Moniek Bloks's Blog, page 194

The Year of Queen Wilhelmina – The wedding of Prince Bernhard and Princess Juliana

On the 58th wedding anniversary of King William III of the Netherlands and Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, their only grandchild Princess Juliana – heir to the Dutch throne –  married Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld.

Juliana had been born in 1909, and she had long searched for a suitable match. In 1936, she had met Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, and it is likely that Hermine Reuss of Greiz – the second wife of the exiled German Emperor who lived in The Netherlands – encouraged him and put in a good word for him. He charmed Juliana, and she soon fell in love with him. He visited the Netherlands during Easter and also won the approval of Queen Wilhelmina.

On 8 September 1936, the engagement was announced to the Dutch people. Bernhard became a  naturalised citizen and he received several military positions. He was also made a Prince of the Netherlands. He was marrying a future Queen after all.

On 7 January 1937, they were married in a civil ceremony at the city hall in The Hague, followed by a religious service in the Great Church. It was the same church where Queen Wilhelmina had married Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1901. On the day of her wedding, Juliana had white arums placed on Henry’s grave in Delft. Juliana’s dress was meant to look like a robe of a Greek goddess, but it received little praise. It was a white satin dress with a thick flannel lining to protect the bride from the cold.

During the honeymoon, people already noticed Bernhard’s cold behaviour towards his new wife, writing, “He may be a Prince, but he is no gentleman.”1 After a honeymoon lasting three months – to Queen Wilhelmina’s horror! – the newlyweds settled into Soestdijk Palace. Juliana fell pregnant during the honeymoon and announced her pregnancy herself on the radio on 15 June 1937. A new generation was coming, and Queen Wilhelmina would soon become a grandmother. 2

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Anne of Cleves – God send me well to keep (Part one)

Anne of Cleves was born in 1515 – on either 22 September1 or 28 June2 – in Dusseldorf as the second daughter of John III, Duke of Cleves and Maria of Jülich-Berg. Their first daughter was Sybilla, later Electress of Saxony, and Anne’s birth was followed by that of a brother named William in 1516 and another sister named Amelia in 1517.

The siblings were educated together under their mother’s care until William was removed to be educated as the future Duke. The girls received a rather restricted education, and they were raised to become wives of German princes. Anne learned to read and write but spoke no other languages except for German. She was not taught to sing or to play an instrument. She was an expert needlewoman. It was far from an ideal education for a future Queen of England, but at that time, no one knew where Anne’s destiny would be. In 1527, Sybilla left the family to marry John Frederick I, the future Elector of Saxony.

By then, Anne’s father was also thinking of Anne’s future marriage, and she was betrothed to Francis, the future Duke of Lorraine. However, they never even met, and neither was called upon to give their consent to the match – which would have made it binding. Francis ended up marrying Princess Christina of Denmark who would also be considered by Anne’s future husband – King Henry VIII of England. She is perhaps best known for supposedly saying, “If I had two heads, one should be at the King of England’s disposal.”

In October 1537, Jane Seymour – King Henry VIII’s third wife died shortly after childbirth – and thus began his search for a fourth wife. Several options were considered, such as the aforementioned Christina of Denmark, and even Mary of Guise – who would go on to marry James V, King of Scotland. Anne was on the list from the beginning, but she was certainly not a top pick, and she was not famed for her beauty. By January 1539, Anne turned out to be one of the few options left. Henry’s chief minister Thomas Cromwell turned his attention to Anne.

In February 1539, Anne’s father died and was succeeded by her brother William, and the following month Henry sent instructions for Anne to be inspected. The English ambassadors were permitted to see both Anne and Amelia though only from a distance. When they were later confronted with paintings of the ladies, they were unable to confirm if they were lifelike. In the summer of 1539, Hans Holbein was dispatched to Cleves to paint both Amelia and Anne and the portraits were rushed back to England. Anne’s portrait has survived, but unfortunately, Amelia’s has not. By the end of September, the marriage treaty had been agreed. Anne was now set to become Queen of England. She would cross the sea to England without ever having seen the sea before.

On 27 December 1539, Anne landed at Deal in Kent, and she was taken to Deal Castle to rest and then on to Dover Castle. She then travelled to Canterbury, Sittingbourne and Rochester. Henry could not wait any longer to see his new bride, and he began to travel towards her as she approached London. He disguised himself per chivalric tradition, and she was meant to immediately recognise him because of the love between them. Unfortunately, Anne was not aware of this and her failure to recognise him shattered his romantic dream of her. He also took an instant dislike to her appearance. They were off to the worst start.

Nevertheless, the wedding had to go ahead, and Henry and Anne both played their parts. He did try to find a way out by raising concerns about her betrothal with Francis of Lorraine, but he was eventually forced to accept the inevitable. On 6 January 1540, Anne and Henry were married at the Royal Palace of Placentia in Greenwich. During the service, she was given a ring with the inscription, “God send me well to keep.” Afterwards, the newlyweds heard mass together. In the evening, they were ceremonially put to bed, but Henry failed to consummate the marriage. He claimed that she could not be a virgin because of the “looseness of her breasts.” He had found himself unable to “do as a man should with his wife.”3 A second attempt at consummation was made two nights later, but he was still unable. Henry even consulted his physicians as he continued his attempts. He certainly thought it was Anne’s fault. After just a few weeks of marriage, both gave up the pretence that everything was okay. Soon, Henry had his eye on one of Anne’s maids – Catherine Howard.4

Part two coming soon. 

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Guarding Diana by Ken Wharfe Book Review

Diana, Princess of Wales was an icon during her life and now in her afterlife as well. Ken Wharfe was her Personal Protection Officer from 1988 until 1993 and he continued to work for the Royal family until 2002.

Guarding Diana follows Diana on her many trips abroad, including her private holidays. Ken Wharfe tells how he dealt with the security issues but also how he dealt with Diana who was known to court the press as well. I enjoyed the insights into Diana’s life and the challenges she faced on a daily basis, even when she wasn’t “on duty.”

It is quite well-written and I enjoyed Ken’s flowing writing style. However, if you’re looking for an in-depth look at Diana, this isn’t it. But don’t let that put you off, it is a fun read.

Guarding Diana by Ken Wharfe is available now in both the UK and the US.

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Anne of York – A Princess away from court

Anne of York was born on 2 November 1475 at the Palace of Westminster as the fifth daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. She was baptised in Westminster Abbey and given into the care of Agnes Butler. Before her fourth birthday, she was promised in marriage to Philip the Handsome, future Duke of Burgundy and later also King of Castile by right of his wife. She was to marry him when she turned 12.

Her father died in 1483 when Anne was only seven. The following situation – in which her uncle Richard seized power and succeeded his brother over Anne’s brother Edward – left Catherine in a precarious situation.  Anne’s mother was no fool and took sanctuary at Westminster Abbey with her five daughters (Elizabeth, Catherine, Cecily, Anne and Bridget) and her youngest son Richard. Elizabeth was eventually forced to surrender her younger son to his uncle, leaving her with just her daughters in sanctuary. When the marriage of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV was declared void upon the basis that Edward had been contracted to another woman – the girls suddenly found themselves illegitimate.

On 1 March 1484, Elizabeth and her daughters came out of sanctuary after Richard publicly swore an oath that her daughters would not be harmed. The girls were “very honourably entertained and with all princely kindness.” They were probably sent to live in Queen Anne‘s household, at least for a while, before returning to their mother. Their exact whereabouts around this time are unknown.

Anne’s betrothal to Philip the Handsome was broken off after her father’s death and her uncle Richard arranged for her betrothal to Lord Thomas Howard, the eldest grandson of John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, in 1484.

Anne’s mother soon allied herself with Margaret Beaufort and her son Henry Tudor and Anne’s elder sister Elizabeth was promised to him. Henry invaded in 1485 and overthrew Richard – becoming King Henry VII. Anne’s sister Elizabeth became Queen of England when they were married on 18 January 1486. Henry arranged for his mother to be given the “keeping and guiding of the ladies daughter of King Edward IV” and the sisters probably joined the household in London. Elizabeth Woodville and her daughters were restored to their rightful status, “estate, dignity, preeminence and name.” Elizabeth supported her unmarried sisters with an annuity of £50, and when they married, she gave their husbands annuities of £120. When Elizabeth was close to giving birth to her first son, her mother, sisters and Margaret Beaufort joined her.

Cecily and the 11-year-old Anne were involved in the christening of the newborn Prince Arthur, and Anne attended on her elder sister. The sisters all waited on their elder sister Queen Elizabeth. Cecily was her chief attendant until she married in 1487 and she was replaced by Anne. Anne was in constant attendance. Anne also played a role in the christening of her niece Margaret, the future Queen of Scots. When Elizabeth Woodville died in 1492, Anne was present for the Requiem Mass. She also acted as a chief mourner, deputising for her sister Queen Elizabeth, who had been unable to attend.

In 1495, Henry arranged the marriages of Anne and Catherine. On 4 February 1495 at Greenwich, Anne was married to Lord Thomas Howard, to whom she had been previously betrothed, with Henry giving the bride away himself. Besides the annuity, Anne’s sister provided her with allowances for the upkeep of the estate, food, drink, the wages of two female attendants, a maid, a gentleman, a yeoman and three grooms. In addition, “the said Queen’s Grace, at her costs and charges, shall find unto the Lady Anne all her sufficient and convenient apparel for her body, at all times.” It appears that Anne did not attend court often after her marriage.

She and Thomas went on to have four children; Muriel, Katherine, Henry and Thomas, but tragically all would die in childhood. They are buried at St. Mary’s Church at Lambeth.

Anne was not present when Elizabeth died at the Tower of London in 1503, but she would attend her funeral, where her younger sister Catherine acted as chief mourner. Anne was present for The Mass of Trinity, and she was part of the presentation of the 37 palls – one for each year of Elizabeth’s life. She and Catherine each presented five palls.

Anne herself died sometime between November 1511 and 1513. She was first buried in Thetford Priory in Norfolk, though she was later moved to Framlingham Church. In 1513, her husband remarried to Lady Elizabeth Stafford by whom he had a further three or four children.1

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Countess Georgina von Wilczek – Princess of Liechtenstein

Countess Georgina von Wilczek was born on 24 October 1921 in Austria as the daughter of  Ferdinand Maria, Count von Wilczek, and Countess Norbertine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau. She was known as Gina in the family. Tragically, her mother died in March 1923 after giving birth to a stillborn child.

Georgina received her formal education in Vienna at a private Catholic school. She studied art history and applied arts and later studied French, Italian and English at the University of Vienna. She earned a diploma to act as an interpreter.

She probably met her future husband, Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein, in early 1942. He was also her third cousin, and he had been the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein since 1938. They had an age difference of 15 years, but it didn’t bother them, and their friendship eventually turned to love. Their engagement was announced on 30 December 1942. They were married on 7 March 1943 at the Cathedral of St. Florin in Vaduz. It was the first time that the wedding of a ruling Prince had taken place in Liechtenstein. During the following weeks, the newlyweds visited all eleven communes of Liechtenstein.

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Their first child, the current Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, was born on 14 February 1945. Four other children followed: Prince Philipp (born 19 August 1946), Prince Nikolaus (born 24 October 1947), Princess Nora (born 31 October 1950) and Prince Franz Josef “Wenzel” (born 19 November 1962 – died 28 February 1991).

Although Liechtenstein had remained neutral throughout the Second World War, the country suffered a gasoline shortage, and Georgina took to travelling by bicycle. She also established the Liechtenstein Red Cross when refugees began to arrive. Georgina was its president from until 1985 when she handed the reins to her daughter-in-law, Marie.

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Her last public appearance was on 29 July 1989 at the wedding of Prince Gundakar of Liechtenstein to Princess Marie of Orleans. She would die on 18 October 1989, probably of cancer. A communique later said, ″Her family was with her when she passed away peacefully shortly after receiving the last sacraments.”  Her husband, who was also in poor health, collapsed at her bed. He would die less than a month later on 13 November. They are now buried together in the Cathedral of St. Florin in Vaduz.

Her memory remains alive in the principality with the Princess Gina Trail.

British Pathe also has a silent video which features the Princess.1

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The Tsar Peter House

This little wooden house hardly inspires visions of Peter the Great but he stayed her several times. The house was built in 1632 for a labourer. It became famous in 1697 when Peter the Great came to visit to learn about Dutch shipbuilding. He insisted on staying with blacksmith and craftsman Gerrit Kist whom he had met in Moscow. He would stay the week and word quickly spread that the Tsar of Russia was staying there.

Peter would return in 1698 and he took his wife Catherine with him when he returned for the third time in 1717. Around 1818, King William I of the Netherlands gifted the house to his daughter-in-law and great-great-granddaughter of Peter – Anna Pavlovna of Russia. In turn, her son King William III of the Netherlands gifted it to Tsar Alexander III in 1886. In 1895, a stone cover was built around the house to protect it, on the orders of Tsar Nicholas II. In 1948, the descendants of Alexander III officially renounced ownership of the house and it is currently part of the Zaans Museum and can be visited.

Click to view slideshow.

Click here for more information about visiting.

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The Year of Queen Victoria Roundup

I hope you have found The Year of Queen Victoria as interesting as I have. We have looked at the circumstances surrounding her birth, her stifling childhood, her accession to the throne at the age of just 18 and her subsequent marriage to Prince Albert. Their many children married all over Europe, earning Victoria the nickname of Grandmother of Europe.

Here are the Top 10 articles of the year:

Queen Victoria’s Buckingham Palace
Queen Victoria and haemophilia
The Year of Queen Victoria – Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld – Finding happiness (Part two)
Princess Victoria in her Journal – 28 July 1834
The Year of Queen Victoria – Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld – Finding happiness (Part three)
The Year of Queen Victoria – Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld – Finding happiness (Part one)
A memorandum by Queen Victoria – 29 September 1855
Queen Victoria and the American Civil War
The Year of Queen Victoria – Prince Albert: King in all but name (Part one)
The Year of Queen Victoria – The self-sacrificing Princess Alice

The year of 2020 will be dedicated to the life and times of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands who was born in 1880 and was Queen from 1890.

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Forty years of absolute primogeniture – 1980/2020

When Crown Princess Victoria was born on 14 July 1977, she was simply a Princess of Sweden without any succession rights. Even before her birth, discussions about introducing absolute primogeniture (inheritance regardless of gender) were ongoing in the government. Due to the complicated nature of changing the law, it took until 7 November 1979 for the Swedish Parliament to vote through the amendment to the Constitution which made her heir to the throne. Her younger brother Carl Philip had been born in May 1979, and he was briefly designated as Crown Prince.

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The amendment came into effect on 1 January 1980 (40 years ago today), and Victoria was officially designated as Crown Princess. On 9 January, she was also created Duchess of Västergötland.

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Absolute primogeniture is now practised by most of the European monarchies. The Netherlands introduced absolute primogeniture in 1983, and King Willem-Alexander’s eldest daughter is also the first woman to carry the Princess of Orange title – reserved for the heir apparent –  in her own right, despite the Netherlands’ having had three Queens. Norway followed in 1990 but only for those born after 1990. Crown Prince Haakon’s elder sister Princess Märtha Louise was, however, included in the line of succession. Crown Prince Haakon is followed by his eldest daughter Ingrid Alexandra.

Belgium followed in 1991, for the descendants of King Albert II. King Albert II’s daughter Princess Astrid was also included in the line of succession – having been excluded before. King Philippe’s eldest daughter is Duchess of Brabant in her own right and will be Belgium’s first Queen regnant.

Denmark followed in 2009, having previously followed agnatic primogeniture (male only) from 1853 until 1953. The law was changed in 1953 to allow King Frederick IX’s three daughters to be included in the line of succession. They then introduced male-preference primogeniture, meaning that women could inherit if they had no brothers. This meant that upon King Frederick IX’s death, he was succeeded by his daughter Queen Margrethe II. By 2009 her son Crown Prince Frederik already had a son, and a daughter and the first to be affected by the change in law were his twins born in 2011. Prince Vincent did not gain precedence over his elder sister Princess Isabella.

Luxembourg followed in 2011, having previously followed a line of succession of male-preference among the daughters of Grand Duke William IV – a male-line male descendant of a younger daughter would have had precedence over female descendants of elder daughters. Grand Duke Henri decreed the absolute primogeniture in 2011 and the first to be affected by it were the children of Prince Felix. His eldest daughter Princess Amalia kept precedence over her younger brother Prince Liam. Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie is currently pregnant and her child – regardless of gender – will follow their father as Grand Duke or Duchess of Luxembourg.

The most recent case comes from the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms in 2015. In 2011, before the birth of Prince George of Cambridge, it was agreed to amend the male-preference system. The changes took effect on 26 March 2015, and when Prince Louis of Cambridge was born in 2018, he did not take precedence over his elder sister Princess Charlotte.

Several European monarchies still practise male preference primogeniture or bar women complete: Spain (MPP), Monaco (MPP), Liechtenstein (bars women).

Outside of Europe, most monarchies completely bar women from the throne and often they don’t practice a traditional line of succession. Eswatini (former Swaziland – bars women), Lesotho (bars women), Morocco (bars women), Bahrain (bars women), Bhutan (MPP), Brunei (bars women), Cambodia (bars women?), Japan (bars women), Jordan (bars women), Kuwait (bars women), Malaysia (bars women), Oman (bars women), Qatar (bars women), Saudi Arabia (bars women), Thailand (sort of MPP), United Arab Emirates (bars women), and Tonga (MPP).

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Ulvhild Håkansdotter – Thrice a Queen

Ulvhild Håkansdotter was born circa 1095 as the daughter of Haakon Finnsson. The name of her mother was not recorded. She came from somewhere in Norway. Nothing is known of her youth.

Her first marriage was to King Inge II of Sweden, and the wedding was held around 1116/1117. King Inge ruled together with his brother Philip Halstensson, but he died around 1118, leaving Inge as the sole ruler. Some time before 1129, King Inge died after drinking “an evil drink,” with some suggesting that it was Ulvhild who poisoned her husband. In any case, she and Inge had not had any children, and the throne passed to Ragnvald Knaphövde.

Ulvhild moved to Denmark, rather than returning to Norway. Perhaps a marriage was already in the works as she married King Niels of Denmark, shortly after the death of his wife, Margaret Fredkulla. Niels was considerably older than Ulvhild, and the situation in Scandinavia was anything but stable. Sweden had taken a “man of low origins” called Sverker as their new King, and he “clandestinely brought her from her husband and made her marry him.”1 This probably took place between 1132 and 1134. As a previous Queen of Sweden, Ulvhild was an important asset and could provide some form of legitimacy for Sverker.

With Sverker, she went on to have four children, including his successor Charles. During her second period as Queen of Sweden, she was known to be a benefactor to the church. She founded the abbeys of Alvastra and Nydala. Her death is unknown, but it happened some time between 1143 and 1150. Even her place of burial is unknown, though it is thought to be Alvastra Abbey.

 

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Maud of Wales – The unexpected Queen of Norway

On 26 November 1869, a daughter was born to the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII and his wife Alexandra of Denmark. This child was their fifth, and they named her Maud. Maud would end being the youngest child of the couple, as her younger brother John sadly died as a baby. Maud was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom as well as King Christian IX of Denmark so was amongst the highest-ranking royals in Europe.

Maud (centre) and her sisters. (Public domain)

Princess Alexandra, uncommonly for the time, was in charge of her own children’s upbringings. It is clear she wished for her children to be raised in her own household and away from the meddling of Queen Victoria and other relatives. An example of this is that all six of the babies that Alexandra gave birth to were born prematurely which seems quite unlikely; it is more likely that Alexandra misled the Queen about her due dates so she would not attend the births! Maud grew up between her parents’ home at Marlborough House and Sandringham.

The family household was informal, and her parents were known for their party lifestyle, the little ones had quite a different upbringing to how the Prince of Wales himself was raised by Victoria. Princess Alexandra loved being a mother and enjoyed nothing more than putting on simple clothes and spending time in the nursery playing with the children and washing them herself rather than having the staff to do it all of the time. It is possible that Princess Alexandra poured all of her efforts into raising the children due to her husband’s numerous affairs. Still, the couple did seem happy together despite the infidelities.

Maud was known as the tomboy of the three sisters as they grew up and she was nicknamed Harry after a courageous war Admiral. Maud grew up closest to her two brothers and often joined in their games, and as an adult, she was closest with her brother George who went on to become King George V.

The family often spent time with their many cousins and relatives in England and Denmark. The children did not enjoy visiting their grandmother at Buckingham Palace as the atmosphere was quite depressing after the death of Prince Albert, and on occasion, they would all start crying before setting off on a visit. When visiting Denmark, Maud spent time with her cousins but did not like them much at the time.

When Maud was 20 years old, her sister Louise left the family household to marry Alexander Duff, becoming the Duchess of Fife. After Louise left and her brothers left for military service, the Wales household was forever changed, and Princess Alexandra clung to her remaining daughters Victoria and Maud, treating them like little children and putting them off marrying.

Queen Victoria and Maud’s aunt Victoria, Princess Royal (Empress Frederick) were annoyed at Alexandra for putting off the marriages of Victoria and Maud. Princess Victoria did not want to marry and never did, but Maud was infatuated with Prince Francis of Teck – Mary, his sister, went on to marry Maud’s brother George and the pair later became King and Queen. Maud even wrote to Francis to tell him how she felt, but he ignored her, it seems that he knew he was not the right match for Maud due to his lower rank and high debts. Once the idea of Francis was off the table, Queen Victoria set about looking for a match for Maud.

Several options were discussed and then discounted for Maud’s marriage until eventually Prince Carl (Charles) of Denmark came forward and proposed after admiring Maud for years in secret. Charles was a cousin of Maud’s, one she used to visit as a child and did not like, she even used to call him daft when they were younger, but Charles had fallen for Maud, and she too fell for her good-looking suitor and accepted when he proposed.

The couple were married in July 1896 at Buckingham Palace in the private chapel. The couple were given a house as a wedding gift from the Prince of Wales, Maud’s father. The house was Appleton House, a lovely home in the grounds of the Sandringham estate which the couple would use whenever they stayed in England. Their only child was even born at Appleton; a son named Prince Alexander who was born in 1903 once Maud’s father had become King of the United Kingdom.

(public domain)

In 1905 an unexpected event happened, and the union between Norway and Sweden was officially dissolved. The decision was made that Norway would be a monarchy and Prince Charles, Maud’s husband, was offered the throne. The couple had gone from living a quiet life, with Charles never expected to sit on the Danish throne as he was the second son, to rapidly becoming King and Queen of Norway. It is believed that Charles was chosen due to the fact his father-in-law was the King of the United Kingdom. To make sure that the Norwegian people agreed with the decision, Charles held a referendum, and 79% of the people said they did agree to the monarchy, which was a great result.

Maud was very apprehensive about becoming a queen; she had become used to being able to travel around Europe and visit England for months on end when she felt like it, and she worried about her sister Victoria being left alone with their mother. After becoming Queen, Maud wrote, “Behold! I am a Queen!!! Who would have thought it! And I am the very last person to be stuck on a throne! I am actually getting accustomed to be (sic) called ‘Your Majesty’ and yet often pinch myself to feel if I am not dreaming! We are very comfortably settled now, at least we are trying our utmost to get our rooms as we like. I think those who choose all these things must have been extraordinarily clever, to have discovered such a collection of monstrosities! The crowds always cheer. Little Olav gets tremendous ovations for himself. I never speak Danish very well as to the accent, but now just in Norwegian I get the right accent and they are delighted and think it is alright.”1

On 22 June 1906, the couple were crowned, and Charles took the name King Haakon VII and little Alexander became known as Prince Olav while Maud kept her own name. The couple built their court to be welcoming, informal and democratic and though they would dress in royal regalia when they needed to, they were usually quite casual, and that was the way Maud liked things. She threw herself into the role of Queen Consort; making public appearances and becoming involved in charity work, especially with children’s, women’s and animal charities.

Maud learned to speak Norwegian, took up skiing and often wore folk outfits in order to fit in with her new people, but she was not as well-liked as her husband as she was quite shy in public, so people thought she was too reserved.

In 1910, Maud’s father died, and her brother succeeded as King George V. At the funeral proceedings, Maud ranked above her sisters and supported her mother in her grief. Just four years later, the First World War began, which changed Europe forever. Of course, the United Kingdom was heavily involved in the war. Still, Norway stayed neutral, which was difficult for Maud as she disliked the Germans and because so many of her family members were massively affected by the war and she could do nothing to help.

(public domain)

During the war, Maud could not visit England or her beloved Appleton house as she had to be impartial as Queen of Norway. Over these years her popularity grew in her new country, and she threw herself into fundraising and raising her son. Maud lived a simple life In Norway and was often seen in town doing the shopping, which her English royal family could not believe! After the war, Maud continued to visit her mother and siblings as often as she could in England, and she sent her son Prince Olav to university at Oxford. Olav was over in London when his grandmother Alexandra died in 1925 and has spent time visiting her beforehand. The death of Alexandra brought Maud and her siblings even closer together.

A decade later, Maud experienced the loss of her sister Victoria and then her brother King George V in 1936 which led to the reign and abdication of her nephew Edward VIII which devastated Maud. In 1938, Maud made her last visit to her beloved homeland, but she took ill while on the trip and needed an operation. Her husband flew over to be by her side when he heard that she had to have surgery.

Maud survived the surgery only to die two days later from a heart attack on 20 November 1938. Her body was taken back to Norway where the Queen was buried in Oslo. Maud’s much loved home Appleton was given back after her death and was sadly demolished in 1984 due to damage.

After a long and successful reign, Maud’s husband King Haakon VII was succeeded by her son, who became King Olav V and was very popular. Maud’s grandson currently reigns in Norway as King Harald V.

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