Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia in 1938

Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia was the pretender to the throne of Russia from 1938 – 1992.

About the Russian Succession

Russian Imperial Coat of Arms; Credit – Wikipedia

The succession to the former Russian throne has been in dispute, mainly due to disagreements over the validity of marriages. In 1924, after Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich (son of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and brother of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia) was declared legally dead, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, a male-line grandson of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, declared himself Guardian of the Throne and later assumed the title Emperor of All Russia. In 1938, upon the death of Kirill Vladimirovich, his son Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich assumed the Headship of the Russian Imperial Family.

Vladimir Kirillovich’s only child, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna (born 1953), claims to have succeeded her father upon his death in 1992. Her claim to the Headship of the Russian Imperial Family is based on a claim that all male lines of the Romanov family are either extinct, illegitimate, or morganatic, triggering semi-salic succession, and that she is the closest female to the last dynast. The claim of Maria Vladimirovna as Head of the Russian Imperial Family is disputed by the Romanov Family Association made up of the majority of the male-line descendants of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and father Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, male-line descendants of Nicholas I, never joined.

Pre-revolutionary Romanov house law allowed only those born of an equal marriage between a Romanov dynast and a member of a royal or sovereign house to be in the line of succession to the Russian throne. The throne could only pass to a female and through the female line upon the extinction of all legitimately-born, male dynasts.

Maria Vladimiovna’s mother Princess Leonida of Bagration belonged to a family that had been kings in Georgia from medieval times until the early 19th century. However, no male line ancestor of Leonida had reigned as a king in Georgia since 1505 and her branch of the Bagrations, the House of Mukhrani, had been naturalized as non-ruling nobility of Russia after Georgia was annexed to the Russian empire in 1801. Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen, another pretender, and his supporters, the Monarchist Party of Russia, argue that there is a precedent for a marriage with the House of Bagration-Mukhrani being an unequal marriage. They argue that the House of Bragation-Mukhrani, the house of Leonida Bagration-Mukhrani, Maria Vladimirovna’s mother, did not possess sovereign status and was not recognized as an equal marriage by Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia for the purpose of dynastic marriages at the time of the marriage of Princess Tatiana Konstantinovna of Russia and Prince Konstantine Bragation-Mukhrani in 1911, thirty-seven years before the marriage of Princess Leonida of Bragation-Mukhrani and Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich. The couple married but Princess Tatiana Konstantinovna was required to renounce her rights to the Russian throne and she was no longer a member of the House of Romanov.

Therefore, after the death of Vladimir Kirillovich in 1992, Prince Nicholas Romanov claimed that he was the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia. Except for Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, who said that the marriage of Nicholas’ parents was not in conformity with the house laws, Nicholas was recognized by the rest of the family as head of the Romanov family. However, Maria Vladimirovna seems to be more accepted by European royalty and she is sometimes invited to royal events. She attended the 2023 funeral of former King Constantine II of Greece.

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Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia was born on August 30, 1917, in Porvoo, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire, now in Finland. He was the third of the three children and the only son of first cousins Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia and Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a granddaughter of both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Alexander, Emperor II of All Russia. Vladimir’s paternal grandparents were Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia (son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia) and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. His maternal grandparents were Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (son of Queen Victoria) and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (daughter of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia).

Vladimir’s family: (left to right) Maria Kirillovna, Victoria Melita, Kirill Vladimirovich holding Vladimir Kirillovich, and Kira Kirillovna; Credit – Wikipedia

Vladimir had two older sisters:

Vladimir had one half-sister from his mother’s first marriage, which ended in divorce, to her first cousin Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine:

Soon after the abdication of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia in March 1917, Vladimir’s parents Kirill and Victoria Melita, known in Russia as Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna, decided it was best to leave Russia. Victoria Melita was pregnant with Vladimir. They traveled to Finland, then part of Russia, where Vladimir was born on August 30, 1917. In the fall of 1919, they moved to Germany where they reunited with Vladimir’s maternal grandmother Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia who was the widow of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

After the death of Victoria Melita’s mother in 1920, Kirill and Victoria Melita now had two homes at their disposal, a villa in Nice, France and the Villa Edinburg, which later became known as the Kirill Palace, in Coburg, formerly in the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany. For the next several years, the family split their time between the two homes. In 1924, when Kirill assumed the title Emperor of All Russia, he granted Vladimir the style Imperial Highness and the titles Grand Duke and Tsesarevich (heir apparent). In 1926, the family moved for the last time, purchasing a villa in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer on the coast of Brittany in France. Here the family settled into a quiet life, while Victoria Melita put her energies into raising her son Vladimir and ensuring her two daughters made significant marriages.

Vladimir’s family in 1926: (left to right) Vladimir Kirillovich, Victoria Melita, Kira Kirillovna, Kirill Vladimirovich; Credit – Wikipedia

Vladimir was educated privately and was fluent in Russian, English, French, German, and Spanish. He lived in London, England for a period of time, studying at the University of London. Vladimir’s mother Victoria Melita suffered a stroke in February 1936, while attending the christening of her fifth grandchild, and died on March 1, 1936.

Vladimir (in the center) in Paris, France in 1938

Upon the death of his father Kirill on October 12, 1938, the 21-year-old Vladimir was recognized as the Head of the Russian Imperial House by the Grand Dukes and Princes of Imperial Blood behind him in order of dynastic seniority and by the majority of the reigning houses of Europe. Unlike his father, Vladimir did not proclaim himself Emperor of All Russia. Instead, he used the style and title His Imperial Highness The Sovereign Grand Duke for the rest of his life.

During World War II, Vladimir lived in the family villa in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer on the coast of Brittany in France. However, in 1944, the Germans, who had occupied the area, feared the Allies might invade the Brittany coast, Vladimir and other family members were moved to the interior of France. When the interior of France was deemed unsafe, Vladimir and family members were allowed to move to Amorbach Castle in Amorbach, Bavaria, Germany which had long belonged to the family of Vladimir’s brother-in-law Karl, 6th Prince of Leiningen.

After Germany’s defeat in World War II, Vladimir feared that he might be captured by the Soviet army. For his safety from the Soviets, Vladimir wanted to settle in Liechtenstein or Switzerland. However, neither country would give him an entrance visa. Vladimir’s maternal aunt Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had married Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Galliera, the first cousin of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. Beatrice was able to obtain a Spanish visa for Vladimir. After living with his aunt at her estate El Botánico in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, Vladimir settled in Madrid, Spain, but frequently visited the family villa in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, Brittany France, and Paris, France.

Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhrani; Credit – Wikipedia

Vladimir first met his future wife Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhrani at a restaurant in Paris, France during World War II. They did not meet again until they were both staying in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain. Leonida was the daughter of Prince George Alexandrovich Bagration-Mukhrani, a Georgian nobleman, and Elena Sigismundovna Zlotnitskaya, the daughter of a Russian nobleman of Polish origin. Leonida had been married to Sumner Moore Kirby, a wealthy American in 1934. They had one daughter Helen Louise Kirby and divorced after three years of marriage. Vladimir and Leonida were married on August 13, 1948, at St. Gerasimus Orthodox Church in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Vladimir and Leonida had one daughter:

Pre-revolutionary Romanov house law allowed only those born of an equal marriage between a Romanov dynast and a member of a royal or sovereign house to be in the line of succession to the Russian throne. Princess Leonida of Bagration belonged to a family that had been kings in Georgia from medieval times until the early 19th century. However, no male line ancestor of Leonida had reigned as a king in Georgia since 1505 and her branch of the Bagrations, the House of Mukhrani, had been naturalized as non-ruling nobility of Russia after Georgia was annexed to the Russian empire in 1801. There is controversy as to whether Vladimir’s marriage to Leonida was equal or morganatic.

By the end of Vladimir’s life, there were no longer members of the Russian Imperial House in the male line who were not in unequal, dynastic marriages. Children from such marriages, according to the laws of the Russian Empire and the Institution of the Russian Imperial Family, are not members of the Russian Imperial House. Vladimir declared his daughter Maria Vladimirovna was born from an equal marriage and that she was his heiress.

Vladimir and his wife Leonida visiting St. Petersburg, Russia in 1991

After the Soviet Union fell in 1991, Vladimir was the first member of the Russian Imperial Family to visit Russia. Upon arriving, as he set foot on the land of his ancestors, where he had never been, he was moved to tears.

Funeral of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich

Vladimir frequently traveled to the United States. On April 21, 1992, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich died from a heart attack at the age of 74 while addressing a gathering of Spanish-speaking bankers and investors at Northern Trust Bank in Miami, Florida. Vladimir was buried in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia, the first Romanov to be buried in Russia since the Russian Revolution. At that time, it was noted in the Russian press, that the funeral “was regarded by civic and Russian authorities as an obligation to the Romanov family rather than a step toward restoration of the monarchy.”

Grave of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia; Credit – www.findagrave.com The inscription reads: Reads: His Imperial Highness the Blessed Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich Born in Borgo, 1917 August 30th Died in Miami, 1992 April 21st Interred 1993 May 29th

After the death of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, his only child, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna claims to have succeeded her father. Her claim to the Headship of the Russian Imperial Family is based on a claim that all male lines of the Romanov family are either extinct, illegitimate, or morganatic, triggering semi-salic succession, and that she is the closest female to the last dynast. Maria Vladimirovna’s claim is disputed by the Romanov Family Association, a private organization of living male-line descendants of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia (except Maria Vladimirovna and her son). Prince Nicholas Romanov claimed that he was the Head of the Russian Imperial Family. Except for Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, who said that the marriage of Nicholas’ parents was not in conformity with the house laws, Nicholas was recognized by the rest of the Romanov family as the Head of the Russian Imperial Family.

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

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2012) Romanovs Who Survived the Russian Revolution, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/the-romanovs/romanov-survivors/ (Accessed: February 18, 2023).
  • Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Vladimir_Kirillovich_of_Russia (Accessed: February 18, 2023).
  • Романов, Владимир Кириллович (Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia) (2022) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2,_%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80_%D0%9A%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 (Accessed: February 18, 2023).
  • Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonida_Bagration_of_Mukhrani (Accessed: February 18, 2023).
  • Багратион-Мухранская, Леонида Георгиевна (Bagration-Mukhranskaya, Leonida Georgievna) (2023) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B0%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%9C%D1%83%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F,_%D0%9B%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B0_%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0 (Accessed: February 18, 2023).
  • Mehl, Scott. (2015) Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/grand-duke-kirill-vladimirovich-of-russia/ (Accessed: February 18, 2023).
  • Mehl, Scott. (2015) Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-victoria-melita-of-edinburgh-and-saxe-coburg-and-gotha-grand-duchess-victoria-feodorovna-of-russia/ (Accessed: February 18, 2023).
  • Perry, John Curtis and Pleshakov, Constantine. (2001) The flight of the Romanovs: A Family Saga. New York: Basic Books.
  • Vladimir Kirillovitch de Russie (2023) Wikipedia (French). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Kirillovitch_de_Russie (Accessed: February 18, 2023).

Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa of Parma, the wife of King Carlos IV of Spain, was born on December 9, 1751, in Parma, Duchy of Parma, now in Italy. She was the youngest of the three children and the second of the two daughters of Felipe, Infante of Spain, Duke of Parma (founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma) and Louise Élisabeth of France. Maria Luisa’s paternal grandparents were King Felipe V of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. King Felipe V, the founder of the Spanish House of Bourbon, was born a French prince, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, who was the son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV of France. Her maternal grandparents were King Louis XV of France and Maria Leszczyńska. Maria Luisa was given the names Luisa Maria Teresa Anna for her maternal grandparents and her mother’s twin sister Anne Henriette of France. Called Luisa by her family, she is known in history as Maria Luisa.

Left to Right: Maria Luisa’s brother Ferdinando, Maria Luisa, her mother Louise Élisabeth of France, her father Felipe, Duke of Parma, her older sister Isabella of Parma, and the children’s governess Marie Catherine de Bassecourt, Marchioness of Borghetto (on the right); Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had two older siblings:

Maria Luisa of Parma, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa’s French mother wanted to arrange a betrothal between Maria Luisa and her first cousin Louis Joseph, Duke of Burgundy. Louis Joseph was the same age as Maria Luisa, was also a grandchild of King Louis XV of France, and was second in the line of the French succession after his father Louis, Dauphin of France. However, neither of them became King of France. Ten-year-old Louis Joseph died from tuberculosis in 1761 and four years later, his father Louis, Dauphin of France also died from tuberculosis.

Maria Luisa’s husband, the future King Carlos IV of Spain, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1762, Maria Luisa was betrothed to her first cousin, the future King Carlos IV of Spain, the son of King Carlos III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. The marriage was intended to strengthen the relationships between the Bourbons ruling in Spain and Parma. When Maria Luisa’s older sister Isabella died in 1763 from smallpox, it was suggested that Maria Luisa should marry her sister’s widower, the future Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. However, the match was eventually rejected and the betrothal of Maria Luisa and Carlos was confirmed. The not-quite-seventeen-year-old Carlos and the not-quite fourteen-year-old Maria Luisa were married on September 4, 1765, at the La Granja Palace in San Ildefonso, Spain.

The Family of Carlos IV by Francisco de Goya, circa 1800. L to R: Infante Carlos, Count of Molina; the artist Francisco de Goya at the easel; the future King Fernando VII, Infanta Maria Josepha (sister of Carlos IV); a young woman whose face cannot be seen who is representing the future wife of King Fernando VII; Infanta Maria Isabel; Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Portugal; Infante Francisco de Paula; King Carlos IV; Infante Antonio Pascual (brother of Carlos IV); Carlota Joaquina or her sister Infanta Maria Amalia; Carlo Ludovico of Parma (husband of Maria Luisa); Infanta Maria Luisa; child in the arms of Maria Luisa, her son, the future Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had twenty-three pregnancies. Thirteen of the pregnancies resulted in live births, including a set of twins. The other ten pregnancies ended in miscarriages. Of the fourteen children who were born alive, only seven survived childhood:

Upon her arrival at the Spanish court, Maria Luisa immediately became the first lady of the court. Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, the mother of her husband, had died from tuberculosis in 1760, and Maria Luisa’s father-in-law King Carlos III never remarried. It was obvious that Maria Luisa was intelligent and ambitious, and had a dominant personality, and her father-in-law attempted to control her and limit her personal freedom, but with little success. Maria Luisa was strong and intellectual and she completely controlled her husband. During the reign of her father-in-law King Carlos III, Maria Luisa led her husband into all sorts of court intrigues.

Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy who ran the Spanish government with Queen Maria Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 14, 1788, King Carlos III of Spain died and was succeeded by his son as King Carlos IV of Spain. Carlos IV would rather hunt than deal with government affairs and the running of the government was left mostly to Queen Maria Luisa and Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. It is probable that de Godoy had a long-term relationship with Maria Luisa and that he was the father of her youngest son Francisco de Paula.

King Carlos IV and Queen Maria Luisa, circa 1802; Credit – Wikipedia

The view of the Spanish monarchy among the Spanish people took a rapid decline due to economic troubles, rumors about a relationship between Queen Maria Luisa and de Godoy, and King Carlos IV’s incompetence. Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando, Prince of Asturias
was anxious to take over from his father and jealous of Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. He unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow his father in 1807. After riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII on March 19, 1808. However, less than two months later, Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon I, Emperor of the French on May 7, 1808, at the Castle of Marracq in Bayonne, France, where he forced them both to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.

Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando as Prince of Asturias, later King Fernando VII of Spain by Francisco de Goya, 1800; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa, her husband the former King Carlos IV, some of their children, and former Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy were held captive first in France, at Compiègne and Fontainebleau, and then in Marseilles and Nice, and finally in Rome, then in the Papal States, now in Italy. Napoleon kept Carlos and Maria Luisa’s son Fernando VII under guard in France for more than five years at the Château de Valençay in France until the Treaty of Valençay on December 11, 1813, provided for the restoration of Fernando VII as King of Spain.

Even after the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, King Fernando VII refused to allow his parents to return to Spain. Maria Luisa and Carlos IV settled in Rome at the Palazzo Barberini. On January 2, 1819, at the age of sixty-seven, Maria Luisa died from pneumonia. Her husband Carlos IV died just eighteen days later, on January 20, 1819, aged seventy. Their son King Fernando VII allowed them to return to Spain in death. They were both interred in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain.

Tomb of Maria Luisa of Parka, Queen of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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) Carlos IV, King of Spain. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-iv-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Maria Luisa of Parma (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_of_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • María Luisa de Parma (2023) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Luisa_de_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Philip, Duke of Parma (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip,_Duke_of_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).

Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles, Credit – Wikipedia

Born on March 20, 1469, at the Palace of Westminster in London, England, Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles was the third of the ten children and the third of the seven daughters of King Edward IV of England, the first King of England from the House of York, and Elizabeth Woodville. The birth of Cecily, the third daughter in a row, was a great disappointment to King Edward IV. For the first time, he suggested that he may not have sons and that the crown could pass to his eldest daughter Elizabeth. Cecily’s paternal grandparents were Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and her namesake Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England. Her maternal grandparents were Sir Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers and Jacquetta of Luxembourg.

Cecily’s father King Edward IV of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Cecily’s father King Edward IV was the eldest surviving son of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York who had a strong claim to the English throne. The social and financial troubles that followed the Hundred Years’ War, combined with the mental disability and weak rule of the Lancastrian King Henry VI had revived interest in the claim of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and so the Wars of the Roses were fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1487. Richard, 3rd Duke of York was killed on December 30, 1460, at the Battle of Wakefield and his son Edward was then the leader of the House of York. After winning a decisive victory on March 2, 1461, at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, 19-year-old Edward proclaimed himself king. In 1464, King Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville.

Cecily’s mother Elizabeth Woodville; Credit – Wikipedia

Cecily had nine siblings:

Cecily had two half-brothers from her mother’s first marriage to Sir John Grey of Groby:

In October 1470, thanks to Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, known as “The Kingmaker,” switching from the Yorkist faction to the Lancastrian faction, King Henry VI from the House of Lancaster was restored to the throne. King Edward IV and his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III) fled to Flanders, part of Burgundy, where their sister Margaret of York was married to Charles I the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Seven-month-old Cecily went into sanctuary at Westminster Abbey in London with her pregnant mother along with her older sisters Elizabeth and Mary. While in sanctuary, Cecily’s brother Edward (the future Edward V) was born. By April 1471, Cecily’s father was back on the throne, and a month later King Henry VI was murdered in the Tower of London.

Cecily was probably brought up by Lady Margaret Berners (wife of John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners, great-grandson of King Edward III), who was the governess of her elder sisters Elizabeth and Mary. On July 30, 1476, Cecily attended the grand reburial of her paternal grandfather Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and his second son and Cecily’s paternal uncle Edmund, Earl of Rutland at the Church of Saint Mary and All Saints in Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire, England. Her grandfather and uncle had been killed in 1460 at the Battle of Wakefield, during the Wars of the Roses. Their bodies had been displayed and then unceremoniously buried. Cecily attended the wedding of her four-year-old brother Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York and the five-year-old wealthy heiress Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk (1472 – 1481) at St. Stephen’s Chapel in the Palace of Westminster in London, England on January 15, 1478. In May 1480, Cecily and her older sister Mary were created Ladies of the Order of the Garter. Their older sister Elizabeth had been named Lady of the Garter in February 1480.

In 1474, King Edward IV and James III, King of Scots negotiated a treaty and a marriage between five-year-old Cecily and the one-year-old heir to the Scottish throne, James, Duke of Rothesay (later James IV, King of Scots). The formal betrothal took place in Edinburgh, Scotland on October 26 or December 26, 1474, with David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford representing James and John Scrope, 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton representing Cecily. The marriage would occur when they both reached marriageable age.

The treaty and the proposed marriage were very unpopular in Scotland, and even though there was a treaty, there were further military conflicts between Edward IV and James III. Edward IV continued to make payments on the generous dowry until 1482 when he broke off the betrothal to James, Duke of Rothesay and betrothed Cecily to Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany. The Duke of Albany was the younger brother of James III and had laid a claim to the Scottish throne. Edward IV supported the Duke of Albany’s claim providing him with an army and his younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future King Richard III). Richard negotiated a treaty with the merchants of Edinburgh, Scotland to repay the dowry. Edward IV accepted the dowry repayment and officially broke Cecily’s engagement to James, Duke of Rothesay. In 1503, James, Duke of Rothesay, then James IV, King of Scots, married Cecily’s niece Margaret Tudor. King Edward IV died in 1483 and the Duke of Albany lost his main source of power, so the marriage with Cecily never occurred.

Cecily’s brother King Edward V of England, one of the missing Princes in the Tower; Credit – Wikipedia

When King Edward IV died and his twelve-year-old son succeeded him as King Edward V, Edward IV’s brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was named Lord Protector of his young nephew and moved to keep the Woodvilles, the family of Edward IV’s widow Elizabeth Woodville, from exercising power. The widowed queen sought to gain political power for her family by appointing family members to key positions and rushing the coronation of her young son. The new king was being accompanied to London by his maternal uncle Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers and his half-brother Sir Richard Grey. Rivers and Grey were accused of planning to assassinate Richard, were arrested, and taken to Pontefract Castle, where they were later executed without trial. Richard then proceeded with the new king to London where Edward V was presented to the Lord Mayor of London. For their safety, King Edward V and his nine-year-old brother Richard, Duke of York were sent to the Tower of London and were never seen again.

On June 22, 1483, a sermon was preached at St. Paul’s Cross in London declaring Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid and his children illegitimate. This information apparently came from Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, who claimed a legal pre-contract of marriage to Eleanor Butler, had invalidated King Edward IV’s later marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. The citizens of London presented Richard with a petition urging him to assume the throne, and he was proclaimed king on June 26, 1483. King Richard III and his wife Anne Neville were crowned in Westminster Abbey on July 6, 1483, and their son Edward of Middleham was created Prince of Wales. In January 1484, Parliament issued the Titulus Regius, a statute proclaiming Richard the rightful king. In 1485, King Richard III arranged for a marriage for Cecily to someone below her in status to rule out her claim to the throne: Ralph Scrope, the son of Thomas Scrope, 5th Baron Scrope of Masham.

Cecily’s brother-in-law King Henry VII of England; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 22, 1485, Henry Tudor from the House of Lancaster defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field and became King Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England. On January 18, 1486, Henry VII married Cecily’s eldest sister Elizabeth of York uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York into the new House of Tudor. Henry VII had Parliament repeal the Titulus Regius, the act that declared King Edward IV’s marriage invalid and his children illegitimate, thereby legitimizing his wife. Cecily’s marriage to Ralph Scrope was annulled in 1486 because the marriage was not in the interests of the new Tudor dynasty.

Cecily’s sister Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VII and mother of King Henry VIII; Credit – Wikipedia

Sometime between November 25, 1487 and January 1, 1488, Cecily married a nobleman loyal to King Henry VII, John Welles, 1st Viscount Welles (circa 1450 – 1498), the younger half-brother of King Henry VII’s mother Lady Margaret Beaufort. John died of pleurisy on February 9, 1498, and was buried in Westminster Abbey in London, England.

Cecily and John had two daughters Elizabeth and Anne who both died in childhood:

  • Elizabeth Welles (circa 1489 – 1498
  • Anne Welles (circa 1491 – 1499)

After the death of her husband and daughters, Cecily returned to the court seeking comfort and protection from her older sister Queen Elizabeth. Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, also helped Cecily to protect her rights to her deceased husband’s property, claimed by his half-sisters. On February 2, 1503, Cecily’s sister Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter Katherine. Shortly after giving birth, Elizabeth became ill with puerperal fever (childbed fever) and died on February 11, 1503, her 37th birthday. Henry VII was so shaken by her death that he went into seclusion and would only see his mother. Little Katherine died on February 18, 1503. Cecily was equally shaken. She lost not only her sister but also a close friend and patroness, on whom she could always count.

Sometime between May 13, 1502 and January 1504, Cecily married Sir Thomas Kyme without the permission of King Henry VII. It is probable that Cecily and Thomas had two children, Richard Kyme and Margaret Kyme. Some sources say that Cecily’s third marriage was childless, perhaps because neither her third marriage nor the children born from the marriage were recognized by King Henry VII.

The ruins of old Quarr Abbey were Cecily was probably buried; By Mypix – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64107857

Cecily died on August 24, 1507, aged 38, but her place of death and burial site are uncertain. Most likely, she died on the Isle of Wight, England, and was buried at Quarr Abbey, Isle of Wight. Past historians have said that the memorial marking Cecily’s grave was destroyed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of her nephew King Henry VIII and no description of the memorial survived. However, there is evidence from the account books of Lady Margaret Beaufort, who paid part of Cecily’s funeral expenses, that Cecily died in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England after a three-week stay there, and was buried at a local place, possibly King’s Langley Priory in Kings Langley, England.

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

  • Cecily of York (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecily_of_York (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Elizabeth of York, Queen of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/elizabeth-of-york-queen-of-england/ (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Flantzer, S. (2016) King Edward IV of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-iv-of-england/ (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • John Welles, 1st Viscount Welles (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Welles,_1st_Viscount_Welles (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
  • Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. London: Cassell.

Carlos IV, King of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

King Carlos IV of Spain by Francisco de Goya, 1789; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego was born on November 11, 1748, at the Royal Palace of Portici in Portici, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy. He was the seventh of the thirteen children and the second of the six sons of King Carlo VII of Naples, also King Carlo V of Sicily, later King Carlos III of Spain, and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Carlos IV’s paternal grandparents were Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain and his second wife ​Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. His maternal grandparents were Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony and Maria Josepha of Austria.

Carlos IV on the right with his brother Francisco Javier and sister Maria Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos IV had thirteen siblings but only seven survived childhood. His siblings who were born before their father became King of Spain were Princes and Princesses of Naples and Sicily. Their children who survived until their father became King of Spain or were born afterward were Infantes and Infantas of Spain.

Carlos IV’s siblings:

In 1759, Fernando VI, King of Spain, the elder half-brother of Carlos’ father died. However, Fernando VI’s marriage to Barbara of Portugal produced no children, and so upon his death in 1759, Carlos’ father succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain. With great sadness, by both Carlos’ father and the people of Naples and Sicily, he abdicated the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his eight-year-old third son Ferdinando with a regency council ruling until his sixteenth birthday. Carlos’ eldest brother Infante Felipe of Spain, Duke of Calabria was excluded from both the Spanish and the Naples and Sicily succession due to learning disabilities and epilepsy. Eleven-year-old Carlos as the second son became the heir to the Spanish throne and received the title Prince of Asturias.

Carlos’ wife Maria Luisa of Parma, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1762, Carlos was betrothed to his first cousin Maria Luisa of Parma, the daughter of his paternal uncle Felipe, Infante of Spain, Duke of Parma, the founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma, and Louise Élisabeth of France, the daughter of King Louis XV of France. The marriage was intended to strengthen the relationships between the Bourbons ruling in Spain and Parma. The not-quite-seventeen-year-old Carlos and the not-quite fourteen-year-old Maria Luisa were married on September 4, 1765, at the La Granja Palace in San Ildefonso, Spain.

The Family of Carlos IV by Francisco de Goya, circa 1800. L to R: Infante Carlos, Count of Molina; the artist Francisco de Goya at the easel; the future King Fernando VII, Infanta Maria Josepha (sister of Carlos IV); a young woman whose face cannot be seen who is representing the future wife of King Fernando VII; Infanta Maria Isabel; Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Portugal; Infante Francisco de Paula; King Carlos IV; Infante Antonio Pascual (brother of Carlos IV); Carlota Joaquina or her sister Infanta Maria Amalia; Carlo Ludovico of Parma (husband of Maria Luisa); Infanta Maria Luisa; child in the arms of Maria Luisa, her son, the future Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos IV and Maria Luisa of Parma had fourteen children but only seven survived childhood:

Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy who ran the Spanish government with Queen Maria Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

Unlike Carlos, his wife Queen Maria Luisa was a strong, intellectual woman who completely controlled her husband. During the reign of his father King Carlos III of Spain, Carlos was led into all sorts of court intrigues by his wife. On December 14, 1788, King Carlos III of Spain died and was succeeded by his son as King Carlos IV of Spain. Carlos IV would rather hunt than deal with government affairs and the running of the government was left mostly to his wife Maria Luisa and Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. It is probable that de Godoy had a long-term relationship with Maria Luisa and that he was the father of her youngest son Francisco de Paula.

Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando as Prince of Asturias, later King Fernando VII of Spain by Francisco de Goya, 1800; Credit – Wikipedia

The view of the Spanish monarchy among the Spanish people took a rapid decline due to economic troubles, rumors about a relationship between Queen Maria Luisa and de Godoy, and King Carlos IV’s incompetence. Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando, Prince of Asturias
was anxious to take over from his father and jealous of Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. He
unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow his father in 1807. After riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII on March 19, 1808. However, less than two months later, Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon I, Emperor of the French on May 7, 1808, at the Castle of Marracq in Bayonne, France, where he forced them both to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.

Carlos IV, his wife Maria Luisa, some of their children, and former Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy were held captive first in France, at Compiègne and Fontainebleau, and then in Marseilles and Nice, and finally in Rome, then in the Papal States, now in Italy. Napoleon kept Carlos and Maria Luisa’s son Fernando VII under guard in France for more than five years at the Château de Valençay in France until the Treaty of Valençay on December 11, 1813, provided for the restoration of Fernando VII as King of Spain.

The former King Carlos IV in 1818; Credit – Wikipedia

Even after the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, King Fernando VII refused to allow his parents to return to Spain. Carlos IV and Maria Luisa settled in Rome at the Palazzo Barberini. On January 2, 1819, at the age of sixty-seven, Maria Luisa died from pneumonia. Her husband Carlos IV died just eighteen days later, on January 20, 1819, aged seventy. Their son King Fernando VII allowed them to return to Spain in death. They were both interred in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain.

Tomb of King Carlos IV of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

  • Carlos IV de España (2023) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_IV_de_Espa%C3%B1a (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Charles IV of Spain (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV_of_Spain (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Carlos III, King of Spain, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, King of Naples, King of Sicily, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-iii-king-of-spain-duke-of-parma-and-piacenza-king-of-naples-king-of-sicily/ (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015) King Ferdinand VII of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-ferdinand-vii-of-spain/ (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Maria Luisa of Parma (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_of_Parma (Accessed: January 11, 2023).

Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

 

An attorney and a diplomat, Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand, The Princess Rajasarini Siribajra, also known as Princess Pa, is the eldest of the seven children of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, and the only child of the King and his first wife Princess Soamsawali of Thailand. She was born on December 7, 1978, at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall on the grounds of Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. Sadly, the princess remains in a coma after collapsing and losing consciousness due to a severe heart arrhythmia on December 14, 2022.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha (on the right) with her half-sister Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana (on the left), and her half-brother Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti (in the middle), 2019; Credit – By NBT – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKLRF8wE_nI, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88430260

Princess Bajrakitiyabha has four half-brothers and one half-sister from her father’s relationship with Thai actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth, who later took the name took the name Sujarinee Mahidol na Ayudhaya and became the second of King Vajiralongkorn’s four wives:

  • Juthavachara Vivacharawongse (born 1979)
  • Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse  (born 1981)
  • Chakriwat Vivacharawongse (born 1983)
  • Vatcharawee Vivacharawongse (born 1985)
  • Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana (born 1987)

Princess Bajrakitiyabha has a half-brother from her father’s third of four marriages to Srirasm Suwadi, formerly Princess Srirasm of Thailand:

Shortly after her parents’ marriage, Bajrakitiyabha’s father, then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, began living with Yuvadhida Polpraserth, a Thai actress. They had four sons and one daughter. Bajrakitiyabha’s mother Princess Soamsawali refused divorce for many years, but in 1993, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn sued for divorce in the family court. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn accused Princess Soamsawali of being completely at fault for the failed marriage. She was not able to refute any of the charges because of lèse-majesté in Thailand. It is illegal to defame, insult, or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent, heir-presumptive, or regent of Thailand. The penalty for committing lèse-majesté is three to fifteen years in prison for each count. The divorce was finalized in July 1993. Despite the divorce, King Vajiralongkorn and Soamsawali remain on cordial terms. After the divorce Soamsawali was allowed to keep her title of princess and remain a member of the Thai royal family.

Bajrakitiyabha first attended the Rajini School (Queen’s School) in Bangkok, Thailand founded in 1904 by Queen Saovabha Phongsri, a school that her mother also attended. She then began her secondary education at Heathfield School in Ascot, England. Bajrakitiyabha finished her secondary education at Chitralada School which was established by her grandfather King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the grounds of the Dusit Palace, the residence of the King of Thailand in Bangkok. Many members of the Thai royal family attended the Chitralada School.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha then began her law studies. In 2000, she received an LL.B degree (Bachelor of Laws) from Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand and a B.A. degree (Bachelor of Arts) in International Relations from Sukhothai Thammatirat Open University, Muang Thong Thani, a suburb of Bangkok. Bajrakitiyabha then attended Cornell Law School at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in the United States where she received a LL.M degree (Master of Laws) in 2002 and a J.S.D. degree (Doctor of the Science of Law) in 2005.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha, Thai Ambassador to Austria, meeting Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz at the Foreign Ministry in Vienna, Austria; Credit – By Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äusseres – Prinzessin Mahidol bei AM Kurz, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35227109

After receiving her J.S.D. degree Princess Bajrakitiyabha worked for a year at the Thai Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City, before returning to Thailand. She then worked as a prosecuting attorney in the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok. Then, for several years, Bajrakitiyabha served as the Thai Ambassador to Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia, before returning to work in the Office of the Attorney General. In 2021, the princess began working at the Royal Security Command in the position of Chief of Staff of The King’s Close Bodyguard Command and received the rank of general.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s father King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand; Credit – Wikipedia

In 2016, Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s father Vajiralongkorn became King of Thailand upon the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Princess Bajrakitiyabha plays a significant role in royal ceremonies and performs many duties on behalf of the Thai royal family. She is particularly active in the Friends in Need Volunteers Foundation and the Thai Red Cross Society.

King Vajiralongkorn (2nd right), Queen Suthida (2nd left), Princess Sirivannavari (left), Princess Bajrakitiyabha (center), and the royal noble consort Sineenat Bilaskalayani (right), attend a ceremony to commemorate the birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on December 5, 2020

Princess Bajrakitiyabha is eligible to be the heir to the throne of Thailand. In Thailand, the Palace Law of Succession gives the sovereign the sole power and prerogative to designate any descendant of the royal family as heir to the throne. The sovereign has the sole power and prerogative to remove the heir to the throne from his or her position. However, King Vajiralongkorn has yet to name an heir to the throne. If the sovereign dies with no heir designated, there is a line of succession, and the chief state official invites the first in the line of succession to be sovereign.

Officials pay their respects in front of a picture of Princess Bajrakitiyabha after she was hospitalized due to a heart condition at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

On December 14, 2022, Princess Bajrakitiyabha, while training her dogs for the Thailand Working Dog Championship organized by the Royal Thai Army, collapsed and lost consciousness due to a severe heart arrhythmia. She received emergency care at a nearby hospital and was then transferred to King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok. In a January 7, 2023, statement, the royal palace said Princess Bajrakitiyabha remained unconscious and on life support after falling into a coma. The statement attributed her collapse to an irregular heartbeat caused by a mycoplasma infection, a bacterial illness usually associated with pneumonia. The royal palace, in a prior statement, also said she suffered a brain aneurysm. There have been no further statements from the royal palace.

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

  • Bajrakitiyabha (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajrakitiyabha (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
  • สมเด็จเจ้าฟ้าฯ กรมหลวงราชสาริณีสิริพัชร มหาวัชรราชธิดา (Bajrakitiyabha) (2023) Wikipedia (in Thai). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%9F%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AF_%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%A3_%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B2 (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
  • Faulder, D. (2016) Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol: Thailand’s royal diplomat, lawyer, advocate, Nikkei Asia. Nikkei Asia. Available at: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Agents-of-Change-2017/Princess-Bajrakitiyabha-Mahidol-Thailand-s-royal-diplomat-lawyer-advocate (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
  • Marcelo, Philip. (2023) Thai official: No plans to void Pfizer COVID vaccine contract after its princess fell into a coma following a booster shot., AP NEWS. Associated Press. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-covid-vaccine-pfizer-thailand-203948163859 (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
  • Mehl, Scott. (2017) King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/crown-prince-maha-vajiralongkorn-of-thailand/ (Accessed: February 10, 2023).

Mary of York, daughter of King Edward IV of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

The five eldest surviving daughters of KIng Edward IV, left to right: Elizabeth, Cecily, Anne, Catherine, and Mary. This stained glass window in Canterbury Cathedral, was made by order of King Edward IV; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on August 11, 1467, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Mary was the second of the ten children and the second of the seven daughters of King Edward IV of England, the first King of England from the House of York, and Elizabeth Woodville. Mary’s paternal grandparents were Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England. Her maternal grandparents were Sir Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers and Jacquetta of Luxembourg.

Mary’s father King Edward IV of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s father King Edward IV was the eldest surviving son of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York who had a strong claim to the English throne. The social and financial troubles that followed the Hundred Years’ War, combined with the mental disability and weak rule of the Lancastrian King Henry VI had revived interest in the claim of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and so the Wars of the Roses were fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1487. Richard, 3rd Duke of York was killed on December 30, 1460, at the Battle of Wakefield and his son Edward was then the leader of the House of York. After winning a decisive victory on March 2, 1461, at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, 19-year-old Edward proclaimed himself king. In 1464, King Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville.

Mary’s mother Elizabeth Woodville; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary had nine siblings:

Mary had two half-brothers from her mother’s first marriage to Sir John Grey of Groby:

Mary was raised with her elder sister Elizabeth, who was eighteen months older, at Sheen Palace in Surrey, England under the supervision of their governess Lady Margery Berners, wife of John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners, a great-grandson of King Edward III. It was the tradition that royal children were brought up away from London and the court for their safety and health. Occasionally, Elizabeth and Mary, the two eldest children of King Edward IV, were called to the court, where they were present at the festivities and during state visits.

In October 1470, thanks to Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, known as “The Kingmaker,” switching from the Yorkist faction to the Lancastrian faction, King Henry VI from the House of Lancaster was restored to the throne. King Edward IV and his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III) fled to Flanders, part of Burgundy, where their sister Margaret of York was married to Charles I the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Three-year-old Mary went into sanctuary at Westminster Abbey in London with her pregnant mother along with her older sister Elizabeth and her younger sister Cecily. While in sanctuary, Mary’s brother Edward (the future Edward V) was born. By April 1471, Mary’s father was back on the throne, and a month later King Henry VI was murdered in the Tower of London.

On July 30, 1476, Mary attended the grand reburial of her paternal grandfather Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and his second son and Mary’s paternal uncle Edmund, Earl of Rutland at the Church of Saint Mary and All Saints in Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire, England. Her grandfather and uncle had been killed in 1460 at the Battle of Wakefield, during the Wars of the Roses. Their bodies had been displayed and then unceremoniously buried. Mary attended the wedding of her four-year-old brother Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York and the five-year-old wealthy heiress Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk (1472 – 1481) at St. Stephen’s Chapel in the Palace of Westminster in London, England on January 15, 1478. In May 1480, Mary and her younger sister Cecily were created Ladies of the Order of the Garter. Their older sister Elizabeth had been named Lady of the Garter in February 1480.

In 1481, negotiations began for a marriage between Mary and Frederik, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig (the future King Frederik I of Denmark and Norway), the youngest son of King Christian I of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. However, at the end of 1481, Mary became seriously ill with an unknown illness and died, aged fourteen, on May 23, 1482, at the Palace of Placentia (also known as Greenwich Palace) in Greenwich, London, England. She was interred on the north side of the altar in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England at the side of her younger brother George, who had died three years earlier at the age of two. Mary’s parents were interred in a tomb nearby – her father in 1483 and her mother in 1492.

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. (2016) Elizabeth of York, Queen of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/elizabeth-of-york-queen-of-england/ (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Flantzer, S. (2016) King Edward IV of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-iv-of-england/ (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Mary of York (2016) Naked History. Available at: https://www.historynaked.com/mary-of-york/ (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Mary of York (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_York (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
  • Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. London: Cassell.

Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, Queen of Naples and Sicily

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, Queen of Naples & Sicily; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Amalia of Saxony was the wife of King Carlos III of Spain who also was King Carlo VII of Naples from 1735 – 1759 and King Carlo V of Sicily from 1734 – 1759. Born on November 24, 1724, at Dresden Castle, in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga was a Princess of Poland and a Princess of Saxony. She was the fourth of the fourteen children and the eldest of the seven daughters of Augustus III, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was also Friedrich August II, Elector of Saxony, and Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria. Maria Amalia’s paternal grandparents were Augustus II, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was also Friedrich August I, Elector of Saxony, and Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Her maternal grandparents were Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick -Lüneburg.

Maria Amalia had thirteen siblings:

Dresden Castle where Maria Amalia was born and raised; Credit – By X-Weinzar – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7530258

Maria Amalia was raised at her father’s court at Dresden Castle in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. She received instruction in foreign languages, mathematics, foreign cultures, theater, and dancing. Maria Amalia was also an excellent musician and sang and played the piano from an early age.

Maria Amalia’s husband Carlos as King of Naples and Sicily; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1738, a marriage was arranged for fourteen-year-old Maria Amalia and twenty-two-year-old Carlos of Spain, then sovereign of two Italian kingdoms as King Carlo VII of Naples and King Carlo V of Sicily. Carlos was the eldest son of Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain and his second wife ​Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, who had arranged the marriage. Carlos was not expected to become King of Spain because he had two elder surviving brothers from his father’s first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy.

On May 8, 1738, a proxy marriage was held in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in Germany with the bride’s brother Friedrich Christian of Saxony standing in for Carlos. Shortly afterward, Maria Amalia traveled to the Kingdom of Naples, and on June 19, 1738, at Portella, a village on the border of the Kingdom of Naples, Carlos and Maria Amalia met for the first time and were married.

Three children of Maria Amalia and Carlos: Francisco Javier, Maria Luisa, and Carlos III’s successor, the future King Carlos IV; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Amalia and Carlos had thirteen children but only seven survived childhood. Their children who were born before Carlos became King of Spain were Princes and Princesses of Naples and Sicily. Their children who survived until Carlos became King of Spain were then Infantes and Infantas of Spain.

Royal Palace of Caserta in Caserta, Italy; Credit – By Carlo Pelagalli, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52612424

As Queen of Naples and Sicily, Maria Amalia had great influence and actively participated in state affairs. After the birth of her first son in 1747, she was given a seat on the council of state. Maria Amalia ended the careers of several politicians she disliked. She played an important role in the planning and construction of the Royal Palace of Caserta.

Maria Amalia’s in-laws: King Felipe V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Queen of Spain in 1739

Carlos’ father Felipe V, King of Spain died of a stroke at the age of 62 on July 9, 1746, and Carlos’ only surviving elder half-brother Fernando succeeded to the Spanish throne as Fernando VI, King of Spain, and reigned for thirteen years. However, Fernando’s marriage to Barbara of Portugal produced no children, and so upon his death in 1759, his elder surviving half-brother, Maria Amalia’s husband Carlos, succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain. With great sadness, by both Carlos and the people of Naples and Sicily, Carlos abdicated the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his eight-year-old third son Ferdinando with a regency council ruling until his sixteenth birthday.

Maria Amalia, her husband, and their surviving children moved from Naples to Madrid, Spain in the autumn of 1759. Besides leaving their third son Ferdinando who was now King of Naples and Sicily, they left their eldest son Felipe who was excluded from the succession due to learning disabilities and epilepsy. Felipe lived hidden away at the Palace of Portici in the Kingdom of Naples, occasionally being visited by his brother King Ferdinando. Felipe died, aged 30, in 1777, from smallpox.

Maria Amalia had lived in her husband’s Italian kingdoms for twenty-one years and did not like Spain. She complained about the food, the language, which she refused to learn, the climate, the Spaniards, whom she regarded as passive, and the Spanish courtiers, whom she regarded as ignorant and uneducated. She planned reforms for the Spanish court but did not have time to complete them.

A posthumous portrait of Maria Amalia, circa 1761; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 27, 1760, a year after arriving in Spain, 35-year-old Maria Amalia died from tuberculosis at the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, Spain. She was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial. Upon Maria Amalia’s death, her husband Carlos said, “In twenty-two years of marriage, this is the first serious upset that Amalia has given me.” After Maria Amalia’s death, Carlos remained unmarried. He survived his wife by twenty-eight years, dying, aged 72, on December 14, 1788, at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain. He was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial.

Tomb of Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

  • Augustus III of Poland (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_III_of_Poland (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Carlos III, King of Spain, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, King of Naples, King of Sicily, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-iii-king-of-spain-duke-of-parma-and-piacenza-king-of-naples-king-of-sicily/ (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • María Amalia de Sajonia (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Amalia_de_Sajonia (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Maria Amalia di Sassonia (2022) Wikipedia (Italian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_di_Sassonia (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Maria Amalia of Saxony (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_of_Saxony (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Maria Amalia von Sachsen (1724–1760) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_von_Sachsen_(1724%E2%80%931760) (Accessed: January 2, 2023).

The Laird o’ Thistle (Special Edition) – Remembering the Platinum Queen

Queen Elizabeth II, official photo for the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne; Credit – The Royal Family Facebook page

by The Laird o’ Thistle (Special Edition)
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

3 February 2023

This coming Monday, 6 February 2023, will mark the one-year anniversary of the Platinum Jubilee of her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II… “of happy memory” as the saying goes. And, in this case, for this writer, the memory is happy.

On the day itself, last year, readers may recall, Her Majesty was in residence at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate, but on the afternoon of 5 February, she came over to the “Big House” for a special tea party with representatives of local organizations. There was cake, and the Queen moved (carefully) among the tables, leaning on her stick and greeting her guests. The hostess, who was also the guest of honor, was bright and cheery that day.

I will admit to having been greatly relieved at the time. The Queen’s evident weight loss and increasing frailty over the preceding months had been evident for all to see. Like many, I think, I had wondered if HM would in fact live to see the milestone anniversary. That she did make it, not just to 6 February but to 8 September, is in many ways remarkable, and in so doing she left us many wonderful memories of her final months.

In the closing pages of his most recent book (December 2022), ELIZABETH: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT, broadcaster and author Gyles Brandreth reports what I would term the rather “authoritative” rumor that circulated among those likely to be “in the know” after HM’s death that she had been suffering from multiple myeloma, a cancer of the white blood cells that lodges in the bones, and which can cause pain in the spine, fatigue, weight loss, and “mobility problems” in the legs. It is a not uncommon condition among the very elderly. Brandreth notes that this form of cancer would explain much of what was observed over the Queen’s final months. It might also help to explain HM’s never-explained overnight hospital stay in the autumn of 2021, “for tests.” While the symptoms may be treated, and life may be extended for some time, the cancer itself is not currently curable.

If the report is correct, then Queen Elizabeth moved through the last months of her life with the awareness that it was drawing to its close, and she did so determinedly carrying on as best she could, in regular good cheer, no less. Her deep Christian faith, which Brandreth refers to repeatedly, was undoubtedly a major factor in this. But, as I recall The Princess Royal attesting in a 2012 interview, the Queen’s essential realism and pragmatism must also be taken into account. “Keep calm, and carry on…” as the old, and recently over-used, saying goes.

And so in that light, we remember… the February 5 tea party, and HM’s surprise statement of support the next day for Camilla becoming Queen Consort; her determined presence – controversially on Prince Andrew’s arm – at the memorial service for Prince Philip at the end of March; the electric buggy she rode in, and the vivid pink coat she wore, at the Chelsea Flower Show in May, seeming to thoroughly enjoy herself; her balcony appearance with her cousin The Duke of Kent, and then the working Royal Family, at the end of the Jubilee Trooping the Colour, including her amusement at Prince Louis’s antics; the very brief appearance to ignite the first Jubilee Beacon; her amazing comedy sketch with Paddington Bear, and the surprised smiles on the faces of Prince George and Princess Charlotte when she appeared; her final appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony (over 95 years after her first) with her three direct heirs, two of their spouses, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, as she beamed with delight and wonder at the vast crowd; the delight she again showed in late June during her few in-person events during “Scotland Week” in Edinburgh; and, lastly, her now-more-poignant final public engagement in July, accompanying Princess Anne to the new Thames Valley Hospice, visiting with various patients and their families. (They didn’t know the irony then, but we do now.)

There has been speculation that the Queen considered it likely (and, maybe even hoped) that she would pass from this life at her deeply beloved Balmoral, and so she did on a dreich (dark and rainy) early autumn afternoon, with her eldest son and her daughter at her side, just days after entertaining her much-beloved niece Sarah Chatto, her Bowes-Lyon kin, the Moderator of the Kirk (who found her lively and engaged) for the weekend, and then two Prime Ministers… outbound and inbound… on the same day. Sadly, though, she’d missed the Braemar Gathering on the previous Saturday, for one of the few times ever. Whatever else, she truly lived and loved life right up to the end, and then she was gone….

As 2022 drew to an end, I did my own personal sort of year-in-review. I noted five significant deaths in my life for the year, four being family and dear friends, and the fifth being Queen Elizabeth II. Even though I never laid eyes on her in person, I have been grieving for her, and still am. As so many have said, she’d just always been there, for our whole lives.

An important part of my ongoing reflection on her life and passing has been reading two wonderful books. The first is Gyles Brandreth’s book, already mentioned, which I received for Christmas. It is a wonderful, personal, telling of her life through both research and direct personal experience over many years, plus the reminiscences of close friends and family. There are many delightfully funny stories, along with much affection and, I think, a good honest assessment of the Queen as a person… not a personality.

The second is Robert Hardman’s 2019 book, QUEEN OF THE WORLD, which covers HM’s international role over the course of her reign, particularly her role in building and maintaining the Commonwealth as it transitioned from the original eight countries to now fifty-six member states, with fifteen of them still retaining Charles III as Head of State. This was a re-read for me, but with an especially important reminder of Queen Elizabeth’s very “hands (discreetly) on” role in working with Commonwealth leaders to bring about the transition of both Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and South Africa from white rule to black-majority rule. The Princess who in 1947 made her 21st birthday pledge from South Africa stayed constant in her love and support for that land and its people across the decades, and… fascinatingly… formed a particularly strong and enduring friendship with Nelson Mandela. He was one of the very few people outside of her own family to call her simply by her given name, “Elizabeth.” At a luncheon during one of his London visits, he warmly hailed her as “this gracious lady” and she replied referring to him as “this wonderful man.” It is an amazing tale to read anew.

That said, the time has come that we need to look onward to the coronation of King Charles III on May 6, 2023. It will be interesting to see how things unfold. I’ve not heard it really remarked on thus far, but I find it highly significant that Charles III will be crowned with the “new” St. Edward’s Crown made for the English coronation of Charles II in 1661. (Charles II had previously been crowned King of Scots at Scone in 1651, only to be forced into exile by Oliver Cromwell soon thereafter.)

Beyond that, in truth, I am finding myself more “interested” than “fascinated” by most things in the new reign thus far. I am deeply impressed with the new Queen Consort’s “down to earth” approach to her role. I am pleased with the ongoing roles of Princess Anne and Prince Edward in the new reign, along with the Duke of Gloucester. I do hope that the King will in due course carry through with his parents’ intention to create Prince Edward as Duke of Edinburgh… possibly as a lifetime appointment rather than hereditary according to some media reports. And, as we move toward May, I wish King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla all the best, along with Prince William, Catherine, and their family. God bless them, each and all!

Yours aye,
Ken Cuthbertson – The Laird o’ Thistle

P.S. – A friend asked recently where I got my “Laird o’ Thistle” moniker. That is simple enough. My earliest known paternal ancestor was, in fact, a “bonnet laird” (i.e. a small freeholder) in Ayrshire, Scotland but that’s just part of the equation. When I started writing this column back in March 2004 [sic!] we had recently moved from a house we had called The Thistlecot. We loved that house very much, and so it inspired the 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.

Blanche of England, Countess Palatine

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Painting of Blanche in the chancel of the Church of St. Aegidius in Neustadt, Germany where she is buried; Credit – Wikipedia

Blanche of England was born in the spring of 1392 at Peterborough Castle in Peterborough, England. She was the fifth of the six children and the elder of the two daughters of King Henry IV of England and his first wife the wealthy heiress Mary de Bohun, Countess of Northampton, Countess of Derby. Blanche’s paternal grandparents were John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, (the third surviving son of King Edward III of England) and Blanche of Lancaster, Duchess of Lancaster, her namesake and the heiress of England’s wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. It was through Blanche of Lancaster that the Duchy of Lancaster came into the royal family. Since the reign of King Henry IV, the Duchy of Lancaster has provided a source of independent income to the British sovereign. Blanche’s maternal grandparents were Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, and Joan FitzAlan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and 8th Earl of Surrey.  When Blanche was two years old, her mother died while giving birth to her last child Philippa.

Blanche had five siblings:

In 1398, Blanche’s father, then known as Henry of Bolingbroke because he was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, England, quarreled with Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, who accused him of treason. The two men planned to duel, but instead, Henry’s first cousin King Richard II banished them from England. John of Gaunt died on February 3, 1399, and Richard II confiscated the estates of his uncle and stipulated that his cousin Henry would have to ask him to restore the estates. Henry returned to England while his cousin Richard II was on a military campaign in Ireland and began a military campaign of his own, confiscating the land of those who had opposed him. King Richard II eventually was abandoned by his supporters and was forced by Parliament on September 29, 1399, to abdicate the crown to his cousin Henry.  King Henry IV was crowned in Westminster Abbey on October 13, 1399.  Richard was imprisoned at Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire where he died on or around February 14, 1400. The exact cause of his death, thought to have been starvation, is unknown.

In 1403, Blanche’s father King Henry IV married again to Joan of Navarre, the widow of Jean IV, Duke of Brittany, and the daughter of Charles II, King of Navarre and Jeanne of Valois. Henry IV and Joan had no children but Joan got along well with her stepchildren.

After King Henry IV deposed his first cousin King Richard II, it was important for him to legitimize his rule. Ruprecht III, Elector Palatine and King of the Romans was a needed ally. A marriage between Ruprecht’s eldest surviving son and heir Ludwig, Count Palatine, the future Ludwig III, Elector Palatine, and Henry IV’s eldest daughter Blanche was arranged. The marriage contract was signed on March 7, 1401. Ten-year-old Blanche married twenty-four-year Ludwig on July 6, 1402, at Cologne Cathedral in the Free Imperial City of Cologne, now in Germany.

The Crown of Princess Blanche; Credit – By Allie Caulfield –  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65073992

Blanche’s dowry included a crown thought to have originally belonged to Anne of Bohemia, the first wife of King Richard II of England, whom she married in 1382. Known as the Crown of Princess Blanche, the Palatine Crown, and the Bohemian Crown, Blanche wore it at her wedding. Made of gold with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, enamel, and pearls, the crown has been the property of the House of Wittelsbach since 1402, and is displayed in the treasury of the Munich Residenz, where it has been kept since 1782. This writer has been fortunate to have seen the crown and can verify that it is spectacular.

Blanche and Ludwig had one child:

  • Ruprecht, Count Palatine (1406 – 1426), unmarried, nicknamed Ruprecht the Englishman

Ludwig III, Elector Palatine with his two wives: his first wife Blanche of England in the middle and his second wife Matilda of Savoy on the right; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 22, 1409, Blanche, aged seventeen, died while pregnant with her second child, possibly from the plague, at Neustadt, Electorate of the Palatinate, now in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She was buried in the Church of St. Aegidius (link in German) in Neustadt.

Blanche’s tomb at the Church of St. Aegidius in Neustadt.; Credit – Wikipedia

A year after her death, Blanche’s widower succeeded his father as Ludwig III, Elector Palatine. In 1417, Ludwig married Matilda of Savoy, and the couple had five children. However, Ruprecht, Ludwig’s son from his first marriage, remained the heir presumptive to the Electorate of Palatinate and Ludwig allowed Ruprecht to participate in the affairs of state.

On May 20, 1426, Blanche and Ludwig’s son Ruprecht died two days before his 20th birthday. Ludwig suffered immense grief and decided to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Upon his return from the pilgrimage, Ludwig became seriously ill, and he entered into a period of religious fervor that lasted the rest of his life. By 1430, Ludwig was nearly blind. Five years later, his wife Matilda and the Palatine councilors decided Ludwig could no longer rule and removed him from power. Ludwig’s younger brother Otto I, Count Palatine of Mosbach became Regent, and took over the affairs of state and the education of Ludwig’s sons from his second marriage. Twenty-seven years after Blanche’s death, Ludwig III, Elector Palatine died on December 30, 1436, in Heidelberg, Electorate of Palatinate, now in Germany.

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

  • Blanche of England (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanche_of_England (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
  • Blanca von England (2022) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanca_von_England (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013) King Henry IV of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/march-20-daily-featured-royal-date/ (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
  • Jones, Dan. (2012) The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
  • Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
  • Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British royalty: A Phrase and Fable dictionary. London: Cassell.

Funeral of King Constantine II of Greece

by Susan Flantzer and Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

King Constantine II of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

King Constantine II, the former King of Greece, died at Hygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece on January 10, 2023, at the age of 82. He had been admitted to the intensive care unit at the hospital a couple of days earlier. King Constantine II was survived by his wife, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece (born a Princess of Denmark), his elder sister Queen Sofia of Spain, his younger sister Princess Irene of Greece, his five children Princess Alexia, Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Theodora, and Prince Philippos, and nine grandchildren. King Constantine II was the only son of King Paul of Greece (reigned 1947 – 1964) and Princess Frederica of Hanover.

On March 6, 1964, King Paul died and twenty-three-year-old Constantine became king. On April 21, 1967, a coup d’état led by a group of army colonels took over Greece. A military junta ruled Greece from 1967 – 1974. For more information see Wikipedia: Greek military junta of 1967–74  On December 13, 1967, King Constantine attempted a counter-coup against the military junta which failed, and King Constantine and his family had to flee to Italy. The family lived for two months in the Greek embassy and then for the next five years in a house in a suburb of Rome. King Constantine remained the head of state in exile until June 1, 1973, when the junta abolished the monarchy.  In 1974, after the fall of the junta, a referendum by the Greek people confirmed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Third Hellenic Republic.

In 1973, the family moved to England, living first in Chobham, Surrey, and later in the London suburb of Hampstead. The Greek government did not permit King Constantine to return to Greece until 1981 when he was allowed to enter Greece for several hours to attend the funeral of his mother Queen Frederica. King Constantine and his family paid a private visit to Greece in 1993. After 2003, when a property dispute between Constantine and the Greek government was settled, Constantine and his family were able to make visits to Greece and purchase a summer home there. In 2013, former King Constantine II permanently returned to reside in Greece.

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Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation in Athens, Greece

Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation; Credit – By C messier – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51359657

The funeral for King Constantine II of Greece was held on January 16, 2023, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation in Athens, Greece, followed by the burial at the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace, the former summer palace of the Greek royal family, near Athens, Greece. Ieronymos II, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Athens presided over the ceremonies.

The Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation has been the site of important ceremonies including weddings and funerals of notable personalities including Greek royalty. It is likely that there would have been more royal events at the Metropolitan Cathedral had the Greek royals not been in exile from 1924 – 1935 during the Second Hellenic Republic and from 1967 – 2003, after the monarchy was abolished and until former King Constantine II was allowed to once again to enter Greece. The most recent royal event prior to King Constantine II’s funeral was the religious wedding of Prince Philippos, the youngest child of former King Constantine II, and Nina Nastassja Flohr, held at the Metropolitan Cathedral on October 23, 2021.

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Funeral Controversy

After the death of former King Constantine II, the Greek government held a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the following decisions were made:

  • The former King would not receive a state funeral and would be buried as a private citizen.
  • The burial would take place near his ancestors at the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace.
  • There would be no lying-in-state.
  • In consultation between the government and the family, the church would be designated in which the funeral will take place,
  • The government would be represented at the funeral by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni.
  • All the procedures provided by the protocol for the officials from abroad attending the funeral would be observed.

There was backlash over the Greek government’s decisions regarding King Constantine II’s funeral. As a result, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed to allow an unofficial lying-in-state and the honors of a state leader in a private funeral. King Constantine II would lie in state at the Agios Eleftherios Chapel in Athens, Greece, next to the Metropolitan Cathedral, from 6:00 AM – 11:00 AM on January 16, 2023, the day of the funeral, to allow members of the public to pay their respects. At 12:00 PM, there would be a procession to the nearby Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation. Two hundred guests were expected at the funeral including seven current monarchs who are also heads of state, which is why it was decided that Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos would represent the Greek government. Prime Minister Mitsotakis allowed any member of the Greek government to attend the funeral. After the funeral, King Constantine’s body would be taken to the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace for a private burial.

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The Lying-in-State at the Agios Eleftherios Chapel in Athens, Greece

Agios Eleftherios Chapel; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 16, 2023, from 6:00 AM to 11:00 AM, King Constantine’s coffin lay in state in the Agios Eleftherios Chapel, next to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens, Greece. Thousands of mourners filed past the coffin.

Members of the public pay their respects in the Agios Eleftherios Chapel

Afterward, there was a procession to the Metropolitan Cathedral, headed by a crucifer, followed by two priests and Ieronymos II, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Athens, then the coffin draped in the flag of Greece, and finally King Constantine’s three sons.

The procession leaving Agios Eleftherios Chapel, heading to the Metropolitan Cathedral

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The Funeral at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation in Athens, Greece

Embed from Getty Images
The coffin was carried into the nave of the Metropolitan Cathedral with King Constantine’s three sons following

After the procession from the Agios Eleftherios Chapel, King Constantine’s coffin was carried through the nave of the Metropolitan Cathedral and placed in the center of the chancel.

Crown Prince Pavlos pays his respects to his father with his brothers waiting for their turns. King Constantine’s honors can be seen beside the coffin.

Floral wreaths, icons, King Constantine’s honors, and his Olympic gold medal were placed beside the coffin. In the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, the then Crown Prince Constantine won a Gold Medal in Sailing Mixed Three Person Keel. The wreaths beside the coffin were made from lilies of the valley, the same flowers used for Queen Anne-Marie’s bridal bouquet.

Crown Prince Pavlos greets his first cousin King Felipe VI of Spain and his wife Queen Letizia on the steps of the Metropolitan Cathedral

Before the funeral started, Crown Prince Pavlos stood at the top of the cathedral’s steps and greeted the royal guests as they arrived.

 

The funeral was the traditional Greek Orthodox funeral, chanted by Archbishop Ieronymos II  and twenty other priests. To their right and left were two Byzantine choirs who also chanted part of the funeral service.

Crown Prince Pavlos gave a speech eulogizing his father

Crown Prince Pavlos, King Constantine II’s eldest son, gave a very moving eulogy, first in Greek and then in English, directly addressing his father. Pavlos made a poignant reference to his father as an Olympic gold medal winner.

Dear Papa, Constantine, Your Majesty, Grandfather, Olympic Champion,

For your dear Queen, our Mother, for us the children, your grandchildren, and for all those who come together on this day to say farewell to you for the last time, and for all those who honor your memory, and for all those for whom it is not possible to be here today.

My father, this is not the end. You shall always live in our minds and hearts, as it happens in every Greek family when they lost the dearest and most precious figure in their life.

At a very young age, you lost your father, King Pavlos, my grandfather, however, you always remained loyal to the legacy that he conveyed to you. When at the age of eighteen, you became Crown Prince of Greece and received your commission as an officer in the glorified Greek armed forces, his advice to you, and this was very dear to you, and I quote: “Devote your life to the happiness of the Motherland for it is the most noble, remarkable mission. Always remember that it is better for the king to suffer and not for the people or the country. You are the guardian and protector of your Church.” This is the legacy my grandfather left to you, that has now passed to myself, my brothers, your grandchildren, and we will protect it and honour it for the rest of our lives.

As an Olympian, you honoured your country by winning the gold medal for the 1960 Olympic Games. You brought honour to the blue and white flag of Greece and to our homeland. Your victory was a feat of tactical and physical endurance on the sea that you and your close crew navigated toward an ultimate victory.

It was a truly challenging era when you ascended the throne, dear Father. Hard conflicts, opposite passions, and the results that no one wished for. From the very first moment, you tried to overthrow the coup, your efforts did not come to a successful result. Yet you did not wish that your presence in Greece would provoke bloodshed. Always loyal to the legacy your father had given to you, you respectfully accepted the decision of the Greek people.

Your love for youth, education, and international sport has been constant. You formed the Hellenic College of London, the international school organisation of Round Square, as well as active participation in the International Olympic Committee and the World Sailing Federation. Your relationship with the International Olympic Committee led to our 2004 Olympics being here in Greece which was one of your greatest feats.

Family was a core value to you and our mother. It has always been our strong belief that it is the foundation of society. Together, you created a large family, inseparably united by love for each other and a sense of duty for the country. By the grace of God, you drew your last breath in our country, which you always loved above all else throughout your life.

On this day, we, your children, your grandchildren, we are the future of your family here in our land and around the world, are ready, as you have always been, to offer to Greece whatever the country asks of us.

My strength is in the love of the people. This has always been the motto and guiding light of our family. For us, and for all Greeks, the strength of the country lies in the love of the Greek people for their homeland. We, as you dear Papa, always love Hellas and its people.

Safe journey!

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The Burial at the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace

The burial of King Constantine

With the exception of King Otto, originally a Prince of Bavaria, and his wife, who returned to the Kingdom of Bavaria after Otto was deposed in 1862, and are buried in Munich, now in Germany, all other Greek kings and their wives, along with other family members, are buried at the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace, the former summer palace of the Greek royal family, near Athens, Greece. Tatoi Palace has not been used by the Greek royal family since 1967 and is now the property of the Greek government.

Some of the land surrounding Tatoi Palace was damaged in the 2021 wildfire season and there had not been any clean-up. After the announcement that King Constantine would be buried there, clean-up crews arrived. Burnt trees were removed, new trees were planted, new gravel paths were installed and the Church of the Resurrection near the Royal Cemetery was repaired. On January 12, 2023, Constantine’s sisters Queen Sofía of Spain and Princess Irene of Greece, his daughter-in-law Princess Nina of Greece, and Matthew Kumar, the fiancé of his daughter Princess Theodora of Greece, visited the Royal Cemetery to check on the clean-up effort.

After the funeral, King Constantine’s coffin was driven 18 miles/29 kilometers to Tatoi Palace in a convoy of forty cars carrying family and guests and accompanied by a police escort and two helicopters. Family, close friends, and some foreign royalty attended the burial. After a short ceremony at the Church of the Resurrection near the Royal Cemetery, King Constantine was buried next to his parents King Paul who died in 1964, and Queen Frederica who died in 1981.

King Constantine’s coffin is carried from the Church of the Resurrection to his grave

Constantine’s sons Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos, and Prince Philippos and his grandsons carried the coffin from the Church of the Resurrection to the grave. No press or photographers were allowed at the burial although the Private Office of HM King Constantine of Greece later provided photos of the burial.

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Family Background

Left to right: Constantine, his mother Queen Frederica, his elder sister Sofia, his younger sister Irene, and his father King Paul I in 1947; Photo Credit – www.britannica.com

King Constantine II was well-connected to many current and former royal families of Europe. King Constantine II’s parents were King Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover, both descendants of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom‘s eldest daughter Victoria, Princess Royal who married Friedrich III, German Emperor. Through his father, King Constantine II was also a descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark.

The descendants of Queen Victoria sit upon the thrones of Denmark, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and, the United Kingdom. King Christian IX’s descendants sit upon the thrones of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Their descendants also sat upon many former European thrones including Greece, Romania, and Serbia. Therefore, a large contingent of foreign royalty attended the funeral. Because King Constantine’s funeral was a private funeral and not a state funeral, many of the approximately 200 guests who attended the funeral were close or extended family members and other people close to the Greek royal family.

Royal Guests with Their Relationship to King Constantine II

King Constantine’s family

Family Members

Current Monarchies

Foreign royalty attending the funeral: In the front row are the monarchs of Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain, sitting in precedence according to the length of reign from right to left. Other members of royal families are behind them

Former Monarchies

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran, Stephanie, Margravine of Baden and Bernhard, Margrave of Baden

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Works Cited

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