savoy from the death of his father in 1675 until his abdication in 1730. Vittorio Amedeo Francesco was born on May 14, 1666, at the Royal Palace in Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Piedmont in northern Italy. He was the only child of Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy and Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours. His father’s maternal grandparents were Henri IV, King of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici. His mother’s maternal great-grandparents were Henri IV, King of France and his mistress Gabrielle d’Estrées. From birth, Vittorio Amedeo was styled as Prince of Piedmont, the traditional title of the heir apparent to the Duchy of Savoy.

The infant Vittoria Amedeo with his parents; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy died on June 12, 1675, at the age of 40 and nine-year-old Vittorio Amedeo became Duke of Savoy. Marie Jeanne Baptiste served as regent during her son’s minority. She did a capable job, continuing the policies and projects of her husband. Because of her French background – she had been born at the Hôtel de Nemours in Paris and was a half-first cousin once removed of King Louis XIV of France – Marie Jeanne Baptiste promoted French interests.

In 1677, Marie Jeanne Baptiste began the search for a wife for Vittorio Amedeo who would reach his majority on his 14th birthday in 1680. There were several possibilities, but Marie Jeanne Baptiste pushed for her sister’s daughter Infanta Isabel Luísa of Portugal, the only daughter of King Pedro II of Portugal. The marriage was opposed by most of the Savoy court as it meant that Vittorio Amedeo would live in Portugal and his mother would remain in power after his majority. Openly disliking the possible marriage and approaching his majority, Vittorio Amedeo decided to postpone the marriage for two years.

Anne Marie d’Orléans, first wife of Vittoria Amedeo II; Credit – Wikipedia

Always eager to maintain his influence in the Duchy of Savoy which bordered France, King Louis XIV of France offered his niece Anne Marie d’Orléans as a bride. Anne Marie was the daughter of Louis XIV’s only sibling Philippe, Duke of Orléans and his first wife Henrietta of England, the daughter of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria, daughter of King Henri IV of France. Vittorio Amedeo agreed to the match. Marie Jeanne Baptiste had not given up her position of regent when her son reached his majority. Now that Vittorio Amedeo was to marry, he gained more power and enacted a kind of coup d’état, forcing his mother to yield her power to him.

The proxy marriage of Vittorio Amedeus and Anne Marie d’Orléans took place at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France on April 10, 1684. Anne Marie’s cousin Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine stood in for the groom and King Louis XIV gave Anne Marie a huge dowry of 900,000 livres. Philippe, Duke of Orléans accompanied his daughter as far as Juvisy-sur-Orge, 18 kilometers south of Paris, and then Christine d’Estrées, Comtesse de Lillebonne accompanied Anne Marie to Savoy. Anne Marie and Vittorio Amedeo met at the House of Savoy’s Château de Chambéry where the marriage ceremony was performed by Étienne Le Camus, Archbishop of Grenoble on May 6, 1684. Two days later, the newlyweds made their “Joyous Entry” into Turin.

Vittorio Amedeo and Anne Marie had six children:

The Duchy of Savoy was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. However, when Vittorio Amedeo’s mother Marie Jeanne Baptiste, who was French, was Regent, the Duchy of Savoy became closely linked with and heavily dependent upon France, more or less becoming a French satellite. Vittorio Amedeo severed this link by joining alliances against France in both the Nine Years War and the War of the Spanish Succession. The Duchy of Savoy was considered a valuable ally in both wars due to its geographical position – a border with southern France – enabling a second front to be opened against France in the south. The Duchy of Savoy relied heavily on foreign subsidies, particularly from England and the Dutch Republic, in both wars to maintain its armies.

As a reward for his aid in the War of the Spanish Succession, Vittorio Amadeo II received the Kingdom of Sicily in 1713 under the Peace of Utrecht which ended the war. In October 1713, Vittorio Amedeo and his wife Anne Marie traveled with a British squadron from Nice to Palermo to take personal possession of their new kingdom. They were crowned King and Queen of Sicily on December 24, 1713, at the Cathedral of Palermo in Sicily. After an eleven-month stay in Sicily, Vittoria Amedeo returned to Turin, in the Duchy of Savoy, leaving a viceroy to represent him and maintain the government in his place.

Coronation of Vittorio Amedeo II as King of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

The Spanish invaded Sicily in 1718 during the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718 – 1720) in which Spain attempted to recover territories lost due to the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. The Quadruple Alliance (Great Britain, France, Austria, and the Dutch Republic) won the war. Under the conditions of the 1720 Treaty of The Hague, Vittorio Amedeo II was forced to exchange with Austria his Kingdom of Sicily for the less important Kingdom of Sardinia. The island Sardinia was closer to Turin in the Duchy of Savoy than the island of Sicily but it was less rich and less populated.

On August 26, 1728, at the Villa della Regina in Turin, Queen Anne Marie died after a series of heart attacks at the age of 58. She was buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin. Vittorio Amedeo II had extramarital affairs which his wife quietly accepted. His longest affair, eleven years, was with Jeanne Baptiste d’Albert de Luynes with whom he had two children:

Anna Canalis di Cumiana, second wife of Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardina; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 12, 1730, in a private ceremony at the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Turin, Vittorio Amedeo morganatically married Anna Canalis di Cumiana (1680 – 1769), after obtaining the permission of Pope Clement XII. Because the marriage was morganatic, Anna did not become Queen of Sardina but rather was created Marchioness of Spigno. Anna had been his mistress when she was a lady-in-waiting to Vittoria Amedeo’s mother. It is widely believed that Anna’s first child Paola Novarina, born in 1708, was Vittorio Amedeo’s child although Anna’s husband recognized the child as his. After her husband died in 1724, Anna was called back to court and was made a lady-in-waiting to Polyxena, Princess of Piedmont, wife of Carlo Emanuele Prince of Piedmont, the son and heir apparent of Victor Amedeo II. To the surprise and dismay of the court, Vittorio Amedeo II and Anna Canalis di Cumiana made their marriage public on September 3, 1730.

At the same time as the marriage announcement, Vittorio Amedeo abdicated and retired from the royal court. His son succeeded him as Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. Vittorio Amedeo had favored his eldest son, also named Vittorio Amadeo, who died from smallpox at the age of sixteen. Vittorio Amedeo had neglected Carlo Emanuele’s education except on the military field, where he sometimes had accompanied the father. Vittorio Amadeo II and Anna moved into the Château de Chambéry in Chambéry, Duchy of Savoy, now in France. The couple had a small retinue of servants and Vittorio Amdedo was kept informed of matters of state.

In 1731, Vittorio Amedeo attempted to reclaim the throne, accusing his son of incompetence. Carlo Emanuele III had his father arrested and confined to the Castle of Rivoli in Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy. However, Anna Canalis di Cumiana was brought to the Fortress of Ceva, which was extremely humiliating because the fortress was used as a reformatory for prostitutes. Eventually, Anna received permission to leave the Fortress of Ceva and go to the Castle of Rivoli to be with her husband.

Basilica of Superga in Turin, Italy, the traditional burial site of the House of Savoy; Credit – Di Paris Orlando – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74180727

On February 5, 1732, Vittorio Amedeo II suffered a stroke, and his health drastically deteriorated. He asked to move to the Castle of Moncalieri near Turin and was transported there on a litter guarded by a company of soldiers. Former King Vittorio Amedeo II of Sardinia died at the Castle of Moncalieri on October 31, 1732, aged 66, and was buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin with his first wife Anne Marie d’Orléans. After her husband’s death, Anna Canalis di Cumiana was confined at the Convent of San Giuseppe di Carignano. She was later moved to the Convent of the Visitation in Pinerolo where she died, aged 88, on April 13, 1769, thirty-seven years after Vittorio Amedeo died. Anna Canalis di Cumiana was buried at the Convent of the Visitation in Pinerolo in a grave without a headstone.

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

Kingdom of Sardinia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Viktor Amadeus II. – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Amadeus_II.> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Emmanuel_II,_Duke_of_Savoy> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Amadeus_II_of_Sardinia> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Vittorio Amedeo II di Savoia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vittorio_Amedeo_II_di_Savoia> [Accessed 14 June 2021].

Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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

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

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

Katharina had five siblings:

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

Gustav I Vasa, King of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

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

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

Maria Annunciata of the Two Sicilies, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

Maria Annunciata had eleven siblings:

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

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

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

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

Maria Annunciata and Karl Ludwig; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

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

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

Maria Annunciata on her deathbed; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

Works Cited

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

Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

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

 

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

Karl Ludwig had four siblings:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Karl Ludwig; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

Works Cited

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

Crown Prince Leka I of the Albanians

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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

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

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

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

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

They had one son:

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

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

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

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Albanian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coronations at Holyrood Abbey

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

Royal Weddings at Holyrood Abbey

Royal Burials at Holyrood Abbey

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

Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

Royals originally interred at the abbey church include:

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

Works Cited

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

Gustav I Vasa, King of Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

King Gustav I of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

The first king of the House of Vasa, and considered as the founding father of the modern Swedish state, Gustav I or Gustav Vasa was born as Gustav Eriksson Vasa on May 12, 1496, at Lindholmen’s Farm (link in Swedish), a manor house in Orkesta, Uppland, Sweden or Rydboholm Castle in Östra Ryds, Uppland, Sweden. He was the eldest of the eight children of Erik Johansson Vasa, a Swedish noble and the Lord of Rydboholm Castle, and Cecilia Månsdotter Eka, a Swedish noblewoman.

Gustav Vasa had seven younger siblings:

  • Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa (1497 – 1536), married (1) Joakim Brahe, had four children (2) Johan VII, Count of Hoya, had two children
  • Johan Eriksson Vasa (born 1499, died young)
  • Magnus Eriksson Vasa (1501 – 1529)
  • Anna Eriksdotter Vasa (1503 – 1545), nun at Vadstena Abbey
  • Birgitta Eriksdotter Vasa (born 1505, died young)
  • Marta Eriksdotter Vasa (1507 – 1523), died from the plague during captivity in Denmark
  • Emerentia Eriksdotter Vasa (1507 – 1523), died from plague during captivity in Denmark

Gustav Vasa spent most of his childhood with his sister Margareta at Rydboholm Castle. When he was 13-years-old, he went to Uppsala to attend school, and then studied at Uppsala University for four years. Gustav was then sent to the court of Sten Sture the Younger, a Swedish nobleman who served as the regent of Sweden. There Gustav was taught court etiquette, fencing, and he was trained as an army officer.

Since 1397, Sweden has been part of the Kalmar Union – the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were ruled by one monarch. Denmark was dominant in the Kalmar Union and  this occasionally led to uprisings in Sweden. In 1520, King Christian II of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, who asserted his claim to Sweden by force, ordered a massacre of Swedish nobles in Stockholm, including Gustav’s father Erik Johansson Vasa and Joakim Brahe, the first husband of his sister Margareta. This came to be known as the “Stockholm Bloodbath” Gustav’s mother and her two younger daughters Marta and Emerentia were taken to Denmark in 1521 and imprisoned in the infamous Blue Tower in Copenhagen Castle where they died of the plague in 1523.

The Entry of King Gustav Vasa of Sweden into Stockholm on June 21, 1523, by Carl Larsson, in the National Museum of Fine Arts in Stockholm; Credit – Wikipedia

The actions of King Christian II stirred the Swedish nobility to a new resistance. During the Swedish War of Liberation (1521 – 1523), Gustav Vasa successfully deposed King Christian II from the throne of Sweden, ending the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. On June 6, 1523, Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag (legislature), and soon all Danish troops were driven out of the country.  On January 12, 1528, in Uppsala Cathedral, King Gustav I was crowned King of Sweden. Within a few years, Gustav I rejected Roman Catholicism and led his kingdom into the Swedish Protestant Reformation.

King Gustav I ranks among Sweden’s greatest monarchs and some argue that he was the most significant ruler in Swedish history. He ended foreign domination in Sweden, centralized and reorganized the government, cut religious ties to Rome, established the Church of Sweden, and founded Sweden’s hereditary monarchy. Gustav is often described as the founding father of the modern Swedish state. However, as with his contemporary King Henry VIII of England, historians have noted the brutal methods with which he often ruled and that his legacy should not be viewed in exclusively positive terms.

Gustav I, King of Sweden married three times:

Effigy of Katharina of Saxe–Lauenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Gustav I married his first wife Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535), daughter of Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and Katharina of Brunswick-Lüneburg, in Stockholm, Sweden on September 24, 1531. Katharina fell while pregnant with her second child. The fall led to complications and 22-year-old Katharina died on September 23, 1535, along with her unborn child. She is buried at Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden.

Gustav and Katharina had one son who succeeded his father and reigned for nine years until he was deposed:

Margareta Leijonhufvud; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 1, 1536, in Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden, Gustav I married his second wife Margareta Leijonhufvud (1516–1551). Margareta was a member of the Leijonhufvud family, one of Sweden’s most powerful noble families. Her constant pregnancies took a toll on her health and she died from pneumonia at the age of 35 on August 26, 1551, and is buried at Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden.

Gustav and Margareta had ten children including Johan III, King of Sweden who succeeded his deposed half-brother Eric XIV.

Katarina Stenbock; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 22, 1552, at Vadstena Abbey in Vadstena, Sweden, Gustav I married his third wife 17-year-old Katarina Stenbock (1535 – 1621), who was the daughter of Gustaf Olofsson Stenbock and Brita Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud, who was the sister of King Gustav I’s second wife Margareta Leijonhufvud. They had no children. Katarina survived her husband by sixty-one years, dying on December 13, 1621, aged 86, and was buried in Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden.

King Gustav I, 1557-1558; Credit – Wikipedia

In the late 1550s, Gustav I’s health declined. He died on September 29, 1560, aged 64, at Tre Kronor Castle (Three Crowns Castle) which stood on the site of the present Stockholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. The official cause of death was cholera but it may have been dysentery or typhoid. Gustav I, King of Sweden was buried in the Vasa Chapel at Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden with his first two wives. Gustav’s effigy is in the middle of the tomb with the effigies of his wives Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg and Margareta Leijonhufvud on either side.

Tomb of Gustav I and his first two wives; Credit – Von Skippy13 – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=726933

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

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Gustav I. Wasa. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_I._Wasa> [Accessed 18 March 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Erik Johansson Vasa. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Johansson_Vasa> [Accessed 18 March 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Gustav I of Sweden. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_I_of_Sweden> [Accessed 18 March 2021].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2021. Gustav Vasa. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Vasa> [Accessed 18 March 2021].

Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Queen Geraldine of the Albanians

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Queen Geraldine of the Albanians photo: Albanian Royal Court

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Albanian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Crathie Kirk in Crathie, Scotland near Balmoral Castle

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Crathie Kirk; Credit – By The original uploader was DanMS at English Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23328669

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made several visits to Scotland beginning in 1842 and quickly fell in love with the Highlands. Prince Albert arranged to acquire the lease on Balmoral Castle despite never having seen the castle or property before, and eventually purchased the property. Victoria and Albert first stayed at Balmoral in September 1848. The surrounding hilly landscape reminded them of Albert’s German homeland. Almost immediately, they realized the existing castle was too small for their large and growing family and household, and plans were made to expand the building. However, instead of making any additions, Victoria and Albert decided to build a new castle next to the existing one. In September 1853, Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for the new castle, which was completed in 1856. At that point, the original building was torn down. Queen Victoria and her family began the tradition of spending time at Balmoral each year. Balmoral Castle remains the private property of the monarch and is used by the British royal family for their summer holidays.

Balmoral Castle; Credit – By Stuart Yeates from Oxford, UK – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=728182

In 1848, Queen Victoria and her family began worshipping at nearby Crathie Kirk located only one-half mile (800 meters) east of Balmoral Castle. Crathie Kirk is a small Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) parish church in Crathie, a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This began the custom, which continues to this day, of members of the royal family and their guests worshipping with local people at Crathie Kirk.

Crathie has been a place of Christian worship since the 9th-century when a church was founded on the banks of the River Dee by St. Manire, Bishop of Aberdeenshire and Banff, and a follower of Saint Columba, an Irish abbot credited with spreading Christianity in Scotland. A single standing stone at Rinabaich is all that remains of Manire’s church.

A church dedicated to St. Manire was built in the 14th-century and was used until the 18th-century when it became too small for the growing population of the parish. A simple church typical of Scottish Presbyterian churches of the time was built on the site of the present church in 1805. This was the church that Queen Victoria and her family first attended.

The present Crathie Kirk in 1895; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1893, construction began on the present church designed by Alexander Marshall MacKenzie, a Scottish architect, and Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone. Funds for the new church were raised by subscription and gifts from parishioners and members of the public. A gift of £2,000 was made by Queen VIctoria’s daughters Princess Louise and Princess Beatrice who raised the money at a bazaar held on the grounds of Balmoral Castle. The present church was completed and dedicated in 1895. The granite church overlooks the River Dee and the ruins of the 14th-century church.

Interior of Crathie Kirk; Credit – By Drow69 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33432629

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Queen Elizabeth II attends a service of commemoration at Crathie Kirk on August 4, 2014, marking the 100th anniversary of the United Kingdom declaring war on Germany

The south transept is reserved for the royal family and their guests and has a small porched entrance doorway exclusively for the royal family. In the south transept, there is a private wood-paneled reception area with a carved wooden royal coat of arms on the top. The front pew has finely-carved panels and the center of the front pew bears the royal and imperial monogram of Queen Victoria. There are memorials to members of the royal family on the walls in the south transept.

Gifts from members of the royal family:

John Brown’s grave; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

Many of the local people who served Queen Victoria are buried in the Crathie Kirk churchyard and some have headstones with personal epitaphs from Queen Victoria. The most famous of the burials is that of John Brown who served Queen Victoria as a ghillie at Balmoral (Scottish outdoor servant) from 1849 – 1861 and a personal attendant from 1861 – 1883. On March 27, 1883, at Windsor Castle, 56-year-old John Brown fell into a coma and died. The cause of death was erysipelas, a streptococcal infection. Queen Victoria wrote in her diary that she was “terribly moved by the loss that robs me of a person who has served me with so much devotion and loyalty and has done so much for my personal well-being. With him, I lose not only one Servant, but a real friend. ” John Brown was buried in the churchyard at Crathie Kirk next to his parents and some of his siblings. The inscription on his gravestone shows the affection between him and Queen Victoria:

This stone is erected in affectionate and grateful remembrance of John Brown the devoted and faithful personal attendant and beloved friend of Queen Victoria in whose service he had been for 34 years. Born at Crathienaird 8th Decr. 1826 died at Windsor Castle 27th March 1883. That Friend on whose fidelity you count/that Friend given to you by circumstances/over which you have no control/was God’s own gift. Well done good and faithful servant/Thou hast been faithful over a few things,/I will make thee ruler over many things/Enter through into the joy of the Lord.

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On December 12, 1992, the first and the only royal wedding was held at Crathie Kirk when Anne, Princess Royal, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, married Timothy Laurence. Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips separated in 1989 and their divorce was finalized on April 23, 1992. Anne and Timothy chose to marry in Scotland as the Church of England did not at that time allow divorced persons whose former spouses were still living to remarry in its churches. The Church of Scotland does not consider marriage to be a sacrament and has no objection to the remarriage of divorced persons.

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

  • Explore Churches. 2021. Ballater Crathie Kirk. [online] Available at: <https://www.explorechurches.org/church/crathie-kirk-crathie> [Accessed 16 March 2021].
  • Braemarandcrathieparish.org.uk. 2021. Braemar and Crathie Parish Church | Crathie Kirk. [online] Available at: <https://braemarandcrathieparish.org.uk/crathie-kirk/> [Accessed 16 March 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Crathie Kirk. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crathie_Kirk> [Accessed 16 March 2021].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2015. Balmoral Castle. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/balmoral-castle/> [Accessed 16 March 2021].
  • Scottishchurches.org.uk. 2021. Crathie Parish Church – Crathie and Braemar, Grampian – Places of Worship in Scotland | SCHR. [online] Available at: <http://www.scottishchurches.org.uk/sites/site/id/3836/name/Crathie+Parish+Church+Crathie+and+Braemar+Grampian INSIDE CHURCH> [Accessed 16 March 2021].