Moniek Bloks's Blog, page 147

Mary, Queen of Scots’ rosary beads stolen in raid on Arundel castle

A set of gold rosary beads carried by Mary, Queen of Scots to her execution in 1587 are among treasures worth more than £1m stolen in a raid at Arundel castle.

Other items include coronation cups given by Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Earl Marshal and several gold and silver items. The items were taken from their display cases in a part of the castle that is open to the public.

The burglar alarm went off last Friday night at 10.30 P.M. and police were sent to the scene. They found an abandoned and burnt-out car nearby, which is thought to have been used in the raid.

“Police are seeking thieves who broke into Arundel castle and stole gold and silver items worth in excess of £1m,” a Sussex police spokesman said. “Various items have been stolen of great historical significance. These include the gold rosary beads carried by Mary Queen of Scots at her execution in 1587, several coronation cups given by the sovereign to the Earl Marshal of the day, and other gold and silver treasures.”

A spokesman for Arundel Castle Trustees said: “The stolen items have significant monetary value, but as unique artefacts of the Duke of Norfolk’s collection have immeasurably greater and priceless historical importance. We therefore urge anyone with information to come forward to the police to assist them in returning these treasures back where they belong.”

Devastating news from Arundel Castle. The utterly priceless rosary of Mary Queen of Scots has been stolen. After her execution these personal effects were sent to the Duke of Norfolk, Britain’s leading Catholic, whose descendants have kept it, until now. pic.twitter.com/58dQ74aVC5

— Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) May 24, 2021

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Hu Shanxiang – The Gracious Yet Deposed Empress

Empress Hu Shanxiang’s tragic tale has moved the hearts of China for centuries. She is often seen as a pitiful, kind, and helpless woman, while her successor, Empress Sun, is depicted as a femme fatale. Empress Hu Shanxiang was the first wife of the Xuande Emperor (also known as Emperor Xuanzong). Because she could not bear the emperor a son, she was deposed and replaced by an empress who did give him the long-awaited heir. Empress Hu Shanxiang’s life is indeed tragic because she was powerless, and her situation was often at the mercy of her own husband.

In 1400 C. E., Empress Hu Shanxiang was born in Jining (modern-day Shandong Province).[1] Her father was Hu Rong. He was a company commander.[2] Her mother is unknown.[3] In 1417, she was selected to be consort to Zhu Zhanji, the imperial grandson-heir. When Zhu Zhanji’s father, Emperor Renzong, ascended the throne, Hu Shanxiang was appointed crown princess.[4] A year later, Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne to become Emperor Xuanzong, and Hu Shanxiang was invested as empress.

Empress Hu Shanxiang was known to be a barren and sickly woman.[5] She also irritated her husband with her displeasure of his frequents visits outside the capital.[6] Therefore, Emperor Xuanzong often ignored his wife and constantly complained about her to his mother.[7] Instead, he preferred to be in the company of his favourite concubine, Honored Consort Sun.[8] When Honored Consort Sun gave birth to his son (the future Emperor Yingzong), Emperor Xuanzong’s affections for her were established.[9] He decided to depose Empress Hu Shanxiang and enthrone Honored Consort Sun.[10]

In 1428, Emperor Xuanzong ordered Empress Hu Shanxiang to memorialize her abdication. Empress Hu Shanxiang knew that she could not stop her dethronement and asked for a new empress to be immediately installed.[11] Emperor Xuanzong asked Honored Consort Sun to be the new empress. Honored Consort Sun initially declined the proposal by insisting that Empress Hu Shanxiang would eventually have sons that would take precedence over her own son. Through Emperor Xuanzong’s persistence, Honored Consort Sun finally agreed.[12] 

After Emperor Xuanzong decreed Empress Hu Shanxiang’s abdication, he sent her to Chang’an Palace. There, he gave her the title, “Immortal Teacher of Quietude and Motherly Love,” which was given to empresses who were ordered by emperors to become Daoist nuns.[13] Empress Hu Shanxiang’s dethronement was regarded with sympathy throughout the entire country.[14] One of the former empress’s sympathizers was her mother-in-law, Empress Dowager Zhang.[15] Hu Shanxiang was often invited to dine at the Empress Dowager’s palace and was seated in a higher position than Empress Sun.[16]

In 1442, Empress Dowager Zhang died, and Hu Shanxiang was made a consort.[17] She appeared on the list of sacrifices to be made by other palace women.[18] This means that she no longer shared equal status with Empress Sun that she had often enjoyed when her mother-in-law was alive. With Empress Dowager Zhang gone, she no longer had a powerful benefactor that sympathized with her situation. Alone and with no powerful supporter, Consort Hu Shanxiang fell ill and died a year later.[19]

Hu Shanxiang was buried at Jinshan and was given the rites fit for a concubine and not an empress.[20] In 1462, after Empress Dowager Sun’s death, Emperor Yingzong’s wife begged her husband to restore Hu Shanxiang’s title as empress.[21] She said that Hu Shanxiang “was virtuous and gracious, yet she was deposed.”[22] In 1463, Hu Shanxiang’s empress title was restored.[23] He also built a mausoleum for her that befits an empress.[24] Thus, the bane of this empress’s existence was not the transgressions of her own doing, but it was the regretful fact that she could not give the emperor a son.

Sources:

“Hu Shanxiang: After the first abolition of the Ming Dynasty, people all over the world sympathized with her, just because it was absurd” (2020). DayDayNews. Retrieved 7, April, 2021. https://daydaynews.cc/en/history/9580....

McMahon, K. (2016). Celestial Women: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Song to Qing. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Yanqing, L. (2014). “Hu Shanxiang, Empress of the Xuande Emperor, Xuanzong of Ming.” Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II: Tang Through Ming 618 – 1644. Edited by Xiao Hong Lee, L. & Wiles. S. Routledge. pp.134-135.

[1] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[2] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[3] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[4] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[5] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[6] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[7] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[8]Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[9]Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[10] McMahon, 2016, p. 90

[11] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[12] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[13] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[14] “Hu Shanxiang: After the first abolition of the Ming Dynasty, people all over the world sympathized with her, just because it was absurd,” 2020, para. 31

[15] McMahon, 2016, p. 91

[16] McMahon, 2016, p. 91

[17] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[18] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[19] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[20] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[21] McMahon, 2016, p. 91

[22] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[23] Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

[24]Yanqing, et al., 2014, p. 134

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Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits – A new exhibition

The National Maritime Museum will play host to a brand-new exhibition, Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits – opening 28 May 2021.

Over 150 royal portraits from across five royal dynasties will be on display. In a collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, it will show how royal portraiture was used over 500 years by different monarchs. As well as revealing how iconography was used by queens (both regnant and consort), it includes broader female involvement at court, including the royal family, mistresses and, later, female artists.

Click to view slideshow.

 

Accompanying the new exhibition is the book Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits (UK & US), which traces momentous events in British history and examines how royal portraiture has reflected individual sitters’ personalities and the wider social, cultural and historical change.

Prices Adult £10 | Child £5 | Under 25s & students £6.50 (You must book your time slot in advance!)

The exhibition will run from 28 May – 31 October 2021. For more information, go here.

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Book News June 2021

*contains affiliate links*

Queen Victoria: This Thorny Crown (Spiritual Lives) 

Hardcover – 8 June 2021 (US) & 8 April 2021 (UK)

This biography evokes the pervasive importance of religion to Queen Victoria’s life but also that life’s centrality to the religion of Victorians around the globe. The first comprehensive exploration of Victoria’s religiosity, it shows how moments in her life–from her accession to her marriage and her successive bereavements–enlarged how she defined and lived her faith. It portrays a woman who had simple convictions but a complex identity that suited her multinational Kingdom: a determined Anglican who preferred Presbyterian Scotland; an ardent Protestant who revered her husband’s Lutheran homeland but became sympathetic towards Roman Catholicism and Islam; a moralizing believer in the religion of the home who scorned Sabbatarianism.

The Creation of the French Royal Mistress: From Agnès Sorel to Madame Du Barry

Paperback – 1 June 2021 (US & UK)

Thoroughly researched and compellingly narrated, this important study explains why the tradition of a politically powerful royal mistress materialized at the French court, but nowhere else in Europe. It will appeal to anyone interested in the history of the French monarchy, women and royalty, and gender studies.

The Making of the Tudor Dynasty

Paperback – 1 June 2021 (US) & 22 March 2021 (UK)

The peculiar origins of the Tudor family and the improbable saga of their rise and fall and rise again in the centuries before the Battle of Bosworth have been largely overlooked. Based on both published and manuscript sources from Britain and France, The Making of the Tudor Dynasty sets the record straight by providing the only coherant and authoritative account of the ancestors of the Tudor royal family from their beginnings in North Wales at the start of the thirteenth century, through royal English and French connections in the fifteenth century, to Henry Tudor’s victory at Bosworth Field in 1485.

Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History, 661–1257 (Edinburgh Studies in Classical Islamic History and Culture)

Paperback – 30 June 2021 (US) & 31 May 2021 (UK)

Based on original and previously unexamined sources, this book provides a critical and systematic analysis of the role of women, mothers, wives, eunuchs, concubines, qahramans and atabegs in the dynamics and manipulation of medieval Islamic politics. Spanning over 600 years, Taef El-Azhari explores gender and sexual politics and power: from the time of the Prophet Muhammad through the Umayyad and Abbasid periods to the Mamluks in the 15th century, and from Iran and Central Asia to North Africa and Spain.

The Imperial Women of Rome: Power, Gender, Context

Hardcover – 1 June 2021 (US) & 22 July 2021 (UK)

The Imperial Women of Rome explores the constraints and activities of the women who were part of Rome’s imperial families from 35 BCE to 235 CE, the Roman principate. Boatwright uses coins, inscriptions, papyri, material culture, and archaeology, as well as the more familiar but biased ancient authors, to depict change and continuity in imperial women’s pursuits and representations over time. Focused vignettes open each thematic chapter, emphasizing imperial women as individuals and their central yet marginalized position in the principate.

The Queen 

Hardcover – 3 June 2021 (UK) & 1 September 2021 (US)

In this brand-new biography of the longest-reigning sovereign in British history, Matthew Dennison traces her life and reign across an era of unprecedented and often seismic social change. Stylish in its writing and nuanced in its judgements, The Queen charts the joys and triumphs as well as the disappointments and vicissitudes of a remarkable royal life; it also assesses the achievement of a woman regarded as the champion of a handful of ‘British’ values endorsed – if no longer practised – by the bulk of the nation: service, duty, steadfastness, charity and stoicism.

 

Palaces of Stone: Uncovering ancient southern African kingdoms 

Paperback – 26 May 2021 (US) & 19 June 2021 (UK)

Palaces of Stone brings to life the story of these early African societies, from AD 900 to approximately 1850. Some, such as Great Zimbabwe and Khami in Zimbabwe and Mapungubwe in South Africa, are famous world heritage sites, but the majority are unknown to the general public, unsung and unappreciated. Yet, the stone ruins that have survived tell a common story of innovative architecture and intricate stonework; flourishing local economies; long-distance travel; global trade; and emerging forms of political organisation.

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Carola of Vasa – The last Queen of Saxony (Part two)

Read part one here.

Early in the next year, Carola visited her seriously ill mother at Morawetz, and she tragically died on 19 July – aged just 43. Over the coming year, the Crown Princely couple travelled a lot, to Switzerland, Italy and Austria. In 1859, they moved into the royal villa in Strehlen (Dresden). Carola fell ill with measles in November 1860 but made a good recovery. She devoted her time to charitable works and liked to paint and play the piano. She also liked to ride horses, but she gave it up as her eyesight worsened. The marriage between Carola and her husband was known to be a love match, but they did not have any children together. She reportedly had several miscarriages.

During the Austro-Prussian war in 1866, Albert commanded the army while Carola took care of injured soldiers in Prague. When Prague itself was threatened, they were moved to Regensburg and then to Vienna, where Carola had grown up. Carola continued to visit hospitals and did not shy away, even when entire wards came down with typhus and cholera. On the invitation of Empress Elisabeth, she visited Saxon soldiers in Hungary. When the peace was signed in October, they were able to return to Dresden, but Carola returned to her hospital work during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870/1871, and they even housed 20 soldiers, including prisoners of war, at their home in Strehlen. One of these prisoners of war grew a special rose after his return home, which he named “Reine de Saxe” or Queen of Saxony, in her honour.

Carola and Albert had a hunting lodge built at Rehefeld, and they were very much loved in the village. Carola often went for walks in the village without any kind of security or even a lady-in-waiting. During these walks, Carola learned that the village did not have a chapel or a cemetery, forcing the locals to use a village cemetery an hour away. Carola donated a cemetery and chapel for their use so their loved ones could stay local. During the summer, Albert and Carola entertained the local children with games and handed out souvenir collection cups.

On 29 October 1873, Carola’s father-in-law died, and she and Albert succeeded as King and Queen of Saxony. Already well-known for her charitable work, she devoted most of her time to the Albert-Verein and to improving the living conditions in Saxony. She founded several women’s associations and support for the poor. She founded schools for girls and women and made sewing machines and sewing lessons available for them. As they grew older, they liked to travel to warmer climates for their health. In the autumn of 1881, Carola fell ill with typhoid, and she recovered in Mentone. Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich (a niece of Empress Elisabeth of Austria) met them there and wrote, “They were very kind to me, and insisted upon my driving with them every afternoon, and I always attended Mass with them on Sunday. I used to call the King ‘Uncle’ and the Queen ‘Tante’ Carola. They were dear souls, who might have been mistaken for a simple professor and his wife when they walked out, for they did not look in the least like reigning royalties.”1

With no heir to the throne forthcoming, it became clear that the throne would one day pass to Albert’s brother George and his son Frederick Augustus. In 1891, Frederick Augustus married Archduchess Louise of Austria. George’s wife Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal had died in 1884, and so Louise immediately became the second lady of the land. Louise wrote of Carola, “Queen Carola was an excellent and charitable woman, who occupied herself in good deeds.[…]She was remarkably handsome but somewhat shy and reserved.”2 When Louise gave birth to her eldest son in 1893 after a long and agonising labour, Carola repeated came to see her and kept on saying, “Poor dear! Poor dear!”3 Nevertheless, Albert and Carola soon clashed with Louise after she altered the setting of a set of emeralds. The scene played out in public at the opera, leading to quite the scandal. They were also disapproving of Louise’s cycling lessons, with Carola telling her, “You apparently ignore etiquette; please remember that I am the Queen, and that it is your duty to consult me in everything you do.”4

In May 1902, Albert and Carola travelled to Sibyllenort, but it soon became clear that Albert was seriously ill. Carola cared for her husband in his final weeks, and they celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary on 18 June. He gave her a large bouquet of roses and thanked her for the years they had together – Carola broke down in tears. The following day, around 8 in the evening, Albert died at the age of 74. Louise arrived the following morning and later wrote, “We were conducted to the late King’s bedroom, where his widow remained with her beloved dead. King Albert lay on the bed, beautiful and calm, and his hands were crossed above the fine linen sheets, strewn with red roses, which covered him. Queen Carola knelt on a prie-Dieu at the foot of the bed, where two candles were burning, and as I looked at the silent figures, a great wave of sadness came over me, and my heart overflowed with pity for the grief-stricken mourner. I did not say much to her, for I could see she desired to be left alone, so I just kissed her in token of my sympathy and left the room as quietly as I had entered it.”5

The funeral took place on 23 June in Dresden. Carola’s wreath had a card attached which read, “The only beloved man.” Carola would survive her husband for five years. She spent most of her time in seclusion at Strehlen in a modest household. She wore mostly woollen clothes and a simple bonnet. Her only jewellery was a brooch with her husband’s image. She remained devoted to her charities. In 1905, she travelled to England and visited Windsor Castle. Lionel Cust, a courtier, wrote of her, “She was a quiet, short but stately widow lady, very easy to talk to, and by a stroke of good fortune had brought with her, as Lady-in-waiting, Baroness von Oppell, a lady of Scottish birth, and great-niece of Sir Walter Scott.”6

Carola had begun to suffer from diabetes in her old age, and after a walk in the park on 11 December 1907, her health suddenly deteriorated quickly. She developed a high fever and had chills. The doctor diagnosed renal and blatter disease, and it soon became life-threatening. She received the last sacraments from her confessor. The family began to gather around her as she drifted in and out of consciousness. On 15 December 1907, at 3.37 AM, Carola fell asleep and never awoke again.

A newspaper wrote in praise of her, “Her tears were for human misery in all its forms. She had a real passion: to give, to comfort, to help to do good. She donated hundreds of thousands of marks every year.[…]Most importantly, she gave with her heart and with a wise, thoughtful understanding of the individual case.”7 Her body was laid out under the palm trees in the winter garden at her villa in Strehlen. Thousands travelled to pay their respects. On 17 December, she was moved to the Dresden Cathedral to be laid by her husband’s side.

Carola would turn out to be Saxony’s last Queen. She had witnessed the accession of George’s son Frederick Augustus in 1904, who by then had been scandalously divorced from the strong-willed Louise. On 13 November 1918, he abdicated the throne, and the monarchy was abolished.

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New research on Anne Boleyn’s prayer book unveils what happened to it after her death

Hever Castle has announced new revelations following research into an Anne Boleyn prayer book on display in her childhood home with never before seen names and words hidden in the pages.

Former Hever Castle steward Kate McCaffrey spent a year studying the two prayer books in Hever Castle’s possession and discovered wording in the Book of Hours, using ultraviolet light and photo editing software.

Legend has it that Anne handed the book to one of her ladies on the day of her execution. Kate discovered three family names written in the book; Gage, West, and Shirley. These three names centre around a fourth, the Guildford family of Cranbrook. Her research uncovered that the book was passed from female to female of families local to the Boleyn family, but also connected to them by kin.

She explained: “It is clear that this book was passed between a network of trusted connections, from daughter to mother, from sister to niece. If the book had fallen into other hands, questions almost certainly would have been raised over the remaining presence of Anne’s signature. Instead, the book was passed carefully between a group of primarily women who were both entrusted to guard Anne’s note and encouraged to add their own.

“In a world with very limited opportunities for women to engage with religion and literature, the simple act of marking this Hours and keeping the secret of its most famous user, was one small way to generate a sense of community and expression.”

She added: “It was incredibly exciting and surreal to uncover these erased inscriptions, and it has been an absolute privilege to restore the names of their authors and recover their stories. What is perhaps most remarkable is that these inscriptions have been unknown and unstudied for so long.”

Dr David Rundle, Kate’s supervisor said: “It is every graduate student’s dream to uncover previously hidden information about a well-known historical figure. Kate’s energy and enterprise have allowed her to do just that, even in the depths of the pandemic when libraries were out of all researchers’ reach. What she has discovered has potentially highly significant implications for our understanding of Anne Boleyn and her posthumous reputation.”

See more here.

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Carola of Vasa – The last Queen of Saxony (Part one)

Carola of Vasa was born on 5 August 1833 as the daughter of the former Crown Prince of Sweden, Gustav, Prince of Vasa, and his wife Princess Louise Amelie of Baden. Her grandfather, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, had been deposed in 1809. As such, Carola was born in exile at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria, where her father served in the army. She would be her parents’ only surviving child – her elder brother Louis had been born the previous year, but he lived for just a few days. Carola was actually named Caroline but her nickname Carola stuck, and it’s the name she is known by today.

The family owned a country house in Hacking near Vienna, where they lived during the summer months. The rest of the time was divided between their city palace in Vienna, Stöckl and Carola’s favourite Schloss Eichhorn in Moravia. At Eichhorn, Carola had her own living quarters, which were next to her mother’s. From her small balcony, she overlooked the valley. Carola loved nature and spent long hours hiking with her mother and her English teacher. She also often visited the home of Baron von Vittinghoff-Schell, who had two daughters with whom she became fast friends.

In 1844, her parents were divorced, which not only meant the breakup of the family, but it also meant that Carola had to leave Eichhorn.1 Her mother had tried to buy it but was unsuccessful. Eventually, Louise Amelia bought Schloss Morawetz from Countess Fünfkirchen, which came with lots of property but was still being renovated after nearly burning down. Carola quickly mastered the Czech language, and she became very interested in the welfare of the local people. She also loved to make up theatre performances with her friends. When she was not with her mother, she was with her father in Vienna or with her grandmother in Baden-Baden or Mannheim. In 1849, Louise Amelia and Carola had to travel to a warmer climate on account of Louise Amelie’s health. She had long suffered from asthma and a heart condition, and she had suddenly deteriorated quickly.

Mother and daughter travelled to South Tyrol, where Carola discovered her love of painting. She spent the winter of 1849/1850 with her mother in Venice. In the early months of 1852, Carola was with her grandmother, the Grand Duchess of Baden (born Stéphanie de Beauharnais). She managed to shock her family when she declared that she did not want to be confirmed in the Lutheran faith but instead wanted to convert to Catholicism. Her father was very much against her conversion, and Carola became deeply conflicted. Upon her father’s insistence, she was to receive Protestant instructions from her aunt Sophie, Grand Duchess of Baden (born of Sweden), and if she still wanted to convert after this, he would not stand in her way. This also meant that she would not see her mother and grandmother for a time, so it was a difficult decision to make, especially considering her mother’s health.

In the end, Carola agreed to her father’s terms, and she travelled to the court at Karlsruhe, where she became deeply unhappy with the forced lessons. After her father saw what the lessons were doing to his daughter’s wellbeing, he agreed to stop them. On 4 November 1852, Carola converted to the Catholic faith in the parish church of Morawetz, with the Bishop of Brno giving her the first Holy Communion. Just a short while later, she met the man who would become her husband, the future King Albert of Saxony.

Albert and his brother George were hunting in the area of Morawetz as guests of Archduke Albrecht of Austria, and it would have been rude not to pay a visit to Louise Amelie and Carola. In fact, it took quite a bit of effort as the weather descended into fog and snow. It took them seven hours just to reach the castle. Both parties were probably aware that it wasn’t just a courtesy visit – Albert, second in line to the Saxon throne, was 24 years old, and Carola was of just the right age for him at 19. Carola was shy at first, but as the evening went on, she opened up. It was love at first sight. Upon Albert’s return to Saxony, he asked his father to open marriage negotiations for him. Carola’s parents gladly gave their consent, and they met again on 2 December 1852. They were allowed to spend some time alone, and at the end of the day, they were officially engaged.

The happy days of the engagement were briefly interrupted by an assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, and Albert had to rush back to Vienna to see him. Albert kept the Emperor company as he spent three weeks recuperating in bed. Upon his return to Dresden, preparations for the wedding began in their earnest. The wedding date was set for 18 June 1853. Shortly before leaving home, Carola wrote to a friend, “I will be at home here for the last time. My heart aches when I think of the border with Austria. I love this dear country more than I know. The difficult separation from my good mother, all the new duties that lie ahead of me, entering a completely different family, considering them as my own, and the fact that I am actually a very spoiled person, spoiled by love and the infinite indulgence from the people I know.”2

While on the way to Dresden, Louise Amelie suffered an attack from her heart condition and was thus in dreadful shape when they finally arrived in Bodenbach. In Bodenbach, they were greeted by Albert, who would travel with them on a specially decorated wedding train to Dresden. Louise Amelie pulled through and was with her daughter during the grand reception she received in the city. On 18 June, she also joined her daughter in the open gala carriage that would take them to the church. The couple exchanged rings as church bells rang out and guns fired salutes. The wedding celebrations went on until 2 July. Carola charmed the people wherever she went, and she made an excellent first impression. The newlyweds moved into the Taschenbergpalais in Dresden.

Part two coming soon.

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Queen Máxima’s 50th birthday interview

Queen Máxima received Matthijs van Nieuwkerk at her home at Huis ten Bosch Palace for an interview for her 50th birthday.

The interview took place in her office at the Palace and was broadcast on the evening of her birthday. The interviewer brought her a present of a book of poetry, and Queen Máxima indulged him by reading a piece in Spanish. She returned the favour by surprising him with a book of poetry from her own library.

Queen Máxima and Matthijs spoke about how she and King (then Prince) Willem-Alexander met in Seville in 1999. She had been taken photos of the guests at the party, and he had been annoyed, and thus, it had not been a good start. However, they soon fell in love. As the relationship grew, she began to learn Dutch while living in New York and trying to learn about the culture. She revealed that she wore a wig to stay under the radar as she travelled around the Netherlands, getting to know it better.

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There were emotional scenes, too, as they looked back at the difficult time surrounded her engagement and wedding when it became clear that her parents would not be attending due to her father’s role as a cabinet minister during the National Reorganization Process. Her mother chose not to attend without her husband. The famous tear that ran down her cheek during a musical intermission at the wedding was also replayed, and Queen Máxima revealed that her daughter once accusingly asked what Willem-Alexander had done to make her cry. The interview took a more serious turn as Queen Máxima and Matthijs spoke about all the different jobs that she does, like her work with microfinancing and the United Nations. A short overview of her work showed her joking how she found words with “ui” difficult to pronounce when first learning Dutch.

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Returning to her family, she spoke openly about her sister Inés who committed suicide in 2018 after a long struggle with her mental health. She said that she did not feel guilty as she believed she and her family had done everything she could, but yet there remained that nagging feeling if there really was nothing more she could have done. Queen Máxima revealed that she and her sister used to sing a lot together and that she sang Knocking on heaven’s door at her sister’s funeral. “It was a good way to say goodbye to her”, Queen Máxima said. “It has taken a few years, but I now think of her with a big smile.”

Queen Máxima also revealed that she had enjoyed spending more time at home as a consequence of the pandemic and told Matthijs that she was perhaps travelling a bit too much before. She still continued her work online and valued the extra time spent with her daughters and husband.

Matthijs also asked her about the most recent popularity numbers, which recently plummeted. The royals were forced to return from a vacation in Greece after a public outcry. She said, “It hurts in my heart because I work really hard to achieve things and to see it affected by a vacation that didn’t really mean that much. Yes, that hurts me.” The purchase of a two-million euro speedboat was also discussed.

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Queen Máxima also talked about how proud she was of her three daughters. Of her eldest daughter, Princess Amalia, she said, “I don’t see her as the future Queen; I still see her as my little baby. She is doing really well; she is very responsible. She realises what her future will be but handles it really well. She takes her time, and she is a wonderful human being.”

The interview concluded with the question about what her husband means to her, to which she answered, “He is my anchor. He keeps me sharp, and he pushes me to do my job while holding me tight. That combination is fantastic.”

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The Year of the Duchess of Windsor – The Queen visits her dying uncle

In May 1972, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh were scheduled to visit Paris. By then, the Duke of Windsor was terminally ill. On 18 May, Wallis watched from the steps of their villa as the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Charles arrived. She curtseyed deeply but almost lost her footing. The visit began with tea in the drawing-room before Wallis led the Queen upstairs to the boudoir. The dying Duke had received a blood transfusion that morning to have enough strength to meet his family.1

The Duke had insisted on getting dressed to meet his niece, but his clothes hung around his emaciated frame as he weighed less than six stone (84 lbs or 38 kg) at that point. He was on a drip, but his doctor had hidden the apparatus behind the chair in which the Duke was seated. The Duke rose slowly from the chair as The Queen entered to bow to her before kissing both cheeks. When she asked how he was, he replied, “Not so bad.”2

Wallis later told the Countess of Romanones, “The Queen’s face showed no compassion, no appreciation for his effort, his respect. Her manner as much as states that she had not intended to honour him with a visit, but that she was simply covering appearances by coming here because he was dying and it was known that she was in Paris.”3 The nurse on duty recalled that the Queen spoke amiably with her uncle. The nurse said, “As the Duchess brought Prince Charles in [the Duke’s] face lit up, and he started asking him about the navy… but, after a few minutes, I saw the Duke’s throat convulse, and he began coughing. He mentioned me to wheel him away, the Royal Family stood up, and I had the feeling that this was his way of avoiding any formal goodbyes. It had all been brief, immensely cordial, and very important to him, but he had no reserves of strength left.”4 The whole visit has lasted just 30 minutes.

The Windsors’ secretary later said, “That visit by the Queen was very healing. Nobody knows exactly what was said, but it was extremely important. The Duke always said that he loved the Queen.”5

On 28 May 1972, around 2.20 a.m., the Duke of Windsor died in his sleep. His nurse went to wake up Wallis, who kissed his forehead and cupped his face while saying, “My David, my David… You look so lovely.”6 The news was released by Buckingham Palace, and the text of a telegram sent by the Queen to Wallis was also released. “I know that my people will always remember him with gratitude and great affection and that his services to them in peace, and he will never be forgotten. I am so glad that I was able to see him in Paris ten days ago.”7

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The Importance of Pawns by Keira Morgan Book Review

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The Importance of Pawns by Keira Morgan begins as Anne of Brittany, Duchess of Brittany and Queen of France, lays dying. After two marriages to Kings of France and many lost children, she’ll leave behind two young daughters. Her daughters will be unable to inherit the throne of France, which operates under salic law, but the Duchy of Brittany has no such law, making her daughters rich heiresses and indeed pawns. Desperate to keep Brittany separate from France, Anne tries to make her younger daughter Renee the next Duchess of Brittany, knowing that her elder daughter Claude will marry her cousin, the future King Francis I of France.

Tensions rise between Francis’ mother Louise and the Princesses’ protectress Michelle as Claude struggles to make her own voice heard.

The Importance of Pawns brings the French court to life in an excellent manner. Having visited many of the Châteaux described in the book certainly helped me imagine the scenes, but even if you haven’t been there, the atmosphere is still there. I felt for Anne as she lay dying, fervently wishing for Brittany’s independence, and I felt for Claude as she fell hopelessly in love with a man who would never love her back. I really enjoyed this book, and I think I may slowly be recovering from my dislike for historical fiction. If you’re looking for an escape into the French royal court, do buy this book.

The Importance of Pawns by Keira Morgan is available now in the US and the UK.

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