Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, except during the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1814). The House of Este ruled the duchy from 1452 – 1796, and then the House of Austria-Este ruled from 1814 – 1859. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and added the duchy to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803.

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio was born an Archduke of Austria-Este on October 6, 1779, at the Royal Palace of Milan in Milan, Duchy of Milan, now in Italy. Francesco Giuseppe Carlo Ambrogio Stanislao was the fifth of the ten children and the second but the eldest surviving of five sons of Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right. At the time of Francesco’s birth, the Duchy of Milan was under Austrian Habsburg rule and his father was the Governor of Milan.

The marriage of Francesco’s parents, Ferdinand Karl and Maria Beatrice, created the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Francesco’s paternal grandparents were Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. His maternal grandparents were Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio and Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara.

Francesco’s parents with his two eldest surviving sisters; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco had nine siblings:

In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte. Francesco’s grandfather Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio was deposed and exiled, and then the duchy was added to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803. When Maria Beatrice’s mother died in 1790, she succeeded her as the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara. However, as the Duchy of Modena and Reggio did not allow female succession, Maria Beatrice’s rights to the throne of Modena and Reggio passed to her son Francesco when her father died. In 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, Francesco was recognized as Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio by the Congress of Vienna. After the death of his mother in 1829, the Duchy of Massa and Carrara was annexed to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.

Francesco’s wife Maria Beatrice of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 20, 1812, at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God and Saint Cecilia in Cagliari, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy, 33-year-old Francesco married his 20-year-old niece Maria Beatrice of Savoy, the daughter of his sister Maria Theresa and Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia. Due to their close relationship, a special dispensation was received for their marriage from Pope Pius VII. Maria Beatrice was one of the four surviving children of Francesco’s sister Maria Theresa who married Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia. Francesco was convinced that if he married Maria Beatrice, and her father and his two surviving brothers had no sons, he could become King of Sardinia. Francesco’s sister (and his mother-in-law) Maria Theresa was accused of trying to convince her childless brother-in-law Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia to name her brother Francesco as the heir to the throne of Sardinia and was exiled from the Kingdom of Sardinia for a while. On his deathbed, Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia named Carlo Alberto, Prince of Carignano, the senior male member of the House of Savoy-Carignano, a cadet branch of the House of Savoy, as his heir.

Francesco and Maria Beatrice had four children:

While Francesco IV’s grandfather Ercole III reigned the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as an enlightened monarch who continued the reforms started by his father, Francesco IV’s reign was more autocratic. He saw conspiracies everywhere and was known for his stern and tyrannical rule and his repression of democratic movements. Francesco abolished all reforms and introduced censorship and the secret police. Like his mother, he believed that the people were never satisfied and that it was better to keep them as poor as possible. Francesco was reinforced in his extreme conservatism and his opposition to political or social change by the Jesuits, a religious order of the Catholic Church. He gave the Jesuits a great deal of authority, especially in the field of education.

Funeral chapel of the House of Este and House of Austria-Este at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio died January 21, 1846, aged 66, at the Ducal Palace in Modena, Duchy of Modena, now in Italy. He was buried with his wife Maria Beatrice who had died in 1840, at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena in the funeral chapel he had built in 1836 for members of his 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

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Karl,_Archduke_of_Austria-Este> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francis IV, Duke of Modena – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_IV,_Duke_of_Modena> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d%27Este,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice of Savoy – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_of_Savoy> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Sardinia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-of-austria-este-queen-of-sardinia/> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francesco IV d’Austria-Este – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_IV_d%27Austria-Este> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • Nl.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frans IV van Modena – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frans_IV_van_Modena> [Accessed 7 October 2021].

Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa and Carrara, Duchess of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, except during the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1814). The House of Este ruled the duchy from 1452 – 1796, and then the House of Austria-Este ruled from 1814 – 1859. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and added the duchy to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803.

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina was the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right from 1731 until she died in 1790, and the wife of Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. She was born on June 29, 1725, in Novellara, then in the County of Novellara and Bagnolo, later in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy. Maria Teresa was the eldest of the three children and the eldest of the three daughters of Alderano I, Duke of Massa and Carrara and Ricciarda Gonzaga from the Gonzaga branch of the Counts of Novellara. Maria Teresa’s father died on August 18, 1731, when she was just six years old, and she became the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara, in the Tuscany region of present-day Italy. Her mother served as regent until 1744.

Maria Teresa had two younger sisters:

  • Maria Anna Matilde Cybo-Malaspina (1726 – 1797), married Prince Orazio Albani, had three children
  • Maria Camilla Cybo-Malaspina (1728 – 1760), married Restaino Gioacchino di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart, Prince of Montemiletto, had one son

On November 10, 1734, nine-year-old Maria Teresa was married by proxy to twenty-year-old Prince Eugenio Giovanni Francesco of Savoy. However, Eugenio Giovanni Francesco died thirteen days later from typhoid fever. The couple had never met and the marriage was annulled because it was never consummated.

Maria Teresa’s husband Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 16, 1741, Maria Teresa married the future Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. The marriage was made at the insistence of Ercole’s father who wanted the Duchy of Massa and Carrara because of its access to the sea. The marriage was not a happy one. After Maria Teresa gave birth to two children, Ercole humiliated her with his open relationships with his mistresses. Eventually, the couple began to live apart. Ercole remained in the Ducal Palace in Modena and Maria Teresa moved to the Ducal Palace in Reggio Emilia.

Ercole and Maria Teresa had two children but only their daughter survived childhood:

Maria Teresa’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este with her husband Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and two of their ten children Archduchess Maria Leopoldine and Archduchess Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Teresa and Ercole’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand’s marriage created the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

As far as ruling her Duchy of Massa and Carrara, Maria Teresa was an enlightened ruler and demonstrated excellent administrative skills. She continued the work on the Via Vandelli, a road that connected Massa and Modena and had a hospital built in Massa. In 1769, Maria Teresa founded the Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara, a public academy of art in Carrara focusing on painting, sculpture, and architecture which is still in existence. The art academy complimented Carrara’s largest business, the quarrying of the famous Carrara marble, the white or blue-grey marble used in sculpture and building decor. Carrara marble has been used since the time of ancient Rome. It was used for many buildings of ancient Rome and Michelangelo used it for many of his sculptures. It is still an important industry in Carrara.

Funeral monument of Maria Teresa Cybo D’Este at the Basilica of the Madonna della Ghiara; Credit – Von Andrea.fusani – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48772495

Maria Teresa, Duchess of Massa and Carrara died at the age of 65 on December 29, 1790, at the Ducal Palace in Reggio Emilia, Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy. She was buried at the Basilica of the Madonna della Ghiara in Reggio Emilia. Maria Teresa’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este became the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara. After Maria Beatrice died in 1829, the Duchy of Massa and Carrara was annexed to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.

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

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d%27Este,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Cybo-Malaspina,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ercole-iii-deste-duke-of-modena-and-reggio/> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • geni_family_tree. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo Malaspina, duchessa di Massa e Carrara. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/people/Maria-Teresa-Cybo-Malaspina-duchessa-di-Massa-e-Carrara/6000000004140617051> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Cybo-Malaspina> [Accessed 7 October 2021].

Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, except during the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1814). The House of Este ruled the duchy from 1452 – 1796, and then the House of Austria-Este ruled from 1814 – 1859. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and added the duchy to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803.

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio was the last reigning duke from the House of Este that had reigned in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio from 1452 – 1796. Ercole Rinaldo was born on November 22, 1727, at the Ducal Palace in Modena, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy. He was the fourth of the nine children and the eldest surviving of the four sons of Francesco III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio and Princess Charlotte Aglaé of Orléans. Ercole’s paternal grandparents were Rinaldo d’Este, Duke of Modena, and Charlotte of Brunswick-Lüneburg. His maternal grandparents were Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (son of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans who was the brother of King Louis XIV of France) and Françoise-Marie de Bourbon (the legitimized daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan).

Ercole had eight siblings:

Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 16, 1741, Ercole married Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara, now in Italy. The marriage was made at the insistence of Ercole’s father who wanted the Duchy of Massa and Carrara because of its access to the sea. The marriage was not a happy one. After Maria Teresa gave birth to two children, Ercole humiliated her with his open relationships with his mistresses. Eventually, the couple began to live apart. Ercole remained in the Ducal Palace in Modena and Maria Teresa moved to the Ducal Palace in Reggio Emilia.

Ercole and Maria Teresa had two children but only their daughter survived childhood:

Ercole’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este with her husband Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and two of their ten children Archduchess Maria Leopoldine and Archduchess Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Ercole’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand’s marriage created the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. In 1790, upon the death of her mother, Maria Beatrice became the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara. After Maria Beatrice’s death in 1829, the Duchy of Massa and Carrara was annexed to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.

In 1795, five years after the death of his first wife, Ercole married his long-time mistress, the opera singer Chiara Marini (died 1800), and gave her the title Marchioness of Scandiano. They had one son, born 25 years before their marriage: Ercole Rinaldo d’Este who was a major general in the Modena army and was created Marquis of Scandiano in 1787. Ercole Rinaldo died unmarried in Modena on February 16, 1795, after a fall on a staircase.

Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio was considered an enlightened monarch who continued the reforms started by his father. He improved the infrastructure of his duchy, building bridges and roads. In 1785, Ercole established the Atestine Academy of Fine Arts, (link in Italian) a school that provided instruction in sculpture, painting, and architecture. The school is still in existence and is now called the Adolfo Venturi Higher Institute of Art. The arts and sciences flourished in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio during Ercole III’s reign. Scholars that Ercole sponsored included Lazzaro Spallanzani, a Catholic priest, biologist, and physiologist, Giovanni Battista Venturi, a physicist and the discoverer of the Venturi effect, Girolamo Tiraboschi, a literary critic and the first historian of Italian literature, and Lodovico Ricci, a historian and economist.

Funeral chapel of the Dukes of Modena in the Church of San Vincenzo, Modena; Credit – Di Marcordb – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85725981

In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. He was forced to flee to Venice on May 7, 1796, bringing with him a great deal of his personal wealth. In Venice, Ercole was the victim of armed robbery by French soldiers who stole some of his money from his home. After this incident, Ercole moved to the city of Treviso, north of Venice, where he died on October 14, 1803, at the age of 75. He was buried at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena. In 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, Ercole’s grandson, the son of Maria Beatrice d’Este and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV, Duke of Modena.

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

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ercole_III_d%27Este,_Duke_of_Modena> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d%27Este,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Cybo-Malaspina,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ercole III d’Este – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ercole_III_d%27Este> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Cybo-Malaspina> [Accessed 7 October 2021].

Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen was the first pretender to the former throne of Saxony, and head of the House of Saxony, from 1932 until his death in 1968.

Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen photo: Wikipedia

Prince Friedrich Christian Albert Leopold Anno Sylvester Macarius of Saxony was born in Dresden on December 31, 1893, the second son of the last King of Saxony, King Friedrich August III of Saxony and his wife Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany. He had six siblings:

After studying at the Military Academy in Dresden, Friedrich Christian served during World War I in the General Staff on the Western Front. Due to his fluency in several languages, he was sent on diplomatic missions to Spain, Turkey, and Austria. The Saxony monarchy ended in November 1918 when the German Empire collapsed and his father abdicated. Friedrich Christian then devoted his time to academics, studying law at universities in Cologne, Freiburg, Wroclaw, and Würzburg. After earning his degree, he taught art history privately before being asked by his father to take over the management of the family’s estates in Saxony and Silesia.

On June 16, 1923 in Regensburg, Friedrich Christian married Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn und Taxis, the daughter of Albert, 8th Prince of Thurn und Taxis and Archduchess Margarethe Klementine of Austria. Together, the couple had five children:

  • Prince Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen (1926) – married Princess Anastasia of Anhalt, no issue
  • Princess Maria Josepha (1928) – unmarried
  • Princess Anna (1929) – married Roberto de Afif, had issue
  • Prince Albert, Margrave of Meissen (1934) – married Elmira Henke, no issue
  • Princess Mathilde (1936) – married Prince Johannes Heinrich of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had issue

That same year, Friedrich Christian became heir apparent to the former throne of Saxony when his elder brother renounced his rights to the throne and entered the priesthood. Nine years later, in February 1932, his father died and Friedrich Christian became Head of the House of Saxony and pretender to the former throne. At that time, he took on the historic title Margrave of Meissen. Over the next years, the family moved around quite a bit – living in Bamberg for several years before settling at Wachwitz Castle in Dresden until 1945. Moving several more times, they eventually settled in Munich in 1955.

Burial site at the Königskapelle. photo: Wikipedia

Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen, died on August 9, 1968 in Samedan, Switzerland. Some years earlier, he had chosen the Königskapelle in Karrösten, North Tyrol to be his future burial site, instead of Dresden Cathedral, the traditional burial site for the Saxon family. He had a crypt designed in the grounds next to the chapel and is buried there alongside his wife and eldest son.

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Saxony Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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

Frederiksborg Castle Church in Hillerød, Denmark

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Frederiksborg Castle; Credit – By Casper Moller from London, United Kingdom – Frederiksborg Castle – home of the Danish National History Museum; this file from Commons, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29657236

Frederiksborg Castle Church, located in Frederiksborg Castle, is a church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, sometimes called The Church of Denmark, the established, state-supported church in Denmark. Frederiksborg Castle is located in Hillerød, Denmark on the island of Zealand 18 miles/30 km north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle acquired by his father King Frederik II. Christian IV had been born at the castle and became quite attached to his birthplace. However, he decided to have it completely rebuilt in the Flemish and Dutch Renaissance styles. The old castle was demolished in 1599 and the Flemish architect Hans van Steenwinckel the Elder designed the new castle.

The Castle Fire of 1859, painting by Ferdinand Richardt; Credit – Wikipedia

The castle ceased to be used as a royal residence by the end of the 18th century and was used to house the royal collection of portraits. In the mid-19th century, King Frederik VII and his morganatic third wife Louise Rasmussen, Countess Danner began to use Frederiksborg Castle as a residence. On the evening of December 16, 1859, King Frederik VII was examining his historic artifacts in a room on the third floor. The night was cold and so Frederik VII asked for a fire to be lit. However, the chimney was under repair and a fire broke out. The fire spread quickly, causing major damage to most of the castle but the castle chapel, the audience chamber, and the privy passage survived the fire.

The Danish royal family decided that they would no longer use the castle as a residence and so a discussion began regarding the future purpose of the castle. J. C. Jacobsen, the founder of Carlsberg Brewery, proposed the establishment of a museum of national history at Frederiksborg Castle and he offered to pay for both the reconstruction of Frederiksborg Castle and the museum’s future expenses. Jacobsen created the Carlsberg Foundation and allocated some of his shares in the Carlsberg Brewery to fund and operate the Danish Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Palace and the Carlsberg Research Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish Museum of National History opened in 1882 and has since been an independent department of the Carlsberg Foundation.

The church wing; Credit – By Bjoertvedt – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23828113

The current castle church, built when Christian IV rebuilt Frederiksborg Castle, was consecrated in 1617. It escaped being damaged in the 1859 fire. The church is located in the west wing of the three-winged castle. The castle church extends along the entire length of the west wing with a long nave and a two-story gallery. The six-vaulted stucco ceiling is supported by pillars rising from the galleries. The pillars are decorated with frescos of Biblical figures, painted in the 1690s. The altarpiece and pulpit were made by German silversmith Jacob Mores.

The interior of the Fredriksborg Palace Church; Credit – By Marshallhenrie – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42323005

The altarpiece and pulpit; Credit – Wikipedia

During the period of absolute monarchy (1660 – 1848) the Kings of Denmark and their Queens Consort were anointed in the Frederiksborg Castle Church except for King Christian VII and his wife Caroline Matilda of Wales whose anointing took place at held in the Christiansborg Palace Chapel in Copenhagen. The new king would arrive at the Frederiksborg Castle Church already wearing the crown, where he was then anointed.

Since 1693, the castle church has been the chapel of the two Royal Orders of Chivalry in Denmark: the Order of the Elephant and the Order of Dannebrog.

Royal Events at Frederiksborg Castle Church

Anointing of King Christian V and Queen Charlotte Amalie at Frederiksborg Castle Church in 1671; Credit – Wikipedia

Anointing of King Frederik VI at Frederiksborg Castle Church in 1815; Credit – Wikipedia

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

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frederiksborg Slot – Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederiksborg_Slot> [Accessed 29 August 2021].
  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frederiksborg Slotskirke – Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederiksborg_Slotskirke> [Accessed 29 August 2021].
  • Danish National History Museum. 2021. Frederiksborg Castle – Frederiksborg. [online] Available at: <https://dnm.dk/en/frederiksborg-castle/> [Accessed 29 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Coronation of the Danish monarch – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_the_Danish_monarch> [Accessed 29 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frederiksborg Castle – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederiksborg_Castle> [Accessed 29 August 2021].

Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl X Gustav became King of Sweden upon the abdication of his cousin Christina, Queen of Sweden. Born Karl Gustav of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg on November 8, 1622, at Nyköping Castle in Nyköping, Sweden, he was the third of the eight children and the eldest of the three sons of Johann Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Princess Katarina of Sweden. His paternal grandparents were Johann I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. His maternal grandparents were Karl IX, King of Sweden and his first wife Maria of the Palatinate-Simmern. Karl Gustav’s mother Katarina of Sweden was the only surviving child of her parents and the half-sister of Gustavus II Adolphus the Great, King of Sweden.

Karl Gustav had seven siblings:


Karl Gustav’s parents: Princess Katarina of Sweden and Johann Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg: Credit – Wikipedia

In 1622, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden asked his half-sister Katarina to move back to Sweden with her husband Johann Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg, and their children. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, brother of Gustavus Adolphus and half-brother of Katarina, had died in early 1622, leaving no heirs to the Swedish throne except Katarina and her children. At the time, the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648) was raging through the territories of the German monarchies and Gustavus Adolphus wanted to move Katarina and her family to safety in Sweden. They arrived in Sweden in June 1622 and remained permanently in Sweden. Later that year, the birth of Katarina’s son Karl Gustav, a male heir to the throne of Sweden, immediately strengthened her position. Katarina and her husband were granted Stegeborg Castle and Östergötland as their fief and Katarina was styled Countess of Stegeborg.

Gustavus Adolphus’ wife Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg had given birth to a stillborn daughter in 1621, a daughter named Christina in 1623 who lived for only eleven months, and a stillborn son in 1625. Finally, in 1626, she gave birth to a child who survived, a girl named Christina. Gustavus Adolphus ordered the birth to be announced with all the ceremonies usually given to the birth of a male heir. This seems to indicate that Gustavus Adolphus had little hope of having other children. Maria Eleonora’s state of health seems to be the most likely explanation for this. Gustavus Adolphus recognized Christina’s eligibility as a female heir and she became the undisputed heir presumptive. Maria Eleonora showed little affection for her daughter and was not allowed any influence in Christina’s upbringing. Christina was placed in the care of Gustavus Adolphus’ half-sister Katarina under the supervision of Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna. Six years later, at the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years’ War, Gustavus Adolphus was killed and six-year-old Christina became Queen of Sweden.

Christina, Queen of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

Christina, who was very well educated and was considered one of the most learned women of the 17th century, was raised with Karl Gustav and his siblings. After being educated by tutors, Karl Gustav studied at Uppsala University. From 1638 – 1640, Karl Gustav was on a foreign educational trip, mainly at the court of Louis XIII, King of France. After returning to Sweden, Karl Gustav embedded with the Swedish army fighting in the Thirty Years’ War, studying the art of war under Lennart Torstenson, a Swedish Field Marshal and military engineer. He participated in the Second Battle of Breitenfeld (1642) and the Battle of Jankowitz (1645). Karl Gustav then frequented the Swedish court, as a prospective husband of his cousin Queen Christina. In 1647, Queen Christina appointed Karl Gustav commander of the Swedish troops fighting in the German monarchies and at the same time signaled her intention to marry him.

However, in 1649, 23-year-old Christina informed the council of state of her decision not to marry anyone and that she wanted her cousin Karl Gustav to be her heir. As a child, Christina had been impressed by the Catholic religion and the celibacy of its priests. She read a biography on the unmarried Queen Elizabeth I of England with great interest. Furthermore, Christina was investigating the possibility of converting to Roman Catholicism, and in 1652, she decided to do so, although the conversion would not occur until 1654 after her abdication. After reigning for twenty years and working at least ten hours a day, Christina had what may be interpreted as a nervous breakdown, or perhaps in more modern terms, she was burned out. She was also receiving increasing public criticism for her policies that caused a drain on the Swedish treasury.

In February 1654, Christina informed the Council of State that she intended to abdicate. An abdication ceremony was held on June 6, 1654, at Uppsala Castle. Later that day, Christina’s cousin Karl Gustav of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg was crowned Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden. Within a few days, 28-year-old Christina left Sweden. She eventually made her way to Rome where she lived for the rest of her life.

Karl Gustav’s wife Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp; Credit – Wikipedia

The 32-year-old new King of Sweden was unmarried as he had expected he would marry Christina. He needed to find a bride as soon as possible to provide an heir. The former Queen Christina of Sweden had met Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, daughter of Friedrich III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and Marie Elisabeth of Saxony, on her way to Rome after her abdication. Concerned that Karl Gustav was unmarried, Christina suggested the match. However, Hedwig Eleonora was already engaged to Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, and so Christina recommended Hedwig Eleonora’s elder sister Magdalene Sibylle instead. After seeing portraits of both sisters, Karl Gustav chose Hedwig Eleonora because of her beauty, and her current fiancé was instead married to her sister Magdalena Sibylle.

The wedding of Karl Gustav and Hedwig Eleonora; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 24, 1654, the day after her eighteenth birthday, Hedwig Eleonora married Karl Gustav at the Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm, Sweden. Three days later, Hedwig Eleonora was crowned Queen of Sweden at the Storkrykan (Great Church) in Stockholm.

Karl Gustav and Hedwig Eleonora had only one child, a son who succeeded his father:

Triumph of Karl X Gustav over the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, circa 1655; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl Gustav’s short reign concentrated on healing domestic discords from Queen Christina’s reign and rallying Sweden around his new policy of conquest. He achieved great military successes in the Second Northern War against Denmark-Norway and Poland-Lithuania.

On January 4, 1660, the Riksdag of the Estates opened in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Riksdag of the Estates was the assembly of the Four Estates of Sweden which historically were the lines of division in Swedish society. Karl Gustav was in attendance and was accompanied by his wife Hedwig Eleonora, their four-year-old son Karl, and Karl Gustav’s sister Marie Euphrosine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg who had married Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, then the Lord High Treasurer of Sweden. Within a few weeks, Karl Gustav became ill with influenza which developed into pneumonia.

On February 12, 1660, Karl Gustav became increasingly ill with a high fever and had difficulty breathing. He signed his will appointing a regency of six relatives and close friends for his four-year-old son who would soon be Karl XI, King of Sweden. Karl Gustav said goodbye to his wife, his son, and his closest friends. In the early evening, his condition worsened again and he could not lie down due to his breathing difficulties. He was held up in the arms of Marshal Gabriel Oxenstierna and Count Nils Brahe. At midnight, the doctors announced that death was approaching, and Karl Gustav said goodbye to those present again. Karl IX Gustav, King of Sweden died at the age of 37 in the early morning hours of February 13, 1660. He was buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden. His wife Hedwig Eleonora survived her husband by fifty-five years and her son by eighteen years, dying on November 24, 1715, in Stockholm, Sweden at the age of 79. She was buried with her husband at Riddarholmen Church.

Sarcophagus of Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

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

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles X Gustav of Sweden – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_X_Gustav_of_Sweden> [Accessed 28 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedwig_Eleonora_of_Holstein-Gottorp> [Accessed 28 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Catherine of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Sweden,_Countess_Palatine_of_Kleeburg> [Accessed 28 August 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Christina, Queen of Sweden. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/christina-queen-of-sweden/> [Accessed 28 August 2021].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2021. Karl X Gustav – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_X_Gustav> [Accessed 28 August 2021].

Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse is the current pretender to the former grand ducal throne of Hesse and by Rhine, and Head of the House of Hesse. He succeeded to both upon his father’s death in 2013.

 

Heinrich Donatus Philipp Umberton, Prince of Hesse, was born in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein on October 17, 1966, the son of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse and Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. He has three siblings:

  • Mafalda (1965) – married (1) Enrico dei Conti Marone Cinzano, no issue; (2) Carlo Galdo, has issue; (3) Ferdinando Peretti, has issue
  • Elena (1967) – unmarried, has issue
  • Philip (1970) – married Laetitia Bechtoff, has issue

 

In 2003, Donatus married Countess Floria Franziska von Faber-Castell. A civil ceremony was held in Wiesbaden on April 25, 2003, followed by a religious ceremony held at St. John’s Church in Kronberg on May 17, 2003. Their reception was held in the Green Salon at the former Schloss Friedrichshof (now Schlosshotel Kronberg). Guests included Princess Benedikte of Denmark (the groom’s aunt), and Princess Caroline of Monaco, The Princess of Hanover. Donatus and Floria have three children:

  • Paulina Princess of Hesse (born 2007)
  • Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Hesse (born 2007)
  • August, Prince of Hesse (born 2012)

Having studied Business Administration at the University of Hamburg, the Landgrave runs the Hesse Family Foundation which manages the numerous estates and assets of the Hessian family. These include the former Schloss Friedrichshof, Schloss Fasanerie, the Grandhotel Hessischer Hof, the Prince of Hesse Winery, Schloss Wolfsgarten, and the Gut Panker estate (the latter two are the family’s private residences).

 

Donatus maintains close ties with the British Royal Family and is often invited to events such as the Royal Windsor Horse Show. In 2016, he was seated next to the Duchess of Cambridge at an event for the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations. In 2021, he was part of a very small group of family members invited to attend the funeral of The Duke of Edinburgh. Donatus and his wife also attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and Donatus attended the coronation of King Charles III.

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Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma was the second wife of Ferdinando IV, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany. At the time of their marriage in 1868, Ferdinando was no longer the reigning Grand Duke of Tuscany because of the unification of the former Italian monarchies into the Kingdom of Italy. However, Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Head of the House of Habsburg-Lorriane, of which Ferdinando was a member, allowed Ferdinando to keep the grand ducal title as a courtesy. Ferdinando’s descendants could only use the title of Archduke or Archduchess of Austria.

Alicia Maria Carolina Ferdinanda Rachael Giovanna Filomena was born in Parma, Duchy of Parma, now in Italy, on December 27, 1849. She was the third of the four children and the second of the two daughters of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France, who was a granddaughter of King Charles X of France. Alicia’s paternal grandparents were Carlo II, Duke of Parma and Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Charles Ferdinand of France, Duke of Berry and Princess Carolina of Naples and Sicily.

Alicia had three siblings:

The authoritarian policies of Alicia’s father Carlo III, Duke of Parma made him unpopular. He placed Parma under martial law, inflicted heavy penalties on the members of the former provisional government, closed the university, and instituted persecution policies. His authoritarian policies made him unpopular, and after reigning only five years, he was assassinated on March 27, 1854. Alicia’s six-year-old brother Roberto became Duke of Parma with his mother as regent. In 1859, the Duchy of Parma was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Louise Marie Thérèse and her four children, circa 1860, left to right: Roberto, Margherita, Enrico, and Alicia; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise Marie Thérèse and her four children made their way to Venice where they lived temporarily under Austrian protection. The Bourbon-Parma family had considerable wealth and later lived in exile at Schwarzau Castle (now a prison, link in German) at Schwarzau am Steinfeld near Vienna, Austria, the Villa Pianore (link in Italian) in northwest Italy, and the magnificent Château de Chambord in France.

In January 1864, 15-year-old Alicia became engaged to 23-year-old Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein. Johann, who never married and reigned for seventy years, broke the engagement in December 1864. He argued that because Liechtenstein was part of the German Confederation, a marriage to Alicia, who was descended from the French royal family on her mother’s side, could cause problems. However, according to some contemporary sources, Johann had broken the engagement because he was allegedly homosexual.

Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 11, 1868, at Schloss Frohsdorf (link in German) in Lanzenkirchen, Austria, a property owned by the family of Alicia’s mother Louise Marie Thérèse of France, Alicia married the former Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ferdinando lost his throne due to the Italian unification and was in exile like Alicia’s family. This was a second marriage for Ferdinando. He previously had been married to Princess Anna of Saxony, daughter of Johann, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. On February 6, 1859, Anna miscarried a daughter due to typhoid fever. Four days later Anna died at the age of twenty-three.

Alicia had a stepdaughter from Ferdinando’s first marriage:

Alicia and Ferdinando had ten children:

  • Archduke Leopold Ferdinand of Austria (1868 – 1935), renounced his titles in 1902 and took the name Leopold Wölfling, married (1) Wilhelmine Adamovicz, no children, divorced (2) Maria Magdalena Ritter, no children, divorced (3) Klara Hedwig Pawlowski, no children
  • Archduchess Louise of Austria (1870 – 1947), married (1) Crown Prince Friedrich August of Saxony (the future King Friedrich August III), had six children, divorced due to a scandal (2) Enrico Toselli, had one son, divorced
  • Archduke Giuseppe Ferdinando of Austria (1872 – 1942), married (1) Rosa Kaltenbrunner, no children, divorced (2) Gertrud Tomanek, had two children
  • Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria (1874 – 1948), married Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had four children
  • Archduke Heinrich Ferdinand of Austria (1878 – 1969), married Maria Karoline Ludescher, had three children
  • Archduchess Anna of Austria (1879 – 1961), married Johannes, Prince of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, had six children
  • Archduchess Margareta of Austria (1881 – 1965), unmarried
  • Archduchess Germana of Austria (1884 – 1955), unmarried
  • Archduke Robert Ferdinand Salvator (1885 – 1895), died in childhood
  • Archduchess Agnes of Austria (1891 – 1945), unmarried

Salzburg Residenz; Credit – By Andrew Bossi – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2871239

Ferdinando and Alicia lived at the Villa Tuscany in Lindau, Austria during the summer, and during the winter they lived in a wing of the Salzburg Residenz, formerly the residence of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. Both residences were provided by Ferdinando’s second cousin Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria. In 1870, Ferdinando relinquished all dynastic rights to the former Grand Duchy of Tuscany for himself, his children, and his future heirs in favor of Franz Joseph I and his future heirs.

Ferdinando died in Salzburg, Austria on January 17, 1908, at the age of 72. He was buried in the Tuscan Vault at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. His second wife Alicia survived him by twenty-seven years, dying on January 16, 1935, aged 85, at Schloss Schwertburg (link in German) in Schwertburg, Austria. She was first buried in Schwertburg and in 2007, her remains were reburied in the cemetery of the parish church in St. Gilgen, Austria.

Parish church and cemetery in St. Gilgen, Austria; Credit – By Bwag – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93056877

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.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles III, Duke of Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III,_Duke_of_Parma> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Alice of Bourbon-Parma (born 1849) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Alice_of_Bourbon-Parma_(born_1849)> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Louise d’Artois – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Louise_d%27Artois> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-iv-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2021. Alice de Bourbon-Parme (1849-1935) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_de_Bourbon-Parme_(1849-1935)> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Alice di Borbone-Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_di_Borbone-Parma> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.

Anna of Saxony, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Anna of Saxony, Princess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna of Saxony was the first wife of the future Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. However, she died before her husband became Grand Duke. Anna Maria Maximiliane Stephania Karoline Johanna Luisa Xaveria Nepomucena Aloysia Benedicta was born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony on January 4, 1836. She was the seventh of the nine children and the fourth of the six daughters of Johann, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Anna’s paternal grandparents were Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony and his first wife Carolina of Bourbon-Parma. Her maternal grandparents were Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden.

Anna had eight siblings:

Ferdinando of Tuscany, Anna’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna’s father was a close friend of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The two families were linked by several marriages. A marriage between Anna and Leopoldo’s eldest son and heir Ferdinando, Hereditary Grand Duke of Tuscany was negotiated when the future bride and groom were still children. Anna and Ferdinando were married on November 24, 1856, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony.

Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. On February 6, 1859, during a trip to Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, Anna miscarried a daughter due to typhoid fever. Four days later Anna died at the age of twenty-three. She was buried at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

Anna and Ferdinando’s daughter Maria Antonietta, circa 1875; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando and Anna had one surviving daughter:

Shortly after Anna’s death, on April 27, 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinando IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy, and Ferdinando’s hopes to reclaim the throne were ended. Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. On January 11, 1868, Ferdinando married Princess Alice of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse of France. and the couple had ten children.

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.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Maria von Sachsen – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Maria_von_Sachsen> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Anna of Saxony (1836–1859) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Anna_of_Saxony_(1836%E2%80%931859)> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-iv-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Maria di Sassonia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Maria_di_Sassonia> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2017. Johann, King of Saxony. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/johann-king-of-saxony/> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

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Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany: Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando IV was the last Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ferdinando Salvatore Maria Giuseppe Giovan Battista Francesco Luigi Gonzaga Raffaello Ranieri Gennaro was born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, on June 10, 1835. He was the second of the ten children and the eldest of the five sons of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his second wife Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Ferdinando’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his first wife Luisa of Naples and Sicily. His maternal grandparents were Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain.

Ferdinando had three half-sisters from his father’s first marriage to Maria Anna of Saxony who died from tuberculosis in 1832.

Ferdinando had nine siblings:

Princess Anna of Saxony, Ferdinando’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 24, 1856, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, Ferdinando married Princess Anna of Saxony, daughter of Johann, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. On February 6, 1859, Anna miscarried a daughter due to typhoid fever. Four days later Anna died at the age of twenty-three. She was buried at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

Ferdinando and Anna had one surviving daughter:

Shortly after Anna’s death, on April 27, 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. Ferdinando was unable to return to Florence to claim his throne, and an elected Tuscan National Assembly formally deposed him on August 16, 1859. Ferdinando hoped to recover his throne because France and Austria had promised to recognize his rights. However, neither France nor Austria was willing to take any steps to bring about his restoration. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy, and Ferdinand’s hopes to reclaim the throne were ended. Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine put some limits on the use of titles and dynastic rights on Ferdinando’s branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Ferdinando was allowed to keep the grand ducal title as a courtesy but his descendants could only use the title of Archduke or Archduchess of Austria. Only family members born before 1866 could use the title Prince or Princess of Tuscany. In 1870, Ferdinando relinquished all dynastic rights to the former Grand Duchy of Tuscany for himself and his future heirs in favor of his second cousin Emperor Franz Joseph I and his future heirs. Upon Ferdinando’s death in 1908, his descendants were barred from using any Tuscan titles by Imperial decree.

Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Ferdinando’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 11, 1868, at Schloss Frohsdorf (link in German) in Lanzenkirchen, Austria, Ferdinando married Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse of France.

Ferdinando and Alicia had ten children:

  • Archduke Leopold Ferdinand of Austria (1868 – 1935), renounced his titles in 1902 and took the name Leopold Wölfling, married (1) Wilhelmine Adamovicz, no children, divorced (2) Maria Magdalena Ritter, no children, divorced (3) Klara Hedwig Pawlowski, no children
  • Archduchess Louise of Austria (1870 – 1947), married (1) Crown Prince Friedrich August of Saxony (the future King Friedrich August III), had six children, divorced due to a scandal (2) Enrico Toselli, had one son, divorced
  • Archduke Giuseppe Ferdinando of Austria (1872 – 1942), married (1) Rosa Kaltenbrunner, no children, divorced (2) Gertrud Tomanek, had two children
  • Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria (1874 – 1948), married Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had four children
  • Archduke Heinrich Ferdinand of Austria (1878 – 1969), married Maria Karoline Ludescher, had three children
  • Archduchess Anna of Austria (1879 – 1961), married Johannes, Prince of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, had six children
  • Archduchess Margareta of Austria (1881 – 1965), unmarried
  • Archduchess Germana of Austria (1884 – 1955), unmarried
  • Archduke Robert Ferdinand Salvator (1885 – 1895), died in childhood
  • Archduchess Agnes of Austria (1891 – 1945), unmarried

Salzburg Residenz; Credit – By Andrew Bossi – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2871239

From 1868, Ferdinando and his second wife Alicia lived at the Villa Tuscany in Lindau, Austria during the summer, and during the winter they lived in a wing of the Salzburg Residenz, formerly the residence of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. Both residences were provided by Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria.

Ferdinando in 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando died in Salzburg, Austria on January 17, 1908, at the age of 72. He was buried in the Tuscan Vault in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. His second wife Alicia survived him by twenty-seven years, dying on January 16, 1935, aged 85, at Schloss Schwertburg (link in German) in Schwertburg, Austria. She was first buried in Schwertburg and in 2007, her remains were reburied in the cemetery of the parish church in St. Gilgen, Austria.

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Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand IV. (Toskana) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_IV._(Toskana)> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_IV,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopoldo-ii-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinando IV di Toscana – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_IV_di_Toscana> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.