This date in History. September 16, 1701: Death of King James II-VII of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Tags

Duke of York, Glorious Revolution, King James II of England, King James II-VII of England and Scotland, Louis XIV of France, Mary II of England, Saint Germaine-en-Laye, William III and Mary II, William III of England

James II-VII (October 14, 1633 – September 16, 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from February 6, 1685 until he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland, his reign is now remembered primarily for struggles over religious tolerance.

However, it also involved the principles of absolutismand divine right of kings and his deposition ended a century of political and civil strife by confirming the primacy of Parliament over the Crown.

King James II-VII of England, Scotland and Ireland.

James inherited the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from his elder brother Charles II with widespread support in all three countries, largely based on the principle of divine right or birth. Tolerance for his personal Catholicism did not apply to it in general and when the English and Scottish Parliaments refused to pass his measures, James attempted to impose them by decree; it was a political principle, rather than a religious one, that ultimately led to his removal.

In June 1688, two events turned dissent into a crisis; the first on June 10 was the birth of James’s son and heir James Francis Edward, threatening to create a Catholic dynasty and excluding his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William III of Orange. The second was the prosecution of the Seven Bishopsfor seditious libel; this was viewed as an assault on the Church of England and their acquittal on June 30, destroyed his political authority in England. Anti-Catholic riots in England and Scotland now made it seem only his removal as monarch could prevent a civil war.

Representatives of the English political elite invited William to assume the English throne; after he landed in Brixham on November 5, 1688, James’s army deserted and he went into exile in France on December 23. In February 1689, Parliament held he had ‘vacated’ the English throne and installed William and Mary as joint monarchs, establishing the principle that sovereignty derived from Parliament, not birth. James landed in Ireland on March 14, 1689 in an attempt to recover his kingdoms but despite a simultaneous rising in Scotland, in April a Scottish Convention followed their English colleagues by ruling James had ‘forfeited’ the throne and offered it to William III and Mary II. After defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, James returned to France where he spent the rest of his life in exile at Saint-Germain, protected by Louis XIV.

In France, James was allowed to live in the royal château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. James’s wife and some of his supporters fled with him, including the Earl of Melfort; most, but not all, were Roman Catholic. In 1692, James’s last child, Louisa Maria Teresa, was born. Some supporters in England attempted to assassinate William III to restore James to the throne in 1696, but the plot failed and the backlash made James’s cause less popular. Louis XIV’s offer to have James elected King of Poland in the same year was rejected, for James feared that acceptance of the Polish crown might (in the minds of the English people) render him incapable of being King of England. After Louis concluded peace with William in 1697, he ceased to offer much in the way of assistance to James.

The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, James’s home during his final exile

During his last years, James lived as an austere penitent. He wrote a memorandum for his son advising him on how to govern England, specifying that Catholics should possess one Secretary of State, one Commissioner of the Treasury, the Secretary at War, with the majority of the officers in the army.

He died aged 67 of a brain haemorrhage on 16 September 1701 at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Had James remained king this entire time he would have reigned in all three kingdoms for 16 years, 7 months, 10 days. James’s heart was placed in a silver-gilt locket and given to the convent at Chaillot, and his brain was placed in a lead casket and given to the Scots College in Paris. His entrails were placed in two gilt urns and sent to the parish church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the English Jesuit college at Saint-Omer, while the flesh from his right arm was given to the English Augustinian nuns of Paris.

The rest of James’s body was laid to rest in a triple sarcophagus (consisting of two wooden coffins and one of lead) at the Chapel of Saint Edmund in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue St. Jacques in Paris, with a funeral oration by Henri-Emmanuel de Roquette. James was not buried, but put in one of the side chapels. Lights were kept burning round his coffin until the French Revolution. In 1734, the Archbishop of Paris heard evidence to support James’s canonisation, but nothing came of it. During the French Revolution, James’s tomb was raided.

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History of Germany Part VI: Kingdom of East Francia and the Kingdom of Germany.

Tags

Arnulf of Carinthia, Charlemagne, Conrad of Thuringia, Duke of Bavaria, East Francia, Franconia, Henry of Saxony, Henry the Fowler, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Germany, Sawbia, Saxony

We’ve now reached the point in our survey of German History and the origins of the Holy Roman Empire that motivated me to do this history to begin with. After the treaty of Verdun in 843 and the establishment the Kingdom East Francia to first usage of the term Holy Roman Empire in the thirteenth century, this area of Central Europe was constantly in flux at a time when England and France (and later Spain) were moving toward being a centralized nation state. It is also at this juncture when terminology such as Kings of East Francia, King of the Germans and Roman Emperor have considerable overlap denoting the fact that the monarchy in German lands was constantly evolving.

Kingdom of East Francia/Germany

East Francia continued the Frankish tradition of dividing the lands among the sons of the king, as East Francia itself was divided into three parts at the death of Louis the German (875). These sub-kingdoms were ruled by the three sons of Louis the German and were traditionally referred to as “Saxony”, (ruled by Louis the Younger) and “Bavaria”, (ruled Carloman) and “Swabia” and also East Francia (or “Alemannia”), ruled by Charles the Fat who briefly reunited the entire Carolingian Empire (West and East Francia) in 882.

Regional differences existed between the peoples of the different regions of the kingdom and each region could be readily described by contemporaries as a regnum, (Kingdom) though each was certainly not a kingdom of its own. The common Germanic language and the tradition of common rule dating to 843 preserved political ties between the different regna and prevented the kingdom from coming apart after the death of Charles the Fat. The work of Louis the German to maintain his kingdom and give it a strong royal government also went a long way to creating an East Frankish (i.e. German) state.

Charles the Fat, King of East Francia, Emperor.

Charles the Fat was deposed in 888 by nobles and in East Francia Arnulf of Carinthia was elected king. The increasing weakness of royal power in East Francia meant that dukes of Bavaria, Swabia, Franconia, Saxony and Lotharingia (called the Stem Duchies) turned from appointed nobles into hereditary rulers of their territories. Kings increasingly had to deal with regional rebellions.

After the death of Louis III the Child on September 24, 911, the last ruler of the Carolingian dynasty, Conrad the Younger of Thuringia was elected was elected king of Rex Francorum Orientalium (East Francia) on November 10, 911 at Forchheim by the rulers of Saxony, Swabia and Bavaria. Conrad was the son of duke Conrad of Thuringia (called the Elder) and his wife Glismut, probably related to Ota, wife of the Carolingian emperor Arnulf of Carinthia and mother of Louis the Child.

Since King Conrad I of East Francia was one of the dukes of the Stem Duchies he found it very difficult to establish his authority over them. Duke Hienrich of Saxony was in rebellion against Conrad I until 915 and the struggle against Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria cost Conrad I his life. On his deathbed Conrad I chose Heinrich of Saxony as the most capable successor.

Heinrich I, King of East Francia, Duke of Saxony

This election of Heinrich of Saxony as King changed the kingship from Franks to Saxons, who had suffered greatly during the conquests of Charlemagne.

Any firm distinction between the kingdoms of Eastern Francia and the Kingdom of Germany is to some extent the product of later retrospection. It is impossible to base this distinction on primary sources, as the name Eastern Francia for the kingdom remains in use long after the name Kingdom of Germany comes into use.

Under Arnulf of Carinthia the terminology Rex Francorum Orientalium was largely dropped and the kingdom, when it was referred to by name, was simply Francia. When it was necessary, as in the Treaty of Bonn (921) with the West Franks, the “eastern” qualifier appeared once more. Henry I refers to himself as rex Francorum orientalium, “king of the East Franks”, in the treaty.

By the 12th century, the historian Otto of Freising, in using the Carolingian terminology had to explain that the “eastern kingdom of the Franks” (orientale Francorum regnum) was “now called the kingdom of the Germans” (regnum Teutonicorum).

The 12th century imperial historian Otto von Freisingreported that the election of Heinrich the Fowler was regarded as marking the beginning of the kingdom, though Otto himself disagreed with this. Thus:

From this point some reckon a kingdom of the Germans as supplanting that of the Franks. Hence, they say that Pope Leo in the decrees of the popes, called Henry’s son Otto the first king of the Germans. For that Henry of whom we are speaking refused, it is said, the honor offered by the supreme pontiff. But it seems to me that the kingdom of the Germans — which today, as we see, has possession of Rome — is a part of the kingdom of the Franks. For, as is perfectly clear in what precedes, at the time of Charles the boundaries of the kingdom of the Franks included the whole of Gaul and all Germany, from the Rhine to Illyricum.

When the realm was divided between his son’s sons, one part was called eastern, the other western, yet both together were called the Kingdom of the Franks. So then in the eastern part, which is called the Kingdom of the Germans, Henry was the first of the race of Saxons to succeed to the throne when the line of Charles failed … [western Franks discussed] … Henry’s son Otto, because he restored to the German East Franks the empire which had been usurped by the Lombards, is called the first king of the Germans — not, perhaps, because he was the first king to reign among the Germans

It is here and elsewhere that Otto von Freising distinguishes the first German king (Heinrich I) and the first German king to hold imperial power (Otto I).

Next up will be the imperial coronation of Otto the Great.

Here is the original post where I talk about Heinrich I the Fowler.

https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/2019/07/02/on-this-date-in-history-july-2-936-death-of-heinrich-the-fowler-king-of-east-francia-and-german-history-part-i/

This date in History: September 5, 1638. Birth of King Louis XIV of France and Navarre.

Tags

Anne of Austria, Francoise d'Aubigne, King Louis XIV of France and Navarre, Louis XIII of France, Maria Theresa of Spain, Marquise de Maintenon, Palace of Versailles, Philip III of Spain, Philip IV of Spain

(Personal note: I cannot do justice to the life of Louis XIV in this single post. Therefore I’ll just focus on aspects of his personal life).

Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; September 5, 1638 – September 1, 1715), known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (le Roi Soleil), was King of France and Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death on September 1st 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history. In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV’s France was a leader in the growing centralisation of power.

Louis XIV was born on September 5, 1638 in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, the eldest daughter of King Felipe III-II of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan and his wife Margaret of Austria (the daughter of Archduke Carl II of Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria and thus the paternal granddaughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I).

He was named Louis Dieudonné (Louis the God-given) and bore the traditional title of French heirs apparent: Dauphin. At the time of his birth, his parents had been married for 23 years. His mother had experienced four stillbirths between 1619 and 1631. Leading contemporaries to regarded him as a divine gift and his birth a miracle of God. Hence the name Louis Dieudonné.

Anne of Austria, Queen Consort of France.

Louis XIV’s relationship with his mother, Anne of Austria, was uncommonly affectionate for the time. Contemporaries and eyewitnesses claimed that the Queen would spend all her time with Louis. Both were greatly interested in food and theatre, and it is highly likely that Louis developed these interests through his close relationship with his mother. This long-lasting and loving relationship can be evidenced by excerpts in Louis’ journal entries, such as:

“Nature was responsible for the first knots which tied me to my mother. But attachments formed later by shared qualities of the spirit are far more difficult to break than those formed merely by blood.”

It was his mother who gave Louis his belief in the absolute and divine power of his monarchical rule.

Maria Theresa of Spain Wife of Louis XIV

Maria Theresa of Spain (September 10, 1638 – July 30, 1683), was the daughter of King Felipe IV of Spain and Elisabeth of France (the eldest daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second spouse Marie de’ Medici). As a member of the House of Austria, Maria Theresa an Infanta of Spain and was entitled to use the title Archduchess of Austria. She was known in Spain as María Teresa de Austria and in France as Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche.

Maria Theresa of Spain

In 1658, as war with between France and Spain began to wind down, a union between the two royal families was proposed as a means to secure peace. Maria Theresa and the French king were double first cousins: Louis XIV’s father was Louis XIII of France, who was the brother of Maria Theresa’s mother, while her father was brother to Anne of Austria, Louis XIV’s mother.

The negotiations for the marriage contract were intense. Eager to prevent a union of the two countries or crowns, especially one in which Spain would be subservient to France, the diplomats sought to include a renunciation clause that would deprive Maria Theresa and her children of any rights to the Spanish succession.

This was eventually done but, by the skill of Cardinal Mazarin and his French diplomats, the renunciation and its validity were made conditional upon the payment of a large dowry. As it turned out, Spain, impoverished and bankrupt after decades of war, was unable to pay such a dowry, and France never received the agreed upon sum of 500,000 écus.*

A marriage by proxy to the French king was held in Fuenterrabia. Maria Theresa and her father, Felipe IV and the entire Spanish court accompanied the bride to the Isle of Pheasants on the border in the Bidassoa river, where Louis and his court met her in the meeting on the Isle of Pheasants on June 7, 1660, and she entered France. On June 9, the marriage took place in Saint-Jean-de-Luz at the recently rebuilt church of Saint Jean the Baptist. After the wedding, Louis wanted to consummate the marriage as quickly as possible. The new queen’s mother-in-law (and aunt) arranged a private consummation instead of the public one that was the custom. On August 26, 1660, the newlyweds made the traditional Joyous Entry into Paris.

Maria Theresa was very fortunate to have found a friend at court in her mother-in-law, unlike many princesses in foreign lands. She continued to spend much of her free time playing cards and gambling, as she had no interest in politics or literature. Consequently, she was viewed as not fully playing the part of queen designated to her by her marriage.

Queen Maria Theresa became pregnant in early 1661, and a long-awaited son was born on November 1, 1661. Louis XIV and his wife Maria Theresa of Spain had six children. However, only one child, the eldest, survived to adulthood: Louis, le Grand Dauphin, known as Monseigneur.

Despite evidence of affection early on in their marriage, Louis was never faithful to Maria Theresa. He took a series of mistresses, both official and unofficial. Among the better documented are Louise de La Vallière (with whom he had 5 children; 1661–67), Bonne de Pons d’Heudicourt (1665), Catherine Charlotte de Gramont (1665), Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan (with whom he had 7 children; 1667–80), Anne de Rohan-Chabot (1669–75), Claude de Vin des Œillets (1 child born in 1676), Isabelle de Ludres (1675–78), and Marie Angélique de Scorailles (1679–81), who died at age 19 in childbirth. Through these liaisons, he produced numerous illegitimate children, most of whom he married to members of cadet branches of the royal family.

Maria Theresa is frequently viewed as an object of pity in historical accounts of her husband’s reign, since she had no choice but to tolerate his many love affairs. As time passed, Maria Theresa also came to tolerate her husband’s prolonged infidelity with Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan. The king left her to her own devices, yet reprimanded Madame de Montespan when her behaviour at court too flagrantly disrespected the queen’s position.

Maria Theresa died at the early age of 44 from complications from an abscess on her arm. Upon the death of Maria Theresa Louis XIV remarked that she had never caused him unease on any other occasion.

Second Marriage

Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon (November 27, 1635 – April 15, 1719) was the second wife of King Louis XIV of France. She was known during her first marriage as Madame Scarron, and subsequently as Madame de Maintenon. Her marriage to the king was never officially announced or admitted, and thus she was never considered queen of France. Even so, she was very influential at court, and was one of the king’s closest advisers.

Owing to the disparity in their social status, the marriage was morganatic, meaning that Madame de Maintenon was not openly acknowledged as the King’s wife and did not become queen. No official documentation of the marriage exists, but that it took place is nevertheless accepted by historians.

Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon

Louis proved relatively more faithful to his second wife, Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon. He first met her through her work caring for his children by Madame de Montespan, noting the care she gave to his favorite, Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine. The king was, at first, put off by her strict religious practice, but he warmed to her through her care for his children.

When he legitimized his children by Madame de Montespan on December 20, 1673, Françoise d’Aubigné became the royal governess at Saint-Germain. As governess, she was one of very few people permitted to speak to him as an equal, without limits. It is believed that they were married secretly at Versailles on or around October 10, 1683 or January 1684. This marriage, though never announced or publicly discussed, was an open secret and lasted until his death.

Historians have often remarked upon Madame de Maintenon’s political influence, which was considerable. She was regarded as the next most powerful person after the king, considered the equivalent of a prime minister after 1700.

Without an official position as queen, she was more easily approached by those wishing to have influence with the king. He would not always consult her on more important matters, though. Her judgment was not infallible and mistakes were undoubtedly made: replacing Catinat by Villeroi in 1701 may be attributed to her, but not entire policies (according to Saint-Simon, certainly not the policy with regard to the Spanish Succession). Madame de Maintenon used her power for personal patronage.

* Incidentally, this was part the reason the grandson of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa inherited the Spanish throne as Felipe V in 1700 after the death of Maria Theresa’s younger half-brother, Carlos II, and the War of the Spanish Succession, founding the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon, which has reigned with some interruption until present time.

This date in History: September 3, 1189. Coronation of King Richard I of England.

Tags

antisemitism, coronation, Duke of Aquitaine, Henry II of England, Jews, King Richard I of England, Philip Augustus of France, Philip II of France, Third Crusades

(In this post I will discuss the background of Richard, his final battles with his father, Henry II, and his accession to the throne along with his coronation which resulted in a wave of anti-semitic violence.)

Richard I (September 8, 1157 – April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overlord of Brittanyat various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was known as Richard Cœur de Lion or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior.

Richard was born on September 8, 1157, probably at Beaumont Palace, in Oxford, England, son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was a younger brother of Count William IX of Poitiers, Henry the Young King and Duchess Matilda of Saxony. As the third legitimate son of King Henry II, he was not expected to ascend to the throne. He was also an elder brother of Duke Geoffrey II of Brittany; Queen Eleanor of Castile; Queen Joan of Sicily; and Count John of Mortain, who succeeded him as king. Richard was the younger maternal half-brother of Countess Marie of Champagne and Countess Alix of Blois.

Richard I, King of England, Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes.

The eldest son of Henry II and Eleanor, William, died in 1156, before Richard’s birth. Richard is often depicted as having been the favourite son of his mother. His father was Angevin-Norman and great-grandson of William the Conqueror. Contemporary historian Ralph of Diceto traced his family’s lineage through Matilda of Scotland to the Anglo-Saxonkings of England and Alfred the Great.

Accession to the throne.

The relationship between Henry II and Richard finally dissolved into violence shortly before Henry’s death. Philippe II Augustus, the new King of France, held a peace conference in November 1188, making a public offer of a generous long-term peace settlement with Henry, conceding to his various territorial demands, if Henry would finally marry Richard and Alys and announce Richard as his recognised heir. Henry refused the proposal, whereupon Richard himself spoke up, demanding to be recognised as Henry’s successor. Henry remained silent and Richard then publicly changed sides at the conference and gave formal homage to Philip in front of the assembled nobles.

The papacy intervened once again to try to produce a last-minute peace deal, resulting in a fresh conference at La Ferté-Bernard in 1189. By now king Henry II was suffering from a bleeding ulcer that would ultimately prove fatal. The discussions achieved little, although Henry is alleged to have offered Philippe II that John, rather than Richard, could marry Alys, reflecting the rumours circulating over the summer that Henry was considering openly disinheriting Richard.

Henry II, King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou, Maine, and Nante.

Henry II was caught by surprise at Le Mans but made a forced march north to Alençon, from where he could escape into the safety of Normandy. Suddenly, Henry turned back south towards Anjou, against the advice of his officials. The weather was extremely hot, the King was increasingly ill and he appears to have wanted to die peacefully in Anjou rather than fight yet another campaign. Henry evaded the enemy forces on his way south and collapsed in his castle at Chinon. Philippe and Richard were making good progress, not least because it was now obvious that Henry was dying and that Richard would be the next king, and the pair offered negotiations.

Philippe II Augustus, King of France

They met at Ballan, where Henry, only just able to remain seated on his horse, agreed to a complete surrender: he would do homage to Philippe; he would give up Alys to a guardian and she would marry Richard at the end of the coming crusade; he would recognise Richard as his heir; he would pay Philippe compensation, and key castles would be given to Philippe as a guarantee.

Henry was carried back to Chinon on a litter, where he was informed that John had publicly sided with Richard in the conflict. This desertion proved the final shock and he finally collapsed into a fever, regaining consciousness only for a few moments, during which he gave confession. Henry died on July 6, 1189, aged 56; and was succeeded on the throne by Richard. King Henry II had wished to be interred at Grandmont Abbey in the Limousin, but the hot weather made transporting his body impractical and he was instead buried at the nearby Fontevraud Abbey.

Coronation

Richard I was officially invested as Duke of Normandy on 20 July 1189 and crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey on September 3, 1189. Tradition barred all Jews and women from the investiture, but some Jewish leaders arrived to present gifts for the new king. According to Ralph of Diceto, Richard’s courtiers stripped and flogged the Jews, then flung them out of court.

When a rumour spread that Richard had ordered all Jews to be killed, the people of London attacked the Jewish population. Many Jewish homes were destroyed by arsonists, and several Jews were forcibly baptised. Some sought sanctuary in the Tower of London, and others managed to escape. Among those killed was Jacob of Orléans, a respected Jewish scholar. Roger of Howden, in his Gesta Regis Ricardi, claimed that the jealous and bigoted citizens started the rioting, and that Richard punished the perpetrators, allowing a forcibly converted Jew to return to his native religion. Baldwin of Forde, Archbishop of Canterbury, reacted by remarking, “If the King is not God’s man, he had better be the Devil’s.”

Realising that the assaults could destabilise his realm on the eve of his departure on crusade, Richard ordered the execution of those responsible for the most egregious murders and persecutions, including rioters who had accidentally burned down Christian homes. He distributed a royal writdemanding that the Jews be left alone. The edict was only loosely enforced, however, and the following March further violence occurred, including a massacre at York.

The long reigns of Louis XIV of France & Navarre and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Tags

Anne of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Empire, King Louis XIV of France and Navarre, Kingdom of France, Longest reign, Louis XIII of France, Louis XIV, Philip III of Spain, Queen Elizabeth II, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Today is the anniversary of the death King Louis XIV of France and Navarre.

Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; September 5, 1638 – September 1, 1715), known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (le Roi Soleil), was King of France and Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death on September 1st 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history. In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV’s France was a leader in the growing centralisation of power.

Louis XIV was born on September 5, 1638 in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, the eldest daughter of King Felipe III of Spain and his wife Margaret of Austria (the daughter of Archduke Carl II of Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria and thus the paternal granddaughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I).

Since the anniversary of his birth is on September 5, I will do a more in depth analysis of his life then. Until then I want to mention an interesting bit of trivia concerning the longest reign of Louis XIV and the long reign of the United Kingdom’s current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Louis XIV reigned from May 14, 1643 to September 1, 1715 totaling 72 years, 3 months, 18 days on the throne. In order for Queen Elizabeth II to beat that record by one day (72 years, 3 months 19 days) and become longest reigning monarch in European history, she will need to remain on the throne until May 26, 2024, which is 4 years, 8 months and 25 days away.

At that time Elizabeth II will be 98 years, 1 month and 5 days old. Considering Her Majesty’s health is robust, this is entirely within the realm of possibility! Long may she continue to reign!

German History: Part V. Louis I the Pious & the Treaty of Verdun.

Tags

Charlemagne, Charles the Bald, East Francia, Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, Judith of Bavaria, King of Aquitaine, Lothair I, Louis I the Pious, Louis the german, Middle Francia, West Francia

Louis I the Pious (778 – June 20, 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only surviving adult son of Charlemagne and Hildegard, he became the sole ruler of the Franks and Emperor after his father’s death in 814, a position which he held until his death, save for the period 833–34, during which he was deposed.

Louis I the Pious, Emperor and King of the Franks.

During his reign in Aquitaine, Louis was charged with the defence of the empire’s southwestern frontier. He conquered Barcelona from the Muslims in 801 and asserted Frankish authority over Pamplona and the Basques south of the Pyrenees in 812. As emperor he included his adult sons, Lothair, Pepin, and Louis, in the government and sought to establish a suitable division of the realm among them. The first decade of his reign was characterised by several tragedies and embarrassments, notably the brutal treatment of his nephew Bernard of Italy, for which Louis atoned in a public act of self-debasement.

In the 830s his empire was torn by civil war between his sons, only exacerbated by Louis’s attempts to include his son Charles by his second wife, Judith of Bavaria, was the daughter of Count Welf of Bavaria and Saxon noblewoman, Hedwig, in the succession plans. Though his reign ended on a high note, with order largely restored to his empire, it was followed by three years of civil war. Louis is generally compared unfavourably to his father, though the problems he faced were of a distinctly different sort.

The Treaty of Verdun, signed in August 843, was the first of the treaties that divided the Carolingian Empire into three separate kingdoms among the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious, who was the son of Charlemagne. The treaty, signed in Verdun-sur-Meuse, ended the three-year Carolingian Civil War 840-843.

(Orange ~ Kingdom of West Francia; Purple ~ Kingdom of Middle Francia; Green ~ Kingdom of East Francia).

Following Charlemagne’s death, Louis was made ruler of the Carolingian empire. During his reign, he divided the empire so that each of his sons could rule over their own kingdom under the greater rule of their father. Lothair I was given the title of emperor but because of several re-divisions by his father and the resulting revolts, he became much less powerful. When Louis the Pious died in 840, his eldest son, Lothair I, claimed overlordship over the entirety of his father’s kingdom in an attempt to reclaim the power he had at the beginning of his reign as emperor.

Lothair also supported his nephew, Pepin II’s claim to the crown of Aquitaine, a large province in the west of the Frankish realm. Lothair’s brother, Louis the German, and his half-brother Charles the Bald refused to acknowledge Lothair’s suzerainty and declared war against him. After a bloody civil war, they defeated Lothair at the Battle of Fontenay in 841 and sealed their alliance in 842 with the Oaths of Strasbourg which declared Lothair unfit for the imperial throne, after which he became willing to negotiate a settlement.

Provisions of the treaty

Each of the three brothers was already established in one kingdom: Lothair in the Kingdom of Italy; Louis the German in Kingdom of Bavaria; and Charles the Bald in the Kingdom of Aquitaine:

* Lothair I received Middle Francia, the central portion of the empire.

Lothair I. Emperor King of Middle Francia.

In the settlement, Lothair (who had been named co-emperor in 817) retained his title as emperor, but it conferred only nominal overlordship of his brothers’ lands.

His domain later became the Low Countries, Lorraine, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence, and the Kingdom of Italy (which covered the northern half of the Italian Peninsula). He also received the two imperial cities, Aachen and Rome.

* Louis the German received the East Francia portion of the empire.

Louis the German. King of East Francia.

He was guaranteed the kingship of all lands to the east of the Rhine and to the north and east of Italy, called East Francia. It eventually became the High Medieval Kingdom of Germany, the largest component of the Holy Roman Empire.

* Charles the Bald received the West Francia portion of the empire, which later became the Kingdom of France.

Charles the Bald. King of West Francia.

Pepin II was granted the Kingdom of Aquitaine, but only under the authority of Charles. Charles received all lands west of the Rhône, called West Francia.

After Lothair’s death in 855, Upper Burgundy and Lower Burgundy (Arles and Provence) passed to his third son, Charles of Provence, and the remaining territory north of the Alps to his second son, Lothair II, after whom the hitherto nameless territory was called Lotharingia. It would then become modern Lorraine. Lothair’s eldest son, Louis II, inherited Italy and his father’s claim to the Imperial throne.

This date in History: August 27, 1172. Marriage and 2nd Coronation of Henry the Young King of England.

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Bela III of Hungary, Duke of Anjou, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II of England, Henry the Young King, King Richard I of England, Kings and Queens of England, Louis VII of France, Philippe II Augustus of France, Richard the Lion Heart

Henry the Young King (February 28, 1155 – June 11, 1183) was the eldest surviving son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Beginning in 1170, he was titular King of England, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine. Henry the Young King was the only King of England since the Norman Conquest to be crowned during his father’s reign, but spent his reign frustrated by his father’s refusal to grant him meaningful autonomous power.

Little is known of the young Prince Henry before the events associated with his marriage and coronation. His half-siblings (mother’s children by her first marriage to Louis VII of France) were Marie of France, Countess of Champagne and Alix of France. He had one elder brother, William IX, Count of Poitiers (August 17, 1153 – December 2, 1156) and his younger siblings included Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John.

In June 1170, the fifteen-year-old Henry was crowned king during his father’s lifetime, something originally practised by the French Capetian dynasty and adopted by the English kings Stephen and Henry II. The physical appearance of Henry at his coronation in 1170 is given in a contemporary court poem written in Latin, where the fifteen-year-old prince is described as being very handsome, “tall but well proportioned, broad-shouldered with a long and elegant neck, pale and freckled skin, bright and wide blue eyes, and a thick mop of the reddish-gold hair.”

He was known in his own lifetime as “Henry the Young King” to distinguish him from his father. Because he was not a reigning king, he is not counted in the numerical succession of the Kings of England.

Henry is described as a constant competitor at tournaments across northern and central France between 1175 and 1182. With his cousins, Philippe I, Count of Flanders, and Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, he was a key patron of the sport. Though Henry lacked political weight, his patronage brought him celebrity status throughout western Europe.

On November 2, 1160, he was betrothed to Margaret of France, daughter of King Louis VII of France and his second wife, Constance of Castile, when he was 5 years of age and she was at least 2. The marriage was an attempt to finally settle the struggle between the counts of Anjou and the French kings over possession of the frontier district of the Norman Vexin, which Louis VII had acquired from Henry’s grandfather, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, in around 1144.

By the terms of the settlement, Margaret would bring the castles of the Norman Vexin to her new husband. However, the marriage was pushed through by Henry II when Young Henry and Margaret were small children so that he could seize the castles for himself. A bitter border war followed between the kings.

Henry and Margaret were formally married on August 27, 1172 at Winchester Cathedral, when Henry, aged seventeen, was crowned King of England a second time, this time together with Margaret, by Rotrou, the Archbishop of Rouen.

Young Henry fell out of favor with his father in 1173. Contemporary chroniclers allege that this was owing to the young Henry’s frustration that his father had given him no realm to rule, and his feeling starved of funds. The rebellion seems, however, to have drawn strength from much deeper discontent with his father’s rule, and a formidable party of Anglo-Norman, Norman, Angevin, Poitevin and Breton magnates joined him.

The revolt of 1173–1174 came close to toppling King Henry II; he was narrowly saved by the loyalty of a party of nobles with holdings on the English side of the Channel, and by the defeat and capture of William I, the King of Scotland. Young Henry sought a reconciliation after the capture of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the failure of the rebellion. His funds were much increased by the terms of the settlement, and he apparently devoted most of the next seven years to the amusement of the tournament.

In November 1179, Henry represented his father at the coronation of Philippe II Augustus as associate king of France at Reims. He acted as Steward of France and carried the crown in the coronation procession. Later, he played a leading role in the celebratory tournament held at Lagny-sur-Marne, to which he brought a retinue of over 500 knights at huge expense.

Henry the Young King contracted dysentery at the beginning of June 1183, during the course of a campaign in Limousin against his father and his brother Richard the Lionheart. Young Henry had just finished pillaging local monasteries to raise money to pay his mercenaries. He Weakening fast, he was taken to Martel, near Limoges. It was clear to his household that he was dying on June 7, when he was confessed and received the last rites.

As a token of his penitence for his war against his father, he prostrated himself naked on the floor before a crucifix. He made a testament and, since he had taken a crusader’s vow, he gave his cloak to his friend William Marshal, with the plea that he should take the cloak (presumably with the crusader’s cross stitched to it) to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

On his deathbed, he reportedly asked to be reconciled to his father, but King Henry II, fearing a trick, refused to see him. He died on June 11, aged 28, six years before his father, leaving his brother Richard to become the next king. Henry died clasping a ring his father had sent as a sign of his forgiveness. After his death, his father is said to have exclaimed: “He cost me much, but I wish he had lived to cost me more.”

Three years after the death of her husband, Margaret, titular Queen of England and Duchess of Anjou by righter of her husband, became the second wife of Béla III of Hungary in 1186, after receiving a substantial pension in exchange for surrendering her dowry of Gisors and the Vexin. She was widowed for a second time in 1196 and died on pilgrimage to the Holy Land at St John of Acre in 1197, having only arrived eight days prior to her death.

This date in History: August 26, 1819. Birth of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

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Crystal Palace, Duchess of Kent, Ernest II, Great Exhibition, House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Consort, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Trent Affair

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (German: Franz Albert August Karl Emanuel. August 26, 1819 – December 14, 1861) was born at Schloss Rosenau, near Coburg in the German Confederation of the Rhine, the second son of Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and his first wife, Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Albert’s future wife, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, was born earlier in the same year with the assistance of the same midwife, Charlotte von Siebold.

Albert was baptised into the Lutheran Evangelical Church on September 19, 1819 in the Marble Hall at Schloss Rosenau with water taken from the local river, the Itz. His godparents were his paternal grandmother, Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf, the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld; his maternal grandfather, August, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg; Emperor Franz I of Austria; Prince Albert Casimir of Saxony, the Duke of Teschen; and Emanuel, Count of Mensdorff-Pouilly.

In 1825, Albert’s great-uncle, Friedrich IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, died. His death led to a realignment of Saxon duchies the following year and Albert’s father became the first reigning Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Albert and his elder brother, Ernst, spent their youth in a close companionship marred by their parents’ turbulent marriage and eventual separation and divorce. After their mother was exiled from court in 1824, she married her lover, Alexander von Hanstein, Count of Polzig and Beiersdorf. She presumably never saw her children again, and died of cancer at the age of 30 in 1831.

The brothers were educated privately at home by Christoph Florschütz and later studied in Brussels, where Adolphe Quetelet was one of their tutors. Like many other German princes, Albert attended the University of Bonn, where he studied law, political economy, philosophy and the history of art. He played music and excelled at sport, especially fencing and riding. His tutors at Bonn included the philosopher Fichte and the poet Schlegel.

Marriage to Queen Victoria

The idea of marriage between Albert and his cousin, Victoria, was first documented in an 1821 letter from his paternal grandmother, Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf, the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who said that he was “the pendant to the pretty cousin”. By 1836, this idea had also arisen in the mind of their ambitious uncle Leopold, who had been King of the Belgians since 1831. At this time, Victoria was the heir presumptive to the British throne. Her father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte (née Duchess of Mecklenburg-Streitz) had died when she was a baby, and her elderly uncle, King William IV, had no legitimate children. Her mother, the Duchess of Kent, was the sister of both Albert’s father—the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha—and King Leopold.

Leopold arranged for his sister, Victoria’s mother, to invite the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his two sons to visit her in May 1836, with the purpose of meeting Victoria. William IV, however, disapproved of any match with the Coburgs, and instead favoured the suit of Prince Alexander, second son of the Prince of Orange (future King Willem II of the Netherlands). Victoria was well aware of the various matrimonial plans and critically appraised a parade of eligible princes. She wrote, “[Albert] is extremely handsome; his hair is about the same colour as mine; his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth with fine teeth; but the charm of his countenance is his expression, which is most delightful.” Alexander, on the other hand, she described as “very plain”. Victoria wrote to her uncle Leopold to thank him “for the prospect of great happiness you have contributed to give me, in the person of dear Albert … He possesses every quality that could be desired to render me perfectly happy.”Although the parties did not undertake a formal engagement, both the family and their retainers widely assumed that the match would take place.

Victoria came to the throne aged eighteen on June 20, 1837. Her letters of the time show interest in Albert’s education for the role he would have to play, although she resisted attempts to rush her into marriage. In the winter of 1838–39, the prince visited Italy, accompanied by the Coburg family’s confidential adviser, Baron Stockmar.

Albert returned to the United Kingdom with Ernst in October 1839 to visit the Queen, with the objective of settling the marriage. Albert and Victoria felt mutual affection and the Queen proposed to him on October 15, 1839. Victoria’s intention to marry was declared formally to the Privy Council on November 23, and the couple married on February 10, 1840 at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. Just before the marriage, Albert was naturalised by Act of Parliament, and granted the style of Royal Highness by an Order in Council.

Initially Albert was not popular with the British public; he was perceived to be from an impoverished and undistinguished minor state, barely larger than a small English county. The British Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, advised the Queen against granting her husband the title of “King Consort”; Parliament also objected to Albert being created a peer—partly because of anti-German sentiment and a desire to exclude Albert from any political role.

Melbourne led a minority government and the opposition took advantage of the marriage to weaken his position further. They opposed the ennoblement of Albert and granted him a smaller annuity than previous consorts, £30,000 instead of the usual £50,000. Albert claimed that he had no need of a British peerage, writing: “It would almost be a step downwards, for as a Duke of Saxony, I feel myself much higher than a Duke of York or Kent.” For the next seventeen years, Albert was formally titled “HRH Prince Albert” (his territorial designation, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was dropped upon marriage) until, on June 25, 1857, Victoria formally granted him the title Prince Consort. This shoddy treatment of Prince Albert was not repeated with the consort of the next Queen Regnant, Elizabeth II, who’s husband, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, was made a peer-of-the-realm as the Duke of Edinburgh and was made a Prince of the United Kingdom in his own right in 1957.

Initially he felt constrained by his role of prince consort, which did not afford him power or responsibilities. He gradually developed a reputation for supporting public causes, such as educational reform and the abolition of slaveryworldwide, and was entrusted with running the Queen’s household, office and estates. He was heavily involved with the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851, which was a resounding success.

Victoria came to depend more and more on Albert’s support and guidance. He aided the development of Britain’s constitutional monarchy by persuading his wife to be less partisan in her dealings with Parliament—although he actively disagreed with the interventionist foreign policy pursued during Lord Palmerston’s tenure as Foreign Secretary.

A man of progressive and relatively liberal ideas, Albert not only led reforms in university education, welfare, the royal finances and slavery, he had a special interest in applying science and art to the manufacturing industry. The Great Exhibition of 1851 arose from the annual exhibitions of the Society of Arts, of which Albert was President from 1843, and owed most of its success to his efforts to promote it. Albert served as president of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and had to fight for every stage of the project.

In the House of Lords, Lord Brougham fulminated against the proposal to hold the exhibition in Hyde Park. Opponents of the exhibition prophesied that foreign rogues and revolutionists would overrun England, subvert the morals of the people, and destroy their faith.Albert thought such talk absurd and quietly persevered, trusting always that British manufacturing would benefit from exposure to the best products of foreign countries.

The Queen opened the exhibition in a specially-designed and -built glass building known as the Crystal Palace on May 1, 1851. It proved a colossal success. A surplus of £180,000 was used to purchase land in South Kensington on which to establish educational and cultural institutions—including the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Imperial College London and what would later be named the Royal Albert Hall and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The area was referred to as “Albertopolis” by sceptics.

In August 1859, Albert fell seriously ill with stomach cramps. He had an accidental brush with death during a trip to Coburg in the autumn of 1860, when he was driving alone in a carriage drawn by four horses that suddenly bolted. As the horses continued to gallop toward a stationary wagon waiting at a railway crossing, Albert jumped for his life from the carriage. One of the horses was killed in the collision, and Albert was badly shaken, though his only physical injuries were cuts and bruises. He confided in his brother and eldest daughter that he had sensed his time had come.

In March 1861, Victoria’s mother and Albert’s aunt, the Duchess of Kent, died and Victoria was grief-stricken; Albert took on most of the Queen’s duties, despite continuing to suffer with chronic stomach trouble. The last public event he presided over was the opening of the Royal Horticultural Gardens on June 5, 1861. In August, Victoria and Albert visited the Curragh Camp, Ireland, where the Prince of Wales was doing army service. At the Curragh, the Prince of Wales was introduced, by his fellow officers, to Nellie Clifden, an Irish actress.

By November, Victoria and Albert had returned to Windsor, and the Prince of Wales had returned to Cambridge, where he was a student. Two of Albert’s young cousins, brothers King Pedro V of Portugal and Prince Ferdinand, died of typhoid fever within five days of each other in early November. On top of this news, Albert was informed that gossip was spreading in gentlemen’s clubs and the foreign press that the Prince of Wales was still involved with Nellie Clifden. Albert and Victoria were horrified by their son’s indiscretion, and feared blackmail, scandal or pregnancy. Although Albert was ill and at a low ebb, he travelled to Cambridge to see the Prince of Wales on November 25 to discuss his son’s indiscreet affair. In his final weeks Albert suffered from pains in his back and legs.

When the Trent Affair—the forcible removal of Confederate envoys from a British ship by Union forces during the American Civil War—threatened war between the United States and Britain, Albert was gravely ill but intervened to soften the British diplomatic response and thus averting Britain getting involved in the US Civil War.

On December 9, one of Albert’s doctors, William Jenner, diagnosed him with typhoid fever. Albert died at 10:50 p.m. on December 14, 1861 in the Blue Room at Windsor Castle, in the presence of the Queen and five of their nine children. The contemporary diagnosis was typhoid fever, but modern writers have pointed out that Albert’s ongoing stomach pain, leaving him ill for at least two years before his death, may indicate that a chronic disease, such as Crohn’s disease, renal failure, or abdominal cancer, was the actual cause of death.

Prince Albert, Queen Victoria and their nine children, 1857. Left to right: Alice, Arthur, Albert (Prince Consort), Albert Edward (Prince of Wales), Leopold, Louise, Queen Victoria with Beatrice, Alfred, Victoria and Helena.

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria had 9 children, 4 sons and 5 daughters. Prince Albert’s 42 grandchildren included four reigning monarchs: King George V of the United Kingdom; Wilhelm II, German Emperor; Ernst-Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and By Rhine and Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and five consorts of monarchs: Queens Maud of Norway, Sophia of Greece, Victoria Eugenie of Spain, Marie of Romania, and Empress Alexandra of Russia. Albert’s many descendants include royalty and nobility throughout Europe.

This date in History. August 21, 1810: Election of Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as Crown Prince of Sweden.

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Carl XIII of Sweden, Carl XIV Johan of Sweden, Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Sweden, Emperor of the French, French Empire, Jean BaptisterBernadotte, Kingdom of Denmark, Kingdom of Norway, Kingdom of Sweden, Napoleon Bonaparte

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was born in Pau, France, as the son of Jean Henri Bernadotte (Pau, Béarn, October 14, 1711 – Pau, March 31, 1780), prosecutor at Pau, and his wife (married at Boeil, February 20, 1754) Jeanne de Saint-Jean (Pau, April 1, 1728 – Pau, January 8, 1809), niece of the Lay Abbot of Sireix. The family name was originally du Poey (or de Pouey), but was changed to Bernadotte – a surname of an ancestress at the beginning of the 17th century.

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte. King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden.

Soon after his birth, Baptiste was added to his name, to distinguish him from his elder brother Jean Évangeliste. Bernadotte himself added Jules to his first names as a tribute to the French Empire under Napoleon I. At the age of 14, he was apprenticed to a local attorney. However, the death of his father when Bernadotte was just 17 stopped the youth from following his father’s career.

In order to explain how the French Jean Baptiste Bernadotte became Crown Prince, and later King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden, here is some background information on the state of the Swedish monarchy at that time.

Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden

In 1808, Gustav IV Adolf was highly unpopular and his uncle, Duke Carl, was once again chief commander during the king’s stay in Finland. He is presumed to have been, if not involved, aware of the plans to depose Gustav IV Adolf in 1809. He kept passive during the Coup of 1809, and accepted the post of regent from the victorious party after having assured himself that the deposed monarch was not in mortal danger.[5]Carl was initially not willing to accept the crown, however, out of consideration for the former king’s son, his 11 year old nephew, Prince Gustav, Count Itterburg (1799-1877).

On March 13, 1809, those who had dethroned Gustav IV Adolf appointed Carl regent, and he was finally elected King of Sweden as Carl XIII by the Riksdag of the Estates. By the time he became king, he was 60 years old and prematurely decrepit. In November 1809, he was affected by a heart attack, and was not able to participate in government. The new constitution which was introduced also made his involvement in politics difficult. A planned attempt to enlarge the royal power in 1809–10 was not put into effect because of his indecisiveness and health condition.

Carl XIII of Sweden

His incapacity triggered a search for a suitable heir. The problem of Carl’s successor actually had been an accute issue almost from the time he had ascended the throne as it was apparent that the Swedish branch of the House of Holstein-Gottorp would die with him. He was 61 years old and in poor health. He was also childless; Queen Charlotte had given birth to two children who had died in infancy, and there was no prospect of her bearing another child. The initial choice for his successor was a Danish prince, Christian August, the son of Friedrich Christian I, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1721–1794) and Princess Charlotte of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (1744–1770). Christian August took the name Carl August upon being adopted by Carl XIII.

In 1810 Bernadotte was about to enter his new post as governor of Rome when he was unexpectedly elected the heir-presumptive to King Carl XIII of Sweden.

Although the king had adopted the Danish prince, Charles August, as his son soon after his coronation, Emperor Napoleon favored his ally Danish King Frederik VI, as the new heir to the Swedish throne but he declined the offer. Danish Prince Frederick Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (older brother of Carl August, the eventual choice for Swedish Crown Prince) initially had the most support to become Swedish Crown Prince as well.

The Swedish court initially sounded out the emperor for his preferences on candidates for crown prince, whereupon Napoleon made it clear he also preferred his son-in-law Eugène de Beauharnais, one of his nephews or one of his brothers. However, Eugène, serving as viceroy in Italy, did not wish to convert to Lutheranism, a prerequisite for accepting the Swedish offer. Moreover, none of Napoleon’s brothers was interested in going to Sweden and his nephews were too young as the Swedes did not want the hazards of minority rule in the event King Carl died prematurely.

The matter was decided by an obscure Swedish courtier, son of Baron Gustav Mörner, a commander of the Swedish force captured by Bernadotte at Lübeck, Baron Karl Otto Mörner, who, entirely on his own initiative, offered the succession to the Swedish crown to Bernadotte. Bernadotte communicated Mörner’s offer to Napoleon who at first treated the situation as an absurdity, but later came around to the idea and diplomatically and financially supported Bernadotte’s candidacy.

Although the Swedish government, amazed at Mörner’s effrontery, at once placed him under arrest on his return to Sweden, the candidature of Bernadotte gradually gained favour and on August 21, 1810 he was elected by the Riksdag of the Estates in Örebro to be the new crown prince, and was subsequently made Generalissimus of the Swedish Armed Forces by the king. Bernadotte was elected partly because a large part of the Swedish Army, in view of future complications with Russia, were in favour of electing a soldier, and partly because he was also personally popular, owing to the kindness he had shown to the Swedish prisoners in Lübeck.mAnother factor which favored Bernadotte’s election was his (presumed) close ties to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who had recently defeated Sweden in the Franco-Swedish War.

Before freeing Bernadotte from his allegiance to France, Napoleon asked him to agree never to take up arms against France. Bernadotte refused to make any such agreement, upon the ground that his obligations to Sweden would not allow it; Napoleon exclaimed “Go, and let our destinies be accomplished” and signed the act of emancipation unconditionally.

Upon the death of King Carl XIII on February 5, 1818, Crown Prince Carl Johan ascended as the union King, reigning as Carl XIV Johan in Sweden and Carl III Johan in Norway. In 1814 Sweden acquired Norway from Denmark. He was initially popular in both countries.

This date in History, August 19, 1772: Coup of Gustav III of Sweden.

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Cathereine the Great, Denmark, Frederick the Great of Prussia, Frederik Adolf of Sweden, Gustav III of Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden, Parliament, Riksdag, Sophie Magdalena of Denmark, Sweden

The Revolution of 1772, also known as the Coup of Gustav III was a Swedish coup d’état performed by king Gustav III of Sweden on August 19, 1772 to introduce absolute monarchy against the Riksdag of the Estates, resulting in the end of the Age of libertyand the introduction of the Swedish Constitution of 1772.

First, a little personal information on the King of Sweden.

Gustav III (January 24, 1746 – March 29 1792) was King of Sweden from February 12, 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederik, King of Sweden and Queen Louise Ulrika (a sister of King Friedrich II the Great of Prussia), and a first cousin of Empress Catherine II the Great of Russia by reason of their common descent from Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and his wife Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach.

Gustav married Princess Sophia Magdalena, by proxy in Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, on October 1, 1766 and in person in Stockholm on November 4, 1766. Princess Sophia Magdalena was the daughter of King Frederik V of Denmar-Norway and his first wife Princess Louise of Great Britain the youngest surviving daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach.

Gustav was first impressed by Sophia Magdalena’s beauty, but her silent nature made her a disappointment in court life. The match was not a happy one, owing partly to an incompatibility of temperament, but still more to the interference of Gustav’s jealous mother, Queen Louisa Ulrika. The marriage produced two children: Crown Prince Gustav Adolf (1778–1837), (future King Gustav IV Adolf) and Prince Carl Gustav, Duke of Småland(1782–1783).

Gustav III was known in Sweden and abroad by his Royal Titles, or styles:

Gustav III, by the Grace of God, of the Swedes, the Goths and the Vends King, Grand Prince of Finland, Duke of Pomerania, Prince of Rügen and Lord of Wismar, Heir to Norway and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn and Dithmarschen, Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhors.

Revolution of 1772

Gustav III was a vocal opponent of what he saw as the abuse of political privileges seized by the nobility since the death of King Carl XII. At the time of his accession, the Swedish Riksdag held more power than the monarchy, but the Riksdag was bitterly divided between rival parties, the Hats and Caps. On his return to Sweden, Gustav III tried unsuccessfully to mediate between the bitterly divided parties. On June 21, 1771, he opened his first Riksdag with a speech that aroused powerful emotions. It was the first time in more than a century that a Swedish king had addressed a Swedish Riksdag in its native tongue. He stressed the need for all parties to sacrifice their animosities for the common good, and volunteered, as “the first citizen of a free people,” to be the mediator between the contending factions.

A composition committee was actually formed, but it proved illusory from the first: the patriotism of neither faction was sufficient for the smallest act of self-denial. The subsequent attempts of the dominant Caps to reduce him to being a powerless king encouraged him to consider a coup d’état. Under the sway of the Cap faction, Sweden seemed in danger of falling prey to the political ambitions of Russia. It appeared on the point of being absorbed into the Northern Accord sought by the Russian vice-chancellor, Count Nikita Panin. It seemed to many that only a swift and sudden coup d’état could preserve Sweden’s independence.

(King Gustav III of Sweden and his Brothers; Gustav III (left) and his two brothers, Prince Frederik Adolf and Prince Carl, later Carl XIII of Sweden. Painting by Alexander Roslin.)

Gustav III was approached by Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten, a Finnish nobleman, who had incurred the enmity of the Caps, with the prospect of a revolution. He undertook to seize the fortress of Sveaborg in Finland by a coup de main. Once Finlandwas secured, he intended to embark for Sweden, join up with the king and his friends near Stockholm, and force the estatesto accept a new constitution dictated by the king.
At this juncture, the plotters were reinforced by Johan Christopher Toll another victim of Cap oppression.

Toll proposed to raise a second revolt in the province of Scania, and to secure the southern fortress of Kristianstad. After some debate, it was agreed that Kristianstad should openly declare against the government a few days after the Finnish revolt had begun. Duke Carl, the eldest of the king’s brothers, would thereupon be forced to mobilize the garrisons of all the southern fortresses hastily, ostensibly to crush the revolt at Kristianstad, but on arriving in front of the fortress, he was to make common cause with the rebels and march upon the capital from the south while Sprengtporten attacked it simultaneously from the east.

On August 6, 1772, Toll succeeded in winning the fortress of Kristianstad by sheer bluff, and on August 16, Sprengtporten succeeded in surprising Sveaborg, but contrary winds prevented him from crossing to Stockholm. Events soon occurred there that made his presence unnecessary in any case.

On August 16, the Cap leader, Ture Rudbeck, arrived at Stockholm with news of the insurrection in the south, and Gustav found himself isolated in the midst of enemies. Sprengtporten lay weather-bound in Finland, Toll was 500 miles away, the Hat leaders were in hiding. Gustav thereupon resolved to strike the decisive blow without waiting for Sprengtporten’s arrival.

He acted promptly. On the evening of August 18, all the officers whom he thought he could trust received secret instructions to assemble in the great square facing the arsenal on the following morning. At ten o’clock on August 19, Gustav III mounted his horse and rode to the arsenal. On the way, his adherents joined him in little groups, as if by accident, so that by the time he reached his destination he had about 200 officers in his suite.

After parade he reconducted them to the guard-room in the north western wing of the palace where the Guard of Honour had its headquarters and unfolded his plans to them. He told the assembled officers,

“If you follow me, just like your ancestors followed Gustav Vasa and Gustavus Adolphus, then I will risk my life and blood for you and the salvation of the fatherland!”
A young ensign then spoke up:

“We are willing to sacrifice both blood and life in Your Majesty’s service!”

Gustav then dictated a new oath of allegiance, and everyone signed it without hesitation. It absolved them from their allegiance to the estates, and bound them solely to obey “their lawful king, Gustav III”.

Meanwhile, the Privy Council and its president, Rudbeck, had been arrested and the fleet secured. Then Gustav made a tour of the city and was everywhere received by enthusiastic crowds, who hailed him as a deliverer. A song was composed by Carl Michael Bellman called the “Toast to King Gustav!”

Now in full control of the government the king initiated a campaign to restore a measure of Royal autocracy, which was completed by the Union and Security Act of 1789, which swept away most of the powers exercised by the Swedish Riksdag (parliament) but at the same time it opened up the government for all citizens. This reinforced monarchical authority significantly, although the estates retained the power of the purse, it did hereby broke the privileges of the nobility.

The next day, August 20, 1772 a new constitution was imposed upon the Riksdag of the Estates by Gustav III which converted a weak and disunited republic into a strong but limited monarchy. The estates could assemble only when summoned by him; he could dismiss them whenever he thought fit; and their deliberations were to be confined exclusively to the propositions which he laid before them. But these extensive powers were subjected to important checks. Thus, without the previous consent of the estates, no new law could be imposed, no old law abolished, no offensive war undertaken, no extraordinary war subsidy levied. The estates alone could tax themselves; they had the absolute control of the Riksbank – the Bank of Sweden, and the right of controlling the national expenditure.

In 1789 the king further strengthened his power. The Union and Security Act, alternatively Act of Union and Security, was proposed by king Gustav III of Sweden to the assembled Estates of the Realm during the Riksdag of 1789. It was a document, adding to the Swedish Constitution of 1772 new provisions. The King strengthened his grip on power while at the same time riding on a popular wave that also meant a decrease in aristocratic power. It has been described as “fundamentally conservative”.

The Act of Union and Security gave the king the sole power to declare war and make peace instead of sharing the power with the estates and the Privy Council. The estates would lose the ability to initiate legislation, but they would keep the ability to vote on new taxes.

Another provision was that the King was enabled to determine the number of Privy Councillors and so he could abolish the Council altogether by determining their number to be zero. The judicial branch of the Privy Council (in Swedish: Justitierevisionen) was then transferred to a new Supreme Court.

Most noble privileges were abolished with the Act, with most offices now available to all regardless of rank. Noble lands could now be bought by anyone instead of only by nobles.