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Book News September 2019

Four Queens and a Countess: Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Lady Jane Grey and Bess of Hardwick: The Struggle for the Crown

Paperback – 15 September 2019 (UK) & 1 January 2020 (US)

When Mary Stuart was forced off the Scottish throne she fled to England, a move that made her cousin Queen Elizabeth very uneasy. Elizabeth had continued the religious changes made by her father and England was a Protestant country, yet ardent Catholics plotted to depose Elizabeth and put Mary Stuart on the English throne. So what was Queen Elizabeth going to do with a kingdomless queen likely to take hers?

Katherine Howard: Henry VIII’s Slandered Queen

Hardcover – 1 September 2019 (US) & 29 April 2019 (UK)

Over the years, Katherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth wife, has been slandered as a “juvenile delinquent,” “empty-headed wanton,” and “natural-born tart” who engaged in promiscuous liaisons prior to her marriage and committed adultery after her marriage to Henry VIII. This biography challenges these assumptions by drawing on seven years of research, demonstrating that Katherine’s reputation is unfairly deserved. It offers new insights into her activities as queen as well as the nature of her relationships with Manox, Dereham and Culpeper. Katherine was bright, charming and beautiful, but it was her tragedy that her premarital liaisons—in a climate of distrust and fear of female sexuality—led to her ruin in 1542. Conor Byrne challenges Katherine’s negative reputation and redeems her as Henry VIII’s slandered queen.

Curtain Down at Her Majesty’s: The Death of Queen Victoria in the Words of Those Who Were There

Hardcover – 1 September 2019 (US) & 21 December 2018 (UK)

Her Majesty the Queen breathed her last at 6.30 p.m., surrounded by her children and grand-children. With this notice, pinned to the entrance gate of Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s doctors announced the death of the most powerful woman in the world, who had sat on her throne and ruled through more than six decades. Her rule had seen her kingdom spread to become the world’s biggest empire, had seen massive change in society and leaps forward in technology. It is little surprise that the death of one who had ruled for all of many people’s lives created chaos, shock and mass outpourings of grief across the country. Author and researcher Stewart Richards has delved through the archives to put together the definitive view of Victoria in her final days, through the immediate reaction and aftermath of her death, to the state funeral of February 2, 1901. Based entirely on fascinating first-hand accounts, Curtain Down at Her Majesty’s offers a truly unique insight into the events of that tumultuous few days.

Entertaining the Braganzas: When Queen Maria of Portugal visited William Stephens in 1788

Paperback – 30 May 2019 (UK) & 2 September 2019 (US)

Maria I of Portugal was a monarch with absolute power. William Stephens was the illegitimate son of a Cornish servant girl; he sailed for Lisbon at the age of fifteen to become one of the richest industrialists in Europe. The contrast between these two people could not have been greater – they were poles apart in every facet of their lives – yet they formed an unlikely friendship in the stifling formality of the Portuguese court. William, a man of genius, built up a thriving glass factory in a small village seventy miles north of Lisbon. Maria, the reigning queen of Portugal, spent three days here in the summer of 1788, sleeping for two nights in the house of an Englishman, a man who was not only low-born and illegitimate, but also a Protestant, a heretic in the eyes of the Portuguese. Entertaining the Braganzas is the story of this unique event in royal history, an intimate glimpse into the world of absolute monarchy, a snapshot of court life in the old Europe, just one year before the French Revolution began to change the face of the continent. It is also the story of two extraordinary people whose very different lives came together at a time of great upheaval in European history.

The Quest for Queen Mary

Paperback – 13 June 2019 (UK) & 17 September 2019 (US)

When James Pope-Hennessy began his work on Queen Mary’s official biography, it opened the door to meetings with royalty, court members and retainers around Europe. The series of candid observations, secrets and indiscretions contained in his notes were to be kept private for 50 years. Now published in full for the first time and edited by the highly admired royal biographer Hugo Vickers, this is a riveting, often hilarious portrait of the eccentric aristocracy of a bygone age.

Giving much greater insight into Queen Mary than the official version, and including sharply observed encounters with, among others, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Duke of Gloucester, and a young Queen Elizabeth, The Quest for Queen Mary is set to be a classic of royal publishing.

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The Diaries of Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii, 1885-1900

Hardcover – 30 May 2019 (UK) & 30 September 2019 (UK)

Queen Lili‘uokalani, born as Lydia Lili‘u Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamaka‘eha, was the last reigning monarch of the kingdom of Hawai‘i. She ascended the throne in January of 1891, upon the death of her brother, King David Kalākaua, and ruled until she was overthrown in 1893. Collectively, the personal diaries of Lili‘uokalani provide the modern reader with an invaluable record of the Queenʻs private life, thoughts, and deeds―as heir apparent under King Kalākaua; as queen of the Hawaiian Islands; at the time of her arrest and imprisonment following the counterrevolution of 1895; at the time of her abdication; during her efforts in Washington, DC, to delay the annexation of her beloved islands to the United States; and in her later years as a model of hope and perseverance to the people of Hawai‘i. The gaps in Lili‘u’s commentary on certain crucial political events are due to the turbulence of 1890s Hawaiian politics. The Lili‘uokalani diaries for 1887, 1888, 1889-short version, 1893, and 1894 are a part of the group of documents known as the “seized papers” that are now held by the Hawai‘i State Archives. These are among the records seized by order of Republic of Hawaii officials in 1895, after they had taken the Queen into custody with the intent of obtaining evidence that she had prior knowledge of the counterrevolution. The government eventually turned these documents over to the territorial archives in 1921, four years after the death of the Queen. Four of the diaries transcribed here were not seized and remained in the Queen’s possession; today these are in the Bishop Museum. The important 1889-long version diary is now in the private collection of a member of the Dominis family and its contents appear here in publication for the first time. David Forbesʻs introduction describes the history of the diaries and provides short biographies of people mentioned frequently throughout the diaries. His annotations enable the reader to understand the content and context of the diaries and include quotations and information drawn from the letters and papers of Lili‘uokalani and the royal family.

Neslishah: The Last Ottoman Princess

Paperback – 20 August 2019 (UK) & 3 September 2019 (US)

Twice a princess, twice exiled, Neslishah Sultan had an eventful life. When she was born in Istanbul in 1921, cannons were fired in the four corners of the Ottoman Empire, commemorative coins were issued in her name, and her birth was recorded in the official register of the palace. After all, she was an imperial princess and the granddaughter of Sultan Vahiddedin. But she was the last member of the imperial family to be accorded such honors: in 1922 Vahiddedin was deposed and exiled, replaced as caliph–but not as sultan–by his brother (and Neslishah’s other grandfather) Abd lmecid; in 1924 Abd lmecid was also removed from office, and the entire imperial family, including three-year-old Neslishah, was sent into exile. Sixteen years later on her marriage to Prince Abdel Moneim, the son of the last khedive of Egypt, she became a princess of the Egyptian royal family. And when in 1952 her husband was appointed regent for Egypt’s infant king, she took her place at the peak of Egyptian society as the country’s first lady, until the abolition of the monarchy the following year. Exile followed once more, this time from Egypt, after the royal couple faced charges of treason. Eventually Neslishah was allowed to return to the city of her birth, where she died at the age of 91 in 2012. Based on original documents and extensive personal interviews, this account of one woman’s extraordinary life is also the story of the end of two powerful dynasties thirty years apart.

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Royal Confinements

Hardcover – 28 September 2019 (US & UK)

In 1980 Sir John (Jack) Dewhurst, one of the leading obstetricians and gynaecologists of his generation, wrote an intriguing book which reviewed the pregnancies and childbirths of some of Britain’s Queens and Princesses. He gave his expert opinion on many controversial questions such as: Why Queen Anne, despite her many pregnancies, was unable to produce an heir; why Princess Charlotte tragically died during labour; how deeply did Queen Victoria resent her repeated confinements and analysed some historical myths surrounding royal births. This is a timely revision of this absorbing book which covers important historical aspects of the monarchy. Updated by the author of Bringing Them Up Royal, to include the modern day royals.

Meghan Duchess of Sussex: Queen of Style

Hardcover – 2 September 2019 (US) & 26 March 2019 (UK)

From striped blazers to crisp button-down shirts, off-the shoulder jackets to tailored tuxedos, slinky leather skirts to sophisticated ballgowns. . . Meghan, Duchess of Sussex is rapidly becoming fashion’s ruling queen of style. A bona-fide fashionista before she joined the House of Windsor, Meghan has become a global style icon, renowned for her contemporary, elegant and occasionally edgy aesthetic. Her sense of style and fashion has evolved from her days as a classic California girl and time as a ‘Deal or No Deal’ TV hostess through the years on legal drama ‘Suits’ and now as a Royal Duchess. As the beloved wife of Prince Harry, mum-to-be Meghan has the fashion world at her Manolo Blahnik-shod feet. What she wears, women around the world long to emulate in order to get a flavour of that unique ‘Markle-Style Sparkle’. HRH, The Duchess of Sussex is the most fashion-literate, style-savvy Royal there has ever been. . .

Marie-Antoinette: The Making of a French Queen

Hardcover – 24 September 2019 (UK) & 29 October 2019 (US)

Who was the real Marie-Antoinette? She was mistrusted and reviled in her own time, and today she is portrayed as a lightweight incapable of understanding the events that engulfed her. In this new account, John Hardman redresses the balance and sheds fresh light on Marie-Antoinette’s story.

Hardman shows how Marie-Antoinette played a significant but misunderstood role in the crisis of the monarchy. Drawing on new sources, he describes how, from the outset, Marie-Antoinette refused to prioritize the aggressive foreign policy of her mother, Maria-Theresa, bravely took over the helm from Louis XVI after the collapse of his morale, and, when revolution broke out, listened to the Third Estate and worked closely with repentant radicals to give the constitutional monarchy a fighting chance. For the first time, Hardman demonstrates exactly what influence Marie-Antoinette had and when and how she exerted it.

Women of Means: The Fascinating Biographies of Royals, Heiresses, Eccentrics and Other Poor Little Rich Girls

Paperback – 3 October 2019 (UK) & 15 September 2019 (US)

The Grass Isn’t Greener on the Other Side: Heiresses have always been viewed with eyes of envy. They were the ones for whom the cornucopia had been upended, showering them with unimaginable wealth and opportunity. However, through intimate historical biographies, Women of Means shows us that oftentimes the weaving sisters saved their most heart-wrenching tapestries for the destinies of wealthy women.

Happily Never After: From the author of Behind Every Great Man, we now have Women of Means, vignettes of the women who were slated from birth―or marriage―to great privilege, only to endure lives which were the stuff Russian tragic heroines are made of. They are the nonfictional Richard Corys―those not slated for happily ever after.

Women of Means is bound to be a non-fiction best seller, full of the best biographies of all time.

The Sister Queens: Isabella & Catherine de Valois

Paperback – 16 September 2019 (UK)

wo sisters: born nine years apart to a mad French king during the turbulent years of the Hundred Years War, the bitter series of conflicts that set the House of Plantagenet against the House of Valois.

Catherine de Valois, the beautiful young bride of Henry V, conducted a passionate love affair with the young Owain Tudor, with whom she was to found the entire Tudor dynasty. Her sister Isabella was married aged seven to Richard II, subsequently fled England following his murder, only to find her country fatally divided. A gripping tale of love, exile and conflict in a time when even royal women had to fight for survival.

The Sky-Blue Wolves (Novel of the Change)

Paperback – 24 September 2019 (UK & US)

Two generations after the Change, Crown Princess Órlaith struggles to preserve the hard-won peace her father brought to Montival–the former western North America. But the Change opened many doors, and through them Powers strong and strange and terrible came, to walk once more among humankind.

With her fire-forged friend and ally, Japanese Empress Reiko, Órlaith must take up her sword to stop the spread of the mad malignancy behind the Yellow Raja, who has imprisoned her brother Prince John. And from the emerging superpower of Mongolia, the Sky-Blue Wolves of the High Steppe ride once more beneath the banner of Genghis Khan–the thunder of their hooves resounding across a world in turmoil.

The Irish Princess

Hardcover – 12 September 2019 (UK & US)

Forced into exile Aoife and her family find themselves at the mercy of Henry II. Aoife – aware of her beauty but not its power – intrigues and beguiles Henry in equal measure. For Aoife he agrees to help her father, an alliance that leads the MacMurchadas to the charistmatic Richard de Clare, a man dissatisfied with his lot and open to new horizons.

Diarmit promises Richard Aoife’s hand in marriage in return for his aid in Ireland, but Aoife has her own thoughts on the matter. She may be a prize, but she is not a pawn, and she will play the men at their own game. For herself, for her family, and for her country.

Warrior Queens: True Stories of Six Ancient Rebels Who Slayed History

Hardcover – 7 October 2019 (UK) & 10 September 2019 (US)

The true life stories of six little-known fierce ancient warrior queens are told with humor and vivid detail by an award-winning writer. For young readers seeking to be inspired by stories of strong women, this riveting book shines a light on six powerful ancient queens. Highlighting women warriors who ruled in ancient eras, like Hatshepsut in 1492 BCE Egypt, and Zenobia in 260 CE Palmyra, the stories span the globe to reveal the hidden histories of queens who challenged men and fought for the right to rule their queendoms. Award-winning author Vicky Alvear Shectar’s lively text and acclaimed illustrator Bill Mayer’s witty illustrations showcase these stories filled with history, power, and humor.

The House of Grey: The Story of the Medieval Dynasty

Hardcover – 15 September 2019 (UK) & 1 January 2020 (US)

The Grey family was one of medieval England’s most important dynasties. They were were on intimate terms with the monarchs and interwoven with royalty by marriage. They served the kings of England as sheriffs, barons and military leaders. In Henry IV’s reign the rivalry between Owain Glyndwr and Lord Grey of Rhuthun was behind the Welsh bid to throw off English dominance. His successor Edmund Grey played a decisive role at the Battle of Northampton when he changed allegiance from Lancaster to York. He was rewarded with the disputed lands and the earldom of Kent. By contrast his cousin, Sir John Grey, died at the second battle of St Albans, leaving a widow, Elizabeth née Woodville, and two young sons, Thomas and Richard. Astonishingly, the widowed Elizabeth caught the eye of Edward IV and was catapulted to the throne as his wife. This gave her sons an important role after Edward s death. The Greys were considered rapacious, even by the standards of the time and the competing power grabs of the Greys with Richard, Duke of Gloucester led to Richard Greys summary execution when Gloucester became king. His brother, Thomas, vowed revenge and joined Henry Tudor in exile.

When Thomas Grey’s niece, Elizabeth of York, became queen, the family returned to court, but Henry VII was wary enough of Thomas to imprison him for short time. Thomas married the greatest heiress in England, Cicely Bonville, their numerous children gained positions in the court of their cousin, Henry VIII, and his daughter, Mary. The 2nd Marquis was probably taught by Cardinal Wolsey but was a vigorous supporter of Henry VIII s divorce from Katharine of Aragon. But his son’s reckless involvement in Wyatt s rebellion ended in his own execution and that of his daughter, Lady Jane Grey, the ‘Nine Days Queen’. Weaving the lives of these men and women from a single family, often different allegiances, into a single narrative, provides a vivid picture of the English mediaeval and Tudor court, reflecting how the personal was always political as individual relationships and rivalries for land, power and money drove national events.

The post Book News September 2019 appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Anna Juliana Gonzaga – Guided by the Virgin Mary

Anna was born with the first names Anna Caterina in Mantua in modern-day Italy in 1566 into a wealthy and noble family. Her father was Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and her mother was Eleanora of Austria, the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor. Although born into a privileged family, Anna was raised in a very pious Catholic household and was deeply religious.  This meant that much of her time was spent at prayer rather than on frivolities.

This sense of religious devotion became more intense when Anna almost died at the age of five. She was very ill for years until her parents apparently promised to the Virgin Mary that they would raise the child in dedication to her if she lived. Anna got better, and of course, her parents believed this was due to the Virgin Mary’s power, and from then on, they raised Anna for a life devoted to Mary.

When Anna was under ten years old, it is said that her bedroom became filled with a bright light and Mary appeared and spoke to the girl. Anna was unable to understand Mary’s message at this time, but apparently, in later life, it became apparent to her. At this stage, Anna wished to become a nun.

Archduke Ferdinand II of Further Austria (public domain)

In 1582, Anna was called in to speak to her father, who had a request for her, which was to de-rail the plan she had for her life. Her father had been approached for Anna’s hand in marriage on behalf of Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria, who was also her uncle as he was her mother’s brother. Archduke Ferdinand was almost forty years older than Anna, but having recently been widowed from a morganatic marriage meaning his children could not succeed him, he needed an heir. While Anna longed for a religious life and did not want to marry her ageing uncle, she did not complain and did what she was required to do for her family’s sake.

Before moving to Austria, Anna asked that her parents would carry out some acts of charity on her behalf; to release 15 people from prisons, to furnish 15 churches and to give money to 15 people in need. Her father carried out Anna’s wishes, and she left for Innsbruck. On 14th May 1582 sixteen-year-old Anna married her fifty-three-year-old uncle and became Archduchess of Austria.

Within a year, Anna and Archduke Ferdinand had a daughter together named Anna Eleonore, but sadly the girl died the next year. A second daughter was born just months after her sister’s death and was named Maria. Maria lived a long life as a nun. In 1585, a third daughter was born to the pair and was named Anna and went on to become Holy Roman Empress after her marriage to her cousin Matthias. The two surviving girls were raised in the Catholic faith by their mother and were educated to a very high standard. Due to their sickly nature, Anna also made sure to feed the children a special diet from a cookbook she had made personally.

Archduke Ferdinand was angered by the fact that no sons were born to him and Anna, and though he loved his daughters, he could not hide his resentment. It took him time to come to terms with the fact he had no male heir. Ferdinand loved his wife however and gave her gifts of fine clothing and properties. After a period of illness, Ferdinand died in 1595. His ten-year-old daughter Anna inherited his lands in Tyrol and other further Austrian territories which would later be combined with her husband’s vast dominions.

After the death of her husband, Anna Juliana could finally devote herself to a religious life as she had always planned. She was not yet thirty and had plenty of wealth and energy to pour into the church. Anna began to dress very simply and tried to live a modest life even within the walls of Innsbruck Palace. Anna moved out of the main palace into a small building near to the chapel which was sparsely furnished. Her time was taken up by religious devotions, and so her daughters were entrusted to governesses for their upbringing. Anna began to live a quiet life and gave up her finery; she would even fast on Fridays.

With the large amounts of money that Anna had from life as an Archduchess, she began to give to those in need. She would feed the poor with her own hands from the palace. Anna also donated large sums to the church and religious institutions. When out on visits to give out alms or to visit the sick, Anna took her daughters with her.

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In the 1600s, Anna began to have more visions of Mary. In one such vision in 1606, Anna said she was instructed to build a convent in Innsbruck. The convent was to be for the Servants of Mary, Religious Sisters of the Servite Third Order. Anna held a ceremony to have the first cornerstone laid on her own land but started to face opposition to the construction. Some of Anna’s advisors told her not to deplete palace funds by building the convent and did not wish her to continue with the plans. This caused Anna a lot of stress, and she fell ill suddenly. It seemed like Anna would die as she became covered in wounds and was unable to leave her bed.

While Anna lay sick in her bed, a mass was given in her bedroom. During this mass, the sickening Anna suddenly had another vision of Mary. The Virgin Mary appeared in front of Anna and offered to protect her, the next minute, Anna jumped up from what had seemed to be her death bed, and she was healed. Another day during the construction work, another such miracle happened; there was a landslide which crushed a worker under the earth, but when a search party was out looking for his body, he was found to be completely fine. Anna’s sudden recovery and this second miracle quietened down the people who had opposed the building of the convent and Anna was able to get it finished. When the convent was finally completed, Anna fulfilled her wish and became a nun under the name of Anna Juliana. Her daughter Maria also became a nun in the same order.

Anna died in 1621, and she came to be thought of as a saint with people devoting themselves to her. A case for her to be canonised was opened but has so far never been finalised.

The post Anna Juliana Gonzaga – Guided by the Virgin Mary appeared first on History of Royal Women.

The first official mistress of Denmark – Sophie Amalie Moth

Sophie Amalie was born in March 1654 as the youngest of six children. She was born straight into a life at the royal court. Her parents were Ida Dorothea Bureneus and her husband Poul Moth, who was a court doctor after previously having worked as a teacher in the household.

We do not know anything of Sophie’s childhood, but we do know that after the death of her husband, Sophie’s mother worked tirelessly to try to set her daughter up with the new 24-year-old King Christian V of Denmark. Having been left with six children to provide for; Sophie’s mother clearly decided to use her role as a familiar figure at court to push her child in the king’s direction as a way to provide for her future. The tradition of keeping a mistress was well-established by this point in European courts and was seen as a way for a woman to establish herself.

King Christian V (public domain)

Whatever Ida Bureneus did, her scheme was a success, and by 1671 Sophie and King Christian were an item. Sophie was 16 years old when the pair became a couple and lived in a house with her sister at the time. The king’s wife Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassell could do nothing but abide her husband’s actions as he continued this relationship with Sophie. As Christian and Charlotte had their royal children together, more illegitimate children were being born around the same times to Sophie and Christian.

Sophie’s first child was born in 1672 and was a daughter named Christiane. This child came just a year after Christian’s heir, the future Frederick IV, was born to Queen Charlotte. There were six children born to the couple between the years 1672-1682, which shows that their love affair was a long term relationship.

Over the years, during her relationship with the king, Sophie managed to buy herself houses, farms and estates with money from the king and the crown treasury. These properties made sure that Sophie and her children were well provided. Her position became more certain when in 1676, Sophie was declared the king’s official mistress. This was unprecedented in Denmark, and the king may have come up with the idea after spending time in Louis XIV’s court at Versailles in his younger years. This announcement brought about great embarrassment for a time for Queen Charlotte. However, she soon learned to put up with Sophie as Charlotte realised that her position as Queen could not be touched. Charlotte would attend all royal parties with the king, she was allowed to enter his chambers, and she went on trips with him to battle sites in a way that Sophie was not able. Nevertheless, it is clear that the king loved Sophie and the children born from their union.

In 1677, Sophie was given a title by the king and was known as Countess of Samsø from then on. Two years later, the king publically acknowledged the five children he had with Sophie and gave them the surname of Gyldenløve which was often given to the illegitimate children of Danish kings.

As time went by and the children grew up, they were seen at court more and more. Sadly two of the couple’s daughters died in the year 1684. In 1685, the other children were officially introduced at the court and even presented to Queen Charlotte, from this point on, it was more acceptable for good marriages and jobs to be arranged for the children. Sadly before long, tragedy struck again, and in 1689, Sophie and Christian’s remaining two daughters both passed away. One of them was Christiane their eldest who had recently married with her father in attendance, and the other was Anna, who was aged just thirteen. After these losses, Sophie was left with just her two sons alive out of six children.

In 1697, Sophie was given another property by the king, which is known today as Thott Palace. Just two years later, after almost thirty years together, King Christian died suddenly at the age of 53, after a hunting accident. Sophie lived a quiet life for another two decades before her own death. Only one of the couple’s six children outlived them both. Today the Danish noble family Danneskiold-Samsøe still descends directly from Sophie and King Christian.

The post The first official mistress of Denmark – Sophie Amalie Moth appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Former Queen Dina of Jordan has died at the age of 89

The Royal Hashemite Court has announced the death of Her Royal Highness Dina bint Abdul-Hamid, the former Queen of Jordan, who died today – 21 August 2019 – in Amman.

Princess Dina’s funeral march will take place this afternoon at the Royal Guard Mosque and she will then be buried in the Royal Tombs.

Princess Dina was the first wife of the late King Hussein bin Talal between 1955 and 1957 and the mother of Princess Alia bint Hussein. Dina lost the title of Queen in their divorce was given the rank of a Princess of Jordan. She led a quiet life in Cairo and remarried in 1970 to lieutenant-Colonel Asad Sulayman Abd al-Qadir, a high-ranking official in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). He was imprisoned by the Israelis in 1982. A year later, Princess Dina negotiated one of the largest prisoner exchanges in history and freed her husband and 8,000 other prisoners.

Read more about Princess Dina here.

 

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The Year of Queen Victoria – King William IV’s awkward birthday dinner

In August 1836, King William IV celebrated his last birthday in style. He invited the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria to stay at Windsor Castle from the 13th – Queen Adelaide’s birthday – until his own birthday on the 21st. However, the Duchess of Kent told him that she wanted to have her own birthday – on the 17th – at Claremont and would arrive on the 20th. The King was infuriated, and matters only became worse when he visited Kensington Palace while the Duchess was away and saw that she had taken over 17 rooms.

He seethed all the way back to Windsor Castle and arrived there at 10 in the evening where the court and several guests were still talking after dinner. He went over to Princess Victoria, took her hands in his and told her how happy he was to see her and that he wished to see her more often. He then turned to the Duchess of Kent and scolded her for taking the rooms, “not only without his consent, but contrary to his commands, and that he neither understood nor would endure conduct so disrespectful to him.” The entire room fell silent, and the Duchess of Kent looked down at her hands, humiliated.

The following day, at the King’s official birthday dinner with 100 guests, he rose to speak and immediately launched into a tirade. “I trust in God that my life may be spared for nine months longer, after which period, in the event of my death, no regency would take place. I should then have the satisfaction of leaving the royal authority to the personal exercise of that young lady (he pointed at Princess Victoria) the heiress presumptive of the Crown, and not in the hands of a person now near me, who is surrounded by evil advisers and who is herself incompetent to act with propriety in the station in which she would be placed. I have no hesitation in saying that I have been insulted – grossly and continually insulted – by that person, but I am determined to endure no longer a course of behaviour so disrespectful to me.”

He went on to say that Princess Victoria had been “kept away from my court; she has been repeatedly kept from my drawing-room, at which she ought always to have been present, but I am fully resolved that this shall not happen again. I would have her know that I am King, and I am determined to make any authority respected, and for the future, I shall insist and command that the Princess do upon all occasions appear at my Court, as is her duty to do.”

Princess Victoria had burst into tears and her mother the Duchess sat stony-faced. The Duchess wanted to leave immediately, but she was persuaded to remain until the following day as was planned so it would not create a scandal. Of course, it nevertheless became public knowledge, and many were shocked by the King’s tirade. He was far beyond caring, and he “would not stand it any longer.”1

The post The Year of Queen Victoria – King William IV’s awkward birthday dinner appeared first on History of Royal Women.

The Year of Queen Victoria – Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld – Finding happiness (Part four)

Read part one here.

Read part two here.

Read part three here.

It would not be until her daughter became a mother of her own, that Victoria found herself welcomed back into the family. When Sir John Conroy died in 1854, Victoria wrote to her daughter, “He has been of great use to me, but unfortunately has also done great harm.” In May 1859, Victoria fell ill. Her daughter wrote to King Leopold, “Albert, who writes to you, will tell you how dreadfully our great, great happiness to have dearest Vicky, flourishing and so well and gay with us, was on Monday and a good deal too yesterday, clouded over and spoilt by the dreadful anxiety we were in about dearest Mamma. Thank God! Today I feel another being – for we know she is ‘in a satisfactory state’ and improving in every respect, but I am thoroughly shaken and upset by this awful shock; for it came on so suddenly – that it came like a thunderbolt upon us, and I think I never suffered as I did those four dreadful hours till we heard she was better! I hardly myself knew how I loved her, or how my whole existence seems bound up with her – till I saw looming in the distance the fearful possibility of what I will not mention.”

That fearful possibility came true not much later. After months of ill-health, Victoria – Duchess of Kent – died on 16 March 1861. Her daughter sat by her bedside on a footstool holding her mother’s hand when she realised that she had stopped breathing. Albert took his wife into the next room and a devastated Queen Victoria wrote to her uncle, King Leopold, “On this, the most dreadful day of my life, does your poor heartbroken child write one line of love and devotion. She is gone!” She cried for weeks and deeply regretted their estrangement.

After the funeral, Queen Victoria wrote, “On Sunday I took leave of those dearly beloved remains – a dreadful moment; I had never been near a coffin before, but dreadful and heart rendering as it was, it was so beautifully arranged that it would have pleased her, and most probably she looked down and blessed us – as we poor sorrowing mortals knelt around, overwhelmed with grief! It was covered with wreaths, and the carpet strewed with sweet, white flowers. I and our daughters did not go yesterday – it would have been far too much for me – and Albert when he returned, with tearful eyes, told me it was well I did not go – so affecting had been the sight – so universal the sympathy.

But oh, dearest Uncle – the loss – the truth of it – which I cannot, do not realise even when I go (as I do daily) to Frogmore – the blank becomes daily worse! I try to be, and very often am, quite resigned – but dearest Uncle, this is a life sorrow. On all festive or mournful occasions, on all family events, her love and sympathy will be so fearfully wanting. Then again, except Albert (who I very often don’t see but very little in the day), I have no human being except our children… and besides, a woman requires woman’s society and sympathy sometimes, as men do men’s. All this, beloved Uncle, will show you that, without dwelling constantly upon it, or moping or becoming morbid, though the blank and the loss to me, in my isolated position especially, is such a dreadful, and such an irreparable one, the worst trials are yet to come. My poor birthday, I can hardly think of it!”

On 30 March she wrote, “I think you may like to hear from your poor motherless child. It is to-day a fortnight already, and it seems but yesterday – all is done before me, and at the same all, all seems quite impossible… Weeping, which day after day is my welcome friend, is my greatest relief… To open her drawers and presses, and to look at all her dear jewels and trinkets in order to identify everything, is like a sacrilege, and I feel as if my heart was being asunder!”

Ten days later she wrote in her journal, “It is dreadful, dreadful to think we shall never see that dear kind living face again, never hear that dear voice again! The talking of ordinary things is quite unbearable to me… The outbursts of grief are fearful and at times, unbearable… One of my great comforts is to go to Frogmore, to sit in her dear room… dread as it is to feel the awful stillness of the house… I had never been near a coffin before… The dreadful thing as I told Albert yesterday is the certainty that the loss is irrevocable.”

Shortly before what would have been the Duchess of Kent’s 75th birthday, Queen Victoria wrote to King Leopold, “On the 17th we shall visit that dear grave! Last year she was still so well, and so full of life; but it was a very sad birthday, two days after the loss that dear beloved sister, whom she has joined so soon! Beloved Mamma, how hourly she is on my mind!”

Queen Victoria had sometimes doubted her mother’s affection for her, especially during her youth and the early days of her reign, but the reconciliation had brought them closer again, and she had even come to need a mother’s love and companionship.1

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The Year of Queen Victoria – Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld – Finding happiness (Part three)

Read part one here.

Read part two here.

As her daughter received the news of her accession, Victoria sat outside the door. The new Queen’s first act was to ask for an hour alone and for her bed to be moved from her mother’s room. Victoria would spend the day trying to get close to her daughter, but she was ignored. John Conroy felt completely beaten. It wasn’t until the end of the day that the Queen came down to say goodnight to her mother. During those first days, Victoria continually tried to see her daughter but was told she would need to apply for permission – only to be told that the Queen was busy. The Queen also ignored John Conroy much to Victoria’s dismay, and she angrily wrote, “In marking Sir John as You have done, he is branded in the eyes of the world.” When she saw her daughter in her regalia for the first time, she wrote, “I shall never forget my feelings when I saw her sit on the Throne! That young girl 18 years old being the sole sovereign of this great country.” During her daughter’s coronation, Victoria was in tears.

When her daughter initially grew dependent on Lord Melbourne, her first Prime Minister, Victoria was angry, and she wrote, “Take care that Lord Melbourne is not King.” He had usurped the position that Victoria had wished for John Conroy. In August 1838, Victoria celebrated her 42nd birthday, and she felt absolutely humiliated. She wrote, “My birthday is come and gone, and things are much changed.” Her daughter had let her move in with her at Buckingham Palace but several apartments away from her. The constant rejection led to Victoria writing to her daughter that she should show more respect. “For this reason, it hurts me more for your sake than for my own, when you are not always quite attentive to me. You see dear love when you do not look after me, and if you do not stop for me, I am obliged to go with your ladies, which is not my place, as I am your mother.” She demanded to be given the rank and precedence of Queen Mother, which her daughter refused to give her. She then gave her daughter a copy of King Lear for her next birthday.

Victoria did not give up trying to push John Conroy on her daughter and was making her own position worse for it. Her daughter wrote to her, “I thought you would not expect me to invite Sir John Conroy after his conduct towards me for some years past, and still more so after the unaccountable manner in which he behaved to me, a short while after I came to the Throne.” Victoria also demanded that her debts be paid and besieged her daughter with angry letters and demands. Their relationship had definitely hit rock bottom. It soon became clear that Sir John Conroy had been quite dishonest and sums were missing, and Lord Melbourne called her “the most foolish woman he had ever met.”

Then came the scandal surrounding Lady Flora Hastings – a lady-in-waiting to Victoria. In early 1839, Lady Flora suffered from a distended stomach and nausea, and the Queen jumped to the conclusion that Lady Flora must be pregnant and with Sir John’s child too. She was eventually forced to undergo a humiliating examination which concluded that she was a virgin. Victoria was outraged at the cruelty against a lady of her household and used the scandal to her full advantage. Lady Flora died on 5 July 1839. The autopsy report showed that Lady Flora had a grossly enlarged liver which was pressing on her stomach.

When her daughter became engaged to Prince Albert in 1839, Victoria was told one month after the fact. The Queen wrote, “she took me in her arms and cried, and said, though I had not asked her, still that she gave her blessing to it, and seemed delighted.” However, she was determined not to let it change her position. Victoria demanded to live with the couple after they married and tried emotional blackmail on her daughter. It was no use – she would have to leave. Throughout the wedding, Victoria appeared to be disconsolate and distressed. As her daughter left the chapel, she kissed the hand of Queen Adelaide but only extended her hand to her mother. A new house was found for Victoria at Belgrave Square.1

Part four coming soon.

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The Year of Queen Victoria – Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld – Finding happiness (Part two)

Read part one here.

Shortly after her husband’s death, Victoria was persuaded to return to London, and on 23 January she did so with Feodora, young Victoria and John Conroy. The Prince Regent eventually relented and let Victoria move into Kensington Palace with her children, although she would have to furnish it herself. Just a few days later, the ailing King George III also died, making the Prince Regent King at last. With the death of the King, young Victoria moved up in the line of succession. Only her uncles the childless Duke of York and the Duke of Clarence, whose wife was still of childbearing age, stood between her and the throne. The King fell ill almost immediately after his accession and Victoria, and her young daughter were both low on the list of his priorities.

The Duke of Kent was buried on the night of 12 February in the family vault at Windsor while Victoria sat alone in Kensington Palace writing, “in my solitude here, eating my heart out.” Her brother Leopold paid for the funeral. The new King wanted Victoria to return to Amorbach as soon as possible, and she was indeed eager to return there. She had had no help – except from her brother and John Conroy. Leopold was determined that Victoria should stay in England and Victoria reluctantly stayed. Victoria borrowed money to furnish her rooms at Kensington Palace, gave up her regency in Leiningen and began to rely heavily on John Conroy saying, “I don’t know what I should do without him.” The new King argued that Leopold should care for his sister and refused to give her any money. He offered her £3,000 a year from his £50,000 a year, and Victoria additionally received the £6,000 a year that had been her husband’s. It was not much to raise a future Queen on.

The Duchess of Kent now faced an agonising wait as her daughter’s future was in no way set in stone yet. The Duchess of Clarence may yet produce an heir and childhood disease may strike at any given time. Luckily the young Princess was growing into a plump and healthy toddler, and she was already becoming quite headstrong. Victoria wrote, “She drives me at times into real desperation… Today the little mouse… was so unmanageable that I nearly cried.” Victoria lived in fear that her husband’s family would try to take her daughter from her, and she tried to prevent too much contact. Meanwhile, she had no one to trust except John Conroy, and Leopold became bored with her neediness. Victoria and John Conroy soon had one common goal – becoming regent for the young Princess Victoria.

Victoria and John Conroy began their attempt to bend the princess to their will, in a plan called “The Kensington System.” They believed that she would most luckily succeed before her 18th birthday and would require a regent, such as her mother. The whole system was “to ensure that the Duchess had such influence over her daughter that the nation should have to assign her the regency.” The Princess’s education was to be kept in the Duchess’s hands so that “nothing and no one should be able to tear the daughter away from her.” Secondly, it was to “give the Princess Victoria an upbringing which would enable her in the future to be equal of her high position” and to “win her so high a place in the hearts of her future subjects, even before her accession, that she would assume the sceptre with a popularity never yet attained and rule with commensurate power.”

The Princess was intended to become detached from her uncles King George IV and his successor King William IV but also King Leopold of Belgium, who also had his eyes on the regency. The public would need to believe that Victoria and her daughter were inseparable. In practice, this meant that the Princess was under constant surveillance, and everything was reported to John Conroy. She never saw anyone without a third person present and was never allowed to be alone. She slept in her mother’s bedchamber and her governess Lehzen sat with her until the Duchess came to bed. Victoria was constantly surrounded by John Conroy, but also his children. The Princess became quite resentful at being obliged to spent time with Victoire Conroy, whom she considered to be her social inferior and also resented her playmate’s father and her mother’s fascination with him.

Princess Victoria usually blamed the Kensington System for her unhappiness as a child. She wanted to visit her uncles and enjoy life at court. If anything, the Kensington System did succeed in making her immensely popular, and people yearned to see the little girl.

On 26 June 1830, King George IV died and was succeeded his younger brother the Duke of Clarence – the Duke of York had died in 1827 – who now became King William IV. Victoria was now first in the line of succession. By the end of 1830, Victoria had become convinced that her faithful lady-in-waiting, Baroness Späth, was spying for the King and fired her. She remained afraid that the King would try to take her child. Nevertheless, she was at odds with him over apartments on the second floor of Kensington Palace that he had refused and which she eventually took without permission. She also refused to be in the same room as King William’s illegitimate children saying, “Did I not keep this line, how would it be possible to teach Victoria the difference between Vice and Virtue?”

She also began planning a grand tour of England for her young daughter and herself. She was met with great deference everywhere she went, but Princess Victoria hated travelling. The King was furious when he read all about it. By 1831, it finally seemed certain that Princess Victoria would one day be Queen. Queen Adelaide‘s last pregnancy had ended with the stillbirth of twin boys. When the King suggested that her daughter’s name should be changed to something not so foreign as Victoria, she was outraged and refused. They were now truly at war. Victoria refused to be present for the King’s coronation and also did not allow her daughter to go, making the excuse that the long ceremony would be a strain on her health.

As the young Victoria entered her teens, her mother found a new way to control her. She gave the Princess a journal and told her that she and Louise Lehzen would read the entries. Despite the intentions, Princess Victoria took to writing in her journal and would continue to do so for the rest of her life. Victoria took her daughter on several more grand tours through the country to the disgust of the King, and he ordered that she should not be saluted by any naval ship. After Princess Victoria turned 15, her mother saw her chances of becoming regent slipping away and felt the need to present the Princess as too childish to rule alone and that she should have a regency even beyond the age of 18.

On the day of her daughter’s confirmation, Victoria gave her a letter explaining all that she had sacrificed for her. Princess Victoria wrote in her journal, “I went with the firm determination to become a true Christian, to try and comfort my dear Mamma in all her griefs, trials and anxieties, and to become a dutiful and affectionate daughter to her. Also to be obedient to dear Lehzen who has done so much for me.” When yet another tour was planned, Princess Victoria refused to go, but after an anxious letter from her mother, she capitulated. Afterwards, Princess Victoria fell terribly ill and had to beg her mother for a physician to be sent to her. Victoria seized her chance to ask her daughter to confirm John Conroy as her private secretary – she refused. She will ill for over two months and lost her hair and a lot of weight.

Victoria wanted her daughter to marry a cousin from her side of the family and invited not only Ernest and Albert – the sons of her brother the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha – but also the sons of her sister Antoinette and the sons of her brother Ferdinand. Princess Victoria agreed to write to Albert but did not initially single him out for praise.

Her daughter was now almost an adult, and Victoria saw her potential power slipping away. She was publicly rebuffed for taking the empty rooms at Kensington Palace during what would be the King’s last birthday dinner. He was determined to live long enough to see his heir reach her 18th birthday and rule out Victoria’s regency. When she reached her 18th birthday, the King wrote to her offering her money and her own establishment. Victoria and her daughter entered into a bitter argument, and she forced her daughter to decline the offer.

The last month before the King’s death, Victoria’s desperation came to a head. She wrote to her daughter, “You are still very young. Do not be too sanguine in your own talents and understanding. You are untried, you are liked for your youth, your sex and the hope that is entertained, but all confidence in you comes from your mother’s reputation.”

In the early morning of 20 June 1837, King William IV died, and Victoria’s daughter succeeded as Queen. Victoria refused to let Lord Conyngham and the Archbishop of Canterbury see her daughter – who was still asleep – a final act of defiance. She finally woke her daughter up at six o’clock to receive the news.1

Part three coming soon.

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The Year of Queen Victoria – Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld – Finding happiness (Part one)

Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was born on 17 August 1786 as the daughter of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf. Her parents had a total of ten children, of which seven survived to adulthood. Victoria’s sister Juliane married Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia, while another sister named Antoinette married Duke Alexander of Württemberg. Her eldest brother was Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (having received Gotha in 1826) while another brother named Leopold had married Princess Charlotte of Wales and later became King of the Belgians. Her eldest sister Sophie married Emmanuel, Count of Mensdorff-Pouilly and another brother named Ferdinand married Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág who became the parents of King Ferdinand II of Portugal. All in all, the family was quite well-connected.

Victoria herself married at the age of 17 to the widowed Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen who was then 40 years old and had previously been married to Victoria’s aunt Henriette of Reuss-Ebersdorf. He was not at all excited about the prospect of marrying again, declaring that he never would have done so if his first wife had not died. When he succeeded to the principality of Leiningen, it was largely occupied by Napoleon and he effectively only ruled a small area with only 15,000 inhabitants. He spent much time away from Victoria, though they did have two children together: Charles in 1804 and Feodora in 1807. Victoria spent most of her time with her lady-in-waiting, Baroness Späth. Her husband’s death in 1814 probably came as a relief to her and Victoria welcomed her newfound independence.

Her brother Leopold had other plans. The death of his wife Charlotte – heir to King George IV – had thrown the British succession wide open. George’s brother the Duke of Kent had been living with his mistress Madame de St Laurent but soon realised he would have to marry. Leopold praised Victoria’s beauty and her gentle character, and the Duke was soon convinced to win her hand in marriage. He went to visit her at Amorbach, and after just two days, he proposed – only to be refused. Victoria had no desire to marry him – she did not even speak English, and he was hardly appealing. Leopold did not take no for an answer so easily and urged his sister to reconsider. She could become Queen in due time. In January 1818, the Duke of Kent wrote to Victoria, asking for an answer. She was finally persuaded after she was promised that she would remain guardian of her two children, and the Duke agreed to spend part of every year in Germany. She wrote back to him, “I am leaving an agreeable, independent position in the hope that your affection will be my reward.” He was delighted and wrote back, “I want you to know, my very dear Princess, that I am nothing more than a soldier, 50 years old and after 32 years of service not very fitted to captivate the heart of a young and charming Princess, who is 19 years younger.” It was honest, at least. Their engagement was met with enthusiasm.

On 29 May 1818 at half-past eight in the evening, the couple had their first wedding ceremony at the Ehrenburg Palace in Coburg. Victoria wore a white dress with roses and orange blossom. A second – double – wedding ceremony took place in July at Kew Palace. Victoria’s mother hoped that her daughter would “find in this second marriage a happiness she never found in her first.” Two months after their second wedding ceremony, the couple returned to Amorbach where the cost of living would be cheaper. There they lived with Feodora, Baroness Späth and Sir John Conroy, whom the Duke had taken on as a military equerry. Their domestic happiness was soon complete when Victoria learned she was pregnant.

The Duke was convinced that his child would have a good chance of inheriting the throne, and he was determined to have her born on British soil. On New Year’s Eve in 1818, the Duke wrote to his wife, “This evening will put an end, dear beloved Victoire, to the year 1818, which saw the birth of my happiness by giving you to me as my guardian angel… all my efforts are directed to one end, the preservation of your death health and the birth of a child who will resemble you, and if Heaven will give me these two blessings I shall be consoled for all my misfortunes and disappointments, with which my life has been marked.” They managed to find their way back to England just in time for the birth of their daughter, the future Queen Victoria on 24 May 1819. The Duke of Kent had been with Victoria throughout the labour. He wrote to his mother-in-law, “Thank God, the dear mother and child are doing marvellously well.” Victoria wanted to feed her daughter herself and wrote, “I would have been desperate to see my little darling on someone else’s breast.” The Duke could only watch on in fascination.

Victoria had wanted to name her daughter Victoire Georgiana Alexandrina Charlotte Augusta but the future King George IV – then still Prince Regent – was not satisfied. He finally declared that her name would be Alexandrina, but the Duke of Kent requested another name and asked for Elizabeth. Victoria had burst into tears, and the Prince Regent then added, “Give her the mother’s name also then, but it cannot precede that of the Emperor.” And so she became Alexandrina Victoria.

The Duke of Kent decided to take an inexpensive house by the sea after the birth of his daughter. Louise Lehzen was selected as a governess for the 12-year-old Feodora who went with them while Charles was at boarding school. On 2 November 1819, the Duke celebrated his 52nd birthday. The winter would be very cold, and the Duke soon caught a heavy cold. He refused to rest and went on long seak walks. By 12 January, he was delirious and having chest pains. Victoria nursed him to the best of her abilities, but she was helpless. He was bled several times, and he was tormented with “cupping” for several hours. She wrote, “It is too dreadful. There is hardly a spot on his dear body which has not been touched by cupping, blisters or bleeding. He was terribly exhausted yesterday after all that had been done to him by those cruel doctors.”

Prince Leopold hurried to his sister’s side and arrived just in time to see the Duke ask for his will to be drawn up. He bequeathed everything to his wife, although it was pretty much a mountain of debt. He died the following morning at ten o’clock, holding his wife’s hand. She wrote, “I am hopelessly lost without my dearest Edward, who thought of everything and always shielded me. Whatever shall I do without his strong support?”1

Part two coming soon.

The post The Year of Queen Victoria – Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld – Finding happiness (Part one) appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Princess Christina to be the first Dutch royal to be cremated

Princess Christina of the Netherlands, who died earlier today at the age of 72, will be the first Dutch royal to be cremated.

Members of the Dutch Royal house are normally interred in the royal crypt in Delft, however, Princess Christina ceased to be a member of the Dutch royal house when she married Jorge Pérez y Guillermo in 1975. She remained a member of the royal family. The last to be interred in the royal crypt were Princess Christina’s parents, former Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard, who both died in 2004.

King Willem-Alexander’s brother Prince Friso – who died in 2013 after a long coma after he was buried under an avalanche – was also not interred in the royal crypt and he was instead buried at Lage Vuursche, near Castle Drakensteyn where Princess Beatrix lives.

It is possible that Princess Christina’s ashed will be placed in the royal crypt but this has not been announced yet.

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