December 28, 1952: Death of Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen of Denmark. Conclusion.

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Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Copenhagen, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, King Christian X of Denmark, King Frederik VIII of Denmark, king George II of the Hellenes, King Haakon VII of Norway, King Peter II of Yugoslavia, Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, World War I, World War ii

On May 14, 1912 while on a return journey from a trip to Nice with his wife and four of his children, King Frederik VIII of Denmark made a short stop in Hamburg, staying at the Hotel Hamburger Hof under the pseudonym “Count Kronsberg”.

That evening, Frederik—while incognito—went out for a stroll on the Jungfernstieg, during which he became faint and collapsed on a park bench at Gänsemarkt. He was discovered by a police officer who took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead; his cause of death was announced as a heart attack. As King Frederik VIII was incognito at the time and had no papers on him, his body was brought to the local morgue, where he was identified by the hotel manager the next morning.

Alexandrine’s husband acceded to the throne as King Christian X, and Alexandrine became Queen Consort of Denmark. She is not considered to have played any political role, but is described as being a loyal support to her spouse.

She was interested in music, and acted as the protector of the musical societies Musikforeningen i København and Den danske Richard Wagnerforening. She was known for her needlework, which she sold for charitable purposes. After the death of her mother-in-law Louise of Sweden in 1926, she succeeded her as the official protector of the various charity organisations founded by Louise. She enjoyed golf and photography.

During World War I, she founded Dronningens Centralkomité af 1914 (“The Queen’s Central Committee of 1914”) to the support of poor families. The revolution in Russia brought much heartbreak for Alexandrine as three of her uncles, Nicholas, George and Sergey, were killed by the Bolsheviks.

She survived the 1918 flu pandemic.

King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine of Denmark

World War II

On April 9, 1940 at 4 am Nazi Germany invaded Denmark in a surprise attack, overwhelming Denmark’s Army and Navy and destroying the Danish Army Air Corps. King Christian X quickly realized that Denmark was in an impossible position.

Its territory and population were far too small to hold out against Germany for any sustained period of time. Its flat land would have resulted in it being easily overrun by German panzers; Jutland, for instance, would have been overrun in short order by a panzer attack from Schleswig-Holstein immediately to the south.

Unlike its Nordic neighbours, Denmark had no mountain ranges from which a drawn-out resistance could be mounted against the German army. With no prospect of being able to hold out for any length of time, and faced with the explicit threat of the Luftwaffe bombing the civilian population of Copenhagen, and with only one general in favour of continuing to fight, King Christian X and the entire Danish government capitulated at about 6 am, in exchange for retaining political independence in domestic matters, beginning the occupation of Denmark, which lasted until May 5, 1945.

In contrast to his brother, King Haakon VII of Norway, and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, King George II of the Hellenes, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, King Peter II of Yugoslavia, President Edvard Beneš of Czechoslovakia and President Władysław Raczkiewicz of Poland, all of whom went into exile during the Nazi occupation of their countries, King Christian X (like King Leopold III of the Belgians) remained in his capital throughout the occupation of Denmark, being to the Danish people a visible symbol of the national cause (Haakon VII escaped the German advance after refusing to accept a Nazi-friendly puppet regime.)

King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine of Denmark

The royal couple was given great popularity as national symbols during the World War II occupation, which was demonstrated during a tour through the country in 1946. Before the occupation, she and her daughter-in-law were engaged in mobilising the Danish women.

Her rejection of Major General Kurt Himer, Chief of Staff to General Kaupisch on April 9, 1940 became a symbol for her loyalty toward Denmark before her birth country Germany. When General Himer asked for an audience with the monarch, Christian was persuaded to receive him by his daughter-in-law as he would any other, which was supported by Alexandrine. He asked to do so alone, but Alexandrine told him she would interrupt them.

When the General was about to leave, she came in; and when he greeted her, she said: “General, this is not the circumstance in which I expected to greet a countryman.”

During the German occupation of Denmark, the King’s daily ride through Copenhagen became a symbol of Danish sovereignty. This picture was taken on his birthday in 1940

It was reported, that although Alexandrine was seen as shy and disliked official ceremonies, she had a “sharp” intelligence, and she was, together with her daughter-in-law, Ingrid of Sweden, a true support of the monarch and a driving force for the resistance toward the occupation within the royal house.

It was also reported, that in contrast to the monarch himself and the Crown Prince, the Queen and the Crown Princess never lost their calm when the nation was attacked.

As she was not the Head of the Royal House, she could show herself in public more than her spouse, who did not wish to show support to the occupation by being seen in public, and she used this to engage in various organisations for social relief to ease the difficulties caused by the occupation. Kaj Munk is quoted to describe the public appreciation of her during World War II with his comment: “Protect our Queen, the only German we would like to keep!”

Queen Alexandrine of Denmark

King Christian X used to ride daily through the streets of Copenhagen unaccompanied while the people stood and waved to him. One apocryphal story relates that one day, a German soldier remarked to a young boy that he found it odd that the King would ride with no bodyguard. The boy reportedly replied, “All of Denmark is his bodyguard.”

Later life

At his death in Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, in 1947, at the age of 76, King Christian X was interred along with other members of the Danish royal family in Roskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen. Although he had been behind the politics of Erik Scavenius, a cloth armband of the type worn by members of the Danish resistance movement was placed on his coffin under a castrum doloris.

When Queen Alexandrine was widowed; she became the first Queen Dowager of Denmark to opt not to use that title.

She died in Copenhagen on December 28 in 1952 at the age of 73 and is interred next to her husband in Roskilde Cathedral.

November 23, 1890: Death of Willem III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg

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House of Orange, King Willem III of the Netherlands, Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange, Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen Victoria, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Willem III (February 9, 1817 – November 23, 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 1890. He was also the Duke of Limburg from 1849 until the abolition of the duchy in 1866.

Willem III was the son of King Willem II and Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia. Anna Pavlovna was born in 1795 at Gatchina Palace, the eighth child and sixth daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg).

King Willem III of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg

On the abdication of his grandfather Willem I in 1840, and the accession of his father as King Willem II, Prince Willem became the Prince of Orange. On the death of his father in 1849, he succeeded as King Willem III of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Willem III married his first cousin Princess Sophie of Württemberg in 1839. Sophie was born in Stuttgart; her parents were King Wilhelm I of Württemberg and Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, the fourth eldest daughter of Emperor Paul I and Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg).

Shortly after Sophie’s birth, her mother died, and she was cared for by her aunt, Catharina of Württemberg. She was niece of tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I of Russia.

Princess Sophie of Württemberg

Willem III and Sophie had three sons, William, Maurice, and Alexander, all of whom predeceased him.

In 1877, Queen Sophie died and in the same year, King Willem III announced his intention to marry Émilie Ambre, a French opera singer, whom he ennobled as countess d’Ambroise – without government consent. Under pressure from society and the government, he abandoned these marriage plans.

Willem III remained eager to remarry. In 1878, he first proposed to his niece, Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Weimar. He then considered marriage with Princess Pauline of Waldeck and Pyrmont, a small German principality, and Princess Thyra of Denmark, the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, who had her own private scandalous history

He finally decided to marry Pauline’s younger sister Emma.

Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Emma was born a princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont on August 2, 1858 in Arolsen Castle in Arolsen, the capital of the small German principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont. She was the fourth daughter of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and Princess Helena of Nassau-Weilburg. Her brother, Friedrich, was the last reigning prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her sister, Helena, was the wife of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, a son of Queen Victoria.

Some politicians were quite angry, as she was 41 years the king’s junior. Emma showed herself, however, as a cordial woman. Willem III asked permission from parliament, this was easily granted. The couple were quickly married in Arolsen on January 7, 1879.

When Willem III married Emma in 1879 there was a 41 year age gap between them. Willem III was 62 and Emma was 21.

Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont and King Willem III of the Netherlands

Emma had a relieving influence on Willem’s capricious personality and the marriage was extremely happy. The king had stopped interfering with most aspects of government.

In 1880, Princess Wilhelmina was born. She became heir presumptive in 1884 after the death of the last remaining son from Willem’s first marriage, Alexander, Prince of Orange.

King Willem III of The Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg

King Willem became seriously ill in 1887. He was suffering from a kidney-ailment.

In 1888 and 1889, the ailing king became increasingly demented. The Council of State and then Queen Emma became regents. Willem III died in Het Loo in 1890. Because Wilhelmina had not yet reached adulthood, Emma became regent for her daughter. She would remain regent until Wilhelmina’s eighteenth birthday in 1898.

Queen Mother Emma of the Netherlands and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

June 4, 1941: Death of German Emperor Wilhelm II

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Doorn, German Emperor, King George V of the United Kingdom, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Wilhelm II of Germany

Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; January 27, 1859 – June 4, 1941) was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from June 15, 1888 to his abdication November 9, 1918. He was the eldest grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe, most notably King George V of the United Kingdom and Emperor Nicholas II of Russia.

After abdicating at the end of World War I on the night of November 10th the Kaiser left Spa by train to seek asylum in the Netherlands. He was granted asylum by Queen Wilhelmina.

Wilhelm first settled in Amerongen, where on November 28, he issued a belated statement of abdication from both the Prussian and imperial thrones, thus formally ending the Hohenzollerns’ 500-year rule over Prussia. Accepting the reality that he had lost both of his crowns for good, he gave up his rights to “the throne of Prussia and to the German Imperial throne connected therewith.”

He also released his soldiers and officials in both Prussia and the empire from their oath of loyalty to him. He purchased a country house in the municipality of Doorn, known as Huis Doorn, and moved in on May 15, 1920.

His cousin, George V of the United Kingdom, called him the worst criminal in history. Many nations called for his extradition and wanted the Kaiser hung for war crimes. Eventually even president Wilson agreed that to extradite the Kaiser would destabilize the tentative peace.

In 1922, Wilhelm published the first volume of his memoirs—a very slim volume that insisted he was not guilty of initiating the Great War, and defended his conduct throughout his reign, especially in matters of foreign policy. For the remaining twenty years of his life, he entertained guests (often of some standing) and kept himself updated on events in Europe. He grew a beard and allowed his famous moustache to droop, adopting a style very similar to that of his cousins King George V and Tsar Nicholas II.

He also learned the Dutch language. Wilhelm developed a penchant for archaeology while residing at the Corfu Achilleion, excavating at the site of the Temple of Artemis in Corfu, a passion he retained in his exile. He had bought the former Greek residence of Empress Elisabeth after her murder in 1898. He also sketched plans for grand buildings and battleships when he was bored.

In exile, one of Wilhelm’s greatest passions was hunting, and he killed thousands of animals, both beast and bird. Much of his time was spent chopping wood and thousands of trees were chopped down during his stay at Doorn

Wilhelm died of a pulmonary embolus in Doorn, Netherlands, on June 4, 1941, at the age of 82, just weeks before the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union.

Despite his personal animosity toward Wilhelm, Hitler wanted to bring his body back to Berlin for a state funeral, as Wilhelm was a symbol of Germany and Germans during the previous World War. Hitler felt that such a funeral would demonstrate to the Germans the direct descent of the Third Reich from the old German Empire.

However, Wilhelm’s wishes never to return to Germany until the restoration of the monarchy were respected, and the Nazi occupation authorities granted him a small military funeral, with a few hundred people present.

Wilhelm was buried in a mausoleum in the grounds of Huis Doorn, which has since become a place of pilgrimage for German monarchists. A few of these gather there every year on the anniversary of his death to pay their A few of these gather there every year on the anniversary of his death to pay their homage to the last German Emperor.

February 25, 1912: Marie-Adélaïde becomes the first Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

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Abdication, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Marie-Adelaide of Luxembourg, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Salic Law, William III of the Netherlands, William IV of Luxembourg

Marie-Adélaïde (June 14, 1894 – January 24, 1924), reigned as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 1912 until her abdication in 1919. She was the first Grand Duchess regnant of Luxembourg (after five grand dukes), its first female monarch since Duchess Maria Theresa (1740–1780, who was also Austrian Archduchess and Holy Roman Empress) and the first Luxembourgish monarch to be born within the territory since Count John the Blind (1296–1346).

Marie-Adélaïde was born on June 14, 1894 in Berg Castle as the eldest child of Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg and his wife, Marie Anne of Portugal, the fifth child and second-youngest daughter of the deposed King Miguel of Portugal and his wife Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.

Due to that same Salic Law, the elder branch of the House of Nassau, called Nassau-Weilburg (present-day Luxembourg-Nassau) had inherited the Grand Ducal throne in 1890 upon the death of King Willem III of the Netherlands. Ever since 1815 and the proclamation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the new King of the Netherlands, Willem I, was also made Grand Duke of Luxembourg, a part of the Kingdom that was, at the same time, a member state of the German Confederation.

In 1830, Belgium seceded from the Kingdom, a step that was recognised by the Netherlands only in 1839. At that point, Luxembourg became a fully independent country in a personal union with the Netherlands. When Willem III of the Netherlands died leaving only his daughter Wilhelmina as an heir, the crown of the Netherlands, not being bound by the family pact, passed to Wilhelmina. However, the crown of Luxembourg, under the Salic Law, passed to a male of another branch of the House of Nassau: Adolphe, the dispossessed Duke of Nassau and head of the branch of Nassau-Weilburg.

In 1907, Adolphe’s only son, Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, obtained passage of a law, overturning the Salic Law, confirming the right of his eldest daughter, Marie-Adélaïde, to succeed to the throne in virtue of the absence of any remaining dynastic males of the House of Nassau, as originally stipulated in the Nassau Family Pact.

Thus, when her father died on February 25, 1912 she succeeded to the throne at the age of 17, becoming the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. Her mother served as regent until Marie-Adélaïde’s eighteenth birthday on June 18, 1912 when the President of the Chamber Auguste Laval swore her in as the first Luxembourgish monarch to be born in the territory since the reign of Count John the Blind of Luxembourg (1296–1346).

Marie-Adélaïde was deeply interested in politics and took an active part in the government and the political life of the Grand Duchy in accordance with the Luxembourgish Constitution which at that time granted the monarch extensive political powers. She was a devout Roman Catholic, with strong religious convictions and very conservative political views.

On the day of her ascension to the throne – February 25, 1912 – she refused to sign a new law reducing the role of Roman Catholic priests within the education system. Later, in 1915, she hesitated before appointing the mayors of Differdange and Hollerich, both known for their anticlerical views.

With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the German Empire violated the neutrality of Luxembourg established and recognized in International Law by invading the country on August 2, 1914. Although Marie-Adélaïde issued a formal protest, this did nothing to prevent the military occupation of Luxembourg. She decided not to resist the occupying army, but tried instead to maintain formally her country’s neutrality throughout the war.

However, during the war she developed a rather cordial relationship with the German occupiers (including hosting German Emperor Wilhelm II in the palace and allowing his son, Crown Prince Wilhelm to establish his temporary military headquarters in Luxembourg City), an attitude which made her very unpopular with the Luxembourgish population, especially after she refused as well to send away her German entourage who was part of the Grand Ducal Household (palace personnel).

In late 1916 the Grand Duchess caused controversy by dissolving the Chamber of Deputies to solve the deadlock faced by the Loutsch Ministry, which was composed of Party of the Right members and did not have a majority in the Chamber. Marie-Adélaïde ordered the Chamber dissolved and new elections held on December 23, 1916. This action was permissible under the Constitution, but regarded as unconventional, and provoked an outcry and long-term resentment among the socialists and liberals in parliament, who saw it as resembling a coup d’état.

Although she had not done anything flagrantly in contradiction with the Luxembourg Constitution of 1868, voices in Parliament began to demand her abdication. On January 9, 1919 a group of Socialist and Liberal Luxembourgish Members of Parliament (“Deputies”) publicly proclaimed a republic after losing a vote in parliament to abolish the monarchy, a situation which was followed by public unrest in the streets requiring even the intervention of the French Army to restore order.

Under intense national (and international) pressure, and after consulting with the Prime Minister, the 24-year-old Grand Duchess decided to abdicate (January 14, 1919). She was succeeded by her younger sister, Princess Charlotte, The Hereditary Grand Duchess.

After her abdication Marie-Adélaïde went into exile by travelling through Europe. She entered a Carmelite convent in Modena, Italy, in 1920. Later, she joined the Little Sisters of the Poor in Rome, taking the name “Sister Marie of the Poor”. Her worsening health did not allow her to remain a nun, however, and she eventually had to leave the convent.

She then moved to Schloss Hohenburg in Bavaria, where, surrounded by her family, she died of influenza aged 29 on January 24, 1924. Marie-Adélaïde never married nor had children. On October 22, 1947, her body was interred in the Grand Ducal Crypt of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in the city of Luxembourg.

Happy 16th Birthday to HRH The Princess of Orange.

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Catherina-Amalia of the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands., Princess of Orange, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange (Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria; born December 7, 2003) is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of the countries of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten.

Princess Catharina-Amalia has two younger sisters: Princess Alexia (born in 2005) and Princess Ariane (born in 2007). She lives with her parents and sisters in Huis ten Bosch palace in The Hague.

Starting in December 2007, Catharina-Amalia attended the public primary school Bloemcampschool in Wassenaar. She now attends the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in The Hague, where her aunt Princess Laurentien attended.

Her birthdays are traditionally celebrated with a concert at the Kloosterkerk in The Hague, which is attended by ambassadors and members of the royal household and the Council of State of the Netherlands. She speaks Dutch, English, and some Spanish.

When she succeeds to the Dutch throne, Catherina-Amalia will follow in the footsteps of three of her ancestresses. Her great-great grandmother Wilhelmina (1880-1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until 1948. Catherina-Amalia’s great-grandmother Juliana (1909-2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until 1980. Most recently, her grandmother Beatrix was Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until 2013. Amalia will be the fourth queen regnant of the Netherlands in five generations of the Dutch Royal Family. 

This date in History: November 23, 1890. The death of Willem III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

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Abdication, Conservative, King Wilhelm I of Württemberg, Liberal, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Sophia of Württemberg, Willem I of the Netherlands, Willem II of the Netherlands, Willem III of the Netherlands

Willem III (Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk; February 19, 1817 – November 23, 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 1890. He was also the Duke of Limburg from 1849 until the abolition of the duchy in 1866.

Willem was born on February 19, 1817 in the Palace of the Nation in Brussels, which was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands at the time. He was the eldest son of the future king Willem II of the Netherlands and Anna Pavlovna of Russia, daughter of Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. He had three brothers, one of whom died in infancy, and one sister.

Willem married in Stuttgart on June 18, 1839 his first cousin, Sophie, daughter of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg and Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, daughter of Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.

Sophie of Württemberg.

The marriage was unhappy and was characterized by struggles about their children. Sophie was a liberal intellectual, hating everything leaning toward dictatorship, such as the army. Willem III was simpler, more strongly conservative, and loved the military. He prohibited intellectual exercise at home, for which action Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who corresponded with Princess Sophie, called him an uneducated farmer.

Willem III comes across as a very unlikable person. His extramarital affairs, however, led the New York Times to call him “the greatest debauchee of the ages.” Another cause of marital tension (and later political tension) was his capriciousness; he could rage against someone one day, and be extremely polite the next.

The king was a man of immense stature and with a boisterous voice. Standing at 6’5″ (196 cm) he was an exceptionally large and strong man by the standards of his age. Willem III was known to be a philanderer and had several dozen illegitimate children from various mistresses. He could be gentle and kind, then suddenly he could become intimidating and even violent. He kicked and hit his servants about. He was inclined to terrorize and humiliate his courtiers. The king was cruel to animals as well. His ministers were afraid of him. Most people around him agreed that he was, to some degree, insane.

The king could be erratic, he ordered the dismissal and even the arrest and execution of those that he found in lack of respect, including a Mayor of The Hague. Orders like these were disregarded. The king who thought of himself as a specialist on all matters military frequently tried to take command of manoeuvres, creating chaos wherever he went.

Willem III as a staunch Conservative and therefore loathed the 1848 Liberal constitutional changes initiated by his father (Willem II) and Johan Rudolf Thorbecke. His father saw them as key to the monarchy’s survival in changing times. Sophie, who was a strong Liberal and she shared the views of Willem II and Thorbecke. Willem III himself saw them as useless limitations of royal power, and would have preferred to govern as an enlightened despot in the mold of his grandfather, Willem I, and other royal figures such as Friedrich II The Great of Prussia and Catherine II The Great of Russia.

Because of the growing trend toward Liberalism, Willem III was even reluctant to take the crown. He considered relinquishing his right to the throne to his younger brother Henry and later to his older son. His mother convinced him to cancel this action. The Dutch constitution provided no way to relinquish one’s claim to the throne.

On March 17, 1849 his father died and Willem succeeded to the throne of the Netherlands. He was at that moment a guest of the Duchess of Cleveland in Raby Castle. Representatives of the Dutch government traveled to London to meet their new king in London. Willem was reluctant to return, but he was convinced to do so. Upon arrival the new Queen welcomed her spouse with the question “did you accept?”. The new king nodded, but he remained uncertain about the matter for some time.

In 1877, Queen Sophie died and years of war in the palace came to an end. In the same year, King Willem III announced his intention to marry Émilie Ambre, a French opera singer, whom he ennobled as countess d’Ambroise – without government consent. Under pressure from society and the government, he abandoned these marriage plans.

Willem III and Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen Consort of the Netherlands.

Willem remained eager to remarry. In 1878, he first proposed to his niece, Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Weimar. He then considered marriage with Princess Pauline of Waldeck and Pyrmont, a small German principality, and Princess Thyra of Denmark, who had her own private scandalous history. He finally decided to marry Pauline’s younger sister Emma, the fourth daughter of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and Princess Helena of Nassau. Some politicians were quite angry, as she was 41 years the king’s junior. Emma showed herself, however, as a cordial woman. Willem III asked permission from parliament, this was easily granted. The couple were quickly married in Arolsen on January 7, 1879.

Emma had a positive influence on Willem’s capricious personality and the marriage was extremely happy. The last decade was without any doubt the best of his reign. The king had stopped interfering with most aspects of government. In 1880, Wilhelmina was born.

King Willem III had had three sons with his first wife, Sophie of Württemberg: Willem, Prince of Orange (1840–1879), Maurits (1843–1850), and Alexander (1851–1884) but two of them had died before Wilhelmina’s birth, and the third brother also died before she turned four. None of them had ever married. The only other surviving male member of the House of Orange was the King’s uncle, Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, but he had no son either, only daughters, and he died in 1881 when Wilhelmina was one year old.

Young Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.

By 1887, the King, now seventy years of age, finally abandoned hope of a son with his young wife, and made the pragmatic decision to settle the throne upon his only daughter. Under the Semi-Salic system of inheritance that was in place in the Netherlands until 1887, she was third in line to the throne from birth. When Prince Frederick died a year later in 1881, she became second in line. When Wilhelmina was four, Alexander died and the young girl became heir presumptive.

King Willem III died on November 23, 1890. Although ten-year-old Wilhelmina became queen of the Netherlands instantly, her mother, Emma, was named regent.

This date in History October 7, 1840. Abdication of King Willem I of the Netherland.

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Abdication, Count of Nassau, Frederick the Great, Frederick William II of Prussia, Grand Duke Luxembourg, King Willem IIII of the Nethlands, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Willem I of the Netherlands, Willem III of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander of the netherlands

Willem I (August 24, 1772 – December 12, 1843) was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlandsand Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Willem-Frederik, Prince of Orange.

King Willem I’s parents were the last stadtholder Willem V, Prince of Orange of the Dutch Republic, and his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia (the fourth child of eight born to King Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia and Queen Frederica Louisa (of Hesse-Darmstadt). Her upbringing was dominated by the strict regime of her great-uncle, Friedrich II the Great, but in general very little is known about her youth)

Willem I of the Netherlandsand Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Until 1806, Willem was formally known as Willem VI, Prince of Orange-Nassau,and between 1806 and 1813 also as Willem-Frederik, Prince of Orange. In Berlin on October 1, 1791, Willem married his first cousin (Frederica Louisa) Wilhelmina of Prussia, born in Potsdam. And as mentioned was She the daughter of King Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia. Wilhelmina died in 1837.

Constitutional changes were initiated in 1840 because the terms which involved the United Kingdom of the Netherlands had to be removed due to the loss of Belgium in 1830. These constitutional changes also included the introduction of judicial ministerial responsibility. Although the policies remained uncontrolled by parliament, the prerogative was controllable now. The very conservative Willem could not live with these constitutional changes.

Wilhelmina of Prussia, Queen Consort of the Netherlands

Around 1840, King Willem found himself in discord with much of the Dutch population, not only due to his resistance to the Constitutional changes, it was also due to his refusal to implement demanded reforms. This discord was enhanced when the king, head of the strictly Protestant and royal House of Orange-Nassau, announced his intention to marry the Catholic Countess Henriëtte d’Oultremont de Wégimont (February 28, 1792 – October 26 1864) who had been a lady-in-waiting to his first wife, the late Queen consort Wilhelmine (1774-1837).

The resistance was so great—Henriëtte, who was Catholic and a native of Belgium, which had seceded from the Netherlands—that Willem abdicated on October 7 1840 in favour of his son The Prince of Orange who took the throne as Willem II.

King Willem II of the Netherlands

After abdication, he styled himself King Willem-Frederik, Count of Nassau. He married Henriëtte on 17 February 17, 1841; he was 69 years old at the time, she was 47, and the couple would have no children. Since the marriage was morganatic she received the Dutch title, Countess of Nassau on February 7, 1841, by which she was known during the couple’s subsequent retirement in Berlin. King Willem-Frederik, Count of Nassau died in Berlin on December 12, 1843 aged 71.

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Princess Juliana

Incidentally, the abdication of King Willem I did not start the tradition of abdication in the kingdom of the Netherlands. Willem I’s son Willem II died as King in 1849 as did his son and successor Willem III, who died as King in 1849. It was Wilhelmina, the daughter of Willem III, who started this tradition when she abdicated September 4, 1948. Her daughter, Juliana and granddaughter, Beatrix, both abdicated. The current King of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, is under no obligation to abdicate in time for abdication is a tradition and not a law.

This date in History: September 1, 1922. Death of Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Dowager Duchess of Albany.

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Alice of Albany, Charles Edward Duke of Albany, Georg-Victor of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Helena of Waldemar and Pyrmont, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Leopold Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Willem III of the Netherlands

Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (Helene Friederike Auguste; February 17, 1861 – September 1, 1922), who became a member of the British royal family by marriage, was the fifth daughter and child of Georg Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his first wife, Princess Helena of Nassau.

She was born in Arolsen, capital of Waldeck principality, in the German Confederation of the Rhine. She was the sister of Friedrich, last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Marie, the first wife of Wilhelm II of Württemberg; and of Emma, Queen consort of Willem III of the Netherlands (and mother of Queen Wilhelmina).

Marriage

Along with Emma and a third sister, Pauline, Helena was considered as a second wife for their distant cousin Willem III of the Netherlands. She later met with another distant cousin Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, youngest son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom at the suggestion of his mother. The two became engaged in November 1881.

On 27 April 1882, Leopold and Helena married in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. After their wedding, Leopold and Helena resided at Claremont House. The couple had a brief, but happy marriage, ending in the hemophiliac Leopold’s death from a fall in Cannes, France, in March 1884. At the time of Leopold’s death, Helena was pregnant with their second child.

The couple had two children:

* Princess Alice of Albany (1883-1981), later Countess of Athlone

* Prince Charles, Duke of Albany (1884-1954), born posthumously, later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Personality and social work

According to the memoirs of Helena’s daughter, Princess Alice of Albany, Helena was very intelligent, had a strong sense of duty, and a genuine love of welfare work. Queen Victoria, initially worried that Helena might turn out to be a stereotypically-remote German Princess, remarked in a letter to her eldest daughter, German Crown Princess Victoria, that she was pleased Helena liked ‘to go among the people.’ The Queen soon came to regard her young daughter-in-law with great respect and affection, notwithstanding her initial concerns upon hearing from the match-making Vicky that Helena was an “intellectual”, being unusually well-educated for a princess.

In 1894, Helena was one of the founders of the Deptford Fund. Originally dedicated to helping find alternative work for women and girls employed in the dangerous cattle slaughter business, the Fund soon expanded, with many projects instigated to help the local community.

Helena was also involved in several hospital charities and with those dedicated to ending human trafficking. During World War I, she organised much of her charity work along with that of her sister-in-law Princess Beatrice and husband’s niece Princess Marie-Louise to avoid the not-uncommon problem of conflicting (and sometimes misguided) royal war-work projects.

Later life

After Leopold’s death, Helena and her two children, Alice and Charles Edward, continued to reside at Claremont House. After the death of her nephew, the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1899, Helena’s sixteen-year-old son was selected as the new heir to the German duchy, and was parted from his mother and sister in order to take up residence there. When the First World War broke out 14 years later, Charles Edward found himself fighting in the German Army.

Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone, (daughter of Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany) with her children May and Rupert, circa 1909.

As a result, he was stripped of his British titles by an act of Parliament in 1917. By contrast, her daughter Princess Alice of Albany remained in England and married her second cousin once-removed, Prince Alexander of Teck, the brother of Princess Mary of Teck, the Princess of Wales (later Queen Mary, consort of George V).

Helena died on September 1, 1922 of a heart attack in Hinterriss in Tyrol, Austria while visiting her son, Carl-Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. She was 61 years old.

German Emperor Wilhelm II picked out Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein, the niece of his wife, Empress Augusta Victoria, as Carl-Eduard’s bride.

Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

She was the eldest daughter of Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, and Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. They married on October 11, 1905, at Glücksburg Castle, Schleswig-Holstein, and had five children, including Sibylla, the mother of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter-in-law of Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany.

Abdication: What To Call A Former Monarch, Part V.

Tags

Abdication, Duke of Aosta, Edward VIII, House of Savoy, King Manuel II of Portugal, Kingdom of Spain, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Queen Isabella II of Spain, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

In the previous entries I examined how Richard II of England and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V still retained their title of King and Emperor respectively after their abdications. Here are other examples of monarchs who abdicated or were dethroned yet they kept their royal title.

King Wilhelm II of Württemberg 1891-1918

King James II-VII of England, Scotland and Ireland 1685-1688
King Louis Philippe of the French 1830-1848
King Miguel I of Portugal 1828-1834
King Manuel II of Portugal 1908-1910
Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany 1888-1918
Emperor Karl I-IV of Austria-Hungary 1916-1918
Queen Isabella II of Spain 1833-1868
King Alfonso XIII of Spain 1874-1885
King Mihail of Romania 1927-1930 and 1940-1947
King Simeon II of Bulgaria 1943-1946
King Peter II of Yugoslavia 1934-1954
King Constantine II of Greece 1964-1973
King Ludwig III of Bavaria 1913-1918
King Wilhelm II of Württemberg 1891-1918
King Friederich August III of Saxony 1904-1918
King Juan Carlos of Spain 1975-2014
King Albert II of the Belgians 1993-2013

By remaining kings, those who married after abdicating/being dethroned could even transmit their royal style to their wives – Anne of Bourbon-Parma who married King Mihail Romania and Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen wife of King Manuel II of Portugal all were wed and titled Queen long after their husbands ceased to reign.

Queen Isabella II of Spain 1833-1868

In one case a monarch who abdicated did grant himself a lesser title and yet also kept the title of King. King Willem I of the Netherlands, after his abdication in 1840, styled himself King Willem-Frederick, Count of Nassau. Speaking of the Kingdom of the Netherlands it was only with the abdications of Queens Wilhelmina, Juliana and Beatrix did they downgrade themselves to Royal Highnesses and Princesses.

Here is an example of a monarch that did downgrade his title after his abdication. After the abdication of Queen Isabella II of Spain the Spanish Cortes decided to continue as a monarchy. They chose as their king, Amadeo I (Italian: Amedeo, sometimes anglicized as Amadeus; May 30, 1845 – January 18, 1890) and he was the only King of Spain from the House of Savoy. He was the second son of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy and was known for most of his life as the Duke of Aosta, but he reigned briefly as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873.

Amadeo I of Spain 1870-1873

Amadeo’s reign was fraught with growing republicanism, Carlist rebellions in the north, and the Cuban independence movement. With the possibility of reigning without popular support, Amadeus issued an order against the artillery corps and then immediately abdicated from the Spanish throne on February 11, 1873. At ten o’clock that same night, Spain was proclaimed a republic, at which time Amadeo made an appearance before the Cortes, proclaiming the Spanish people ungovernable. Completely disgusted, the ex-monarch left Spain and returned to Italy, where he resumed the title of Duke of Aosta.

In the final entry I will show why it was deemed necessary to downgrade Edward VIII of the United Kingdom.

HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Tags

Abdication, Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, The Prince of Orange

Today’s featured monarch is HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. I am going to take a slightly different approach today. I will give some basic biographical infor on Her Majesty and then discuss some other issues related to her.

She was born January 31, 1938 and was named Princess Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, (Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld) the daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. At the time of her birth her grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina, was sitting on the throne of the Netherlands. Her mother became Queen of the Netherlands in 1948 when Wilhelmina abdicated the throne making Beatrix heiress presumptive to the throne of the Netherlands. In turn her mother, Juliana abdicated on 30 April 1980, and Beatrix succeeded her as Queen of the Netherlands.

World War II was in full swing when it was time for the young Beatrix to attend school so she was sent to public primary and secondary schools in Canada and in the Netherlands. She received a received a law law degree from Leiden University in 1961 and in 1966, Beatrix married Claus van Amsberg whose family was a member of the untitled nobility. This caused some controversy in the Netherlands because Claus had been part of the Nazi youth organizations such as the Deutsches Jungvolk and the Hitler Youth. However, it must be pointed out that joining these groups was not obligatory. There were protests also because had only been 20 years since the war at that time. Claus did become an able consort. They had three sons. Prince Willem-Alexander the Prince of Orange(1967), Prince Friso (1968) and Prince Constantijn (1969). Prince Claus died in 2002. If her eldest son, The Prince of Orange, becomes King Willem IV of the Netherlands he will be the first male ruler of the Netherlands since the death of King Willem III in 1890. The Queen, as a Constitutional Monarch has little say in the running of the government. However, in 1994 the Minister of Foreign Affairs opened a new Dutch Embassy in the Kingdom of Jordan at Her Majesties request.

Abdication?

The Dutch have a tradition of abdicating the throne although it is not a requirement. Since the creation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Only kings Willem II and Willem III died while still serving as the sovereign. Willem I, Wilhelmina and Juliana have abdicated. I wonder if and when Beatrix will abdicate? I speculate only due to the fact that her mother was 71 when she abdicated and her grandmother was 68 when she abdicated. Right now Her Majesty is 74. Do I think she should abdicate? No1 I actually am not a fan of abdication. No judgment toward those monarchies that do practice this tradition, I just like the idea of a monarch who is monarch for life. From what I understand Her Majesty enjoys being queen and I say that as long as she enjoys her work and as long as she remains healthy I would like to see her remain on the throne. Her son and heir, Prince Willem-Alexander, The Prince of Orange currently has three children below the age of ten and I think it would be better for them to have their father around more in these younger years. When they’re teens then he can be king! 🙂

She has had some difficult times this year with the accident of her son, Prince Friso, who was caught in an avalanche earlier this spring. He is in a coma and only God knows what the future may hold for him. As a parent I am sure that must be one of the hardest things to face.

I have great respect for her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands and long may she reign!