Louis, Dauphin of France

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Louis, Dauphin of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis, Dauphin of France was the elder son and heir apparent of his father Louis XV, King of France. Unfortunately, like several other Dauphins that preceded him, Louis died prematurely and never became King of France. Born on September 4, 1729, at the Palace of Versailles, Louis was the elder of the two sons and the fourth of the ten children of King Louis XV of France and Marie Leszczyńska, daughter of Stanisław I, King of Poland and Catherine Opalińska.

Louis had nine siblings:

Louis, Dauphin of France at age nine; Credit – Wikipedia

Until he was seven years old, Louis was raised by the royal governess Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour who had also been the governess of Louis’ father. Madame de Ventadour was credited with saving the life of Louis’ father, the future Louis XV, when a measles epidemic killed his father, mother, and elder brother. Louis’ elder brother died due to being bled by the doctors. Madame de Ventadour locked herself and the two-year-old future Louis XV, who was ill with the measles, in the nursery and refused to let the doctors see him.

When he was seven-years-old, Louis was put under the care of tutors Jean-François Boyer, Bishop of Mirepoix and Joseph Giry de Saint Cyr.  Louis was a brilliant student. He had an excellent knowledge of Latin, spoke fluent English, which was rare for a prince of his time, and excelled in many other subjects. Like his sisters, Louis was an excellent musician. However, he hated physical activity and gave up hunting after accidentally killing one of his men. Louis granted his protection to the widow and his descendants, and a pension was paid by the various governments until the extinction of the line of the victim under the Third Republic (1870 – 1940).

Maria Teresa Rafaela, Infanta of Spain, 1st wife of Louis, Dauphin of France; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1739, King Louis XV negotiated a marriage for his son Louis with Maria Teresa Rafaela, Infanta of Spain, daughter of Felipe V, King of Spain (who had been born Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV, King of France) and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese. The purpose of this marriage was to strengthen the alliance of Bourbon France and Bourbon Spain. Maria Teresa Rafaela’s mother would not allow her thirteen-year-old daughter to go to France until she was older.

A proxy marriage was held in Madrid, Spain on December 18, 1744. Maria Teresa Rafaela left Spain in January 1745 and arrived at Versailles on February 21, 1745. Nineteen-year-old Maria Teresa Rafaela and sixteen-year-old Louis were officially married at the Palace of Versailles on February 23, 1745. Louis and Maria Teresa Rafaela had one daughter Princess Marie Thérèse of France, born on July 19, 1746. Sadly, Maria Teresa Rafaela died three days later, on July 22, 1746, at the age of twenty. Louis’ sorrow was so intense that his father Louis XV had to physically drag his son away from Maria Teresa Rafaela’s deathbed. Louis and Maria Teresa Rafaela’s daughter did not survive to her second birthday, dying on April 27, 1748.

Even though he grieved for his first wife, Louis knew he had to marry again to provide for the succession to the French throne. His first wife’s brother Fernando VI, King of Spain offered his youngest sister Maria Antoinetta but Louis XV wanted to expand France’s diplomatic channels. France and Saxony had been on opposing sides in the recent War of the Austrian Succession and a marriage between a Princess of Saxony and the Dauphin of France would form a new alliance between the two countries.

Maria Josepha of Saxony; second wife of Louis, Dauphin of France; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 10, 1747, Louis was married by proxy in Dresden, Saxony to fifteen-year-old Maria Josepha of Saxony, daughter of Friedrich August II, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria, daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor. A second marriage ceremony took place in person at the Palace of Versailles on February 9, 1747. At the time of the marriage, Louis was still grieving for Maria Teresa Rafaela but Maria Josepha was patient and won his heart a little at a time.

Louis and Maria Josepha of Saxony had eight children including three Kings of France:

Louis was a pious man, faithful to his wife, and concerned about the welfare and education of his children. Like her husband, Maria Josepha was very devout. Louis and Maria Josepha were a counterbalance to the behavior of Louis XV, who had many mistresses and many illegitimate children, and his court. The couple was not fond of the various entertainments held at Versailles every week and preferred to stay in their apartments. Kept away from government affairs by his father, Louis was at the center of the Dévots, a group of religiously-minded men who hoped to gain power when he succeeded to the throne.

Allegory on the Death of the Dauphin by Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

However, Louis never succeeded to the throne. He died of tuberculosis at the Château de Fontainebleau in France on December 20, 1765, at the age of 36. According to Louis’ last wishes, he was buried at the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, France, and his heart was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, near the grave of his first wife. Maria Josepha, who had cared for Louis during his last illness, also contracted tuberculosis. She died March 13, 1767, at the age of 35 and was buried with her husband.

In March 1794, during the French Revolution, Louis and Maria Josepha’s tomb was desecrated and their remains were thrown into a mass grave.  After the restoration of the monarchy, on the orders of Louis and Maria Josepha’s son King Louis XVIII, their remains were found, their tomb was restored and they reinterred at the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, France on December 8, 1814.

Louis and Maria Josepha’s restored tomb; Credit – Par Aubry Gérard — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42182840

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. (2018). Louis Ferdinand de Bourbon, dauphin de Viennois. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Ferdinand_de_Bourbon,_dauphin_de_Viennois [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis, Dauphin of France (son of Louis XV). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Dauphin_of_France_(son_of_Louis_XV) [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Josepha_of_Saxony_(1731%E2%80%931767) [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Rafaela_of_Spain [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis de France (1729-1765). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_France_(1729-1765) [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].

Felipe V, King of Spain

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Felipe V, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Born as Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou on December 19, 1683, at the Palace of Versailles in France, he was the second of the three sons of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the heir apparent to the throne of France, and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria. At the time of his birth, his grandfather Louis XIV was King of France. Later Philippe was the first Bourbon King of Spain, reigning as Felipe V.

Philippe had one elder brother and one younger brother:

Philippe in the front center with his parents and two brothers; Credit – Wikipedia

Philippe and his two brothers were placed in the care of the royal governess Louise de Prie de La Mothe-Houdancourt who had also been their father’s governess. The brothers were then placed under the care of Paul de Beauvilliers as their governor and tutored by François Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai. When Philippe was seven years old, his mother died at the Palace of Versailles on April 20, 1690, at the age of 29.

In 1700, Carlos II, King of Spain died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Philippe’s father Louis, Le Grand Dauphin had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain because his mother Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain had been the half-sister of Carlos II. However, neither Philippe’s father nor his elder brother Louis, Duke of Burgundy could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, Carlos II, King of Spain named 16-year-old Philippe of Anjou, Duke of Anjou his successor.

Proclamation of Felipe as King of Spain at the Palace of Versailles on November 16, 1700; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 16, 1700, at the Palace of Versailles, the King’s Council agreed that Philippe would become King of Spain. The Spanish ambassador was called in and was introduced to his new king, King Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain. The ambassador knelt before Felipe and made a long speech in Spanish which Felipe did not understand as he had not yet learned Spanish. King Felipe V of Spain left Versailles on December 4, 1700, entered Spain on January 22, 1701, and made his triumphal entry into Madrid on February 18, 1701.

However, disputes over the separation of the Spanish and French crowns, division of territories, and commercial rights led to the War of the Spanish Succession (1701 – 1714) between the Bourbons, who now ruled in France and Spain, and the Grand Alliance (Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, and Habsburg Spain) whose candidate for the Spanish throne was Archduke Charles, younger son of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. Peace was finally made in 1714. In return for his confirmation as King of Spain, Felipe V renounced succession rights to the French throne for himself and his descendants. Any union of the French and Spanish crowns was forbidden. Spain retained the majority of its possessions outside Europe but its territories in Italy and the Netherlands were divided between Austria, Great Britain, and Savoy. The Dutch Republic was granted its Barrier Fortresses, creating a buffer zone between the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of France.  France acknowledged the Protestant succession in Great Britain and agreed to end support for the Stuart exiles.

Maria Luisa of Savoy, Felipe’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Soon after his arrival in Spain, Felipe’s grandfather King Louis XIV arranged a marriage for him. To strengthen Felipe’s shaky authority over Spain due to his French birth, Louis XIV decided to maintain ties with Vittorio Amadeo II, Duke of Savoy whose eldest daughter Marie Adélaïde of Savoy was already married to Felipe’s elder brother Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin. Felipe was betrothed to thirteen-year-old Maria Luisa of Savoy. In Turin, Duchy of Savoy, Felipe and Maria Luisa were married by proxy on September 12, 1701. Maria Luisa then left for Spain where the young couple met for the first time on November 2, 1701, and were married in person at a local parish church in Figueres, Spain.

Felipe and Maria Luisa had four sons but only two survived childhood and they both had childless marriages:

Felipe and Maria Luisa had a loving, happy marriage. She acted as Regent of Spain from 1702 until 1703 during Felipe’s absence due to the War of the Spanish Succession and had great influence over him as his adviser. Sadly, Maria Luisa died from tuberculosis at the age of 25 on February 14, 1714. She was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial.

Elisabeth Farnese, Felipe’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 24, 1714, ten months after the death of Maria Luisa, Felipe married again to Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, the only surviving child of Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma and Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg. Because of the lack of male heirs of Elisabeth’s father, her uncle-stepfather, and her youngest uncle, who all succeeded one another as Duke of Parma, changes were legally made for the succession of the Duchy of Parma in the female line through Maria Luisa. Eventually, her second son Felipe became the Duke of Parma and founded the House of Bourbon-Parma.

Felipe and Elisabeth had six children:

Felipe V of Spain with his wife Elisabeth and some of his children from his first and second marriages – from left to right: the future Fernando VI, King Felipe V, the future Luis I; Felipe, the future Duke of Parma, Queen Elisabeth, a portrait of the Infanta Mariana Victoria, and the future Carlos III: Credit – Wikipedia

On January 14, 1724, Felipe abdicated the Spanish throne to Luis, his seventeen-year-old eldest son from his first marriage, for reasons that are still unclear. Perhaps it was because Felipe suffered from mental instability and did not wish to reign due to his increasing mental decline. Another theory is that Felipe was concerned about the succession to the French throne due to several deaths. Although the treaty that ended the War of the Spanish Succession forbade a union of the French and Spanish crowns, perhaps Felipe hoped that by abdicating the Spanish throne, he could succeed to the French throne if necessary. However, seven months later, Felipe was forced to once again ascend to the Spanish throne because King Luis I died of smallpox and Felipe’s younger son, the future King Fernando VI, was not yet of legal age.

Felipe V and Elisabeth in 1739; Credit – Wikipedia

As he grew older, Felipe’s mental issues worsened and his wife Elisabeth became the de facto ruler of Spain. Only the singing of the Italian castrato opera singer Farinelli (born Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi) brought any peace to Felipe. Farinelli would sing eight or nine arias for the king and queen every night, usually with a trio of musicians.

Felipe V, King of Spain died of a stroke at the age of 62 on July 9, 1746, in El Escorial, Spain. He requested not to be buried at the traditional burial site, the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial. Instead, Felipe was buried in the Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, known as La Granja, in the province of Segovia in central Spain. The architecture of La Granja reminded him of the longed-for French court of his childhood. His second wife Elisabeth survived him by twenty years, dying on July 11, 1766, at the age of 73, and was buried with her husband.

Tomb of Felipe V, King of Spain and his 2nd wife Elisabeth; Credit – Wikipedia

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

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Philipp V. (Spanien). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipp_V._(Spanien) [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Elisabeth Farnese. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Farnese [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Maria Luisa of Savoy. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_of_Savoy [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Philip V of Spain. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_V_of_Spain [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
  • Es.wikipedia.org. (2018). Felipe V de España. [online] Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felipe_V_de_Espa%C3%B1a [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
  • Fraser, A. (2006). Love and Louis XIV. New York: Nan A. Talese Doubleday.

Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the eldest of the three sons of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, was born at the Palace of Versailles in France on August 16, 1682, and received the title of Duke of Burgundy. At the time of his birth, Louis’ grandfather Louis XIV was King of France and his father was the heir apparent to the French throne. After Louis’ birth, his father was called Le Grand Dauphin and his son Louis, who was second in the line of succession, was called Le Petit Dauphin. However, King Louis XIV outlived both his son and his grandson and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson King Louis XV when he died in 1715.

The birth of Louis, Duke of Burgundy; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis had two younger brothers:

Louis on the right with his parents and his two brothers; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis and his two brothers were placed in the care of the royal governess Louise de Prie de La Mothe-Houdancourt who had also been their father’s governess.  The brothers were then placed under the care of Paul de Beauvilliers as their governor and were tutored by François Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai.  When Louis was eight-years-old, his mother died at the Palace of Versailles on April 20, 1690, at the age of 29.

Louis’ wife Marie Adélaïde of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1696, when Louis was fourteen-years-old, he was betrothed to Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, the eldest daughter of Vittorio Amadeo II, Duke of Savoy (later King of Sardinia) and of Anne Marie of Orléans, a niece of King Louis XIV. The betrothal was the result of the Treaty of Turin in which Marie Adélaïde’s father agreed to support France in the Nine Years’ War. The treaty also stipulated that eleven-year-old Marie Adélaïde be sent to France to prepare her for her future role. On December 6, 1697, Marie Adelaïde’s twelfth birthday, the young couple were married at the Palace of Versailles.

Wedding of Louis and Marie-Adélaïde; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis and Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy had three sons:

In terms of mental ability and willingness to work, Louis surpassed his father. He was considered extremely intelligent and politically gifted. In 1702, at the age of twenty, Louis was permitted to attend the meetings of the King’s Council, something his father had not been allowed to do until he was thirty years old. In 1708, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Louis was given the command of an army in Flanders which managed to capture Ghent and Bruges surprisingly quickly.

In the spring of 1711, Louis, Le Grand Dauphin caught smallpox, apparently from a priest who was distributing Holy Communion after he had visited a smallpox victim, and died on April 14, 1711, at the age of 49. His son Louis, who had been styled Le Petit Dauphin, became the heir to the French throne but in less than a year, he too was dead.

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

On February 12, 1712, Louis’ 26-year-old wife Marie Adélaïde died from measles. Louis dearly loved his wife and stayed by her side throughout her illness. He caught the disease and died six days after her death, on February 18, 1712, aged 29, at the Château de Marly in France. The couple was buried together at the Basilica of St. Denis, the traditional burial site of the Kings of France and the French royal family.

Their five-year-old elder son, the Duke of Brittany, succeeded as Dauphin but he also developed measles. He died three weeks later on March 8, 1712, apparently from being bled to death by the doctors. Louis and Marie Adélaïde’s younger son, the future King Louis XV, also developed measles but survived because of his governess Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour. Deciding that she would not allow her younger charge to be bled by the doctors, Madame de Ventadour locked herself up with three nursery maids and refused to allow the doctors near the boy. The two-year-old survived and became King of France upon the death of his great-grandfather, King Louis XIV, three years later.

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. (2018). Louis de Bourbon, duc de Bourgogne. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_Bourbon,_duc_de_Bourgogne [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis, Duke of Burgundy. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Duke_of_Burgundy [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Marie Adélaïde of Savoy. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Marie_Ad%C3%A9la%C3%AFde_of_Savoy [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis de France (1682-1712). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_France_(1682-1712) [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
  • Fraser, A. (2006). Love and Louis XIV. New York: Nan A. Talese Doubleday.

Louis of France, Le Grand Dauphin

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Louis of France, Le Grand Dauphin; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis of France was the only child of King Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Spain to survive childhood. As the heir apparent to the French throne, he was styled Dauphin of France and was called Le Grand Dauphin after the birth of his son Louis, who was called Le Petit Dauphin. However, King Louis XIV outlived his son and his grandson and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson, King Louis XV, when he died in 1715.

Louis was born on November 1, 1661, at the Château de Fontainebleau in France and was the eldest of the six children of his parents. All of his siblings died in childhood:

Louis and his mother; Credit – Wikipedia

Until he was seven years old, Louis was placed under the care of the royal governesses Julie d’Angennes and Louise de Prie de La Mothe-Houdancourt.  Louis was then placed under the care of Charles de Sainte-Maure, Duc de Montausier, as his governor and was tutored by Jacques Bénigne Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux, who found his pupil a poor student. The most enduring thing his tutor was able to teach him was an appreciation for antiques, in particular medals, sculpture, porcelain, and gems. In the long run, Louis’ education taught him more about obedience to his father than the art of governing the Kingdom of France.

Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, Dauphine of France; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1668, seven-year-old Louis was betrothed to his eight-year-old second cousin Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, the eldest daughter of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy. Maria Anna Victoria was carefully educated for her future role and looked forward to being the Dauphine of France. Besides her native German, she was taught to speak French, Italian, and Latin. The couple married in a proxy ceremony in Munich in the Electorate of Bavaria on January 28, 1680. Louis and Maria Anna Victoria first met on March 7, 1680, the day of their religious wedding at Saint Etienne Cathedral in Châlons-sur-Marne, France. Maria Anna Victoria was the first Dauphine of France since Mary, Queen of Scots married the future King François II of France in 1558.

Louis and Maria Anna Victoria had three children:

Louis, Maria Anna Victoria, and their family, Credit – Wikipedia

Louis showed little interest in politics. He was not allowed to attend the meetings of the King’s Council until he was thirty years old. However, he was one of the critics of the 1685 Edict of Fontainebleau, which revoked the 1598 Edict of Nantes that had granted the Protestant Huguenots the right to practice their religion without persecution. During the Nine Years’ War, Louis was a brave and skilled commander and was given the nominal command of the Siege of Philippsburg in 1688.

Maria Anna Victoria’s ill health made it difficult to carry out her duties. Her father-in-law King Louis XIV was unsympathetic and falsely accused her of hypochondria. She died at the Palace of Versailles on April 20, 1690, at the age of 29. An autopsy revealed several internal disorders that vindicated her complaints of illness.

Mademoiselle de Choin; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1694, Louis secretly married his lover Marie Émilie de Joly de Choin, a lady-in-waiting at the French court. No details of the wedding ceremony are known, but in a letter dated July 19, 1694, Louis referred to Marie Émilie as his wife. Marie Émilie was given the title of Dauphine and continued to be officially referred to as Mademoiselle de Choin. The marriage was not officially recognized, and Marie Émilie did not participate in court life.

In the spring of 1711, Louis caught smallpox, apparently from a priest who distributed Holy Communion after he had visited a smallpox victim. Louis had always been healthy and robust, so his illness shocked the people of Paris, the French court, and the royal family. On April 14, 1711, Louis, Dauphin of France died at the Château de Meudon in France at the age of 49. He was buried in the Basilica of St. Denis, outside Paris. His son Louis, who had been styled Le Petit Dauphin, became the heir to the throne, but in less than a year, he too was dead from measles.

Basilica of St. Denis; Credit – Wikipedia – By Thomas Clouet – Own work

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). Louis, Grand Dauphin. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Grand_Dauphin [Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis de France (1661-1711). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_France_(1661-1711) [Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].
  • Fraser, A. (2006). Love and Louis XIV. New York: Nan A. Talese Doubleday.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_Victoria_of_Bavaria [Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans; Credit – Wikipedia

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger son of Louis XIII, King of France and Anne of Austria, Infanta of Spain, was born September 21, 1640, at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris. At the time of his birth, he was created Duke of Anjou.

Philippe had one brother:

Philippe and his brother Louis; Credit – Wikipedia

Along with his elder brother Louis, Philippe was raised by the royal governess Françoise de Souvré, Marquise de Lansac until 1643, when Marie-Catherine de Senecey took over. Philippe’s father King Louis XIII died in 1643 and his five-year-old brother then began his 72-year reign as King Louis XIV.

Prime Minister Cardinal Jules Mazarin and Philippe’s mother Queen Anne feared that Philippe would become a source of conflict and harm his brother’s power just as Gaston, Duke of Orléans had done to his brother King Louis XIII. As a result, Philippe was raised “as a girl” to make him effeminate and weak, the total opposite of his brother King Louis XIV. He was treated and dressed like a girl, showered with jewelry and clothes with any masculine behavior deliberately suppressed. Philippe was well educated by tutors chosen by Cardinal Mazarin, emphasizing languages, history, literature, mathematics, and dancing. In 1660, after his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans died, Philippe was created Duke of Orléans.

Louis XIV (right) with his brother Philippe (left); Credit – Wikipedia

During the English Civil War (1642–1651), Philippe’s paternal aunt Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England, and her youngest child and Philippe’s first cousin Henrietta (born 1644) sought refuge at the French court. Mother and daughter were given apartments at the Palais du Louvre, the use of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and a pension, much of which was given to King Charles I in England and to royalist exiles in France. In January 1649, King Charles I was beheaded, and Henrietta and her mother moved to the Palais Royal with her cousins King Louis XIV and Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and their mother.

Henrietta of England, Philippe’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Henrietta Maria wanted her daughter to marry her cousin King Louis XIV but his mother did not favor the marriage. Instead, Louis XIV married Maria Theresa of Spain, another first cousin, in 1660. Also in 1660, the monarchy was restored in England and Henrietta’s eldest brother became King Charles II. Now that Henrietta was the sister of the English king, her cousin Philippe became interested in marrying her. Philippe had homosexual affairs but apparently, he was intent on fulfilling his dynastic responsibility of having children. The cousins married on April 1, 1661, and moved into the Palais des Tuileries. Although Philippe and Henrietta had three children, the paternity of the children was doubted by some members of the court as Henrietta had affairs, including an affair with her husband’s lover Guy Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche.

Today’s Jacobite claim to the British throne goes through Philippe and Henrietta’s younger daughter Anne Marie. Through her mother, Anne Marie was a granddaughter of King Charles I of England. When Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) and his brother Cardinal Henry Stuart died without legitimate issue, Anne Marie’s descendants inherited the Jacobite claim.

Philippe and Henrietta’s children:

On June 30, 1670, Henrietta died at the age of 26. There were rumors that her husband’s lover Philippe, Chevalier de Lorraine had poisoned her. She was buried at the Basilica of St. Denis near Paris, the burial site of the Kings of France and their families. While Henrietta was mourned at the French court, she was not mourned by her husband due to their strained relationship. Philippe’s brother King Louis XIV wanted a male heir to continue the Orléans line and looked for a second wife for Philippe himself.

King Louis XIV rejected many potential second brides for his brother before settling on the Protestant Princess Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, known as Liselotte. She was the only daughter of Karl I Ludwig, Elector Palatine and Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel. Liselotte’s paternal grandmother was Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I of England and granddaughter of Mary, Queen of Scots. Liselotte converted to Roman Catholicism and married Philippe on November 19, 1671, at Saint Etienne Cathedral in Châlons, France.

Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, known as Liselotte, Philippe’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Liselotte acted as a mother to Philippe’s children by Henrietta and maintained correspondence with them throughout their lives. Philippe and Liselotte had three children:

Liselotte with her two surviving children; Credit – Wikipedia

Philippe’s careful investment and management of his various estates made him a wealthy man,  and his wealth greatly increased when he inherited the fortune of his extremely wealthy paternal first cousin Anne Marie Louise of Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier upon her death in 1693. Philippe is acknowledged as the biological and financial founder of the House of Orléans. In his later life, Philippe maintained his lavish lifestyle easily and he found much satisfaction in the activities of his children and grandchildren.

On June 9, 1701, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans died from a stroke at the Château de Saint-Cloud at the age of 60. He was buried at the Basilica of St. Denis, near Paris. His wife Liselotte survived Philippe by twenty-one years, dying at the Château de Saint-Cloud at age 70 on December 8, 1722.

Philippe’s descendants include King Felipe VI of Spain, King Philippe of the Belgians, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Henri, Count of Paris, the Orléanist pretender to the French throne, and Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, the pretender to the Italian throne.

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

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. (2018). Philippe I. de Bourbon, duc d’Orléans. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_I._de_Bourbon,_duc_d%E2%80%99Orl%C3%A9ans [Accessed 29 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_I,_Duke_of_Orl%C3%A9ans [Accessed 29 Oct. 2018].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Philippe d’Orléans (1640-1701). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans_(1640-1701) [Accessed 29 Oct. 2018].
  • Fraser, Antonia. (2006). Love and Louis XIV. New York: Nan A. Talese Doubleday.

Gaston of France, Duke of Orléans

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Gaston of France, Duke of Orléans; Credit – Wikipedia

Gaston, Duke of Orléans could be considered the black sheep of his family. Twice he had to leave France for conspiring against the government of his brother King Louis XIII. When his brother refused to grant permission for Gaston to marry Marguerite of Lorraine after the death of his first wife, Gaston married her anyway and kept the marriage secret. Because of his participation against the government in a series of civil wars, Gaston was exiled to one of his homes for the last seven years of his life.

Gaston, Duke of Orléans was born on April 24, 1608, at the Château de Fontainebleau in Fontainebleau, France. He was the third but the second surviving of the three sons and the fifth of the six children of Henri IV, King of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici. At birth, he was given the title of Duke of Anjou. During the reign of his brother King Louis XIII, Gaston was known as Monsieur, the title used by the eldest living brother of the King of France. Gaston was raised with his siblings by the royal governess Françoise de Montglat at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye outside of Paris.

Gaston as a young boy; Credit – Wikipedia

Gaston had five siblings:

King Henri IV with his second wife Marie de’ Medici and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 14, 1610, when Gaston was two years old, his father King Henri IV of France was assassinated. While traveling through Paris, Henri’s carriage was stopped on the Rue de Ferronnerie. A Catholic zealot, François Ravaillac, took the opportunity to rush up to the carriage and stab the king twice in the chest. Quickly subdued, Ravaillac was taken into custody and later executed. The king was taken to the Palais du Louvre where he died. Christine’s nine-year-old brother ascended the French throne as King Louis XIII. The widowed Queen, Marie de’ Medici was appointed Regent for her son.

After the death in 1611 of his elder brother Nicolas Henri, Gaston became the heir presumptive to the French throne. King Louis XIII, Gaston’s brother, and his wife Queen Anne produced only four stillborn children during the first twenty-three years of their marriage. In 1638, the King and Queen finally had a son who would become King Louis XIV. Because Gaston was the heir to the throne for so long, ambitious nobles repeatedly involved him in their rebellions against his brother’s prime ministers Cardinal Richelieu and Cardinal Mazarin.

Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier, Gaston’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 6, 1626, when he was eighteen years old, Gaston was married against his will to the immensely wealthy Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier in her own right. At the time of his marriage, Gaston was created Duke of Orléans. Marie was the only child of Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier and Henriette Catherine de Joyeuse, Duchess of Joyeuse in her own right. Despite Gaston’s aversion to the marriage, King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu were determined that the marriage should take place because of the Duchess of Montpensier’s fortune. The marriage lasted less than a year. On May 29, 1627, Marie gave birth to a daughter and then died a few days later, on June 4, 1627, at the Palais du Louvre in Paris at the age of twenty-one. Her infant daughter Anne Marie Louise inherited her fortune and titles. Anne Marie Louise never married and when she died in 1693, her fortune was handed over to Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, King Louis XIV’s only sibling.

Gaston’s daughter Anne Marie Louise of Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier; Credit – Wikipedia

Gaston and Marie had one daughter:

In 1631, Gaston was living in the Duchy of Lorraine, escaping from the wrath of Cardinal Richelieu. There he fell in love with Marguerite of Lorraine, daughter of François II, Duke of Lorraine and Christina of Salm. At the time, Marguerite’s brother Charles IV was the Duke of Lorraine. The Kingdom of France and the Duchy of Lorraine were enemies and King Louis XIII refused to grant his brother permission to marry Marguerite. Despite this, Gaston and Marguerite were married in a secret ceremony in the presence of her family on January 2, 1632.

Gaston in 1634; Credit – Wikipedia

Later in 1632, the marriage was revealed to King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu by Henri II, Duke of Montmorency, a former ally of Gaston, shortly before his execution. Gaston’s marriage was declared void by a French court in September 1634, and an assembly of the French clergy agreed with the court’s decision on the grounds that a Prince of the Blood, especially an heir to the throne, could only marry with the king’s permission. Gaston had no choice but to accept the annulment of his marriage.

Marguerite of Lorraine, Gaston’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

When King Louis XIII was on his deathbed in May 1643, he forgave Gaston and permitted him to marry Marguerite. In July 1643, Gaston and Marguerite were married by Jean-François de Gondi, Archbishop of Paris, and the Duke and Duchess of Orléans were finally received at court. When Gaston’s mother died in 1642, she bequeathed to him the Luxembourg Palace that she had purchased for her residence after her husband was assassinated.  This became the couple’s residence in Paris.

Gaston and Marguerite had five children, all born after their 1643 marriage. Only three daughters survived childhood:

From 1628 – 1653, a series of civil wars, called The Fronde, occurred in France. During these civil wars, there was a rebellion against the government by members of the nobility and discontented citizens of Paris. Eventually, the government of King Louis XIV triumphed. Gaston had moved indecisively from one side to the other during the wars and after The Fronde was over, he was exiled to one of his homes, the Château de Blois, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Gaston, Duke of Orléans died February 2, 1660, at the Château de Blois at the age of 51. He was buried at the Basilica of St. Denis, the traditional burial place of the French royals, in St. Denis, a suburb of Paris.  Gaston’s wife Marguerite survived her husband by twelve years, dying April 13, 1672, at the age of 56, and was also buried at the Basilica of St. Denis.

Memorial to Gaston at the Basilica of St. Denis; Credit – Von Thomon – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51345641

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. (2018). Gaston de Bourbon, duc d’Orléans. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_de_Bourbon,_duc_d%E2%80%99Orl%C3%A9ans [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Gaston, Duke of Orléans. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston,_Duke_of_Orl%C3%A9ans [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].
  • https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_de_France

Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Christine of France was the second of the three daughters and the third of the sixth children of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici. She was born at the Palais du Louvre in Paris, France on February 10, 1606, and was raised with her siblings by the royal governess Françoise de Montglat at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye outside of Paris.

Christine had five siblings:

King Henri IV with his second wife Marie de’ Medici and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 14, 1610, when Christine was four years old, her father King Henri IV of France was assassinated. While traveling through Paris, Henri’s carriage was stopped on the Rue de Ferronnerie. A Catholic zealot, François Ravaillac, took the opportunity to rush up to the carriage and stab the king twice in the chest. Quickly subdued, Ravaillac was taken into custody and later executed. The king was taken to the Palais du Louvre where he died. Christine’s nine-year-old brother ascended the French throne as King Louis XIII. The widowed Queen, Marie de’ Medici was appointed Regent for her son.

Christine’s husband Vittoria Amadeo I, Duke of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

To strengthen the connection between France and the Duchy of Savoy, 12-year-old Christine was betrothed to Vittorio Amedeo, Prince of Piedmont, the heir of Carlo Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy. Vittorio Amadeo’s mother was Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain, daughter of King Felipe II of Spain. On February 10, 1619, her thirteenth birthday, Christine married Vittorio Amadeo at the Palais du Louvre in Paris, France.

Christine and Vittorio Amedeo had seven children:

Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

Christine was a beautiful, sensual, and frivolous woman who was fond of parties and dances. Her faithfulness to her husband was openly questioned. When she gave birth to her first daughter, court gossip said the father was a French courtier named Pommeuse. Christine made no secret of her affair with the artist Filippo de San Martino, Conte d’Agliè.

Vittorio Amadeo became Duke of Savoy when his father died on July 26, 1630. Christine introduced French culture to the Savoy court and was active in renovating the Savoy palaces and castles. She rebuilt Palazzo Madama in Turin and later made it her residence. She was also the driving force for the reconstruction of the Castello del Valentino in Turin and the additions to the Royal Palace of Turin. Her sister Henrietta Maria had married King Charles I of England and the two sisters had a rivalry to see who had the more splendid court.

Christine as a widow with three of her children Henriette Adelaide, Margherita Violante, and Carlo Emanuele; Credit – Wikipedia

When her husband died on October 7, 1637, Christine became Regent for her five-year-old son Francesco Giacinto, Duke of Savoy. When Francesco Giacinto died a year later, she became Regent for her other son Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy. During the time she served as Regent, Christine had to deal with her brothers-in-law Tommaso, Prince of Carignano and Cardinal Maurice, Prince of Savoy who both wanted to be Regent, and with the prime minister of her brother King Louis XIII of France, Cardinal Richelieu, who tried to annex the Duchy of Savoy to the Kingdom of France. However, Christine kept firm control of the Duchy of Savoy. When her son Carlo Emanuele came of age, he invited her to continue to rule which she did until her death.

Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy in 1663; Credit – Wikipedia

In later years, Christine had a religious conversion that radically transformed her from a life of pleasure to a life of extreme penitential practices. On December 27, 1663, Christine died at the Palazzo Madama in Turin at the age of 57. Dressed as a Discalced Carmelite nun, Christine was buried at the Basilica of Sant’Andrea in Turin. In 1802, her remains were transferred to the nearby Church of Saint Teresa of Avila.

The Church of Saint Teresa of Ávila in Turin, Italy where Christine is buried; Credit – Di Georgius LXXXIX – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17623511

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. (2018). Christina von Frankreich. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_von_Frankreich [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Christine of France. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_of_France [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Christine de France. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_de_France [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].
  • It.wikipedia.org. (2018). Cristina di Borbone-Francia. [online] Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristina_di_Borbone-Francia [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].

What’s in a Name? – Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Embed from Getty Images 

On May 8, 2019, it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had named their newborn son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. I am going to admit up front that I am not crazy about the name Archie. However, naming a child is, of course, the prerogative of the parents. Archie is a name the Duke and Duchess liked and Harrison is from an English surname that means “son of Harry” and is quite fitting in this circumstance.

The names Alexander, Spencer, James, and Arthur were the betting favorites in the United Kingdom’s legal betting parlors. Less than 100 people bet money on Baby Sussex being named Archie. One lucky woman won more than £18,000 ($23,428) after she guessed that Baby Sussex’s name would be Archie. The unnamed woman bet £120 ($168) on the name at 150/1 odds after Baby Sussex was born on her grandson Archie’s birthday. She plans to put the winnings aside for her grandson.

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Derivation of the Names

Archie is a diminutive or nickname of the name Archibald which comes from the Old French Archaunbault and from Old High German Erchanbald. The first part of the name (archi-, archaun-, erchan-) means genuine. The second part of the name (-bald, -bault, -bald) means strong or bold. The name came to England via the Norman Conquest of 1066 and during the late Middle Ages, Archibald became a common name in Scotland.

Harrison is generally known as a surname although it is also used a first name and, in the case of Baby Sussex, as a middle name. In the British Isles, the origins of some surnames are linked to occupations. Obvious examples are Smith, Baker, and Carpenter. Other surnames can be linked to a place, for example, Hill or Green (a village green). There are also surnames that describe physical characteristics of the original bearer of the surname such as Brown, Short, or Thin. Lastly, there are surnames that used the first name of the original bearer plus the word “son” – Jackson originally came from Jack’s son and Harrison, originally came from Harry’s son.

Mountbatten-Windsor is the surname used by some of the male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Generally, Mountbatten-Windsor would be used by male-line descendants without royal styles. In 1917, because of anti-German sentiment during World War I, King George V changed the name of the royal house and family from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor.

Prince Philp’s mother was born Princess Alice of Battenberg. In 1917, Battenberg was anglicized to Mountbatten. Shortly before Prince Philip became engaged to the future Queen Elizabeth II, he relinquished his Greek and Danish royal titles, adopted the surname Mountbatten from his mother’s family, and became a naturalized British subject.

In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II issued Letters Patent stating: “while I and my children will continue to be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, my descendants, other than descendants enjoying the style, title or attributes of Royal Highness and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess, and female descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name Mountbatten-Windsor.”

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Archie in the United Kingdom

Archie has become a popular name in the United Kingdom. According to the Office of National Statistics, Archie was the 19th most popular name for boys in England with 2,651 boys being named Archie in 2017. Government statistics for 2017 in the other parts of the United Kingdom show Archie was the 15th most popular boys’ name in Wales and the 19th most popular boys’ name in Scotland. Archie is not quite as popular in Northern Ireland where it came in at number 32.

2017 – Most Popular Boys’ Names in England from Office of National Statistics

  1. Oliver
  2. Harry
  3. George
  4. Noah
  5. Jack
  6. Jacob
  7. Muhammad
  8. Leo
  9. Oscar
  10. Charlie
  11. William
  12. Henry
  13. Alfie
  14. Thomas
  15. Joshua
  16. Freddie
  17. James
  18. Arthur
  19. Archie
  20. Logan

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Archie in the United States

The name Archie is very uncommon in the United States where I am located. In 2017, Archie did not even make the top 1,000 boys’ names in the United States with only 156 boys being named Archie. The last time the name Archie was in the top 1,000 boys’ names in the United States was in 1988 when it was number 889. Living in a country of 327,000,000 people, Americans are not very likely to encounter anyone named Archie.

2017 – Most Popular Boys’ Names in the United States from the Social Security Administration

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. William
  4. James
  5. Logan
  6. Benjamin
  7. Mason
  8. Elijah
  9. Oliver
  10. Jacob
  11. Lucas
  12. Michael
  13. Alexander
  14. Ethan
  15. Daniel
  16. Matthew
  17. Aiden
  18. Henry
  19. Joseph
  20. Jackson

In the United States, the name Archie conjures up visions of two fictional characters. Described as a lovable bigot, Archie Bunker, played by actor Carroll O’Connor, was a character on the 1970s situation comedy All in the Family. Archie Andrews was first created as a comic book character in the 1940s and is now appearing as a character in Riverdale, an American teen drama television series based on the characters of the Archie comic books. Perhaps this accounts for this American’s somewhat resistant attitude toward the name. The only famous American Archie I can think of is Archie Manning (born 1949), a National Football League quarterback.  However, I really do not know him through his sports achievements but rather through his sons’ sports achievements. Archie Manning is the father of two National Football League quarterbacks Peyton Manning, who retired in 2016, and Eli Manning, who still plays for the New York Giants.

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Royal Connections

Margaret Tudor; Credit – Wikipedia

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus; Credit – Wikipedia

There are two royal connections to the name Archibald. Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England and sister of King Henry VIII of England, married three times. Her first marriage was to James IV, King of Scots. After James IV was killed at the Battle of Flodden, which was fought against the army of his brother-in-law Henry VIII, Margaret’s seventeen-month-old son succeeded his father as James V, King of Scots. Under the terms of James IV’s will, Margaret was the regent for her son as long as she did not remarry.

Margaret sought an ally with the pro-English House of Douglas, and so she secretly married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. The marriage stirred up the jealousy of the nobles and the opposition of the faction supporting French influence in Scotland. Civil war broke out, and Margaret was stripped of her regency. Margaret and Douglas escaped to England where she gave birth to their only child Lady Margaret Douglas at Harbottle Castle in Northumberland, England.

Lady Margaret Douglas married Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and had two sons including Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley who married his first cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, the daughter of James V, King of Scots, and therefore the granddaughter of Margaret Tudor. They were the parents of James VI, King of Scots who succeeded to the English throne upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England as King James I of England.  Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor is, therefore, a descendant of Margaret Tudor and her first husband James IV, King of Scots and also her second husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus.

James V, King of Scots was the only child of James IV, King of Scots and Margaret Tudor to survive infancy. His daughter Mary, Queen of Scots was his only surviving child and she succeeded her father when she was six days old. However, James V had a number of illegitimate children. One of his illegitimate children was Lady Jean Stewart. Jean married Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll. The couple had no children and divorced after twenty years of marriage.

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

Elisabeth of France, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Elisabeth of France, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

The first wife of King Felipe IV of Spain (also King Filipe III of Portugal), Elisabeth of France, was born at the Château de Fontainebleau in France on November 22, 1602. She was the eldest of the three daughters and the second of the six children of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici. Elisabeth was known as Madame Royale, the traditional title of the eldest living unmarried daughter of a reigning French monarch.

Elisabeth had five siblings:

King Henri IV with his second wife Marie de’ Medici and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Soon after her birth, Elisabeth was betrothed to Filippo Emanuele, Prince of Piedmont, the son and heir of Carlo Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy but Filippo Emanuele died in 1604. Elisabeth was raised with her siblings by the royal governess Françoise de Montglat at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye outside of Paris.

On May 14, 1610, when Elisabeth was eight-year-old, her father King Henri IV of France was assassinated. While traveling through Paris, Henri’s carriage was stopped on the Rue de Ferronnerie. A Catholic zealot, François Ravaillac, took the opportunity to rush up to the carriage and stab the king twice in the chest. Quickly subdued, Ravaillac was taken into custody and later executed. The king was taken to the Louvre Palace where he died. Elisabeth’s nine-year-old brother ascended the French throne as King Louis XIII. The widowed Queen, Marie de’ Medici was appointed Regent for her son.

During this time, there were struggles in France between the Catholics and the Protestants (French Huguenots). The new Regent, Marie de’ Medici promoted a strong alliance with the Spanish monarchy and favored Catholicism over Protestantism. To strengthen this bond, she arranged the marriages of her son King Louis XIII to Infanta Anna of Spain (known primarily as Anne of Austria), and her eldest daughter Elisabeth to Felipe, Prince of Asturias (the future King Felipe IV of Spain and King Felipe III of Portugal). Anna and Felipe were both the children of King Felipe III of Spain and his wife Margaret of Austria.

Infanta Anna of Spain, wife of King Louis XIII of France, and Felipe, Prince of Asturias, the future King Felipe IV of Spain, husband of Elisabeth of France in 1612; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 13, 1615, at the Louvre Palace in Paris, France, both young couples were married by proxy and soon, Elisabeth and her brother Louis XIII left Paris to meet their respective spouses. On Pheasant Island in the Bidassoa River that divides France and Spain, the two couples first met. This would be the last time Elisabeth would see her brother Louis. On November 25, 1615, at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Burgos, Spain, 13-year-old Elisabeth married 10-year-old Felipe, Prince of Asturias in a religious ceremony. Elisabeth adopted the Spanish version of her name Isabel and became the Princess of Asturias.

The exchange of the two princesses of France and Spain on the Bidassoa River by Peter Paul Rubens; Credit – Wikipedia

Because of the couple’s young age, the marriage was not consummated. The situation changed when Elisabeth’s father-in-law King Felipe III became ill. The marriage was consummated, and Elisabeth quickly became pregnant. King Felipe III died on March 31, 1621, and was succeeded by his 16-year-old son as King Felipe IV with Elisabeth becoming Queen Consort of Spain.

Elisabeth and Felipe had eight children but only their youngest child survived childhood. Besides having so many children die young, Elisabeth had three miscarriages. Her husband probably transmitted to her a venereal disease he contracted from one of his mistresses. This would explain the miscarriages and the many dead infants.

  • Maria Margarita of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1621)
  • Margarita Maria Catalina of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1623)
  • Maria Eugenia of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1625 – 1627)
  • Isabella Maria of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1627)
  • Balthasar Carlos of Austria, Infante of Spain, Prince of Asturias (1629 – 1646), died at age 16 from smallpox
  • Francisco Fernando of Austria, Infante of Spain (born and died 1634)
  • Maria Ana Antonia of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1636)
  • Maria Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1638 – 1683), married King Louis XIV of France, had six children but only one son survived childhood

King Felipe IV of Spain, circa 1631-1632; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth was aware of her husband’s mistresses. There were rumors about her relationship with the diplomat Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana who was her gentleman-in-waiting. Between 1640 and 1642, Elisabeth served as regent for her husband in his absence during the Catalan Revolt.

Throughout her marriage, Elisabeth suffered in silence over the deaths of her children and her miscarriages. The fact that her husband’s mistresses gave him children made her feel even worse. Her feelings are evident in the letters sent to her brother Louis XIII and sister-in-law Anne of Austria. Weakened by her multiple pregnancies and miscarriages, Elisabeth died at the Royal Alcazar in Madrid, Spain on October 6, 1644, at the age of forty-one, after miscarrying a son. She was buried in the Pantheon of the Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain.

The Pantheon of the Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial; Credit – Wikipedia

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

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Élisabeth de Bourbon. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lisabeth_de_Bourbon [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Elisabeth of France (1602–1644). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_of_France_(1602%E2%80%931644) [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Élisabeth de France (1602-1644). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lisabeth_de_France_(1602-1644) [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].

Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil; Credit – Wikipedia

Amélie Auguste Eugénie Napoléonne was the third of the five daughters and the fourth of the seven children of Eugène de Beauharnais and Princess Augusta of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie, Empress Jospéhine, the first wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, and Joséphine’s first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais, Vicomte de Beauharnais who was guillotined during the French Revolution. Amélie’s maternal grandparents were King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his first wife Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. Amélie was born on July 31, 1812, in Milan in the Kingdom of Italy while her father was serving as Viceroy of Italy.

Amélie had six siblings:

After Napoleon lost power in 1814, Amélie’s family settled at the Palais Leuchtenberg in Munich, the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria, where her maternal grandfather reigned. In 1817, King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria created Amélie’s father Duke of Leuchtenberg and Prince of Eichstätt. Amélie’s parents downplayed their connection to the defeated Napoleon. They knew that the connection might hurt their children’s marriage prospects. Their plan worked. In 1823, their eldest child Joséphine married the future King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway, and in 1835 their son Auguste, who had become the 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg when his father died in 1824, married Queen Maria II of Portugal. However, Auguste died two months after the marriage.

Emperor Pedro I of Brazil in 1830; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1826, Maria Leopoldina of Austria, wife of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, died from puerperal fever (childbed fever) after the miscarriage of her eighth child. Pedro had flaunted his affair with his mistress. He was increasingly rude and disrespectful to Leopoldina, left her short of money, prohibited her from leaving the palace, and forced her to endure his mistress as her lady-in-waiting. After Leopoldina’s death, Pedro had remorse for how he had treated her, decided to become a better person, and remarry. However, eight European princesses refused his marriage proposals because of his bad reputation. Amélie’s mother knew that if she played her cards right, Amélie could be Empress of Brazil.

However, Leopoldina’s father Emperor Franz I of Austria tried to stop the search for a new bride for Pedro. Franz wanted to prevent possible sons from the second marriage of his former son-in-law from inheriting the Brazilian throne. After lengthy negotiations, the marriage contract was finally signed on May 30, 1829, in Canterbury, England, and Amélie’s guardian King Ludwig I of Bavaria ratified the marriage contract on July 25, 1829, in Munich.

A proxy wedding was held in the chapel of the Palais Leuchtenberg on August 2, 1829. The groom was represented by Amélie’s favorite uncle Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria. Two days after the proxy wedding, Amélie left Bavaria to travel to her husband in South America. She was accompanied by her brother Auguste. During the journey, Amélie was prepared for life in Brazil by the scientist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, an expert on Brazil. von Martius taught Amélie interesting facts about Brazil, its customs, and traditions. Ana Romana de Aragão Calmon, Countess of Itapagipe familiarized Amélie with her husband’s personality and the customs of the Brazilian court and began to teach her Portuguese. 17-year-old Amélie arrived in Rio de Janeiro on October 15, 1829. Pedro and Amélie were married in person two days later at the Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro. They had a happy marriage and Amélie’s relationship with her stepchildren was very positive.

The Emperor’s Second Marriage, painted by Jean-Baptiste Debret; Credit – Wikipedia

Amélie and Pedro had one daughter:

Amélie and her daughter Maria Amélie in 1840; Credit – Wikipedia 

On April 7, 1831, after a political crisis that ended with the resignation of his ministers and in the middle of an economic crisis, Pedro abdicated the throne of Brazil in favor of his six-year-old son who reigned as Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Pedro and his pregnant wife Amélie left for Europe. In Portugal, Pedro’s brother Miguel had been serving as Regent for Pedro’s daughter Queen Maria II. Maria had been sent to Vienna to continue her education. It was on this journey that Maria learned her uncle Miguel had deposed her and then declared himself King of Portugal on June 23, 1828. Emperor Pedro insisted that his daughter was the rightful Queen of Portugal and demanded that she be treated as such. Maria traveled to the United Kingdom, hoping to garner the support of the British government, but they instead supported Miguel. She met up with her father in France, where they stayed with King Louis Philippe I, where Maria received her education. For several years, forces loyal to Maria and her father would try to force Miguel from the throne. Finally, on May 26, 1834, Miguel was forced to abdicate, and Maria was returned to the Portuguese throne.

On September 24, 1834, at the age of 35, Pedro died from tuberculosis at his birthplace, the Royal Palace of Queluz in Lisbon, Portugal. Amélie was left a widow at the age of twenty-two with a three-year-old daughter. Amélie never remarried. She then retreated to the Palace of Janelas Verde in Lisbon, Portugal, and devoted herself exclusively to the care and education of her daughter Maria Amélie. In the mid-1840s, with the purpose of refining her education, Maria Amélie moved with her mother to Munich in the Kingdom of Bavaria, where many of her relatives lived. In 1850, Maria Amélie and her mother returned to Portugal and again lived in the Palace of Janelas Verdes.

Princess Maria Amélia, circa 1849; Credit – Wikipedia

Amélie made arrangements to betroth her twenty-year-old daughter to Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. However, the official betrothal never took place. Maria Amélie was ill with tuberculosis, the same disease that had killed her father. In August 1852, Amélie and her daughter moved to the island of Madeira in Portugal because of the mild climate. Maria Amélie died on February 4, 1853, at the age of twenty-one. She was first buried in the Braganza Pantheon, located in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal. In 1982, Maria Amélie’s remains were transferred to Brazil and buried in the Convento de Santo Antônio (Convent of Saint Anthony) in Rio de Janeiro, where other Brazilian royals are also interred.

Maria Amélie’s last moments with her mother at the bedside; Credit – Wikipedia

Amélie visited her daughter’s tomb on every anniversary of her death until her death. She financed the construction of a hospital to treat patients with lung diseases in Funchal on the island of Madeira called the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélie which is still in existence. When Amélie died, the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélia was handed over to her sister Queen Joséphine of Sweden, and according to the terms of Amélie’s will, it is owned and administered by the Swedish Royal Family. King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden have visited the hospital.

Amélie in her later years; Credit – Wikipedia

After her daughter’s death, Amélie returned to the Palace of Janelas Verdes in Lisbon, Portugal. Toward the end of her life, she was confined to the palace because of heart disease. One of the few distractions in the last years of her life was the 1871 reunion with her stepson Emperor Pedro II of Brazil who was on a European tour with his wife Teresa Maria Cristina of Naples-Sicily.

On January 26, 1873, Amélie died at the age of 60 in Lisbon, Portugal. Under the terms of her will, her sister Queen Joséphine of Sweden was her primary heir. She received, among other things, the Braganza Tiara which is still in the possession of the Swedish royal family and is often worn by Queen Silvia, wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Amélie arranged for documents pertaining to her husband Emperor Pedro I of Brazil to be willed to Brazil, where they are kept in the archives of the Imperial Museum of Brazil.

Amélie was first buried in the Braganza Pantheon, located in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal. In 1982, her remains were transferred to Brazil and placed in the Brazilian Imperial Crypt and Chapel under the Monument of the Ipiranga (Monument to the Independence of Brazil) in São Paulo, Brazil next to her husband Emperor Pedro I and his first wife Maria Leopoldina of Austria.

Tombs of Pedro I and Amélia in the Imperial Chapel in São Paulo, Brazil: Credit – Wikipedia

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Works Cited

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