November 29, 1690: Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, father of Catherine the Great of Russia

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Adolf Frederik of Sweden, Catherine II of Russia, Catherine the Great, Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst, Frederick the Great of Prussia, House of Holstein-Gottorp, Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp, Peter III of Russia

Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (November 29, 1690 – March 16, 1747) was a German Prince of the House of Ascania, and the father of Empress Catherine II the Great of Russia.

He was a ruler of the Principality of Anhalt-Dornburg. From 1742, he was a ruler of the entire Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst. He was also a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall.

Generalfeldmarschall (English: general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshalen); was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, in the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. The rank was the equivalent to Großadmiral (English: Grand Admiral) in the Kaiserliche Marine and Kriegsmarine, a five-star rank, comparable to OF-10 in today’s NATO naval forces.

Life

Christian August was the third son of Johann Ludwig I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg (1656 — 11704) and Christine Eleonore of Zeutsch (1666–1699). After the death of his father in 1704, Christian August inherited Anhalt-Dornburg jointly with his brothers Johann Ludwig II, Johann August (died 1709), Christian Ludwig (died 1710) and Johann Friedrich (died 1742).

After possibly six months as a captain in the regiment guard in 1708, on February 11, 1709 he joined the Regiment on foot in Anhalt-Zerbst (No. 8) which later changed its name to the Grenadier’s Regiment by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia. The regiment was stationed in Stettin.

In 1711, Christian August was awarded the Order De la Générosité, later renamed in Pour le Mérite, and on March 1, 1713 was elevated to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. After he took part in several military campaigns during the Spanish War of Succession and in the Netherlands, in 1714 Christian August was appointed Chief of the Regiment; two years later, on January 4, 1716 he was named colonel and on August 14, 1721 became major-general.

On 22 January 1729 he became commander of Stettin, after having been chosen there on May 24, 1725 as a knight of Order of the Black Eagle. Christian August was designated on May 28, 1732 lieutenant-general and on April 8, 1741 infantry general. On June 5, of that year he was designated Governor of Stettin. On May 16, 1742 King Friedrich II of Prussia awarded him the highest military dignity, the rank of Generalfeldmarschall.

Six months later, the death of his cousin Johann August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, without any issue made him and his older and only surviving brother, Johann Ludwig II, the heirs of Anhalt-Zerbst as co-rulers. Christian August remained in Stettin and his brother took full charge of the government, but he died only four years later, unmarried and childless. For this reason, Christian August had to leave Stettin and return to Zerbst, but he only reigned four months until his own death.

Marriage and issue

On November 8, 1727 in Vechelde, Christian August married Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (October 24, 1712 – May 30, 1760) the daughter of Christian August, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin and Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach, by birth member of the influential House of Holstein-Gottorp. It is said that a father-daughter like relationship developed between Johanna Elisabeth and her husband. Johanna Elisabeth was the sister of King Adolf Frederik of Sweden.

Christian August and Johanna Elisabeth had five children:

Sophie Auguste Fredericka (May 2, 1729 – November 17, 1796), who later became Catherine II the Great, Empress of Russia.

Wilhelm Christian Friedrich (November 17, 1730 – August 27, 1742).

Friedrich August (August 8, 1734 – March 3, 1793).

Auguste Christine Charlotte (November 10, 1736 – November 24, 1736).

Elisabeth Ulrike (December 17, 1742 – March 5, 1745).

Catherine II (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the last reigning Empress Regnant of Russia from 1762 until 1796—the country’s longest-ruling female leader. She came to power following the overthrow of her husband and second cousin, Peter III. Under her reign, Russia grew larger, its culture was revitalised, and it was recognised as one of the great powers of Europe.

May 21, 1801: Birth of Princess Sophie of Sweden. Conclusion.

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Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Grand Duke Friedrich of Baden, Grand Duke Leopold of Baden, Grand Duke Ludwig II of Baden, House of Bernadotte, House of Holstein-Gottorp, Karlsruhe, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway, King Oscar II of Sweden, Prince Sophie of Sweden, Princess Victoria of Baden, Stéphanie de Beauharnais

Marriage

In 1815, Princess Sophie of Sweden was engaged, and on 25 July 1819 in Karlsruhe, Sophie married her half-grand-uncle Prince Leopold of Baden, the son of a morganatic marriage. The marriage with Leopold had been specifically arranged by her uncle, Grand Duke Charles I of Baden, to improve the chances that Leopold would one day succeed him as grand duke because of Sophie’s royal lineage.

Princess Sophie of Sweden

Since Sophie was a granddaughter of Leopold’s oldest half-brother, Hereditary Prince Charles-Ludwig, this marriage united the descendants of his father’s (Grand Duke Charles-Friedrich) two wives. Sophie’s undoubted royal blood would help to offset the stigma of Leopold’s morganatic birth.

During the reign of Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden, they lived a modest life away from court, as Ludwig did not want the heir to the throne at court. In 1830, her husband ascended to the grand ducal throne as Leopold I, and Sophie became Grand Duchess of Baden.

Sophie is described as wise and dutiful but strict. She kept late hours and arose late in the mornings, after which she spent hours writing letters to various relatives around Europe in her négligée. She was interested in science, art and politics, and kept herself well informed on all political events of the day through her correspondence.

Her ties to the Viennese court were particularly tight, and it was to Vienna her sons were sent to complete their education. Sophie retained a certain bitterness over the deposition of her father, and took it very badly when her brother was deprived of his status as a Swedish prince.

Prince Gustaf, Crown Prince of Sweden

Princess Sophie’s brother, Prince Gustaf, Crown Prince of Sweden and later called Gustaf Gustafsson von Holstein-Gottorp (1799-1877); was not haughty as his younger sister Princess Sophie, but humble. Rather, he seemed too quiet and too careful for his age. When Princess Sophie asked him why their father was no longer King, he told her that it was best not to talk about it.

He asked no questions and did not appear to miss his father. After he was told that his father had been deposed, he acted embarrassed towards his mother. However, when she told him that he too had lost his position as heir, he cried and embraced her without a word. The announcement that he wouldn’t become King of Sweden gave him much relief and happiness.

In 1816, Prince Gustaf assumed the title of Count of Itterburg. Prince Gustaf served as an officer to the Habsburgs of Austria, and in 1829, Emperor Franz I created him Prince of Vasa. During the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829) there was some talk of Prince Gustaf becoming its first king, but this never materialized.

The Case of Kaspar Hauser

Kaspar Hauser (c.1812-1833) was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell.

Kaspar Hauser

According to contemporary rumours, probably current as early as 1829, Kaspar Hauser was the Hereditary Prince of Baden who was born circa September 1812, and who, according to known history, died October 16, 1833. It was alleged that this prince was switched with a dying baby and subsequently surfaced 16 years later as Kaspar Hauser in Nuremberg.

In this case, his parents would have been Grand Duke Charles of Baden and Stéphanie de Beauharnais, cousin by marriage and adopted daughter of Napoleon, Emperor of the French. Because Grand Duke Charles had no surviving male progeny, his successor was his uncle Ludwig, who was later succeeded by his half-brother, Leopold. Leopold’s mother, the Countess of Hochberg, was the alleged culprit of Kaspar Hauser’s captivity. The Countess was supposed to have disguised herself as a ghost, the “White Lady”, when kidnapping the prince. Her motive evidently would have been to secure the succession for her sons.

Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden

After Hauser’s death, it was claimed further that he was murdered, again because of his being the prince.

During the tumult caused by the appearance of Kaspar Hauser, Sophie was rumoured to have ordered Hauser’s assassination in 1833. This damaged her relationship to her husband, and Sophie was said to have had an affair. During the revolutions that swept across Europe the summer of 1848, she was forced to flee from Karlsruhe with her family to Strasbourg. They returned in 1849, after the revolt had been subdued by Prussian forces. She became a widow when her husband, Grand Duke Leopold, April 24, 1852 died in Karlsruhe.

Grand Duke Leopold was succeeded by his eldest son with Princess Sophie, as Grand Duke Ludwig II of Baden. His brother Friedrich acted as regent, because Ludwig suffered from mental illness. However, in 1856, Friedrich became Grand Duke as well after the death of Grand Duke Ludwig II.

Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden

While he served as regent for his brother, his mother, Grand Duchess Sophie convinced her son Friedrich to enter an arranged dynastic marriage rather than a marriage to his love, Baroness Stephanie von Gensau. Grand Duke Friedrich I eventually married Princess Louise of Prussia the second child and only daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm I and Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. She was the younger sister of Friedrich III of Germany (“Fritz”) and aunt of Wilhelm II of Germany.

In 1852, the Swedish royal house wished to make peace with the deposed Swedish royal house, and King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg tried to arrange a meeting, but without success, with resistance coming from Grand Duchess Sophie.

In 1863, however, Sophie met the Swedish heir presumptive Prince Oscar of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland, and future King Oscar II of Sweden and his consort Sophie of Nassau. Prince Oscar was from the House of Bernadotte the dynasty that replaced Princess Sophie’s family. The meeting was a success: Sophie asked him about how the Stockholm of her childhood had changed, and when they left, she presented the couple with a gift to their son prince Gustaf, a medallion with the inscription “G” and the crown of the Swedish Crown Prince, because he had the same name as her brother.

Grand Duchess Sophie of Baden. Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

In 1864, Sophie was interviewed by an unnamed Swedish writer, an interview which was published in her biography about famous Swedish women by Wilhelmina Stålberg (who was likely the unnamed writer in question):

She particularly remembered Haga Palace and Stockholm Royal Palace, the latter so well that, if she should ever see it again, she would have the ability to find her way in any part of the palace. I asked, if she should not make a visit to her childhood home. There had been rumours in Sweden that she had the wish to do so, and that she had written about it to King Oscar, who had assured her of a kind welcome. The Grand Duchess disregarded the rumour as “completely unfounded”. She had never had a serious plan to visit Sweden, despite the fact that she often longed for it. Especially during spring she always felt a strange melancholic longing for her childhood home. But to travel there was now too late for her. This she uttered with a tearful glimmer in her big blue eyes. In any case, a true smile seemed uncharacteristic for this not-really-beautiful but very interesting face. As for the latest Swedish literature, she did read it, but all in translation, “Because”, she said, “I can no longer remember the Swedish language well enough to speak or read it in person. I can however understand it spoken, and my prayers are in Swedish!”

Dowager Grand Duchess Sophie, former Princess Sophie died at Karlsruhe Palace on July 6, 1865, aged 64.

Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway and Princess Victoria of Baden

Through Grand Duchess Sophie’s granddaughter, Princess Victoria of Baden, the blood of the Holstein-Gottorp Dynasty returned to the Swedish Royal Family. Princess Victoria’s father was Sophie’s son, Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden, and his wife Princess Louise of Prussia. On September 20, 1881 in Karlsruhe, Princess Victoria married Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway, the son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway and Sofia of Nassau.

December 8, 1907 King Oscar II of Sweden died and the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden became King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria of Sweden. This makes the former Princess Sophie of Sweden the great-great-great grandmother of Sweden’s current monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf.

December 8, 1907: Accession of King Gustaf V of Sweden.

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Gustaf IV Adolph of Sweden, Gustaf V of Sweden, House of Bernadotte, House of Holstein-Gottorp, House of Vasa, Kings of Sweden, Oscar II of Sweden, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Victoria of Baden, Wilhelm I of Germany

Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; June 16, 1858 – October 29, 1950) was King of Sweden from 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, the youngest daughter of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, by his second wife Princess Pauline Friederica Marie of Württemberg. Duke Wilhelm of Nassau was also the father of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg by his first wife, Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

King Gustaf V of Sweden

Reigning from the death of his father Oscar II on December 8, 1907, until his own death 43 years later, Gustaf V holds the record of being the oldest monarch of Sweden and the third-longest reigning after Magnus IV-VII of Sweden and Norway (1319-1364) and the present Swedish King, Carl XVI Gustaf. He was also the last Swedish monarch to exercise his royal prerogatives, which largely died with him, although formally abolished only with the remaking of the Swedish constitution in 1974. He was the first Swedish king since the High Middle Ages not to have a coronation and hence never wore a crown, a tradition continuing to date.

Gustaf’s early reign saw the rise of parliamentary rule in Sweden, although the leadup to World War I pre-empted his overthrow of Liberal Prime Minister Karl Staaff in 1914, replacing him with his own figurehead Hjalmar Hammarskjöld (father of Dag Hammarskjöld) for most of the war. However, after the Liberals and Social Democrats secured a parliamentary majority under Staaff’s successor, Nils Edén, he allowed Edén to form a new government which de facto stripped the monarchy of all virtual powers and enacted universal and equal suffrage, including for women, by 1919.

Meeting of the three kings in Malmö, December 18, 1914: Haakon VII of Norway, Gustaf V of Sweden, and Christian X of Denmark.

Bowing fully to the principles of parliamentary democracy, he remained a popular figurehead for the remaining 31 years of his rule, although not completely without influence – during World War II he allegedly urged Per Albin Hansson’s coalition government to accept requests from Nazi Germany for logistics support, refusing which might have provoked an invasion. This remains controversial to date, although he is not known to have shown much support for fascism or radical nationalism; his pro-German and anti-Communist stance was well known also in World War I.

On September 20, 1881 he married Princess Victoria of Baden in Karlsruhe, Germany. Victoria of Baden was the daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden, and Princess Louise of Prussia, the second child and only daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm I and Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Victoria was named after her aunt, Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Gustaf and Victoria

German Emperor Wilhelm I and Empress Augusta were present at the wedding, and marriage was arranged as a sign that Sweden belonged to the German sphere in Europe. The marriage was popular in Sweden where she was called “The Vasa Princess”, because of her descent from the old Vasa Dynasty

Victoria of Baden was the granddaughter of Princess Sophie of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Baden, the daughter of the deposed King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and his wife, Frederica of Baden. Victoria’s marriage to Gustaf V united the reigning Bernadotte dynasty with the former royal house of Holstein-Gottorp, which claimed descent from the House of Vasa which brought Sweden its independence and thus was popular throughout Sweden.

The kings of the House of Holstein-Gottorp, which produced the kings of Sweden from 1751 to 1818, often emphasized their Vasa descent, albeit through a female line. The current ruling house of Bernadotte similarly prides in its Vasa descent: Carl XIV, the first Bernadotte king, was an adopted son of Carl XIII, the last from the House of Holstein-Gottorp; his son Oscar I married a Vasa descendant Josephine of Leuchtenberg; and the focus of this blog post, his grandson Gustaf V, married Victoria of Baden who was, as we’ve seen, a great-grandchild of Gustav IV Adolf of the house Holstein-Gottorp.

Gustaf and Victoria were brought together by their families and their marriage was reported not to have been a happy one. Their marriage produced three children:

1. King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden (1882-1973) (aged 90) married 1) Princess Margaret of Connaught (1882–1920), had issue (four sons, one daughter), married 2) Louise Mountbatten (1889–1965), a stillborn daughter.

2. Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland (1884-1965)(aged 80) married Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890–1958), had issue.

3. Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (1889-1918) (aged 29) died unmarried of the Spanish flu, no issue

Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden with her mother, Grand Duchess Louise of Baden (only daughter of Wilhelm I, German Emperor) and her eldest son, baby Gustaf Adolf, 1883.

In 1890–1891, Victoria and Gustaf travelled to Egypt to repair their relationship, but it did not succeed, allegedly due to Victoria’s interest in one of the courtiers, and she repeated the trip to Egypt in 1891–1892. After 1889, the personal relationship between Victoria and Gustaf is considered to have been finished, in part, as estimated by Lars Elgklou, due to the bisexuality of Gustaf V.

Victoria of Baden, Queen Consort of Sweden

An avid hunter and sportsman, Gustaf V presided over the 1912 Olympic Games and chaired the Swedish Association of Sports from 1897 to 1907. Most notably, he represented Sweden (under the alias of Mr G.) as a competitive tennis player, keeping up competitive tennis until his 80s, when his eyesight deteriorated rapidly. He died from flu complications and was succeeded by his son as King Gustaf VI Adolf.

Following his death at age 92, in 1950, Gustaf V was implicated in a homosexual affair in the Haijby affair. His alleged lover Kurt Haijby was imprisoned in 1952 for blackmail of the court in the 1930s. Homosexuality was a criminal offense in Sweden until 1944, though Gustaf’s position would have granted automatic immunity.

House of Windsor to House of Glücksburg?

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Duke Carlo-Hugo of Burbon- Parma, Duke of Edinburgh, Emperor Peter II of Russia, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, House of Holstein-Gottorp, House of Oldenburg, House of Romanov, House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, House of Windsor, HRH The Prince of Wales, King George V of Great Britain, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of Scotland, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Prince Charles, Prince Philip, Prince William, World War I

On July 17, 1917 HM King George V of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. With World War I raging at the time there was a considerable amount of anti-German feelings in the land. For many people it didn’t seem right that the King had a German name while they were fighting a war against the German Empire In searching for a name to rechristened the royal dynasty they decided on the name Windsor, which was felt personified and the strength of the country and it also went along with the royal tradition that many European Royal Houses had of naming their dynasties after a Castle.  The original Windsor Castle was built-in the 11th century after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I, it has been used by succeeding monarchs and it is the longest-occupied palace in Europe.

The royal house of the United Kingdom has been known as Windsor now for almost 100 years. Will it remain Windsor one Charles becomes king or will it change? Often when the throne passes through the female line the name of the dynasty will change to reflect the patrilineal descent of the new monarch. This has been the case for the majority of royal houses in Europe although there are  exceptions. Some claim that the changing the name of dynasties was the invention of modern historians and that during some of these time periods dynastic names were not consistently used. Even with the kings and queens of England dynastic name changes have not always been consistent. For example, King Stephen was technically a member of the House of Blois but most historians and text books place him as a member of the House of Normandy. The same case happens with William III. Most books place him as a member of the House of Stuart yet he was, in the male line, a member of the Dutch House of Orange.

From a Genelaogically perspective, Elizabeth II is a member of the Wettin Dynasty from the collateral branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha line via her descent from Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria. Her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. This makes The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge and his future offsprings members of that dynasty. This is all from a genealogical aspect of course because technically they are members of the House of Windsor. The House of Glücksburg itself is a collateral branch of the House of Oldenburg. The Oldenburg dynasty has ruled in Denmark, Russia, Greece, Norway, Schleswig, Holstein, Oldenburg and Sweden. The question now becomes will the name of the royal house change when Charles succeeds to the throne?

There has been no indication either way that it will change or that it will not change. In times past this would not have been an issue and the name of the royal house would automatically change once the Crown passed through the female line to reflect the patrilineal line. With the name Windsor the British monarchy has a name that does not have foreign roots like many of the former British royal houses had. This trend, of adopting or keeping nationalistic names for European Monarchies has become the new tradition. Many extant monarchies have chosen to keep the dynastic name even when passing through the female line. For example, in the Netherlands the dynastic name of the royal family is Orange-Nassau despite passing through the female line in the last three generations. Even further back in time Austria kept the Habsburg name even though the last male line Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, died in 1740. In Russia the name of Romanov was kept even though the last male line Romanov died with the death of Emperor Peter II in 1730.

The dynasty that replaced the Romanov’s were the House of Holstein-Gottorp a collateral branch of the House of Oldenburg, but because Romanov was the name so associated with the Russian royal family it was decided to retain the name. In Belgium and Luxembourg they also have distanced themselves from their dynastic titles. In 1986, former Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, dropped the dynastic title of the House of Bourbon-Parma, because the head of that house, Duke Carlo-Hugo of Bourbon Parma deemed that Jean’s son, the current Grand Duke Henri, had entered into an unequal marriage. In 1921 King Albert I of Belgium dropped the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynastic name for the same reasons George V did. Today the Belgian royal family is simply known as being “of Belgium.”

With Britain now having a gender neutral succession it seems wise to just retain the name of Windsor for the name of the royal family even though it may, or will, pass through the female line many times in the future. With such a proud British (or specifically English) name such as Windsor attached to the royal family this association would be lost by changing it to the House of Glücksburg. It would once again be placing the family name under something foreign and not British or English. Some have theorized that a future Charles III could hyphenate Windsor with Mountbatten, something the queen herself decreed in 1961 for all their descendants who did not hold a royal title, or Charles III could call the royal house the House of Mountbatten or even the House Edinburgh. However, none of those scenarios seem likely.

Hopefully this all doesn’t sound xenophobic. My intent was to demonstrate that since the political atmosphere has changed over the centuries when royal families ruled over many different nation-states, and that the modern monarchy is more nationalistic, it makes great sense to abandon that old practice of renaming the royal dynasty when it passed through the female line and to retain a name that reflects and honors the people who the royal family serves.