Moniek Bloks's Blog, page 179

Elizabeth of the United Kingdom – A wish for freedom (Part two)

Read part one here.

Life went by at a slow pace. Elizabeth purchased a cottage at Old Windsor where she delighted in the flowers in the garden. Yet, she was unhappy, and she wrote, “We go on vegetating as we have done for the last twenty years of our lives.”1 It was 1808, and she was now 38 years old. She began taking walks at 8 in the morning, “for the sake of not losing the use of my legs.”2 She was surprised to receive an offer of marriage from the exiled Duke of Orléans that year, but he was a Catholic so it could not be. Elizabeth wrote, “Without being a perfect good daughter, I never can make a good wife.”3 For a while though, she had the hope of becoming a wife and mother and secretly hoped the match would be able to go ahead.

The death of her younger sister Amelia in 1810 seemed to be the final straw for the King’s delicate health. A regency would now definitely be required. Elizabeth wrote, “Distress and misery has so long been my lot that I have no longer the power of tears.”4 The Prince of Wales became the Prince Regent on 5 February 1811. The Prince Regent was generous to his sisters and settled an additional £9,000 a year on them, plus a new carriage, a page and a footman. The sisters could also appoint a new lady each on half-duty. Elizabeth wrote of the changes, “You may depend that we do not intend doing anything extravagant or silly, we only wish to have that degree of liberty which is right… The trials of these years have made me more sedate and more willing to yield on many points that I ever was.”5

Then in early 1818 came the biggest surprise of all – a suitor. The Hereditary Prince of Hesse-Homburg asked for Elizabeth’s hand. As 48, she could hardly be expected to provide an heir, but the Prince had several brothers who could succeed him. Elizabeth wanted freedom, and her dowry could have a significant effect on Hesse-Homburg. However, Queen Charlotte was vehemently against the match, leaving Elizabeth broken-hearted after difficult arguments.  After several weeks of talking to, Queen Charlotte eventually came around. On 7 April 1818, Elizabeth – dressed in white – married her Prince in the drawing-room of the Queen’s House. The following weeks, her brothers the Dukes of Clarence, Kent and Cambridge all married in order to solve the succession crisis that had arisen following the death of the Prince Regent’s daughter in childbirth.

Bad Homburg/Photo by Moniek Bloks

Elizabeth had departed her homeland with her mother in a bad state of health. In August 1818, she wrote from Homburg, “Alas, all my letters are daggers to my heart when I read of the state of my mother.”6 The end came on 18 November 1818. Elizabeth wrote, “That the whole nation would for ever mourn the loss of a person who had… performed every duty by it, as well as by her own – and that morals, conduct and decency would be at an end.”7 The following year, the future Queen Victoria was born, but she would not know her father as he would die on 23 January 1820. This was quickly followed by the death of Elizabeth’s father King George III on 29 January. Elizabeth also suffered the loss of her father-in-law on 20 January, and she became the new Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg.

At the end of 1820, Elizabeth was finally able to see her sister Charlotte again after more than 20 years apart. She went to stay with her in Ludwigsburg over Christmas. She was shocked to find her sister obese and an invalid – she was carried everywhere in an armchair. Once back in Homburg, Elizabeth and her husband set about improving their estate, despite the mounting debts. Over the years, Elizabeth would return to Ludwigsburg several times, and the death of her sister in 1828 hit her hard. Her happy marriage came to an end on 2 April 1829 when her husband died of influenza and complications of an old leg wound. Elizabeth wrote, “No woman was ever more happy than I was for eleven years, and they will often be lived over again in the memory of the heart.”8 On 26 June 1830, her brother King George IV also died and was succeeded by their brother who now became King William IV. Elizabeth had just been on her way to England to see him.

She stayed in England quite a while and did not return to Homburg until the following summer. Now widowed, Elizabeth supported several projects in Homburg, including several charities. Her apartments in the castle of Bad Homburg became known as the English wing. She loved spending time with the children of her brother-in-law, but the family kept to themselves a lot, much to Elizabeth’s sadness. She also hardly knew her niece, Princess Victoria, despite several visits to England over the years. King William IV died on 20 June 1837, and he was succeeded by the 18-year-old Victoria.

Elizabeth invested her time with the building of a spa at Bad Homburg, and even the unpleasantness of her brother-in-law’s Philip’s morganatic marriage could not deter her. She wrote, “I will do all in my power make [the new Princess] happy, for Philip’s sake. […] I made her sit next to me to let them see how very well I was with her.”9 Elizabeth resigned herself to her old age and wrote, “I say to you with truth that no one enjoys their old age more than me, and am convinced that I have been a much happier being since the spring and summer of my life are over.”10

In early summer 1839, Queen Victoria sent her aunt a portrait of herself and Elizabeth wrote to her in thanks, “I sent it up to my sister-in-law Louise to look at as she could not come down to me… I never trouble you with letters feeling you must be rejoiced not to be plagued with them from places you know nothing about.”11 On 10 January 1840, Elizabeth died “without any suffering” at the age of 69 in her “miserable pied-à-tierre”12 in Frankfurt. She had been alone except for her lady and a maid. Her coffin was brought from Frankfurt to Homburg on a catafalque drawn by black-plumed horses. She was buried in the Hesse-Homburg family vault.

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Elizabeth of the United Kingdom – A wish for freedom (Part one)

Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom was born on 22 May 1770 – exactly 250 years ago today – as the third daughter and seventh child of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her elder siblings were the future King George IV, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, the future King William IV, Charlotte, Princess Royal, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn – the father of Queen Victoria, and Princess Augusta. Her younger siblings were Ernest Augustus, later King of Hanover, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, Princess Sophia, Prince Octavius (died in childhood), Prince Alfred (died in childhood) and Princess Amelia.

Elizabeth was born at Buckingham Palace, then known as Buckingham House. She was christened in the Great Council Chamber at St. James’s Palace on 17 June 1770. One of her godmothers was Carolina of Orange-Nassau, her paternal first cousin-once-removed. Elizabeth and her two elder sisters were put under the care of a governess and a sub-governess. All three Princesses were praised for their retentive memory. She was described at the age of four with the words, “Princess Elizabeth is a lovely little fat sensible thing and so tidy that she never leaves her needles, or a scrap of work without putting them all in a tiny bag, for the purpose.”1

In the spring of 1780, Elizabeth suffered from disfiguring boils and she and some of her siblings were taken to the seaside for their health. She spent her time reading the psalms and doing various lessons. She was also recognised for her talent for drawing. She would eventually publish several books with her own engravings. In 1785, all six Princesses came down with whooping cough, but they were generally in good health. Elizabeth once became extremely ill and was diagnosed with an inflammation on her lungs with severe spasms. Her parents feared for her life, and she was bled twice in 48 hours. It was thought that she only had days to live until she suddenly recovered. She spent much of 1786 recovering at Kew and would not be entirely well for another two years. She would later call it her “great illness.”2 She spent a lot of time reading and drawing and began learning to play the harpsichord. In November 1786 she wrote to her brother Augustus, “Having been some length of time separated from all the family, as well as masters, I now must make up for the time I have been without them.”3

By then, her father had begun to suffer from recurrent bouts of ill-health, which have still have no settled diagnosis. At the end of 1788, he had a hysteric fit and said to Elizabeth, “You know what it is to be nervous but was you ever so bad as this?” She answered, “Yes” and he seemed to calm down a bit.4 He soon experienced delirium and “an entire alienation of mind.”5 Elizabeth’s mother suffered under the situation and seemed unable to handle it all. Rumours soon spread that the King’s illness was hereditary, and this could possibly affect the Princesses’ marital prospects. When he subsequently (temporarily) recovered, the Princesses were over the moon and launched themselves into the celebrations. In 1789, the three elder sisters accompanied their father and mother for a “few dips in the sea.” 6

As Elizabeth and her sisters grew older, their father’s unwillingness to part with them became apparent. He said, “I cannot deny that I have never wished to see any of them marry: I am happy in their company, and do not in the least want a separation.”7 Queen Charlotte was more open in her approach, saying “For every one of them have at different times assured me that, happy as they are, they should like to settle if they could, and I feel I cannot blame them.”8 In an attempt to keep the King’s illness at bay, the subject of marriage became rather taboo in their household, and the Princesses became even more sheltered. Meanwhile, their brothers were making their way in the world.

In 1791, Elizabeth’s elder brother the Duke of York married Princess Frederica of Prussia, and in 1795, the Prince of Wales made an unhappy marriage to Caroline of Brunswick. In 1793, the Duke of Sussex married in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772, Lady Augusta Murray. The Princess of Wales gave birth to a daughter named Charlotte in early 1796, but due to the unhappy state of the marriage, she would be the couple’s only child and her parents soon separated. Elizabeth was on her brother’s side and wrote, “You should never yield to the Princess, and she must submit which every woman ought.”9 For one of the Princesses, there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Marriage negotiations were taking place for the Princess Royal (Charlotte) to marry Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Württemberg. Elizabeth wrote, “My sister is very well pleased with him, and I really think he appears delighted with her. He has a very handsome countenance, is certainly very large – but very light with it and a most excellent manner. In short, we are all very pleased with him.”10 They were finally married on 18 May 1797.

As the King’s illness became harder to manage and after a particularly difficult episode where he was put in a straitjacket day and night, Elizabeth devoted her time to her mother. She wrote afterwards, “I have never quitted my mother’s room morning noon or night… I am told I am very much altered, look 20 years older. So adieu to looks of any kind, mes beaux jours sont passes. (my beautiful days have gone).”11

Read part two here.

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Faustina the Elder – Posthumous prominence

Annia Galeria Faustina, known as Faustina the Elder, was born in October, probably sometime in the 90s. Her father was Marcus Annius Verus, and her mother was Rupilia Faustina, who may have been the half-sister of Empress Sabina. The family was a wealthy, noble one from Spain. Her father was one of the richest men of the Roman Empire. Faustina had two brothers named Verus and Libo and may have also had a sister named Annia.

Most of the images of Faustina show her with an oval face, rounded lips and a prominent nose. An elaborate hairstyle with numerous thin braids tied together in a nest-shaped coil on top her head also features heavily. These elaborate hairstyles were considered to be a symbol of status as only upper-class woman could afford the money and time needed.

By Caroline Léna Becker; cropped and enhanced by QuartierLatin1968 – This file was derived from:  Buste de Faustine l’Ancienne 3.jpg:, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The childless Emperor Hadrian, Faustina’s maternal uncle by marriage, was forced to adopt his successor. His first choice was Aelius Ceasor who died before he could succeed. The next chosen successor was a 51-year old senator with the name Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus. He would marry Faustina around the year 110, and they would go on to have four children together.

Their eldest child was a daughter named Aurelia Fadilla, who lived long enough to marry a man named Lamia Silanus. However, she died in the early 130s before her father’s accession. Two sons named Aurelius Antoninus and Galerius Antoninus died in early childhood. Their youngest daughter Annia Galeria Faustina lived to adulthood and became Empress of Rome as the wife of Marcus Aurelius.

Emperor Hadrian died on 10 July 138 and Antoninus became Emperor with Faustina as his Empress. She was accorded the status of Augusta. He immediately asked for his predecessor to be deified, but this request was denied. Eventually, the name “Pius” –  the Pious one – was bestowed up Antoninus for his efforts. Hadrian had also not only chosen Antoninus as his successor, but he had also chosen Antoninus’ successors. Antoninus was told to adopt Lucius Verus (son of the Aelius Ceasar – Hadrian’s first choice as his successor) and Marcus Aurelius, who was his and Faustina’s nephew. Since Lucius Verus was quite a bit younger than their daughter, she ended up marrying Marcus Aurelius. They were formally betrothed in 139, and Lucius Verus eventually married their daughter Lucilla.

Faustina only enjoyed her Imperial status for about two years. She died in October or November 140, from unknown causes. She was probably still only in her early forties. Antoninus was devastated, and he would continue to honour her memory for the next two decades of his reign. Faustina was deified and called “Diva Faustina” on the imperial coinage that was issued in her memory. She was worshipped in a new cult with its own priesthood, by decree of the senate. A temple was dedicated to her in the Roman Forum, and several gold and silver statues were set up. Antoninus also founded a charitable organisation in her name for the benefit of poor Italian girls, called the Puellae Faustinianae (Faustina’s girls). It provided them with financial support and a free education. A surviving letter from Antoninus to a friend states, “In truth, I would rather live with her on Gyara (a desolate island) than in the palace without her.”

Her husband outlived her until 161, and he was succeeded by Marcus Aurelius and his daughter Faustina the Younger.1

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The Bonaparte Women: Maria Cristina Ruspoli and her daughters

Maria Cristina Ruspoli was born on 25 July 1842 in Rome as the daughter of Giovanni Nepomucene Ruspoli, 5th Prince of Cerveteri and Barbara dei Principi Massimo. She was their second child and eldest daughter. On 25 November 1859, she married Napoléon Charles Bonaparte, 5th Prince of Canino, the son of Charles Lucien Bonaparte – a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, and his wife and first cousin, Zénaïde Bonaparte. She died on 12 February 1907.

They went on to have three daughters together.

Princess Zénaïde Eugénie Bonaparte (1860–1862)

Little Zénaïde was born on 29 September 1860 in Rome but she would die shortly before her second birthday on 14 September 1862.

Princess Mary Léonie Eugénie Mathilde Jeanne Julie Zénaïde Bonaparte 

Mary Léonie was born on 10 December 1870 in Rome, ten years after the birth of her elder sister. On 25 November 1891, she married Enrico Gotti, a general in the Italian army. He was killed in 1920 at the Battle of Vlora in Albania. He and Mary Léonie had no children together and Mary survived him for 27 years, dying some time in 1947.

Princess Eugénie Laetitia Barbe Caroline Lucienne Marie Jeanne Bonaparte

Eugénie Laetitia was born on 6 September 1872 as the third and last child. On 16 November 1898, she married Léon Napoléon Ney, 4th Prince de la Moskowa in Rome. They had no children together. She was widowed on 21 October 1928 and she outlived her husband for 19 years, dying some time in 1949.

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Margaret of France – The flower of the French

Margaret of France was born around 1279 as the youngest child of Philip III of France and his second wife, Marie of Brabant. She was thus the half-sister of Philip IV of France. Margaret was still only around six years old when her father died in 1285, and her half-brother Philip became her guardian, and she grew up at court under the guidance of her mother and her sister-in-law, Queen Joan I of Navarre.

Meanwhile, her future husband King Edward I of England was fighting a war in Scotland when Margaret’s half-brother invaded Gascony. Eager to retain Gascony, he was open to a marriage between himself and one of Philip’s sisters and between his surviving son Edward and Philip’s daughter Isabella. Margaret’s elder sister Blanche was considered first, but soon Margaret became the focus of the negotiations. Margaret was around 20 years old when she married the 60-year-old Edward. He had previously been married to Eleanor of Castile.

Margaret arrived at Dover in September 1299, and she travelled on to Canterbury where she and Edward were married in person on 10 September 1299. As her marriage meant an ending to the conflict in Gascony, her arrival was popular, and a contemporary Song of the Scottish Wars commented, “ext the king returns, that he may marry Queen Margaret, the flower of the French; through her, the kingdoms receive a more complete peace. Anger begets slaughter, concord nourishes love – when love buds between great princes, it drives away bitter sobs from their subjects.” Despite their age difference, it seems to have been a happy marriage.

Margaret did not receive a coronation after her wedding as her husband had to return to Scotland. However, as Margaret often accompanied her husband on campaigns, she fell pregnant quickly. She apparently continued to hunt until late in her pregnancy. Their first son Thomas of Brotherton was born on 1 June 1300 while she was still on the road. She named her son Thomas in honour of Thomas à Becket, to whom she had prayed during the delivery. A second son named Edmund of Woodstock was born on 5 August 1301. A daughter named Eleanor died young. Margaret, who was fond of music, hired musicians to entertain her sons with various instruments.

Like most royal mothers, Margaret was often away from her sons, but she remained in close contact. She was kept informed of their wellbeing and diet. The close relationship between Margaret and Edward shows itself in the intercessions she made, like between her husband and his heir – the future Edward II. The younger Edward wrote to her frequently, asking her to intercede with his father. Margaret’s only apparent vice appears to have been her extravagance.

She was not with her husband when he died on 7 July 1307 at Burgh-by-Sands on his way to Scotland. She never considered remarrying, even though she was still quite young. She also remained in the public eye and on 22 January 1308, she joined her stepson King Edward II during his trip to France to marry her niece Isabella. They were married on 25 January at Boulogne, and Margaret finally saw her brother and mother again. They returned to England for the joint coronation of Isabella and Edward on 25 February. Margaret decided to retire to Marlborough Castle after the coronation, possibly as a sign of disapproval of Edward showing too much favour towards his favourite Piers Gaveston. She may have even sent money to the Earls of Lincoln and Pembroke to fund his deposition. She must have been horrified by her niece’s treatment.

Margaret’s last public appearance was at the birth of the future King Edward III at Windsor on 13 November 1312. She had arrived two months before the birth and stayed until after the christening.

She died on 14 February 1318 at Marlborough Castle of an unspecified illness. She was still only in her late 30s. She was buried at Christ Church Greyfriars in London, but nothing remains of her tomb. 1

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Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown by J.F. Andrews Book Review

There are many what-ifs in history, and perhaps the lost Kings and Queens are the most interesting ones; a single life that could have potentially altered the history of the world. Or in this case, the history of England as Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown covers only English history.

Of the ten chapters, only three include women, the most important being, of course, Empress Matilda whose son eventually became King Henry II. The second woman is Mary of Blois, a daughter of King Stephen. The third is Eleanor of Brittany, the eldest daughter of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, the fourth son of King Henry II of England, who had a claim to England, Anjou, and Aquitaine as well as Brittany after the death of her younger brother. She was imprisoned for 39 years long years and was perceived as a threat, despite having little support. The other potential heirs in the book are, unsurprisingly, male.

Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown is an interesting book that covers quite a few people. It’s very easy to read and has a nice flow to it. I really enjoyed reading it, despite it having so few women in it. Overall, I’d highly recommend it.

There is just one question that keeps nagging me. Why use a pseudonym, dear J.F. Andrews…. whoever you are!

Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown by J.F. Andrews is available now in the UK and the US.

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Lost Kingdoms: Kingdom of Württemberg

The Kingdom of Württemberg in present-day Germany existed from 1805 to 1918. It was preceded by the Duchy and Electorate of Württemberg and Frederick II, Duke of Württemberg, took the title of King Frederick I on 1 January 1806.

By Milenioscuro – Own work based on: File:Deutsches Reich (Karte) Württemberg.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Frederick’s first wife was Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and they had three surviving children together before they were separated. Augusta died in 1788 after going into premature labour with a child by her lover. On 18 May 1797, Frederick married Charlotte, Princess Royal and they had one stillborn daughter together. She was thus the first Queen of Württemberg. Frederick died in 1816, and he was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, now King William I.

William’s first marriage to Caroline Augusta of Bavaria had ended in divorce in 1814. They had had no children together. She went on to marry Emperor Francis I of Austria. Shortly before succeeding his father in 1816, he remarried to his first cousin Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, the widow of Duke George of Oldenburg. They had two daughters together, Maria and Sophie. She would die six months after the birth of Sophie of pneumonia. In 1820, he remarried to another first cousin Duchess Pauline of Württemberg, and they had two daughters and a son together. William reigned for 48 years and was succeeded by his only son, now King Charles I.

Charles had married Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna of Russia in 1846, but their marriage remained childless. When he died in 1891, he was succeeded by a male-line descendant of King William I’s brother Paul, who also happened the son of his sister Catherine, now King William II.

William’s first wife was Marie of Waldeck and Pyrmont. They had one surviving daughter, and Marie died before he became King after giving birth to a stillborn daughter. Four years after Marie’s death, he married Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe. They would have no children together. In 1918, William was deposed along with several other German monarchs. He and Charlotte were thus the last King and Queen of Württemberg.

With William’s death in 1921, the royal house became extinct, but the headship of the House of Württemberg went to a descendant of King Frederick I’s second youngest brother Alexander, and the line is currently represented by Carl, Duke of Württemberg. Charlotte survived her husband for 25 years.

 

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Amalia of Nassau-Dietz – Trapped in her own mind

Amalia of Nassau-Dietz was born on 23 October 1710 as the daughter of Johan Willem Friso of Nassau-Dietz, who succeeded King William III of England as Prince of Orange in 1702, and Landgravine Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel. She was born in Leeuwarden in the Netherlands and had a younger brother, William IV, Prince of Orange, who was born in 1711.

Amalia would never know her father. In April 1711, he left for the front and tragedy struck on his return journey. On 14 July 1711, he tried to cross the Hollands Diep by ferry during a storm. He was thrown from the ferry and disappeared into the waves. His body was found a week later. Six weeks later Marie Louise gave birth to their son, who immediately became Prince of Orange. Amalia and her little brother grew up at the Stadholderly Court in Leeuwarden while their mother became regent. Both Amalia and William were considered to be good students. However, Amalia was considered to be quite introverted and often melancholic.

Amalia would be part of marriage negotiations from a young age, and a husband was found for her in Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Baden-Durlach. During negotiations, it was decided that any sons they may have would be raised Lutheran, while any daughters would be raised in the Reformed religion. The wedding took place on 8 September 1727, shortly before Amalia’s 17th birthday.

Shortly after arriving in Baden-Durlach, Amalia became homesick, and her new husband worriedly wrote to his mother-in-law that Amalia wasn’t doing well. On 22 November 1728, Amalia gave birth to her first child – a son named Charles Frederick. Despite this happy occasion, Amalia’s condition deteriorated further. Her mother wrote, “You become enraged by every little thing, to me and everyone who approaches you. You want to live your life without any order, you turn days into nights, your moods have no boundaries. You should keep to the times of the religious services, you should be friendly and forthcoming to your husband, be obedient to your parents-in-law and keep order in your daily life and finances.”

In 1730, Amalia was able to return to the Netherlands to visit her mother at Soestdijk Palace. She reportedly cried of relief as she crossed the border. Once back in Baden-Durlach, she suffered from headaches, and she wrote that she was unable to do her embroidery. She gave birth to a second son named William Louis on 14 January 1732. After that, things went downhill fast.

Amalia began to suffer from religious delusions and had angry outbursts before becoming completely limp, making people think she had died. They sent her to take waters at several spas, but nothing helped. To make matters even worse, her husband became ill, and he died on 26 March 1732 – still only 29 years old. Amalia was moved to Karlsburg Castle in Durlach where she would be cared for by twenty people. When her brother William visited her in 1734, he wrote home that Amalia was completely apathetic in a dark room, drinking coffee. She did recognise him but randomly asked him what religion he practised before going into an angry tirade. Over time, Amalia became even more isolated as she was the calmest when no one was around. She spent her time writing letters that made no sense. She often mumbled to herself and grimaced. Often she would not recognise those around her, and she would also attack those who cared for her.

Amalia spent 45 lonely years at Karlsburg Castle in Durlach before dying on 18 September 1777.1

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The Year of Queen Wilhelmina – Wilhelmina escapes to England

The Netherlands had been neutral during the First World War, but the German invasion on 10 May 1940 changed everything. Juliana and her two daughters had been sleeping in a shelter by Huis ten Bosch, and Wilhelmina ordered her heir to leave the country. The initial plan was for her and her daughters to go to Paris, but that was soon no longer an option. England was plan B.

In the early morning of 10 May, Wilhelmina issued a proclamation protesting the attack on the Netherlands and the violation of the neutrality. Huis ten Bosch, with its rural setting, was considered to be too vulnerable to an attack and so Wilhelmina moved to Noordeinde Palace, which is located in the centre of The Hague. They would spend the nights in a shelter in the gardens of Noordeinde Palace. On 12 May, Juliana and her family finally managed to board a British ship. The goodbye between mother and daughter was difficult. Bernhard accompanied his wife and daughters to England, but he was also an officer in the army and felt that he should be staying. Bernhard immediately returned to the Netherlands when Juliana was safely in London.

Queen Wilhelmina had been told by her cabinet that she should be leaving the country as well. In the early hours of 13 May, Wilhelmina received a visit from General Winkelman, who told her that the situation was dire. Wilhelmina spoke on the phone with King George VI of the United Kingdom before bursting into tears in the shelter. There was no other option left – she would need to go as soon as possible. Wilhelmina boarded the HMS Hereward at Hook of Holland and initially wanted to travel to the province of Zeeland. This turned out to be impossible, and the HMS Hereward set sail for England.

Wilhelmina later wrote in her memoirs, “Of course I was fully aware of the shattering impression that my departure would make at home, but I considered myself obliged, for the sake of the country, to accept the risk of appearing to have resorted to ignominious flight. If the guerilla against the parachute troops had not cut off all connections with the army fighting on the Grebbe, I could have joined it to share the fate of the soldier and, as William III put it, to be the last man to fall in the last ditch. I knew that this was not granted to me either.”1

Later that day, Queen Wilhelmina arrived at Harwich, where the British authorities had already arranged for a train to London. Wilhelmina wrote, “At the station, I was met by King George and by my children, who were very upset and did not understand that I should have had to follow them so soon. The King asked me to be the guest of himself and the Queen, and escorted me to Buckingham Palace.”2

The following day, she issued another proclamation telling the people that the government had to be moved abroad. “Do not despair. Do everything that is possible for you to do in the country’s best interest. We shall do our best. Long live the fatherland!”3

On 24 May, Wilhelmina spoke on the radio for the first time. From July, the BBC broadcasted Radio Oranje (Orange) where Wilhelmina spoke 34 times over the course of the war to encourage the Dutch people. It was illegal for the Dutch people to listen to the broadcasts and many did so in secret. King George VI was most impressed by Wilhelmina, calling her “a remarkable woman and wonderfully courageous.”4 However, Wilhelmina knew she would not be able to stay in Buckingham Palace indefinitely and by the end of the month, she was looking at other possibilities. It was decided that Juliana and her children should go to Canada for their safety but Wilhelmina wanted to stay in London. Her daughter’s absence hit her hand during those first few weeks and she was often, understandably, emotional.

Queen Wilhelmina eventually moved to Eaton Square 82, “a grand and dark London house.”5 While she spent most of her time in exile in England, she also visited the United States in 1942 and addressed a joint session of the United States Congress. She also visited her daughter in Canada a few times, like for the baptism of Princess Margriet on 29 June 1943.

She was finally able to return to a semi-liberated Netherlands in March 1945 before returning officially on 2 May 1945.

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Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra – The unknown Princess of Liechtenstein

Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra was born on 21 June 1776 as the daughter of Joachim Egon, Landgrave of Fürstenberg-Weitra and Countess Sophia Maria of Oettingen-Wallerstein. Fürstenberg-Weitra was a cadet branch of the princely House of Fürstenberg, which became extinct in 1932.

At the age of 15 – on 12 April 1792 – Josepha married Prince Johann Joseph of Liechtenstein, the second surviving son of Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein. She would spend the next 24 years in almost continual pregnancies, giving birth to 14 children in total.

Princess Maria Leopoldine (1793 – 1808)
Princess Karoline (1795 – died in infancy)
Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1796–1858)
Princess Sophie (1798 – 1869)
Princess Maria Josepha (1800 – 1884)
Prince Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein (1802–1887)
Prince Karl Johann of Liechtenstein (1803–1871)
Princess Klothilda (1804 – 1807)
Princess Henriette (1806 – 1886)
Prince Friedrich Adalbert (1807 – 1885)
Prince Eduard Franz of Liechtenstein (1809–1864)
Prince August Ludwig (1810 – 1824)
Princess Ida Leopoldine (1811 – 1884)
Prince Rudolf (1816 – 1848)

Her father-in-law died on 18 August 1781 and was succeeded by her brother-in-law Aloys I, Prince of Liechtenstein. He had married Karoline von Manderscheid-Blankenheim in 1783, but although she had two children with her lover, their marriage remained childless. Aloys died on 24 March 1805 and was thus succeeded by Josepha’s husband, who now became Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein.

Liechtenstein became a sovereign member state of the Holy Roman Empire and was elevated to the dignity of a principality in 1719 by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor. However, the subsequent Princes of Liechtenstein did not visit their new lands for almost 100 years. After the Holy Roman Empire came to an end in 1806, Liechtenstein’s Prince became a vassal of Napoleon Bonaparte as a member of the Confederation of the Rhine. However, this too came to an end in 1813. They then joined the German Confederation, which was presided over by the Emperor of Austria. It was Josepha’s son Aloys who became the first member of the family to set foot in the principality that he would later rule. He visited in 1818, and another visit did not happen until 1842. The family lived mostly in Vienna, where they had two palaces. The Stadtpalais Liechtenstein was in the centre of the city, and they lived there during the winter. The Gartenpalais was used during the summer.

Josepha was acquainted with Ludwig van Beethoven and was probably even a pupil of his. He dedicated to her the Sonata in E flat (op. 27 No. 1 “Quasi una fantasia”). Josepha was widowed on 20 April 1836, and she outlived her husband for 12 years. Josepha died in Vienna on 23 February 1848 at the age of 71. She was buried alongside her husband in the Liechtenstein family crypt in Wranau in the Czech Republic.

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