Matilda FitzRoy, Countess of Perche, Illegitimate Daughter of King Henry I of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

An 1866 watercolor by Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise showing a scene from the sinking of the Blanche Nef or White Ship. A male figure, probably William Ætheling, is shown in a lifeboat to the lower left. He is shown full-length, standing with his hands clasped together and looking up towards his half-sister Matilda, Countess of Perche who is still on board the ship. Drowning men are shown trying to climb into the small boat which is soon to capsize; Credit – Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023

Matilda FitzRoy, Countess of Perche, who lost her life in the sinking of the White Ship, was the illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England and a mistress identified only as Edith. Matilda’s birth date is unknown. King Henry I recognized at least twenty of his illegitimate children, including Matilda. Her surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. Her paternal grandparents were King William I of England (the Conqueror) and Matilda of Flanders.

King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children, 25 or so illegitimate children who were Matilda’s half-siblings.

Matilda’s royal half-siblings, the children of her father King Henry I and his first wife Matilda of Scotland were:

Matilda’s husband Rotrou III, Count of Perche; Credit – Wikipedia

Matilda married Rotrou III, Count of Perche (circa 1077 – 1144) in 1103, becoming his second wife. The County of Perche was a medieval county between Normandy and Maine, in present-day France. Matilda’s husband took part in the First Crusade (1096 – 1099) and in the Reconquista in eastern Spain, a series of military campaigns that Christian kingdoms waged against the Muslim kingdoms.

As a dowry, Matilda brought lands in Wiltshire, England to the marriage. During their marriage, the couple received possession of the Bellême estate in Normandy, which had been confiscated from Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury in 1102.

Matilda and Rotrou had two daughters:

Because the Kings of England still held Normandy (in France) and were Dukes of Normandy, they were often in Normandy, and this was the case in November of 1120. After the successful military campaign in which King Henry I of England had defeated King Louis VI of France at the Battle of Brémule, the English were finally preparing to return to England. King Henry I was offered the White Ship for his return to England, but he had already made other arrangements. Instead, Henry suggested that his only son and heir William Ætheling, Duke of Normandy sail on the White Ship along with his retinue which included William’s illegitimate half-brother Richard of Lincoln, William’s illegitimate half-sister Matilda, Countess of Perch, Richard d’Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester and many of the heirs of the great estates of England and Normandy.

The sinking of the White Ship; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 25, 1120, William Ætheling and his retinue boarded the ship in a festive mood and barrels of wine were brought on board to celebrate the return to England. Soon both passengers and crew were inebriated. By the time the ship was ready to set sail, there were about 300 people on board, including many high-ranking people of Norman England. William and his retinue ordered the captain of the White Ship to overtake the ship of King Henry I so that the White Ship would be the first ship to return to England. Unfortunately, the White Ship hit a submerged rock and capsized. William’s bodyguard quickly got the heir to the throne into the safety of a dinghy. However, William Ætheling heard the screams of his half-sister Matilda, Countess of Perche, and ordered the dinghy to turn back to rescue her. At this point, the White Ship began to sink and the many people in the water desperately sought the safety of William’s dinghy. The chaos and the weight were too much causing William Ætheling’s dinghy to capsize and sink without a trace. The contemporary chronicler Orderic Vitalis claimed that only two people survived the shipwreck by clinging to a rock all night.

King Henry I mourning the loss of three children in the sinking of the White Ship; Credit – Wikipedia

The sinking of the White Ship caused King Henry I to lose two illegitimate children, Matilda FitzRoy, Countess of Perche and Richard of Lincoln, and most importantly, King Henry I’s only son William Ætheling. King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children, 25 or so illegitimate children, but the tragedy of the White Ship left him with only one legitimate child, his daughter Matilda. Henry I’s nephews were the closest male heirs. In January 1121, Henry married a second time to Adeliza of Louvain, hoping for sons, but the marriage remained childless. On Christmas Day in 1226, King Henry I of England gathered his nobles at Westminster where they swore to recognize his daughter Matilda and any future legitimate heir she might have as his successors. That plan did not work out. Upon hearing of Henry I’s death on December 1, 1135, Stephen of Blois, one of Henry I’s nephews, quickly crossed the English Channel from France, seized power, and was crowned King of England on December 22, 1135. This started the terrible civil war between first cousins Stephen and Matilda known as The Anarchy. England did not see peace for more than 18 years until Matilda’s son acceded to the throne as King Henry II of England in 1154.

La Trappe Abbey today; Credit – Von PY. Stucki, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11471582

After her tragic death, Matilda’s husband Rotrou III, Count of Perche built a small chapel to the Virgin Mary, in Soligny-la-Trappe, then in the Duchy of Normandy, now in France, as a memorial to his wife. A few years later Rotrou built an adjoining monastery, the La Trappe Abbey, known for being the house of origin of the Trappists (also known as the Cistercians), to whom it gave its name.

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

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter, & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). The Sinking of the White Ship and How It Affected the English Succession. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-25-1120-the-sinking-of-the-white-ship-and-how-it-affected-the-english-succession/
  • Spencer, Charles. (2022). The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream. William Collins.
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Matilda Fitzroy, Countess of Perche. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_FitzRoy,_Countess_of_Perche
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Rotrou III, Count of Perche. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotrou_III,_Count_of_Perche

Lady Elizabeth Ferrers, Princess of Wales

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Wales was divided into several separate kingdoms. The largest of these was Gwynedd in northwest Wales and Powys in east Wales. Gwynedd was the most powerful of the Welsh kingdoms. For one man to rule all of Wales during this period was rare. This was because of the inheritance system practiced in Wales. All sons received an equal share of their father’s property, including illegitimate sons, resulting in the division of territories.

The Principality of Wales was created in 1216 at the Council of Aberdyfi when it was agreed by Llywelyn the Great and the other Welsh princes that he was the paramount Welsh ruler and the other Welsh princes would pay homage to him. Although he never used the title, Llywelyn was the de facto Prince of Wales. Llywelyn dominated Wales for 45 years and was one of only two Welsh rulers to be called “the Great”, the other being his ancestor Rhodri the Great. Llywelyn was succeeded by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn and then by his two grandsons who were the sons of his illegitimate son Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.

The campaign of King Edward I of England in Wales (1276 – 1284) resulted in Wales being completely taken over by England. It ended with the deaths of the last two native Princes of Wales: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd who was ambushed and killed in 1282 and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd, who was the first prominent person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered, in 1283. To ensure there would be no further members of the House of Aberffraw, the English imprisoned Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s two young sons for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle and sent his daughter and the daughter of his brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd to convents. To further humiliate the Welsh, King Edward I invested his son and heir, the future King Edward II, with the title Prince of Wales. Since then, the title has been granted (with a few exceptions) to the heir apparent of the English or British monarch.

Note: In Welsh, “ap” means “son of” and “ferch” means “daughter of”.

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Coat of Arms of Elizabeth Ferrers’ husband, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales; Credit – By Sodacan Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12219418

Born circa 1240, in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Lady Elizabeth Ferrers, from an English noble family, was the wife of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the last native and independent Prince of Wales. She was the youngest of the five children and the youngest of the three daughters of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby and his second wife Margaret de Quincy. Elizabeth’s paternal grandparents were William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby and Agnes de Kevelioc. Her maternal grandparents were Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, and Helen of Galloway.

Elizabeth had four elder siblings:

Elizabeth had seven half-sisters from her father’s first marriage to Sybil Marshal:

  • Agnes de Ferrers (circa 1222 – 1290), married William de Vesci, had five children
  • Isabel de Ferrers (1226 – circa 1260), married (1) Gilbert Basset of Wycombe, no children (2) Reginald II de Mohun, had three children
  • Maud de Ferrers (circa 1228- 1298), married (1) Simon de Kyme, no children (2) William de Vivonne, had four daughters (3) Amaury IX, Viscount of Rochechouart, had one daughter
  • Sibyl de Ferrers (1230 – 1273), married (1) Frank de Bohun of Midhurst, had three children
  • Joan de Ferrers (circa 1233 – 1267), married (1) Sir John de Mohun, Master of Dunster, had one son (2)Sir Robert II Aguillon of Addington, had one daughter
  • Agatha de Ferrers (? – 1306), married Hugh Mortimer, had three children
  • Eleanor de Ferrers (circa 1236 – 1274) married (1) William de Vaux, no children (2) Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, no children(3) Roger de Leybourne, had two children

Elizabeth’s father William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby had been in poor health for many years and died when Elizabeth was about fourteen years old. About 1256, Elizabeth was married to Sir William Marshal, 2nd Baron Marshal in Hingham, Norfolk, England. He was about twenty-five years older than Elizabeth and she was his second wife. The couple had no children. Willam died on August 4, 1265, at the Battle of Evesham. Soon after her first husband’s death, Elizabeth married Welsh Prince, Dafydd ap Gruffydd. He was the youngest of the four sons of Prince Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and Senana ferch Caradog. Dafydd’s paternal grandfather was the powerful Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Gwynedd, also known as Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great). At the time of their marriage, Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s elder brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was the Prince of an independent Wales.

Dafydd and Elizabeth had two sons and one daughter, and all were ill-fated:

From 1277 – 1283, King Edward I of England had many military campaigns that ultimately resulted in the conquest of Wales. On December 11, 1282, Dafydd’s brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, was one of 3,000 Welshmen killed by the English army under King Edward I at the Battle of Orewin Bridge near Builth Wells, Wales. As Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales only had an infant daughter, Dafydd ap Gruffydd took over as his brother’s legitimate successor and became Prince of Wales and leader of the resistance against King Edward I of England.

King Edward I’s massive army surrounded the Snowdonia base of Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, who had limited manpower and equipment. Dafydd kept moving and finally, in May 1283, he was forced to move to the mountains above the Welsh royal home in Abergwyngregyn. On June 22, 1283, Dafydd and his younger son Owain ap Dafydd were captured and brought to King Edward I’s camp in Rhuddlan, Wales that same day. Dafydd was taken to Shrewsbury, England. Dafydd’s wife Elizabeth, their daughter Gwladys, their infant niece Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn were also captured. Elizabeth and Dafydd’s elder son Llywelyn ap Dafydd was captured on June 28, 1283. On that same day, King Edward I issued writs to summon a parliament to meet at Shrewsbury, to discuss Dafydd’s fate.

On September 30, 1283, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, was condemned to death, the first person known to have been tried and executed for high treason against an English king. King Edward I’s sense of outrage was so extreme that he designed a punishment for Dafydd harsher than any previous form of capital punishment. Dafydd ap Gruffydd was the first person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered. On October 3, 1283, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury, England attached to a horse’s tail, then hanged alive, revived, then disemboweled and his entrails burned before him. He was then beheaded and his body was cut into four quarters. Dafydd’s four quarters were sent to different parts of England: the right arm to York, the left arm to Bristol, the right leg to Northampton, and the left leg to Hereford. His head was placed on a pole in the Tower of London near the head of his brother Llywelyn. The days of an independent Wales were over.

King Edward I of England wanted to make sure that there were no more claimants to the Welsh throne. Elizabeth and Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s young daughter Gwladys ferch Dafydd was sent to the Sixhills Convent in Sixhills, Lincolnshire, England, where she spent the rest of her life, dying circa 1336. King Edward I ordered an annual payment of 20 pounds for Gwladys’s upkeep.

Elizabeth and Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s two sons 15-year-old Llywelyn ap Dafydd and 7-year-old Owain ap Dafydd were imprisoned for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle in England. Much of the time they were kept in cages. Llywelyn died in 1287, under mysterious circumstances, when he was about twenty years old. Owain was last reported to be alive in 1325 when he would have been in his fifties.

Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, the 18-month-old daughter and only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Dafydd’s brother, was confined at Sempringham Priory in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England where she lived until her death on June 7, 1337, a few days before her 55th birthday. An annual payment of 20 pounds was also arranged for Gwenllian’s upkeep.

St. Michael’s Church in Caerwys, Flintshire, Wales where Elizabeth may be buried; Credit – By Llywelyn2000 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62808423

As for Elizabeth Ferrers, Princess of Wales, her fate is uncertain. She lost everything and would never see her children again. Some historians think she returned to England and died circa 1297. It is possible that she was buried at St. Michael’s Church in Caerwys, Flintshire, Wales where there is a stone effigy reputed to be that of Elizabeth Ferrers.

Effigy reputed to be that of Elizabeth Ferrers; 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

  • Belfrage, Anna Belfrage. (2018). Elizabeth who? A reflection on the life of a medieval woman. https://www.annabelfrage.com/2018/05/27/elizabeth-who/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2024). Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dafydd-ap-gruffydd-prince-of-wales/
  • Sir William Marshall. geni_family_tree. (2023). https://www.geni.com/people/Sir-William-Marshall/6000000003828319213
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Elizabeth Ferrers. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Ferrers
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2021). Elizabeth Ferrers. Wikipedia (Welsh). https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Ferrers
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_Ferrers,_5th_Earl_of_Derby
  • William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby. geni_family_tree. (2023). https://www.geni.com/people/William-de-Ferrers-5th-Earl-of-Derby/6000000002092684088
  • Williamson, David. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. Cassell.

Breaking News: Sarah Ferguson: Duchess of York Diagnosed With Skin Cancer

The Telegraph

From BBC News:

The Duchess of York has been diagnosed with malignant melanoma following the removal of a cancerous mole during treatment for breast cancer.

Sarah Ferguson had several moles removed and analysed while having reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy, her spokesman said.
The duchess “remains in good spirits”, despite it being “distressing” to have another cancer diagnosis.
She is the third royal to announce a medical procedure this week.

BBC: Sarah Ferguson: Duchess of York diagnosed with skin cancer

Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Wales was divided into several separate kingdoms. The largest of these was Gwynedd in northwest Wales and Powys in east Wales. Gwynedd was the most powerful of the Welsh kingdoms. For one man to rule all of Wales during this period was rare. This was because of the inheritance system practiced in Wales. All sons received an equal share of their father’s property, including illegitimate sons, resulting in the division of territories.

The Principality of Wales was created in 1216 at the Council of Aberdyfi when it was agreed by Llywelyn the Great and the other Welsh princes that he was the paramount Welsh ruler and the other Welsh princes would pay homage to him. Although he never used the title, Llywelyn was the de facto Prince of Wales. Llywelyn dominated Wales for 45 years and was one of only two Welsh rulers to be called “the Great”, the other being his ancestor Rhodri the Great. Llywelyn was succeeded by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn and then by his two grandsons who were the sons of his illegitimate son Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.

The campaign of King Edward I of England in Wales (1276 – 1284) resulted in Wales being completely taken over by England. It ended with the deaths of the last two native Princes of Wales: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd who was ambushed and killed in 1282 and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd, who was the first prominent person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered, in 1283. To ensure there would be no further members of the House of Aberffraw, the English imprisoned Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s two young sons for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle and sent his daughter and the daughter of his brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd to convents. To further humiliate the Welsh, King Edward I invested his son and heir, the future King Edward II, with the title Prince of Wales. Since then, the title has been granted (with a few exceptions) to the heir apparent of the English or British monarch.

Note: In Welsh, “ap” means “son of” and “ferch” means “daughter of”.

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Coat of Arms of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales; Credit – By Sodacan  Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12219418

Dafydd ap Gruffydd was the last native and independent Prince of Wales from December 11, 1282, until his execution on October 3, 1283, on the orders of King Edward I of England. Born on July 11, 1238, in Gwynedd, Wales, he was the youngest of the four sons of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and Senana ferch Caradog. Dafydd’s paternal grandparents were Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Gwynedd, also known as Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great), and his mistress Tangwystl ferch Llywarch Goch. His maternal grandparents were Caradog ap Membyr Ddu and Eva ferch Gwyn.

Dafydd had three brothers and three sisters. Information on his siblings is sketchy, including birth and death dates and marriage information.

  • Margred ferch Gruffydd (1221 – 1261), married Madog II ap Gruffydd, Lord of Dinas Branof Powys Fadog, had two sons
  • Owain Goch ap Gruffydd (circa 1225 – circa 1282)
  • Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales (circa 1228 – 1282), married Eleanor de Monfort, had one daughter
  • Rhodri ap Gruffydd (circa 1230 – 1235 to circa 1315), married (1) Beatrice, daughter of David of Malpas (2) Unknown, had one son
  • Gwladys ferch Gruffydd (circa 1225 – 1261), half-sister, married Rhys Fychan
  • Catrin ferch Gruffydd (circa 1234 – ?), a half-sister, married Iorwerth Fychan ab Iorwerth Hen, had two children

Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s father Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was the eldest son of Llywelyn the Great. Even though Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was illegitimate, according to Welsh law, all sons received an equal share of their father’s property, including illegitimate sons, resulting in the division of assets. However, Llywelyn the Great wanted his legitimate son Dafydd ap Llywelyn, the son of Llywelyn the Great’s wife Joan, Lady of Wales, an illegitimate daughter of King John of England, to be his sole heir. In 1220, Llywelyn the Great managed to convince Dafydd ap Llywelyn’s maternal uncle King Henry III of England to recognize Dafydd ap Llywelyn as his sole heir, and in 1226, Pope Honorius III officially declared Llywelyn the Great’s wife Joan to be the legitimate daughter of King John of England, strengthening Dafydd ap Llywelyn’s position. In 1238, at a council at Ystrad Fflur Abbey, the other Welsh princes recognized Dafydd ap Llywelyn as Llywelyn’s sole legitimate heir.

Llywelyn the Great on his deathbed with his sons Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and Dafydd ap Llywelyn; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 11, 1240, Llywelyn the Great died and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn succeeded him as Prince of Gwynedd. In August 1241, King Henry III of England invaded Gwynedd, and after a short war, under the Treaty of Gwerneigron, Dafydd ap Llywelyn was forced to give up all his lands outside Gwynedd and hand over his imprisoned half-brother Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd’s father, to King Henry III who imprisoned him in the Tower of London. Since Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was a rival claimant to the Principality of Gwynedd, King Henry III put limits on Dafydd ap Llywelyn by threatening to set up Gruffydd as a rival in Gwynedd. However, on March 1, 1244, Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s father Gruffydd ap Llywelyn fell to his death while trying to escape from the Tower of London by climbing down a knotted bedsheet.

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn falling from the Tower of London; Credit – Wikipedia

Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd and his wife Isabella de Braose had no children. Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s elder brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was in the entourage of their uncle Dafydd ap Llywelyn and appeared to be his designated heir. However, shortly after Dafydd ap Llywelyn died in 1246, the 1247 Treaty of Woodstock divided Gwynedd between Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, his elder brother Owain ap Gruffydd, and his younger brothers Rhodri ap Gruffydd and Dafydd ap Gruffydd.

In 1255, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd defeated his brothers at the Battle of Bryn Derwin and established himself as the sole ruler of Gwynedd. He received the homage of the Welsh princes and assumed the title Prince of Wales. Llywelyn imprisoned his brother Dafydd but released him the following year and restored him to his court. In 1263, Dafydd joined King Henry III of England in a campaign against Llywelyn. After Llywelyn was recognized by King Henry III as Prince of Wales via the 1267 Treaty of Montgomery, Dafydd was once again restored to Llywelyn’s favor.

Dafydd ap Gruffydd married Lady Elizabeth de Ferrers, daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby and his second wife Margaret de Quincy. Dafydd and Elizabeth had two sons and one daughter, and all were ill-fated:

In March 1282, Dafydd ap Gruffudd attacked and captured Hawarden Castle, near Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales, starting the final conflict with King Edward I of England that would lead to the end of an independent Wales. On December 11, 1282, Dafydd’s brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, was one of 3,000 Welshmen killed by the English army under King Edward I at the Battle of Orewin Bridge near Builth Wells, Wales. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was ambushed, horribly murdered, and beheaded. His head was sent to London for public display, and it is thought that the rest of his body was interred at Cwmhir Abbey in Abbeycwmhir, Wales. As Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales only had an infant daughter, Dafydd ap Gruffydd took over as his brother’s legitimate successor and leader of the resistance against King Edward I of England.

King Edward I’s massive army surrounded the Snowdonia base of Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, who had limited manpower and equipment. Dafydd kept moving and finally, in May 1283, he was forced to move to the mountains above the Welsh royal home in Abergwyngregyn. On June 22, 1283, Dafydd and his younger son Owain ap Dafydd were captured and brought to King Edward I’s camp in Rhuddlan, Wales that same day. Dafydd was taken from Rhuddlan to Chester, England, and then to Shrewsbury, England. Dafydd’s wife Elizabeth de Ferrers, his daughter Gwladys, and his infant niece Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn were also captured. Dafydd’s elder son Llywelyn ap Dafydd was captured on June 28, 1283. On that same day, King Edward I issued writs to summon a parliament to meet at Shrewsbury, to discuss Dafydd’s fate.

On September 30, 1283, Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, was condemned to death, the first person known to have been tried and executed for high treason against the King. King Edward I’s sense of outrage was so extreme that he designed a punishment for Dafydd harsher than any previous form of capital punishment. Dafydd ap Gruffydd was the first person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered. On October 3, 1283, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury, England attached to a horse, then hanged alive, revived, then disemboweled and his entrails burned before him. He was then beheaded and his body was cut into four quarters. Dafydd’s four quarters were sent to different parts of England: the right arm to York, the left arm to Bristol, the right leg to Northampton, and the left leg to Hereford. His head was placed on a pole in the Tower of London near the head of his brother Llywelyn.

The days of an independent Wales were over. King Edward I of England had completed a conquest of Wales that resulted in his annexation of the Principality of Wales. After the brutal conquest of Wales and the destruction of the ruling family, Wales was stripped of all royal insignia, relics, and regalia. King Edward I took particular delight in appropriating Aber Garth Celyn, the royal home of the defeated dynasty. He then took their title, Prince of Wales, and bestowed it upon his heir.

King Edward I of England wanted to make sure that there were no more claimants to the Welsh throne. Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s young daughter Gwladys ferch Dafydd was sent to the Sixhills Convent in Sixhills, Lincolnshire, England, where she spent the rest of her life, dying circa 1336. King Edward I ordered an annual payment of 20 pounds for Gwladys’s upkeep.

Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s two sons 15-year-old Llywelyn ap Dafydd and 7-year-old Owain ap Dafydd were imprisoned for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle in England. Much of the time they were kept in cages. Llywelyn died in 1287 under mysterious circumstances when he was about twenty years old. Owain was last reported to be alive in 1325 when he would have been in his fifties.

Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, the 18-month-old daughter and only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Dafydd’s brother, was confined at Sempringham Priory in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England where she lived until her death on June 7, 1337, a few days before her 55th birthday. An annual payment of 20 pounds was also arranged for Gwenllian’s upkeep.

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2024). Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dafydd-ap-llywelyn-prince-of-gwynedd/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2024). Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/llywelyn-ap-gruffydd-prince-of-wales/
  • Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr. geni_family_tree. (2022). https://www.geni.com/people/Gruffydd-ap-Llywelyn-Fawr/6000000006727931003
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Dafydd ap Gruffydd. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dafydd_ap_Gruffydd
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). Dafydd ap Gruffudd. Wikipedia (Welsh). https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dafydd_ap_Gruffudd
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruffudd_ap_Llywelyn_ap_Iorwerth
  • Williamson, David. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. Cassell.

Breaking News: King Charles III to undergo treatment for prostate condition

Just hours after it was announced that The Princess of Wales had undergone successful abdominal surgery, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III will be treated for a benign prostate condition next week. The statement stresses that it is a benign condition, but the King will undergo a “corrective procedure”. The King’s engagements will be postponed for a brief period of time.

BBC: King Charles to be treated for benign prostate condition

Breaking News: Princess of Wales in hospital following planned surgery

photo: By Ian Jones – Buckingham Palace reception, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=131607684

The Princess of Wales has undergone planned abdominal surgery at The London Clinic, a private hospital in central London.  A statement from Kensington Palace states that she was admitted yesterday, and that “the surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery.”  No further details were given about the Princess’s condition, but stressed that her condition did not involve cancer.

The Princess apologized for having to postpone her scheduled engagements, and the Prince will also be postponing some of his engagements while the Princess is in hospital. The Palace stated they will provide updates only if there is significant information to share.

Watch for more information posted in our Daily News Recap later this evening.

British Monarchy: A statement from Kensington Palace
BBC: Catherine, Princess of Wales, has planned abdominal surgery

Breaking News: Crown Prince Leka II, current claimant to the throne of Albania, and Crown Princess Elia are ending their marriage

Leka and Elia on their wedding day with some of their guests. Front row, left to right: Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco, Empress Farah of Iran, Elia, Leka, Queen Sofía of Spain. Second row, left to right: Alexander, Crown Prince of Serbia, Princess Camilla of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Margareta of Romania, Prince Radu of Romania, Nicholas, Prince of Montenegro; Credit – By RoyalblogNL, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122942226

On January 16, 2024, it was announced that Crown Prince Leka II, the current claimant to the defunct throne of Albania, and his wife Crown Princess Elia, the former Elia Zaharia, an Albanian actress and singer, were ending their marriage.

Read more at the following links:

Crown Prince Leka and Crown Princess Elia were married at the Royal Palace in Tirana, Albania on October 8, 2016. A civil ceremony was held, officiated by the Mayor of Tirana, followed by a blessing from the religious leaders of Albania representing the Sunni Islam, Bektashi, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant faiths. This showed the long-standing tradition of religious diversity and tolerance in the country, and within the Albanian Royal Family.

The couple has a daughter Princess Geraldine, born on October 22, 2020. She was named in honor of her great-grandmother Queen Geraldine, as she was born on the anniversary of the Queen’s death 18 years earlier.

Albania ceased being a kingdom in 1939, when on the orders of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Italian forces invaded and occupied Albania, forcing Leka’s grandfather King Zog and his family into exile. Since 1939, there have been three claimants to the throne of Albania

Learn more about the Kingdom of Albania at Unofficial Royalty: Kingdom of Albania Index.

Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Wales was divided into a number of separate kingdoms. The largest of these was Gwynedd in northwest Wales and Powys in east Wales. Gwynedd was the most powerful of the Welsh kingdoms. For one man to rule all of Wales during this period was rare. This was because of the inheritance system practiced in Wales. All sons received an equal share of their father’s property, including illegitimate sons, resulting in the division of territories.

The Principality of Wales was created in 1216 at the Council of Aberdyfi when it was agreed by Llywelyn the Great and the other Welsh princes that he was the paramount Welsh ruler and the other Welsh princes would pay homage to him. Although he never used the title, Llywelyn was the de facto Prince of Wales. Llywelyn dominated Wales for 45 years and was one of only two Welsh rulers to be called “the Great”, the other being his ancestor Rhodri the Great. Llywelyn was succeeded by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn and then by his two grandsons who were the sons of his illegitimate son Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.

The campaign of King Edward I of England in Wales (1276 – 1284) resulted in Wales being completely taken over by England. It ended with the deaths of the last two native Princes of Wales: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd who was ambushed and killed in 1282 and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd, who was the first prominent person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered, in 1283. To ensure there would be no further members of the House of Aberffraw, the English imprisoned Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s two young sons for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle and sent his daughter and the daughter of his brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd to convents. To further humiliate the Welsh, King Edward I invested his son and heir, the future King Edward II, with the title Prince of Wales. Since then, the title has been granted (with a few exceptions) to the heir apparent of the English or British monarch.

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Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon; Credit – Wikipedia

Note: In Welsh, “ap” means “son of” and “ferch” means “daughter of”.

The wife of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, Eleanor de Montfort was born at Kenilworth Castle in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England, around Michaelmas (September 29) in 1252. King Henry III of England had granted Kenilworth Castle to Eleanor’s father in 1244. Eleanor was the youngest of the seven children and the younger and the only surviving of the two daughters of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England. Her paternal grandparents were Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester and Alix de Montmorency, a French noblewoman. Her maternal grandparents were King John of England and Isabella of Angoulême. King Henry III of England was Eleanor’s maternal uncle and his four surviving children, King Edward I of England, Margaret of England, Queen of Scots, Beatrice of England, Countess of Richmond, and Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, were her first cousins.

Eleanor had six siblings:

The displeasure of the English nobility with King Henry III ultimately resulted in a civil war, the Second Barons’ War (1264–1267). The leader of the forces against King Henry III was Eleanor’s father Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. Simon de Montfort wanted to reassert the Magna Carta and force King Henry III to surrender more power to the baron’s council. When Eleanor was thirteen years old, her father Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and her eldest brother Henry de Montfort were killed at the Battle of Evesham. Today, Eleanor’s father is considered one of the fathers of representative government. Over the years, Simon de Montfort’s contributions have been remembered by the British Houses of Parliament. A bas-relief of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester hangs on the wall of the chamber of the United States House of Representatives where he is recognized as one of the 23 historical lawgivers.

Simon de Montfort marble bas-relief, one of 23 reliefs of great historical lawgivers in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in the United States Capitol, sculpted by Gaetano Cecere in 1950; Credit – Wikipedia

After her husband’s death, Eleanor of England, Eleanor’s mother, organized a defense of Dover Castle against royalist troops, but in October 1265, the castle was taken by her nephew Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward I). Eleanor of England’s possessions were confiscated by the Crown and she was exiled to France with her 13-year-old daughter Eleanor de Montfort. She sought refuge at a de Montfort stronghold, Montargis Abbey, founded by her husband’s sister Amicia de Montfort. With the influence of King Louis IX of France, King Henry III paid his sister compensation for her confiscated lands and goods in 1367. Eleanor of England lived the rest of her life as a nun at Montargis Abbey where she died on April 13, 1375, at the age of 60 and was buried. Her daughter Eleanor de Monfort remained with her mother until her death.

Alexander III, King of Scots (on the left) with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales (on the right) as guests of King Edward I of England (in the middle) at the sitting of an English parliament; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1265, a marriage contract had been concluded for a marriage between Eleanor de Montfort and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales. In 1275, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales and Eleanor de Montfort were married by proxy. While making her way from France to Wales by ship, Eleanor de Monfort was captured by agents of her first cousin King Edward I of England. She was held prisoner at Windsor Castle for nearly three years. Eleanor was finally released in 1278 following the signing of the Treaty of Aberconwy between King Edward I of England and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales. On October 13, 1278, the feast day of Saint Edward the Confessor, King of England, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales and Eleanor de Monfort were married in person at Worcester Cathedral in England with King Edward I giving the bride away and paying for the wedding feast.

Eleanor and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd had one child, a daughter Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, also known as Gwenllian of Wales, born at the  Palace of Aber Garth Celyn in Gwynedd, Wales. Sadly, Eleanor died due to childbirth complications on June 19, 1282, aged 29 – 30. She was buried at Llanfaes Friary which had been founded by Llywelyn the Great, the grandfather of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, in memory of his wife Joan, Lady of Wales, an illegitimate daughter of King John of England and Eleanor’s aunt, in the now vanished medieval town of Llanfaes, Anglesey, Wales.

On December 11, 1282, five months after the birth of his daughter Gwenllian and the death of his wife Eleanor, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales was one of 3,000 Welshmen killed at the Battle of Orewin Bridge near Builth Wells, Wales. He was ambushed, horribly murdered, and beheaded. His head was sent to London for public display, and it is thought that the rest of his body was interred at Cwmhir Abbey in Abbeycwmhir, Wales. On October 3, 1283, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd’s brother and successor Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales was brutally executed in Shrewsbury, England on the orders of King Edward I of England. Dafydd ap Gruffydd was the first prominent person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered. His head was placed on a pole in the Tower of London near the head of his brother Llywelyn. The days of an independent Wales were over. King Edward I of England had completed a conquest of Wales that resulted in his annexation of the Principality of Wales.

King Edward I of England wanted to make sure that there were no more claimants to the Welsh throne. Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, the infant daughter of Eleanor de Monfrot and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and Gwenllian’s first cousin Gwladys ferch Dafydd, Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s young daughter, were confined for life in remote convents in Lincolnshire, England, and never allowed freedom. Gwenllian died in 1337 and Gwladys died circa 1336. Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s two young sons 15-year-old Llywelyn ap Dafydd and 7-year-old Owain ap Dafydd, also Gwenllian’s first cousins, were imprisoned for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle in England. Much of the time they were kept in cages. Llywelyn died in 1287 while Owain was last reported to be alive in 1325 when he would have been in his fifties.

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2017). Eleanor of England, Countess of Leicester. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/eleanor-of-england-countess-of-leicester/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2024). Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/llywelyn-ap-gruffydd-prince-of-wales/
  • Weir, Alison. Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books, 2008.
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Eleanor de Montfort. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_de_Montfort
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Simon de Montfort, 6th arl of Leicester. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_de_Montfort,_6th_Earl_of_Leicester
  • Williamson, David. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. Cassell.

The Abdication of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and The Accession of King Frederik X of Denmark

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; Photo: Per Morten Abrahamsen ©

In her New Year’s Speech on December 31, 2023, 83-year-old Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced that she would abdicate the throne on January 14, 2024, the 52nd anniversary of her accession and the death of her father King Frederik IX. Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on September 8, 2022, Queen Margrethe II had been Europe’s longest-reigning monarch, the world’s only Queen Regnant, and the longest-serving incumbent female head of state. After her abdication, Margrethe held the style and title Her Majesty Queen Margrethe.

Queen Margrethe II had previously said she would never abdicate the throne. In 2012, as she celebrated forty years on the Danish throne, Queen Margrethe II said, “I will remain on the throne until I fall off.” It is thought that no one was aware of Queen Margrethe II’s plan to abdicate with the exception of a few unnamed people, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (the second woman to be Prime Minister of Denmark and the youngest prime minister in Danish history), and Queen Margrethe’s first cousin King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (Margrethe’s mother Princess Ingrid of Sweden and Carl Gustaf’s father Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden were siblings, the children of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught (who died before her husband became king).

Queen Mary and King Frederik X; Photo: Hasse Nielsen ©

Upon her abdication, Queen Margrethe II’s elder son fifty-five year old Crown Prince Frederik became His Majesty King Frederik X of Denmark and his Australian-born wife Crown Princess Mary became Her Majesty Queen Mary of Denmark.

Crown Prince Christian; Photo: Dennis Stenild ©

Already styled as His Royal Highness, Frederik and Mary’s elder son eighteen year old Prince Christian (born 2005) became His Royal Highness Crown Prince Christian of Denmark, the heir to the Danish throne.

Queen Margrethe II announces that she will abdicate during her New Year’s Speech

In her New Year’s Speech, Queen Margrethe II stated:

In two weeks time I have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years. Such an amount will leave its mark on anybody – also on me! The time takes its toll, and the number of “ailments” increases. One cannot undertake as much as one managed in the past.

In February this year I underwent extensive back surgery. Everything went well, thanks to the competent health personnel, who took care of me. Inevitably, the operation gave cause to thoughts about the future – whether now would be an appropriate time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation.

I have decided that now is the right time. On 14th January 2024 – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as Queen of Denmark. I will hand over the throne to my son Crown Prince Frederik.

The last Danish monarch to abdicate was King Erik III in 1146. The reasons for Erik III’s abdication are unclear. His abdication has been explained as his realization of his inability to govern or an illness that ultimately killed him. After abdicating, Erik III entered St. Canute’s Abbey in Odense, Denmark, where he died on August 27, 1146, soon after his abdication, and was buried at St. Canute’s Abbey.

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Abdications in the 21st Century

King Juan Carlos of Spain signing his abdication law, witnessed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajo; Credit – By Ministry of the Presidency. Government of Spain, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33464373

Before the abdication of Queen Margrethe II, in the 21st century, there were nine voluntary abdications. Except for one abdication due to illness, the abdications occurred to pass the throne to the heir sooner. In Luxembourg and the Netherlands, there is a history of such abdications. In Luxembourg, although Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde abdicated in 1919 in favor of her sister Charlotte due to political reasons, Grand Duchess Charlotte abdicated in favor of her son Jean and Grand Duke Jean abdicated in favor of his son Henri. In the Netherlands, the last three monarchs, all Queens – Wilhelmina, Juliana, and Beatrix – abdicated in favor of their heirs. With people living longer, it may be likely that we will see more monarchs abdicating to pass their thrones to their heirs sooner.

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Events on Sunday, January 14, 2024

Christiansborg Palace; Credit – By Johannes Jansson/norden.org, CC BY 2.5 dk, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24985586

The succession of King Frederik X took place during a meeting of the Council of State in the State Council Hall at Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament, in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, at the moment Queen Margrethe II signed the declaration of her abdication. Denmark does not have a coronation. Denmark formerly had a coronation but in 1660, the coronation was replaced with a ceremony of anointing. The new monarch would arrive at the coronation site already wearing the crown and was then anointed.

Queen Margrethe II and her husband Prince Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark  wave from the balcony at Christiansborg Palace on January 15, 1972 after the proclamation of her succession to the Danish throne. The couple’s two young sons Frederik and Joachim can be seen.

The ceremony of anointing was abolished with the introduction of the Danish Constitution in 1849, and a simple proclamation has been used since then. Denmark does have regalia but it plays no role in the ceremonies for a new monarch. Now, a public announcement of a new monarch’s accession is made from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace. The new king or queen is presented and proclaimed by the Prime Minister, followed by a ninefold “hurrah” by the crowds below.

Amalienborg; Credit – By Rob Deutscher from Melbourne, Australia – Amalienbor Plads and Opera House_Copenhagen, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25648566

Amalienborg in Copenhagen, Denmark is the official residence of the Danish royal family. It consists of four identical classical palaces around an octagonal square. Frederik VIII’s Palace is the northeastern palace and has been the home of King Frederik X and Queen Mary since their marriage in 2004. Christian IX’s Palace is the southeastern palace and has been the home of Queen Margrethe II since 1967. Both King Frederik X and his family and Queen Margrethe II will remain at their respective homes.

Below is the program for the abdication of Queen Margrethe II and the accession of King Frederik X. The times listed are Danish times.

Crown Prince Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary & Prince Christian traveled to Christiansborg Palace

13:35 – Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, and their elder son Prince Christian left their home Frederik VIII’s Palace, Amalienborg in Copenhagen, and traveled by car to Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen.

Queen Margrethe traveled to Christiansborg Palace to abdicate

13:37 – Queen Margrethe II left her home Christian IX’s Palace, Amalienborg in Copenhagen, and traveled by carriage to Christiansborg Palace escorted by the Guard Hussar Regiment.

Queen Margrethe II, Crown Prince Frederik, and Prince Christian meeting with the Council of State Photo: Keld Navntoft, Kongehuset © File type: jpg

14:00 – Queen Margrethe II, Crown Prince Frederik, and Prince Christian met with the Council of State in the State Council Hall at Christiansborg Palace. The succession of the Danish throne took place during the Council of State meeting at the moment when Queen Margrethe II signed a declaration of her abdication. Queen Margrethe then gave up her seat and offered it to the new King. At the same time, the new heir to the throne, Crown Prince Christian, took the seat to the right of the King. After this, the visibly-moved Queen Margrethe said “Gud bevare kongen” (God save the king) and left the State Council Hall.

Queen Margrethe, after her abdication, on her way to her home Christian IX’s Palace

14:15 – Queen Margrethe left Christiansborg Palace and traveled by car to her home Christian IX’s Palace, Amalienborg.

14:30 – King Frederik X and Queen Mary held a reception for invited people at Christiansborg Palace.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proclaimed King Frederik X’s accession to the throne

15:00 – King Frederik X stepped out on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proclaimed King Frederik X’s accession to the throne. According to Danish state custom, the Prime Minister proclaimed three times: “Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II has abdicated. Long live His Majesty King Frederik X!” This was followed by the traditional ninefold cheer from the crowd of tens of thousands who turned out to witness the proclamation.

King Frederik X spoke after his proclamation as Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stood next to him

15:00 –  King Frederik X gave a short speech,”My mother, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, has ruled Denmark for 52 years. For half a century, she has followed the times with our common heritage as a starting point. She will always be remembered as a Monarch beyond the ordinary. Like few, my mother has managed to be at one with her kingdom. Today, the throne passes on. My hope is to become an unifying king of tomorrow. It’s a task I’ve been waiting for all my life. It is a responsibility I take on with respect, pride and great joy. It is a deed I will take pains to carry out and carry through the position I have been entrusted with. I need all the support I can get. From my beloved wife, from my family, from you and from that which is greater than us. I face the future knowing that I am not alone.”

King Frederik X announced his motto, “Bound, committed, for the Kingdom of Denmark.”

Left to right: Princess Isabella, Crown Prince Christian, King Frederik X, Queen Mary, Princess Josephine, and Prince Vincent

After his speech, King Frederik X was joined on the balcony by his family: Queen Mary, Crown Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

15:10 – After the proclamation, an honorary cannon salute was fired from the Sixtus Battery at Holmen Naval Base in Copenhagen.

The royal standard was raised over King Frederik X’s home Frederik VIII’s Palace, Amalienborg

15:10 – After the proclamation, the royal standard was lowered at Queen Margrethe’s home Christian IX’s Palace and then raised at King Frederik X’s home Frederik VIII’s Palace, Amalienborg.

King Frederik X and Queen Mary rode in a carriage to their home Frederik VIII’s Palace

15:30 – After the proclamation, King Frederik X and Queen Mary rode in a carriage, escorted by the Guard Hussar Regiment’s mounted squadron, from Christiansborg Palace to their home Frederik VIII’s Palace, Amalienborg.

17:00 – The royal colors were transferred from Queen Margrethe’s home Christian IX’s Palace to Frederik VIII’s Palace, King Frederik X’s home.

Read news articles from January 14, 2024 regarding the abdication and accession at the link below.

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Event on Monday, January 15, 2024

The Danish Parliament acknowledges the Danish Royal Family, seated above the clock

10:00 – King Frederik, Queen Mary, Crown Prince Christian, Queen Margrethe, Prince Joachim (Queen Margrethe’s younger son) and Princess Benedikte (Queen Margrethe’s sister) participated in the Danish Parliament’s celebration of the succession of the throne. During a meeting at Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament, Speaker of the Parliament Søren Gade and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen delivered speeches and the Prime Minister read an announcement from King Frederik X to the Danish Parliament. Afterward, the Royal Family and members of Parliament took part in a reception.

1st row: Crown Prince Christian, Queen Mary, King Frederik X. 2nd row: Princess Benedikte, Prince Joachim, Queen Margrethe

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Event on Sunday, January 21, 2024

Aarhus Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

14:00 – The Royal Family participated in a celebratory church service at Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark, an Evangelical Lutheran church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark, the established, state-supported church in Denmark. The service was led by Henrik Wigh-Poulsen, Royal Chaplain-in-Ordinary and Bishop of the Diocese of Aarhus  and attended by various Danish officials and representatives from the City of Aarhus.

Read more about the Danish monarchy at

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023). Which monarchies have coronations? What succession ceremonies do other monarchies have?. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/which-monarchies-have-coronations-what-succession-ceremonies-do-the-other-monarchies-have/
  • Mehl, Scott. (2014). Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/queen-margrethe-ii-of-denmark/
  • Programme for the Succession of the Throne. Kongehuset (Danish Royal House). (2024). https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/news/programme-for-the-succession-of-the-throne
  • Read HM The Queen’s New Year Address 2023. Kongehuset (Danish Royal House). https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/news/read-hm-the-queens-new-year-address-2023
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Abdication of Margrethe II. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdication_of_Margrethe_II

Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

The County of Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire since 1180.  In 1625, the much smaller County of Pyrmont became part of the much larger County of Waldeck through inheritance and the combined territory was known as the County of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1712,  Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont was elevated to Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont by Holy Emperor Karl VI.

Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont,  abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and Arolsen Forest. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont is located in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony

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Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe was the wife of Friedrich, the last reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Bathildis Marie Leopoldine Anna Auguste was born on May 21, 1873, in Ratibořice, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. She was the sixth of the eight children and the second of the four daughters of Prince Wilhelm of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Bathildis of Anhalt-Dessau. Bathildis’ paternal grandparents were Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Friedrich August of Anhalt-Dessau and Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel.

Bathildis had seven siblings:

Náchod Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

Bathildis’ family spent much time in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. In 1839, her grandfather, Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, bought the town of Náchod, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, and Náchod Castle. The Schaumburg-Lippe family possessed the town and castle until 1945.

Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 9, 1895, at Náchod Castle, 22-year-old Bathildis married 30-year-old Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

Bathildis and Friedrich had four children:

During World War I, Friedrich, Bathildis’ husband, served as a Cavalry General in the Imperial German Army. After the defeat of the German Empire in World War I and the end of all the German monarchies, Friedrich abdicated on November 13, 1918. However, he was the only German prince who refused to sign an abdication agreement. Philipp Scheidemann, the Social Democratic Mayor of Kassel, jokingly called him “Friedrich the Defiant” because of his resistance. Friedrich negotiated an agreement with the new government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and the Arolsen Forest.

Bathildis’ eldest son Josias; Credit – Wikipedia

Both Bathildis and her husband Friedrich lived through World War II. While neither joined the Nazi Party, their eldest son Josias, his wife Altburg, and their eldest child Margarethe were members of the Nazi Party. Josias joined the Nazi Party in 1929 and by 1930, he was a member of the Schutzstaffel, better known as the SS. The SS was the primary agency of security, surveillance, and terror in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. In September 1930, Josias become the Adjutant and Staff Chief of Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, and the main architect of the Holocaust. Josias rose through the ranks of the SS, eventually attaining the rank of General of the Waffen-SS, the military branch of the SS. Members of the Waffen-SS were involved in numerous atrocities. At the Nuremberg Trials (1945 – 1946), the Waffen-SS was judged to be a criminal organization because of its direct involvement in numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On April 13, 1945, Josias was taken prisoner by American forces. During World War II, Josias had supervisory authority over the Buchenwald concentration camp. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes in connection with the Buchenwald concentration camp by an American court in Dachau, Germany, during the Buchenwald Trial on August 14, 1947. In 1948, Josias’s sentence was reduced to twenty years. He was released early from the Landsberg War Crimes Prison for health reasons in 1950.

Princely Mausoleum and Cemetery; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Bathildis’ husband Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, died on May 26, 1946, at the age of 81 in Arolsen, Germany. His son Josias became Head of the House of Waldeck-Pyrmont while in custody. Bathildis survived her husband by sixteen years, dying on April 6, 1962, aged 88, in Arolsen, West Germany, now in Germany. She was buried with her husband in the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden (link in German) in Rhoden, now in the German state of Hesse.

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Works Cited

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