Couples in History: Lady Caroline Lennox and Henry Fox

Lady Caroline Fox, born Lady Caroline Lennox and Henry Fox, rakish politician.

Images: Wikipedia. Public Domain. 

Caroline Lennox, Charles II's Great-Granddaughter

Lady Caroline Lennox was born on 27th March 1723 at Richmond House in Whitehall, London, and she was christened Georgiana Carolina. She was the eldest of the Lennox sisters that both captivated and scandalised society in the mid-18th century.

Caroline's father was the cricket-loving courtier Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, grandson of the "Merry Monarch" King Charles II and his French mistress Louise de Kerouaille. In 1719, Charles Lennox, then the Earl of March, and Sarah Cadogan married. Sarah was regarded as the payment of a gambling debt owed by her father William Cadogan, 1st Earl of Cadogan to Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond.

The marriage was surprisingly successful, and the duke and duchess were appointed as a lord and lady of the bedchamber to King George II and his wife Queen Caroline.

They had 12 children from over 20 pregnancies. Only Caroline, Emilia (Emily), Louisa, Sarah, Charles, George and Cecilia (sometimes called Cecily) survived to adulthood.

Henry Fox's Colourful History

In the early 1740s, Caroline was charmed by Henry Fox, a politician 18 years her senior. Henry was a protégé of Britain's first Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole and a friend of roguish courtier Lord John Hervey. Hervey was Henry's older brother Stephen's lover for approximately 10 years from 1726.

Henry squandered his inheritance when his father Sir Stephen Fox died in October 1716, and he spent a few years in Europe evading his English creditors. Fortunately for him, a wealthy married woman named Susannah Strangeways Horner showered him with money and gifts. He was able to return to England to pursue his political career by the mid-1730s.

She promptly ensured that her daughter Elizabeth married Henry's brother Stephen and that he used the name Fox-Strangeways. Henry's relationship with his patron ended in 1741 when she cast her attention towards Lord Hervey.

Henry Fox was a bold and unscrupulous statesman and not what the Duke and Duchess of Richmond wanted for Caroline. They repeatedly refused to permit a marriage, and the Richmond's were stunned when Caroline eloped with Henry Fox; the runaways married on 2nd May 1744.

Holland House, London

The new Mrs. Fox's relationship with her parents never recovered from the episode, but Caroline and Henry's marriage was successful. Their son Stephen (Ste) was born in 1745, Henry Charles was born and died in 1746, Charles James arrived in 1749 and Henry Edward completed the family in 1755. As adults, the older two sons spoilt behaviour, gambling and womanising embarrassed Caroline while Henry encouraged them. Charles James Fox was his father's favourite.

From 1746, the Fox's splendid home was Holland House in Kensington, London. The property and 64 acres of land was leased to them by Henry's friend William Edwardes, 2nd Baron Kensington for 99 years or 3 lifetimes. Henry purchased more property and land as the years passed.

The Fox's hosted impressive political events and parties, and Henry Fox was named as a potential prime minister until rumours about him misappropriating funds while in the role of Paymaster General thwarted his ambitions. He retired from politics in 1765.

The Duke of Richmond's Will Excludes Caroline

The 2nd Duke of Richmond died in August 1750, and Caroline's brother Charles became the 3rd Duke of Richmond. Sarah, the dowager duchess, passed away in August 1751.

The duke's will betrayed his anger about Caroline's elopement. She didn't receive anything, and the responsibility of raising her siblings didn't fall to her as everyone expected, but to Emily, the next oldest Lennox sister. Emily was married to James FitzGerald, 20th Earl of Kildare, the future 1st Duke of Leinster, and lived in Ireland.

The younger Lennox children travelled to Ireland as Caroline bore the insults with fortitude. She concentrated on raising her own children in London. Aged 13, Sarah moved into Holland House.

The Sarah Lennox Scandal

The Fox's and the Kildare's argued bitterly after Sarah's fall from grace. Emily and James blamed the scandals surrounding Henry and Caroline Fox for King George III's reluctance to marry Sarah Lennox and all subsequent events.

Sarah married Sir (Thomas) Charles Bunbury on 2nd June 1762 at Holland House. A few years later, she embarked on an affair with Lord William Gordon, and she bore his child, Louisa, in 1768. She was given the surname Bunbury. Sarah ran off with William, taking Louisa with her.

William Gordon became weary of Sarah, and he discarded her and the baby. She asked Charles Bunbury to take her back. He refused and started potentially ruinous divorce proceedings. Although Sarah resisted the legal action, a divorce was awarded to Bunbury in May 1776.

In 1781, Sarah quietly married the Honourable George Napier. Their marriage was happy.

Caroline and Emily were estranged until the final days of Caroline's life.

Emily created her own scandal in the 1770s. James, by then the Duke of Leinster, died in November 1773. She had an affair with her children's tutor William Ogilvie and they married in August 1774 and had three children. She retained the title Dowager Duchess of Leinster.

Baroness Holland of Holland, Baron Holland of Foxley

On 3rd May 1762, Lady Caroline Fox was given the title of Baroness Holland of Holland in the County of Lincoln by King George III. The following April, Henry Fox was made Baron Holland of Foxley. He was hugely disappointed that it wasn't an earldom.

Caroline's health wasn't strong in her later years, and she was often in pain. She died on 24th July 1774, just three weeks after Henry suffered a fatal stroke. They were buried at All Saint's Church in Farley, Wiltshire.

Ste became the 2nd Baron Holland twice over as he inherited his parents titles. He enjoyed them for five months; Ste died on Boxing Day 1774. His grandson Henry, the 4th baron, died in 1859 without any heirs. The Holland titles became extinct.

Holland House was bombed during the Second World War, and only part of it remains. Holland Park, formerly the property's grounds, is one of the most affluent areas of London, and it boasts celebrity residents and the Ukrainian embassy.

Sources

• Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox 1740-1832 by Stella Tillyard. Arguably the definitive biography of the Lennox sisters.

• Charles James Fox | British Statesman & Whig Leader | Britannica
  Charles James Fox was Britain’s first foreign secretary (1782, 1783, 1806), a famous champion of liberty, whose career, on the face of it, was nevertheless one of almost unrelieved failure.
• Lennox, Caroline (1723–1774) | Encyclopedia.com

Mary, Queen of Scots, Monarch At Six Days Old

Mary, Queen of Scots as a teenager. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Welcome Màiri Stiùbhairt (Scots Gaelic)

On the 8^th of December 1542, Mary Stewart (the surname was not yet spelled Stuart) was born prematurely at the Scottish royal residence of Linlithgow Palace less than twenty miles west of Edinburgh. Her mother, Marie of Guise (1515-1560), was French. Her father, James V of Scotland (1512-1542), had been king since he was an infant and had ruled in his own right from the age of twelve. When Mary was born, he was fighting the English. Again. The two countries, led by James and King Henry VIII (1491-1547), rarely laid down their weapons in the contest for dominance.

The French-Scottish Alliance Strengthened

James V and Marie of Guise had each been married and bereaved once prior to their union. Marie diplomatically rejected a marriage proposal from the Protestant Church of England’s creator King Henry VIII on the instructions of King Francois I of France (1494-1547) before she accepted James V of Scotland, or rather Francois accepted on her behalf. James and Marie were married first by proxy in May 1538 and in person at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Fife on the 12th of June 1538. Francois’s goal was achieved. Through the marriage, the French-Scottish Catholic alliance against England was reinforced. The position of Protestants in Scotland was weakened. The king of France awarded a substantial dowry as a reward.

Royal Heirs for Scotland

Heirs? Yes. Although many people only know of Mary, Queen of Scots, she had two elder brothers who died. Marie of Guise gave birth to a son James, Duke of Rothesay on 22nd May 1540 at St. Andrews near Edinburgh. A second son Arthur, Duke of Albany was born on 12th April 1541 at Falkland Palace in Fife. James died on 21st April 1541 at St. Andrew’s and Arthur died eight days after his birth at Fife. Both princes died within hours of each other at separate locations. There was talk that they had been poisoned. They were buried at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.

Marie of Guise had one surviving son from her first brief marriage to Louis d’Orleans, Duc de Longueville (1510-1537.) Francois was born in 1535 and Louis in 1537. Baby Louis died within a few months and Francois inherited the dukedom but he had no rights to the Scottish throne. Sadly, he fell ill and died in 1551. James V had numerous illegitimate Stewart-sired offspring but they were not permitted in the line of succession to the Scottish throne.

“It cam wi’ a lass and it will gang with a lass."

After the deaths of his sons, James V fell into a deep depression. He expected that he would be assassinated because he had no legitimate heirs. Marie of Guise became pregnant again in 1542, and hope for the dynasty was reignited. As Marie’s due date grew closer, so too did the English armies. James V was called upon to lead his army and after a demoralizing defeat on the 24th of November at the Battle of Solway Moss, the king of Scotland suffered a nervous breakdown and was also left physically ill after drinking some contaminated water. 

When news of his child’s arrival reached him in December 1542 he was not thrilled that Mary obviously wasn’t the longed-for male heir and his comment about the Stewart reign over Scotland has survived. “It cam wi’ a lass and it will gang with a lass.” This was a reference to ruler Robert the Bruce’s daughter Marjorie (1296-1316), who married Walter Stewart, the 6th High Steward of Scotland (1296-1327.) Their only child, Robert II (1316-1390), was the first Stewart king. James V was aware that his newborn daughter would inevitably be married dynastically and so the Stewarts’ would fade into obscurity as a ruling house. The king, consumed by his mental illness couldn’t imagine that he and Marie would have more children or that the royal house would continue.

Queen in a Cradle

James V died at Falkland Palace on 14th December 1542 aged thirty. Mary was just six days old and the queen of Scotland. She was cared for by her nurse Janet Sinclair. The queen was not exempt from slights and gossip. She was said to be frail and her survival was questioned. The claims were unfounded. In spring 1543 the English diplomat Ralph Sadler commented to his king that Mary was “as goodly a child as I have seen of her age, and as like to live.” A regency was established with James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran (1519-1575) ruling in Mary’s name. He was a popular Protestant courtier and Mary’s nearest blood relative after her mother.

Matthew Stewart, 4^th Earl of Lennox (1516-1571) was another cousin of Mary’s and he argued that he should have been made regent instead of Arran. Lennox would go on to be Mary, Queen of Scots father in law when she married Henry, Lord Darnley (1545-1567) but he was not successful in his claim for the regency. The Earl of Lennox finally became regent in 1570, but to Mary, Queen of Scots son James VI (1566-1625.) Lennox died in 1571.

As Arran’s influence waned, Marie of Guise took over as regent. Mary was oblivious to the constant intrigue at court and the peaceful stalemate between England and Scotland that turned once more to war in the Rough Wooing as Henry VIII tried in vain to contract a marriage between his son Edward, born in October 1537, and Mary.

Queen of Scots and Queen of France

Marie arranged an excellent marriage for Mary with Francois, the Dauphin of France (1544-1560) who ruled as King Francois II from 10th July 1559 to 5th December 1560. The young and pretty Mary was sent to France aged five, as Marie remained in Scotland. It was at this time that the Stewart name was altered to Stuart, the French version.

In August 1561 Mary returned to Scotland a nineteen-year-old widow. Within six years she lost her throne and the faith of her people, married twice more, and bore her son and heir James VI.

Sources:

Scourge of Henry VIII: The Life of Marie de Guise by Melanie Clegg. Pen and Sword History 2016.

Mary Queen of Scots Makers of History by Jacob Abbott. Public Domain 1904.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-queen-of-Scotland

http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/marie-of-guise-queen-of-scots/

http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/james-v-king-of-scots/

http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/mary-queen-of-scots/

Princess Charlotte of Wales: Born to Be Queen but Dead at 21

 

Princess Charlotte of Wales. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales

George, Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, and Caroline of Brunswick, the Princess of Wales, had one child during their acrimonious marriage.

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales was born on the 7th of January, 1796, and she was named in honour of her grandmothers. She arrived nine months after a wedding ceremony that had featured a drunken groom, an apoplectic King George III and an unimpressed bride.

With their duty of providing an heir for the throne complete, the Prince and Princess of Wales parted, although George never managed to secure a divorce from Caroline. The Wales's spent years battling for public favour, and they unashamedly used their daughter as a pawn in their bids for supremacy.

In London, Caroline lived at Montague House, George resided at Carlton House, and Charlotte, a small child, was given her own household and staff at Warwick House next door to Carlton House by George.

This was obviously not the best approach to parenting. Her governesses, Lady Elgin and Lady de Clifford, became her mother figures.

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Charlotte was a warm-hearted tomboy with a rebellious streak. She often took on ungainly postures to irritate her elders, argued against her father’s wishes and even ran away from home on one occasion to anger him.

She felt that her mother Caroline's outrageous behaviour was normally a response to George's poor treatment of her. Caroline was persuaded by George and a generous sum of money to retreat to the continent in 1814. Princess Charlotte never saw her mother again.

Charlotte of Wales and 23-year-old Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a Lieutenant General and soldier of fortune, first met at the Pulteney Hotel, London, on the 10th of June 1814. A short time afterwards, she called off her dynastically arranged engagement to William, Hereditary Prince of Orange.

George, Prince of Wales, disliked Leopold’s lack of wealth and a crown, but after much wrangling, Charlotte was given permission to marry Leopold in early 1816.

Leopold and Charlotte Marry at Carlton House

Princess Caroline was in Italy with her lover, Pergami, and she received the news of her daughter's engagement with indifference. George ensured that Caroline was not invited to the wedding.

At 9 p.m. on Thursday, 2 May 1816, Leopold and Charlotte were married in the Great Crimson Room, Carlton House. Charles Manners Sutton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated. The royal family, except the indisposed George III, attended.
Charlotte wore a silver and white satin empire line gown edged with Brussels lace.

When Leopold spoke his vows about "worldly goods", Charlotte giggled, much to the indignation of her family, because it was common knowledge that he had almost nothing in the way of worldly goods to offer her.

Charlotte and Leopold took a short honeymoon at the Duke and Duchess of York’s property, Oatlands, in Surrey.

Claremont House and Plans for a Bright Future

After their honeymoon, Charlotte and Leopold lived for a short time at Camelford House on Oxford Street in London, and then they moved into Claremont House in Esher, Surrey, which parliament had purchased for them as a wedding gift. It was a house with a sorrowful past containing addiction, suicide and premature deaths.

Charlotte concentrated on building a happy life with Leopold, and her rebellious streak was tamed (most of the time).

Charlotte was seen by many people as the figure who would redeem the House of Hanover, beset as it was by King George's alleged madness and her father and uncles’ numerous affairs, illegitimate offspring and scandals.

Charlotte suffered two miscarriages before her spring 1817 pregnancy. Economists expected that the stock exchange would benefit by anything up to 6% if she bore a prince and 2 or 3% if she had a princess.

A 50-Hour-Long Labour and a Stillborn Prince

Charlotte’s health was reasonable but not robust, and throughout her life, she endured unexplained painful episodes (some historians believe this was a symptom of porphyria).

Her obstetrician Sir Richard Croft placed her on a strict diet, and he championed a course of bloodletting that significantly weakened Charlotte.

On the 3rd November 1817, Princess Charlotte went into labour. It lasted for over fifty hours. Leopold stayed by her side as his fears for Charlotte and their child increased.

At 9 p.m. on the 5th November 1817, a nine-pound stillborn son was delivered by a breech birth. Forceps were not used in that era, and a caesarean was rejected because it would probably have killed Charlotte.

When she was told about her child’s fate, she took the news stoically and appeared to be more concerned about Leopold's grief. George, Prince of Wales, was kept updated by her physicians. They told him that Charlotte was recovering well.

This was not so.

The Heirless House of Hanover

The twenty-one-year-old Princess died in the early hours of the 6th of November after enduring convulsions, stomach pains, violent nausea and postpartum haemorrhaging.

Leopold and George were stunned and devastated. Queen Charlotte despaired because, aside from personal grief, she realised that the House of Hanover had no legitimate heirs.

George refused to write to Caroline, and Leopold was lost in his grief. George did, however, write an epistle to the Pope and his letter travelled through Pesaro in Italy, where Caroline lived. She learned by chance that her only child and grandchild had been lost.

In the court of public opinion, Sir Richard Croft was guilty of causing Charlotte’s death by weakening her so that she could not survive the long labour. The royal family publicly absolved him of blame, but he shot himself on 13th February 1818.

Leopold received great sympathy, but George was accused of not giving his daughter enough attention during her final days. There was unprecedented public mourning, and people sobbed in the streets, black ribbons and material sold out, and many shops closed for a fortnight as a mark of respect.

Queen Charlotte Orders Her Sons to Marry and Produce an Heir

Princess Charlotte of Wales and her unnamed son were buried on 19th November 1817 in St. George's Chapel at Windsor. He was laid to rest at her feet.
George had a huge memorial erected which was seen as a sign of a guilty conscience for his neglect by many Britons.

Queen Charlotte instigated the "Royal Race of 1818". She instructed her sons to forsake their mistresses, marry dynastically and produce heirs. The victors of this race to reproduce were Edward and Victoire, the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Their daughter Alexandrina Victoria was born on 24th May 1819, and she ruled as Queen Victoria from 20th June 1837 until her death on 22nd January 1901.

George was an unpopular prince and an equally unloved monarch. He arranged that Caroline, legally the queen when he ascended to the throne, was refused entry to their coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1821. She died a few months later.

Leopold became the King of the Belgians in 1831, and he is arguably best known for orchestrating the marriage of his niece and nephew, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Charlotte is a footnote in history.

Sources

• Charlotte of Wales – The triple obstetric tragedy | History of Royal Women
  
• Princess Charlotte Of Wales: The Original People's Princess & Her Untimely Death | History Extra
  
• Princess Charlotte of Wales | Unofficial Royalty

Women in History: Royal Rivals Catherine De Medici and Diane De Poitiers

 

Catherine de Medici (above) and Diane de Poitiers (below); King Henri II of France's wife and mistress.

Images: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

King Henri II's Wife and Mistress

During the 16th century, King Henri II of France's wife Catherine de Medici and his mistress Diane de Poitiers were rivals. Catherine was considered a formidable foe in her later life as the “serpent queen,” but she found herself ill-equipped to compete with Diane during her marriage.

Courtiers and rulers across Europe regarded Diane as the unofficial queen of France because she had Henri's love, lust and favour. He depended on her counsel and companionship. Catherine was disregarded for twenty-six years, but in the summer of 1559, she took her revenge on Diane—a moment that she might have dreamed about.

Early Similarities Between Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici

Catherine de Medici was born in April 1519 in the Republic of Florence. She was a member of the ruling Medici dynasty; her father was Lorenzo de Medici, Count of Urbino, and Catherine's French mother was named Madeleine. By the time Catherine was one month old, both her parents were dead. She was raised by her paternal grandmother and aunt Alfonsina d'Orsini and Clarice de Medici.

Diane de Poitiers was an aristocrat born to Jean de Poitiers and his wife Jeanne in September 1499 or January 1500 at the Chateau du Saint-Vallier in southeast France.

Her mother passed away in 1506, and Diane was placed in the household of Princess Anne of France (the eldest daughter of King Louis XI; she was also known as Anne de Beaujeu and "Madame la Grande"). Diane was well educated. She learned finance, etiquette, languages, music, riding, hunting and swimming.

Diane and Catherine shared the character traits of confidence, intelligence and dynamism.

Lady-in-Waiting to Three French Queens

Princess Anne arranged for fifteen-year-old Diane de Poitiers to marry Louis de Brézé, Comte de Maulevrier, Seigneur d'Anet. Royal courtier Louis was thirty-nine years her senior.

Diane was appointed as a lady-in-waiting to King François I’s mother, Louise of Savoy and then to François’ queens Claude and Eleanore of Austria. Henri, Duc d'Orléans, later King Henri II (1519-1559) was Francois and Claude’s second son.

Diane gave birth to two daughters, Françoise in 1518 and Louise in 1521. In 1531, Louis died, and Diane went to the law courts to secure his estate rather than allowing it to pass to a male relative. She became financially independent, and that was highly unusual at the time.

Diane first met Henri, Duc d'Orléans, when he was a child, and they had always got on well. Rumours surfaced that the adolescent Henri was in love with the beautiful widow Diane, but Henri was destined to marry another woman, Diane's cousin Catherine de Medici.

Diane Outshone The Royal Bride

Henri's dynastic match to Catherine de Medici, when they were both fourteen years old, was an extravagant event held in Marseilles, France, on 28th October 1533. Pope Clement VII officiated.

To ensure that the teenagers consummated the union on the wedding night, King François remained in the bedchamber until he was sure the deed had been done and that "each had shown valour in the joust." Not at all awkward!

Catherine barely saw Henri during the first year of their marriage. Diane de Poitiers became Henri's mistress in 1534, and she was officially termed as such from 1538.

At court, the more experienced Diane outshone the new Duchesse d'Orléans without too much effort. She had Henri's affection, and was clever, cultured and interesting. Henri blatantly ignored Catherine in public while caressing his mistress. When jousting, he wore Diane's colours.

From Dauphin and Dauphine To France's Monarchs

Henri's older brother Francois died from a post-tennis match fever in 1536, and as it was unexpected, speculation of foul play mounted. Catherine was one of several people accused of poisoning him. Henri was elevated to Dauphin or heir to the French throne, and Catherine was accordingly promoted to Dauphine.

Diane advised Henri to have children with his wife to secure the succession. He was slow to do so. Between 1544 and 1556, Catherine bore ten children. Henri placed Diane de Poitiers in charge of the royal children's upbringing. Diane secured her daughter Françoise's appointment as Premiere Dame D'honneur (head lady-in-waiting) to Catherine de Medici.

Diane was by Henri's side when he was proclaimed King Henri II in March 1547. He relied on her wisdom and not Catherine's throughout his reign. Official documents were signed HenriDiane, and Diane was acclaimed as the most powerful woman in France. She was cultivated by diplomats and royalty. Catherine was queen in name only; whenever she acted as regent for Henri, she had very limited powers and no political influence.

Chateau de Chenonceau 

Henri gave Diane the early Renaissance Château de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley. This was a property that Henri knew Catherine desired for herself. He paid for Diane's Château d'Anet to be rebuilt on the site of her late husband's property. It was filled with commissions from her artistic protégés.

Diane received the titles Duchesse de Valentinois in 1548 and Duchesse d'Étampes in 1553, and the king awarded custody of the French crown jewels to her.

On 10th July 1559, Diane's time as de facto queen of France came to an abrupt halt when Henri died from sepsis after he sustained a jousting injury.

Catherine Finally Claims Power Over Diane de Poitiers

Catherine leapt into action; she was the mother of the new king, and she intended to wield her influence. Diane was banished from court and she was ordered to return the crown jewels and to give up the Château de Chenonceau in exchange for the slightly less grand Château de Chaumont, also in the Loire Valley.

Catherine was labelled the "Serpent Queen." She saw three of her sons reign over France, she engineered strategic marriages for her family members, and it's widely accepted that she was complicit in the 1572 St. Bartholomew's Massacre in which thousands of Huguenot protestants were butchered for their faith. Catherine de Medici dominated the French court until her death on 5th January 1589.

Diane's Grave Desecrated During the French Revolution

In contrast, after a brief residence at the Château de Chaumont, Diane retired to her property in Anet. She lived quietly, and she caused the royal family no problems. One day, Diane fell when out riding, and ill health dominated her life until she died on 25th April 1566.

A chapel was constructed on the grounds of Château d'Anet, and Diane was laid to rest there. During the French Revolution, her grave was desecrated, and her remains were thrown into a mass grave. In 2009, her bones were identified, and they were restored to their original grave in Anet.

Sources

• Diane de Poitiers, Mistress of King Henri II of France | Unofficial Royalty

• Diane de Poitiers
  

• Diane De Poitiers | French noble | Britannica

France and Germany's Dispute: Alsace-Lorraine or Elsass Lothringen?

Traditional Alsation costumes. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Where Was Alsace-Lorraine or Elsass-Lothringen?

Alsace-Lorraine covered just over five thousand square miles in northeast France. It fell under German control at several points during its history, most notably as the Reichsland (Imperial Territory) Elsass-Lothringen after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.

The iron-rich land situated on the French-German border featured countless steel and iron works, but this financial and industrial asset was apparently never a factor in the Germans' insistence that Alsace-Lorraine belonged to them.

Alsace and Lorraine were part of the "Father of Europe" Emperor Charlemagne's Frankish Empire, and in 843 A.D., his grandson Emperor Lothair I was proclaimed the ruler of Middle Francia. This became better known as Lotharingia and later as Lorraine. Alsace lay to Lorraine's east and southeast.

On 8 August 870, Charles the Bald in West Francia (France) and his half-brother Louis the German in East Francia (Germany) split their recently deceased nephew Lothair I's territory between them. The Treaty of Meerson formally recognised Louis the German as the ruler of the land to the east of the Jura Mountains, the Moselle and Meuse valleys.

In 962, West and East Francia formed part of Emperor Otto I's Holy Roman Empire.

1648: The Peace of Westphalia

German emperors reigned until 1469, when Upper Alsace was awarded, with limited powers, to Charles of Burgundy. He was the subordinate of the German emperor in Lower Alsace, and all taxes from Upper Alsace were paid into Lower Alsace's coffers.

In 1476, Lorraine gained independence from France, and it became a duchy. In 1477, Upper Alsace passed to the House of Habsburg.

The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) signalled another change. At the war's conclusion, the Peace Treaty of Westphalia was drawn up, and the Alsace-Lorraine region was officially awarded to France because its army had seized most of the territory in battle.

Over the next decade, much of Lorraine was restored to the duchy's last ruler Charles IV, as confirmed in the Treaty of Pyrenees. Charles' powers were not reinstated to their previous level. The French monarch claimed supremacy over him.

Two hundred years of French rule under a succession of monarchs and the Bonapartes' followed.

The Franco-Prussian War: The Loss of Alsace-Lorraine

By 1870, Emperor Napoleon III, Napoleon I's nephew, through his brother Louis, ruled in France. He was a successful figure for over twenty years, but he fell from power with a deft blow from the Prussians.

The Franco-Prussian War was an escalation of a dispute about who should succeed to the Spanish throne. Enmity between France and Germany was used by the Prussian Minister-President Otto von Bismarck as a reason to wage war. There was an ulterior motive: By giving the German states a common enemy, he hoped to finally realise his vision of German unification.

The Prussians were victorious, and the French were demoralised. Napoleon III was taken prisoner and deposed. On 18th January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors in Paris' Palace of Versailles, King Wilhelm I of Prussia announced the establishment of the German Empire and his elevation from king to emperor (kaiser). Napoleon III was allowed to travel to exile in England. He died on 9th January 1873 in Chislehurst, then in Kent, and today in Greater London.

The new German Empire claimed Alsace-Lorraine in the Treaty of Frankfurt to give the German army more defensive land on the border. The French lost the revenue derived from the region's iron and steel.

Reichsland Elsass-Lothringen

Alsace-Lorraine was renamed Reichsland Elsass-Lothringen (reichsland: imperial state). The population was predominantly French, and they remained loyal to France. A mass emigration took place. The French that remained in the reichsland harboured a considerable grudge against the Germans.

This weakened as the French Catholic Church and French Republic governments made announcements and changes that were deemed anticlerical and unpopular. A sizeable percentage of the people in Elsass-Lothringen shifted their allegiance to the Germans, and in 1902 Elsass-Lothringen was authorised to self-govern.

In 1911, Elsass-Lothringen was given its own constitution.

A German influence prevailed. Alsatian, a heavily German dialect, was (and remains) the common language; traditional Alsatian costumes were adopted, and German cuisine became popular. Three-quarters of the reichsland's inhabitants were fluent in German when World War One was declared.

The 20th Century for Alsace-Lorraine

After the bloodshed of the First World War, Alsace-Lorraine was again given to the French. In a reversal of the 1871 sentiments, the pro-German population preferred self-government under the Germans to being a small and governed region of France.

Throughout the 1920s, the Alsations mounted unsuccessful campaigns to regain their self-government. The French government refused to buckle, and the people's hunger for autonomy faded as the years passed.

During the Second World War, Alsace-Lorraine fell into German hands, and it was known as Gau-Baden Elsass. After the war, the French controlled Alsace-Lorraine.

The cities of Alsace and Lorraine remain, and today, the old Alsace-Lorraine lies in the départements of Moselle, Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin in the Grand Est region of France.

French and German are taught in the area's schools, and the influences, dialects and habits from both countries are a part of everyday life.

Sources

• Alsace: culturally not quite French, not quite German | British Council
  
• History of Alsace and Lorraine | FEEFHS
  
• Alsace-Lorraine | Facts, Definition, & History | Britannica

Interesting History: Julius Caesar Was Kidnapped By Pirates

Gaius Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates. They lived to regret their actions. 

Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Gaius Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic

When Julius Caesar is mentioned, thoughts of "Beware the ides of March," "Et tu, Brute" and his liaison with Cleopatra might spring to mind. However, there was an odd event when he was in his twenties that he probably hoped would be conveniently forgotten, and yet it's too tempting not to record it for new eyes to read.

Gaius Julius Caesar of the Julia gens or dynasty was born on 12 July 100 B.C. in Rome to his father of the same name and mother, Aurelia. He could trace his lineage back to the goddess Venus and was an Alban.

Albans were a community that had settled in the ancient Alba Longa, a Latin city to the southeast of Rome, before their arrival in Rome itself. The Julia gens held patrician status and were deemed important enough to the Roman Republic that they enjoyed privileges and powers over the rest of the population. At age 16, Julius Caesar became the head of the family when his father died.

Kidnapped by Cilician Pirates

When a 25-year-old Julius Caesar, a few friends and servants set sail to the island of Rhodes so that he could study, little did any of the party realise that Caesar would be kidnapped. Although they would have known about the bloodthirsty Cilician pirates who patrolled the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, no one was sufficiently deterred from making the journey.

The Cilician pirates decided to ransom him for 20 talents. A talent was the heaviest ancient unit of weight, and in Rome, it was 32.3 kg; in Attica (Greece), one talent of silver had a weight of 26 kg. By either measurement, mighty Caesar was not impressed. He told them that they obviously didn't know how great the man they'd kidnapped was, and he instructed his captors to demand 50 talents.

The biographer Plutarch (120–46 BC) wrote of the incident and recorded that Caesar even offered to pay the 50 talents himself. Gaius Julius Caesar claimed to be worth far more than 20 talents, and the pirates were happy to believe him.

Caesar Was a Demanding Hostage

Any hopes that Julius Caesar would be compliant were dashed as the hostage took control of the situation. According to him, he was the superior man, and he refused to be commanded. He issued orders to the pirates, including that they must be silent when he wished to sleep, and he joined in the games they played, although uninvited.

To the pirates' consternation, they were given readings of the speeches and poems that he worked on in captivity. When they offered their less-than-favourable opinions of Julius Caesar's musings, he denounced them as too ill-bred and savage to understand.

He lamented that they were incapable of appreciating his work. Of course, it couldn't possibly have been that he was boring or annoying them to distraction.

Mighty Caesar's Revenge

Julius Caesar apparently joked with his captors that when he was finally released, he would gather a fleet of ships, find the guilty and have them killed for kidnapping him. Plutarch claimed that everyone found his joke funny because, at this time, the Roman Republic did not halt or punish the Cilician pirates' activities because they operated the slave trade, which provided the Roman powers with useful servants.

After 38 days spent not enjoying the hospitality of the pirates any more than they did his company, the ransom of 50 talents arrived from Miletus. The transaction complete, Julius Caesar was free to continue with his study plans.

He decided that a far more satisfactory course of action was to make his joke of execution a reality in a rare punishment for pirates. He drew together sailors and troops for a naval attack on Rhodes to remind his captors that he was the powerful Julius Caesar and they were mere ruffians.

The pirates were still on Rhodes when Caesar returned. He seized their money and treasures, and they were arrested and imprisoned in Pergamon (modern-day Bergama, Turkey), but the governor was reluctant to carry out the executions. Caesar took the matter into his own hands and had each one crucified alive after their throats were slit.

Et Tu, Brute?

Caesar's rise to power followed countless military victories, and his adventure with the pirates was probably tactfully forgotten. However, the historians and writers of the day could not fully surrender their memory of the 75 B.C. kidnapping, which is why we know about it today.

Julius Caesar married three times, had two legitimate children and probably another three by his mistresses, the most famous being Cleopatra.

In 49 B.C., he defeated his rival and former ally in the political body the First Triumvirate, Pompey the Great. This same year, he crossed the Rubicon River, hence the saying, to invade Rome against his senate's guidance.

His senators did not appreciate his defiance, and a four-year-long civil war ensued. During his years as ruler, the Julian Calendar was created, and his social and land ownership reforms were received positively by the public, but they angered the important families and senators of the empire.

Although the war ended in 45 B.C. with a victory for Caesar, his euphoria was short-lived. He was assassinated on the 15th of March (the Ides of March) in 44 B.C. by disaffected senators.

He was better able to combat bloodthirsty pirates than his own senators.

Sources

• Plutarch on Caesar and the Pirates | Livius.org
  
• The Time Julius Caesar Was Captured by Pirates | Britannica
  
• Heritage History | Story of Rome by Mary Macgregor

Historical Fact: Eccentric Queen Christina of Sweden Abdicated Aged 27

 

Queen Christina of Sweden. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Christina, Child Queen of Sweden

Born on the 18th December 1626 at Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm, Christina was the last child of the Royal House of Vasa’s King Gustaf II Adolf of Sweden and his wife Maria Eleanora of Brandenburg. Her father was relieved to be a parent again; the couple had lost a son and two daughters in infancy, but her mother lamented that the hairy crying baby she had produced was not male.

Gustaf II Adolf was killed in battle before Christina reached six years old, and as his only surviving heir, the throne of Sweden fell to her. She was not of an age to rule alone, so the influential Lord High Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna and four other ministers ruled in her name until adulthood. Christina was allowed to join the council meetings from the age of 14.

Never an affectionate mother, Maria Eleanora suffered from mental health issues, and as a widow, she was sent to the remote Gripsholm Castle. Princess Katerina of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Zweibrucken-Kleeburg raised Christina.

Philosopher Rene Descartes

Christina was educated as a male which set her above many royal daughters. She was a keen student and quickly grasped politics under Oxenstierna’s guidance. In 1649 she invited philosopher Rene Descartes to Stockholm so that he could teach her philosophy, but she did not appreciate him. Descartes was seen as a trophy by her, and his visit validated her royal status in Europe.

She frequently postponed their philosophy sessions, and when she did grant him an audience, it was before dawn, in flickering candlelight in a room with no fire, and Descartes couldn’t wear a hat in her presence without it being considered an insult. Descartes suffered in the increasing cold and hinted that he would like to go home, but Christina insisted on his remaining in Sweden. He died miserably in Stockholm from a respiratory infection on the 11th February 1650, aged 53.

Queen Christina's Eccentricities 

Queen Christina believed that being female was her great misfortune, perhaps the ultimate tragedy of her life. She often wore men’s clothing, was reluctant to wash, frequently had dirty nails and was not considered a great beauty of the age. Her sense of humour and intelligence were not valued as attributes. Women were supposed to be pretty, not witty, according to 17th-century men.

She spent lavishly and lived in opulence, even as her people starved, thanks to the cost of the ongoing Thirty Years War. She failed to realise that her frivolous behaviour was at odds with many Swedes’ struggle to survive.

She relied heavily on Axel Oxenstierna in the early years of her reign but, in time, regarded him as a threat. Despite her flaws, it was acknowledged that under her influence, Sweden’s trade, arts and science progressed significantly and she became known as the Minerva of the North in European courts.

The Queen of Sweden Quits. Why?

In early 1654, Christina announced to a stunned court that she was ill—it's possible she had suffered a nervous breakdown, but there is no proof, and that ruling Sweden was too much of a strain. She abdicated in favour of her cousin Charles who had previously been refused as a potential husband for her.

In fact, she’d refused to marry anyone, which led to speculation that her reluctance to marry and produce an heir was the true reason for her departure, presumably under growing pressure from her ministers. Her sexuality was questioned, claims of an affair with her lady-in-waiting Ebba Sparre surfaced, and to this day, it’s still disputed where her preferences lay.

Another theory abounded that she intended to publicly convert to Roman Catholicism, which placed her in an untenable position as the head of a devout protestant country. Unofficially, she converted in 1652 and officially in 1655.

Exiled Queen Christina in Rome

Christina brokered an abdication deal. Sweden would pay her a generous allowance wherever she might reside for the rest of her life. Cousin Charles X Gustaf’s coronation and Christina’s exit from her homeland occurred on the same day.

At her abdication ceremony at Uppsala Castle, each item of the Swedish regalia was removed from her piece by piece, but one minister refused to take the crown from her head. Unhesitatingly, she took it off herself. The new king ruled Sweden from the 6th June 1654 until his death in 1660, aged 37. A 71-year-old Axel Oxenstierna died in 1654, still Sweden’s Chancellor.

After an extended stay in Austria, on Christmas Day 1655 she was received in Rome by Pope Alexander VII, who gave her the confirmation name of Alexandra. He was soon disappointed in Christina/Alexandra, who enjoyed his hospitality and the use of the Palazzo Farnese but seemed unwilling or unable to follow her adopted faith’s edicts.

Her recklessness made her notorious. A stranger to frugality, she regularly ran out of funds, petitioned Swedish ministers for allowance increases and even sold some of her jewels.

Royal Prerogative: Murder

Through boredom or a yearning for power, Christina entered into talks about reigning in the Spanish territory of Naples and passing Naples to the French when she died. This plan was abandoned, partly because whilst visiting France for the negotiations, Christina had her advisor and possible lover, the Marchese Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi, butchered for betraying her, despite there being no proof.

To the consternation and horror of Europe, she used her royal prerogative as the reason for brutally ending his life. Under the weight of disdain, she headed back to Rome, where the Pope was not pleased to see her.

She made a splendid home in the city at the Palazzo Corsini, patronised the arts and somehow managed to win the favour or friendship of four Popes. It was believed in Rome that she took Cardinal Decio Azzolino as her lover.

Christina Returns to Sweden

When news reached her of Charles X Gustaf’s death in 1660, she returned to Sweden, insisting bizarrely that she should rule again rather than Charles’ five-year-old son. She was forced to concede.

She travelled to Sweden again in 1667 and was approached about becoming the queen of Poland as another of her cousins had abdicated there. This did not come to pass, and she happily returned to Rome and Cardinal Azzolino. She invested her time in church politics and became a sponsor of Jewish people, and improved their rights.

She died from pneumonia and an infection in Rome on the 19th April 1689 and was buried in the Papal Crypt in St. Peter’s Basilica, one of only a few women ever to have received this honour. She died before she completed her autobiography. That tome may have answered a few questions that persist about this eccentric woman-queen. 

Sources

• Queens Regnant – Christina of Sweden | History of Royal Women
  
  
• Christina | Queen of Sweden | Britannica
  
  
• Christina Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric by Veronica Buckley
  The groundbreaking biography of one of the most progressive, influential and entertaining women of the seventeenth century, Christina Alexandra, Queen of Sweden.