Ari Behn Has died

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Ari Behn, King Harald V of Norway, Kingdom, Kingdom of Norway, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway

Sad to report…. Norwgian news just announced that Ari Behn was found dead today. The ex-husband of Princess Märtha-Louise of Norway had taken his own life, according to a spokesman for the family. The author and artist wrote about his internal psychological struggle in his most recent book.

Ari Mikael Behn (né Bjørshol, September 30, 1972 – December 25, 2019) was a Norwegian author. He has written three novels, two collections of short stories and a book about his wedding. His 1999 short stories collection Trist som faen (“Sad as hell”) sold in about 100,000 copies and received several favourable reviews. His books have been translated into Swedish, Danish, German, Hungarian, and Icelandic as well as French. In the spring of 2011, Ari Behn made his debut as a playwright with Treningstimen, directed by Kim Sørensen and staged at Rogaland Teater.

He was married to Princess Märtha Louise of Norway from 2002 to 2017. They had had three daughters: Maud Angelica (born 2003 in Oslo), Leah Isadora (born 2005), and Emma Tallulah (born 2008).

Christmas Coronations

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1066, 800, Archbishop of Canterbury, Charlemagne, Charles the Great, Christmas Day, coronation, King of the English, King of the Franks, Pope Leo III, William I of England, William the Conqueror

Merry Christmas from the European Royal History Blog!!

Today I will briefly mention two coronations that took place on Christmas Day.

Charlemagne. King of the Franks crowned Emperor 800.
William I The Conquer, King of the English, Duke of Normandy 1066

Charlemagne

In 799, Pope Leo III did not have a good relationship with the citizens of Rome and suffered sever abuse when the Romans tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. Leo III, naturally fearing for his life, escaped and fled to the court of King Charlemagne at Paderborn. Charlemagne, under the advisement of scholar Alcuin, sojourned to Rome and in November of 800 and on the first of December held a council on 1 December. On December 23rd Pope Leo III swore an oath of innocence. And two days later during a Mass, on Christmas Day (25 December), Charlemagne knelt at the altar to pray, the Pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum (“Emperor of the Romans”) in Saint Peter’s Basilica. By doing this doing, the Pope effectively nullified the legitimacy of Empress Irene of Constantinople.

It was seen by scholars of the day that when Odoacer forced the abdication of Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus in 476CE this did not effectively abolish the Western Roman Empire as a separate power Europe. Theoretically the powers of the Western Roman Emperor were said to have been reunited with or grafted into the Eastern Roman Empire. Therefore from that time contemporary scholars believed that there was a singular undivided Roman Empire. Pope Leo III and King Charlemagne, as well as their predecessors, also held to this political ideal of there being a singular Roman Empire that was one and indivisible.

However, the imperial coronation of Charlemagne was not believed to have caused a severance of the Roman Empire back into East and West factions. In the eyes Leo III and Charlemagne, along with contemporary political theorists, they were not revolting against a reigning sovereign, Empress Irene, but legitimately filling up the void of legitimate successors caused by the deposition Emperor Constatine VI in 797 and Charlemagne was held to be the legitimate successor, not of the Emperor Romulus Augustulus, but that of Emperor Constantine VI.

Despite the good intentions of Charlemagne’s coronation as Emperor, it intended to represent the continuation of the unbroken line of Emperors from Augustus to Constantine VI. The reality was that his imperial coronation had the effect of setting up two separate, and often opposing, Empires along with two separate claims to imperial authority.

One of the issues that has been debated by scholars is whether of not Charlemagne saw this prestigious gift bestowed on him on that Christmas Day? According to the twenty-eight chapter of Einhard’s Vita Karoli Magni which says that Charlemagne was ignorant of the Pope’s intent and did not want any such coronation:

“He (Charlemagne) at first had such an aversion to being granted the imperial title that he declared that he would not have set foot in the Church the day that theses imperial titles were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope.”

A number of modern scholars, however, logically suggest that Charlemagne was indeed aware of the coronation. It has been said he certainly cannot have missed the bejewelled crown waiting on the altar when he came to pray; something even contemporary sources support.

Charlemagne is counted as Charles I, Holy Roman Emperor, but many scholars believe the state that evolved into the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation began with the coronation of Otto I, Duke of Saxony in 962. Otto I was crowned Emperor by Pope John XII at Olds St. Peter’s Basilica. The Pope also anointed Otto’s wife Adelaide of Italy, who had accompanied Otto on his Italian campaign, as empress. With Otto’s coronation as emperor, the Kingdom of Germany and the Kingdom of Italy were unified into a common realm, later called the Holy Roman Empire.

William I

Exactly when did William I The Conqueror become King of the English? Although he certainly became the De Facto King of the English when he defeated King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in October of 1066, it was not until his coronation on Christmas Day of that year did will accede to the throne.

William may have hoped the English would surrender to his rule immediately after his his victory over Harold II but that just was not the case. A swiftly convened meeting of the Wittan, comprising the English clergy and magnates, elected Edgar the Ætheling King of the English. Edgar the Ætheling was of the House of Wessex and a nephew of King Edward the Confessor. The support for Edgar by the Wittan was very lukewarm.

Undeterred, William continued his conquest of England. He and his armies secured Dover, parts of Kent, and Canterbury, and also captured Winchester, where the royal treasury was located. These captures solidified his holdings in that region and also his line of retreat to Normandy, if that was needed. It was unnecessary.

William then marched northward to Southwark and into London in late November. Next he led his forces around the south and west of London, burning buildings of those in resistance along the way. He crossed the Thames at Wallingford in early December where Archbishop Stigand submitted to William. He moved on to Berkhamsted soon afterwards where Edgar the Ætheling, Morcar, Edwin, and Archbishop Ealdred also submitted. This solidified his power in London where William began the construction of the Tower of London And with his troops garrisoned in London William was crowned King of the English at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066.

This date in history: December 24, 1660. Death of Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange.

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Charles I of England, Charles II of England, Elector of Brandenburg, Elector of Hanover, Frederick William I of Brandenburg, George I of Great Britain, Henry IV of France, King James II-VII of England and Scotland, Mary of England, Prince of Orange, Princess Royal, Republic of the Netherlands, Restoration, Stadthouder of the Netherlands, William II of Orange

Mary, Princess Royal (Mary Henrietta; November 4, 1631 – December 24, 1660) was Countess of Nassau by marriage to Prince Willem II of Orange and co-regent for her son during his minority as Sovereign Prince of Orange from 1651 to 1660.

Mary Henrietta was born at St. James’s Palace, London to Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland and Henrietta Maria de Bourbon of France, the eldest daughter of the youngest daughter of King Henri IV of France (Henri III of Navarre) and his second wife, Marie de’ Medici.

Mary, Princess Royal

Princess Mary was named after her mother. Her father, King Charles I, liked to call his wife Henrietta Maria simply “Maria”, with the English people calling her “Queen Mary.”

Charles I designated Mary Princess Royal in 1642, thus establishing the tradition that the eldest daughter of the British sovereign might bear this title. The title came into being when Queen Henrietta Maria, the daughter of Henri IV of France to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the French king was styled (Madame Royale). Until that time, the eldest daughters of English and Scottish kings were variously titled lady or princess (The younger daughters of British sovereigns were not consistently titled Princess of England/Scotland or Great Britain with the style Royal Highness until the accession of George I in 1714). George I of Great Britain codified styles and titles using the German system and this code is still in effect today.

Betrothal portrait of Princess Mary and Prince Willem of Orange

Her father, Charles I, wished that Mary should marry her first cousin Balthasar Carlos, Prince of Asturias, the son of Felipe IV of Spain. The Prince of the Asturias died on October 9, 1646 (aged 16) before succeeding to the throne. Mary’s first cousin, Charles I Ludwig, Elector Palatine, was also a suitor for her hand. Both proposals fell through and she was betrothed to Willem of Orange, the son and heir of Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the United Provinces, and of Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. The marriage took place on May 2, 1641 at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall Palace, London.

The Prince and Princess of Orange

The marriage was reputedly not consummated for several years because the bride was nine years old. In 1642, Mary moved to the Dutch Republic with her mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, and in 1644, as the daughter-in-law of the stadtholder, Frederik Hendrik she became more engaged in courtly and public events.

In March 1647, Mary’s husband, Willem II, succeeded his father as stadholder. However, in November 1650, just after his attempt to capture Amsterdam from his political opponents, he died of smallpox.

Co-regency

The couple’s only child, Willem III Prince of Orange and Stadthouder of the Netherlands (later William III of England, Scotland and Ireland), was born two weeks after his father’s death. Mary, now a Dowager, was obliged to share the guardianship of her infant son with her mother-in-law, Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, and brother-in-law, Friedrich Wilhelm I, Elector of Brandenburg. They had more power over the young Prince’s affairs than she, as evidenced by his being christened Willem, and not Charles as she had desired.

Prince Willem II of Orange, Stadthouder of the Netherlands

She was unpopular with the Dutch because of her sympathies with her own family, the Stuarts. She lived in the palace of the Stadthouder at the Binnenhof in the Hague, the building complex that now houses the Senate of the Netherlands. Her boudoir is still intact. At length, public opinion having been further angered by the hospitality that she showed to her brothers, the exiled Charles II and the Duke of York (later James II-VII) she was forbidden to receive her relatives.

Her moral reputation was damaged by rumours that she was having an affair with (or had been secretly married to) Henry Jermyn, a member of her brother James’ household. The rumours were probably untrue, but Charles II took them seriously, and tried to prevent any further contact between Jermyn and Mary. From 1654 to 1657, Mary was usually not in Holland. In 1657, she became regent on behalf of her son for the principality of Orange, but the difficulties of her position led her to implore the assistance of her first cousin Louis XIV of France and Navarre.

Death

The restoration of Mary’s brother, Charles II in England and Scotland greatly enhanced the position of the Princess of Orange and her son in Holland. In September 1660, she returned to England. She died of smallpox on December 24, 1660, at Whitehall Palace, London and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
I

Making Pudding with Four Generation of the British Royal Family.

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British Legion, HRH Prince George of Cambridge, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, HRH The Prince of Wales, Pudding, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Together at Christmas

Four generations of The Royal Family have come together to support The Royal British Legion’s “Together at Christmas” initiative. In this picture are HM The Queen, HRH The Prince of Wales, HRH The Duke of Cambridge and HRH Prince George of Cambridge.

The Queen is Patron of the British Legion & the puddings will be the centerpieces of the charity’s Christmas get-togethers.
The pudding making was led by a Legion care home chef Alex Cavaliere & attended by veterans – Colin Hughes, Liam Young, Lisa Evans and Barbara Hurman.

Ludwig II of Bavaria & Linderhof Palace

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Frederick William III of Prussia, German Empire, German Reich, Kingdom of Bavaria, Linderhof Palace, Ludwig II of Bavaria, Marie of Prussia, Maximilian II of Bavaria, Palace of Versailles

Linderhof Palace (German: Schloss Linderhof) is a Schloss in Germany, in southwest Bavaria near Ettal Abbey. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.

Ludwig II (August 25, 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or der Märchenkönig (“the Fairy Tale King”). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, and Duke in Swabia.

Born at Nymphenburg Palace, he was the elder son of the then Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Bavaria, who became King Maximilian II of Bavaria Queen Marie in 1848 after the abdication of the former’s father, Ludwig I, during the German Revolution.

Ludwig’s mother, Marie of Prussia, was a daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, (a younger brother of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia) and his wife Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg.

His parents intended to name him Otto, but his grandfather insisted that his grandson be named after him, since their common birthday, August 25, is the feast day of Saint Louis IX of France, patron saint of Bavaria (with “Ludwig” being the German form of “Louis”). His younger brother, born three years later, was named Otto.

Ludwig II commissioned the construction of two lavish palaces and Neuschwanstein Castle, and he was a devoted patron of the composer Richard Wagner. Ludwig spent all his royal revenues (although not state funds as is commonly thought) on these projects, borrowed extensively, and defied all attempts by his ministers to restrain him. This extravagance was used against him to declare him insane, an accusation which has since come under scrutiny. Today, his architectural and artistic legacy includes many of Bavaria’s most important tourist attractions.

Development of the building

Ludwig already knew the area around Linderhof from his youth when he had accompanied his father King Maximilian II on his hunting trips in the Bavarian Alps. When Ludwig II became King in 1864, he inherited the so-called Königshäuschen from his father, and in 1869 began enlarging the building. In 1874, he decided to tear down the Königshäuschen and rebuild it on its present-day location in the park. At the same time three new rooms and the staircase were added to the remaining U-shaped complex, and the previous wooden exterior was clad with stone façades. The building was designed in the style of the second rococo-period. Between 1863 and 1886, a total of 8,460,937 marks was spent constructing Linderhof.

Symbolic background

Although Linderhof is much smaller than Versailles, it is evident that the palace of the French Sun-King Louis XIV (who was an idol for Ludwig) was its inspiration. The staircase, for example, is a reduction of the famous Ambassador’s staircase in Versailles, which would be copied in full in Herrenchiemsee. Stylistically, however, the building and its decor take their cues from the mid-18th century Rococo of Louis XV, and the small palace in the Graswang was more directly based on that king’s Petit Trianon on the Versailles grounds.

The symbol of the sun that can be found everywhere in the decoration of the rooms represents the French notion of absolutism that, for Ludwig, was the perfect incorporation of his ideal of a God-given monarchy with total royal power. Such a monarchy could no longer be realised in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century. The bedroom was important to the ceremonial life of an absolute monarch; Louis XIV of France used to give his first (lever) and last audience (coucher) of the day in his bedchamber. In imitation of Versailles, the bedroom is the largest chamber of Linderhof Palace. By facing north, however, the Linderhof bedroom inverts the symbolism of its Versailles counterpart, showing Ludwig’s self-image as a “Night-King.”

The location of the palace near Ettal Abbey again presents another interesting point. Because of its architecture Ludwig saw the church of the monastery as the room where the holy grail was preserved. This fact connects the idea of a baroque palace to the one of a “medieval” castle such as Neuschwanstein and reminds of the operas of Richard Wagner whose patron Ludwig was. Ludwig was also not unaware that the abbey had been founded by his ancestor and namesake, Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig IV.

In 1878, construction was completed on Ludwig’s Schloss Linderhof. The grounds contained a Venus grotto lit by electricity, where Ludwig was rowed in a boat shaped like a shell. Ludwig saw himself as the “Moon King”, a romantic shadow of the earlier “Sun King”, Louis XIV of France. From Linderhof, Ludwig enjoyed moonlit sleigh rides in an elaborate eighteenth-century sleigh, complete with footmen in eighteenth century livery.

The life of Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Queen Consort of Spain. Part II.

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El Escorial, Fernando VII of Spain, Kingdom of Spain, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Louis Philippe, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Queen Isabella II of Spain

Maria Christina as Regent

On December 28, 1833, three short months after the death of Fernando VII, Maria Christina had secretly married an ex-sergeant from the royal guard, Agustín Fernando Muñoz (1808–1873). Maria Christina and Muñoz had several children together while trying to keep their marriage a secret. This fact certainly proves that Maria Christina was carrying on an affair with Muñoz during her marriage with the king.

If Maria Christina had officially made the marriage public, she would have forfeited the regency; but her relations with Muñoz were perfectly well known within the Spanish court. When on 13 August 1836 the soldiers on duty at the summer palace La Granja mutinied and forced the regent to grant a constitution, it was generally, though wrongly, believed that they overcame her reluctance by seizing Muñoz, whom they called her guapo, or fancy man, and threatening to shoot him.

Agustín Fernando Muñoz

Eventually, news of Maria Christina’s marriage to this low-ranking soldier became public. That news made Maria Christina deeply unpopular. Her position was undermined by news of her remarriage and concerns that she was not actually supportive of her liberal ministers and their policies. Eventually, the army, which was the backbone of Isabella II’s support, and the liberal leadership in the Cortes combined to demand that Maria Christina stand aside from the regency. In 1840 Maria Christina found her position intolerable; she renounced the regency and left Spain with Muñoz. The army commander, General Baldomero Espartero, Count of Luchana, replaced her as regent.

Maria Christina Later in life.

In 1842 Maria Christina purchased the Château de Malmaison as their residence. In 1843, on the overthrow of General Baldomero Espartero they returned to Spain. In 1844, Muñoz’s stepdaughter Queen Isabella II was declared to be of age. On 23 June 1844 Isabella gave to Muñoz the title duque de Riánsares, to which was attached a Grandeza de España; the title came from the river Riánsares, near Muñoz’s birthplace in Tarancón. On October 12, 1844 Isabella gave official consent to the marriage between her mother and Muñoz, and it was publicly performed.

In 1846 Isabella made Muñoz a Knight of the Golden Fleece. On May 30, 1846 she gave Muñoz a second title, marqués de San Agustín. Muñoz was made a Captain General, the highest rank in the Spanish Army. In 1847 Louis Philippe, King of the French, gave Muñoz the title duc de Montmorot; he also invested Muñoz with the Grand Cross of the Légion d’honneur. In 1854, Maria Christina left for France a second time. France remained her primary residence for the remainder of her life.

In 1846, by the express request of the former president Juan José Flores, the Queen participated in an attempt to restore the monarchy in Ecuador. This two-phase plan was first that her son Agustín Muñoz of Bourbon should become King of Ecuador, and later in restorer of the Spanish monarchy in Perú and Bolivia, converting the child in the monarch of the tentative United Kingdom of Ecuador, Perú and Bolivia, with herself and Flores as Regents. When everything was organized, the attempt was denounced by the press and Latin American diplomats, and plans collapsed.

Death and burial

Maria Christina’s illness returned and she suffered from serious coughing, fainting and fever. She died in Le Havre, France on August 22, 1878, aged 72. As the mother of Isabella II, Maria Christina was buried in the royal crypt of El Escorial.

The life of Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Queen Consort of Spain. Part I.

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Carlist War, Charles III of Spain, Charles IV of Spain, Don Carlos, Francis I of the Two Sicilies, Kingdom of Spain, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Pragmatic Sanction, Regency, Salic Law, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies (April 27, 1806 – August 22, 1878) was queen consort of Spain from 1829 to 1833 and regent of the Kingdom from 1833 to 1840.

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies was born in Palermo, Sicily the daughter of King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife, Maria Isabella of Spain. King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies was the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Siclies (who was the third son of King Carlo VII-V of Naples and Sicily by his wife, Maria Amalia of Saxony.) By the way, King Carlo VII-V of Naples and Sicily was also King Carlos III of Spain.

Carlos IV of Spain

María Isabella of Spain

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies’ mother, Maria Isabella of Spain, was the youngest daughter of King Carlos IV of Spain and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma. This means her parents were first cousins; her grand fathers (Carlos IV of Spain & King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies) were brothers.

On May 27, 1829, Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony, Queen Consort of Spain as the third wife of King Fernando VII of Spain, died. Fernando VII, old and ill, had gone his entire reign without producing a male heir, sparking a succession duel between the Infanta Maria Francisca and the Infante Carlos, and the Infanta Luisa Carlotta and the Infante Francisco de Paula. Fernando VII declared his intention to marry and assembled the Council of Castile, who tasked the King with remarriage.

King Fernando VII of Spain

Following Luisa Carlotta’s suggestion, Fernando VII sent for Maria Christina of the Two Siclies, his niece, who had already given birth to a child and pleased the King’s eyes. The two were wed on December 12, 1829 at the Church of the Atocha.

With her betrothal and then marriage to Fernando VII, Maria Christina became embroiled in the conflict between the Spanish Liberals and the Carlists. The Liberal faction, and the Spanish people, greatly revered Maria Christina, and made her their champion; when she first arrived in Madrid in 1829, the blue of the cloak she wore became their official color. The Carlist’s were absolutists and highly conservative, and derived their name from the Infante Carlos de Borbón, Count of Molina who they favored for the throne. Using King Felipe V’s enactment of Salic law, which banned women from taking the throne.

Fernando VII and Maria Christina produced two daughters, Isabella in October 1830 and Luisa Fernanda the next year. However, in a secret session of the Cortes in 1789, King Carlos IV reversed the Salic Law of succession with the Pragmatic Sanction. Seeking to secure the succession of an heir of his siring, no matter their gender, Ferdinand VII announced the Pragmatic Sanction in March 1830. The Pragmatic Sanction removed the Salic system established by Felipe V of Spain and returned Spain to a a male preferred primogeniture, similar to the British style of mixed succession that gave succession rights to women. This type of system of succession predated the Bourbon monarchy in Spain.

On the trip to La Granja, Fernando VII was badly injured by a coach accident. He became ill and increasingly sick over the summer. At one point, Fernando VII was found unconscious at the palace chapel. Seeking council in the event of Fernando VII’s death, Maria Christina approached the Carlist Francisco Calomarde, who advised her that the Spanish people would rally behind Infante Carlos de Borbón, Count of Molina.

Infante Carlos de Borbón, Count of Molina (March 29, 1788 – March 10, 1855) was an Infante of Spain and the second surviving son of King Carlos IV of Spain and of his wife, Maria Luisa of Parma and the younger brother of King Fernando VII.

Infante Carlos de Borbón, Count of Molina

Fearing the actions of Infante Carlos de Borbón, and wanting to make him his ally, Maria Christina coerced Fernando VII into signing a decree making her regent if he died, with Infante Carlos de Borbón, as her chief adviser. Infante Carlos de Borbón refused, demanding total governance. Calomarde, with Maria Francisca and Maria Theresa, reissued his warning, coercing the King and Queen into repealing the Pragmatic Sanction.

When Fernando VII appeared to have died, the repealing was announced publicly, and Maria Christina was deserted by her courtiers. Fernando VII was discovered to be alive, and news of this also spread. Altogether, Luisa Carlotta, at that time in Andalusia, soon arrived at La Granja and speedily re-enacted the Pragmatic Sanction and orchestrated Calomarde’s dismissal.

When Fernando VII actually did die on September 29, 1833, Maria Christina became regent for their daughter, proclaimed Queen Isabella II of Spain. Isabella’s claim to the throne was disputed by Infante Carlos de Borbón who claimed that his brother Ferdinand had unlawfully changed the succession law to permit females to inherit the crown.

Infante Carlos de Borbón, Count of Molina immediately claimed the throne of Spain after the death of his older brother King Fernando VII in 1833. Claiming the style and title, King Carlos V of Spain, first of the Carlist claimants to the throne of Spain, he was a reactionary who stridently opposed liberalism in Spain and the assaults on the Catholic Church. His claim was contested by liberal forces loyal to the dead king’s infant daughter, the new Queen Isabella II. The result was the bloody First Carlist War (1833–1840).

Isabella II as a child. She is depicted wearing the sash of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa.

Some supporters of infante Carlos went so far as to claim that Fernando had actually bequeathed the crown to his brother but that Maria Christina had suppressed that fact. It was further alleged that the Queen had signed her dead husband’s name to a decree recognizing Isabella as heir. Despite considerable support for Carlos from conservative elements in Spain, the Liberal faction supporting Queen María Christina as Regent, successfully retained the throne for her daughter.

The Lineage of King Alfonso XII of Spain, Part II.

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Alfonso XII of Spain, Carlos IV of Spain, Fernando VII of Spain, Francis I of the Two Sicilies, Isabella II of Spain, Kingdom of Spain, María Isabel of Spain, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Maria Louisa of Parma, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

King Alfonso XII of Spain

In examining the lineage of King Alfonso XII of Spain I mentioned that most of us commoners have eight unrelated great-grandparents. Alfonso XII only had four great-grandparents, and even then they were all from the House of Bourbon. These four individuals were his paternal great-grandparents as we have seen:

Carlos IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma
Francesco I of the Two Sicilies and his his first cousin María Isabel of Spain

In examining his maternal great-grandparents we find these same four individuals:

Carlos IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma
Francesco I of the Two Sicilies and his his first cousin María Isabel of Spain

The difference of course is in who their children were and whom they were married to. For example, paternally Carlos IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma had Infante Francisco de Paula, Duke of Cádiz who married his niece Princess Luisa Carlotta of the Two Sicilies daughter of Francesco I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabel of Spain.

However, on Alfonso XII’s maternal side, Carlos IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma had King Fernando VII of Spain who married, as his fourth wife his, niece Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, (her mother wife, Maria Isabella of Spain’s older brother).

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies

Therefore, maternally, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, parents were of Francesco I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabel of Spain.

This means that these two sisters of the House of Bourbon-Two Siclies (below) each married their uncles (who were brothers) of the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon.

* Luisa Carlotta (1804–1844), who married her mother’s younger brother Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain.
* María Cristina (1806–1878), who married firstly her uncle Ferdinand VII of Spain (her mother’s older brother);

They were King Alfonso XII’s grand parents.

His paternal grand parents were Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain Luisa Carlotta of the Two Sicilies and they were the parents of King Alfonso XII’s father…Infante Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz.

Francisco married Queen Isabella II of Spain, his double first cousin, on October 10, 1846. There is evidence that Isabella would rather have married his younger brother, Infante Enrique, Duke of Seville, and complained bitterly about her husband’s effeminate habits after their first night together.

Infante Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz

Alfonso XII’s maternal grandparents (his maternal side is where he derived his claim to the throne) were King Fernando VII of Spain Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies and they were the parents of his mother, Queen Isabella II of Spain.

Isabella II, was Queen of Spain from 1833 until 1868. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, whose refusal to recognize a female sovereign led to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1868, and formally abdicated in 1870. Her son, Alfonso XII, became king in 1874.

Isabella II, was Queen of Spain

With Alfonso XII being the result of multiple first cousin marriages and two uncle-niece unions, he should have been as inbred as his predecessor King Carlos II of Spain. The fact that Alfonso XII did not suffer from the curse of inbreeding like Carlos II has given rise to the speculation that Infante Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz was not the real father of King Alfonso XII. That will be the topic of the next post on the lineage of King Alfonso XII.

The Life of Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia. Part VI: Conclusion.

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Alexander Kerensky, Dagmar of Denmark, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, Empress Marie of Russia, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, House of Romanov, Provisional Government, Russian Revolution

With Michael wiling to leave it up to the will of the people whether or not he shall become Emperor of Russia, commentators, ranging from Kerensky to French ambassador Maurice Paléologue, regarded Michael’s action as noble and patriotic, but Nicholas was appalled that Michael had “kowtowed to the Constituent Assembly.”

The hopes of the monarchists that Michael might be able to assume the throne following the election of the Constituent Assembly were overtaken by events. His renunciation of the throne, though conditional, marked the end of the Tsarist regime in Russia. The Provisional Government had little effective power; real power was held by the Petrograd Soviet. Historians debate whether Michael can be counted as the legitimate last Emperor of Russia.

Michael returned to Gatchina and was not permitted to return to his unit or to travel beyond the Petrograd area. On April 5, 1917, he was discharged from military service. By July, Prince Lvov had resigned as Prime Minister to be replaced by Alexander Kerensky, who ordered ex-Emperor Nicholas II removed from Petrograd to Tobolsk in the Urals because it was “some remote place, some quiet corner, where they would attract less attention”. On the eve of Nicholas’s departure, Kerensky gave permission for Michael to visit him. Kerensky remained present during the meeting and the brothers exchanged awkward pleasantries.

On August 21, 1917, guards surrounded the villa on Nikolaevskaya street where Michael was living with Natalia. On the orders of Kerensky, they were both under house arrest, along with Nicholas Johnson, who had been Michael’s secretary since December 1912. A week later, they were moved to an apartment in Petrograd. Michael’s stomach problems worsened and, with the intervention of British ambassador Buchanan and foreign minister Mikhail Tereshchenko, they were moved back to Gatchina in the first week of September. Tereshchenko told Buchanan that the Dowager Empress Marie would be allowed to leave the country, for England if she wished, and that Michael would follow in due course. The British, however, were not prepared to accept any Russian Grand Duke for fear it would provoke a negative public reaction in Britain, where there was little sympathy for the Romanovs.

On September 1, 1917, Kerensky declared Russia a republic. Michael wrote in his diary: “We woke up this morning to hear Russia declared a Republic. What does it matter which form the government will be as long as there is order and justice?” Two weeks later, Michael’s house arrest was lifted. Kerensky had armed the Bolsheviks after a power struggle with the commander-in-chief and in October there was a second revolution as the Bolsheviks seized power from Kerensky. With a permit to travel issued by Peter Polotsov, a former colleague of Michael from the Savage Division who was now a commander in Petrograd, Michael planned to move his family to the greater safety of Finland. They packed valuables and prepared to move, but their preparations were seen by Bolshevik sympathisers and they were placed once more under house arrest. The last of Michael’s cars were seized by the Bolsheviks.

The house arrest was lifted again in November, and the Constituent Assembly was elected and met in January 1918. Despite being the minority party, the Bolsheviks dissolved it. On March 7, 1918, Michael and his secretary Johnson were re-arrested on the orders of Moisei Uritsky, the Head of the Petrograd secret police, and imprisoned at the Bolshevik headquarters in the Smolny Institute. On March 11, 1918, Uritsky sent Michael and Johnson to Perm, a thousand miles to the east, on the order of the Council of the People’s Commissars, which included both Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.

Alexander Kerensky, Prime Minister of Russia from July–October 1917

Natalia lobbied the Commissars in Petrograd for his release and, on April 9, 1918, he was set at liberty within Perm. He moved into the best room in the best hotel in Perm, along with Johnson and two manservants, valet Vasily Chelyshev and former chauffeur Borunov. Natalia feared for George’s safety, and in March 1918, she arranged for him to be smuggled out of Russia by his nanny with the help of Danish diplomats and the Putyatins.

In May, Natalia was granted a travel permit to join Michael. Accompanied by family friends Prince Putyatin and Margaret Abakanovich, she arrived at Perm before the Orthodox Easter and they spent about a week together. The Germans demanded that the Bolsheviks disarm the Czechs, who fought back, seized the railway, joined forces with Russians fighting against the Bolsheviks and advanced westwards toward Perm. With the approach of the Czechs, Michael and Natalia feared that she would become trapped there, possibly in a dangerous situation and so, on May 18, she left unhappily. By early June, Michael was again ill with stomach trouble.

On June 12, 1918, the leader of the local secret police, Gavril Myasnikov, with the connivance of other local Bolsheviks, hatched a plan to murder Michael. Myasnikov assembled a team of four men who, like him, were all former prisoners of the Tsarist regime: Vasily Ivanchenko, Ivan Kolpashchikov, Andrei Markov and Nikolai Zhuzhgov. Using a forged order, the four men gained entry to Michael’s hotel at 11.45 p.m.

At first, Michael refused to accompany the men until he spoke with the local chairman of the secret police, Pavel Malkov, and then because he was ill. His protestations were futile and he got dressed. Johnson insisted on accompanying him and the four men plus their two prisoners climbed into two horse-drawn three-seater traps.

They drove out of the town into the forest near Motovilikha. When Michael queried their destination, he was told they were going to a remote railway crossing to catch a train. By now it was the early hours of June, 13. They all alighted from the carriages in the middle of the wood, and both Michael and Johnson were fired upon, once each, but as the assassins were using home-made bullets, their guns jammed. Michael, whether wounded or not is unknown, moved towards the wounded Johnson with arms outstretched, when he was shot at point-blank range in the head. Both Zhuzhgov and Markov claimed to have fired the fatal shot. Johnson was shot dead by Ivanchenko.

Michael (left) in Perm April 1918

The bodies were stripped and buried. Anything of value was stolen and the clothes were taken back to Perm. After they were shown to Myasnikov as proof of the murders, the clothes were burned. The Ural Regional Soviet, headed by Alexander Beloborodov, approved the execution, either retrospectively or beforehand, as did Lenin. Michael was the first of the Romanovs to be executed by the Bolsheviks but he was not the last. Neither Michael’s nor Johnson’s remains have been found.

This date in history: December 18, 1626, birth of Queen Christina of Sweden

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Anna of Prussia, Brandenburg, Charles I of England, Charles II of England and Scotland, Elector of Brandenburg Holy Roman Empire, House of Vasa, King Gustaf II Adolph of Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden, Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, Queen Christina of Sweden, Sigismund III of Poland

Christina (December 18, 1626 – April 19, 1689), the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustaf II Adolph of Sweden and his wife Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, reigned as Queen of Sweden from 1632 until her abdication in 1654.

Queen Christina of Sweden’s ancestry.

Her mother was Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg (1599-1655) who was was the daughter of Johann Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, and Anna, Duchess of Prussia,

Maternal grandparents: John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg was the son Joachim III Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg, and his first wife Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin.

Anna, Duchess of Prussia was the daughter of Albert Friedrich Duke of Prussia and Marie Eleonore of Cleves.

Her father was King Gustaf II Adolph of Sweden (1594-1632) the son of King Carl IX of Sweden and and his second wife, Christina of Holstein-Gottorp.

Paternal grandparents: King Carl IX of Sweden was the youngest son of King Gustaf I of Sweden and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud.

Christina of Holstein-Gottorp was the daughter of Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and Christine of Hesse.

King Gustaf II Adolph of Sweden

In 1616, the 22-year-old Gustaf II Adolph of Sweden started looking for a Protestant bride. He had since 1613 tried to get his mother’s permission to marry the noblewoman Ebba Brahe, but this was not allowed, and he had to give up his wishes to marry her, though he continued to be in love with her. He received reports with the most flattering descriptions of the physical and mental qualities of the beautiful 17-year-old princess Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. Elector Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg was favorably inclined towards the Swedish king, but he had become very infirm after an apoplectic stroke in the autumn of 1617.

Elector Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg’s determined Prussian wife, wife Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin, showed a strong dislike for this Swedish suitor, because Prussia was a Polish fief and the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa still resented his loss of Sweden to Gustaf II Adolph’s father Carl IX.

Maria Eleonora had additional suitors in the young Willem II, Prince of Orange, Wladislaw Vasa of Poland, Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg and even the future Charles I of England. Maria Eleonora’s brother Elector Georg Wilhelm was flattered by the offer of the British Prince of Wales and proposed their younger sister Catherine (1602–1644) as a more suitable wife for the Swedish king.

Maria Eleonora, however, seems to have had a preference for Gustaf Adolph. For Gustaf Adolph it was a matter of honour to acquire the hand of Maria Eleonora and none other. He had the rooms of his castle in Stockholm redecorated and started making preparations to leave for Berlin to press his suit in person, when a letter arrived from Maria Eleonora’s mother to his mother.

Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg

The Electress Anna demanded in no uncertain terms that the Queen Dowager Christina should prevent her son’s journey, as “being prejudicial to Brandenburg’s interests in view of the state of war existing between Sweden and Poland”. Her husband, she wrote, was “so enfeebled in will by illness that he could be persuaded to agree to anything, even if it tended to the destruction of the country”. It was a rebuff that verged on an insult.

The Elector Johann Sigismund, Maria Eleonora’s father, died on December 23, 1619, and the prospect of a Swedish marriage seemed gone with him. In the spring of 1620, however, stubborn Gustaf Adolph arrived in Berlin. The Electress Dowager maintained an attitude of reserve and even refused to grant the Swedish king a personal meeting with Maria Eleonora. All those who were present, however, noticed the princess’s interest in the young king.

Afterwards, Gustaf Adolph made a round of other Protestant German courts with the professed intention of inspecting a few matrimonial alternatives. On his return to Berlin, the Electress Dowager seems to have become completely captivated by the charming Swedish king. After plighting his troth to Maria Eleonora Gustaf Adolph hurried back to Sweden to make arrangements for the reception of his bride.

The new Elector, Georg Wilhelm who resided in Prussia, was appalled when he heard of his mother’s independent action. He wrote to Gustaf Adolph to refuse his consent to the marriage until Sweden and Poland had settled their differences. It was the Electress Dowager, however, who, in accordance with Hohenzollern family custom, had the last word in bestowing her daughter’s hand in marriage. She sent Maria Eleonora to territory outside of Georg Wilhelm’s reach and concluded the marriage negotiations herself.

Queen Christina of Sweden

The wedding took place in Stockholm on November 25, 1620. A comedy was performed based on the history of Olof Skötkonung. Gustaf Adolph – in his own words – finally “had a Brandenburg lady in his marriage bed”. Anna of Prussia actually stayed with her daughter in Sweden for several years after the marriage.

Within six months of their marriage, Gustaf Adolph left to command the siege of Riga, leaving Maria Eleonora in the early stages of her first pregnancy. She lived exclusively in the company of her German ladies-in-waiting and had difficulty in adapting herself to the Swedish people, countryside and climate. She disliked the bad roads, sombre forests and wooded houses, roofed with turf. She also pined for her husband. A year after their wedding she had a miscarriage and became seriously ill.

In the autumn of 1623 Maria Eleonora gave birth to a daughter, named Christina, but the baby died the next year. At that time, the only surviving male heirs to the Swedish throne was the hated Vasa King Sigismund III of Poland and his sons. With Gustaf Adolph risking his life in battles, an heir to the throne was anxiously awaited. In the autumn Maria Eleonora was pregnant for a third time. In May 1625 she was in good spirits and insisted on accompanying her husband on the royal yacht to review the fleet.

There seemed to be no danger, as the warships were moored just opposite the castle, but a sudden storm nearly capsized the yacht. The queen was hurried back to the castle, but when she got there she was heard to exclaim: “Jesus, I cannot feel my child!” Shortly afterwards the longed-for son was stillborn.

Birth of Christina

With the renewal of the war with Poland, Gustaf Adolph had to leave his wife again. It is likely that she gave way to depression and grief, as we know she did in 1627, and it is probably for this reason that the king let his queen join him in Livonia after the Poles had been defeated in January 1626. By April, Maria Eleonora found she was again pregnant. No risks were taken this time and the astrologers predicted the birth of a son and heir. During a lull in the warfare, Gustaf Adolph urried back to Stockholm to await the arrival of the baby. The birth was a difficult one.

On December 18, a baby was born with a fleece (lanugo), which enveloped it from its head to its knees, leaving only its face, arms and lower part of its legs free. Moreover, the baby had a large nose and was covered with hair. Thus, it was assumed the baby was a boy, and so the King was told. Closer inspection, however, determined that the baby was a girl. Gustaf Adolph’s half-sister Catherine informed him that the child was a girl. She “carried the baby in her arms to the king in a condition for him to see and to know and realise for himself what she dared not tell him”. Gustaf Adolph remarked: “She is going to be clever, for she has taken us all in.”

His disappointment did not last long, and he decided that she would be called Christina after his mother. He gave orders for the birth to be announced with all the solemnity usually accorded to the arrival of a male heir. This seems to indicate that Gustaf Adolph, at the age of 33, had little hope of having other children. Maria Eleonora’s state of health seems to be the most likely explanation for this. Her later portraits and actions, however, do not indicate that she was physically fragile.

Shortly after the birth, Maria Eleonora was in no condition to be told the truth about the baby’s gender and the king and court waited several days before breaking the news to her. She screamed: “Instead of a son, I am given a daughter, dark and ugly, with a great nose and black eyes. Take her from me, I will not have such a monster!” She may have suffered from a post-natal depression. In her agitated state, the queen tried to injure the child.