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History of the Kingdom of Greece. Part XIII. Reign of King Paul of the Hellenes

13 Thursday Apr 2023

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Monarch, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal Palace, Royal Succession

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Duke of Brunswick, Ernest Augustus of Hanover, King Christian IX of Denmark, King Constantine I of the Hellenes, King George I of the Hellenes, king George II of the Hellenes, King Paul of the Hellenes, Princess Frederica of Hanover, Tatoi Palace, World War ii

Paul (December 14, 1901 – March 6, 1964) was King of Greece from April 1, 1947 until his death in 1964. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine II.

Paul was first cousin to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and father-in-law to King Juan Carlos I of Spain, and the grandfather of Spain’s curent monarch, King Felipe VI.

Paul was born on December 14, 1901 at the Tatoi Palace in Attica north of Athens, the third son of King Constantine I of the Hellenes and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia,nthe daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor, and Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom.

He trained as an army officer at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and later at the Hellenic Military Academy in Kypseli, Athens. Paul was an army officer cadet in the Coldstream Guards and Lieutenant with the Evzones. To his family, he was known as Palo.

From 1917 to 1920, Paul lived in exile with his father, Constantine I. From 1923 to 1935, he lived in exile again in England, this time with his brother, George II. He worked briefly in an aircraft factory under an alias, and through Viscount Tredegar met and befriended notorious literary muse Denham Fouts, who later alleged an affair, claiming they had themselves identically tattooed with a small blue insignia above the heart. A friend of Fouts, John B. L. Goodwin said Fouts often made up stories about his life, and literary critic Katherine Bucknell thought many of the tales about him were myths. Henry Ch14, annon wrote in his diary that Paul was a bisexual rake before his marriage.

Marriage and children

On January 9, 1938, Paul married Princess Frederica of Hanover, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland, and Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She was born on April 18, 1917 in Blankenburg am Harz, in the German Duchy of Brunswick, she was the only daughter and third child of Prince Ernst August, then reigning Duke of Brunswick, and his wife Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, herself the only daughter of the German Emperor Wilhelm II.

Ernst August was born at Penzing near Vienna, the sixth and youngest child of former Crown Prince Ernst August of Hanover, Duke of Cumberland and his wife, Princess Thyra of Denmark, daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark. His great-grandfather, Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, the fifth son of George III of the United Kingdom, became king of Hanover in 1837 because Salic Law barred Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom, from inheriting the Hanoverian throne.

Princess Thyra of Denmark was the sister of King George I of the Hellenes the grandfather of King Paul of the Hellenes.

Princess Frederica of Hanover was Paul’s first cousin once removed through Friedrich III, German Emperor, and Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom, and second cousin through Christian IX of Denmark, in Athens. They had three children:

1. Sophia, Queen of Spain (born 1938)
2. Constantine II, King of the Hellenes (1940–2023)
3. Irene (born 1942)

World War II

During most of World War II, from 1941 to 1946, when Greece was under German occupation, Paul was with the Greek government-in-exile in London and Cairo. From Cairo, he broadcast messages to the Greek people.

Reign

Paul returned to Greece in 1946. He succeeded to the throne in 1947, upon the death of his childless elder brother, King George II, during the Greek Civil War (between Greek Communists and the non-communist Greek government). In 1947 he was unable to attend the wedding of his first cousin, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to the future Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as he was suffering from typhoid fever.

By 1949 the Civil War was effectively over, with the Communist insurgents ceasing the majority of their operations, and the task of rebuilding the shattered north of the country began.

In the 1950s Greece recovered economically, and diplomatic and trade links were strengthened by Paul’s state visits abroad. He became the first Greek Monarch to visit a Turkish Head of State. However, links with Britain became strained over Cyprus, where the majority Greek population favored union with Greece, which Britain, as the colonial power, would not endorse. Eventually, Cyprus became an independent state in 1960.

In December 1959, Prince Maximillian of Bavaria presented King Otto’s coronation regalia to Paul. It had been almost a century since they were last in Greece.

Meanwhile, republican sentiment was growing in Greece. Both Paul and Frederica attracted criticism for their interference in politics, frequent foreign travels, and the cost of maintaining the Royal Family. Paul responded by economising and donated his private estate at Polidendri to the State.

In 1959, he had an operation for a cataract, and in 1963 an emergency operation for appendicitis. In late February 1964, he underwent a further operation for stomach cancer, and about a week later on March 6, 1964, King Paul died in Athens. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine II.

The Family of Friedrich Ferdinand of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

15 Wednesday Mar 2023

Posted by liamfoley63 in Duchy/Dukedom of Europe, Featured Royal, Royal Genealogy, Royal House

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Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Caroline Matilde of Schleswig-Holstein, Emperor Wilhelm II, Frederick Ferdinand of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, King Christian IX of Denmark, Prince Harald of Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Wilhelm Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

From the Emperor’s Desk: Yesterday I did a blog entry of Prince Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. I had done a blog entry of her sister Princess Alexandra Victoria a short while ago. Today I am doing an entry of their entire family.

Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (12 October 12, 1855 – January 21, 1934), was born in Kiel, Duchy of Holstein, the eldest son of Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Adelheid of Schaumburg-Lippe and a nephew of King Christian IX of Denmark.

Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Albert of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (February 26, 1869 – April 27, 1931), was a grandson of Queen Victoria. He was the second son of Victoria’s daughter Princess Helena by her husband Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.

In 1921, Prince Albert succeeded his childless cousin Duke Ernst Gunther of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. This was the senior branch of the House of Oldenburg, to which the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, the Emperor of Russia, the King of Denmark, the King of Norway, the King of the Hellenes, the King of the United Kingdom and the Grand Duke of Oldenburg belonged.

Duke Albert was succeeded by his distant cousin Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (who happened to be also the husband of a daughter of Albert’s uncle Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg).

Issue

Marriage and Issue

Caroline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg

Friedrich Ferdinand married Princess Caroline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, second daughter of Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and his wife Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, on March 19, 1885 at Primkenau. Princess Caroline Mathilde was the younger sister of Prince Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg the wife of German Emperor Wilhelm II.

Friedrich Ferdinand and Caroline Mathilde had six children:

Victoria Adelaide

1. Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (December 31, 1885 – October 3, 1970) was the last Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as the wife of Duke Charles Edward from their marriage on October 11, 1905 until his abdication on November 14, 1918. Victoria Adelaide is the maternal grandmother of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. She was a niece of German Empress Augusta Victoria.

Princess Alexandra Victoria

2. Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (April 21, 1887 – April 15, 1957) Alexandra Victoria’s first husband was her first cousin Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, the son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and his wife Augusta Victoria, a sister of Alexandra Victoria’s mother.

They married on October 22, 1908 (birthday of Empress Augusta Victoria) at the Royal Palace of Berlin. The marriage was arranged by the Emperor and Empress, but it was relatively happy.

Princess Helena Adelaide and Prince Harald of Denmark

3. Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (June 1, 1888 – June 30, 1962). She was a princess of Denmark through her marriage within the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg to her cousin Prince Harald of Denmark, the third son and fourth child of King Frederik VIII of Denmark and his wife, Lovisa of Sweden, and thus brother to King Christian X of Denmark and King Haakon VII of Norway.

Princess Helena was a Nazi sympathiser during World War II and was after the war exiled from Denmark, but eventually allowed to return, where she died.

Princess Adelaide Louise

4. Princess Adelaide Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (October 19, 1889 – June 11, 1964). She was the Princess of Solms-Baruth through her marriage to Friedrich III, Prince of Solms-Baruth.

On December 31, 1920, Hereditary Prince Friedrich’s father died, and Friedrich became head of the house of Solms-Baruth.

Prince Friedrich III died on September 12, 1951 in Windhoek, Namibia. Princess Adelaide died on June 11, 1964 in Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.

Wilhelm Friedrich and Princess Marie Melita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

5. Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, from 1934 Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (August 23, 1891 – February 10, 1965), was the sixth Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Head of the House of Oldenburg from January 21, 1934 until his death on February 10, 1965.

Wilhelm Friedrich married his second cousin, Princess Marie Melita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, daughter of Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and his wife Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, on February 5, 1916 at Coburg. Friedrich and Marie Melita had four children.

Princess Caroline Mathilde

6. Princess Caroline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (May 11, 1894 – January 28, 1972) was a member of the House of Solms Baruth and Countess of Solms Baruth through her marriage to Count Hans of Solms-Baruth, younger brother of Prince Friedrich III of Solms Baruth, the husband of Caroline Mathilde’s elder sister Adelaide. Solms-Baruth was one of the many minor states of the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Lusatia. It had lost its independence in the German Mediatization of 1806.

March 5, 1723: Birth of Princess Mary of Great Britain, Landgravine of Hesse-Cassel

05 Sunday Mar 2023

Posted by liamfoley63 in Bishop of Rome and the Catholic Church, Featured Royal, Imperial Elector, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Birth, Royal Genealogy, This Day in Royal History

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Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, King Christian IX of Denmark, King George II of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover, Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Cassel, Landgrave Friedrich II of Hesse-Cassel, Landgrave Friedrich of Hesse-Cassel, Landgravine of Hesse-Cassel, Louise of Hesse-Cassel, Princess Mary of Great Britain

Mary of Great Britain (March 5, 1723 – January 14, 1772) was the second-youngest daughter of King George II of Great Britain, Elector of Hanover and his wife, Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, and Landgravine of Hesse-Cassel as the wife of Friedrich II, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel.

King George II of Great Britain, Elector of Hanover

Early life

Princess Mary was born at Leicester House, Westminster, London during the reign of her grandfather King George I of Great Britain, Elector of Hanover. When she was born her father was the Prince of Wales, later King George II.

Her mother was Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, daughter of Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (of the House of Hohenzollern) and his second wife, Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach. Her father was the ruler of one of the smallest German states; he died of smallpox at the age of 32, when Caroline was three years old.

Prince Mary’s father succeeded, as King George II of Great Britain, Elector of Hanover on June 11, 1727, and she became “HRH The Princess Mary”. Upon her death in 1737, her mother, Queen Caroline, entrusted Mary to her elder sister Caroline, urging her to “do what she could to support the meek and mild disposition of Princess Mary”.

Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach

Marriage

A marriage was negotiated with Landgrave Friedrich of Hesse-Cassel, the only son and heir of Wilhelm VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, and his wife Dorothea Wilhelmine of Saxe-Zeitz.

For the marriage, Parliament voted Mary £40,000.

They were married by proxy at the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace in London on May 8, then in person on June 28, 1740 at Cassel. They had four sons, three of whom survived to adulthood.

Princess Mary was 17 and Landgrave Friedrich was 20 at the time of their marriage.

The marriage was unhappy, and Friedrich was said to be “brutal” and “a boor”. Friedrich reportedly subjected Mary to spousal abuse. In late 1746, Mary made an extended trip to Britain to escape his maltreatment. The couple separated in 1754 on Friedrich’s conversion to Roman Catholicism. She was supported by her father-in-law, who provided her with a residence in Hanau, as she did not wish to return to Great Britain, but to stay on the continent to raise her children.

Princess Mary of Great Britain, Langravine of Hesse-Cassel

In 1756, Mary moved to Denmark, to take care of the children of her sister Louise of Great Britain, the first wife of King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway, who had died in 1751.

Princess Mary took her children with her, and they were raised at the royal court and her sons were married to Danish princesses. Her husband succeeded his father as Landgrave Friedrich II of Hesse-Cassel in 1760.

Landgrave Friedrich II of Hesse-Cassel ruled as an enlightened despot, and raised money by renting soldiers (called “Hessians”) to Great Britain to help fight the American Revolutionary War. He combined Enlightenment ideas with Christian values, cameralist plans for central control of the economy, and a militaristic approach toward international diplomacy.

Landgrave Friedrich II of Hesse-Cassel

Princess Mary was technically a Landgravine for the last twelve years of her life, despite her estrangement from her husband.

Princess Mary died on January 14 or 16, 1772, aged 48 at Hanau, in the Holy Roman Empire.

After Mary’s death her widowed husband Friedrich lost little time in marrying again. On 10 January 10, 1773, at Berlin, he married Margravine Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwed, daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt and Sophia Dorothea of Prussia, the ninth child and fifth daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, sister of King George I of Great Britain, grandfather of Landgrave Friedrich II’s first wife Mary.

Philippine thus became stepmother to Friedrich’s three surviving sons: Wilhelm, Charles, and Friedrich. Philippine would not produce any legitimate children herself however.

During her marriage, Philippine led a widely independent life, even setting up her own court. On March 1, 1777, she gave birth to an illegitimate son, Georg Philippson, fathered by the later Württemberg statesman Georg Ernst Levin von Wintzingerode. She also helped reconcile her husband with his children from his first marriage, from whom he had been estranged since 1754.

Children and Descendants

1. Wilhelm (December 1741 – July 1, 1742)

2. Wilhelm I, Elector of Hesse (June 3, 1743 – February 27, 1821)
Originally Landgrave Wilhelm IX of Hesse-Casseland following the reorganization of the imperial states of the Holy Roman Empire during the mediatisation, called the the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel was raised to the Electorate of Hesse with Landgrave Wilhelm IX, now an Imperial Elector, taking the title Wilhelm I, Elector of Hesse.

3. Charles (December 19, 1744 – August 17, 1836). Brought up with relatives at the Danish court, he spent most of his life in Denmark, serving as royal governor of the twin duchies of Schleswig-Holstein from 1769 to 1836 and commander-in-chief of the Norwegian army from 1772 to 1814.

Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Cassel

On August 30, 1766 at the Christiansborg Palace Chapel, Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Cassel married his maternal first cousin, Princess Louise of Denmark and Norway who was a daughter to King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway, and his first wife Princess Louise of Great Britain (his aunt and the sister of his mother Princess Mary of Great Britain).

The marriage took place with her brother King Christian VII’s consent, despite advice given against it, due to many accusations of debauchery by Landgrave Charles and the poor influence he had on the King. This, however, did not last, as Christian VII’s warm feelings for him soon evaporated, and in the spring 1767, the couple left Copenhagen to live in Hanau.

Charles and Louise’s eldest daughter, Princess Marie of Hesse-Cassel, married her cousin King Frederik VI of Denmark.

Charles and Louise’s other daughter, Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Cassel, was the consort of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Amongst their children was Prince Christian who later became King Christian IX of Denmark. This made Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Casseland the matriarch of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, which became the ruling house of the kingdoms of Denmark, Greece, and Norway…and technically the United Kingdom.

4. Friedrich (September 11, 1747 – May 20, 1837). He was the last surviving legitimate grandchild of King George II of Great Britain, dying one month before Queen Victoria (granddaughter of his first cousin King George III) ascended to the throne.

Landgrave Friedrich of Hesse-Cassel

On December 2, 1786 in Biebrich, Friedrich of Hesse-Cassel married Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen (1762 – 1823), a remarkable heiress of a family which became extinct in the male line. 1781 he bought Rumpenheim Castle, Offenbach, from his brother Charles, and it became the family’s seat. He became known as Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel-Rumpenheim, and his descendants are known as the Hesse-Kassel-Rumpenheim branch of the House of Hesse, one of only two branches that survived to the present day.

Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, Duchess of Cambridge

Friedrich and Caroline’s daughter was Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel (1797 – 1889) who was the wife of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the tenth-born child, and seventh son, of George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The longest-lived daughter-in-law of George III, she was the maternal grandmother of Mary of Teck, wife of George V of the United Kingdom.

Friedrich and Caroline’s son, Prince Wilhelm of Hesse-Cassel
married his cousin Charlotte of Denmark (1789–1864) who was a daughter to Frederik, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway, and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Princess Charlotte of Denmark

They were the parents of Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel who was the wife of Christian IX of Denmark.

King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel were the parents of Princess Alexandra of Denmark the wife of the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.

Therefore, through Alexandra’s descent from Princess Mary of Great Britain and her sister Princess Louise, brings another line from King George II of Great Britain into the current British Royal Family.

January 13, 1865: Birth of Princess Marie of Orléans, Princess of Denmark

13 Friday Jan 2023

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Royal, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Birth, Royal Castles & Palaces, Royal Genealogy, Royal Mistress, Royal Titles, royal wedding, This Day in Royal History

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Bernstorff, King Christian IX of Denmark, King George I of Greece, King Louis Philippe of the French, Prince George of Greece and Denmark, Prince Waldemar of Denmark, Princess Marie Bonaparte, Princess Marie of Orléans

Princess Marie of Orléans (January 13, 1865 – December 4, 1909) was a French princess by birth and a Danish princess by marriage to Prince Waldemar. She was politically active by the standards of her day.

Background

Marie was the eldest child of Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres, and his wife, and first cousin, Princess Françoise d’Orléans. Her father was the second son of Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and Duchess Helena of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Princess Marie of Orléans

Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1810 – 1842) was the eldest son of King Louis Philippe I of the French and Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily.

Princess Françoise of Orléans was the daughter of Prince François d’Orléans, Prince de Joinville, and Princess Francisca of Brazil.

Princess François d’Orléans, Prince de Joinville (1818 – 1900) was the third son of King Louis Philippe I of the French, and his wife Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily

Born during the reign in France of her family’s rival, Emperor Napoléon III, she grew up in England, where her family had moved in 1848. She moved to France with her family after the fall of Napoleon in 1871.

Marriage

After obtaining papal consent from Pope Leo XIII, Marie married Prince Waldemar of Denmark, the youngest son of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel, on October 20, 1885 in a civil ceremony in Paris.

They had a religious ceremony on 22 October 1885 at the Château d’Eu, the residence of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris. The wedding was believed by one source to have been politically arranged, and in France, it was believed that the Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris (the bride’s uncle) was personally responsible for the match. However, the same source claimed that “there was every reason to believe that [it was] a genuine love match”.

They were third cousins, once-removed.

Prince Waldemar of Denmark

She remained a Roman Catholic, he a Lutheran. They adhered to the dynastic arrangement usually stipulated in the marriage contract in such circumstances: sons were to be raised in the faith of their father, daughters in that of their mother.

The couple took up residence at Bernstorff Palace outside Copenhagen, in which Waldemar had been born. Since 1883, he had lived there with his nephew and ward Prince George of Greece, a younger son of Waldemar’s elder brother Wilhelm, who had become King of the Hellenes in 1863 as George I. The king had taken the boy to Denmark to enlist him in the Danish navy and consigned him to the care of his brother Waldemar, who was an admiral in the Danish fleet.

Feeling abandoned by his father on this occasion, George would later describe to his fiancée, Princess Marie Bonaparte, the profound attachment he developed for his uncle Waldemar from that day forward.

Prince George of Greece and Denmark

Prince George of Greece and Denmark, was the second of the five sons of King George I of the Hellenes and was introduced to Marie Bonaparte on July 19, 1907 at the Bonapartes’ home in Paris. Although homosexual, he courted her for twenty-eight days, confiding that from 1883, he’d lived not at his father’s Greek court in Athens, but at Bernstorff Palace near Copenhagen with Prince Waldemar of Denmark, his father’s youngest brother.

It was into this household and relationship that Marie came to live. In 1907, when George brought his bride to Bernstorff for the first family visit, Marie d’Orléans was at pains to explain to Marie Bonaparte the intimacy which united uncle and nephew, so deep that at the end of each of George’s several yearly visits to Bernstorff, he would weep, Waldemar would feel ill, and the women learned to be patient and not intrude upon their husbands’ private moments.

On this and subsequent visits, the Bonaparte princess found herself a great admirer of the Orléans princess, concluding that she was the only member of her husband’s large family in Denmark and Greece endowed with brains, pluck, or character.

During the first of these visits, Waldemar and Marie Bonaparte found themselves engaging in the kind of passionate intimacies she had looked forward to with her husband George who, however, only seemed to enjoy them vicariously, sitting or lying beside his wife and uncle.

Princess Marie Bonaparte

On a later visit, George’s wife carried on a passionate flirtation with Prince Aage, Waldemar eldest son. In neither case does it appear that Marie objected, or felt obliged to give the matter any attention.

George criticized Marie to his wife, alleging that she was having an affair with his uncle’s stablemaster. He also contended that she drank too much alcohol and could not conceal the effects. But Marie Bonaparte found no fault with Marie d’Orléans; rather she admired her forbearance and independence under circumstances which caused her bewilderment and estrangement from her own husband.

Prince George of Greece and Denmark with his wife Princess Marie Bonaparte

Life and influence

Marie was described as impulsive, witty, and energetic, and introduced a more relaxed style to the stiff Danish court. She never fully learned to speak Danish. The marriage was friendly. She gave her children a free upbringing, and her artistic taste and Bohemian habits dominated her household.

She was informal, not snobbish, believed in social equality, expressed her own opinions, and performed her ceremonial duties in an unconventional manner. In 1896, she wrote to Herman Bang: “I believe that a person, regardless of her position, should be herself”. She liked both to ride and to drive and was known for her elegance.

Princess Marie of Orléans and Denmark with her tattoo

She was the official protector of the fire brigade and let herself be photographed in a fire brigade uniform, which was caricatured, and as a support to her spouse’s career as a marine, she had an anchor tattooed on her upper arm. She once said regarding complaints about her unconventional manners: “Let them complain, I am just as happy nevertheless”.

She had asked the permission of the court to leave the house without a lady-in-waiting, and she had mainly spent her time with artists. She painted and photographed and was a student of Otto Bache and Frants Henningsen. She participated in the exhibitions at Charlottenborg in 1889, 1901 and 1902 and was a member of the Danish Arts Academy.

She refused to obey the expectation on royal women to stay away from politics. In 1886, Waldemar declined the throne of Bulgaria with her consent. She belonged to the political left and participated in convincing the king to agree to the reforms of 1901, which led to an appointment of a Venstre government, and the de facto introduction of parliamentarism.

In 1902 she rejected the idea of offering the Danish West Indies to the United States. She also saw to the interests of France: she was credited by the French press with having influenced the Franco-Russian alliance in 1894 and the peace in the French-German Colonial conflict over Morocco in 1905. She assisted her friend H.N. Andersen, the founder of the East Asiatic Company, with contacts in his affairs in Thailand. She was a popular person in Denmark.

Marie’s husband and three sons were in India en route to Siam when they received word that she had died at Bernstorff.

December 28, 1879: Death of Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen of Denmark. Part I.

28 Wednesday Dec 2022

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Monarch, Featured Royal, Grand Duke/Grand Duchy of Europe, Royal Death, Royal Genealogy, Royal Succession, This Day in Royal History

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Grand Duchess Anastasia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, King Christian IX of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark, King Frederik VIII of Denmark, Prince Friedrich Franz, Princess Alexandrine, Princess Cecilie

Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (24 December 1879 – 28 December 1952) was Queen of Denmark from 1912 to 1947, as well Queen of Iceland from 1918 to 1944 as the spouse of King Christian X. She was the paternal grandmother of the current reigning Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II.

Alexandrine was born a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on Christmas Eve of 1879, in the city of Schwerin, the capital of the vast Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Northern Germany. Her father was Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; who was the eldest son of and heir to the reigning Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II.

Her mother was Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia the only daughter and second child of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and his wife Princess Cecilie of Baden. Paternally, she was a granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia.

Alexandrine was her parents’ first child, and was born eleven months after their wedding in St. Petersburg. She was born in the Neustädtisches Palais (English: New Town Palace) in Schwerin, which was her parents’ residence in the city at the time.

Duchess Alexandrine had two younger siblings: her only brother was Duke Friedrich Franz, who in 1897 succeeded their father as Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and her only sister was Duchess Cecilie, who in 1906 married the German Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, eldest son of German Emperor William II and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein.

She was also a paternal first cousin of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. Her mother was the paternal aunt of Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia, the wife of Felix Yusupov, one of the murderers of Rasputin.

From left: Princess Cecilie, Princess Alexandrine, Prince Friedrich Franz and Grand Duchess Anastasia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

After their father’s succession as Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin upon the death of his father on April 15, 1883, Alexandrine grew up with her brother and sister at the Castle in Schwerin, at the royal residences of Ludwigslust Palace and the Gelbensande hunting lodge, only a few kilometres from the Baltic Sea coast.

Her father had a fragile health and suffered badly from dermatitis, asthma and respiratory disorders from an early age. The wet, damp, and cold Northern European climate of Mecklenburg was not good for his health, and as a result, Alexandrine spent a large amount of time with her family away from Mecklenburg, by the Lake Geneva, and in Palermo, Baden-Baden and Cannes in the south of France, where the family owned a large estate, the Villa Wenden. Cannes was favoured at the time by European royalty, including some whom Alexandrine met such as Empress Eugénie of France and her future husband’s uncle, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.

It was also in Cannes during the winter visit of 1897 that Duchess Alexandrine met her future husband, Prince Christian of Denmark, the eldest son of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Louise of Denmark.

The two young royals were engaged in Schwerin on March 24, 1897. In April 1897, shortly after the engagement was announced, her father the Grand Duke died suddenly at the age of just 46 years. His sudden death was somewhat shrouded in mystery as it was first reported that he had committed suicide by throwing himself off a bridge. However, according to the official report, he died in his garden when he fell over a low wall during a bout of shortness of breath.

Crown Prince Christian and Crown Princess Alexandrine of Denmark

The wedding of Duchess Alexandrine and Prince Christian was celebrated on April 26, 1898 in Cannes, when she was 18 years old. Prince Christian was 27 years old.

They had two children:

1. Prince Frederik (1899–1972), later King Frederik IX of Denmark; married Princess Ingrid of Sweden

2. Prince Knud (1900–1976), later Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark; married Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark.

Early years in Denmark

Upon their arrival in Denmark, the couple were given Christian VIII’s Palace at the Amalienborg Palace complex in central Copenhagen as their principal residence and Sorgenfri Palace in Kongens Lyngby north of Copenhagen as a summer residence.

Furthermore, the couple received Marselisborg Palace in Aarhus in Jutland as a wedding present from the people of Denmark in 1902, the garden of which was to become one of her greatest interests. In 1914, the King and Queen also built the villa Klitgården in Skagen in Northern Jutland.

On January 29, 1906, her husband’s grandfather King Christian IX died, and Christian’s father ascended the throne as King Frederik VIII. Christian himself became Crown Prince and Alexandrine became Crown Princess.

December 19, 1751: Death of Louise of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway. Part II.

19 Monday Dec 2022

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Duchess Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttle, King Christian IX of Denmark, King Frederick the Great of Prussia, King Frederik V of Denmark, Landgrave Friedrich II of Hesse-Cassel, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, Princess Louise of Great Britain, Queen Louise of Denmark and Norway

At the death of King Christian VI of Denmark on August 6, 1746, her husband ascended the throne as King Frederik V, and Louise became Queen of Denmark and Norway at the age of 21. The new king and queen then moved the short distance from the Prince’s Mansion across the Frederiksholm’s Canal into the large Christiansborg Palace. The ceremonies of the accession to the throne were concluded as the new king and queen were solemnly anointed in the chapel of Frederiksborg Palace on September 4, the following year.

What Louise and her husband on a small scale had begun at Charlottenborg and the Prince’s Mansion, they now continued at a larger scale at Christiansborg. Indeed, Frederik V’s accession to the throne brought about a great change in life at the Danish court, which now became far more festive and acquired a more easy-going tone than under Louise’s strictly religious parents-in-law.

Almost as a sign of the new times, the heavy iron chains that had previously surrounded Christiansborg to keep the people at distance disappeared, court life regained its luster, and the palace’s halls and salons once again became the setting for balls and social gatherings.

Queen Louise was very popular in Denmark, and the great popularity of the royal couple has been attributed to Louise. Louise had a vivacious personality, allowing her to socialise easily with others. She was described as well educated and good at conversation, not beautiful but very dignified and well suited to her role as queen.

In 1751, Queen Louise unsuccessfully opposed the planned dynastic marriage between her daughter, the five-year-old Princess Sophie Magdalene, and the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, Crown Prince Gustaf, the later King Gustaf III.

Louise of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway

She feared that her daughter would not be treated well by the Queen of Sweden, Louisa Ulrika. Queen Louisa Ulrika was known for her anti-Danish views and for being opposed to the match, and it was known that she was the real ruler at the Swedish court. Reportedly, Louise also disliked arranged marriages because of her own experience.

Queen Louise and Queen Louisa Ulrika were first cousins. Queen Louise was the daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, and Queen Louisa Ulrika was Louisa Ulrika was born in Berlin as the daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and his wife Sophia Dorothea of Hanover who was the daughter of King George I of Great Britain and the sister of Queen Louise’s father.

Early death

That same year, Queen Louise became seriously ill with a pinched umbilical hernia while pregnant with her sixth child. The court surgeon operated on her but could not save her life, nor that of her unborn child. She died at Christiansborg Palace on December 19, 1751, the day after her 27th birthday, after 8 years of marriage and after just 5 years as queen.

Incidentally, Louise’s older brother, Prince Frederick Louis, The Prince of Wales, also died in 1751 on March 31 at Leicester House at the age of 44.

The news of the popular queen’s death was met with dismay at court and sincere mourning among the people who had come to appreciate their queen immensely during her short tenure. After lying in state with great pomp at the chapel at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, she was interred in Roskilde Cathedral on the island of Zealand, the traditional burial site for Danish monarchs since the 15th century.

Frederik V survived Queen Louise by 14 years. Although initially unwilling to remarry a foreign princess, unless it was with an English princess, none of whom were available at the time, a new marriage for the king was arranged by Count Adam Gottlob von Moltke, who thought it best that the king remarry as soon as possible.

King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway

Reportedly, the king had a wish to marry Moltke’s own daughter, maid-of-honor Catharine Sophie Wilhelmine von Moltke, a match Adam Gottlob did not wish and prevented by quickly having her married to Count Hannibal Wedell of Wedellsborg.

Moltke then drew the king’s attention to Duchess Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, daughter of Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Antoinette Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Duchess Juliana Maria was also sister-in-law to King Friedrich II the Great of Prussia, who was married to Juliana Maria’s sister. Duchess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern.

After having made some additional investigations and met with satisfying answers, the king expressed himself willing to marry her, and the wedding took place at Frederiksborg Palace on July 8, 1752. The marriage was frowned upon by the people who saw it as too early for the King to remarry.

Neither did the formal princess appeal to his own taste, and with the court she was never popular—with no other identifiable cause than her sense of rigid etiquette, practised in German princely courts, that may have seemed less friendly than the English Louise. During his second marriage, the king had a relationship with Charlotte Amalie Winge.

Duchess Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Queen of Denmark and Norway

Their only child, Hereditary Prince Frederik, was born in 1753. He was, in his turn, father of King Christian VIII of Denmark and grandfather of Louise of Hesse-Cassel, the future Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Christian IX of Denmark.

In 1756, Louise’s sister, Mary, who was estranged from her husband, Friedrich II of Hesse-Cassel, moved to Denmark to take care of her deceased sister’s children. She brought her three sons with her, who were brought up at the Danish court. The two elder sons, Prince Wilhelm and Prince Charles, would later marry their Danish cousins, Princess Wilhelmina and Princess Louise, while the two younger, Charles and Frederik would remain and have careers in Denmark.

December 1, 1844: Birth of Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India

01 Thursday Dec 2022

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Dagmar of Denmark, King Christian IX of Denmark, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Louise of Hesse-Cassel, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, the prince of Wales

Alexandra of Denmark (December 1, 1844 – November 20, 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from January 22, 1901 to May 6, 1910 as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII.

Princess Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia, or “Alix”, as her immediate family knew her, was born at the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century town house at 18 Amaliegade, immediately adjacent to the Amalienborg Palace complex in Copenhagen. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and her mother was Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel. She had five siblings: Frederik, (Vilhelm) George, Dagmar (later Empress of Russia), Thyra and Valdemar.

Her father’s family was a distant cadet branch of the Danish royal House of Oldenburg, which was descended from King Christian III. Although they were of royal blood, the family lived a comparatively modest life. They did not possess great wealth; her father’s income from an army commission was about £800 per year and their house was a rent-free grace and favour property. Occasionally, Hans Christian Andersen was invited to call and tell the children stories before bedtime.

In 1848, Christian VIII of Denmark died and his only son Frederik ascended the throne. Frederik VII was childless, had been through two unsuccessful marriages, and was assumed to be infertile. A succession crisis arose because Frederik VII ruled in both Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein, and the succession rules of each territory differed.

In Holstein, the Salic law prevented inheritance through the female line, whereas no such restrictions applied in Denmark. Holstein, being predominantly German, proclaimed independence and called in the aid of Prussia. In 1852, the major European powers called a conference in London to discuss the Danish succession.

Yellow Palace, Copenhagen: Alexandra’s childhood home

An uneasy peace was agreed, which included the provision that Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg would be Frederick’s heir in all his dominions and the prior claims of others (who included Christian’s own mother-in-law, brother-in-law and wife) were surrendered.

Prince Christian was given the title Prince of Denmark and his family moved into a new official residence, Bernstorff Palace. Although the family’s status had risen, there was little or no increase in their income; and they did not participate in court life at Copenhagen, for they refused to meet Frederick’s third wife and former mistress, Louise Rasmussen, because she had an illegitimate child by a previous lover.

Alexandra and Albert Edward as the Prince and Princess of Wales

Alexandra shared a draughty attic bedroom with her sister, Dagmar, made her own clothes, and waited at table along with her sisters. Alexandra and Dagmar were given swimming lessons by the Swedish pioneer of women’s swimming, Nancy Edberg. At Bernstorff, Alexandra grew into a young woman; she was taught English by the English chaplain at Copenhagen and was confirmed in Christiansborg Palace. She was devout throughout her life, and followed High Church practice

At the age of sixteen Alexandra was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the son and heir apparent of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The couple married eighteen months later in 1863, the year in which her father became King ing of Denmark as Christian IX and her brother Wilhelm was elected king of the Hellenes as George I.

Alexandra was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, and became generally popular; her style of dress and bearing were copied by fashion-conscious women. Largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husband’s family to favour Greek and Danish interests. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work.

On the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Albert Edward became King-Emperor as Edward VII, with Alexandra as Queen-Empress. She held the status until Edward’s death in 1910, at which point their son George V ascended the throne. Alexandra died aged 80 in 1925.

Queen Alexandra is the Great-Great-Grandmother of King Charles III of the United Kingdom.

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

15 Tuesday Nov 2022

Posted by liamfoley63 in Duchy/Dukedom of Europe, Featured Monarch, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Death, Royal Divorce, Royal Genealogy, Royal Succession, Royal Titles, This Day in Royal History

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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.

May 6, 1910: Death of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom

06 Friday May 2022

Posted by liamfoley63 in Duchy/Dukedom of Europe, Featured Monarch, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Death, Royal Mistress, Royal Succession, This Day in Royal History

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Alice Kappel, Emperor of India, German Emperor Wilhelm II, King Christian IX of Denmark, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Prince Albert Edward, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince of Wales, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

Edward VII (Albert Edward; November 9, 1841 – May 6, 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from January 22, 1901 until his death in 1910.

Edward was born at 10:48 in the morning on 9 November 9, 1841 in Buckingham Palace. He was the eldest son and second child of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was christened Albert Edward at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on January 25, 1842. He was named Albert after his father and Edward after his maternal grandfather, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. He was known as Bertie to the royal family throughout his life.

As the eldest son of the British sovereign, he was automatically Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth. As a son of Prince Albert, he also held the titles of Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Saxony. He had the style of Royal Highness as the son of the sovereign.

He was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on December 8, 1841, Earl of Dublin on January 17, 1850, a Knight of the Garter on November 8, 1858, and a Knight of the Thistle on May 24, 1867. In 1863, he renounced his succession rights to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in favour of his younger brother Prince Alfred.

During the long reign of his mother, he was largely excluded from political influence and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and of the Indian subcontinent in 1875 proved popular successes, but despite public approval, his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother.

Once widowed, Queen Victoria effectively withdrew from public life. Shortly after Prince Albert’s death, she arranged for Edward to embark on an extensive tour of the Middle East, visiting Egypt, Jerusalem, Damascus, Beirut and Istanbul. The British Government wanted Edward to secure the friendship of Egypt’s ruler, Said Pasha, to prevent French control of the Suez Canal if the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

Edward and Alexandra on their wedding day, 1863

It was the first royal tour on which an official photographer, Francis Bedford, was in attendance. As soon as Edward returned to Britain, preparations were made for his engagement, which was sealed at Laeken in Belgium on September 9, 1862. Edward married Alexandra of Denmark at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 10 March 1863. He was 21; she was 18.

Alexandra was the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel.

The couple established Marlborough House as their London residence and Sandringham House in Norfolk as their country retreat. They entertained on a lavish scale.Their marriage met with disapproval in certain social circles because most of Queen Victoria’s relations were German, and Denmark was at loggerheads with Germany over the territories of Schleswig and Holstein.

When Alexandra’s father inherited the throne of Denmark in November 1863, the German Confederation took the opportunity to invade and annex Schleswig-Holstein. The Queen was of two minds as to whether it was a suitable match, given the political climate. After the marriage, she expressed anxiety about their socialite lifestyle and attempted to dictate to them on various matters, including the names of their children.

Edward was related to nearly every other European monarch, and came to be known as the “uncle of Europe”. German Emperor Wilhelm II and Emperor Nicholas II of Russia were his nephews; Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain, Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, Crown Princess Marie of Romania, Crown Princess Sophia of Greece, and Empress Alexandra of Russia were his nieces; King Haakon VII of Norway was both his nephew and his son-in-law; kings Frederik VIII of Denmark and George I of the Hellenes were his brothers-in-law; kings Albert I of Belgium, Ferdinand of Bulgaria, and Carlos I and Manuel II of Portugal were his second cousins.

Edward doted on his grandchildren, and indulged them, to the consternation of their governesses. However, there was one relation whom Edward did not like: Wilhelm II. His difficult relationship with his nephew exacerbated the tensions between Germany and Britain.

Edward had mistresses throughout his married life. He socialised with actress Lillie Langtry; Lady Randolph Churchill; Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick; actress Sarah Bernhardt; noblewoman Lady Susan Vane-Tempest; singer Hortense Schneider; prostitute Giulia Beneni (known as “La Barucci”); wealthy humanitarian Agnes Keyser; and Alice Keppel. At least fifty-five liaisons are conjectured. How far these relationships went is not always clear. Edward always strove to be discreet, but this did not prevent society gossip or press speculation. Edward never acknowledged any illegitimate children. Alexandra was aware of his affairs, and seems to have accepted them.

When Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, Edward became King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India and, in an innovation, King of the British Dominions. He chose to reign under the name of Edward VII, instead of Albert Edward—the name his mother had intended for him to use—declaring that he did not wish to “undervalue the name of Albert” and diminish the status of his father with whom the “name should stand alone”.

As king, Edward played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. He re-instituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised.Edward VII fostered good relations on Britain and other European countries, especially France, for which he was popularly called “Peacemaker”, but his relationship with his nephew, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, remained poor.

The Edwardian era, which covered Edward’s reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including steam turbine propulsion and the rise of socialism.

Edward habitually smoked twenty cigarettes and twelve cigars a day. In 1907, a rodent ulcer, a type of cancer affecting the skin next to his nose, was cured with radium. Towards the end of his life he increasingly suffered from bronchitis. He suffered a momentary loss of consciousness during a state visit to Berlin in February 1909.

In March 1910, he was staying at Biarritz when he collapsed. He remained there to convalesce, while in London Asquith tried to get the Finance Bill passed. The king’s continued ill health was unreported, and he attracted criticism for staying in France while political tensions were so high. On April 27, he returned to Buckingham Palace, still suffering from severe bronchitis. Alexandra returned from visiting her brother, George I of the Hellenes, in Corfu a week later on May 5th.

On May 6, Edward VII suffered several heart attacks, but refused to go to bed, saying, “No, I shall not give in; I shall go on; I shall work to the end.” Between moments of faintness, his son the Prince of Wales (shortly to be King George V) told him that his horse, Witch of the Air, had won at Kempton Park that afternoon. The king replied, “Yes, I have heard of it. I am very glad”: his final words.At 11:30 p.m. he lost consciousness for the last time and was put to bed. He died 15 minutes later.

Alexandra refused to allow Edward’s body to be moved for eight days afterwards, though she allowed small groups of visitors to enter his room. On May 11, the late king was dressed in his uniform and placed in a massive oak coffin, which was moved on May 14, to the throne room, where it was sealed and lay in state, with a guardsman standing at each corner of the bier.Despite the time that had elapsed since his death, Alexandra noted the King’s body remained “wonderfully preserved”. On the morning of May 17, the coffin was placed on a gun carriage and drawn by black horses to Westminster Hall, with the new king, his family and Edward’s favourite dog, Caesar, walking behind.

Following a brief service, the royal family left, and the hall was opened to the public; over 400,000 people filed past the coffin over the next two days. As Barbara Tuchman noted in The Guns of August, his funeral, held on May 20, 1910, marked “the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last.” A royal train conveyed the king’s coffin from London to Windsor Castle, where Edward was buried at St George’s Chapel.

When Edward VII died the British Government was in the midst of a constitutional crisis that was resolved the following year by the Parliament Act 1911, which restricted the power of the unelected House of Lords.

March 10, 1863: Marriage of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra of Denmark

10 Thursday Mar 2022

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Monarch, Featured Royal, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, royal wedding, This Day in Royal History

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King Christian IX of Denmark, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Lady Randolph Churchill, Prince Albert Edward, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince of Wales, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, The Princess Royal

September 1861, Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, was sent to Germany, supposedly to watch military manoeuvres, but actually in order to engineer a meeting between him and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, the eldest daughter of Prince Christian of Denmark and his wife Louise of Hesse-Cassel. Prince Christian would become King Christian IX of Denmark in 1863.

The Queen and Prince Albert had already decided that Edward and Alexandra should marry. They met at Speyer on September 24 under the auspices of his elder sister, Victoria, who had married Prince Friedrich of Prussia in 1858.

Albert Edward’s sister, acting upon instructions from their mother, had met Alexandra at Strelitz in June; the young Danish princess made a very favourable impression. Albert Edward and Alexandra were friendly from the start; the meeting went well for both sides, and marriage plans advanced.

Albert Edward gained a reputation as a playboy. Determined to get some army experience, he attended manoeuvres in Ireland, during which he spent three nights with an actress, Nellie Clifden, who was hidden in the camp by his fellow officers.

The marriage of the Prince of Wales with Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Windsor, March 10, 1863

Prince Albert, though ill, was appalled and visited Albert Edward at Cambridge to issue a reprimand. Albert died in December 1861 just two weeks after the visit. Queen Victoria was inconsolable, wore mourning clothes for the rest of her life and blamed Albert Edward for his father’s death. At first, she regarded her son with distaste as frivolous, indiscreet and irresponsible. She wrote to her eldest daughter, “I never can, or shall, look at him without a shudder.”

Marriage

Once widowed, Queen Victoria effectively withdrew from public life. Shortly after Prince Albert’s death, she arranged for Albert Edward to embark on an extensive tour of the Middle East, visiting Egypt, Jerusalem, Damascus, Beirut and Istanbul.

The British Government wanted Albert Edward to secure the friendship of Egypt’s ruler, Said Pasha, to prevent French control of the Suez Canal if the Ottoman Empire collapsed. It was the first royal tour on which an official photographer, Francis Bedford, was in attendance.

As soon as Albert Edward returned to Britain, preparations were made for his engagement, which was sealed at Laeken in Belgium on September 9, 1862. Albert Edward married Alexandra of Denmark at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on March 10, 1863. He was 21; she was 18.

The couple established Marlborough House as their London residence and Sandringham House in Norfolk as their country retreat. They entertained on a lavish scale. Their marriage met with disapproval in certain circles because most of Queen Victoria’s relations were German, and Denmark was at loggerheads with Germany over the territories of Schleswig and Holstein.

When Alexandra’s father inherited the throne of Denmark in November 1863, the German Confederation took the opportunity to invade and annex Schleswig-Holstein. The Queen was of two minds as to whether it was a suitable match, given the political climate. After the marriage, she expressed anxiety about their socialite lifestyle and attempted to dictate to them on various matters, including the names of their children.

Albert Edward and Alexandra were distant cousins from their mutual descent from King George II of Great Britain.

The Prince and Princess of Wales

Albert Edward had mistresses throughout his married life. He socialised with actress Lillie Langtry; Lady Randolph Churchill (mother of future Prime Minister Winston Churchill); Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick; actress Sarah Bernhardt; noblewoman Lady Susan Vane-Tempest; singer Hortense Schneider; prostitute Giulia Beneni (known as “La Barucci”); wealthy humanitarian Agnes Keyser; and Alice Keppel.

At least fifty-five liaisons are conjectured. How far these relationships went is not always clear. Albert Edward always strove to be discreet, but this did not prevent society gossip or press speculation. Keppel’s great-granddaughter, Camilla Parker Bowles, became the mistress and subsequent wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, Albert Edward’s great-great-grandson.

It was rumoured that Camilla’s grandmother, Sonia Keppel, was fathered by Edward, but she was “almost certainly” the daughter of George Keppel, whom she resembled. Albert Edward never acknowledged any illegitimate children. Alexandra was aware of his affairs, and seems to have accepted them.

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From the E

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