14 Monday Mar 2022
Posted in From the Emperor's Desk, Uncategorized
From the Emperor’s Desk: Today is the 10th anniversary of starting my European Royal History Blog!
In 10 years I’ve written 1,599 articles for my blog and have had 735,552 hits on my blog!
https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/
So thank you to all my loyal readers and i will continue to deliver quality content!
Liam Foley đź‘‘
12 Tuesday Jan 2021
Posted in From the Emperor's Desk
Tags
After a holiday hiatus I’m back! There will be some changes to the blog. I’ve been posting here for eight years and the vast majority of the posts have been biographical as I post on either the birth of death of a royal person. I’ve also done some special topics. After eight years I’ve covered the birth or death anniversaries of so many prominent royals that I’m starting to repeat myself!
Therefore I’d like to change this blog to where I’m focusing on more topical issues. For example, an early blog post was about my favorite Monarchs. I mostly included some biographical information but never delved deeper into why they were my favorite and what I found fascinating about them. I will be revisiting that topic more in-depth.
I have noticed on this blog’s corresponding Facebook page (European Royal History) that I get many more views when I write about current royal families. I’d like to include more posts about current royal families however what I don’t want this to turn into a gossip site. I’d like to stick with history and not turn royals into celebrities with salacious gossip.
I’d like to thank my many readers for your support and loyalty and my desire is to continue to provide for you interesting and quality writing on the History of European Royal History!
Sincerely
Liam Foley
replica by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, oil on canvas, 1867 (1859)
17 Monday Aug 2020
Posted in From the Emperor's Desk, Uncategorized
I’m super happy! I’ve reached a Half A Million Hits! 500,001 to be exact.
When I began this blog I never imagined I’d accumulate this many hits!
I want to thank all the readers of my blog! Thank you very very much!
Liam Foley
01 Wednesday Jan 2020
Posted in From the Emperor's Desk
I’d like to wish all my readers a very Happy New Year! I thank all who read and participate in this blog. Starting Friday I will return to posting about the History of European Royalty.
Liam Foley
19 Wednesday Dec 2018
Tags
Abdication, Deposed, Deposition, Duke of Windsor, Edward VIII, European Monarchy, European Royalty, James II-VII of England, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, Mary Queen of Scots, Mary Stuart
On December 11, 1936 King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland abdicated the throne for the woman he loved. His abdication created something unique within the context of former sovereigns.
HRH The Duke of Windsor, former King Edward VIII
Abdication, although relatively rare, has occurred through the history of the various European monarchies. Abdication is different from when a monarch is deposed although there are times when the differences are are a bit fuzzy.
Deposed vs Abdication
The word abdication is derived from the Latin abdicatio meaning to disown or renounce (from ab, away from, and dicare, to dedicate or relinquish). In its broadest sense abdication is the act of renouncing and resigning from any formal office, but it is applied especially to the supreme office of state.
Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch. It may be done by coup, impeachment, invasion, or forced abdication. The term may also refer to the official removal of a clergyman, especially a bishop, from ecclesiastical office.
It would be easy to differentiate between the two terms if abdication was simply defined as a monarchs willingness to relinquish their thrones and power. However, the terms become somewhat muddied and synonymous when a deposition occurs as a forced abdication. Mary I, Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate in favour of her one-year-old son James. For myself, in the name of simplicity, I view abdication as a willing or unwilling relinquishment of power through official and legal means by signing a document that is acknowledged by the government.
Edward VIII is a classic example of that. Mary I, Queen of Scots is an example of a forced abdication and yet at the same also meets the definition of a deposition. James II-VII of England, Scotland and Ireland is a prime example of being deposed. Troops were at his door and he fled the country. Of course being assassinated or murdered in a coup fits the definition of a deposition.
Haven gotten that out of the way, the real topic is what to call or title a monarch that has abdicated and/or been deposed? This is where the uniqueness of Edward VIII comes into play. When Edward VIII abdicated he lost his Royal style and title and was downgraded. This was an unusual occurrence for prior to his abdication the majority of former monarchs retained their titles.
Over the next few postings we will examine the abdication of several monarchs and what they were called after their reign was over. We will start with Edward VIII with the next post.
26 Saturday May 2018
Tags
50th Birthday, Birthday, Copenhagen, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, European Royalty, Frederik IX of Denmark, Gustaf VI Adolph of Sweden, Kings and Queens of Denmark, Prince Henrik of Denmark, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
Today HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, celebrates his 50th Birthday!

Frederik was born at Rigshospitalet which is the Copenhagen University Hospital in Copenhagen, on May 26, 1968, to the then Princess Margrethe, heir presumptive to the Danish throne, and Prince Henrik, Count of Monpezat. Princess Margrethe was oldest daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden. At the time of Crown Prince Frederik’s birth, his maternal grandfather was on the throne of Denmark and his matrilineal great-grandfather (Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden) was on the throne of Sweden.
He was baptized on June 24, 1968, at Holmens Kirke, in Copenhagen. He was christened Frederik after his maternal grandfather, King Frederik IX, continuing the Danish royal tradition of the heir apparent being named either Frederik or Christian. His middle names honor his paternal grandfather, André de Laborde de Monpezat; his father, Prince Henrik; and his maternal great-grandfather, Christian X.

Frederik’s godparents include Count Etienne de Laborde de Monpezat (paternal uncle); Queen Anne-Marie of Greece (maternal aunt); Prince Georg of Denmark; Baron Christian de Watteville-Berckheim; Grand Duchess JosĂ©phine-Charlotte of Luxembourg; and Birgitta Juel Hillingsø.

He became Crown Prince of Denmark when his mother succeeded to the throne as Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on January 14, 1972. Upon his fathers death this past April, Crown Prince Frederik also inherited the title Count of Monpezat.

In the Council of State on October 8, 2003, Queen Margrethe II gave her consent to the marriage of Crown Prince Frederik to Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, an Australian marketing consultant whom the prince met when he was attending the Sydney Olympics in 2000. The wedding took place on May 14, 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral, Copenhagen.

The couple have four children:
* Prince Christian Valdemar Henri John, born October 15, 2005
* Princess Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe, born April 21, 2007
* Prince Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander, born January 8, 2011
* Princess Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda, born January 8, 2011
Tonight in Copenhagen there are festivities being planed with many, many reigning and non-reigning royals in attendance.
09 Monday Jul 2012
Posted in Royal Genealogy
Tags
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Duke of Clarence, European Royalty, Feodora of Leiningen, Friedrich III of Germany, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, Grand Duke Sergi of Russia, King George V of Great Britain, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, Prince Albert Victor, Prince Harry, Princess Alix of Hesse by Rhine, Princess Beatrice of York, Princess Elizabeth of Hesse by Rhine, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Queen Victoria of Great Britain, Victoria Mary (May) of Teck, Victoria Princess Royal, Wilhelm II of Germany
HRH Prince Marie of Edinburgh (Queen Consort of Romania)
HRH Prince George, The Duke of York (future George V)
One cannot talk about the genealogy of royalty without discussing cousin marriages. Royalty has a reputation for being inbred and that reputation is deserved although I don’t see the issue pejoratively. I do recognize that this was acceptable during different eras when people did not know the role genetics played in heredity and when social conventions were different.
The reasons cousins married were often due to two things. 1). monarchies were and are, to some extent, under the class system. Although it has lessened a great deal. An example is when current Crown Prince Haakon of Norway married a single mother, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, many Norwegians were upset with his choice, deeming her inappropriate. However, since the marriage in 2001 the fervor over her past has been largely forgotten and Mette-Marit has become an exemplary crown princess. This demonstrates that both the royals themselves and their citizens/subjects have had the expectation that royalty will marry their own kind. Even among us commoners we often choose spouses that are within our social group and social class. It is a very common human behavior and practice. 2). Another reason that cousin marriages were prevalent is one that is unintentional.  Young princesses were often pawns and objects of barter in the days when monarchies wielded power. Alliances through marriage were sought to ensure political stability between nations. However, reality was far different. With a minimal number of aristocratic and royal families to choose from, this lead to all these families being interrelated.
By the 19th century there were an occasional marriage done in the name of political alliances. The marriage between the Victoria, Princess Royal and the future Friedrich III, German Emperor and Prussia is a good example. For the most part marriages were selected for appropriateness in terms of matching people with similar personalities and social rank. The monarchs themselves, such as Queen Victoria, were often active in selecting suitable mates for their children and grandchildren. Even though these mates were often selected for them, the respectable parties did have a choice and at times refused certain prospects.
There were times when cousins met each other and actually fell in love, such as the case with the last Russian Czar, Nicholas II and Princess Alix of Hesse by Rhine. Then there were times when the love was not reciprocated. For example, Alix’s sister, Elizabeth (called Ella within the family) was chased after by her cousin, the future Wilhelm II, German Emperor and Prussia, but she wanted nothing to do with him. At one point, Alix was also pursued by her cousin, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and heir to the British throne after his father, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, but she tuned him down. Albert Victor’s brother, the future King George V of Great Britain, fell in love with his cousin, Princess Marie of Edinburgh, but she turned him down despite George’s father and her father approving of the match. Marie’s mother, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, did not like the British Royal Family (despite being married into that family) so she had her daughter turn down the proposal. George’s mother, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, the Princess of Wales, also did not approve of the match
Even though these cousin marriages did not happen the participants found other cousins to marry. Ella married Grand Duke Sergi of Russia, the uncle of her sister’s husband (Nicholas II) and brother to Marie of Edinburgh’s mother. Wilhelm II married Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (the granddaughter of Feodora of Leiningen the half-sister to Wilhelm’s grandmother, Queen Victoria of Great Britain). Albert Victor became engaged to Princess Victoria Mary (May) of Teck, the daughter of Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, who was the first cousin to Albert Victor’s grandmother, Queen Victoria of Great Britain. When Albert Victor died within a month after his engagement to May of Teck, Queen Victoria thought that May was such a wonderful catch and would make an excellent Queen Consort she encouraged a match between May and George. After a suitable time George and May were wed. All these connections are enough to make your head spin!
I think this demonstrates how times have changed in over 100 years. I don’t think if Prince Henry (Harry) were to marry his cousin, Princess Beatrice of York, people would see it as a good thing. Although I do like it when royals marry royals, if only for making studying genealogy interesting, I am not sure when we will see the existing monarchies of Europe marrying royals once again. If it ever does happen it will happen the way we commoners fall in love.
European Royal History 