Moniek Bloks's Blog

Book News Week 43

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Book News Week 43 – 20 October – 26 October 2025

Winston & the Windsors 

Hardcover – 21 October 2025 (US)

Audible – 21 October 2025 (US)

Princess Margaret and the Curse: An Inquiry into a Royal Life 

Hardcover – 23 October 2025 (UK)

Eleanor of Aquitaine: Woman, Queen and Legend (Medieval Lives) 

Hardcover – 21 October 2025 (US)

Marie Antoinette Style 

Hardcover – 21 October 2025 (US)

The post Book News Week 43 appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Cecilia Vasa – Sweden’s first royal trouble-maker

Before there were influencers, there was Cecilia Vasa. Meet history’s most underrated royal rebel, who lived to be 86 years old in Renaissance Europe.

Cecilia of Sweden (Cecilia Vasa, 1540–1627)

Cecilia of Sweden, known in Swedish as Cecilia Vasa, was born on November 6, 1540, at Stockholm Palace. She was the daughter of King Gustav I, the founder of the Swedish Vasa dynasty, and Margaret Leijonhufvud. Cecilia grew up in a newly independent Sweden, where her father had broken with the Catholic Church and established a Protestant monarchy.

From an early age, Cecilia was known for her striking beauty, intellect, and wild personality. She wasn’t happy with sitting quietly in a castle; she wanted to take on the world – and for a moment, it almost looked like she might. 

The Vadstena Scandal 

Cecilia Vasa first made headlines at the age of 19. In 1559, her sister Catherine married Edzard II of East Frisia in Stockholm. One night during the festivities at Vadstena Castle, Cecilia was caught in an intimate encounter with the brother and co-ruler of the groom, John II.

The incident caused a moral and political uproar. John was thrown into a dungeon and locked up for a year, and the King was alleged to have torn his daughter’s hair during a heated argument. And just like that, Cecilia’s reputation as a royal trouble-maker was born. But she refused to let it define her. 

Marriage, Money, and High Seas Ambitions(public domain)

In 1564, Cecilia married Margrave Christopher II of Baden-Rodemachern, a small margraviate on the border of Luxembourg and Lorraine. The match promised status but not stability. Despite her royal status, Cecilia had no fortune of her own. The couple soon faced crushing debts, forcing Cecilia to find her own solutions — and she thought big.

On their way home to Baden-Rodemachern, the couple stopped in England to visit Queen Elizabeth I. A few days after arriving, Cecilia gave birth to her first son. He was christened Edward Fortunatus in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Queen Elizabeth carried him to the christening font.

The goal of the trip was to strengthen the relationship between the crowns and for Cecilia to play matchmaker for her brother Erik, who wanted to marry Elizabeth. The marriage mission was unsuccessful, but Cecilia impressed the Queen with her wit and confidence, and the two women became friends. But behind the glittering court appearances, the Vasa daughter was scheming.

The Bristol Scandal

Cecilia launched a bold plan to finance her own fleet of privateering ships — vessels legally allowed to capture enemy ships during wartime. In other words: royal piracy. From the port of Bristol, the ships set sail to attack Spanish and Danish targets. But things quickly spiralled out of control — the captains began seizing neutral ships too, sparking international outrage.

It also turned into a diplomatic disaster. Elizabeth, caught between admiration and exasperation, hit back hard. She had Cecilia’s ships seized and her accounts frozen. Once again, the Vasa princess had pushed too far — and paid the price. She and her husband had enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in England. They left behind a pile of unpaid bills, and a large part of Cecilia’s luggage and jewellery were confiscated. Upon returning home, Cecilia gave birth to her second son. 

A Pirate Princess

Devastating wars between Protestants and Catholics raged in Europe. Christopher’s family was divided; he himself was a Protestant. Eventually, the Catholic branch of the family won and drove out all the Protestants. The couple then decided to return to Sweden.

By this time, King Erik XIV had been deposed and thrown into prison. The new Swedish king was Cecilia’s second brother, Johan III. Despite the family drama, Cecilia and Christopher tried their best to settle down. Christopher offered his brother-in-law to recruit a mercenary group for the upcoming war against Russia. Meanwhile, Cecilia was offered to live at the Arboga royal estate. She ruled over the city of Arboga and got permission to run an ironworks and a mill business. She also received two ships.

Cecilia got the town, the mills, and the ships going. She also gave birth to another son. By 1571, she operated three pirate ships on the Baltic Sea. They mainly attacked English and Russian ships. Her pirates were highly successful, and her fortune grew.

Later Life and Struggles

After Christopher’s death in 1575, Cecilia faced many hardships. Her oldest son, Edward, although underage at the time, succeeded his father as Margrave of Baden-Rodemachen. Christopher’s German relatives did not help. They swiped the paperwork that secured Cecilia’s rights, grabbed her widow’s estates, and claimed guardianship of Edward. The marriage contract had promised Cecilia she could act as regent if Edward couldn’t rule—but when she sent her squad to Baden in 1576 to fight for it, the castle gatekeepers gave them the cold shoulder.

Soon after, Cecilia made another bold move—she converted to Catholicism. Some say it was partly a financial move, and the timing suggests that the visit of papal envoy Antonius Possevino to Sweden in 1577 marked the tipping point. Protestants vilified her, spreading rumours that she ran a brothel in Brussels and other things. Meanwhile, Cecilia travelled happily around the continent as a respected Margravine, on good terms with the emperor and rulers of Europe.

She died in Brussels in 1627, at the age of 86 — an impressive lifespan for her era.

Legacy

Cecilia Vasa’s life was anything but ordinary. She combined a party-girl lifestyle with bold political ambitions. She challenged kings, charmed queens, and tried to build an empire from the deck of a ship. The fact that foreign rulers were impressed by her shows that she could have been a great ruler, had she had her own realm.

Her comebacks after scandals and losses were admirable. In a time when royal women were expected to obey, she chose to act — and that made her unforgettable.

The post Cecilia Vasa – Sweden’s first royal trouble-maker appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Princess Kako’s Tiara

Princess Kako’s Tiara is worn by Princess Kako of Akishino.

She received the diamond fleur-de-lis tiara for her 20th birthday in 2014, which is the age of majority in Japan. The tiara is part of a parure.

It was made by the Japanese jeweller Mikimoto.

 

The post Princess Kako’s Tiara appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Stateira II Shahbanu – The Last Queen of the Achaemenid Empire and Alexander the Great’s hostage

Stateira II Shahbanu was the last queen of the Achaemenid Empire. She was the queen consort to her brother, Darius III of the Achaemenid Empire. She was queen for five years.[1] She accompanied her husband to war.[2] King Darius III was defeated by King Alexander the Great. She immediately became Alexander the Great’s hostage.[3]

In circa 370 B.C.E., Stateira II Shahbanu was born. She was the daughter of Arsames.[4] Her mother was Sisigambis.[5] Her brothers were Darius III and Oxyathres. She was the niece of King Artaxerxes II of the Achaemenid Dynasty.[6] Stateira II married her brother, Darius III. Stateira II bore Darius III two daughters named Statiera III and Drypetis.[7] She also bore a son named Ochus as a sign of respect to King Artaxerxes III of the Achaemenid empire.[8]

In 336 B.C.E., a powerful eunuch named Bagoas assassinated King Artaxerxes IV of the Achaemenid Empire. Bagoas installed Darius III as King of the Achaemenid Empire.[9] Stateira II Shahbanu became queen.[10] Her daughters became princesses, and her son became a prince.[11]

In 333 B.C.E., Stateira II Shahbanu, her mother, and her children accompanied King Darius III to war against King Alexander the Great.[12] King Darius III was defeated at the Battle of Issus.[13] Stateira II never saw her husband, Darius III, again.[14] Stateira II Shahbanu, Sisigambis, Stateira III, and Drypetis were captured by King Alexander the Great.[15] It is unknown what happened to Prince Ochus because he disappeared from history.[16] Stateira II Shahbanu and Sisigambis were treated like queens.[17] It was said that Stateira II Shahbanu was very beautiful.[18] Therefore, King Alexander the Great claimed in a letter that he chose not to look at her to avoid being tempted.[19]

In 331 B.C.E., Stateira II Shahbanu died. Plutarch claimed she died in childbirth.[20] Justin claimed that she died of a miscarriage.[21] These accounts confuse historians as to who may have been the father of her child.[22] Some historians believe that Stateira II Shahbanu was pregnant right before the Battle of Issus with Darius III.[23] This was because they think that Alexander the Great did not rape her and treated her with respect.[24] Some historians who believe in Alexander’s goodwill towards Stateira II Shahbanu believe that she may have died of depression.[25] Other historians believe that Alexander the Great may not have behaved as a gentleman towards her.[26] Other historians say that she may have been pregnant by another man.[27] This claim has been dismissed by many historians because Alexander the Great would not allow another man except himself to have a child with her.[28] Therefore, her death by childbirth is still very controversial.[29]

There are very few known facts about Stateira II Shahbanu.[30] She was the last queen of the Achaemenid Empire. She was Alexander the Great’s hostage.[31] Her relationship with Alexander the Great is not clear.[32] Therefore, her death still remains controversial among historians.[33]Hopefully, more details about this little-known queen will be brought to light.

Sources:

Badian, E. (2015). “STATEIRA”. Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved on December 23, 2024 from https://www.iranicaonline.org/article....

Pailing, M. (n.d.). “Stateira”. Pothos.org: All About Alexander the Great. Retrieved on December 23, 2024 from https://web.archive.org/web/200708201....

[1] Badian, 2015

[2] Badian, 2015

[3] Badian, 2015

[4] Badian, 2015

[5] Badian, 2015

[6] Badian, 2015

[7] Badian, 2015

[8] Badian, 2015

[9] Badian, 2015

[10] Badian, 2015

[11] Badian, 2015

[12] Badian, 2015

[13] Badian, 2015

[14] Badian, 2015

[15] Badian, 2015

[16] Badian, 2015

[17] Badian, 2015

[18] Pailing, n. d.

[19] Pailing, n. d.

[20] Badian, 2015; Pailing, n.d.

[21] Badian, 2015; Pailing, n.d.

[22] Badian, 2015.; Pailing, n.d.

[23] Badian, 2015

[24] Badian, 2015

[25] Badian, 2015

[26] Pailing, n.d.

[27] Pailing, n.d.

[28] Pailing, n.d.

[29] Badian, 2015; Pailing, n.d.

[30] Badian, 2015

[31] Badian, 2015

[32] Badian, 2015; Pailing, n.d.

[33] Badian, 2015; Pailing, n.d.

The post Stateira II Shahbanu – The Last Queen of the Achaemenid Empire and Alexander the Great’s hostage appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Nanasipauʻu Vaea – Queen of Tonga

Nanasipauʻu Vaea was born on 8 March 1954 as the daughter of Siaosi ʻAlipate Halakilangi Tau’alupeoko Vaea Tupou, Baron Vaea of Houma, and Tuputupu -‘o-Pulotu Vaea, The Honourable Baroness Tuputupu ‘o Pulotu Vaea of Houma. Her father was the son of an illegitimate half-brother of Queen Sālote of Tonga. Queen Sālote had three illegitimate half-brothers that we know of: Edward, Vuna and Vilai. Vilai was Nanasipauʻu’s grandfather.

She married the future King Tupou VI of Tonga on 11 December 1982. At the time, he was second in the line of succession behind his elder brother, who would become King George Tupou V. His second brother had lost his succession rights when he married a commoner. Her husband joined the naval branch of the Tonga Defence Services in the same year of their marriage.

Nanasipauʻu gave birth to their first child, Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho, on 17 November 1983. A second child, (Crown) Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala, was born on 17 September 1985. Their third child, Prince Ata, was born on 27 April 1988.

In 2006, her father-in-law died, and he was succeeded by her brother-in-law. He was not married, and he had no legitimate children, which meant that her husband was now the Crown Prince, and she was the Crown Princess.

King George Tupou V died just six years later, a few months after he had surgery to remove his right kidney, where a tumour had been found. Nanasipauʻu and her husband now became the King and Queen of Tonga. They were crowned in a joint ceremony on 4 July 2015. They were both crowned by retired Australian Methodist minister D’Arcy Wood, as no Tongan can touch the head of their King and Queen.

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In 2012, the same year as her husband’s accession as King, the new Crown Prince married his second cousin, Sinaitakala Fakafanua. She is in the line of succession in her own right as well. This caused some controversy due to their close family relationship. Since their marriage, they have had four children: Prince Taufaʻahau Manumataongo (born 2013), Princess Halaevalu Mataʻaho (born 2014), Princess Nanasipauʻu Eliana (born 2018) and Princess Sālote Mafileʻo Pilolevu (born 2021). Nanasipauʻu’s two other children have not yet married.

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In 2015, she and her husband met Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle and they had an audience with Pope Francis.

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In 2018. she and her husband welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Tonga.

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In 2023, she and her husband attended King Charles III’s coronation in London.

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The post Nanasipauʻu Vaea – Queen of Tonga appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Who would be Queen/Empress of Iran today?

The Imperial State of Iran existed between 1925 and 1979. The kingdom operated under Salic law, which did not allow for the succession of women. The Queens mentioned are, therefore, consorts and not reigning Queens. Any claimed titles since the end of the kingdom are titular.

The first Shah of the Imperial State of Iran was Reza Shah Pahlavi. He became Shah in 1925. His first wife had been his cousin, Maryam Savadkoohi. They had one daughter, Princess Hamdam al-Saltaneh Pahlavi, together before Maryam’s death in 1911. She was thus never a Queen. He married Tadj ol-Molouk in 1916 and had four children with her. She was his official wife when he became King, and so she was the first Queen.  During their marriage, he also married Turan Amirsoleimani in 1922. They had one son together before divorcing in 1923. That same year, he also married Esmat Dowlatshahi, with whom he had five children. However, she was not given the title of Queen.

Tadj ol-Molouk (public domain)

Upon Reza Shah Pahlavi’s death on 26 July 1944, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. He had married Princess Fawzia of Egypt in 1939, and they had had one daughter in 1940. Upon her husband’s accession, she became Queen. However, their marriage was deeply unhappy, and they were divorced in 1948.

Fawzia of Egypt (public domain)

He remarried to Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary in 1951, and she became the country’s third Queen. However, the couple could not have children together and they were divorced in 1958. He remarried the following year to Farah Diba. She was the fourth queen of Iran. She and Mohammad Reza went on to have four children together, including two sons. In 1967, Farah was crowned as Shahbanu or Empress of Iran.

Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary (public domain)

In 1979, Mohammad Reza was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution. The monarchy was abolished, and the Islamic Republic of Iran was established. He died the following year on 27 July 1980.

Farah Diba (public domain)

The claim to the Iranian throne passed to his eldest son, Crown Prince Reza, who was unmarried at the time. In 1986, he married the 17-year-old Yasmine Etemad-Amini. She is the current titular Empress of Iran. She and Crown Prince Reza have three daughters together, who cannot carry on their father’s claim. His heir is Patrick Ali Pahlavi, a grandson of Reza Shah through his second son.

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Empress Farah has stated in an interview that she believed that a restored Iranian monarchy would follow male-preference primogeniture, which would make her granddaughter, Princess Noor, the heir to her father’s claim.1

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Book News Week 42

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Book News Week 42 – 13 October – 19 October 2025

Version 1.0.0

Uncrowned: Royal Heirs Who Didn’t Take the Throne 

Paperback – 15 October 2025 (UK) + Audible

Exile: The Captive Years of Mary, Queen of Scots 

Hardcover – 16 October 2025 (US)

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Royal Mint, National Debt: More Things the Royals Don’t Want You to Know 

Hardcover – 16 October 2025 (UK) 

The post Book News Week 42 appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Taking a look at Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium

Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium is one of the more unknown current royals.

The princess is the fourth child and second daughter of Princess Astrid of Belgium and Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este1. Her mother is the daughter of King Albert II of Belgium, while her father is the grandson of the last Austrian Emperor, Charles I. She was born on 11 October 1995 at the Clinique St Jean in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert. Her younger sister, Princess Laetitia Maria, was born in 2003. Belgium introduced the practice of absolute primogeniture in 1991, and Luisa Maria is currently 13th in the line of succession. When she was born, she was 6th in the line of succession. Before the introduction of absolute primogeniture, she would not have been in the line of succession at all. Her elder siblings are Amedeo (born 1986), Maria Laura (born 1988) and Joachim (born 1991).

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The family seems to have divided their time between their home in Brussels and London, and they keep their lives largely private. While Luisa Maria’s parents are active in the Belgian monarchy, their children are not. Luisa Maria and her siblings are building a life outside of being royal.

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Her mother, Astrid, once said, “We have also prepared them for the realities of our times, helping them to approach things with confidence – we are convinced that self-confidence is the greatest strength we can give them. Our children want to be independent, they have chosen banking, law, renewable energy, or to work for a large international organisation. They know how demanding and difficult the professional world is, and they are aware that they have to find their place in it.” As a teenager, she was called “exceptionally intelligent and eager to learn.”2

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Luisa Maria hardly ever appears at public functions, except during family events. She attended school at the Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege in Brussels and later went to the Seven Oaks School in Kent. She then enrolled at McGill University in Montreal, where she studied political science, history and Russian for three years. She graduated in 2018 and also has a law degree from BPP University. She started her professional career as a translator and assistant to the production team at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

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She dated Prince Karl-Ilias von Auersperg-Breunner for a few years, but it appears that this relationship is now over.

Luisa Maria currently lives in London and works with Innesto Partners. She was admitted as a solicitor in 2022.

The post Taking a look at Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Princess Yōko’s Tiara

Princess Yōko’s Tiara is worn by Princess Yōko of Mikasa.

The tiara is a pearl and diamond floral and scroll tiara, which is part of a parure. It was given to Princess Yōko for her 20th birthday, the age of majority in Japan, in 2003.

Princess Yōko was born on 25 October 1983 and is the second daughter of  Prince Tomohito of Mikasa and Princess Tomohito of Mikasa. Her father died in 2012 of multiple organ failure following a multiple cancer diagnoses.

She is a second cousin of the current Emperor, Naruhito, but, as a woman, she is not in the line of succession.

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The Year of Queen Sālote Tupou III – Sālote’s installation in the title of Tu’i Kanokupolu and her coronation

In Tonga, there were at least three titles, known as lines of “kings.” Membership of the aristocracy was determined by one’s descent from the most ancient and thus the highest line, which was called the Tu’i Tonga. Before the Tupou dynasty, there was also the line of the Tu’i Ha’atakalaua, which went extinct in 1799. The third line or title was that of the Tu’i Kanokupolu.

The last acknowledged title holder of the Tu’i Tonga had died in 1865, but the line of descent still existed from the Tu’i Tonga’s eldest sister, Tu’i Tonga Fefine, and especially the line of her eldest daughter (the Tamahā or “sacred child”)  determined personal rank. It came into the royal family when King George I was installed as the 19th Tu’i Kanokupolu. His father had claimed the title before, but he had not been officially recognised.

The title of Tu’i Kanokupolu came up again when the future Queen Sālote’s father decided to marry Lavinia Veiongo. He had been meant to marry Princess ʻOfakivavaʻu in 1899, and all the preparations had already been made when he changed his mind and chose to marry Lavinia. Both ʻOfakivavaʻu and Lavinia were of aristocratic blood of the Tu’i Tonga, although Lavinia was only descended from that line through her father. ʻOfakivavaʻu had the support of many powerful chiefs, and she was the great-niece of Old Tungī, who had been a claimant to the Tu’i Kanokupolu, but he had been willing to stand aside if the King married ʻOfakivavaʻu. Old Tungī died the year after the wedding took place.

Christianity only allowed for one wife, and the Constitution of 1875 stated that the eldest son by this wife would be the heir to his father’s title. In the absence of a son, this could also include a daughter. King George married Lavinia and went on to have the future Queen Sālote with her before her untimely death in 1902. His subsequent remarriage to Princess ʻOfakivavaʻu’s sister, ʻAnaseini Takipō, gave him two daughters, of whom one died in infancy. This left Sālote not only his heir as ruler of Tonga but also to the Tu’i Kanokupolu title.

Sālote succeeded her father as Queen on 5 April 1918. The period of mourning for him ended on 4-7 October with presentations at the royal palace. On 8 October, the washing of special black stone (kaukau or lanu kilikili) took place at the graveside, followed by the placing of those stones there.

On 9 October 1918, Queen Sālote was installed as Tu’i Kanokupolu during a royal taumafa kava on the Mala’e Pangai. She wore a pair of fine mats, and a soft white mat which fanned out when it was released. One newspaper reported, “The Queen, who was in full native costume, came forward in a dignified manner, and in close order following was a party of about 100 female attendants who carried at its full length a fine mat over sixty feet long. […] There was a great deal of formality in the matter of the distribution of the kava, and much time was taken up in this direction, but after the ceremony had been fully observed, attention was given to the food offering.”1

Two days after this ceremony, Sālote would be crowned as Queen in a ceremony that followed a more European tradition, with its oaths and promises. The Queen began the day by reading the 23rd Psalm in solitude. After a blessing in the royal chapel, Reverend Watkin crowned Sālote with the words, “Receive the crown of glory, honour, and joy.”2

The post The Year of Queen Sālote Tupou III – Sālote’s installation in the title of Tu’i Kanokupolu and her coronation appeared first on History of Royal Women.