November 28, 1857: Birth of Alfonso XII, King of Spain. Part II.

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Alfonso XII of Spain, Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, Infanta María de las Mercedes, Princess María de las Mercedes of Orléans, Princess of Asturias, Spanish Republic

On December 1, 1874, Alfonso issued the Sandhurst Manifesto, where he set the ideological basis of the Bourbon Restoration. It was drafted in reply to a birthday greeting from his followers, a manifesto proclaiming himself the sole representative of the Spanish monarchy.

At the end of 1874, Brigadier Martínez Campos, who had long been working more or less openly for the king, led some battalions of the central army to Sagunto, rallied the troops sent against him to his own flag, and entered Valencia in the king’s name.

King Alfonso XII of Spain

Thereupon the President resigned, and his power was transferred to the king’s plenipotentiary and adviser, Cánovas. The December 29, 1874 military coup of Gen. Martinez Campos in Sagunto ended the failed republic and meant the rise of the young Prince Alfonso.

Within a few days after Canovas del Castillo took power as Premier, the new king, proclaimed on December 29, 1874, arrived at Madrid, passing through Barcelona and Valencia and was acclaimed everywhere (1875). In 1876, a vigorous campaign against the Carlists, in which the young king took part, resulted in the defeat of Don Carlos and the Duke’s abandonment of the struggle.

Initially led by Canovas del Castillo as moderate prime minister, what was thought at one time as a coup aimed at placing the military in the political-administrative positions of power, in reality ushered in a civilian regime that lasted until Primo de Rivera’s 1923 coup d’état. Cánovas was the real architect of the new regime of the Restoration.

In order to eliminate one of the problems of the reign of Isabel II, the single party and its destabilizing consequences, the Liberal Party was allowed to incorporate and participate in national politics, and the ‘turnismo’ or alternation was to become the new system. Turnismo would be endorsed in the Constitution of 1876 and the Pact of El Pardo (1885). It meant that liberal and conservative prime ministers would succeed each other ending thus the troubles.

This led to the end of the Carlist revolts and the victory over the New York-backed Cuban revolutionaries, and led to a huge backing both by insular and peninsular Spaniards of Alfonso. His government continued the operations of the Ministry for Overseas Affairs which began under his mother’s reign.

The ministry was responsible for the theft of indigenous human remains and artifacts throughout colonized lands from 1863 to 1899. To this day, the majority of the stolen bodies of indigenous peoples, some still displayed in Spanish museums, have yet to be returned to their ancestral lands.

Alfonso XII’s short reign established the foundations for the final socioeconomic recuperation of Spain after the 1808–1874 crisis. Both European (the coastal regions, such as the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Asturias) and Overseas – Antilles and Pacific were able to grow steadily.

Cuba and Puerto Rico prospered to the point that Spain’s first train was between Havana and Camagüey, and the first telegraph in Latin America was in Puerto Rico, established by Samuel Morse, whose daughter lived there with her husband. Upon the American invasion of Puerto Rico, ten US dollars were needed to buy one Puerto Rican peso.

First marriage

On January 23, 1878 at the Basilica of Atocha in Madrid, the 22 year old Alfonso XII married his 17 year old first cousin, Princess María de las Mercedes of Orléans.

Princess María de las Mercedes of Orléans

Princess María de las Mercedes of Orléans (June 24, 1860 – June 26, 1878) was the daughter of Prince Antoine of Orléans, Duke of Montpensier, the youngest son of King Louis Philippe of France and his wife Maria Amelia Teresa of the Two Sicilies, and Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain the younger sister of Alfonso XII’s mother, Queen Isabella II of Spain.

Although Mercedes was patrilineally a French princess, she was also a Spanish infanta and spent the first eight years of her life in Spain.

Shortly after their honeymoon, it became evident that Queen Mercedes suffered from typhoid fever. The marriage would last only six months, during which she reportedly had a miscarriage. She died due to the fever on June 26, 1878, at 18 years old.

Second marriage and rule

On 29 November 1879 at the Basilica of Atocha in Madrid, Alfonso married his double third cousin, Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, daughter of Archduke Charles Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria.

During the honeymoon, a pastry cook named Otero fired at the young sovereign and his wife as they were driving in Madrid.

The children of this marriage were:

1. María de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias, (1880 – 1904), titular heir from the death of her father until the posthumous birth of her brother.
2. María Teresa, (1882 – 1912),
3. Alfonso XIII (1886 – 1941). Born posthumously.

Alfonso XII had two sons by Elena Armanda Nicolasa Sanz y Martínez de Arizala (1849 – 1898):

1. Alfonso Sanz y Martínez de Arizala (1880 – 1970)
2. Fernando Sanz y Martínez de Arizala (1881– 1925)

In 1881 Alfonso XII refused to sanction a law by which the ministers were to remain in office for a fixed term of 18 months. Upon the consequent resignation of Canovas del Castillo, he summoned Práxedes Mateo Sagasta, the Liberal leader, to form a new cabinet.

Death and impact

On November 25, 1885, Alfonso XII died, just three days short of his 28th birthday, at the Royal Palace of El Pardo near Madrid. He had been suffering from tuberculosis, but the immediate cause of his death was a recurrence of dysentery.

Infanta María de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias

Succession

The marriage of King Alfonso XII and Archduchess Maria Christina was unhappy. Alfonso had married Maria Christina in order to secure the succession to the throne. He did not love his wife and was disappointed after she gave birth to two daughters, while he already had two extramarital sons. In July 1883, Maria Christina left the Spanish court and traveled with her daughters to visit her own family in Austria.

By the summer of 1884, Alfonso XII’s health had deteriorated and he had tuberculosis. After a brief improvement, the 27-year-old king died on November 25, 1885, leaving behind the widowed Queen Maria Christina who was three months pregnant.

At the death of King Alfonso XII his heir was his eldest daughter InfantavMaría de las Mercedes (September 11, 1880 – October 17, 1904) She was Princess of Asturias, the heir presumptive to the Crown of Spain, for all 24 years of her life.

Mercedes was not declared queen upon the death of her father because she would be displaced if a son was born, or had the pregnancy been lost. However had the pregnancy or resulted in another daughter, Mercedes would have become queen regnant and been retroactively recognized as such during the interregnum.

The sibling proved to be a boy, Alfonso XIII, and on his birth in 1886, Mercedes turned out not to be queen.

His successor King Alfonso XIII was born at Royal Palace of Madrid on May 17, 1886. He was the posthumous son of Alfonso XII of Spain and became King upon his birth. Just after he was born, he was carried naked to the prime minister Práxedes Mateo Sagasta on a silver tray.

The infant King’s sister, Infanta María de las Mercedes
resumed the position of heir presumptive, which she held until her own death in October 1904 at the tender age of 24.

María de las Mercedes had married in Madrid on February 14, 1901, her second cousin, Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a nephew of King Francesco II of the then-defunct Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, who was elevated to the rank of Infante of Spain. The marriage was highly controversial due to her father-in-law’s ties with the Carlists.

After the death of María de las Mercedes in 1904 she was succeeded as heir to the Spanish throne by her own infant son, Prince Alfonso of the Bourbon-Two-Sicilies, because Alfonso XIII having not yet married and fathered a legitimate child.

November 28, 1499: Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick is Beheaded

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17th Earl of Warwick, Duke of Clarence, Edward Plantagenet, George Plantagenet, King Edward IV of England, King Henry VII of England, King Richard III of England, Lady Isabel Neville, Richard Neville

Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (February 25, 1475 – November 28, 1499) was the son of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville and a potential claimant to the English throne during the reigns of both his uncle, Richard III (1483–1485), and Richard’s successor, Henry VII (1485–1509). He was also a younger brother of Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury. Edward was tried and executed for treason in 1499.

Life

Edward Plantagenet was the son of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville.

George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (1449 – 1478), was the 6th son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of English kings Edward IV and Richard III.

His mother was Lady Isabel Neville (1451 – 1476) was the elder daughter and co-heiress of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker of the Wars of the Roses), and Anne de Beauchamp, suo jure 16th Countess of Warwick.

She was also the elder sister of Anne Neville, who was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, the only son and heir apparent of King Henry VI. Through her second marriage she was Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III.

Edward was born on February 25, 1475 at Warwick, the family home of his mother. At his christening, his uncle King Edward IV stood as godfather. He was styled as Earl of Warwick from birth, but was not officially granted the title until after his father’s death in 1478.

Edward’s potential claim to the throne following the deposition of his cousin Edward V in 1483 was overlooked because of the argument that the attainder of his father barred Warwick from the succession (although that could have been reversed by an Act of Parliament). Despite this, he was knighted at York by Richard III in September 1483.

In 1480, Edward was made a ward of King Edward IV’s stepson, Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, who as his guardian had the power to decide whom he would marry. Clements Markham, writing in 1906, claimed that Richard III had “liberated” Edward from the Tower of London, where Dorset had placed him; however, there are no contemporary sources for this claim, although Dorset was Constable of the Tower.

Dominic Mancini wrote that Richard, on becoming king, “gave orders that the son of the duke of Clarence, his other brother, then a boy of ten years old, should come to the city: and commanded that the lad should be kept in confinement in the household of his wife”.

John Rous (died 1492) wrote that after the death of Richard III’s only legitimate son, Edward of Middleham, Richard III named Edward Earl of Warwick as heir to the throne; however, there is no other evidence for this, and historians have pointed out that it would be illogical for Richard to claim that Clarence’s attainder barred Warwick from the throne while at the same time naming him as his heir.

However, in 1485, upon the death of Richard’s queen, Anne, Edward was created Earl of Salisbury by right of his mother, who was a co-heiress with Anne to the earldom.

Imprisonment and execution

After King Richard III’s death in 1485, Edward, Earl of Warwick, only ten years old, was kept as prisoner in the Tower of London by Henry VII. His claim to the English throne, albeit tarnished, remained a potential threat to Henry VII, particularly after the appearance of the pretender Lambert Simnel in 1487.

In 1490, he was confirmed in his title of Earl of Warwick despite his father’s attainder (his claim to the earldom of Warwick being through his mother). But he remained a prisoner until 1499, when he became involved (willingly or unwillingly) in a plot to escape with Perkin Warbeck.

On November 21, 1499, Edward, Earl of Warwick appeared at Westminster for a trial before his peers, presided over by John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. A week later, Edward, Earl of Warwick was beheaded for treason on Tower Hill.

Henry VII paid for his body and head to be taken to Bisham Abbey in Berkshire for burial. It was thought at the time that the Earl of Warwick was executed in response to pressure from Fernando II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, whose daughter, Catherine of Aragon, was to marry Henry VII’s heir, Arthur. Catherine was said to feel very guilty about Warwick’s death, and believed that her trials in later life were punishment for it.

A number of historians have claimed that Warwick had a mental disability. This conclusion appears entirely based on the chronicler Edward Hall’s contention that Warwick’s lengthy imprisonment from a young age had left him “out of all company of men, and sight of beasts, in so much that he could not discern a goose from a capon.”

Upon Warwick’s death, the House of Plantagenet became extinct in the legitimate male line. However, the surviving sons of his aunt Elizabeth, Duchess of Suffolk, continued to claim the throne for the Yorkist line.

November 28, 1857: Birth of Alfonso XII, King of Spain. Part I.

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Carlist War, Duke Carlo Emmanuel I of Savoy, Infanta Catherine Michaela of Spain, King Alfonso XII of Spain, King Amadeo I of Spain, King Carlos III of Spain, King Felipe II of Spain, Queen Isabella II of Spain

Alfonso XII (November 28, 1857 – November 25, 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from December 29, 1874 to his death in 1885.

Infante Alfonso was born in Madrid as the eldest son of Queen Isabella II on November 28, 1857. His official father, Isabella’s husband Francisco de Asís, has been generally viewed as effeminate, impotent or homosexual, leading historians to question his biological paternity.

There is speculation that Alfonso’s biological father may have been Enrique Puigmoltó y Mayans, a captain of the guard. The relationship of the queen with Puigmoltó was so much of a public hearsay at the time that Francisco de Asís initially refused to attend the baptism ceremony of Alfonso (the heir apparent) even if he was eventually forced to do so.

These rumours were used as political propaganda against Alfonso by the Carlists, and he came to be widely nicknamed “Puigmoltejo” in reference to his supposed father. Others have assigned the fatherhood to Federico Puig Romero, a colonel who was murdered under unclear circumstances in 1866.

His mother’s accession to the Spanish throne created the second cause of instability, the Carlist Wars.

The Carlist Wars were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed.

When King Fernando VII of Spain died in 1833, his widow, Queen Maria Cristina, became regent on behalf of their two-year-old daughter Queen Isabella II. The country splintered into two factions known as the Cristinos (or Isabelinos) and the Carlists. The Cristinos supported Queen Maria Cristina and her government, and were the party of the Liberals.

The Carlists advocated for Infante Carlos of Spain, Count of Molina, a pretender to the throne and brother of the deceased Fernando VII. Carlos denied the validity of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1830 that abolished the semi Salic Law (he was born before 1830). The Carlists wanted a return to autocratic monarchy.

When Queen Isabella II and her husband were forced to leave Spain by the Revolution of 1868, Alfonso accompanied them to Paris. From there, he was sent to the Theresianum in Vienna to continue his studies.

On June 25, 1870, he was recalled to Paris, where his mother abdicated in his favour, in the presence of a number of Spanish nobles who had tied their fortunes to those of the exiled queen. Alfonso assumed the name Alfonso XII, although no king of a united Spain had borne the name “Alfonso.”

The Spanish monarchy was regarded as continuous with the more ancient monarchy of Asturias, León and Castile, which were represented by 11 kings also named Alfonso.

After the Revolution deposed Isabella II, it was the Spanish Nobles who recognized Alfonso as the new King of Spain. However, it was the new Cortes which decided to reinstate the monarchy under a new dynasty.

The Cortes chose Prince Amadeo of Savoy, the Duke of Aosta as the new King. Prince Amadeo was a paternal descendant of King Felipe II of Spain through Tommaso Francesco of Savoy, Prince of Carignanohis, who was the grandson of King Felipe II of Spain through his daughter Infanta Catherine Michaela of Spain who had married Duke Carlo Emmanuel I of Savoy.

Prince Amadeo was also a maternal descendant of King Carlos III of Spain through his daughter Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain who was the Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Archduchess of Austria as the spouse of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.

Thier son, Archduke Rainer of Austria, was Prince Amedeo’s grandfather as his daughter, Archduchess Adelaide of Austria was Queen of Sardinia by marriage to Vittorio Emmanuel II of Sardinia, future King of Italy. Archduchess Adelaide was the mother of Amedeo I of Spain but also the mother of Umberto I of Italy.

The Savoyard prince was elected king as Amadeo I on November 16, 1870 and swore to uphold the Constitution in Madrid on January 2, 1871.

During a tumultuous reign, Amadeo was targeted by assassination attempts and struggled with opposition from both Carlists and republicans while his own faction split. After the Carlists revolted and the Third Carlist War broke out, he abdicated and returned to Italy in early 1873.

Following Amadeo’s abandonment, the First Spanish Republic was established. The republicans had to contend with a war in Cuba and Muslim uprisings in Spanish Morocco.

In the midst of these crises, the Carlist War continued and the Carlist party made itself strong in areas with claims over such places as Catalonia and the Basque Country. This unrest led to the creation of a group in favour of the Bourbon Restoration, led by the moderate conservative Antonio Cánovas del Castillo.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Here in the US it is Thanksgiving! I want to wish all who celebrate this holiday or not, a very Happy Thanksgiving! I also want to say I am extremely grateful to all of you who read and follow this blog! I appreciate you all!

I will be taking the next 4 days off and will return on Monday the 28th!

Thanks again!

Liam Foley

November 23, 1890: Accession of Prince Adolphe of Nassau as Grand Duke of Luxembourg

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Duke of Nassau, Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, King Willem III of the Netherlands, Salic Law

Adolphe (July 24, 1817 – November 17, 1905) Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Adolphe was a son of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau (1792–1839), and his first wife, Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Adolphe’s half-sister, Sophia of Nassau, was the wife of King Oscar II of Sweden.

Adolphe became Duke of Nassau in August 1839 at the age of 22, after the death of his father. Wiesbaden had by this time become the capital of the Duchy and Adolphe took up residence in the newly constructed Stadtschloss in 1841.

On March 4, 1848 he consented to the population of Nassau’s nine “Demands of the Nassauers”. A few years later, however, he revoked his liberal views and took a strongly conservative and reactionary course. In general, though, he was seen as a popular ruler.

He supported the Austrian Empire in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. After Austria’s defeat, Nassau was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia and he lost his throne on September 20, 1866.

From 1815 to 1839, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was ruled by the kings of the Netherlands as a province of the Netherlands. Following the Treaty of London (1839), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg became independent but remained in personal union with the Netherlands with the Dutch King as the Head of State.

Grand Duke of Luxembourg

In 1879, Adolphe’s niece Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the daughter of another of his half-sisters, married Willem III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 1890, their only daughter Wilhelmina succeeded on his death without surviving male issue to the Dutch throne, but was excluded from the succession to Luxembourg by Salic Law.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg passed to Adolphe in accordance with the Nassau Family Pact. Adolphe was King-Grand Duke Willem III’s 17th cousin once removed through a male-only line, but was also his 3rd cousin as they both descended from Willem IV, Prince of Orange (he being the paternal great-grandson of William IV’s eldest daughter Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau.)

Marriage and family

On January 31, 1844, Adolphe married firstly in St. Petersburg Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia, who was the second child and daughter of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia and Princess Charlotte of Württemberg who took the name Elena Pavlovna upon her conversion to the Orthodox faith. Through her father, Elizabeth was a granddaughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia, and a niece of both Russian Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I.

She died less than a year afterwards giving birth to a stillborn daughter. Adolphe built the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Elizabeth 1847 to 1855 as her funeral church.

On April 23, 1851, he remarried Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau. She was the daughter of to Prince Friedrich August of Anhalt-Dessau and Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel.

They had five children, of whom only two lived to the age of eighteen and became prince and princess of Luxembourg

Grand Duke Adolphe was already 73 years old when he assumed the throne and knew little of Luxembourgish politics, he left his hands off the day-to-day governing.

The prime minister Paul Eyschen, in office since 1888, took care of the affairs of state, and this created a tradition that the ruler would remain absent from the politics of the day.

In 1902 Adolphe appointed his son Prince Gullaume as Lieutenant-Representative. Adolphe died in 1905 at his summer home, Schloss Hohenburg in Lenggries, and was succeeded by his eldest son as Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg. In 1953 Adolphe was buried in the crypt of the church of Schloss Weilburg.

Luxembourg is a French speaking country and therefore the Dutch Monarchs of Luxembourg were known as Grand Duke Guillaume I, Guillaume II and Guillaume III of Luxembourg respectively.

November 23, 1890: Death of Willem III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg

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House of Orange, King Willem III of the Netherlands, Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange, Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen Victoria, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Willem III (February 9, 1817 – November 23, 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 1890. He was also the Duke of Limburg from 1849 until the abolition of the duchy in 1866.

Willem III was the son of King Willem II and Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia. Anna Pavlovna was born in 1795 at Gatchina Palace, the eighth child and sixth daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg).

King Willem III of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg

On the abdication of his grandfather Willem I in 1840, and the accession of his father as King Willem II, Prince Willem became the Prince of Orange. On the death of his father in 1849, he succeeded as King Willem III of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Willem III married his first cousin Princess Sophie of Württemberg in 1839. Sophie was born in Stuttgart; her parents were King Wilhelm I of Württemberg and Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, the fourth eldest daughter of Emperor Paul I and Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg).

Shortly after Sophie’s birth, her mother died, and she was cared for by her aunt, Catharina of Württemberg. She was niece of tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I of Russia.

Princess Sophie of Württemberg

Willem III and Sophie had three sons, William, Maurice, and Alexander, all of whom predeceased him.

In 1877, Queen Sophie died and in the same year, King Willem III announced his intention to marry Émilie Ambre, a French opera singer, whom he ennobled as countess d’Ambroise – without government consent. Under pressure from society and the government, he abandoned these marriage plans.

Willem III remained eager to remarry. In 1878, he first proposed to his niece, Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Weimar. He then considered marriage with Princess Pauline of Waldeck and Pyrmont, a small German principality, and Princess Thyra of Denmark, the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, who had her own private scandalous history

He finally decided to marry Pauline’s younger sister Emma.

Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Emma was born a princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont on August 2, 1858 in Arolsen Castle in Arolsen, the capital of the small German principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont. She was the fourth daughter of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and Princess Helena of Nassau-Weilburg. Her brother, Friedrich, was the last reigning prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her sister, Helena, was the wife of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, a son of Queen Victoria.

Some politicians were quite angry, as she was 41 years the king’s junior. Emma showed herself, however, as a cordial woman. Willem III asked permission from parliament, this was easily granted. The couple were quickly married in Arolsen on January 7, 1879.

When Willem III married Emma in 1879 there was a 41 year age gap between them. Willem III was 62 and Emma was 21.

Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont and King Willem III of the Netherlands

Emma had a relieving influence on Willem’s capricious personality and the marriage was extremely happy. The king had stopped interfering with most aspects of government.

In 1880, Princess Wilhelmina was born. She became heir presumptive in 1884 after the death of the last remaining son from Willem’s first marriage, Alexander, Prince of Orange.

King Willem III of The Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg

King Willem became seriously ill in 1887. He was suffering from a kidney-ailment.

In 1888 and 1889, the ailing king became increasingly demented. The Council of State and then Queen Emma became regents. Willem III died in Het Loo in 1890. Because Wilhelmina had not yet reached adulthood, Emma became regent for her daughter. She would remain regent until Wilhelmina’s eighteenth birthday in 1898.

Queen Mother Emma of the Netherlands and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Titles of the Royals of Europe: What Language to use? Part III.

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duc de Bourgogne, Duke of Burgundy, fille de France, Fils de France, Infanta of Spain, Infante of Spain, Philippe I Duc d'Orléans, Prince Du Sang

This section on I will show how I render foreign titles. It’s really pretty simple. Except for rare occasions I always render foreign titles in English.

The rare example of when I use the native language to render titles are with the French Monarchy (also Spain and Portugal but more on that in a moment).

First of all in French the title of King is translated as Roi and I never use it. What I do use is the title of Duke which translates to Duc in French.

The title Duc also is accompanied with the article de which in English is the word the. Here is an example…duc de Bourgogne. Bourgogne is translated as Burgundy in English but I always us the English translation for the name of the region.

Philippe I, Duc d’Orléans

A notable Duke of Burgundy is Philip the Bold. In French it’s Philippe II le Hardi duc de Bourgogne. I generally end up with a mish-mash of French and English and will call him Philippe II The Bold, Duc de Burgundy…or Philippe II The Bold, Duke of Burgundy.

An interesting usage is with the Dukedom of Orléans. In French the article de drops the e and uses a d along with an apostrophe when the Dukedom begins with a vowel.

An example is Philip the brother of King Louis XIV. In French it is written as Philippe I, Duc d’Orléans. However, I will also refer to him as Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. I’m wildly inconsistent with this.

French Royals also had the style and rank Fils de France which translates to Son of France for boys and was held by the sons of the kings and dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille de France, in English, Daughter of France. In these instances I always use the French translation.

The dauphin, the heir to the French throne, was the most senior of the fils de France and was usually addressed as Monsieur le dauphin. The king’s next younger brother, also a fils de France, was known simply as Monsieur, and his wife as Madame. In these instances I also stick with the French translation.

Another saying for French Royals was Prince/Princess of the Blood. In French this is translated as Prince/Princess du sang is a person legitimately descended in male line from a sovereign. The female equivalent was applied to the daughter of a prince of the blood prince du sang.

As I mentioned Spain and Portugal are similar. They have a concept of Son or Daughter of Spain/Portugal and in their native language it translates to Infante for males and Infanta for women.

Technically speaking, the title Prince and Princess of Spain and Portugal do not exist. In its place Infante and Infanta are used.

Princess Elisabeth de Bourbon of France, Queen of Spain

However, Infante and Infanta are often anglicised and translated as Prince/Princess and they are considered as having the title and rank of a Prince/Princess even if they do not officially use that title. The only Spanish royal using the title of Prince/Princess is the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne who usually bears the title Prince/Princess of Austria.

In my work I stick with the Spanish titles of Infante and Infanta of Spain.

Another honorific in Spain is Don and in Portugal it’s Dom.

The female equivalent is Doña and Dona in Portuguese.

In Spanish, although originally a title reserved for royalty, select nobles, and church hierarchs, it is now often used as a mark of esteem for a person of personal, social or official distinction, such as a community leader of long standing, a person of significant wealth, or a noble, but may also be used ironically. As a style, rather than a title or rank, it is used with, rather than in place of, a person’s name.

I tend to completely ignore the usage of Don and Dom and Doña and Dona. As I mentioned I’m very inconsistent!

That is it for now and will continue next with the usage of German titles.

Were They A Usurper? King John. Part II.

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Château de Falaise, Duke Arthur I of Brittany, Eleanor of Aquitaine, King John of England and Lord of Ireland, King Philippe II Auguste of France, King Richard I of England, Male Preferred Primogeniture, Treaty of Le Goulet, Usurper

Conquest of Cyprus

In April 1191 Richard left Messina for Acre, but a storm dispersed his large fleet. After some searching, it was discovered that the ship carrying his sister Joan and his new fiancée, Berengaria of Navarre, was anchored on the south coast of Cyprus, along with the wrecks of several other vessels, including the treasure ship. Survivors of the wrecks had been taken prisoner by the island’s ruler, Isaac Komnenos.

Before leaving Cyprus on crusade, Richard married Berengaria, the first-born daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre. Richard first grew close to her at a tournament held in her native Navarre. The wedding was held in Limassol on May 12, 1191 at the Chapel of St George and was attended by Richard’s sister Joan, whom he had brought from Sicily. The marriage was celebrated with great pomp and splendour, many feasts and entertainments, and public parades and celebrations followed commemorating the event.

When Richard married Berengaria he was still officially betrothed to Alys, and he pushed for the match in order to obtain the Kingdom of Navarre as a fief, as Aquitaine had been for his father. Further, Eleanor championed the match, as Navarre bordered Aquitaine, thereby securing the southern border of her ancestral lands.

Richard took his new wife on crusade with him briefly, though they returned separately. Berengaria had almost as much difficulty in making the journey home as her husband did, and she did not see England until after his death. After his release from German captivity, Richard showed some regret for his earlier conduct, but he was not reunited with his wife. The marriage remained childless.

Death of the King

In March 1199, Richard was in Limousin suppressing a revolt by Viscount Aimar V of Limoges. Although it was Lent, he “devastated the Viscount’s land with fire and sword”. He besieged the tiny, virtually unarmed castle of Châlus-Chabrol. Some chroniclers claimed that this was because a local peasant had uncovered a treasure trove of Roman gold.

On March 26, 1199, Richard was hit in the shoulder by a crossbow bolt, and the wound turned gangrenous. Richard asked to have the crossbowman brought before him; called alternatively Pierre (or Peter) Basile, John Sabroz, Dudo, and Bertrand de Gourdon (from the town of Gourdon) by chroniclers, the man turned out (according to some sources, but not all) to be a boy.

He said Richard had killed his father and two brothers, and that he had killed Richard in revenge. He expected to be executed, but as a final act of mercy Richard forgave him, saying “Live on, and by my bounty behold the light of day”, before he ordered the boy to be freed and sent away with 100 shillings.

Richard died on April 6, 1199 in the arms of his mother, and thus “ended his earthly day.” Because of the nature of Richard’s death, it was later referred to as “the Lion by the Ant was slain”. According to one chronicler, Richard’s last act of chivalry proved fruitless when the infamous mercenary captain Mercadier had the boy flayed alive and hanged as soon as Richard died.

Richard produced no legitimate heirs and acknowledged only one illegitimate son, Philip of Cognac. His French territories, with the exception of Rouen, initially rejected John as a successor, preferring his nephew Arthur. The lack of any direct heirs from Richard was the first step in the dissolution of the Angevin Empire.

A Game of Thrones

After Richard’s death on April 6, 1199 there were two potential claimants to the Angevin throne: John, whose claim rested on being the sole surviving son of Henry II, and young Arthur I of Brittany, who held a claim as the son of John’s elder brother Geoffrey.

Richard appears to have started to recognise John as his heir presumptive in the final years before his death, but the matter was not clear-cut and medieval law gave little guidance as to how the competing claims should be decided.

With Norman law favouring John as the only surviving son of Henry II and Angevin law favouring Arthur as the only son of Henry’s elder son, the matter rapidly became an open conflict.

John immediately claimed the throne of England, but much of the French nobility were resentful at recognising him as their overlord. They preferred Arthur, who declared himself vassal of Philippe II Auguste of France.

John was supported by the bulk of the English and Norman nobility and was crowned at Westminster Abbey, backed by his mother, Eleanor. Arthur was supported by the majority of the Breton, Maine and Anjou nobles and received the support of Philippe II Auguste, who remained committed to breaking up the Angevin territories on the continent.

With Arthur’s army pressing up the Loire Valley towards Angers and Philip’s forces moving down the valley towards Tours, John’s continental empire was in danger of being cut in two.

Philippe II Auguste recognised Arthur’s right to Anjou, Maine, and Poitou. From April 8, Arthur he styled himself as Duke of Brittany, Count of Anjou and Earl of Richmond.

Treaty of Le Goulet

The Treaty of Le Goulet was signed by the kings John of England and Philippe II Auguste of France in May 1200 and meant to settle once and for all the claims the Norman kings of England had as Norman dukes on French lands, including, at least for a time, Brittany.

Under the terms of the treaty, Philippe II Auguste recognised John as King of England as heir of his brother Richard I and thus formally abandoned any support for Arthur. John, meanwhile, recognised Philippe II Auguste as the suzerain of continental possessions of the Angevin Empire.

After the signing of the Treaty of Le Goulet, and feeling offended by Philippe II Auguste, Arthur fled to John, his uncle, and was treated kindly, at least initially. However, he later became suspicious of John and fled back to Angers. Some unidentified source said that in April 1202, Arthur was again betrothed, this time to Marie of France, a daughter of Philippe II Auguste and Agnes of Andechs-Merania.

After his return to France, and with the support of Philippe II Auguste, Arthur embarked on a campaign in Normandy against John in 1202. Poitou revolted in support of Arthur. Arthur, Duke of Brittany besieged his grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, John’s mother, in the Château de Mirebeau.

John marched on Mirebeau, taking Arthur by surprise on July 31, 1202. Arthur was captured by John’s barons on August 1, and imprisoned in the Château de Falaise in Falaise, Normandy.

Imprisonment and disappearance

Arthur was guarded by Hubert de Burgh at the Chateau de Falaise. According to contemporaneous chronicler Ralph of Coggeshall, John ordered two of his servants to blind and castrate the duke. De Burgh could not bring himself to let Arthur be mutilated.

Fearful of John, de Burgh leaked news that Arthur had died of natural causes. This news infuriated Brittany, who suspected that Arthur had been murdered. The following year Arthur was transferred to Rouen, under the charge of William de Braose. Arthur vanished in April 1203, in the background of several military victories by Philippe II Auguste of France against King John.

Arthur’s disappearance gave rise to various stories. One account was that Arthur’s gaolers feared to harm him, and so he was murdered by John directly and his body dumped in the Seine.

William de Braose is also rumoured to have murdered Arthur. After the young man’s disappearance, he rose high in John’s favour receiving new lands and titles in the Welsh Marches. Many years after Arthur’s disappearance, and just prior to a conflict with King John, de Braose’s wife Maud de Braose accused the king of murdering Arthur.

Not only the Bretons, but even Philippe II Auguste were ignorant of what actually happened, and whether Arthur was alive or dead. Whatever his fate, Arthur left no known issue. William promised to direct the attack of Mirebeau on condition he was consulted on the fate of Arthur, but John broke the promise, causing him to leave John along with Aimeri of Thouars and siege Angers.

Nothing is recorded of Arthur after his incarceration in Rouen Castle in 1203, and while his precise fate is unknown, it is generally believed he was killed by John.

Assessment: I do not consider King John a usurper. Male preferred primogeniture was still developing and the fact is the monarch did have the power to name thier successor. King Richard I did at one point proclaim his nephew Arthur as his heir but in later years he changed his mind and supported his brother John as his heir. With Richard naming his brother as his heir John did become the legal King of England upon the death of his brother.

Queen Consort is not a Title!

Tags

King George V, queen, Queen Anne, Queen Camilla, Queen Consort, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mary, Queen Regnant, Queen Victoria

From the Emperor’s Desk: This is an expanded article I wrote previously here on my blog.

Queen Consort is not a title. The title of a female monarch is simply “Queen”. The term Consort distinguishes what type of Queen a person is.

There are two types of Queens. A Queen Regnant or a Queen Consort. (There are actually more but for this issue I’ll just talk about two).

Queen Elizabeth II was a Queen Regnant. A Queen Regnant is a Sovereign Queen in whom all the powers of the Crown are invested in, and who inherited the throne through hereditary succession.

Other than Queen Elizabeth II other Queen Regnants are Queen Victoria (1837 – 1901), Queen Anne (1702 – 1714), Queen Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603) to name just a few.

So absolutely nobody is claiming Camilla is a Queen Regnant!! It really goes without saying she is a Queen Consort because it’s pretty common knowledge that the wife of a King is a Queen Consort. So, since we know Camilla is a Queen Consort the question becomes how do we address her and refer to her?

In the past every single Queen Consort was simply refered to as Her Majesty, the Queen. For example, Queen Mary, the wife of King George V was addressed as Her Majesty, the Queen or just Queen Mary.

Since Camilla is absolutely the same as every other Queen Consort in history, the proper way to refer to a Queen Consort is to call her Her Majesty, the Queen. Calling her Queen Camilla is also acceptable.

Her title is not a lesser new title created just her….it’s pretty ancient and goes back to the Anglo-Saxon period.

When Queen Elizabeth II said in her statement that it was her “most sincere wish that, when the time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.” it seems to have caused some confusion. She wasn’t creating a new title or a new way of referencing a Queen Consort, she was simply distinguishing the type of Queen Camilla would be as apposed to the type of Queen she was, a Queen Regnant.

November 17, 1558: Death of Mary I, Queen of England and Ireland. Part IV.

Tags

Archbishop of Canterbury, False Pregnancy, John Foxe, King Felipe II of Spain, Pope Julius III, Queen Mary I of England and Ireland, Reginald Pole, Thomas Cranmer

Mary and her husband Felipe

In September 1554, Mary stopped menstruating. She gained weight, and felt nauseated in the mornings. For these reasons, almost the entirety of her court, including her physicians, believed she was pregnant. Parliament passed an act making Felipe regent in the event of Mary’s death in childbirth.

In the last week of April 1555, Elizabeth was released from house arrest, and called to court as a witness to the birth, which was expected imminently. According to Giovanni Michieli, the Venetian ambassador, Felipe may have planned to marry Elizabeth in the event of Mary’s death in childbirth, but in a letter to his brother-in-law Maximilian of Austria, Felipe expressed uncertainty as to whether Mary was pregnant.

Thanksgiving services in the diocese of London were held at the end of April after false rumours that Mary had given birth to a son spread across Europe. Through May and June, the apparent delay in delivery fed gossip that Mary was not pregnant. Susan Clarencieux revealed her doubts to the French ambassador, Antoine de Noailles.

Mary continued to exhibit signs of pregnancy until July 1555, when her abdomen receded. Michieli dismissively ridiculed the pregnancy as more likely to “end in wind rather than anything else”. It was most likely a false pregnancy, perhaps induced by Mary’s overwhelming desire to have a child.

In August, soon after the disgrace of the false pregnancy, which Mary considered “God’s punishment” for her having “tolerated heretics” in her realm, Felipe left England to command his armies against France in Flanders. Mary was heartbroken and fell into a deep depression. Michieli was touched by the queen’s grief; he wrote she was “extraordinarily in love” with her husband and disconsolate at his departure.

In the month following her accession, Mary issued a proclamation that she would not compel any of her subjects to follow her religion, but by the end of September 1553, leading Protestant churchmen—including Thomas Cranmer, John Bradford, John Rogers, John Hooper, and Hugh Latimer—were imprisoned.

Mary’s first Parliament, which assembled in early October, declared her parents’ marriage valid and abolished Edward’s religious laws. Church doctrine was restored to the form it had taken in the 1539 Six Articles of Henry VIII, which (among other things) reaffirmed clerical celibacy. Married priests were deprived of their benefices.

Mary rejected the break with Rome her father instituted and the establishment of Protestantism by her brother’s regents. Felipe persuaded Parliament to repeal Henry’s religious laws, returning the English church to Roman jurisdiction.

Reaching an agreement took many months and Mary and Pope Julius III had to make a major concession: the confiscated monastery lands were not returned to the church but remained in the hands of their influential new owners. By the end of 1554, the pope had approved the deal, and the Heresy Acts were revived.

Around 800 rich Protestants, including John Foxe, fled into exile. Those who stayed and persisted in publicly proclaiming their beliefs became targets of heresy laws. The first executions occurred over five days in February 1555: John Rogers on February 4, Laurence Saunders on February 8, and Rowland Taylor and John Hooper on February 9.

Thomas Cranmer, the imprisoned archbishop of Canterbury, was forced to watch Bishops Ridley and Latimer being burned at the stake. He recanted, repudiated Protestant theology, and rejoined the Catholic faith. Under the normal process of the law, he should have been absolved as a repentant, but Mary refused to reprieve him.

On the day of his burning, he dramatically withdrew his recantation. In total, 283 were executed, most by burning. The burnings proved so unpopular that even Alfonso de Castro, one of Felipe’s own ecclesiastical staff, condemned them and another adviser, Simon Renard, warned him that such “cruel enforcement” could “cause a revolt”. Mary persevered with the policy, which continued until her death and exacerbated anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish feeling among the English people. The victims became lauded as martyrs.

Reginald Pole, the son of Mary’s executed governess, arrived as papal legate in November 1554. He was ordained a priest and appointed Archbishop of Canterbury immediately after Cranmer’s execution in March 1556.

After Felipe’s visit in 1557, Mary again thought she was pregnant, with a baby due in March 1558. She decreed in her will that her husband would be the regent during the minority of their child. But no child was born, and Mary was forced to accept that her half-sister Elizabeth would be her lawful successor.

Mary was weak and ill from May 1558. In pain, possibly from ovarian cysts or uterine cancer, she died on November 17, 1558, aged 42, at St James’s Palace, during an influenza epidemic that also claimed Archbishop Pole’s life later that day. She was succeeded by Elizabeth. Felipe, who was in Brussels, wrote to his sister Joan: “I felt a reasonable regret for her death.”

Although Mary’s will stated that she wished to be buried next to her mother, she was interred in Westminster Abbey on December 14, in a tomb she eventually shared with Elizabeth. The inscription on their tomb, affixed there by James I-VI when he succeeded Elizabeth, is Regno consortes et urna, hic obdormimus Elizabetha et Maria sorores, in spe resurrectionis (“Consorts in realm and tomb, we sisters Elizabeth and Mary here lie down to sleep in hope of the resurrection”).