On this date in History: May 30, 1574. Death of King Charles IX of France.

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Charles IX of France, Duke of Anjou, Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth of Austria, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Henry III of France, Henry IV of France, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Poland, Kings and Queens of France, Mary Queen of Scots, Philip II of Spain

On this date in History: May 30, 1574. Death of King Charles IX of France and the accession of his brother, the Duke of Anjou, as King Henri III of France.

King Charles IX of France

Born Prince Charles Maximilian de Valois, third son of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici, in the royal chateau of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and styled Duke of Angoulêm from birth, he was created Duke of Orléans after the death of his older brother Louis, his parents’ second son, who had died in infancy on October 24, 1560.

King Henri II died on July 10, 1559, and was succeeded by his eldest son, King Francis II (who married Mary I, Queen of Scots on April 6, 1558). After Francis II’s short rule, (Francis II died December 5, 1560) the ten-year-old Charles Maximilian was immediately proclaimed King Charles IX of France. When Francis II died, the Privy Council appointed his mother, Catherine de’ Medici, as governor of France (gouvernante de France), with sweeping powers, at first acting as regent for her young son. On May 15, 1561, Charles IX was consecrated in the cathedral at Reims. Prince Antoine of Bourbon, himself in line to the French throne and husband to Queen Joan III of Navarre, was appointed Lieutenant-General of France.

On November 26, 1570 Charles IX married Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, the daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria of Spain (daughter of Carl V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, and Isabella of Portugal). With her flawless white skin, long blond hair and perfect physique, Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria was considered one of the great beauties of the era. She was also regarded as demure, pious, and warmhearted but naive and intensely innocent because of her sheltered upbringing.

Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria

Very early, around 1559, a match between Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria and the future King Charles IX of France was suggested. In 1562, the Maréchal de Vieilleville, a member of the French delegation sent to Vienna, after seeing the eight-year-old princess, exclaimed: “Your Majesty, this is the Queen of France!“. Although Vieilleville was not entitled to make an offer, Elisabeth’s grandfather, the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, appeared interested: gifts were exchanged and contacts initiated between the two courts — but no one bothered to teach French to the young princess.

In 1559, after the failure of marriage plans with King Frederik II of Denmark and Prince Sebastian of Portugal, the French offer was seriously considered. Catherine de’ Medici, mother of Charles IX, and the power behind the throne, initially preferred Elisabeth’s elder sister Anna; but the latter was already chosen as the new wife of her uncle King Felipe II of Spain. Catherine de’ Medici finally agreed to the marriage with the younger Elisabeth, as France absolutely needed a Catholic marriage in order to combat the Protestant party, the Huguenots, as well as to cement an alliance between the Habsburg and the French Crown. Charles IX and Elizabeth of Austria failed to produce a male heir and the king and queen produced one daughter on October 27, 1572, born in the Louvre Palace. The child was named Marie Elisabeth after her grandmother, Empress Maria, and Queen Elizabeth I of England, who were her godmothers. In 1573, Charles IX fathered an illegitimate son, Charles, Duke of Angoulême, with his mistress, Marie Touchet.

Most of Charles IX ‘s nearly fourteen year reign was dominated by religious wars. After decades of tension, war broke out between Protestants and Catholics after the massacre of Vassy in 1562. In 1572, after several unsuccessful peace attempts, Charles ordered the marriage of his sister Margaret of Valois to King Henri III of Navarre (the future King Henri IV of France), a major Protestant nobleman who was in the line of succession to the French throne, in a last desperate bid to reconcile his people. Facing popular hostility against this policy of appeasement, Charles allowed the massacre of all Huguenot leaders who gathered in Paris for the royal wedding at the instigation of his mother Catherine de’ Medici. This event, known as the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre, was a significant blow to the Huguenot movement, though religious civil warfare soon began anew. Charles sought to take advantage of the disarray of the Huguenots by ordering the Siege of La Rochelle, but was unable to take the Protestant stronghold.

In the aftermath of the massacre, the king’s fragile mental and physical constitution weakened drastically. His moods swung from boasting about the extremity of the massacre to exclamations that the screams of the murdered Huguenots kept ringing in his ears. Frantically, he blamed alternately himself – “What blood shed! What murders!”, he cried to his nurse. “What evil counsel I have followed! O my God, forgive me… I am lost! I am lost!” – or his mother – “Who but you is the cause of all of this? God’s blood, you are the cause of it all!” Catherine responded by declaring she had a lunatic for a son.

Charles’ physical condition, tending towards tuberculosis, deteriorated to the point where, by spring of 1574, his hoarse coughing turned bloody and his hemorrhages grew more violent.

On his last day, Charles IX called for King Henri III of Navarre, embraced him, and said, “Brother, you are losing a good friend. Had I believed all that I was told, you would not be alive. But I always loved you… I trust you alone to look after my wife and son. Pray God for me. Farewell.”

King Henri III of France

The previous year, May 16, 1573, Polish nobles chose Henri, Duke of Anjou, brother of King Charles IX, as the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania). Charles IX died on May 30, 1574, at the Château de Vincennes, aged twenty-three years and was succeeded by his brother as King Henri III of France. upon learning of the death of his brother Henri left Poland and headed back to France. Henri’s absence provoked a constitutional crisis that the Polish Parliament attempted to resolve by notifying Henri hat his throne would be lost if he did not return from France by May 12, 1575. His failure to return to Poland caused Parliament to declare his throne vacant.

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Charles II: Anniversary of his birth and restoration.

Written last year, Anniversary of the Birth and Restoration of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland.

European Royal History

On this date in history: May 29, 1630. The birth of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland. On this date in history, May 29, 1660 the restoration of Charles II.


The future Charles II was born at St James’s Palace on May 29, 1630. His parents were Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland) and Henrietta Maria de Bourbon of France, the youngest daughter of Henri IV, King of France and Navarre and Marie de’ Medici. This made Henrietta Maria the sister of the French king Louis XIII and aunt of Louis XIV. Charles was their second child. Their first son was Charles James, Duke of Cornwall born and died on March 13, 1629.


Charles was baptized in the Chapel Royal, on June 27, 1630 by the Anglican Bishop of London, William Laud. The three kingdoms were experiencing great religious diversity at this time. England was predominantly…

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On this date in History: birth of Princess Victoria-Mary of Teck, May 26, 1867.

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Duke of Cambridge, Franz Duke of Teck, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Prince Albert Victor, Prince of Wales, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Queen Consort, Queen Mary, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Victoria Mary (May) of Teck

HSH Princess Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; (May 26, 1867 – March 24, 1953) was technically a princess of Teck, in the Kingdom of Württemberg, yet she was born and raised in the United Kingdom. Her parents were Francis, Duke of Teck, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge.

HM Queen Mary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Mary’s father, Francis, Duke of Teck, was born on August 26, 1837 in Esseg, Slavonia (now Osijek, Croatia), and christened Franz Paul Karl Ludwig Alexander. His father was Duke Alexander of Württemberg, the son of Duke Ludwig of Württemberg. His mother was Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde. The marriage was morganatic, meaning that Francis had no succession rights to the Kingdom of Württemberg. His title at birth was Count Francis von Hohenstein, after his mother was created Countess von Hohenstein in her own right by Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria. In 1863, Francis was created Prince of Teck, with the style of Serene Highness, in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He was created Duke of Teck by the King Carl I of Württemberg in 1871.

Mary’s mother, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge was born on November 27, 1833 in Hanover, Germany. Her father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the youngest surviving son of George III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Princess Mary Adelaide’s mother was Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, the daughter of Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Cassel. This means Princess Mary Adelaide and Queen Victoria were first cousins.

By the age of 30, Mary Adelaide was still unmarried. Her large girth (earning her the disparaging epithet of “Fat Mary”) and lack of income were contributing factors, as was her advanced age. However, her royal rank prevented her from marrying someone not of royal blood. Her cousin, Queen Victoria, took pity on her and attempted to arrange pairings.

Eventually a suitable candidate was found in Württemberg, Prince Francis of Teck. The Prince was of lower rank than Mary Adelaide, was the product of a morganatic marriage and had no succession rights to the throne of Württemberg, but was at least of princely title and of royal blood. With no other options available, Mary Adelaide decided to marry him. The couple were married on June 12, 1866 at St. Anne’s Church, Kew, Surrey.

Duke and Duchess of Teck with Princess Victoria Mary

Princess Victoria-Mary was their first child and only daughter and she was followed by:
▪Prince Adolphus of Teck (1868–1927); later Duke of Teck and Marquess of Cambridge.
* Prince Francis of Teck (1870–1910).
* Prince Alexander of Teck (1874–1957); later Earl of Athlone.

At the age of 24, Princess Victoria-Mary of Teck was betrothed to her second cousin once removed Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the eldest son of the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, but six weeks after the announcement of the engagement, Prince Albert Victor died unexpectedly during an influenza pandemic. The following year, she became engaged to His next surviving brother, George, who subsequently became king. Before her husband’s accession, she was successively Duchess of York, Duchess of Cornwall, and Princess of Wales.

HSH Princess Victoria Mary of Teck

As queen consort from 1910, she supported her husband through the First World War, his ill health, and major political changes arising from the aftermath of the war. After George’s death in 1936, she became queen mother when her eldest son, Edward VIII, ascended the throne, but to her dismay, he abdicated later the same year in order to marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. She supported her second son, George VI, until his death in 1952. She died the following year, during the reign of her granddaughter Elizabeth II, who had not yet been crowned.

Queen Mary with her granddaughters Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret of York.

Queen Mary has become the symbol of austerity and dignified royal demeanour, her eldest surviving son was not among the admirers.

“Upon her death from lung cancer in 1953, her son, David, Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII, remarked:

“I somehow feel that the fluids in her veins must always have been as icy-cold as they now are in death.”

(Brendon, Piers and Whitehead, Phillip. The Windsors: A Dynasty Revealed. (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1994)”

200th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom: May 24, 1819.

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Birthday, Duchess of Kent, Empress of India, George III, George IV, King William IV of the United Kingdom, Kingdom of the Belgians, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Leopld of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold I, Prince Regent, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld., Queen Victoria, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, The Duke of Kent

Following the death of Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales in November 1817, the only legitimate grandchild of George III at the time, the royal succession began to look uncertain. The Prince Regent and his younger brother Frederick, the Duke of York, though married, were estranged from their wives and had no surviving legitimate children. King George’s surviving daughters were all past likely childbearing age. The unmarried sons of King George III, the Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), the Duke of Kent, and the Duke of Cambridge, all rushed to contract lawful marriages and provide an heir to the throne. The fifth son of King George III, the Duke of Cumberland, was already married but had no living children at that time, whilst the marriage of the sixth son, the Duke of Sussex, was void because he had married in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772.

However, it was not that simple. For the Duke of Kent providing for the succession was not his sole motivator in finding a wife. Even before he disposed of the amiable Madame de Saint Laurent, the Duke of Kent had been secretly looking for a legitimate wife for financial reasons rather than dynastic reasons. The Duke of Kent knew that once he contracted a legitimate marriage he would be granted a steady income by Parliament. Princess Charlotte was still alive at this time and he promised her, along with her consort, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, to furnish continuity for the throne of Hanover.

HRH The Duchess of Kent

The Duke of Kent also realized that in Hanover, where the Salic Law applied to the German kingdom, only male heirs could reign in Hanover, therefore, if Princess Charlotte became Queen of the United Kingdom this would separate the personal union of the two countries and a secession of her oldest surviving childless uncles would, one after another, become the King of Hanover. The Duke of Kent envisioned that he would one day be the King of Hanover. For that he would need a Queen and an heir.

The Duke of Kent’s idea of a suitable bride was a wealthy woman with proper Royal Ancestry for an approved royal marriage. Because the Duke of Kent had been helpful to his niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and her husband Prince Leopold, they were eager to match the Duke with Leopold’s younger sister the Dowager Princess of Leiningen. The Duke agreed to visit the widowed Princess Victoria in Darmstadt, one of the larger cities close to the borders of a Amorbach, after which he dispatched a lengthy letter expressing his affection and proposing marriage believing she would make an appropriate Queen of Hanover. With the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales, who died giving birth to a stillborn son in November 1817, the Duke of Kent realized that the succession to the British throne was now in jeopardy and this expediated his marriage to the Dowager Princess of Leiningen.

In Coburg Germany, on May 29, 1818 at 9:30 in the evening the Dowager Princess of Leiningen (aged 32) was married in the Lutheran rights to the Duke of Kent (aged 52) a man she had only met once before. The Duke was arrayed in his English field marshal’s uniform, while the Princess was resplendent in pale silk lace. Afterwards, the new Duchess of Kent wrote in her diary that she had hoped that in her second marriage she would find the happiness that she never found in the first.

Within four days after the wedding the Duke and Duchess of Kent left for England. And at Kew Palace on July 13, 1818 at four in the afternoon, they were married again this time in accordance to the Church of England. However, the ceremony was doubled for there was also two brides for the Prince Regent to give away. Not only was the Duke of Kent marrying Princess Victoria once again, Prince William, Duke of Clarence and the 25 year old Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (August 13, 1792 – December 2, 1849) [the daughter of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, and Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg] were united as well. The Archbishop Bishop of Canterbury officiated the ceremony assisted by the Bishop of London. Since King George III was blind and incapacitated, fragile old Queen Charlotte, mother of both of the Dukes, was the chief celebrant at the wedding banquet.

HRH The Duke of Kent

Because of the Duke of Kent’s financial situation the newlyweds moved back to Germany. By November 18, 1818 the Duke of Kent sent a letter to the Prince Regent’s private secretary, Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, indicating that the Duchess of Kent was pregnant and that the child was due in May the following year. The Duke of Kent believed it would be his duty to bring the Duchess back to England early in April so that the Royal birth could take place in England. The Duke also petitioned his brother the Prince Regent to allocate funds sufficient for the move and the care of his growing family.

The Duke and Duchess of Kent’s only child, Victoria, was born at 4.15 a.m. on May 24, 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on June 24, 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. She was baptised Alexandrina after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina (or Georgiana), Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of Kent’s eldest brother, George, the Prince Regent.

At birth, Alexandria-Victoria was fifth in the line of succession after the four eldest sons of George III: George, the Prince Regent (later George IV); Frederick, the Duke of York; William, the Duke of Clarence (later William IV); and Victoria’s father, Edward, the Duke of Kent. The Prince Regent had no surviving children, and the Duke of York had no children; further, both were estranged from their wives, who were both past child-bearing age, so the two eldest brothers were unlikely to have any further legitimate children.

HM Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India.

With Alexandrina-Victoria being fifth in line to the succession to the throne, her ascending the British throne was not assured. She could have been supplanted by a brother born to the Duke and Duchess of Kent, or any children from the union of the Duke and Duchess of Clarence. However, the Duke of Clarence’s legitimate daughters died as infants. The first of these was Princess Charlotte, who was born and died on March 27, 1819, two months before Victoria was born. Victoria’s father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old. A week later her grandfather, George III died and was succeeded by his eldest son as George IV. Victoria was then third in line to the throne after York and Clarence. The Duke Clarence’s second daughter was Princess Elizabeth of Clarence who lived for twelve weeks from December 10, 1820 to 4 March 1821 and, while Elizabeth lived, Victoria was fourth in line. The Childless Duke of York died in 1827 which paved the way for Victoria’s own succession after her uncles, George IV and William IV.

200th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom: Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

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Duchess of Kent, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, House of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Kingdom of the Belgians, Leopold I, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

On Friday, May 24, is the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria. To honor this occasion I’ll feature some biographical info on her father Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. Today I feature Queen Victoria’s mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and tomorrow I’ll feature Queen Victoria’s Birth itself.

Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Her Serene Highness Princess Marie Louise Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was born in Coburg on August 17, 1786 in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. She was the fourth daughter and seventh child of Franz-Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf. Her eldest brother was Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and her younger brother, Leopold, future king of the Belgians, married, in 1816, Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate daughter of the future King George IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and heiress presumptive to the British throne.

First marriage

On December 21, 1803 at Coburg, a 17 year old Princess Victoria married (as his second wife) the 40 year old, Emich-Charles, Prince of Leiningen (1763–1814), whose first wife, Henrietta of Reuss-Ebersdorf, had been her aunt. Emich Carl was born at Dürckheim, the fourth child and only son of Carl-Friedrich, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg by his wife Countess Christiane of Solms-Rödelheim and Assenheim (1736–1803). On July 3, 1779, his father was made a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and Emich Carl became Hereditary Prince of Leiningen. On January 9, 1807, Emich-Charles succeeded his father as second Prince of Leiningen.

Emich-Charles, Prince of Leiningen

The couple had two children, Prince Carl-Friedrich born on September 12, 1804, and Princess Feodora of Leiningen, born on December 7, 1807. Through her first marriage, she is a direct matrilineal ancestor to various members of royalty in Europe, including Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Felipe VI of Spain, and Constantine II of Greece.

Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Regency

Emich-Carl died at Amorbach on July 4, 1814, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, Carl-Friedrich. After the death of her spouse, Victoria, served as regent of the Principality of Leiningen during the minority of their son, Carl-Friedrich.

Carl-Friedrich, Prince of Leiningen

Princess Feodora of Leiningen

200th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom: Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.

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Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz., Duke of Kent, King George III, King George III of Great Britain, Kings and Queens of Great Britain, Madame de Saint Laurent, Mistress, Prince Edward, Qubec, Queen Victoria

On Friday, May 24, is the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria. To honor this occasion I’ll feature some biographical info on her father Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. Tomorrow (Thursday) I will feature Queen Victoria’s mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Friday I’ll feature Queen Victoria’s Birth itself.

His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Earl of Dublin.

Prince Edward was born on November 2, 1767. He was the son of the the reigning British monarch, King George III of Great Britain and Imperial Elector of Hanover and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. As a son of the British monarch, he was styled His Royal Highness The Prince Edward from birth, and was fourth in the line of succession to the throne. He was named after his paternal uncle, Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, who had died several weeks earlier and was buried at Westminster Abbey the day before his birth.

The Prince began his military training in Germany in 1785. King George III intended to send him to the University of Göttingen, but decided against it upon the advice of the Duke of York. Instead, Edward went to Lüneburg and later Hanover, accompanied by his tutor, Baron Wangenheim. On May 30, 1786, he was appointed a brevet colonel in the British Army. From 1788 to 1789, he completed his education in Geneva. On August 5, 1789, aged 22, he became a mason in the L’Union, the most important Genevan masonic lodge in the 19th century.

Quebec

Due to the extreme Mediterranean heat, Edward requested to be transferred to present-day Canada, specifically Quebec, in 1791. arrived in Canada in time to witness the proclamation of the Constitutional Act of 179, Edward became the first member of the Royal Family to tour Upper Canada and became a fixture of British North American society. Edward and his mistress, Julie St. Laurent, became close friends with the French Canadian family of Ignace-Michel-Louis-Antoine d’Irumberry de Salaberry; the Prince mentored all of the family’s sons throughout their military careers. Edward guided Charles de Salaberry throughout his career, and made sure that the famous commander was duly honoured after his leadership during the Battle of Chateauguay.

Madame de Saint-Laurent

Madame de Saint-Laurent was born September 30, 1760 in Besançon, France to Jean-Claude Mongenêt, a civil engineer, and Jeanne-Claude (Claudine) Pussot and later moved to Quebec.

On the formation of Lower Canada, in August, 1791, Prince Edward, arrived in Quebec City and shortly afterwards leased Judge Mabane’s house for £90 per annum. He lived at Prince Edward’s House in Quebec City for three years with Madame de Saint Laurent, before he was posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1794.

History

While in Geneva, the Duke had been introduced to Madame de Saint-Laurent and her husband Baron de Fortissons and soon after Julie and Edward became lovers. The Duke’s father, King George III, enrolled Edward in the army In 1789, he was appointed colonel of the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers). In 1790, he returned home without leave and, in disgrace, was sent off to Gibraltar as an ordinary officer, where Edward made arrangements for Madame de Saint-Laurent to be smuggled in from Marseilles so they could be together.

When George III later found out about the affair he sent the Duke to Quebec City as colonel of the 7th Fusiliers. Humiliated, at first he refused to go, but in August 1791 he arrived accompanied by his chatelaine, introduced as Julie de Saint-Laurent and reputed to be a widow. It has been claimed by several writers that she was morganatically married to the Duke of Kent at a Roman Catholic church in Quebec.

For twenty-eight years Madame de Saint-Laurent presided over the Duke’s household, as a local chronicler records, “with dignity and propriety.” She is described as having been beautiful, clever, witty and accomplished. Many of her letters will be found in Anderson’s ” Life of the Duke of Kent ” (Quebec: 1870).

On June 27, 1792, Edward is credited with the first use of the term “Canadian” to mean both French and English settlers in Upper and Lower Canada. The Prince used the term in an effort to quell a riot between the two groups at a polling station in Charlesbourg, Lower Canada. Recently he has been styled the “Father of the Canadian Crown” for his impact on the development of Canada.

After 1794, Prince Edward lived at the headquarters of the Royal Navy’s North American Station located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was instrumental in shaping that settlement’s military defences, protecting its important Royal Navy base, as well as influencing the city’s and colony’s socio-political and economic institutions. Edward was responsible for the construction of Halifax’s iconic Garrison Clock, as well as numerous other civic projects such as St. George’s Round Church. Lieutenant Governor Sir John Wentworth and Lady Francis Wentworth provided their country residence for the use of Prince Edward and Julie St. Laurent. Extensively renovated, the estate became known as “Prince’s Lodge” as the couple hosted numerous dignitaries, including Louis-Phillippe of Orléans (the future King of the French). All that remains of the residence is a small rotunda built by Edward for his regimental band to play music.

HRH The Duke of Kent and Strathearn

After suffering a fall from his horse in late 1798, he was allowed to return to England. On April 24, 1799, Prince Edward was created Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Earl of Dublin, received the thanks of parliament and an income of £12,000. In May that same year the Duke was promoted to the rank of general and appointed Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America. He took leave of his parents 22 July 1799 and sailed to Halifax. Just over twelve months later he left Halifax and arrived in England on August 31, 1800 where it was confidently expected his next appointment would be Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

In Geneva Switzerland Prince Edward had two more mistresses, Adelaide Dubus and Anne Moré. Adelaide Dubus died at the birth of their daughter, also named Adelaide Dubus (1789 – in or after 1832). Anne Moré was the mother of their son Edward Schenker Scheener (1789–1853). Scheener married but had no children and returned to Geneva, perhaps significantly in 1837, where he later died.

Mollie Gillen, who was granted access to the Royal Archive at Windsor Castle, established that no children were born of the 27-year relationship between Edward Augustus and Madame de Saint-Laurent; although many Canadian families and individuals (including the Nova Scotian soldier Sir William Fenwick Williams, 1st Baronet, have claimed descent from them. Such claims can now be discounted in light of this research.

After the Duke’s marriage in 1818 to the widow of the Prince of Leiningen, Madame de Saint-Laurent retreated to Paris where she lived out her days amongst her family and friends.

On this date in History: May 17, 1814. The signing of the Norwegian Constitution and the brief reign of King Christian-Frederik of Norway.

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Carl XIII of Sweden, Christian VIII of Denmark, Christian-Frederik of Norway, Constitution, Constitutional Monarchy, Haakon VII, Haakon VII of Norway, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Kingdom of Norway, Norway

Christian VIII and his consort Caroline Amalie of Augustenborg during his anointing on June 28, 1840 in Frederiksborg Palace Chapel.

On this date in History: May 17, 1814. The signing of the Norwegian Constitution and the brief reign of King Christian-Frederik of Norway who would later ascend the throne of Denmark as King Christian VIII on December 8, 1839.

King Christian-Frederik of Norway

Christian VIII (September 18, 1786 – January 20, 1848) was born at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. He was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark and Norway and Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (only daughter of Duke Ludwig of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld). His paternal grandparents were King Frederik V of Denmark-Norway and his second wife, Duchess Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (daughter of Ferdinand-Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel).

Since 1397, with the The Kalmar Union which United the three Scandinavian Kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (Sweden left the union in 1523, when Gustav Vasa was elected as king of Sweden), Norway remained united to the Kingdom of Denmark. Then in 1814 a crack in the union occurred.

In May 1813, as the heir presumptive of the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway, Christian-Frederik was sent as stattholder (the king’s highest representative in Norway) to Norway to promote the loyalty of the Norwegians to the House of Oldenburg, which had been very badly shaken by the disastrous results of Frederik VI’s adhesion to the falling fortunes of Napoleon I of France.

Christian-Frederik did all he could personally to strengthen the bonds between the Norwegian people and the royal house of Denmark. Though his endeavours were opposed by the so-called Swedish party, which desired a dynastic union with Sweden, he placed himself at the head of the Norwegian party of independence folowing the defeat of Napoleon’s troops at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Treaty of Kiel had forced King Frederik VI to cede Norway to King Carl XIII of Sweden. The most likely goal of the young Crown Prince was reunification with Denmark. His initiative was successful, and a national assembly at Eidsvoll was called. The assembled representatives were elected by the congregations of the state churches throughout Norway, and by military units.

The Norwegian Constituent Assembly

The election of Christian-Frederik as King of Norway (Kristian Frederik in Norwegian) was confirmed by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly convoked at Eidsvoll on April 10. During five weeks in the the spring of 1814, the constitution was written. The constitution was ratified by the assembly on May 16, and on May 17 the constitution was signed by Christian-Frederik. The date of the signing is now celebrated as the Norwegian Constitution Day.

The Norwegian constitution was inspired by the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the French revolutionin 1789 and the subsequent U.S. and French constitutions. The authors Christian Magnus Falsen and Johan Gunder Adler were also influenced by the Spanish Constitution of 1812. A deviation from the republican constitutions of France and the USA was the retention of the Monarchy. Importing republicanism was seen as an attempt to emulate the French and Americans directly in a country that had over a thousand years of the tradition of a monarchy. Emulating the United States or France was something the lawmakers at Eidsvoll sought to avoid. The choice of monarchy as state form would also facilitate reunification of Denmark-Norway, something the Crown Prince Christian-Frederik was not alone in seeking.

King Christian-Frederik of Norway (King Christian VIII of Denmark)

The new Norwegian King Christian-Frederik next attempted to interest the great powers in Norway’s cause, but without success. On being pressed by the commissioners of the allied powers to bring about a union between Norway and Sweden in accordance with the terms of the treaty of Kiel, and then return to Denmark, he replied that, as a constitutional king, he could do nothing without the consent of the parliament (Storting), which would not be convoked until there was a suspension of hostilities on the part of Sweden. In the Constitution the king’s power was however severely curtailed. His absolute veto over laws was removed. In a Europe where almost all countries were ruled by absolute monarchy, a Constitutional Monarchy was still seen as extremely radical.

Sweden refused Christian-Frederik’s conditions and a short military campaign ensued in which the Norwegian army was defeated by the forces of the Swedish crown prince Carl-Johann. The brief war concluded with the Convention of Moss on August 14, 1814. By the terms of this treaty, King Christian-Frederik transferred executive power to the Storting, then abdicated and returned to Denmark. The Storting in its turn adopted the constitutional amendments necessary to allow for a personal union with Sweden and on November 4 elected Carl XIII of Sweden as the new King Carl II of Norway.

King Carl XIII-I of Sweden and Norway

It wouldn’t be until 1905 when Norway gained independence and Prince Carl of Denmark was elected King of Norway taking the name Haakon VII. Former King Christian-Frederik was a great-grand-uncle to Haakon VII. He was the second son of (the future) King Frederik VIII of Denmark and his wife Louise of Sweden. He was also a younger brother of Christian X, a paternal grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark, and a maternal grandson of King Carl XV of Sweden (who was also King Carl IV of Norway). Haakon VII married his first cousin Princess Maud of Wales, youngest daughter of the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, eldest daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel.

The Norwegian Constitution of 1814 is still in effect today.

King Haakon VII of Norway.

On this date in History: May 16, 1770. Marriage of Louis XVI of France and Navarre to Marie Antoinette of Austria.

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Austria, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, Holy Roman Empire, King Louis XV of France, King Louis XVI of France, Kings of france, Louis XV, Marie Antoinette, Marriage, Seven Years War, Versaille

The future King Louis XVI of France and Navarre was born on August 23, 1754 in the Palace of Versailles. Christened Louis-Auguste and created Duc de Berry he was one of seven children, and the third surviving son, of Louis, the Dauphin of France, and Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, (daughter of Prince-Elector Friedrich-August II of Saxony, King of Poland).

King Louis XVI of France and Navarre

Louis-Auguste’s two elder brothers died young, they were: Louis-Joseph of France, Duke of Burgundy (September 13, 1751 – March 22, 1761). Xavier of France, Duke of Aquitaine (September 8, 1753 – February 22, 1754), died in infancy. Louis-Auguste was the grandson of Louis XV of France and Navarre and his consort, Maria Leszczyńska of Poland (daughter of King Stanislaw I of Poland [later Duke of Lorraine] and Catherine Opalińska).

Upon the death of his father, who died of tuberculosis on December 20, 1765, the eleven-year-old Louis-Auguste became the new Dauphin. His mother never recovered from the loss of her husband and died on March 13, 1767, also from tuberculosis.

Maria-Antonia of Austria was born on November 2, 1755 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was the youngest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Franz I and his wife, the Empress Maria Theresa (Queen of Hungry and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria in her own right). Her godparents were King Joseph I and Queen Mariana Victoria (born an Infanta of Spain) of Portugal; Archduke Joseph of Austria and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria acted as proxies for their newborn sister.

Archduchess Maria-Antonia of Austria

During the Seven Years’ War* Empress Maria Theresa decided to end hostilities with her longtime enemy, King Louis XV of France and Navarre. Their common desire was to destroy the ambitions of Prussia and Great Britain and to secure a definitive peace between their respective countries. This common goal led them to seal their alliance with a marriage: on February 7, 1770, Louis XV formally requested the hand of Maria Antonia for his eldest surviving grandson and heir, Louis-Auguste, Duke of Berry and Dauphin of France.

Maria-Antonia formally renounced her rights to the Habsburg domains, and on April 19, 1770 she was married by proxy to the Dauphin of France at the Augustinian Church in Vienna, with her brother Archduke Ferdinand standing in for the Dauphin. On May 14, she met her husband (and her second cousin once removed) in person at the edge of the forest of Compiègne. Upon her arrival in France, she adopted the French version of her name: Marie Antoinette. A further ceremonial wedding took place on May 16, 1770 in the Palace of Versailles and, after the festivities, the day ended with the ritual bedding for the fifteen-year-old, Louis-Auguste and the fourteen-year-old Marie-Antoinette.

The initial reaction to the marriage between Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste was mixed. On the one hand, the Dauphine was beautiful, personable and well-liked by the common people. Her first official appearance in Paris on June 8, 1773 was a resounding success.

Marie-Antoinette, Dauphine of France

However, because of France’s alliance with Austria which had pulled the country into the disastrous Seven Years’ War, in which France was defeated by the British and the Prussians, both in Europe and in North America; the French people generally disliked the Austrian alliance, and Marie-Antoinette was seen as an unwelcome foreigner.

For the young couple themselves the marriage was initially amiable but distant. Louis-Auguste’s shyness and, among other factors, the young age and inexperience of the newlyweds, coupled with the fact, as mentioned earlier, that they were were nearly total strangers to each other: having met only two days before their wedding, meant that the 15-year-old bridegroom failed to consummate the union with his 14-year-old bride. His fear of being manipulated by her for imperial purposes caused him to behave coldly towards her in public. Over time, the couple became closer, though while their marriage was reportedly consummated in July 1773, it did not actually happen until 1777.

Marie-Antoinette ‘s brother, the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, came to France incognito, using the name Comte de Falkenstein, for a six-week visit during which he toured Paris extensively and was a guest at Versailles. He met his sister and her husband on April 18, 1777 at the château de la Muette, and spoke frankly to his brother-in-law, curious as to why the royal marriage had not been consummated, arriving at the conclusion that no obstacle to the couple’s conjugal relations existed save the queen’s lack of interest and the king’s unwillingness to exert himself. In a letter to his brother Leopold, Joseph described them as “a couple of complete blunderers.”

His Imperial Majesty The Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, King of Germany, Jerusalem, Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia and Lodomeria, Archduke of Austria, etc.

Suggestions that Louis suffered from phimosis, which was relieved by circumcision, have been discredited. Nevertheless, following Joseph’s intervention, the marriage was finally consummated in August 1777. Eight months later, in April 1778, it was suspected that the queen was pregnant, which was officially announced on May 16, 1778 (the couple’s eight Wedding Anniversary). Marie Antoinette’s daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, Madame Royale, was born at Versailles on December 19, 1778.

* The Seven Years Warrior was a global conflict fought between 1756 and 1763. It involved every European great power of the time and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, South Asia, and the Philippines. For this reason the Seven Years War is often called World War 0 by some historians.

On this date in History: May 15, 1800. James Hadfield makes an assassination attempt on King George III of the United Kingdom.

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1795 Treason Act., Barrister, George III, James Hadfield, King George III, King George III of Great Britain, King George III of the United Kingdom, Kingdom of Hanover, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Porphyria, Princess Amelia, Royal Theater

James Hadfield’s early years are unknown but he was severely injured at the Battle of Tourcoing in 1794. Before being captured by the French, he was struck eight times on the head with a sabre, the wounds being prominent for the rest of his life. After return to England, he became involved in a millennialist movement and came to believe that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ would be advanced if he himself were killed by the British government. He therefore resolved, in conspiracy with Bannister Truelock, to attempt the assassination of the King and bring about his own judicial execution.

George III of the United Kingdom and Hanover in 1800.

On the evening of May 15, 1800, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, during the playing of the national anthem, Hadfield fired a pistol at the King who was standing in the royal box. The shot was unsuccessful and missed the King entirely. Hadfield was tried for high treason and was defended by Thomas Erskine, the leading barrister of that era. Hadfield pleaded insanity but the standard of the day for a successful plea was that the defendant must be “lost to all sense … incapable of forming a judgement upon the consequences of the act which he is about to do”. Hadfield’s planning of the shooting appeared to contradict such a claim.

Due to the 1795 Treason Act, there was little distinction between plotting treason and actually committing treason, thus Erskine chose to challenge the insanity test, instead contending that delusion “unaccompanied by frenzy or raving madness [was] the true character of insanity”. Two surgeons and a physician testified that the delusions were the consequence of his earlier head injuries. The judge, Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon, at this point halted the trial declaring that the verdict “was clearly an acquittal” but “the prisoner, for his own sake, and for the sake of society at large, must not be discharged.”

King George III in his coronation robes in 1761.

Up to that time, defendants acquitted by reason of insanity had faced no certain fate and had often been released back to the safe-keeping of their families. Parliament speedily passed the Criminal Lunatics Act 1800 to provide for the indefinite detention of insane defendants (and the Treason Act 1800 to make it easier to prosecute people for attempts on the life of the king). Hadfield later inspired further use of pleading insanity several years later during the case of Colonel Edward Despard. Hadfield was detained in Bethlem Royal Hospital for the rest of his life, save for a short period when he escaped. He was recaptured at Dover attempting to flee to France and was briefly held at Newgate Prison before being transferred to the new insane asylum Bethlehem Hospital (or Bedlam, as it was known). He died there of tuberculosis in 1841.

King George III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover. 1771.

In late 1810, at the height of his popularity, already virtually blind with cataractsand in pain from rheumatism, George became dangerously ill. In the Kings view the malady had been triggered by stress over the death of his youngest and favourite daughter, Princess Amelia. Although it has since been suggested that he had bipolar disorder or the blood disease porphyria, the cause of his illness remains unknown. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established. George III’s eldest son, George, Prince of Wales, ruled as Prince Regent until his father’s death, on January 29, 1820, when he succeeded as George IV.

Queen and Duke of Edinburgh meet the new son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

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1917 Letter's Patent, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, Duchess of Sussex, Duke of Sussex, Elizabeth II, House of House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, House of Windsor, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Queens

Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor

TRH the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were today introduced to the newborn son of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle. The Duchess’ mother, Ms Doria Ragland was also present.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are delighted to announce that they have named their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Ms Doria Ragland and TRH the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were photographed with their newborn son earlier at Windsor Castle today.

The baby was born on Monday, 6th May, at 05:26 in the morning, weighing 7lbs 3oz at birth and The Duke of Sussex was present.

The name Archie was brought into England by the Normans when William I “The Conqueror” invaded England and became king in 1066. Eventually, in the Middle Ages, the name became common in Scotland and means ‘True and Bold.” The longer version is Archibald. However, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have simply used the shortened version of “Archie” as the official name.

Harrison simply means “Harry’s son” which I think is pretty clever.

Here is a link to my earlier blog post why Archie Mountbatten-Windsor will not have a tittle. https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/2019/04/03/will-the-children-of-the-duke-and-duchess-of-sussex-have-titles/

However, as a non-royal son of a Duke, Archie is entitled to be styled by his fathers secondary title “Earl of Dumbarton” but it has been confirmed that he will not use that title and will be simply known as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.