November 15, 1863: Death of King Frederik VII of Denmark and the succession of King Christian IX.

Tags

Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, House of Oldenburg, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, King Christian IX of Denmark, King Constantine II of Greece, King Felipe VI of Spain, King Frederik VII of Denmark, King Harald V of Norway, King Philippe of Belgium, London Protocol, Louise of Hesse-Cassel, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

King Frederik VII (October 6, 1808 – November 15, 1863) was King of Denmark from 1848 to 1863. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and the last king of Denmark to rule as an absolute monarch. During his reign, he signed a constitution that established a Danish parliament and made the country a constitutional monarchy.

Marriages

King Frederik VII’s first two marriages both ended in scandal and divorce. He was first married in Copenhagen on November 1, 1828 to his second cousin Princess Wilhelmine Marie of Denmark, a daughter of King Frederik VI of Denmark by his wife and first cousin Princess Marie Sophie of Hesse-Cassel. Her father Frederik VI was the only son of King Christian VII of Denmark.

They separated in 1834 and divorced in 1837. On June 10, 1841 he married for a second time to Duchess Caroline Charlotte Mariane of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the daughter of Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and his consort Princess Marie of Hesse-Cassel.

King Frederik VII of Denmark

Very early on, the marriage proved to be a very unhappy one, due in large part to The Crown Prince (as Frederik VI was then) displayed a very bad temperament, excessive drinking and shameless womanizing. Princess Caroline Mariane, who was described as incurably shy and nervous, lacked the ability to serve as a calming influence over her consort. After a visit to her parents in Germany in 1844, Caroline Mariane refused to return to Denmark. The divorce was completed in 1846.

On August 7, 1850 in Frederiksborg Palace, he morganatically married Louise Christina Rasmussen, whom he created Landgravine Danner in 1850 a milliner and former ballet dancer who had for many years been his acquaintance or mistress, the natural daughter of Gotthilf L. Køppen and of Juliane Caroline Rasmussen. This marriage seems to have been happy, although it aroused great moral indignation among the nobility and the bourgeoisie.

After three marriages without any issue it created a succession crisis as there was no clear heir to succeed King Frederik VII.

Also at stake was the future of the duchies of Schleswig (a Danish fief) and of Holstein and Lauenburg (German fiefs) which were joined by personal union with the Kingdom of Denmark. However, since Frederik VII of Denmark was childless, a change in dynasty was imminent and the lines of succession for the duchies and Denmark diverged.

London Protocol.

On May 8, 1852, after the First War of Schleswig, an agreement called the London Protocol was signed. This international treaty was the revision of an earlier protocol, which had been ratified on August 2, 1850, by the major German powers of Austria and Prussia.

The second London Protocol was recognised by the five major European powers—Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom—as well as by the Baltic Sea powers of Denmark and Sweden. The aim of this Protocol was to determine the future of the Schleswig-Holstein duchies and find a suitable heir to the Danish throne.

The Protocol affirmed the integrity of the Danish federation as a “European necessity and standing principle”.

That meant that, contrary to the Protocol, the new king of Denmark would not also be the new Duke of Holstein and Lauenburg. So for this purpose, the line of succession to the duchies was modified. Further, it was affirmed that the duchies were to remain as independent entities, and that Schleswig would have no greater constitutional affinity to Denmark than Holstein did.

In 1851, Russian Emperor Nicholas I had recommended that Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (born 1818) should be advanced in the Danish succession.

Prince Christian was a younger son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Glücksburg.

Christian grew up in the Duchy of Schleswig as a Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448. Following the early death of the father in 1831, Christian grew up in Denmark and was educated at the Military Academy of Copenhagen. After unsuccessfully seeking the hand of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom in marriage, he married his double second cousin, Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel, in 1842.

Prince Christian of Glücksburg had also been a foster grandson of the royal couple King Frederik VI and Queen Marie Sophie, and thus was well known at the royal court. Prince Christian was a nephew of Queen Marie Sophie and descended from a first cousin of Frederik VI. He was brought up as a Dane, having lived in Danish-speaking lands of the royal dynasty and never bore arms for German interests against Denmark, as had other princes of the House of Glücksburg and the House of Augustenburg.

King Christian IX of Denmark

A further justification for this choice was Christian’s marriage in 1842 to Louise of Hesse-Cassel, who was a daughter of the closest female relative of Frederik VII. Louise’s mother and elder siblings renounced their rights to the Danish throne in favor of Louise and her husband.

Being of the House of Glücksburg made him a relatively attractive royal candidate from the Danish viewpoint since, as a descendant of Frederik III, he was eligible to succeed in Denmark, although not first-in-line. He was also, but separately, eligible to inherit the dual duchies, but was not first-in-line

This proposal to have Prince Christian was confirmed by the London Protocol on 8 May 1852, when Prince Christian was chosen to follow Frederik VII’s aging uncle Ferdinand in the line of succession.

The decision of the London Protocol was implemented by the Danish Law of Succession of July 15, 1853 entitled Royal Ordinance settling the Succession to the Crown on Prince Christian of Glücksburg. This designated him as second-in-line to the Danish throne, following the elderly Prince Ferdinand. Consequently, Prince Christian and his family were granted the titles of Prince and Princess of Denmark and the style of Highness.

Frederick VII died in Glücksburg on November 15, 1863 following an attack of erysipelas and was interred in Roskilde Cathedral. Prince Christian took the throne as King Christian IX.

In November 1863, Friedrich of Augustenborg claimed the twin-duchies in succession to Frederik VII of Denmark, who also was the last king of Denmark who, by primogeniture, was also sovereign Duke of Schleswig and Holstein, but whose death extinguished the patriline of Denmark’s hereditary Oldenburg kings. The resulting divergence of hereditary claims to the duchies eventually developed into the Second War of Schleswig.

Christian IX’s six children with Louise married into other European royal families, earning him the sobriquet “the father-in-law of Europe”. Among his descendants are Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, King Philippe of Belgium, King Harald V of Norway, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, former King Constantine II of Greece, and King Felipe VI of Spain.

August 29, 1935: Queen Astrid of the Belgians died in a car crash in Switzerland.

Tags

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, King Albert II of Belgium, King Baudouin of Belgium, King Harald V of Norway, King Leopold III of Belgium, King Philippe of the Belgians, Princess Astrid of Sweden, Queen Astrid of Belgium

August 29, 1935, 85 years ago, Queen Astrid of the Belgians died in a car crash in Switzerland.

The Queen was 30 years old and she had three young children with her husband King Leopold III.

Queen Astrid was born as Princess Astrid of Sweden, daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden and his wife Princess Ingeborg (born Princess of Denmark).

Astrid’s sister Märtha became Crown Princess of Norway and the current King Harald V of Norway is her son.

The current King Philippe of the Belgians and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are her grandsons. 

Of the Queen’s children, only her youngest son King Albert II (86), who abdicated in 2013, is still alive today.

Her daughter Joséphine-Charlotte, who would become Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, died in 2005.

Eldest son King Baudouin died in 1993 (and was succeeded by Albert II).

Absolute Primogeniture and future Queen Regnants in Europe: Part II.

Tags

Duchess of Brabant, Duke of Cambridge, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, King Felipe VI of Spain, King Philippe of the Belgians, Lenor of Spain, Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, Princess Amalia of Nassau, Princess Carlotte of Cambridge, Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Elisabeth, Princess of Asturias, Princess of Orange, Willem-Alexander of the netherlands

Part II

Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange was born on December 7, 2003 in the HMC Bronovo in The Hague, the first child of the then Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima (now King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima).

The Netherlands is used to female monarch. Since Queen Wilhelmina ascended the throne in 1890 with the death of her father, King Willem IV, until the accession of King Willem-Alexander in 2013 upon the abdication of his mother his mother Queen Beatrix, the Netherlands has had women reigning queens for a total of 123 years. Once Willem-Alexander’s reign ends and Princess Catharina-Amalia becomes queen the Netherlands will once again have a queen reigning over the nation.

The monarchy of the Netherlands passes by right of succession to the heirs of King Willem I of the Netherlands. The heir is determined through two mechanisms: absolute cognatic primogeniture and proximity of blood. The Netherlands established absolute cognatic primogeniture instead of male preference primogeniture by law in 1983. Proximity of blood is a topic for another day.

Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant was born October 25, 2001 and is the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. The eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, she acquired her position after her grandfather King Albert II abdicated in favour of her father on 21 July 2013.

In 2003, ten years prior to Elisabeth’s birth, a new act of succession was put into effect which introduced absolute primogeniture, meaning that Elisabeth comes first in the line of succession because she is the eldest child. If she ascends to the throne as expected, she will be Belgium’s first queen regnant. The Belgian monarchy descends from the German House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha whose succession was governed by Salic-Primogeniture which also became the rules governing the succession to the Belgian throne. In 1991 the act of succession was passed which established absolute (gender-neutral) primogeniture, altering the order of succession from “eldest son” to “eldest child”. This is the first example of a crown going from Salic-Primogeniture to absolute cognatic primogeniture.

Leonor, Princess of Asturias born 31 October 2005, is the heir presumptive to the throne of the Kingdom of Spain as the elder child of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. In addition to the official title of Princess of Asturias, she bears the historical titles of Princess of Girona, Princess of Viana, Duchess of Montblanc, Countess of Cerveraand Lady of Balaguer. If Leonor ascended the throne, she would be Spain’s first queen regnant since Isabella II, who reigned from 1833 to 1868.

The Spanish monarchy is the only existing European monarchy that doesn’t operate under absolute cognatic primogeniture. Instead the Spanish monarchy operates under a system of male-preference cognatic primogeniture, meaning that Leonor, as the elder of Felipe’s two daughters, is first in line to inherit the throne. Under the current law, however, if her father has a legitimate son while still being king, Leonor would be displaced in the line of succession and again become an infanta. There have been discussions about changing the succession law to absolute primogeniture, allowing for the inheritance of the eldest child, regardless of sex; however, the birth of Leonor, followed by that of her younger sister Sofía, stalled these plans. Despite a change from male-preference to absolute primogeniture for Spanish titles of nobility in 2009, as of 2019 no legislation has been passed affecting the succession to the throne.

This concludes the women who will be Queen Regnants in the future. Since the majority of the European monarchies have changed their succession laws to absolute cognatic primogeniture, I’d like to mention three princesses that were effected by this change.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Succession to the throne was governed by Salic law, as dictated by the Nassau Family Pact, first adopted on 30 June 1783. The right to reign over Luxembourg was until June 2011 passed by agnatic-cognatic primogeniture within the House of Nassau, as stipulated under the 1815 Final Act of the Congress of Vienna and as confirmed by the 1867 Treaty of London. The Nassau Family Pact itself can be amended by the usual legislative process, having been so on 10 July 1907 to exclude the Count of Merenberg branch of the House, which was descended from a morganatic marriage.

An heir apparent may be granted the style ‘Hereditary Grand Duke’. The current heir apparent is Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume. In June 2011, agnatic primogeniture was dropped in favour of absolute primogeniture, allowing any legitimate female descendants within the House of Nassau to be included in the line of Succession.

Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, born 16 February 1991 is the fourth child and only daughter of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. She has three older brothers: Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Prince Félix, and Prince Louis, and one younger: Prince Sébastien. She was excluded from the line of succession from birth until 2011, when absolute primogeniture was adopted in respect to Grand Duke Henri’s descendants, she is currently fifth in the line. Prince Louis gave up his place in the line of succession when he married Tessy Antony.

Princess Amalia of Nassau was born June 15, 2014 the eldest child of Prince Félix and Princess Claire of Luxembourg. She is the only granddaughter and third grandchild of Grand Duke Henri. She is currently third in the line of succession, behind her paternal uncle Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and her father. She has a brother, Prince Liam of Nassau. She was the first princess of Luxembourg to be born with hereditary rights to the crown after the change to absolute cognatic primogeniture in 2011.

Princess Charlotte of Cambridge was born May 2, 2015 is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. She is fourth in the line of succession to the British throne. Prince Charlotte is fourth in the line of succession to the British throne, after her grandfather, father, and elder brother. Due to the implementation of the Perth Agreement, which replaced male-preference primogeniture with absolute primogeniture, she did not move down the line of succession when her younger brother, Prince Louis of Cambridge, was born on April 23, 2018; this makes her the first elder sister of a British prince to be ranked above him in the line of succession.

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg has died: April 23, 2019.

Tags

Felix of Bourbon-Parma, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Grand Dukes of Luxembourg, House of Bourbon, King Leopold III of Belgium

Official announcement from the Court of Luxembourg.

In English:

“It is with great sadness that I inform you of the death of my beloved father, His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean, who has left us in peace, surrounded by the affection of his family.”

-Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

My sympathies to his family and the people of Luxembourg….

HRH Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

Jean (Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d’Aviano; 5 January 5, 1921 – April 23, 2019) reigned as Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He was the first Luxembourg grand duke of French agnatic descent.

Jean was the eldest son of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma (Prince Félix was one of the 24 children of the deposed Robert I, Duke of Parma, being the duke’s sixth child and third son by his second wife, Maria Antonia of Portugal). Jean’s primary education was initially in Luxembourg, before attending Ampleforth College in England. In 1938, he was officially named Hereditary Grand Duke as heir to the throne of Luxembourg. While Luxembourg was occupied by Germans during the Second World War, the grand ducal family was abroad in exile. Jean studied at the Université Laval in Quebec City.

HRH Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

Jean later volunteered to join the British army’s Irish Guards in 1942, and after graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, received his commission in 1943. He participated in the Normandy landings and the Battle for Caen, and joined the Allied forces in the liberation of Luxembourg. From 1984 until 2000, he was colonel of the Irish Guards.

On April 9, 1953, Jean married Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (the oldest child and only daughter of the King Leopold III of the Belgians and his first wife, Astrid of Sweden) Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte had five children:

Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg (b. February 17, 1954)
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. April 16, 1955)
Prince Jean of Luxembourg (b. May 15, 1957)
Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg (b. May 15, 1957)
Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (b. May 1, 1963)

On November 12, 1964, Grand Duchess Charlotte abdicated and Jean succeeded her as Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He then reigned for 36 years before he himself abdicated on 7 October 2000 and was succeeded by his son, Grand Duke Henri.

Grand Duke Jean taking the oath to the Constitution.

Between 1959-72 Grand Duke Jean was also 5th in line of succession to the defunct throne of the Duchy of Parma. At his death Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg was 98 years old.

Abdication, a royal tradition?

Tags

1936 Abdication Crisis, Abdication, Charles V, Czar Nicholas II, Elizabeth II, Grand Duchess Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, King Felipe II of Spain, Kingdom of the Netherlnads, Marie-Adélaïde, Philip II of Spain, Queen Elizabeth II

With the abdication announcement from Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands earlier this week I began to look at the history and tradition of abdication within all monarchies, not just the Netherlands. I grabbed a note-book and began listing the Emperors, Empresses, Kings and Queens etc, that have abdicated through the centuries. Wow, there were many more than I realized. Too many to mention in this blog post. One thing I have noticed is that there were many forced abdication in the past centuries and few voluntary abdication. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, King of Spain is an example of a voluntary abdication. In the past, abdication were overwhelmingly done for political and not personal reasons.

For a few years Queen Christina of Sweden (1632-1654) desired to abdicate citing she wanted to rest and she was tired of being pressured into marriage. At first her councilors objected but in 1654 she abdicated in favor of her cousin who became King Carl X Gustaf of Sweden. Health problems, in the form of gout, moved Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to abdicate his thrones. He gave spain to his son who became Felipe II of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire went to his brother Ferdinand.

These are a couple of examples of voluntary abdication. Often monarchs have abdicated because they had little choice. Emperor Nicholas II of Russia is a prime example. His country was in shambles because of World War I and he was not popular and with the rise of the provisional government his abdication was essential for a smooth transition. His cousin, German Emperor Wilhelm II (1888-1918) refused to abdicate the throne as his empire was crumbling at his feet. His Imperial Chancellor, Prince Maximilian of Baden, announced the Emperor’s abdication for him, which outraged the Emperor. Wilhelm II eventually signed abdication papers weeks later after he was in exile.

I see the abdication of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a semi-voluntary choice. Yes, he had a choice and as we all know he chose to abdicate to be with the woman he loved. He lived in a time were marrying an American who was twice divorced was socially unacceptable. He did have a choice but one that really wasn’t fair in my opinion.

It was in the 20th century where monarchies began to see abdication by voluntary means. Luxembourg has a tradition of abdication that began with the abdication of Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg in 1919. Marie-Adélaïde’s abdication to her younger sister Charlotte was not voluntary. It was due to political pressure resulting from her cordial relationship with the Germans that occupied Luxembourg during World War I. In 1964 her sister, Grand Duchess Charlotte voluntarily abdicated to her son Jean. In 2000 Grand Duke Jean abdicated the throne in favor of Henri, Luxembourg’s reigning Grand Duke.

In Britain Elizabeth II will never abdicate. The abdication crisis left a sour taste in her mouth and her coronation oath and her dedication to duty will not leave abdication as an option. This is the case for most of the remaining monarchies of Europe. Next week I want to look more in-depth at the Kingdom of the Netherlands where a tradition of abdication has developed. I also want to look at the pros and cons of abdication itself.

Tuesday I will continue my examination of the Legal Succession to the throne and on Thursday of next week I will continue to look at the concept of Abdication.

Gender equality in Luxembourg throne succession rights

Tags

Denmark, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Prince Christian of Denmark, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain

http://www.wort.lu/en/view/gender-equality-in-luxembourg-throne-succession-rights-4fe4891ae4b0c152a04deb4c

HRH Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg

I have posted this article about Luxembourg shifting away from male  male-preference primogeniture. The term for offering the throne to the eldest child regardless of gender is called cognatic primogeniture. Many monarchies are going this route. Sweden was the first back in 1979/80. Norway has followed suit as has Belgium, and the Netherlands. Denmark was in the process of changing their succession to cognatic primogeniture until the birth of a boy, Prince Christian, in 2005. Great Britain is in the process of changing to cognatic primogeniture as mentioned in the queen’s speech in the Sate Opening of Parliament earlier this year. So far, to my knowledge, Spain, Liechtenstein and Monaco have not.

I wanted to share my feelings about this issue. I am honestly mixed. My practical rational side of me agrees with it while the emotional side of me doesn’t like it. I am all for women’s rights and equality. I have a daughter myself, she is my only child, and I want her to have the same advantages in life that men have. When it comes to monarchy I am a traditionalist in many areas. For example, I have no problem with royals marrying who they like but I do miss the days when royals married royals.

So I will miss the days when a king, duke or prince was followed on the throne by his eldest son. I understand that the monarchy must adapt and change to survive and this step makes sense given the fact that the role of sovereign is a symbolic one and a non-political role. In the end I think it will work out fine, but I will miss the old days.