Moniek Bloks's Blog, page 191

Lucrezia Borgia – A Renaissance Duchess (Part one)

Lucrezia Borgia was born on 18 April 1480 in the fortress of Subiaco as the illegitimate daughter of Vannozza dei Cattanei and Cardinal Rodrigo de Borgia, who would become Pope Alexander VI in 1492. Rodrigo fathered eight or maybe even nine children. He had a total of three children with Vannozza, and Lucrezia had two elder brothers, Cesare and Juan. Vannozza married two times while having an affair with Rodrigo and once more after it all ended. A fourth child – Jofre – was also possibly Rodrigo’s. Lucrezia and her mother were never close.

Due to her illegitimate birth, we know very little about Lucrezia’s early childhood. She probably spent her first years in her mother’s house in Rome, and she probably received her education in the Dominican convent of San Sisto. She spent a lot of time with Adriana de Mila, who was her father’s first cousin, and when her father became Pope, they were moved to the Palazzo Santa Maria in Portico near the Vatican. She was closest to her brother Cesare, and he would later even be accused of incest with her. But even before her father became Pope, Lucrezia was already promised in marriage to Querubi de Centelles, the son of the Count of Oliva. However, Querubi married someone else just two months later, and Lucrezia was duly betrothed to Don Gaspar de Procida, son of the Count of Almenera and Aversa. This betrothal was cancelled the following year.

Her third betrothal to Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro, was signed on 2 February 1493, and the wedding was performed by proxy. Lucrezia was just 12 years old while Giovanni was 26 – and a widower. They were married in person on 12 June 1493. Due to her age, there was no bedding ceremony, and her father had ordered that the marriage was not to be consummated before November. They moved to the princely palace in Pesaro. But with her father’s strategic planning and need for alliances, Giovanni soon outlived his usefulness. Lucrezia sought refuge with the nuns of the San Sisto convent, probably to escape the tensions in the family. Her father soon sought to dissolve the marriage on the grounds of non-consummation.

As Lucrezia sat in the convent, a tragedy took place. Her elder brother Juan disappeared during the night, and his body was eventually recovered from the river with nine stab wounds. However, her brother’s murder simply delayed plans for a new marriage for Lucrezia. Her new husband was to be Alfonso, the natural son of King Alfonso II of Naples and his mistress Trogia Gazzela. Giovanni Sforza refused to agree to the Pope’s terms as the non-consummation was offensive to his honour, but he finally relented at the end of 1497. Lucrezia did not seem to have minded much.

On 14 February 1498, the body of one Pedro Calderon was discovered in the Tiber. He was almost certainly Lucrezia’s lover, and a month later, a report appeared alleging that Lucrezia had given birth to a child. The timing of the birth of a child led to rumours that the so-called Infans Romanus was Lucrezia’s son, but he was probably her father’s child, and Lucrezia later treated him as her half-brother. If Lucrezia gave birth to a child at all around this time, we don’t know what happened to it.

Lucrezia’s next wedding could now go ahead, and Alfonso was given the Duchy of Bisceglie and the lands of Corato while Lucrezia received a dowry of 40,000 ducats. There was a greater goal to this wedding as her father wanted a stepping stone to a greater marriage still – that of Cesare to Charlotte of Naples, the legitimate daughter of King Frederick of Naples. Lucrezia and Alfonso were married on 21 July 1498, and this time the marriage was undoubtedly consummated. Lucrezia soon found herself pregnant with her first child, but she suffered a miscarriage in February after a fall. She was pregnant again when news arrived that Cesare had not married Charlotte of Naples – who had refused him – but had instead married Charlotte d’Albert, the sister of King John III of Navarre. Lucrezia’s second husband fell victim to the switching alliances as well, and he left for Naples, though he begged Lucrezia to join him. Lucrezia was forced to write to him, asking him to return, and her father sent her out of Rome to act as Governor of Spoleto for her own safety. She was by then six months pregnant. Alfonso returned to his wife but headed straight for Spoleto.  They returned to Rome together on 14 October and 1 November 1499, she gave birth to a son named Rodrigo for her father.

On 15 July 1500, Alfonso was attacked by “persons unknown” on the steps of St. Peter’s, and although he survived the attack, he was severely injured. Lucrezia prepared his food for fear of poison and only the doctor sent by the King of Naples was allowed to attend on him. On 18 August, he was suffocated in his bed, and it seemed clear that Cesare had ordered the attack in revenge for a supposed attempt on his own life. Lucrezia did not accept this excuse, and by early September, she had packed up her stuff and left for Nepi to mourn. By then, her father was probably already planning her third marriage. The day after her husband’s funeral, Cesare visited Lucrezia, although it is unclear if she forgave him then, but they would remain close.

Her third husband would be the widowed Alfonso I d’Este, the future Duke of Ferrara, a very good catch indeed. But his father Ercole was appalled, Lucrezia was hardly a good match, and he was well-informed of the fates of her first two husbands. He was eventually persuaded after his first two choices fell through. On 1 September 1501, the wedding by proxy took place. She was eager to leave for Ferrara to consummate the marriage, but there was one problem – she would have to leave her young son behind. She was realistic enough to realise that it was necessary as he was a reminder of her past. She wrote to her father-in-law that she would do everything possible to serve him. After intense negotiations in which Lucrezia participated, she finally left for Ferrara on 6 January 1502.1

Part two coming soon.

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The Lost Queen: The Life & Tragedy of the Prince Regent’s Daughter by Anne Stott Book Review

Princess Charlotte of Wales was born into tragedy as the only child of parents who had been at war since the moment they married. That Charlotte was born at all seems to be nothing short of a miracle. As the only legitimate child of the Prince of Wales (the future George IV) and Caroline of Brunswick, Charlotte was destined to become Queen one day. She fought her way to freedom, through the stifling circumstances of warring parents and unwanted marriage partners.

She found love with Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (who would – long after her death – become the first King of the Belgians) and finally had some happiness in her life. But as tragically as it began, it would end… Charlotte died shortly after giving birth to a stillborn son.

The Lost Queen: The Life & Tragedy of the Prince Regent’s Daughter by Anne M Stott brings Charlotte back to life, as she deserves. You can tell that the book has been thoroughly researched and it is well-written. As a reader, I continued to have hope for a different outcome, despite knowing better.

The Lost Queen: The Life & Tragedy of the Prince Regent’s Daughter by Anne Stott will be available in the UK on 30 January, followed by the US on 3 May.

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King Albert II of Belgium recognises Delphine Boël as his natural daughter

After a lengthy legal procedure filed by Delphine Boël, King Albert II of Belgium has recognised her as his natural daughter. Although there isn’t any royal title in it for Delphine, she has been fighting to be recognised as his daughter for many years. She also wasn’t after the King’s money, as her (formally) legal father Jacques Boël is presumed to be much richer than the King.

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King Albert’s statement reads:

“His Majesty King Albert II has learned of the results of the DNA-test which he took part in at the request of the Court of Appeals of Brussels. The scientific conclusions state that he is the biological father of Mrs Delphine Boel. Even if there are legal arguments and objections to justify the fact that legal paternity is not necessarily a reflection of biological paternity and that he questions the procedure that was followed, King Albert has decided to concede and end this painful procedure in all honour and conscience. King Albert wishes to point out that he has not been involved in any familial, social or educational decision since the birth of Mrs Delphine Boel and that he has always respected the link that existed between Mrs Delphine Boel and her legal father. Over forty years later, Mrs Delphine Boel decided to end her legal and social-emotional bond with her father and to change her family. And with a long, painful procedure full of legal contradictions at that. This procedure has not respected the privacy of the parties. With respect for the legal institutions, King Albert has refrained from interfering in debates outside of the courtroom. That is why he has decided to respond and to explain his position in this matter.”

Delphine’s mother Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps had a relationship with the future King of the Belgians for many years before all contact was broken off. Sybille’s husband Jacques Boël recognised Delphine as his own child.

With the recognition now in place, King Philippe of the Belgians, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent, officially have a half-sister. Delphine and her partner James O’Hare have a son and a daughter together.

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Sophie of Hohenberg – The insanity of life (Part three)

Read part two here.

Sophie’s husband had survived the war, but they had no news of their eldest son Erwein. They did learn that Sophie’s brothers Max and Ernst and their families had survived and hoped for one more miracle to add to that. Sophie and her family were now seen as collaborators, and everything they owned was taken from them. For Sophie, it was the second time she had lost everything. They were taken to a detention camp in Karlovy Vary. The Austrian consul later arranged for them to be released into the custody of her brother Max at Artstetten, which was under Russian occupation. Max had become the mayor of the village of Artstetten. Sophie tried to use the Russians to find out more about Erwein but to no avail. Ernst sued to have lands taken from him by the Nazis returned to them, and when he won, one-third was transferred to Sophie. Sophie, her husband and their two remaining children, moved to a small cottage near Eisenerz, not far from where Ernst and his family lived.

In 1949, Sophie was finally informed of her eldest son’s fate. He had died as a prisoner of war in a Ukrainian prison camp on 11 September 1949. A year later, she received a visit from a fellow prisoner of his who told her that Erwein had never lost his faith, not even in his dying hours. He had prayed on his rosary until his death. This was a comfort to Sophie, knowing that her son had not been alone when he died. However, she would never be able to bury either Erwein or Franz. On 18 August 1953, her only daughter Sophie married Baron Ernst von Gudenus. In March 1954, her brother Ernst died after suffering a massive heart attack. He was brought to Artstetten to be buried near their parents. Three months later, Sophie became a grandmother for the first time with the birth of Baroness Sophie von Gudenus.

On 8 January 1962, Max too suffered a massive heart attack and passed away. Sophie was now the last remaining sibling. Sophie did not return to Czechoslavakia until 1981. Her surviving son Alois – who had married Countess Theresia von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg in 1962 – and his family accompanied her. Their former country estates were in ruins. She took them to Konopiště – buying her own entrance tickets – to show them the home where she had been born. Sophie had been widowed in 1973 and had moved to Salzburg to be near her family.

On 27 October 1990, Sophie died in her sleep at the age of 89. She and her husband were buried together in the family crypt of her son-in-law in Thannhauser. Her grandson said of her, “My grandmother’s generation had so many losses, so many tragedies, yet they found beauty and laughter and goodness in life, even at the end of her life. She saw nearly everything swept away, but never gave up. I think that generation was sustained by faith and loyalty, a sense of humour, and a deep commitment to family. These were things she inherited from her parents that provided her with the resilience to survive. But her faith, her religion remained the single most important thing in her life. She never doubted that one day she would be reunited with all those she loved. Her ability to withstand the insanity of life and still be standing was a miracle rooted in that faith and family.”1

 

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Queen Elizabeth II surpasses Emperor Franz Joseph I to become fifth longest-reigning monarch in history

Queen Elizabeth II has reached yet another milestone. Just last year, she surpassed Eleanor of Aquitaine, who ruled the Duchy of Aquitaine in her own right, as longest-reigning female ruler. In 2015, she surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria to become the longest-reigning British monarch. Now, she has surpassed Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria to become the fifth longest-reigning monarch in history.

Her Majesty has now been Queen for 24,826 days and counting. She won’t have to wait long for her next milestone. In just 44 days, she’ll beat Pascal the Great, who ruled the state of Palenque in Southern Mexico in the early 7th century for 24,870 days. However, the longest-reigning monarch in history remains King Louis XIV of France and he reigned for 26,407 days. Queen Elizabeth will reach that milestone on 24 May 2024, by which time she’ll be 98 years old.

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Sophie of Hohenberg – The insanity of life (Part two)

Read part one here.

Sophie and her brothers travelled to Vienna with their aunts and uncles and stayed with their stepgrandmother Maria Theresa at the Belvedere, but they were not allowed to attend their parents’ funeral service. A large wreath with a ribbon bearing their names would be the only reminder that there were now three orphans. They were only allowed to pay their respects six hours after the funeral service and were taken to the chapel by their aunt Henriette. Sophie had said, “God wanted Mami and Papi to join Him at the same time; it’s best that they died together because Papi couldn’t live without Mami.”1 They were buried together at Schloss Artstetten and the children followed the coffins there the day after the funeral service in Vienna. They were allowed to attend the service at Artstetten and held hands as they approached the coffins of their parents.

One of their parents’ assassins, Nedeljko Cabrinovic, would issue an apology to the children and Sophie and Max wrote him a letter. They wrote that they forgave him for his part and that his conscience could be at peace. He died of tuberculosis in 1916. In July 1914, Sophie and her brothers last met Emperor Franz Joseph, and Sophie would later describe the meeting as “a bit cool.”2 Most of Franz Ferdinand’s estate went to his nephew Archduke Karl, but Sophie’s personal estate was divided between the three children. Franz Ferdinand’s private estate went to his eldest son Max while Ernst and Sophie received financial settlements. However, there was little cash in the estate, and Franz Joseph eventually settled a stipend on them. Their aunt Henriette became like a second mother to them, and they were also cared for by their aunt Marie and her husband, Prince Thun.

On 21 November 1916, Emperor Franz Joseph died and was succeeded by Archduke Karl. The new Emperor was more kind to the orphaned children, and he approved a new coat of arms and raised Max from the rank of a prince to a duke, and the House of Hohenberg became part of the Empire’s hereditary peerage. The annual stipend was exchanged for two income-producing estates, so their fortunes were no longer dependent on the Empire. In 1918, the Empire came to an end. For their safety, the children were to be moved to Tetschen. Despite protests, they were expelled from Konopiště, and the property was taken from them. Given only minutes to pack, much of their private items were plundered. They were forbidden from setting foot in the country. They began to divide their time between Tetschen, Vienna and Artstetten, though no place ever felt as much like home as Konopiště.

Sophie was the first to get married. She had met her distant cousin Count Friedrich Nostitz-Rieneck when he came to Konopiště in the spring of 1919, and he was with them when they were expelled from Konopiště. Sophie turned 18 that summer and a romance quickly blossomed. They were married on 8 September 1920 in the Chapel of St. George at Prince Thun’s castle in Tetschen. She was allowed to return to the Czech lands – as she was now married to a Czech – and settled into a private life at her husband’s estates of Falkenau and Heinrichsgrun. She gave birth to four children: Erwein in 1921, Franz in 1923, Alois in 1925 and Sophie in 1929. As her brothers could still not enter the country, she saw very little of them. In 1920, the government allowed Sophie to visit Konopiště, which had been opened to the public. She was forced to walk among the tourists but was allowed to retrieve some personal items from her old rooms. In 1926, Max married Countess Maria Elisabeth Bona von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee and Ernst married Marie-Thérèse Wood in 1936. Sophie and her brothers remained in contact as much as they could until 1938 when both brothers were arrested by the Nazis and taken to the Dachau concentration camp.

Meanwhile, Sophie was in Prague and praying for news about her brothers. She offered her sisters-in-law a safe haven in Prague, but they refused to come without their husbands. Sophie tried to negotiate her brothers’ release from Dachau with Heinrich Himmler, and so she travelled to the Gestapo headquarters in Berlin, all alone. She repeatedly returned there, hoping to meet with Himmler. Soon her home in Prague and her husband’s lands were swallowed up in Hitler’s Empire. Sophie – a born Austrian and a Czech by marriage – was designated to be German by Hitler. Their home was searched from top to bottom. Sophie – who had returned home without any news from her brothers – and her husband were interrogated by the Gestapo for hours. Her husband was eventually offered a post in the Wehrmacht Home Guard or the Gestapo – or they would all be imprisoned. He reluctantly joined the Wehrmacht.

In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and the United Kingdom and France declared war. The Second World War had begun, and as Dachau was now needed to train military personnel, Max and Ernst were transferred to Flossenbürg where they were put on latrine duty. The brothers were eventually separated, and Max was released under house arrest. Ernst’s fate would remain unknown to the family for quite a while. Sophie faced more worries yet as her 20-year-old son Erwein and his 18-year-old brother Franz were both drafted into the army.

In 1943, Ernst was released from the horrors of several concentration camps. He returned home a broken man and was still required to work long hours in a Vienna factory. He was forbidden from contacting both Sophie and Max though both Max and Ernst attended the funeral of the stepgrandmother in 1944. In Prague, Sophie and her two remaining children anxiously awaited the arrival of the United States Army. However, they had no idea what would happen when the army reached the city. Her husband was tasked with defending the city to the last man. In February 1945, the news arrived that her second son Franz had been killed fighting the Russians in Poland. She had no idea if her eldest son Erwein was even alive somewhere. By May, it was all over.

Part three coming soon.

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Sophie of Hohenberg – The insanity of life (Part one)

Sophie of Hohenberg was born on 24 July 1901 at Konopiště as the daughter of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his morganatic wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. Her parents’ relationship had had quite a rocky start as her mother, a born Countess Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin, was considered too low-born for the heir presumptive to the Austrian throne. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria had lost his only son in a murder-suicide pact with his mistress in 1889, and upon the death of Franz Ferdinand’s father in 1896, he became first in the line of succession. It took him three years to win the right to marry the love of his life, but only on the condition that the marriage was morganatic – meaning that Sophie would never be his equal and their children would never be allowed to succeed to the throne. They were given the last name Hohenberg. The entire Imperial family boycotted the wedding except for his stepmother Archduchess Maria Theresa (born of Portugal) and his two younger half-sisters.

Young Sophie was their first-born child, and she was joined by two younger brothers Maximilian and Ernest in 1902 and 1904, respectively. According to her, her family home of Konopiště (now in the Czech Republic) “was home, the place of our first memories, the cocoon where all our day to day business took place.”1 The children were close to their parents and were called, “The Little Highnesses” in the household. If Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were away from the children, they made sure to call them every day. Young Sophie later said, “We were always taken with him on every possible occasion whether travelling or when we were old enough out shooting at home.”2 Young Sophie had the nickname “Pinky.”

The mornings were spent at lessons for young Sophie and her brothers. Franz Ferdinand believed that Sophie would be “a thousand times happier at the side of a socially suitable partner whom she loved than was ever possible with those marriages of convenience, which so often went wrong, entered into by princesses of the imperial house.”3 He hoped that they would grow up to be private individuals. Sophie later said, “We were brought up to know that we weren’t anything special.”4 Sophie had her own French governess while her brothers had a tutor. Sophie had inherited the artistic talents from her mother and grew up to be an accomplished painter and pianist. Her brothers were later sent to private school. For Franz Ferdinand, the children were, “my whole delight and pride. I sit with them all day and admire them because I love them so much. And the evenings at home, when I smoke my cigar and read the newspapers; Soph knits, and the children roll around and throw everything from the tables, and it is all so incredibly delightful and cozy!”5 This idyllic family life came to a crashing halt in 1914.

On 23 June 1914, her parents departed for Sarajevo – having spent the last few days with the children. It would be the last time they would see their parents alive. On 28 June 1914 at 10:10 am a hand grenade was thrown at the car Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were travelling in. The grenade missed the passengers and rolled into the street where it exploded. Franz Ferdinand ordered the car to stop as Sophie clutched her neck, she had been struck by a splinter. The car then sped off towards City Hall, where they nevertheless attended a reception. The moment to return to the car came, and Franz Ferdinand refused to wait for the garrison to line the street to protect them, he feared it would not be diplomatic. Sophie refused to ride along in a different car, saying, “No, Franzi, I am going with you.”

At 10:45 am the couple descended the front steps of the city hall, and they set off towards the Appel Quay. The car then went the wrong way, forcing it to stop and reverse. As it was stopped, they came face to face with Gavrilo Princip, who saw Sophie in the car and debated whether he should shoot or not. He later gave contradictory accounts of what happened next. He first claimed to aim at the Archduke, and then he claimed not knowing where he had aimed. He thought he had fired twice, but others heard three shots. One bullet is believed to have gone straight through Franz Ferdinand’s helmet, the other hit Sophie. They were both conscious, and Sophie screamed, “For heaven’s sake, what has happened to you?” She then slumped across her husband’s lap. Franz Ferdinand supposedly managed to utter the words, “Sopherl, Sopherl! Don’t die! Stay alive for our children!” He then slumped forward. Franz Ferdinand was barely conscious as the car raced away from the scene, reportedly repeating, “It is nothing, it is nothing.” Franz Ferdinand died on a chaise longue in a government office and Sophie, who had died in the car during the journey, was laid on an iron bed in an adjoining room.

Sophie and her brothers had just sat for luncheon when the boys’ tutor was suddenly called away from the table. He was informed but decided to wait for Henriette who, as their aunt, was the better person to inform the children, and was on her way. Sophie later recalled, “We ran towards her cheerfully, but she had tears in her eyes.”6 Henriette told them their parents had been wounded and that they should go to church and pray for them. The children did not learn the full truth until the following day. Count Karl von Wuthenau, an uncle, was the one who told young Sophie was had really happened. Sophie recalled, “The anguish was indescribable, and also the feeling of total bewilderment. All our lives, we had known nothing but love and total security. Now suddenly we simply couldn’t imagine what was to become of us.”7

Part two coming soon.

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Greet Hofmans – Queen Juliana’s Rasputin

She was once called the Rasputin of the Dutch Royal family – Greet Hofmans was a faith healer who nearly brought down the Dutch monarchy.

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Greet (Margaretha) Hofmans was born on 23 June 1894 as the eldest daughter of Frits Hofmans and Hermien Penner. She would be one of four siblings. Not much is known about her early years, but we know she became a maid with a family in Amsterdam before slowly working her way up. From 1914 on, she also took care of her mother, who became a paraplegic. She took on the role of carer until her mother’s death in 1929. By then, she had joined the Theosophical Society, and she also joined their camps. In 1933, she began to work for ATEK factories, and at the age of 42, she finally began living on her own in Amsterdam. During the Second World War, she met J.W. Kaiser, who introduced her to the occult and the paranormal. By her own account, she received an “assignment” to help others on 2 March 1946. She reportedly discovered her healing powers by accident when she healed a young boy with tuberculosis. She was led by the spirit of a man named M. Exler – he had died in 1939.

Greet began travelling the country to convey Exler’s messages, and she even moved to Exler’s hometown to follow in his footsteps. In Hattem, she continued her paranormal healings, and soon hundreds of sick people flocked to her. Greet lived on the estate on the estate of Adolphine Agneta Baroness Van Heeckeren van Molecaten-Groeninx van Zoelen who was also entranced by her. The Baroness was also the future grandmaster of Queen Juliana’s household.

The then Princess Juliana had given birth to a fourth daughter – named Marijke Christina (later just Princess Christina) – who had been born nearly blind because her mother had been infected with rubella during the pregnancy. Juliana felt very guilty about the whole situation and tried to fix her daughter’s eyesight. The left eye was completely blind, but the right eye was cloudy. An eye doctor managed to operate on the right eye but could not guarantee that the right eye would not also go blind eventually. Juliana’s husband Prince Bernhard learned of Greet around 1947 or 1948 through contacts connected to the Baroness. He brought the idea of inviting Greet to Soestdijk Palace to his wife, but Juliana first sent a confidant to meet Greet.

Greet first came to Soestdijk Palace in 1948, around the time Juliana became Queen after her mother’s abdication. Greet immediately promised not only to heal the poorly functioning right eye of Princess Christina but also the “dead” left eye. Her confidence won over Queen Juliana who would have done anything for her daughter. As Greet Hofmans’ influence at court grew, she became close friends with Queen Juliana, and soon their circle was expanding. Prince Bernhard soon realised that he had made a grave mistake in bringing Greet to Soestdijk. He told her that she could not stay the night any more, and it earned him the ire of his wife. Soon there were calls to have her removed entirely from the court, but Juliana was deaf to the concerns. Juliana began to hold conferences in the Old Loo Palace, where pacifism and renunciation of the established religions were the main themes. Eleanor Roosevelt – who had been dragged along as a guest to the second conference – referred to them as a bunch of “fanatics.” The situation was becoming worrying, and it was feared that Greet influenced Juliana in the political sense.

It wasn’t until 1956 that the whole situation exploded in the press. Prince Bernhard had seen his marriage go to the edge of the cliff and was even told to go live with his mother by Juliana. They were headed for a divorce – which was unthinkable. It was Prince Bernhard who fought back via Der Spiegel magazine with inside information. He was only leaving Soestdijk Palace “feet first.” A commission was founded to investigate the matter, and they concluded that Greet needed to leave the court.

Juliana was reluctant to let her friend go, and it appeared she was unwilling to follow the conclusions made by the commission. Nevertheless, Greet visited the court for the last time at the end of August. In her Christmas Speech of 1956, Juliana briefly touched on the situation that had affected her so much, saying, “Why do some people attack others through devious means and with untrue claims?”

Juliana never saw Greet again, and her circle of like-minded friends slowly disappeared from the court.

Greet continued to practice as a faith healer – though not quite on such a grand scale, especially after she suffered a skull fracture in a car crash. She died of cancer on 16 November 1968, after refusing treatment.1

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The Year of Queen Wilhelmina – Wilhelmina’s fourth miscarriage

With Wilhelmina’s marriage to Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on 7 February 1901, she and her mother both fervently prayed for healthy children to continue their line. Tragically, Wilhelmina would go on to suffer five miscarriages and only one healthy child was born to Wilhelmina and Henry.

At the end of 1911, Queen Wilhelmina was pregnant again, and she was due in August 1912. However, on 23 January 1912 – three years after the birth of Princess Juliana – Queen Wilhelmina suffered her fourth miscarriage.

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The New York Times reported: “An official communication today confirms the report that the hopes of the birth of an heir to the throne of the Netherlands1 has been shattered. The condition of Queen Wilhelmina, who has been indisposed for some days, is now stated by the physicians in attendance to be satisfactory.”2

Queen Wilhelmina later wrote to her mother-in-law, “It was a difficult time for us in every respect. But God has helped us and given us the strength to get through it.”3

A fifth and final miscarriage would follow in October 1912 – leaving Juliana as the sole heir to the throne.

 

 

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Illegally denying HRH – The Case of the Duchess of Windsor

When Wallis Simpson married The Duke of Windsor on 3 June 1937, she should have become Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Windsor. But, she was denied the style with her husband bitterly commenting that it was a “nice wedding present.” So why was she denied the style of HRH, and how did King George VI manage it?

The letter

In a letter from King George VI to his brother, he explained that he had consulted the heads of the Dominion and Empire countries and that they had advised that they considered that he had lost all royal rank when he abdicated the throne and was no longer entitled to use the title of Prince or the style of HRH. He then explained that he intended to recreate him His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, the Duke of Windsor, adding that he could not and would not extend the style to Wallis who would only be known as the Duchess of Windsor.

Status of the husband

This decision was against the royal practice, and British common law as a wife automatically takes her status from her husband unless her own rank is higher. When Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married the Duke of York (future King George VI), this statement was released: “In accordance with the settled general rule that a wife takes the status of her husband Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on her marriage has become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of York with the status of a Princess.”1 The Duke of Windsor had been assured by his brother that Wallis would become part of the family upon marriage. When he learned of the u-turn, he declared, “My brother promised me there would be no trouble over the trouble! He promised me!” King George VI had faced considerable opposition from both his wife and his mother. They simply would not receive Wallis and demanded that he would find a way to deprive her of becoming an HRH.

Finding a way

King George VI discussed the issue with the British prime minister, Stanley Baldwin, as he believed that once Wallis became a Royal Highness, she would remain one for life even after divorce. He was either unaware of the complexity of the issue or (deliberately?) misinformed. Perhaps he believed that as the sovereign, as Fountain of Honours, all titles, awards and peerages are said to descend via the throne through the monarch. Still, he had no active role in the acquisition of the style of HRH by any of the other royal wives by marriage. King George VI continued to find a way to deprive the style of HRH from Wallis even asking the Home Secretary, the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney-General to find some legal means.

He asked Stanley Baldwin, “Is she a fit and proper to become a Royal Highness after what she has done in this country; and would the country understand it if she became one automatically on marriage? I and my family and Queen Mary all feel that it would be a great mistake to acknowledge Mrs Simpson as a suitable person to become Royal. The Monarchy has been degraded quite enough already.”

It was then decided that the only way forward was to deprive the Duke of Windsor of his royal rank and then restore it with restrictions. Letters Patent were drawn up and declared that Edward VIII had upon abdicating the throne lost all royal rank and status. King George VI would recreate him a Royal Duke with the style of HRH. He added that the 1917 Letters Patent issued by King George V restricted the style of Royal Highness to those in the lineal succession to the throne, but the Duke of Windsor was no longer eligible for the throne. According to the new Letters Patent, King George VI was actually making an exception in granting him the style of HRH and therefore claimed also to be able to restrict it to him alone.

The final argument

However, King George VI was obliged to seek the advice of his minister, and he was not empowered to alter royal titles, according to the Statute of Westminster, without consulting the Dominions. Not wanting a different opinion, King George VI wrote to Stanley Baldwin telling him exactly what he wished the advice to be. On 26 May 1937, the discussion and ratification of the Letters Patent that created the former King a Royal Prince and allowing him to withhold the style of HRH from Wallis were included in Stanley Baldwin’s last Cabinet meeting as Prime Minister. Two days later, the official announcement appeared in the London Gazette.2

Thus, King George VI and his advisers presented the argument. The former King had lost all royal rank upon abdication, and the new King was perfectly entitled to restore this rank and to restrict the style of HRH to him alone.

Losing royal rank

However, the former King never lost his royal rank. On 5 February 1864, Queen had issued Letters Patent saying, “that besides the Children of Sovereigns of these Realms, the Children of the Sons of any Sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland shall have and at all times hold and enjoy the title, style and attribute of “Royal Highness,” with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their representative Christian names.”3 Queen Victoria’s Letters Patent were later confirmed by King George V in 1917.4

The only way the former King’s royal rank or style of HRH could have been taken away would have been through the issuance of Special Letters Patent which specifically deprived him of these. This was never done, not even during the abdication process. Upon his abdication, he immediately became a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with the qualification of Royal Highness pursuant to the 1917 Letters Patent, confirmed by his own father. King George VI had even – inadvertently – recognised his brother’s royal rank immediately after his abdication by instructing Sir John Reith to introduce him as His Royal Highness Prince Edward before his speech to the nation.

The Duchess of Windsor

It was obvious that King George VI was using the denial of the style of HRH for the Duchess as a way to keep both of them out of the country. The Duke had vowed never to return to England unless Wallis was an HRH. The King could not act against common law and yet he had done so. King George VI had acted illegally to deprive her of the style of Royal Highness.

As expected, the Duke of Windsor considered it to be a great insult to his wife.5 Eventually, their household staff in France referred to her as “Son Altesse Royale.”6

The post Illegally denying HRH – The Case of the Duchess of Windsor appeared first on History of Royal Women.