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Naming the Royals of Europe: What Language to use? Part II.

11 Friday Nov 2022

Posted by liamfoley63 in From the Emperor's Desk

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Emperor Alexander III of Russia, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, King Carlo Felice of Sardinia, King Constantine II of Greece, King Umberto II of Italy, King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland, Stadtholder of the Netherlands and Prince of Orange

It is not just male names I rendered in thier original language but female names too. For example, in French Margaret is generally translated as Marguerite. Germany is where I tend to be inconsistent. For example the name Louise is often spelled Luise but more often I use the English spelling. Elizabeth in both German and French is often spelled Elisabeth which I will use for German and French princesses.

Names in the Portuguese language is often very similar to the names in Spanish. One difference is the name John. In Spanish John becomes Juan but in Portuguese it becomes João. It is pronounced very close to the French version of John which is spelled Jean.

Here is a very short YouTube clip of how to pronounce João in Portuguese.

https://youtu.be/40BKcoUhz-M

Here is where my inconsistencies come in. I mentioned yesterday that the name Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the names that inspired me to render names in thier native language. However, I ended up keeping the names of Eastern European Royalty in English.

So Mikhail remains Michael. The last Emperor of Russia in the Russian language is known as Emperor Nikolai II of Russia but I prefer the English name of Nicholas. The father of Nicholas II is Alexander III but in Russian it is Aleksandr III.

Emperor Nicholas II of Russia

Where I am inconsistent is with the son of Nicholas II. In English he is called Alexis but in Russian his name is Alexei which is the name I prefer. See! I told you I was inconsistent!

Therefore, in Eastern European Royalty such as Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia, Romania and Greece I use English to translate thier names.

For example, the late Duke of Edinburgh was Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. In Greek the name Philip is rendered Fílippos (sometimes spelled Philippos). The former King of Greece, Constantine II, is known as Konstantínos II in Greek.

Where I run into trouble is that the father of King Constantine II is King Paul of Greece yet I often see the eldest son of King Constantine II called Crown Prince Pavlos instead.

Italy is where I am all over the place! For example, the second to last King of Italy was Victor Emmanuel III. In Italian it’s rendered Vittorio Emanuele III. To be honest I’ve used both versions. The same with the name Charles Albert. I prefer that over Carlo Alberto.

However, I prefer Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia over the English translation, Charles Felix. The last King of Italy was King Umberto II. In English Umberto is translated as Humbert. With apologies to people named Humbert I much prefer the name Umberto!

King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland, Stadtholder of the Netherlands and Prince of Orange

Lastly is the Dutch translation of the name William. In Dutch it’s Willem and that is the name I use for Dutch Princes and Kings. However, I handle the name of Willem III, Prince of Orange who became King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1689 rather uniquely.

Prior to his succession to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland I refer to him as Prince Willem III of Orange, Stadtholder of the Netherlands. After he becomes King I then call him King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland.

In the next entry I will speak of how I handle titles from other languages besides English.

Royal Dukedom: Addendum Part II

06 Thursday Oct 2022

Posted by liamfoley63 in Duchy/Dukedom of Europe, Featured Noble, Featured Royal, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal Succession, Royal Titles

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1st Duke of Monmouth, Charles Edward of Albany, Duke of Albany, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Ernst August of Hanover, James Scott, King James II-VII of England, Royal Dukedom, Scotland and Ireland, Titles Deprivation Act of 1917

Here are some extinct Royal Dukedoms that could be used once again. Strathearn has never been used as a singular Dukedom as it is often coupled with another Dukedom.

Duke of Albemarle
Duke of Clarence
Duke of Avondale
Duke of Connaught
Duke of Strathearn
Duke of Hereford
Duke of Kendal
Duke of Kintyre
Duke of Ross
Duke of Monmouth
Duke of Windsor

Connaught was an Irish Peerage now part of the Republic of Ireland so is not available for recreation.

The title Duke of Windsor is so associated with Edward VIII I have a difficult time thinking it will ever be recreated.

Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale
Duke of Albany

There are two Dukedoms (three if Teviotdale is considered a separate Dukedom) have been suspended.

Prince Ernst August, Crown Prince of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale

In 1799 the double dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale, in the Peerage of Great Britain, was bestowed on Ernest Augustus (later King of Hanover), fifth son of King George III of the United Kingdom. In 1837 Ernest became king of Hanover, and on his death in 1851 the title descended with the kingdom to his son King Georg V, and on Georg’s death in 1878 to his grandson Prince Ernst August, Crown Prince of Hanover.

In 1866 Hanover was annexed by Prussia, but King Georg Vdied without renouncing his rights. His son Ernst August while maintaining his claim to the kingdom of Hanover, was generally known by his title of Duke of Cumberland in Britain.

The title was suspended for Ernst August’s pro-German activities during World War I under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917, as it was for his son. Under the Act, the lineal male heirs of the 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale have the right to petition the British Crown for the restoration of his peerages. To date, none has done so.

The present heir is Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born February 26, 1954), great grandson of the 3rd Duke and current head of the House of Hanover. He is the senior male-line descendant of George III of the United Kingdom.

The title of “Albany” alone was granted for the fifth time, this time in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, in 1881 to Prince Leopold, the fourth son of Queen Victoria. Prince Leopold’s son, Prince Charles Edward (who had succeeded as reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1900), was deprived of the peerage in 1917 for bearing arms against the United Kingdom in World War I.

Carl Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Duke of Albany

His grandson, Ernst Leopold (1935–1996), only son of Charles Edward’s eldest son Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1906–1972), sometimes used the title “Duke of Albany”, although the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 stipulates that any successor of a suspended peer shall be restored to the peerage only by direction of the sovereign, the successor’s petition for restoration having been submitted for and obtained a satisfactory review of the appropriate Privy Council committee.

Because of it’s negative association with James Scott, 1st Dukedom of Monmouth I don’t believe this Dukedom will be recreated.

James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, (April 9, 1649 – July 15, 1685) was a Dutch-born English nobleman and military officer. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland with his mistress Lucy Walter.

James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth

The Duke of Monmouth served in the Second Anglo-Dutch War and commanded English troops taking part in the Third Anglo-Dutch War before commanding the Anglo-Dutch brigade fighting in the Franco-Dutch War.

The Duke of Monmouth believed his father, King Charles II and his mother Lucy Walter were legally married making him the lawful King of England, Scotland and Ireland.

He led the unsuccessful Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, an attempt to depose his uncle King James II-VII. After one of his officers declared Monmouth the legitimate king in the town of Taunton in Somerset, Monmouth attempted to capitalise on his Protestantism and his position as the son of Charles II, in opposition to James, who had become a Roman Catholic. The rebellion failed, and Monmouth was beheaded for treason on July 15, 1685 despite asking his uncle the King to spare his life.

November 4, 1677: Marriage of Prince William III of Orange and Princess Mary of England, Scotland and Ireland

04 Thursday Nov 2021

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Monarch, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Castles & Palaces, royal wedding

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Anne Hyde, Bishop Henry Compton, James Duke of York, King Charles II of England, Louis of France Prince of Orange, Mary of England, Mary Princess Royal, Scotland and Ireland, St. James Palace, Stadtholder of the Netherlands, William III of Orange

Mary II (30, April 1662 – December 28, 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, from 1689 until her death in 1694, co-reigning with her husband, William III-II King of England, Scotland and Ireland, Stadtholder of the Netherlands and Prince of Orange.

Mary, born at St James’s Palace in London on April 30, 1662, was the eldest daughter of the Duke of York (the future King James II-VII), and his first wife, Anne Hyde. Mary’s uncle was Charles II, who ruled the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland; her maternal grandfather, Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, served for a lengthy period as Charles’s chief advisor.

William III (William Henry; Dutch: Willem Hendrik; November 4, 1650 – March 8, 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the 1670s, and King of England, Ireland, and Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II.

Mary was baptised into the Anglican faith in the Chapel Royal at St James’s, and was named after her ancestor, Mary I, Queen of Scots. Her godparents included her father’s cousin, Prince Rupert of the Rhine. Although her mother bore eight children, all except Mary and her younger sister Anne died very young, and Charles II had no legitimate children. Consequently, for most of her childhood, Mary was second in line to the throne after her father.

William was the only child of Willem II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the daughter of Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

William’s mother showed little personal interest in her son, sometimes being absent for years, and had always deliberately kept herself apart from Dutch society. William’s education was first laid in the hands of several Dutch governesses, some of English descent, including Walburg Howard and the Scottish noblewoman, Lady Anna Mackenzie. From April 1656, the prince received daily instruction in the Reformed religion from the Calvinist preacher Cornelis Trigland, a follower of the Contra-Remonstrant theologian Gisbertus Voetius.

Marriage

During the war with France, William tried to improve his position by marrying in his first cousin Mary, elder surviving daughter of the Duke of York. Mary was eleven years his junior and he anticipated resistance to a Stuart match from the Amsterdam merchants who had disliked his mother (another Mary Stuart), but William believed that marrying Mary would increase his chances of succeeding to Charles’s kingdoms, and would draw England’s monarch away from his pro-French policies.

As previously mentioned William was the son King Charles II’s sister, Mary, Princess Royal, and thus fourth in the line of succession to the three kingdoms after James, Duke of York, and his daughters Mary, and Anne.

At first, Charles II opposed the alliance with the Dutch ruler—he preferred that Mary wed the heir to the French throne, the Dauphin Louis, thus allying his realms with Catholic France and strengthening the odds of an eventual Catholic successor in Britain; but later, under pressure from Parliament and with a coalition with the Catholic French no longer politically favourable, he approved the proposed union. Therefore King Charles II relented to the match.

James, Duke of York was not inclined to consent, but Charles II pressured his brother to agree. Charles wanted to use the possibility of marriage to gain leverage in negotiations relating to the war with France but William insisted that the two issues be decided separately.

The Duke of York eventually agreed to the marriage, after pressure from chief minister Lord Danby and the King, who incorrectly assumed that it would improve James’s popularity among Protestants.

Therefore, the age of fifteen, Mary became betrothed to her first cousin, the Protestant Stadtholder of Holland, William III of Orange. When James told Mary that she was to marry her cousin, “she wept all that afternoon and all the following day”.

Bishop Henry Compton married William and a tearful Mary in St James’s Palace on November 4, 1677, which was also William’s birthday.

The bedding ceremony to publicly establish the consummation of the marriage was attended by the royal family, with the King Charles himself drawing the bedcurtains. Mary accompanied her husband on a rough sea crossing to the Netherlands later that month, after a delay of two weeks caused by bad weather. Rotterdam was inaccessible because of ice, and they were forced to land at the small village of Ter Heijde, and walk through the frosty countryside until met by coaches to take them to Huis Honselaarsdijk. On December 14, they made a formal entry to The Hague in a grand procession.

Mary became pregnant soon after the marriage, but miscarried. After a further illness later in 1678, she never conceived again.

Throughout William and Mary’s marriage, William had only one reputed mistress, Elizabeth Villiers, in contrast to the many mistresses his uncles openly kept.

September 28, 1663: Birth of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton

28 Tuesday Sep 2021

Posted by liamfoley63 in Duchy/Dukedom of Europe, Featured Noble, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Bastards, Royal Death, Royal Genealogy, Royal Mistress, This Day in Royal History

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1st Duke of Grafton, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Barbara Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, Duke of Monmouth, Glorious Revolution of 1688, Henry FitzRoy, Isabella Bennet, James Scott, John Churchill, King Charles II of England, King James II-VII of England, Monmouth Rebellion, Scotland and Ireland, William III of Orange

Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, KG (September 28, 1663 – October 9, 1690) was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland and his mistress Barbara Villiers. A military commander, Henry FitzRoy was appointed colonel of the Grenadier Guards in 1681 and Vice-Admiral of England from 1682 to 1689. He was killed in the storming of Cork during the Williamite–Jacobite War in 1690.

Early life and military career

Born to Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine in 1663, Henry FitzRoy was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, the second by Barbara Villiers. His mother was the daughter of William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison, and Mary Bayning (1623-1672), heiress to a fortune of £180,000. Viscount Grandison was a colonel of one of King Charles I’s regiments who was killed in action during the Civil War.

William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison, was born in 1614, eldest son of Sir Edward Villiers (1585-1626) and Barbara St. John (ca 1592-1672). His father was the older half-brother of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, favourite of both James I-VI of England, Scotland and Ireland and Charles I, a relationship from which he greatly benefitted.

On August 1, 1672, at the age of nine, a marriage was arranged for Henry FitzRoy to the five-year-old Isabella Bennet, the only daughter of Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, a Royalist commander, by his wife, Elisabeth of Nassau (1633–1718). Elisabeth was a daughter of Louis of Nassau-Beverweerd and thus a granddaughter of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, and a great-granddaughter of Prince Willem I the Silent, Prince of Orange.

In 1675 Charles II created Henry, Duke of Grafton. A wedding ceremony between Henry FitzRoy and Isabella Bennet took place on November 7, 1679. At the time of his marriage, Henry FitzRoy was created Baron Sudbury, Viscount Ipswich, and Earl of Euston. After their wedding the couple lived at Euston Hall. Isabella and her husband had one son, Charles FitzRoy, who succeeded his parents as 2nd Duke of Grafton and 3rd Earl of Arlington.

King Charles II made his son a Knight of the Garter in 1680. He was appointed colonel of the Grenadier Guards in 1681.

FitzRoy was brought up as a sailor and saw military action at the siege of Luxembourg in 1684. In that year, he received a warrant to supersede Sir Robert Holmes as Governor of the Isle of Wight, when the latter was charged with making false musters. However, Holmes was acquitted by court-martial and retained the governorship.

In 1686 Henry FitzRoy killed John Talbot, brother of the Earl of Shrewsbury, in a duel. FitzRoy was appointed Vice-Admiral of the Narrow Seas from 1685 to 1687. At King James II-VII’s coronation, Grafton was Lord High Constable. During the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth he commanded the royal troops in Somerset.

Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, the Duke of Monmouth was Henry Fitzroy’s half-brother, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland with his mistress Lucy Walter.

Monmouth led the unsuccessful Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, an attempt to depose his uncle King James II-VII. After one of his officers declared Monmouth the legitimate king, (alleging his mother was legally married to Charles II) in the town of Taunton in Somerset, Monmouth attempted to capitalise on his Protestantism and his position as the son of Charles II, in opposition to James, who was a Roman Catholic. The rebellion failed, and Monmouth was beheaded for treason on July 15, 1685.

Henry FitzRoy acted with John Churchill, and joined his cousin and his wife’s kinsman, Prince Willem III of Orange to overthrow the King in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, KG, PC (1650 – 1722 O.S.) played a defining role in defeating both the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685 that helped secure James on the throne, but he was also a key player in the military conspiracy that led to James being deposed during the Glorious Revolution.

Death

Henry FitzRoy died in Ireland on October 9, 1690 aged 27, of a wound received at the storming of Cork while leading King William III’s forces. His body was returned to England for burial.

On October 14, 1697 his widow married Sir Thomas Hanmer, a young Buckinghamshire baronet, who became Speaker of the House of Commons and an authority on the works of William Shakespeare. The Dowager Duchess of Grafton died in 1723.

Legacy

The Duke of Grafton owned land in what was then countryside near Dublin, Ireland, which later became part of the city. A country lane on this land eventually developed into Grafton Street, one of Dublin’s main streets. Grafton Alley in Cork, close to where he was shot, also bears his name.

Elizabeth Stuart of England, Scotland and Ireland and Queen of Bohemia. Conclusion.

02 Thursday Sep 2021

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

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Anna van Solms, Charles II of England, Elizabeth Stuart of England, Frederick V of the Palatinate, Prince of Orange, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Queen of Bohemia, Scotland and Ireland, The Hague

Fearing the worst, by the time of the defeat at the Battle of White Mountain, Elizabeth already had left Prague and was awaiting the birth of her fifth child at the Castle of Custrin, about 80 km (50 mi) from Berlin. It was there on 6 January 1621 that she “in an easy labour lasting little more than an hour” was delivered of a healthy son, Maurice.

The military defeat, however, meant that there was no longer a prospect of returning to Prague, and the entire family was forced to flee. They could no longer return to the Palatinate as it was occupied by the Catholic league and a Spanish contingent. So, after an invitation from Maurice, the Prince of Orange, they made their move towards The Hague.

Elizabeth arrived in The Hague in spring 1621 with only a small court. Elizabeth’s sense of duty to assist her husband out of the political mess in which they had found themselves, meant that “she became much more an equal, if not the stronger, partner in the marriage”. Her lady-in-waiting, Amalia van Solms, soon became involved with Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and married him in 1625. The two women became rivals at the court of The Hague.

While in exile Elizabeth produced eight more children, four boys and four girls. The last, Gustavus, was born on January 2, 1632 and baptised in the Cloister Church where two of his siblings who had died young, Louis and Charlotte, were buried. Later that same month, Friedrich farewell to Elizabeth and set out on a journey to join the king of Sweden on the battlefield.

After declining conditions set out by King Gustavus II Adolphus that would have seen the Swedish king assist in his restoration, the pair parted with Friedrich heading back towards The Hague. however, he had been suffering from an infection since the beginning of October 1632, and he died on the morning of November 29, 1632 before reaching The Hague.

Widowhood

When Elizabeth received the news of Friedrich’s s death, she became senseless with grief and for three days did not eat, drink, or sleep. When Charles I heard of Elizabeth’s state, he invited her to return to England; however, she refused. The rights of her son and Friedrich’s heir Charles Ludwig “remained to be fought for”. Elizabeth then fought for her son’s rights, but she remained in The Hague even after he regained the Electorate of the Palatinate in 1648.

She became a patron of the arts, and commissioned a larger family portrait to honour herself and her husband, to complement the impressive large seascape of her 1613 joyous entry to the Netherlands. Her memorial family portrait of 1636 was outdone however by Amalia van Solms who commissioned the Oranjezaal after the death of her husband Frederick Henry in 1648–1651.

Elizabeth filled her time with copious letter writing and making marriage matches for her children. Her life after the death of Friedrich, however, had its share of heartache. Between his death in 1632 and her own death 30 years later, she witnessed the death of four more of her ten surviving children: Gustavus in 1641, Philip in 1650, Henriette Marie in 1651, and Maurice in 1652.

Elizabeth suffered another blow with the execution of her brother Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland in early 1649, and the removal into exile of the surviving Stuart family during the years of the Commonwealth. The relationships with her remaining living children also became somewhat estranged, although she did spend time with her growing number of grandchildren. She began to pay the price for having been “a distant mother to most of her own children”, and the idea of going to England now was uppermost in her thoughts.

Death

In 1660, the Stuarts were restored to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland in the person of Elizabeth’s nephew Charles II. Elizabeth, now determined to visit her native land, arrived in England on May 26, 1661. By July, she was no longer planning on returning to The Hague and made plans for the remainder of her furniture, clothing, and other property to be sent to her.

She then proceeded to move to Drury House, where she established a small, but impressive and welcoming, household. On January 29, 1662 she made another move, to Leicester House, Westminster, but by this time she was quite ill. Elizabeth was suffering from pneumonia, and on February 10, 1662 she haemorrhaged from the lungs and died soon after midnight on February 13, 1662.

Her death caused little public stir as by then her “chief, if not only, claim to fame was as the mother of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the legendary Cavalier general”. On the evening of February 17, when her coffin (into which her remains had been placed the previous day) left Somerset House, Rupert was the only one of her sons to follow the funeral procession to Westminster Abbey. There in the chapel of Henry VII, “a survivor of an earlier age, isolated and without a country she could really call her own” was laid to rest among her ancestors and close to her beloved elder brother, Henry, Prince of Wales.

Elizabeth Stuart of England, Scotland and Ireland: Queen of Bohemia. Part III.

30 Monday Aug 2021

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

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Defenestrations of Prague, Elizabeth Stuart of England, Frederick V of the Palatinate, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Matthias II of Bohemia, Philip III of Spain, Queen of Bohemia, Rudolph II of Bohemia, Scotland and Ireland

Queen of Bohemia

In Bohemia discord between Habsburgs and Czechs and between Catholics and the followers of the reformed creeds erupted again into an open clash in the early seventeenth century. At that time, the Czechs were able to take advantage of the struggle between two contenders to the imperial throne, and in 1609 they extracted a Letter of Majesty from Emperor Rudolph II (1576–1612) that promised toleration of the Czech Reformed Church, gave control of Charles University to the Czech estates, and made other concessions.

Rudolph II’s successor, Matthias II (1612–17), also Holy Roman Emperor, proved to be an ardent Catholic and quickly moved against the estates. Violation of promises contained in the Letter of Majesty regarding royal and church domains and Matthias II ‘s reliance on a council composed of ardent Catholics further increased tensions.

Felipe III of Spain, who was the childless Matthias II’s nephew, acknowledged Archduke Ferdinand’s right to succeed Matthias II in Bohemia and Hungary in exchange for territorial concessions in 1617. The Diets of Bohemia and Hungary confirmed Ferdinand’s position as Matthias II’s successor only after he had promised to respect the Estates’ privileges in both realms.

In 1618 two Catholic imperial councillors were thrown out of a window of Prague Castle (one of the so-called Defenestrations of Prague), signaling an open revolt by the Bohemian estates against the Habsburgs and started the Thirty Years’ War. The Bohemian estates decided to levy an army, decreed the expulsion of the Jesuits, and proclaimed the Bohemian throne to be elective. The Bohemian rebels established a provisional government, invaded Upper Austria, and sought assistance from the Habsburgs’ opponents.

Matthias II died on March 20, 1619. The Habsburg heir apparent, Archduke Ferdinand, was a fervent Catholic who brutally persecuted Protestants in his realm of Styria. Ferdinand was elected Holy Roman Emperor on August 28, 1619 (Frankfurt), as Ferdinand II. The Bohemian nobles had to choose between “either accepting Ferdinand as their king after all or taking the ultimate step of deposing him”.

The Bohemian nobles decided on deposition, and, when others declined because of the risks involved, the Bohemians “pandered to the elector’s royalist pretensions. Two days before the Protestant Bohemian Estates deposed Ferdinand (as king of Bohemia), the Bohemia nobles offered their crown to the Calvinist Friedrich V of the Palatinate on August 26, 1619. News of Ferdinand’s deposition arrived in Frankfurt on the 28th but Ferdinand didn’t leave town until he’d been crowned.

Friedrich, although doubtful, was persuaded to accept. Elizabeth “appealed to his honour as a prince and a cavalier, and to his humanity as a Christian”, aligning herself with him completely. The family moved to Prague, where “the new King was received with genuine joy”. Friedrich was crowned officially in the St. Vitus Cathedral at the Prague Castle on November 4, 1619. The coronation of Elizabeth as Queen of Bohemia followed three days later.

The royal couple’s third son, Prince Rupert, was born in Prague one month after the coronation. There was great popular rejoicing. Thus, Friedrich’s reign in Bohemia had begun well, but only lasted one year. Friedrich tried to muster further support for the Bohemian cause, even attempting to convince the Ottoman Empire to provide military support in exchange for tribute.

The Bohemian crown “had always been a corner-stone of Habsburg policy” and the heir, Ferdinand, now Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, would not yield.

On November 8, 1620, the Czech estates confronted the imperial forces in the Battle of White Mountain near Prague and were decisively defeated ending Friedrich V’s riegn. This also ended the first phase of the Thirty Years’ War) on November 8, 1620.

Elizabeth is remembered as the “Winter Queen”, and Friedrich as the “Winter King”, in reference to the brevity of their reign, and to the season of the battle.

Princess Elizabeth Stuart of England, Scotland and Ireland, Queen of Bohemia. Part II.

24 Tuesday Aug 2021

Posted by liamfoley63 in Empire of Europe, Featured Monarch, Featured Royal, Imperial Elector, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal House, Royal Succession, Royal Titles, royal wedding

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Bavaria, Elizabeth Stuart, Frederick V of the Rhine, Holy Roman Empire, House of Wittelsbach, Prince-Elector, Princess of England, Scotland and Ireland

The man chosen for Elizabeth was Friedrich V, Count Palatine of the Rhine. Friedrich was of undeniably high lineage. His ancestors included the kings of Aragon and Sicily, the landgraves of Hesse, the dukes of Brabant and Saxony, and the counts of Nassau and Leuven. He and Elizabeth also shared a common ancestor in Henry II of England. He was “a senior Prince of the Empire” and a staunch defender of the Protestant faith.

Here is some background information on Friedrich and how the two became to be betrothed. He was an intellectual, a mystic, and a Calvinist. He was responsible for the construction of the famous Hortus Palatinus gardens in Heidelberg.

On September 19, 1610, Friedrich’s father, Friedrich IV, Prince-Elector of the Palatinate, died from “extravagant living”; his son being 14 years old at the time. Under the terms of the Golden Bull of 1356, Friedrich’s closest male relative would serve as his guardian and as regent of the Palatinate until Friedrich reached the age of majority.

However, his nearest male relative, Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg, was a Catholic, so, shortly before his death, Friedrich IV had named another Wittelsbach relative, Johann II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, as his son’s guardian. Friedrich V welcomed Johann to Heidelberg, whereas Wolfgang Wilhelm was denied entry. This led to a heated dispute among the princes of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1613, Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor intervened in the dispute, with the result being that Friedrich V was able to begin his personal rule in the Palatinate even though he was still underage.

Friedrich IV’s marriage policy had been designed to solidify the Palatinate’s position within the Reformed camp in Europe. Two of Friedrich V’s sisters were married to leading Protestant princes: his sister Luise Juliane to his one-time guardian Johann II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, and his sister Elizabeth Charlotte to Georg Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg. Friedrich IV had hoped that his daughter Katharina would marry the future Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden, although this never came to pass.

In keeping with his father’s policy, Friedrich V sought a marriage to Elizabeth Stuart of England. James had initially considered marrying Elizabeth to Louis XIII of France, but these plans were rejected by his advisors. Friedrich’s advisors in the Palatinate were worried that if Elizabeth were married to a Catholic prince, this would upset the confessional balance of Europe, and they were thus resolved that she should marry Frederick V. Hans Meinhard von Schönberg, who had served as Frederick V’s Hofmeister since his return to Heidelberg, was sent to London to court the princess in spring 1612. After intense negotiations, a marriage contract was signed on May 26, 1612.

Courtship

Friedrich arrived in England on October 16, 1612, and the match seemed to please them both from the beginning. Their contemporaries noted how Friedrich seemed to “delight in nothing but her company and conversation”. Friedrich also struck up a friendship with Elizabeth’s elder brother, Prince Henry, which delighted his prospective bride immensely.

King James did not take into consideration the couple’s happiness, but saw the match as “one step in a larger process of achieving domestic and European concord”. The only person seemingly unhappy with the match was Elizabeth’s mother Queen Anne (born a princessof Denmark). As the daughter of a king, the sister of a king, the wife of a king, and the mother of a future king, Queen Anne also desired to be the mother of a queen. She is said to have been somewhat fond of Friedrich mild manner and generous nature but simply felt that he was of too low of stock.

On November 6, 1612 Henry, Prince of Wales, died. His death took an emotional toll on Elizabeth, and her new position as second in line to the throne made her an even more desirable match. Queen Anne and those like-minded who had “always considered Friedrich of the Rhine to be an unworthy match for her, were emboldened in their opposition”. Elizabeth stood by Friedrich, whom her brother had approved, and whom she found to have the sentiments of a fine gentleman. Above all, he was “regarded as the future head of the Protestant interest in Germany.

The wedding took place on February 14, 1613 at the royal chapel at the Palace of Whitehall and was a grand occasion that saw more royalty than ever visit the court of England. The marriage was an enormously popular match and was the occasion for an outpouring of public affection with the ceremony described as “a wonder of ceremonial and magnificence even for that extravagant age”.

It was celebrated with lavish and sophisticated festivities both in London and Heidelberg, including mass feasts and lavish furnishings that cost nearly £50,000, and nearly bankrupted King James. Among many celebratory writings of the events was John Donne’s “Epithalamion, Or Marriage Song on the Lady Elizabeth, and Count Palatine being married on St Valentine’s Day”. A contemporary author viewed the whole marriage as a prestigious event that saw England “lend her rarest gem, to enrich the Rhine”.

Electress Palatine

After almost a two-month stay in London for continued celebrations, the couple began their journey to join the Electoral court in Heidelberg. The journey was filled with meeting people, sampling foods and wines, and being entertained by a wide variety of performers and companies. At each place the young couple stopped, Elizabeth was expected to distribute presents. The cash to allow her to do so was not readily available, so she had to use one of her own jewels as collateral so that the goldsmith Abraham Harderet would “provide her with suitable presents on credit.

Her arrival in Heidelberg was seen as “the crowning achievement of a policy which tried to give the Palatinate a central place in international politics” and was long anticipated and welcomed. Elizabeth’s new husband transformed his seat at Heidelberg Castle, creating between 1610 and 1613 the Englischer Bau (i.e., English Building) for her, a monkey-house, a menagerie, and the beginnings of a new garden in the Italian Renaissance garden style popular in England at the time. The garden, the Hortus Palatinus, was constructed by Elizabeth’s former tutor, Salomon de Caus. It was dubbed the “Eighth Wonder of the World” by contemporaries.

Although Elizabeth and Friedrich were considered to be genuinely in love and remained a romantic couple throughout the course of their marriage, problems already had begun to arise. Before the couple had left England, King James had made Friedrich promise that Elizabeth “would take precedence over his mother, of Louise Juliana of Orange-Nassau, the daughter of Willem I the Silent, Prince of Orange, and Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier. James further had Friedrich promise his daughter would always be treated as if she were a Queen”. This at times made life in the Palatinate uncomfortable for Elizabeth, as Friedrich’s mother Louise Juliana had “not expected to be demoted in favour of her young daughter-in-law” and, as such, their relationship was never more than cordial.

Issue:

Elizabeth gave birth to three children in Heidelberg, Heinrich Friedrich, Hereditary Prince of the Palatinate, was born in 1614, Charles Ludwig in 1617, (the future Prince-Elector Palatine of the Rhine) and Elisabeth in 1619.

The rest of the children born to Friedrich and Elizabeth were:

Prince Rupert, Duke of Cumberland (fought with his uncle King Charles I of England in the English Civil Wars)
Prince Maurice
Louise Hollandine, Abbess of Maubuisson
Prince Ludwig
Prince Eduard, Count Palatine of Simmern
Princess Henriette Marie
Prince Philipp Friedrich
Princess Charlotte
Sophia, Electress of Hanover (mother of King George I of Great Britain)
Prince Gustavus Adolphus

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  • The Life of Friedrich IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
  • The Life of Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Further Austria and Count of Tyrol
  • The Life of Princess Charlotte of Prussia
  • Was He A Usurper? King Edward IV of England.Part VII.

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