Moniek Bloks's Blog, page 171

Frances Brandon – Daughter of the French Queen (Part one)

On 16 July 1517, Lady Frances Brandon was born at Hatfield Castle between two and three in the morning as the daughter of Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk, and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. She was born on St. Francis’s Day and her name commemorated the Saint.

She had a sumptuous christening, though not quite as grand as her elder brother Henry – who had been born the year before. There was plenty of cloth of gold, tapestries of the histories of Holofernes and Hercules, a crimson canopy with red and white roses, the sun and French fleurs-de-lis, along with her mother’s arms in four places.1 Her godfather was the Abbot of St. Albans, her godmothers were Catherine of Aragon and Princess Mary, but they sent deputies rather than attend in person. Nevertheless, she was a descendant of royalty and close to the throne. Mary bore a second daughter named Eleanor around 1519, followed by a second son also named Henry – as the first Henry had passed away in 1522 – but this second Henry would die young as well.

Frances became a close childhood friend of her cousin – born in 1516 – the future Queen Mary I. In their teens they would spend quite a bit of time together.

The health of Frances’s mother Mary was not good. Around 1519, Mary began to suffer from the first bouts of ill health, but she was well enough to attend to Field of Cloth of Gold. After this, Mary’s appearances at court would become more sporadic, and Frances’s parents continued to have money problems throughout their marriage. By 1526, it had become clear that Mary’s brother King Henry was infatuated with Anne Boleyn. On 23 May 1527, Mary attended her last official engagement at court and watched her brother dance with Anne Boleyn. She withdrew from court, disgusted with her brother’s behaviour.

By the time of Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, Mary had been unwell for several months. Mary just about managed to travel to London for her daughter’s wedding to Henry Grey, Marquis of Dorset, and it would be the last time she would see her brother. Frances’ wedding took place sometime in the spring of 1533 – with the contracts being signed on 23 March 1533. Frances was just 15 years old, and her new husband was 16 years old. Mary died on 25 June 1533, and she was still only 38 years old. The true cause of her illness was never diagnosed. She was buried on 20 July in the abbey at Bury St Edmunds with her daughter Frances acting as chief mourner. In early 1536, Frances acted as the chief mourner once more at the funeral of her aunt Catherine of Aragon.

In the early years of her marriage, Frances lost at least one child – a son – in infancy. Only his name was recorded, Henry, Lord Harington.2 Sometime before the end of May 1537, Frances gave birth to her first surviving child, a daughter named Jane for Queen Jane. She was probably born at Dorset House. Her exact date of birth was not recorded. Queen Jane was also asked to be her namesake’s godmother. Two weeks after her daughter’s birth, Frances was allowed out of bed, and she was allowed to see female relatives such as her younger sister Eleanor and her stepmother Catherine – her father had wasted no time in remarrying to his 14-year-old ward Catherine Willoughby. In October 1537, Frances was among those who mourned Queen Jane after she died shortly after giving birth to the future King Edward VI.

The family settled at Bradgate Park, and two more daughters were born to Frances and Henry – Katherine and Mary. Frances was not known to be a sentimental mother, and she put her husband’s interests before those of her daughters. The girls were very well educated and were carefully watched and instructed. They were not spoiled, and they were taught to stand straight and show respect to their elders.3 The girls received lessons in dance and music and were encouraged in their academic studies.

In 1545, Frances’s father, the Duke of Suffolk died. He had two young sons with his second wife Catherine and Frances’s half-brother Henry succeeded as the 2nd Duke. By 1546, Frances was serving as a Lady of the Privy Chamber to King Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr. She sometimes brought her eldest daughter Jane with her to court to prepare her for a role as a Maid of Honour. On 28 January 1547, King Henry VIII passed away at the age of 55, and he was succeeded by his young son King Edward VI. Soon, the future of Frances and her young daughters would be dominated by King Henry’s will. The will left the throne to Edward first, followed by his illegitimate half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth. It also excluded the entire line of Margaret Tudor, Henry’s elder sister who had married the King of Scots. Then came the descendants of Mary Tudor – Frances (though not mentioned by name as perhaps Henry assumed she would have a son by the time the other lines became extinct) and her heirs and then Eleanor and her heirs. Notably, all of these heirs were female.

In February 1547, Jane’s wardship was sold to Thomas Seymour, the King’s uncle, for £2,000 and she went to live at Sudeley Castle with him and his new wife, King Henry’s widow Catherine Parr, until Catherine died in childbirth in September 1548. Frances had tried to keep Jane at home for as long as possible, but it was no use. Nevertheless, Jane was happy at Sudeley Castle. After Catherine’s death, Jane returned home to Bradgate. Meanwhile, Frances had also lost her sister Eleanor in September 1547. She had left one surviving child – a daughter named Lady Margaret Clifford.

With her three daughters now reunited once more, Frances went to visit her childhood friend Princess Mary at Beaulieu. The two women had remained in contact despite their religious differences. Though no further visits were recorded, they probably continued to visit each other. In July 1551, Frances’s two half-brothers died within hours of each other, leaving the title of Duke of Suffolk extinct. In October 1551, Frances’s husband Henry was created Duke of Suffolk and Frances became his Duchess. In November, Frances was invited to court for the reception of Mary of Guise, dowager Queen of Scots and Frances had a place of honour by the Queen’s side. Her daughter Jane was also there – it is the first recorded occasion of Jane being present at a public reception. Frances and Henry spent Christmas of 1551 with Princess Mary.4

Part two coming soon.

The post Frances Brandon – Daughter of the French Queen (Part one) appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Lust, Lies and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind Britain’s Royal Portraits by Stephen Millar Book Review

It is not often that the title of a book grabs my attention like this and I watched as it was endlessly postponed before finally being released in June.

Lust, Lies and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind Britain’s Royal Portraits discusses several royal paintings and portraits and the history behind them. However, the actual paintings are discussed rather briefly, and while the history around the paintings is discussed, the author sometimes relies on the rumour mill narrative and does not delve deeper into discussions such as about the Princes in the Tower. It all rather remains on the surface, which makes the inclusion of walking tours at the back of the book even stranger. I would have devoted this space to delve just a little bit deeper.

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I just wish there had been more.

Lust, Lies and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind Britain’s Royal Portraits by Stephen Millar is available now in both the US and the UK.

The post Lust, Lies and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind Britain’s Royal Portraits by Stephen Millar Book Review appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Taking a look at Queen Sofía of Spain

Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark was born on 2 November 1938 as the daughter of the future King Paul of Greece and Frederica of Hanover. According to her mother’s memoirs, she was born in the sitting room of a small house in Psychico, given to them by the government. Sophie’s younger brother, the future King Constantine II of Greece, would be born in the same sitting room in 1940.1 She would have been named Olga, but after her birth had been announced, crowds had started chanting “Sophie!” and so it was decided to name the infant Sophie, after Sophie of Prussia.

Sophie was just two years old when the Greek Royal Family had to be evacuated due to the Second World War. Her mother wrote, “Sophie, just two years old, sat on my lap. I held my hands tightly over her ears so that she could not hear the exploding bombs and at the same time expected her to hear me sing, rather desperately, ‘Baa, baa, black sheep’, for her comfort!”2 In their exile, the family settled in South Africa where a third sibling – Princess Irene – was born on 11 May 1942. They moved to Egypt in February 1944. During this time, her mother wrote of Sophie, “Sophie is a real clown, as you can see from the picture. She has a very strong will, but she has also a very motherly disposition, and protects her little brother and sister.”3 The 1946 Greek Referendum restored Sophie’s uncle George to the throne. The family was at last able to return home.

Sophie attended the Schloss Salem boarding school in Germany, which had been taken over by her uncle Prince George of Hanover. Her mother wrote of their parting, “I shall never forget the moment when Sophie and I had to part. My sister-in-law took her to Salem. Sophie was already sitting in the car when she opened the door and ran into my arms, crying, ‘Mama, mama, I don’t want to go.’ We had to be physically separated as we were hanging round each other neck’s, crying our eyes out.”4 While there, she was known to correct the Greek teacher in his pronunciation to the point where he requested that she drop his class. She, and later also Irene, joined the choir as well. Once back in Greece, she attended a school for nurses and became a fully trained children’s nurse. She worked in a home for babies for a time.

Sophie and her brother Constantine attended the wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Katharine Worsley in 1961, where she became reacquainted with Juan Carlos of Spain. Constantine phoned his parents to say Juan Carlos had paid quite a bit of attention to Sophie and that they shouldn’t be surprised. Sophie and Juan Carlos grew closer as he spent the summer in Corfu with his parents. On 14 May 1962, Juan Carlos and Sophia were married in a grand wedding. Sophie converted to Catholicism and relinquished her rights to the Greek throne. Her mother wrote, “It was a brilliant day; Sophie looked beautiful. Her dress was a dream of lace and over it, falling from her hair down to the ground, she wore my wedding veil, also of lace. A long train was carried by six bridesmaids among whom were his sister Irene, Juanito’s (Juan Carlos) sister, the Infanta Pilar, Princess Irene of Holland, Princess Alexandra of Kent and my children’s best friend, Princess Tatiana Radziwill. Six young men held the crowns over the young couple’s heads. My husband stood behind Sophie and Juanito and, at a certain moment in the ceremony, he held up both crowns and crossed them three times over their heads. It was a moving sight.”5

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Sophie, now known as Sofía, and Juan Carlos went on to have three children, Elena (born 20 December 1963), Cristina (born 13 June 1965), and Felipe (born 30 January 1968).

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During this time, Spain lived under the dictatorial regime of Francisco Franco, who had come to power during the Spanish Civil War. As he grew older, demands were made to restore the monarchy. At the time, the heir to the throne was Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, Juan Carlos’ father, the third son of the late King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. However, Franco was suspicious of him, and ultimately he decided to skip a generation, and he named Juan Carlos as his personal successor. In 1969, Juan Carlos was officially designated heir-apparent and given the title of Prince of Spain – making Sofía the Princess of Spain. On 22 November 1975, two days after Franco’s death, the Cortes Españolas proclaimed Juan Carlos King of Spain, making Sofía Queen.

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As Queen of Spain, Sofía accompanied her husband on official visits. She also supported several charities and is the president of the Queen Sofía Foundation, honorary president of the Royal Board on Education and Care of Handicapped Persons of Spain, the Spanish Foundation for Aid for Drug Addicts and she is the patron of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute. She has received honorary doctorates from several national and international universities.

Sofía and Juan Carlos’ marriage did not last, but they have never divorced – choosing instead to lead separate lives. Juan Carlos was seen with another woman, reportedly a German Princess, during a hunting trip to Botswana where he broke his hip. They were reportedly in a relationship for several years, though she has denied it. Sofía kept her composure throughout, even presenting awards as the scandal broke.

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In 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated the Spanish throne in favour of his son, who became King Felipe VI of Spain. Sofía has kept largely out of the public eye, dividing her time between La Zarzuela and Palma de Mallorca. Through her three children, she has eight grandchildren. She is the longest-serving Spanish Queen consort to date.

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Sattareh Farman Farmaian – The social worker Princess (Part two)

Read part one here.

After 32 days, she arrived in Los Angeles – now she just needed to reach Ohio. Along with a handful of other passengers who had no one to pick them up, she was taken in by the Red Cross. A friend of her father, Dr Jordan, lived in Pasadena and came to pick up her the following day. He then drove her to the University of Southern Californa and convinced them to register her. She was housed at the University and promised to visit Dr Jordan every Sunday. Sattareh felt lonely and isolated at first as English still came difficult to her. She wrote to her family, but her many letters went unanswered. In December, she received a letter from her brother Farough who had made it to New York. Early the next year, she moved to cheaper housing with several others. Then, letters from Iran also came trickling in. Sattareh worked various part-time jobs and took as many courses as the university would allow. She was soon able to graduate much earlier than expected. In the autumn of 1946, she began to study social work – soon realising that this was what she wanted to set up in Iran. She wanted to start programs that would help people.

At university, she met her future husband Arun Chaudhuri, a Hindu student who was studying cinematography. Sattareh graduated in June 1948 with a Master of Social Work degree and began to work for the International Institute, a settlement house for immigrants. Sattareh slowly lost contact with her university friends and felt alone all over again. Arun too was alone, and he finally proposed marriage to her. In her memoirs, she does not describe being in love, only that they cared for and respected each other. They were married, and in the spring of 1949, Sattareh gave birth to a girl named Mitra. During this time, she also took night classes to gain a teaching certificate.

Arun was not so successful in trying to obtain employment, and their marriage was soon under strain. He believed it would be easier to find work in India and he left in 1952 with Sattareh’s blessing. However, he soon stopped writing to her, though, after a while, it became clear that he did not want to return to the US. During this time, Sattareh was approached by the United Nations Bureau of Social Affairs who were looking for trained social workers. Sattareh then travelled to New York for the interview where she also found that Mitra could not be entered into her passport. However, Mitra was an American citizen and would be able to travel to Iran with a visa. At the consulate, she met an oil execute who offered her a job with Cities Service Oil. With a significant pay raise from her social work salary, she moved to New York to work as an advisor on Iran for them. An attorney of the company also helped her to file for divorce.

Soon, she realised that she wanted to be near her family again and was offered a two-year renewable position with UNESCO as a social welfare consultant to the government of Iraq. Mitra was sent to boarding school, where it would be safe. In June 1954, she took a plane to Iran, where she was to spend a month. She had been gone for over ten years, and her family had come out in full force to meet her at the airport. She spent four years in Iraq.

In 1958, Sattareh opened a private school for social work in Tehran, and Mitra was able to visit her in the summers. The school slowly grew into a respected facility, and Sattareh was soon lobbying for social legislation. She also began several pilot programs over the next eight years and became a much-respected teacher and social worker. Mitra graduated from her English boarding school in 1966 and went on to attend a college in Florida. She later went to study early childhood education at Indiana University. Mitra married an American man shortly after graduating. Sattareh became a grandmother not much later.

Political upheaval finally forced Sattareh to flee Iran in 1979. She wrote, “At last, when I was sure that we were no longer over Iranian territory, I took off my black kerchief. It was like removing a heavy iron helmet.”1 She made her way to London where she worked part-time for Planned Parenthood. Then, she travelled on to the United States, where Mitra was living with her family. She returned to her work as a social worker until her retirement in 1992.

Sattareh died of lymphoma at the age of 90 on 23 May 2012.

Long ago I set out into the world with my arms wide open, and I am sure that if I had to do it all over again, I would.2

The post Sattareh Farman Farmaian – The social worker Princess (Part two) appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Sattareh Farman Farmaian – The social worker Princess (Part one)

Sattareh Farman Farmaian was born on 23 December 1921 as the daughter of Prince Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma, a grandson of the Qajar Crown Prince Abbas Mirza, and Massumeh Khanum Tafreshi, the third of his eight wives. She was born in Shiraz, during the dying days of the Qajar dynasty, in present-day Iran. She was the 15th of a total of 36 children, the third from his marriage to Massumeh Khanum Tafreshi.

Sattareh would grow up in Tehran as Reza Shah Pahlavi came to power. Their residence was in an area known as the Shah’s Garden, and Sattareh grew up in a compound with pools and gardens. The inner quarters where the children and mothers lived were known as the harem or ‘andarun’; the outer quarters were for the men, known as ‘biruni.’ Only four of her father’s wives lived with them; the others lived not far away – except one who had already passed away. His first wife was of royal blood and she had her own separate household. Sattareh had no sisters her own age and was sometimes let into the men’s quarters to play with her brothers. She later wrote in her memoirs, “My mother, therefore, sealed my fate as a part-time boy by sewing me a pair of yellow felt trousers, and I was constantly out of the door, reigning along with my next younger half-brother Abol over a small gang of rapscallions with all the authority of an elder sister.”1

Like her siblings, Sattareh received her education from private tutors at home, every day except for Friday. Her father believed education was important and she wrote, “Nothing is more important, he would admonish us, than your education. Don’t think that you can go about with your noses in the air because of who your father is, as though you were everyone else’s superior.”2 Her older brothers were often sent to Europe for their education. In addition to the tutors, Sattareh also went to a private school near the compound. With the majority of Persian women illiterate at the time, her father’s views on educating women were quite unorthodox.

In the autumn of 1933, Sattareh began to attend the American School for Girls in a Presbyterian missionary compound, and she loved it there. She wrote, “I loved having so many kinds of people around me, and was very curious about all the different kinds of homes, backgrounds, and beliefs I encountered at school.”3 Inspired by her brothers’ time in Europe, Sattareh asked her mother to speak to her father about her also going to Europe. To Sattareh’s surprise, her mother agreed to ask her father. However, he believed it to be a waste of money. He said, “She is a woman. A woman will be nothing.”4 Sattareh herself was devastated and humiliated but vowed to show him that women were not nothing.

In the meantime, Sattareh saw her elder sisters and cousins be married off, but for some reason, her mother vetoed many suitors for Sattareh herself. In 1939, her father suffered a stroke, and although he initially regained some of his strength, he eventually died later that year after a second stroke. Sattareh and the other female family members were not allowed to attend the funeral. Reza Shah Pahlavi was forced to abdicate during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on 16 September 1941. Sattareh wrote, “We were free. A kind of ironic miracle had happened, wrought by the Russian and English soldiers who now walked our streets, and it was if a dam, standing filled and motionless for many years, had finally burst.”5 However, Reza Shah Pahlavi’s son replaced his father as Shah.

Sattareh wanted more out of life than being a wife and mother. In 1942, she approached the teachers of the American school she had attended to see if they could help her find a school in the United States. In May 1943, Sattareh was accepted into a small missionary school called the Heidelberg College in Ohio. She managed to obtain an Iranian passport and applied for a visa. It took until February 1944 for the visa to be approved; now, she just needed to find a way to the United States. She left her family behind – not knowing if her letters from the US would even reach them because of the war. She made the long journey to Bombay alone and boarded a freighter. However, the ship was torpedoed but Sattareh managed to escape on a lifeboat. She wrote, “For the first time, I fully understood how rash I had been to leave in wartime and realised with something close to hysteria that I might never see Kahnom, Dadash, and my brothers and sisters again.”6 She made a second attempt two weeks later on the USS General Butler.

Part two coming soon.

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Consort Xi Shi – The Spy Whose Beauty Brought Down A Kingdom

Consort Xi Shi was one of the four most beautiful women in ancient China.[1] She was sent to seduce her kingdom’s enemy, King Fuchai of Wu. She succeeded in her mission, and her legendary beauty brought down a short-lived kingdom. While she was known to be a femme fatale, some historians view her in a more sympathetic light.[2] Xi Shi has become an unsung patriotic heroine who sacrificed her own happiness for the kingdom’s interests.[3]

Xi Shi was born around 500 B.C. E.[4] She was born in Zhejiang in Zhuji county.[5] The inhabitants of Zhuji county shared the surname Shi. Since her village was on the western slope of a mountain, her name was Xi (which means “western” [6]).[7] Her father was a woodcutter, and she made her living washing silk in a nearby stream.[8]

Xi Shi lived during the late Spring and Autumn period, an era which lasted from 771 to 446 B.C.E.[9] During this period, the states of Jin, Qin, Qi, and Chu were breaking away from the ruling Zhou dynasty to form their own dynasties.[10] In the later part of the Spring and Autumn period, two states, Yue and Wu, declared their independence from Chu with the help of Jin and formed their own dynasties. These two kingdoms were next to each other and often in conflict.[11] This conflict set up the stage for Consort Xi Shi’s story because she lived in Yue, and her mission was to bring down Wu.[12]

In 494 B.C.E., King Fuchai of Wu defeated Yue and made it into a tributary state.[13] He made Gou Jian, the King of Yue, and his wife work as slaves for three years in Wu until he released them and let them reign as client monarchs in his realm.[14] King Gou Jian never forgot his humiliation and vowed revenge against King Fuchai.[15] He asked his trusted minister, Fan Li, for an effective revenge plan.[16] Fan Li learned of the King of Wu’s weakness for beautiful women and suggested for the king to send a beautiful woman to seduce King Fuchai.[17] King Gou Jian liked the idea and agreed with it. He made Fan Li disguise himself as a merchant and search for the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.[18] The woman Fan Li found to be the most beautiful in Yue was Xi Shi.[19]

When Fan Li discovered her, she was brought to King Gou Jian’s court. For three years, she received extensive training by Fan Li in court etiquette and seduction.[20] During her training, Xi Shi and Fan Li had fallen in love, but they had to cast their romance aside for the better interests of the kingdom.[21] When she was deemed ready, King Gou Jian sent her as a tributary gift to King Fuchai and waited for his destruction.[22]

The moment Xi Shi entered the King of Wu’s harem, King Fuchai fell in love with her.[23] He spent all his time with her, which caused him to neglect his official duties.[24] He did everything to please her. Under her guidance, he dismissed and ordered the suicide of his capable minister, Wu Zixu.[25] He replaced him with an ineffective minister. King Fuchai even built the Guanwa Palace for her. It was said to be so lavish that pearl strands hung to shade the windows.[26] King Fuchai also built the “Promenade of Musical Shoes” [27] next to Guanwa Palace. It had marble floors, and underneath the floors, there were thousands of earthenware jars that sounded like chimes every time she walked or danced on it.[28] King Fuchai even had a special river made for her and erected pavilions along its banks for dancers and musicians to perform.[29]

Xi Shi stayed in the palace for nine years as his concubine. During those nine years, he was so negligent of his duties that the strong kingdom of Wu had weakened. In 482 B.C.E.,  King Fuchai travelled to northern Yangzhi for a conference meeting. The conference was made up of rulers from the states of Chu, Jin, Qi, Qin and Wu. These rulers would discuss how to gain control over central China where the crippling Zhou dynasty still reigned.[30] It was during this conference that King Gou Jian decided to act upon his revenge. He launched a surprise attack against Wu, which left many casualties on the Wu side.[31] Since the kingdom of Wu was already weakened by King Fuchai’s negligence, King Gou Jian had no difficulties attacking Wu again and won.[32] This time, Wu was now part of Yue territory, where it remained until 150 B.C.E.. King Gou Jian exiled King Fuchai to a tiny island off of China’s coast.[33] In humiliation, King Fuchai committed suicide.[34] This ended Wu as an independent state.

There are two conflicting historical accounts that tell what happened to Consort Xi Shi after Wu’s defeat.[35] One account claims that Xi Shi gradually grew to love King Fuchai and that when he died, she threw herself into a river and drowned.[36] Another account gives Xi Shi a more happy ending. In this account, Xi Shi and Fan Li reunited as lovers after she accomplished her mission.[37] They lived near Lake Tai where Fan Li became a merchant.[38] In China, there are two caves in Yixing (a city in Jiangsu province) named for Xi Shi and Fan Li.[39] Local legends have it that they spent the rest of their lives in these caves.[40] Throughout the millennia, Xi Shi has been portrayed in Chinese literature and drama. One of these is The Girl Who Washes Silk, a popular play by Liang Chenyu.[41] This play focuses on Xi Shi and Fan Li’s romance portraying them as tragic lovers who have to sacrifice their happiness for the good of the kingdom.[42]

References:

Eno, R. (2010).  1.7. Spring and Autumn China (771-453). Indiana University, PDF.

Milburn, O. (2013). The silent beauty: Changing portrayals of Xi Shi, from “Zhiguai” and poetry to Ming fiction and drama. Asia Major, 26(1), third series, 23-53.

Kaichang, X. (2015). Notable women of China: Shang Dynasty to the early twentieth century (B. B. Peterson, Ed.). London: Routledge.

[1] Milburn, p. 23; Kaichang, p. 25

[2] Milburn, p. 24

[3] Milburn, p. 24

[4] Kaichang, p. 25

[5] Kaichang, p. 25

[6] Kaichang, p. 25

[7] Kaichang, p. 25

[8] Kaichang, p. 25

[9] Eno, p. 2

[10]Eno, p. 3

[11] Milburn, p. 23

[12] Milburn, p. 23

[13] Kaichang, p. 25

[14] Kaichang, p. 25

[15] Kaichang, p. 26

[16] Kaichang, p. 26

[17] Kaichang, p. 26

[18] Kaichang, p. 26

[19] Kaichang, p. 26

[20] Kaichang, p. 26

[21] Kaichang, p. 26

[22] Kaichang, p. 26

[23] Kaichang, p. 26

[24] Kaichang, p. 26

[25] Kaichang, p. 26

[26] Kaichang, p. 26

[27] Kaichang, p. 26

[28] Kaichang, p. 26

[29] Kaichang, p. 26

[30] Kaichang, p. 26

[31] Kaichang, p. 26

[32] Kaichang, p. 26

[33] Kaichang, p. 26

[34] Kaichang, p. 26

[35] Kaichang, p. 26

[36] Kaichang, p. 26

[37] Kaichang, pp. 26-27

[38] Kaichang, pp. 26-27

[39] Kaichang, p. 27

[40] Kaichang, p. 27

[41] Milburn, pp. 23-24; Kaichang, p. 27

[42] Milburn, pp. 23-24; Kaichang, p. 27

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The Year of Queen Wilhelmina – Wilhelmina addresses the United States Congress

On 6 August 1942, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands addressed a joint session of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives – becoming the first reigning sovereign to do so.

She said, “I stand here as the spokesman of my country, not only of those nine million of my compatriots in Europe but also of some seventy millions in Asia and in the Western Hemisphere, whom I know to be at one with me in the spirit. The Netherlands were, like the United States, like all the United Nations, a peace-loving country. At present, both in Europe and in Asia, that country is under enemy occupation. A cruel fate has overtaken its inhabitants. Imagine what it means for a liberty-loving country to be in bondage, for a proud country to be subject to harsh alien rule. What would be the American answer if an invader tried to cover his wholesale systematic pillage with the firing squad, the concentration camp, and the abomination of the hostage practice? Having come by first-hand knowledge to know your national character better than ever, I doubt not that your answer would be: resistance, resistance until the end, resistance in every practicable shape or form.”

[..]

United we stand, and united we will achieve victory.”1

The New York Times reported of her speech, “Queen Wilhelmina didn’t need to say or do anything more to endear her and her people to the Americans but her three days at Washington have had that effect. Busy days they were. She made a speech to Congress that was a model of clear statement, eloquent without rhetoric.”2

During her time in the United States, she met President Roosevelt where she also ran into Märtha of Sweden, Crown Princess of Norway, and was briefly reunited with her daughter Juliana and her granddaughters. Queen Wilhelmina later wrote in her memoirs, “To me everything was new, and meeting the President and Mrs Roosevelt was an experience, although even at the first meeting with him I felt as if I was addressing an old friend, so cordial were his feelings for the Netherlands and for Juliana, Bernhard, the children and me.”3

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The Year of Queen Wilhelmina – The life of Princess Irene

Princess Irene of the Netherlands was born on 5 August 1939 as the second daughter of the future Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard and she was thus a granddaughter of Queen Wilhelmina. Her eldest sister was the future Queen Beatrix, and her two younger sisters are Princess Margriet and the late Princess Christina.

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Princess Irene was not yet one year old when the family was forced to flee to the United Kingdom, and her christening took place in the Chapel Royal of Buckingham Palace on 31 May 1940 in the presence of both the Dutch and British royals. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother acted as one of her godparents. While Queen Wilhelmina set up a government in exile in London, it was decided that Juliana and her daughters should go to Canada for their safety.

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Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, Wilhelmina’s first cousin and her husband, who was the Governor-General of Canada, had offered to help. After all, England could be invaded as well. On 2 June 1940, Juliana, her daughters and several others boarded the HNLMS Sumatra, which was accompanied by the HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck. Wilhelmina later wrote in her memoirs, “I gazed after the car as it drove off from Lydney Park – when and where would we meet again? Bernhard returned late in the evening, very unhappy at the prospect of their long separation. Several weeks passed before Juliana’s first letter brought a ray of light for him and myself.”1They arrived safely on 10 June 1940 and stayed at Government House at first. A month and a half later, they moved to a villa in Ottawa. Irene attended the Rockcliffe Park Public School before the family returned to the Netherlands in August 1945.

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In 1948, Queen Wilhelmina abdicated, and Irene’s mother became the new reigning Queen. Irene continued her education at the Werkplaats Kindergemeenschap. She also received private lessons before attending the Baarnsch Lyceum. She graduated in 1957 and went on to attend the University of Utrecht and Lausanne. In 1963, she graduated with a degree in Spanish, and she became an official interpreter. While studying in Madrid, Irene met Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parm, who was the eldest son of the Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne. In the summer of 1963, Irene secretly converted to Roman Catholicism. Her subsequent engagement to Carlos Hugo caused a constitutional crisis, as she was second in line to the throne. Her mother tried to stop the marriage, but it was to no avail. On 9 February 1964, it was announced that Irene would give up her succession rights to marry Carlos Hugo.

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On 29 April 1964, Princess Irene and Prince Carlos Hugo were married in Rome, and Irene was no longer a member of the Dutch Royal House. No one from her family attended the wedding in the Borghese Chapel at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The ceremony was broadcast on TV, and the newlyweds were received by Pope Paul VI for a private audience. They went on to have four children together: Carlos, Duke of Parma (born 1970), Princess Margarita, Countess of Colorno (born 1972), Prince Jaime, Count of Bardi (born 1972, twin of Margarita) and Princess Carolina, Marchioness of Sala (born 1974). Their marriage ended in divorce in 1981. Irene and her children returned to the Netherlands, and her children later became part of the Dutch Nobility.

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Princess Irene helped establish the NatuurCollege in the Netherlands, and she is the founder of NatureWise. She currently lives in Switzerland. Through her four children, she is currently a grandmother of ten.

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Berengaria of Navarre’s tomb to be restored

For a Queen of England who never set foot on English soil, her tomb has not been able to find a home either.

Berengaria of Navarre was the wife of King Richard the Lionheart for eight years until his death in 1199. Berengaria and Richard had had no children together, and she settled in Le Mans in France. She died there in 1230, and she was buried near Le Mans at the l’Épau Abbey. The monks there created a stone figure for her tomb, which shows her wearing her a crown and holding a prayer book.

The tomb was moved by French revolutionaries to a barn in order to turn the Abbey into a laundry, and it was rediscovered under a pile of hay in 1817 with considerable damage. To save it from being damaged further, the tomb was placed in the cathedral in Le Mans. However, her remains appear to have been left behind at the Abbey as the skeleton of a woman was found 16 years when the local authorities purchased the Abbey. The tomb was then returned to the Abbey and placed in an outside chapter house where it continued to crumble.

A new public appeal for donations has been made to be able to move her tomb and remains inside the abbey, and local authorities hope to raise at least €42,000 of the needed €142,000 from the public.

“The aim is to restore the statue as well as the [sculpted] panels to return it to being a medieval tomb,” Bertrand Sechet told Le Figaro. “The return of the effigy in its original place will mark a new period in the long history of the abbey.”

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The Year of Queen Wilhelmina – The life of Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (Part two)

Read part one here.

On 6 September 1898, Wilhelmina was inaugurated in the New Church in Amsterdam. She later wrote, “While my mother was already in the church, I had to walk alone, all alone, with all those unknown gentlemen, from the palace to the church.”1 Emma had done her duty, but her job was not over yet. Especially during those early years, Wilhelmina often asked for her mother’s advice. Also, a husband needed to be found for Wilhelmina. On 7 February 1901, she married Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Emma left Noordeinde Palace to the newlyweds and moved into the Lange Voorhout Palace nearby.

The inauguration of Wilhelmina – RP-F-F00967-2/Rijksmuseum

After two miscarriages and a stillbirth, Emma became a grandmother on 30 April 1909 with the birth of Princess Juliana. Juliana called her grandmother “Moemoem.”2 Emma was again named as a potential regent for her granddaughter Juliana, in case Wilhelmina died before Juliana’s majority. After her regency ended, Emma often accompanied her daughter and son-in-law during public engagements. She also loved to travel and spent her time doing charity. She was especially devoted to fighting tuberculosis, the disease that had killed her sister Sophie and set up the first Dutch sanatorium for tuberculosis sufferers.

Emma and Juliana – RP-F-00-7385/Rijksmuseum

Emma and Wilhelmina corresponded to each other regularly though Wilhelmina would later destroy all of Emma’s letters to her.3 Emma had grown old rather quickly and had begun to suffer from several health problems. She remained as popular as ever and the 50th anniversary of her arrival in the Netherlands was celebrated in 1929. One of her final public appearances was in 1933, for Wilhelmina’s 35th jubilee.

By early 1934, the Minister of Foreign Affairs described Emma as overtired, confused and in a bad physical condition. He wrote, “She will only become enraged when she speaks of the Dutch National Socialism movement and Mussert. She hates them even more than the communists!”4 Emma also had trouble sleeping and often suffered from toothache.

On 20 March 1934, Emma died after being ill for around a week from bronchitis that turned into pneumonia; she was 75 years old. Wilhelmina later wrote in her memoirs, “In March 1934, Juliana and I left her for a few days and went to The Loo for a little fresh air and a change of scene. Except for a slight cold, she seemed in good condition. We meant to stay away for only four or five days, a short winter holiday that I often took to escape from the obligations of life in town. Juliana always assisted Miss Schoch in her welfare work in Apeldoorn. This time, however, we soon received a telephone call from the doctor, who advised me to return immediately because Mother had suddenly fallen ill, and her condition gave rise to anxiety. We left at once. A few tense days followed. Juliana and I were with her at the Voorhout night and day and Henry paid several short visits, with the doctor’s consent. On the 20th of March, God called her to him. On the 27th, we accompanied her to her last resting place in the vault of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, where she lies beside my father.”5

Emma’s funeral – RP-F-00-7357/Rijksmuseum

“Since the end of her regency, she had devoted herself entirely to suffering humanity. The warmth of her interest and her intuitive understanding of the circumstances of those who suffered as well as of those who nursed them caused many a heart to rejoice in the course of the years. Mother’s feelings went out to all, and she was a regular visitor in all classes of society. The news of her death caused general grief and regret among our people. We were particularly moved by the small tokens of love which were laid beside her bier, and perhaps even more by the expressions of those who came to as a last farewell.”6

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