Josephine de Beauharnais: Napoleon's First Wife and Empress

 

Joséphine de Beauharnais. Napoleon Bonaparte's true love. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain. 

Josephine de Beauharnais: Marie-Josephe-Rose Tascher de la Pagerie

Napoleon Bonaparte's first wife and the only woman that he claimed to love was Joséphine de Beauharnais. Her real name was Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de la Pagerie, and she was called Rose by her family. Joséphine was Napoleon's name for her, and she adopted it as he reached the zenith of his power.

Rose was born on 23rd June 1763, on the French island of Martinique in the West Indies to plantation owner Joseph-Gaspard Tascher, Seigneur de la Pagerie and his wife Rose-Claire, née des Vergers de Sannois.

Her younger siblings, Catherine-Désirée and Marie-Françoise, were born in 1764 and 1766.

Rose's aunt Marie-Euphémie, Madame Renaudin was the mistress of François V de Beauharnais, Vicomte de Beauharnais, the governor of Martinique. It was at her instigation that a marriage was arranged between the vicomte's son Alexandre and her niece Catherine-Désirée.

Alexandre de Beauharnais and the French Revolution

Tragically, Catherine-Désirée died in 1777, so Joseph-Gaspard suggested 16-year-old Rose as a replacement bride.

Alexandre de Beauharnais's military career was based in France, so Rose travelled thousands of miles to be with him. They married on 13th December 1779, and although they had two children, Eugène and Hortense, the marriage was not a success. Alexandre was extravagant and a pleasure-seeker. A serial adulterer, he left his family and moved in with one of his mistresses for a time.

Alexandre and Rose legally separated in late 1785; Rose and Hortense travelled to Martinique, but in 1790, they returned to Alexandre and Eugène in France. Alexandre's importance increased in Paris. He was appointed the President of the Constituent National Assembly in summer 1791 as France moved towards its infamous revolution.

Despite Alexandre's support for the French Revolution, he was executed in July 1794. Rose was imprisoned, and she feared execution. She was stunned when she was released a few days after Alexandre's death, as Robespierre's regime fell.

"I awake full of you. Your image and the memory of last night's intoxicating pleasures has left no rest to my senses." — Napoleon Bonaparte in a letter to Josephine de Beauharnais, 1795.

Napoleon and Josephine Meet in 1795

Rose was able to reclaim some of Alexandre's possessions but she struggled financially. A series of lovers and her increasing prominence in Paris's social circles led to an introduction to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1795.

She became his mistress, and he always called her Joséphine. His passionate letters to her, and his own admission that she was the only woman that he loved, are proof that he was intensely captivated. Whether she loved him is debatable; she enjoyed his ascent to power and security for herself and her children.

Napoleon and Joséphine married in a civil ceremony in Paris on 9th March 1796. Two days later, Napoleon left her to lead his army into Italy. She started an affair with Lt. Hippolyte Charles that lasted for years, until Napoleon threatened her with divorce.

While away on his Egyptian campaign, Napoleon took a mistress, Pauline Foures, "Napoleon's Cleopatra". The Bonaparte's marriage was weakened by the infidelities.

Tempestuous Emperor Napoleon and Empress Josephine

In 1799 Rose/Joséphine purchased and renovated the Château de Malmaison on the outskirts of Paris. Her home reflected her patronage of the arts and her grounds featured an expansive rose garden and plant species that were new to France. An assortment of animals roamed freely.

Napoleon Bonaparte was named First Consul of France in 1799, and he and Joséphine survived an assassination attempt in 1800. In 1804, they became the Emperor and Empress of the French. An opulent coronation was held at Notre Dame Cathedral on 2nd December 1804. Pope Pius VII officiated.

Just days before the coronation, Joséphine found her husband in the bedroom of one of her ladies-in-waiting Elizabeth de Vaudey and infuriated at being caught cheating, he threatened to divorce her (again).

Hortense de Beauharnais played the unenviable role of peacemaker and the marriage survived. Joséphine persuaded a reluctant Napoleon to marry her again, this time in a religious ceremony. She claimed that the civil ceremony wasn't enough and she questioned the Pope about the marriage's validity in God's eyes.

Napoleon Tells Josephine It's Divorce

In January 1802, Hortense de Beauharnais married Napoleon's brother Louis. They were made King and Queen of Holland in 1806. Their marriage produced three sons, including the future Napoleon III, but it was not a happy union.

Eugène de Beauharnais married Princess Augusta of Bavaria in January 1807. The couple had seven children, and six of them made advantageous marriages in Europe's ruling houses. (One daughter, Catherine, died in 1816).

In December 1806, Napoleon's mistress (Louise Catherine) Eléonore Denuelle de la Plaigne gave birth to a son they named Charles, Comte Léon. He was impatient for a legitimate heir, and he mulled over whether he could divorce Josephine, marry again and have an heir.

On 3rd July 1807, Josephine's mother passed away in Martinique. She was now the only survivor from their family of five.

Perhaps the death delayed Napoleon's plans. It was not until November 1809 that he told Josephine that their marriage was over. She accepted his decision, and a grandiose divorce ceremony was conducted on 10th January 1810. Bizarrely, he professed his devotion to her at the event.

Far from ever finding cause for complaint, I can to the contrary only congratulate myself on the devotion and tenderness of my beloved wife.

— Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine at their divorce ceremony.

Death at the Chateau de Malmaison

Her divorce settlement was generous. She was still an empress and enjoyed all the dignities of an empress when she attended court. She received an annuity of 5 million francs, and Napoleon gave her several properties, including the Elysee Palace in the capital. (He later took the Elysee back for his own use).

She retired to one of the other properties that she received from Napoleon, the Château de Navarre in Normandy. Napoleon bestowed the title of Duchess of Navarre on her.

After a couple of years, Joséphine returned to Paris and the Château de Malmaison. She died there on 29th May 1814, less than two months after Napoleon's abdication. Her cause of death was noted as pneumonia.

Napoleon married Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria in 1810 and she bore him the long awaited son, Napoleon II (1810-1832). The couple separated in April 1814 when Napoleon fell from power.

Napoleon's last words on 5th May 1821 were reported as "France, army, head of the army. Josephine."

The restored French monarchy created the moniker "Joséphine de Beauharnais" that has travelled down the centuries. Joséphine was a Bonaparte, previously known as Rose de Beauharnais. "Joséphine de Beauharnais" was the royals device to separate her from Napoleon in peoples minds; their plan hasn't worked well.

Sources

• Josephine | Biography, Napoleon, & Facts | Britannica
  
• Joséphine de Beauharnais | Palace of Versailles
  
• Joséphine de Beauharnais, Empress of the French | Unofficial Royalty

Where Were Galicia and Lodomeria? Forgotten in History

 

A 1782 medal commemorating Galicia and Lodomeria's new constitution. Image: Wikipedia. Johann Nepomuk Wurth. CC3.0.

Halych and Volhynia

The Rurik dynasty established the Principality of Volhynia in Ruthenia in 987 A.D. It was populated by Eastern Slavs, and the capital Volodymyr-Volynskyi was named in honor of Saint Vladimir the Great, Prince of Novgorod, and Grand Prince of Kyiv (c. 958-1015).

His descendant, Roman the Great (c. 952-1205), united Volhynia and Halych, another principality ruled by the dynasty in 1198-9, to create the Duchy of Halych and Volhynia. In Latin, Halych translates to Galicia, and Volodymyr-Volynskyi becomes Lodomeria.

The duchy was also historically referred to as the Kingdom of Ruthenia, which on today’s maps is comprised of parts of Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland. Roman's successors often referred to the united territory simply as Galicia.

Eastern Europe in 1911. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Rival Claimants to Galicia-Lodomeria's Rule

Roman the Great was initially an ally of the Poles but after shifting allegiances, he was killed in a battle against the Polish in 1205. Without his leadership, the Duchy of Galicia and Lodomeria became the cause of disputes between Poland and Hungary. Their rulers, Leszek I “The White” and King Andrew II, each believed that their claim to the duchy was greater. King Andrew of Hungary was the first of his line, the House of Arpad, to proclaim himself the King of Halych and Lodomeria in 1208.

The Rurik dynasty's claimant Danylo Romanovich, Roman the Great’s third son, born in 1201, was forced to wait until 1221 before he could secure power in Volhynia and 1235 for rulership of Halych. Rival rulers included Mstislav Mstislavich, Coloman of Hungary, King Andrew’s second son, and Leszek I, Coloman’s father-in-law. Danylo Romanovich was recognized as the undisputed King of Galicia and Lodomeria and in 1253 he was proclaimed the first King of all Rus by Pope Innocent IV. Danylo’s sons Shvarn and Lev ruled after him but with Lev’s death came more chaos..

Civil War and a Power Split

Civil war terrorized the kingdom for over fifty years in the 1300s. In 1323 after the direct line of descent from Roman the Great was left without any survivors, Casimir III “The Great” of Poland claimed Galicia-Volhynia for the Kingdom of Poland. Casimir declared that he was King of Ruthenia and took control of Galicia and West Volhynia.

East Volyhnia and Kyiv were awarded to Mindaugas, ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from 1253 the Kingdom of Lithuania. In 1434 Ruthenia became a province with its capital in Lviv, under a Ruthenian Voivodeship(governorship). Galicia-Volhynia became entirely Polish in the 1569 Treaty of the Union of Lubin.

The Partitions of Poland

During the three Partitions of Poland in 1772, 1793, and 1795 huge tranches of Poland and Lithuania were purloined by Prussia, Russia, and Austria. Catherine the Great of Russia had installed her lover Stanislaw August Poniatowski as the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1764 and this helped Catherine, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, and King Frederick the Great of Prussia to avoid excessive bloodshed.

As king, Stanislaw II August was heavily criticized for his lack of conviction when defending his kingdom. By the time of the 1795 partition Poland no longer had a standing army to defend itself and Stanislaw abdicated. He was incarcerated in the Marble Palace, St. Petersburg for the remainder of his life which ended in 1798. He was given a state funeral by Catherine the Great’s son and successor Paul I.

The Kingdom of Galicia-Lodomeria

Ironically, under the Habsburg’s the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Poland and Austrian Galicia did not include the former power base of Volodymyr-Volynskyi.

A succession of Holy Roman Emperors in Vienna controlled Galicia with a firm hand and took vast amounts of money from their new lands so the kingdom became poorer and was considered less developed than the rest of Austro-Hungary. A great number of Galician men were conscripted into the army, more than in other areas of the empire.

According to historian Jacek Purchla, the Austrians viewed Galicia as "a barbaric place inhabited by strange people of questionable personal hygiene." However, the kingdom’s people were renowned for their sense of humour according to historian Norman Davies in his book Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe.

The Kingdom of Bareness and Starvation

As Napoleon and revolutions hit Europe in the 19th century Galicia was permitted more rights by Vienna including the abolition of serfdom in the late 1840s and its own legislative powers, a diet or sejm in 1861. Political uprisings were short-lived and unpopular with the Galicians. The people were more concerned with achieving equality between the Polish and Ruthenians within the kingdom rather than gaining autonomy from Vienna.

Unfortunately for them, the Ruthenians were significantly outnumbered by the Podolians, Polish aristocrats, landowners, and conservatives in the sejm so their needs were overlooked. The Galicians who aspired to Russian rather than Austrian rule were deemed to be traitors. From 1895 Galicia’s elections were called “bloody” as votes were rigged by Austrian officials and policemen were given free rein to batter voters who were against the status quo.

As repeated famines brought disaster for the people of Galicia mass emigration occurred. In the 1880’s Germany, the U.S.A., Canada, and Brazil offered fresh hope for the downtrodden and cash-strapped Galicians who saw the hopelessness in their homeland. It was estimated that the migration totalled several hundred thousand people. The Galician peasants who remained renamed it “The Kingdom of Bareness and Starvation.”

The Swift End of the Kingdom of Galicia-Lodomeria

The First World War was as brutal to Galicians, fighting for the axis powers with Austria, as it was to all nations. Under the terms of the Peace of Riga in 1921, Galicia was subsumed into Poland. The east was later attached to the U.S.S.R but the west remained Polish.

It’s a sorry fact that if you Google “Galicia” the results take you to Spain’s Galicia and not Poland's.

Sources

• Daniel Romanovich | ruler of Galicia and Volhynia | Britannica
  
• Galicia | historical region, Eastern Europe | Britannica

What Was the Western Schism and Why Does It Matter in History?

The Catholic Church's Western Schism Took Over 40 Years To Resolve. 

Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain. 

Popes and Power Struggles 

The Western Schism of 1378-1417 was a cataclysmic episode in Roman Catholic history. It rocked Europe, and it split the church for almost 40 years. During the schism, also called the Papal Schism, the Schism of 1378 and the Great Occidental Schism, power struggles and politics took precedence over ecclesiastical concerns, and the church's reputation plummeted.

When Pope Gregory XI died in Rome on 27th March 1378, Bartolomeo Prignano, the Bishop of Rome, and Robert of Geneva, the Bishop of Avignon, France, were elected as popes within six months of each other, and the Western Schism was created.

Avignon's bishops had provided popes for the previous seventy years, but there were calls in Rome for a Roman pope to be appointed. Pope Gregory XI had travelled to Rome in 1377, and he died there. That was Rome's claim over Avignon.

Pope Urban VI Makes Enemies of His Cardinals

On 8th April 1378, Neapolitan (a person from Naples) Bartolomeo Prignano was unanimously elected Pope Urban VI by the church's Council of Cardinals. Roman citizens were furious that he wasn't from Rome. A large number of cardinals fled the city to avoid a feared devastating rebellion that did not occur.

The French king and his court were loathed to acknowledge Urban as their pope, and they started to plot his removal. The plotters could have spared themselves the effort; contemporary reports tell us that the power very quickly went to Urban VI's head. The cardinals discovered that he was angry and arrogant, and soon it was whispered that he was mad with power. Pope Urban VI brought in changes that left the cardinals poorer, and he offended the French king when he refused to reside in or visit Avignon.

Pope Urban VI Dismissed, Pope Clement VII Elected

The disillusioned cardinals met in Anagni on 9th August 1378. They issued a manifesto of grievances. It claimed that Pope Urban VI was chosen in haste as the Roman mob bayed at the door and that he was not what they'd envisioned for their church. He was no longer the pope. Queen Joanna of Naples withdrew her support for the Neapolitan pope.

Within two weeks, missives were sent by the cardinals present at the meeting to cardinals who were absent, advising them that the role of pope was vacant.

Pope Urban VI refused to slink off into the shadows. He excommunicated Queen Joanna of Naples, and he ingratiated himself with her eventual successor Charles III of Naples.

On 20th September 1378 in Fondi, Robert of Geneva, Bishop of Avignon, was elected as the new pope, Clement VII. King Charles V of France and the powerful Gaetani family in Fondi championed the new pope. Clement VII promptly excommunicated Urban VI.

The Western Schism Continues: Popes Boniface IX and Benedict XIII

Pope Clement VII was disinclined to repair the schism in the Roman Catholic church unless he was to remain as pope; of this, he was not assured.

He returned to the papal palace in Avignon, and the French court supported him financially. French royal Louis, Duke of Anjou, led an army to defend Clement's papal supremacy and to forge a path to Rome so that his rival could be banished. This proved unsuccessful. Pope Clement resorted to extortion, land sales and seizures to finance further inconclusive incursions.

King Charles III of Naples and his people grew disenchanted as the costs of defending their land and Urban VI's papacy from Clement VII mounted. Support for Urban VI dwindled in northern Italy. When formerly faithful cardinals turned on Urban, he ordered their torture and deaths.

In 1388 he led an army out of Perugia. He fell from his mule, and he died from his injuries. Rumours circulated that he was dispensed with poison.

Urban VI was succeeded by Pope Boniface IX, born Pietro Tomacelli in Naples.

Clement VII died in Avignon on 16th September 1394. His successor was Pope Benedict XIII, Aragonese-born Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor.

1409: Three Popes at the Same Time

Despite several conferences over the years of crisis with Europe's leaders and scholars the Roman Catholic Church was unable to resolve the Western Schism. In 1409 the Council of Cardinals aimed once again to end the multi-pope confusion.

A new pope was elected, and it was hoped that the other two popes could be persuaded to step aside. Avignon and Rome's popes refused to accept Pope Alexander V (Peter of Candia) from Pisa's authority. The result? Greater bemusement and three popes at the same time.

The Rome-based pope Boniface IX died in 1404, and he was succeeded by Innocent VII, who died in 1406. He was replaced by Gregory XII.

Pope Benedict XIII maintained control from Avignon.

Pisan Pope Alexander V died within a year of taking office.

On 16th November 1414, Alexander V's successor Pope John XXIII convened the Council of Constance in Germany to bring an end to the schism. The council sat until 22nd April 1418, and it was attended by six hundred or more Roman Catholic ministers.

1414-1418: The Council of Constance

The Council of Constance delivered the following results:

All of the popes elected during the period of the Western Schism were labelled Antipopes. This is how we saw Pope Clement VII in the 16th century and Pope John XXIII in the 20th century. These were not duplications, as their namesakes were not regarded as legitimate popes.

In 1415 Antipopes John XXIII and Gregory XII accepted that they were deposed. Benedict XIII refused, and he was excommunicated by the council on 27th July 1417.

The Council of Constance selected their new pope on 11th November 1417. Pope Martin V, born Odonne (Otto) Colonna, began his papacy three days later. His tenure ended with his death in 1431.

Antipope Benedict XIII believed that he was the true pope until his death in 1423. He organised the selection of his successor from his deathbed. Aragon-born Antipope Clement VIII finally abdicated in favour of Pope Martin V on 26th July 1429, and he accepted a new role as the Bishop of Mallorca.

The Western Schism was officially over, and the Roman Catholic church's wounds from the breach healed slowly.

Discover the fascinating story of a visionary historical figure here.

Sources

• The Western Schism | Western Civilization
  
• The Western Great Schism: Two Popes at One Time
  
• Western Schism | History, Background, & Resolution | Britannica

France's King Louis XIV, Madame de Montespan and "L'affaires des Poisons"

 

King Louis XIV's mistress Athenais, Madame de Montespan was implicated in L'affaires des Poisons. 

Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Fear and Paranoia at the French Court

L’affaire des Poisons consumed the French royal court in the late 1670s and early 1680s during King Louis XIV’s reign. Accusations abounded of witchcraft, the use of potions and poisons known as “inheritance powders,” suspicious deaths and seemingly improbable passions and alliances.

In 1675, Marie-Madeleine, Marquise de Brinvilliers, was placed on trial and found guilty of poisoning her father and brothers so that she and her lover, Godin de Saint-Croix, would inherit all of the family’s wealth.

Her assertion that “[h]alf the people of quality are involved in this sort of thing, and I could ruin them if I were to talk” created fear and paranoia in aristocratic circles. She was exaggerating, but there was merit to her statement.

La Chambre Ardente: The Burning Chamber

Towards the end of the 1670s, King Louis installed Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie (1625–1709) as Le Premier Lieutenant Général De Police De Paris and as the leader of a special new commission, La Chambre Ardente (in English, The Burning Chamber) to establish how much truth lay in the rumours of foul play that included a death threat against the king.

During the three years that La Chambre Ardente operated, the commission sat in an oppressive chamber that had black cloths over the windows and limited torchlight under which suspects were questioned and quaked.

It was a busy commission. During the 1600s, it was not uncommon for magic to be suspected as a device for self-advancement. Murdering the courtiers in your path who blocked access to the king and his favour was not as unbelievable as it is today.

Women were charged with using magic, normally love charms and potions, much more often than men. Even the less honourable priests of the era sold potions and spells. Superstitions controlled actions to a bewildering degree.

A Royal Mistress Murders Her Rival?

King Louis XIV’s long-term term chief-mistress (maitresse-en-titre) Athénaïs, Francoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan (1740–1707) was often called Madame de Montespan or La Montespan. She did not make it through the scandal unscathed.

Athénaïs had felt threatened at first by a rival for the king’s affections named Marie-Angélique de Scorailles de Roussille, Duchesse de Fontanges. When Marie-Angélique died aged 19, many in court believed that Athénaïs had arranged or carried out a murder, probably using poison. However, there was a flaw in their theory.

By the time of her death, Marie-Angélique had lost her initial allure and was ailing. Louis was frustrated that she refused to accept her moment, as the Sun King’s favourite, was over. He expected her to remove herself from the court.

No proof was ever uncovered of Athénaïs’ involvement in Marie-Angélique or anyone else's death, but what damned her was her connection, as a client, to the love potion maker, abortionist, poisoner and alleged witch Catherine Deshayes Monvoisin, La Voisin.

A Life and Reputation at Stake

La Voisin’s associate Adam Couret, "Lesage", identified Madame de Montespan as La Voisin’s client. Marguerite, La Voisin’s daughter, testified that La Montespan’s former servant Claude de Vin des Œillets was the woman who collected the poison.

Later, she contradicted herself by saying that it was Athénaïs. Mademoiselle des Œillets suggested that the person who had paid the visits to La Voisin’s premises must have resembled her.

Françoise Filastre, the late Duchesse de Fontanges’ servant was a friend of La Voisin and a known poisoner named La Filastra. She accused Athénaïs of employing her to murder Marie-Angélique and claimed that Abbé Etienne Guibourg (1610–1686) was the priest who carried out black masses for her.

The abbé confessed that he officiated at three black masses, but he had no recollection of when these took place. He conceded that he never saw the face of his female client. Françoise Filastre subsequently retracted her statement.

Athénaïs and the Regicide of the King of France

It was claimed that in 1665, La Voisin had concocted love potions for Athénaïs so that Louis XIV would fall in love with her. As the king and Athénaïs’ relationship began in earnest in 1667, this was seen by some contemporaries as proof enough that she was guilty of her rival's murder.

As Athénaïs was accused of placing ground infant bones in Louis’ food, taking black masses and committing infanticide to achieve her objective, Louis was shaken. He banned all public attendance at Athénaïs' hearing. Fortunately, Athenaïs had never shown a desire to commit regicide, so the accusation of attempting to kill Louis was dismissed.

La Voisin was arrested for poisoning the king for over a decade. The absence of Athénaïs’ arrest or a trial suggested to more cynical onlookers that there was a cover-up.

King Louis XIV Delivers Punishments

La Filastra and La Voisin were burnt at the stake in 1680. Allegedly, La Voisin pushed the priest away at the execution site. The abbé was sentenced to life imprisonment, and his possessions were claimed by the state. Thirty-six people were executed by the conclusion of the La Chambre Ardente’s proceedings in 1682. Several key courtiers were saved by the king from trials.

Louis XIV created incontestable lettres de cachet issuing fines, imprisonment terms, galley service orders, exiles and banishments from France. He passed a new law in 1682 that all magic was fraudulent and the sale of poisons was to be state-governed but not outlawed.

Louis XIV Moves On From Madame de Montespan

Louis XIV regarded Athénaïs in a different light after L'affaires des Poisons, and his passion faded. She was dismissed from his side, but he still paid her frequent visits.

In her memoirs written during her retirement, she noted that “[t]he king...did not, on that account, return to that sweet and agreeable intimacy which had united us for the space of eleven or twelve years. He approached me as one comes to see a person of one's acquaintance...”

Louis was concerned about his popularity, and the sensible Françoise de Maintenon became his new maîtresse-en-titre. The king secretly married Françoise in either October 1683 or January 1684 after the death of his wife, Queen Maria Theresa.

Athénaïs committed herself to charitable and virtuous causes, as she grew uncertain in her twilight years whether her past behaviour had cost her her chance in heaven. To some people, she was still guilty of murder.

She passed away on the 27th May 1707. 

Learn about another French king's mistress, Madame de Pompadour, here.

Sources

• Madame de Montespan and the Affair of the Poisons | History Today
  
• Scandal, Conspiracy and the Affair of the Poisons: Inside the Court of Louis XIV | HistoryExtra
  
• Affair of the Poisons | French history | Britannica
  
• Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, marquise de Montespan | French mistress | Britannica
• Athénaïs de Montespan, King Louis XIV of France's Mistress

The Princes in the Tower, King Henry VII and the Lambert Simnel Rebellion of 1487

 

The Princes in the Tower and Lambert Simnel share a page in English history. 

Image: Wikipedia/John Everett Millais. Public Domain.

Richard III and the Princes in the Tower

The story of the Princes in the Tower has become legend. Many people believe that the dastardly King Richard III (1452-1485) had his nephews—12-year-old Edward and 10-year-old Richard—murdered so that he could reign unchallenged after the death of his brother and the princes’ father, King Edward IV (1442-1483).

King Edward V was a ruler in name only from the 9th of April 1483; Uncle Richard was entrusted with Edward and Richard’s care, but he utilised the long-standing story that Edward IV had married Eleanor Talbot before he and Elizabeth Woodville met and married. If so, and he had no proof, Edward IV and Elizabeth's children were illegitimate and ineligible for the throne.

Richard postponed Edward's coronation and moved the brothers into the Tower of London, then still a palace and a prison. Their maternal uncle and strongest ally, Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, was executed on Richard’s orders. Richard III held his coronation on the 6th of July 1483 after the unexplained disappearance of his nephews on the night of 25th/26th June 1483.

The Battle of Bosworth Field Begins the Tudor Era

The new king arranged for 8-year-old Edward, Earl of Warwick, the only son of his executed brother George, Duke of Clarence, and Isabel Neville, to be installed at Sheriff Hutton Castle in Yorkshire.

Richard III’s reign was short-lived. On the 22nd of August 1485, Lancastrian Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, was the victor at the Battle of Bosworth Field, and he was proclaimed King Henry VII. Richard III was slain. Henry solidified his claim to the throne by marrying Princess Elizabeth of York, a sister of the missing princes.

The absence of the princes’ bodies led to theories that Edward and Richard, or perhaps only one of them, had somehow survived.

Lambert Simnel's Resemblance to King Edward IV

The story of a 10-year-old boy named Lambert Simnel (Symnell) and his link to the throne of England begins with a conniving clergyman in Oxford named Richard Symonds. He discerned a likeness between Lambert, the son of a local tradesman, and the late King Edward IV. He decided to exploit the opportunity and set to work schooling Lambert so that he could take on one of the lost princes’ identities in a spectacular return.

Approximately one year after Lambert Simnel and Richard Symonds met one another, Edward, Earl of Warwick, was inaccurately reported dead. Edward had been imprisoned in the Tower of London since Henry VII’s arrival on the throne because he was the strongest York claimant to England's throne.

The Earl of Warwick was very much alive, and he had not, as other murmurings suggested, escaped from his incarceration.

King Edward VI

Richard Symonds and Lambert Simnel made haste to Dublin, where on the 24th May 1487, Simnel was proclaimed King Edward VI under the guise of escapee Edward, Earl of Warwick, not one of the princes in the tower as he’d been preparing for.

In response to this act of treason, Henry VII displayed the real Edward, Earl of Warwick, to the people of London. However, declaring that Lambert Simnel was an imposter did not solve the problem. The imposter was believed by many to be the real Edward or at least allowed to persist in the lie.

On 4th June 1487, Lambert Simnel or King Edward VI arrived on the Lancashire shore with around 2000 mercenaries provided by Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy (1446-1503). Margaret was married to Charles the Bold and was the sister of Edward IV and Richard III.

She made no secret of her opposition to the usurping Tudors. Her nephew John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, had initially shown loyalty to Henry VII, but presumably, Margaret convinced him to switch his allegiance so that a “York” figure could reclaim the throne of England.

The Battle of Stoke Field

At the ensuing Battle of Stoke Field, the Earl of Lincoln lost his life, and Lambert Simnel and Richard Symonds were incarcerated. Their cohorts Gerald Fitzgerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, and Viscount Lovell, Richard III’s former chamberlain, managed to flee. Fitzgerald was pardoned, but Lovell was never heard of again. In 1708, a secret room and a male skeleton were uncovered in his home, Minster Lovell, in Oxfordshire. The bones were presumed to belong to the 15th-century Viscount Lovell.

Henry VII did not release Symonds. He realised that the child Lambert Simnel was being used to achieve Symonds’ goals. The king was verbally dismissive about the threat that Lambert posed to his hold on power, but in the spirit of keeping your friends close and your potential enemies closer, he gave him a job in the royal kitchens. Lambert worked in the palace kitchens until his death in either 1534 or 1535 in Henry VIII's reign.

The real Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, was executed in 1499 for allegedly trying to escape captivity. He was 22 years old.

In the 17th century, building work was carried out at the Tower of London, and two bodies were found. King Charles II believed that they were probably the hidden remains of Edward and Richard, and he gave them a suitable reinternment. The whole truth about their demise remains a mystery.

Sources

• Lambert Simnel | English pretender | Britannica
  
• Lambert Simnel: Who Was The Pretender Who Challenged Henry VII? | HistoryExtra
  
• United Kingdom - Dynastic threats | Britannica

Napoleon Bonaparte's Son Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt

Napoleon II's deathbed portrait. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's Son, Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte was born on the morning of the 20th March 1811 at the Tuileries Palace in Paris. The city's residents were notified by the firing of one hundred cannons that Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was finally a father and that his issue was male.

The newborn's mother, Napoleon's second wife, was Marie-Louise of Austria, the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Franz II, Franz I of Austria. She fulfilled Napoleon's wishes for an heir; his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais, had disappointed him in that regard, so he divorced her in 1809. He called Joséphine his true love (though he had a number of other relationships throughout his life), and reputedly, his last word was "Josephine."

Baby Napoleon was invested with the titles of Prince Imperial and King of Rome. He was christened on the 9th of June 1811 at the Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, and a week of celebrations followed.

His governess between 1811 and 1814 was the affectionate and sensible Louise Charlotte Françoise de Montesquiou, "Maman Quiou."

Emperor Napoleon left his wife and son and marched off to fight for dominance over his enemies on the 24th of January, 1814. This was the last time that the ruler saw them.

Emperor Napoleon II's Disputed Reigns

Paris fell to Napoleon's enemies, and his military commanders mutinied, so on 4th April 1814 Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to abdicate in his son's favour and accept exile on the island of Elba. For two days, his three-year-old son served as his replacement, on paper at least, before Napoleon reworded the abdication to include his heirs.

Marie-Louise and the young Napoleon relocated to the Austrian court of her childhood instead of travelling to Elba. Mother and son lived at the Schonnbrun Palace in Vienna, and from this time, he was known as Franz, the German version of his second Christian name. The French awarded him the title of Duc de Parme or Duke of Parma.

In February 1815, Emperor Napoleon escaped from Elba, and he reclaimed power in France as he ousted King Louis XVIII. After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo on 18th June 1815, Napoleon abdicated for a second time, and he was banished to St. Helena where he suffered poor health and died on 5th May 1821.

The emperor had stepped aside so that his son could succeed him, although he knew that a deposed monarch waited in the shadows. The disputed rule of four-year-old Napoleon II occurred between 22nd June 1815 and 7th July 1815. The government did not recognise him as ruler, and the monarchy under King Louis XVIII was formally restored. Napoleon II remained in Austria throughout.

Napoleon II: Like Father, Like Son?

From an early age, Napoleon II suffered from difficulties breathing, but when he was twelve years old, this was not deemed an impediment to a military career, so he embarked on his training as a cadet. He was noted for his intelligence and dedication.

There was a problem. Most European leaders were reluctant to allow Napoleon's son to pursue a military career because they feared that, like his father, he would wreak havoc and deliver bloodshed if he returned to France. The Bonapartists still regarded him as their absent ruler.

His grandfather Holy Roman Emperor Franz II, Franz I of Austria, shared their opinion. In 1818 he gave Franz/Napoleon the Austrian title of Duke of Reichstadt, but he prevented him from taking a political role, and he refused him meaningful positions in the Austrian Army despite promoting him through the ranks. He was placed in command of a battalion, but the role shielded him from consequential campaigns.

Tuberculosis, Burial and Adolf Hitler

The problems with his lungs that he'd endured since childhood developed into tuberculosis. On the 22nd July 1832, aged twenty-one Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt, passed away at the Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna.

He was laid to rest in the House of Habsburg tradition. His heart was placed in the family's Heart Vault (herzgruft) in the Augustinian church a short distance from the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. His entrails were interred in the Ducal Crypt in St. Stephen's Church in the city, and the rest of Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt was buried in the Imperial Crypt (kaisergruft) in the Viennese Capuchin church.

His story was not over. In 1940 Adolf Hitler ordered that Napoleon II's body should be relocated to Paris. His remains from the Imperial Crypt were transported to the French capital, but oddly, his heart and entrails remained in Austria. Hitler's insistence was apparently a signal of honour to Napoleon Bonaparte, who had been moved from his St. Helena grave to Paris in 1840.

The two Napoleon Bonapartes lay side by side at Les Invalides, Paris, for twenty-nine years until the son was moved to the lower church at Les Invalides.

Despite disputes about whether Napoleon II's two rules truly occurred, when Napoleon III rose to power in France, he elected to call himself "the third" as a mark of respect to his ancestor.

Sources

• NAPOLEON II - napoleon.org
  
• Napoléon-François-Charles-Joseph Bonaparte, duke von Reichstadt | Austrian-Italian noble | Britannic
  
• Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte, Napoléon II | Unofficial Royalty

The Historic Saxon Duchies of Germany and the House of Wettin

Arguably the best known member of the House of Wettin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria's husband.  Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

1485: Saxony Divided Between 2 House of Wettin Brothers

The Saxon duchies, the Sächsische Herzogtümer, were also known as the Ernestine and Albertine duchies after the ruling House of Wettin's Elector Frederick II of Saxony divided his lands between his two sons in the 1485 Treaty of Leipzig.

The newly established Ernestine duchies in the electorate were ruled by Ernst (Ernest) Frederick's elder son, and his younger son Albrecht (Albert) took control of the area designated as Ducal Saxony. The Ernestine line was senior to the Albertine one until fortunes shifted in 1547, see below. The former duchies are in modern-day Thuringia and part of Bavaria in Germany.

Ernest, Prince-Elector of Saxony, based himself in Leipzig, and his lands were in the north of the March of Meissen and Saxony. Albert, Duke of Saxony, was based in Dresden with lands in the south of the March of Meissen and Thuringia.

Notable Members of the House of Wettin

Notable members of the House of Wettin include Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, his mother Princess Louise of Saxe-Altenburg, Queen Victoria's mother Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Victoire's brother Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. His first marriage was to Princess Charlotte of Wales, the daughter of Britain's King George IV. Leopold was invited to be the King of the Belgians in 1831.

King William IV of Britain's wife was Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen; Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Kohary reigned as King of Bulgaria between 1908-1918, and his descendant Simeon II was the last reigning monarch of Bulgaria between 1943-1946. He was the 48th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (2001-2005), using the name Simeon Sakskoburggotski.

The Division of Erfurt and Saxe-Altenburg's Creation

In the wake of the Schmalkaldic War (1541-1547), the Ernestine line lost their electoral dignity or supremacy on the orders of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The Albertine line's Maurice, Duke of Saxony, became Elector of Saxony.

In the mid-1550s, John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, split the Ernestine lands into three duchies for his three sons. This gave John-Frederick Saxe-Eisenach and Saxe-Coburg, John William ruled Saxe-Weimar and John Frederick III controlled Saxe-Gotha. John William added the districts of Coburg, Altenburg and Meiningen to his Weimar lands.

The 1572 Division of Erfurt resulted in the duchies of Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach and Saxe-Weimar. In 1596 Saxe-Eisenach and Saxe-Coburg were separated. They merged again in 1633 as Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach.

In Saxe-Weimar, the death of John William's son Frederick William created a regency under John William's brothers led by the eldest, John. In 1603 Uncle John refused to give way to his nephew John who was by then at an age to rule in his own right.

Negotiations resulted in a new division of the duchy. Uncle John claimed Saxe-Weimar and Jena. Nephew John reigned over the newly created Saxe-Altenburg.

1826: A Saxon Grand Duchy and 3 Duchies Remain

In 1807 all of the Ernestine duchies joined Napoleon Bonaparte's Confederation of the Rhine and in 1815 they became sovereign members of the German Confederation.

By 1826 there were four Ernestine duchies:

• The Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. (The senior line).
• The Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen-Hildburghausen.
• The Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg.
• The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

During the Seven Weeks War of 1866 between Prussia and Austria Saxe-Meiningen-Hildburghausen was the only Ernestine duchy to fight for the losing side, Austria. It joined the other duchies in the North German Federation the following year, and the duchies were part of the newly proclaimed German Empire in 1871.

In 1918 as the First World War drew to a close, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and fled to the Netherlands. The German Revolution led the rulers of the duchies to step down. Two years later, the former duchies, with the exception of Coburg, were merged into the new Thuringia. Coburg became part of Bavaria.

The House of Wettin continued.

The Saxe-Altenburg line became extinct in 1991 when Georg Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Altenburg, died. His title passed to Prince Michael of Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach, but this line is also predicted to become extinct because his daughter cannot inherit under primogeniture. Other males in the Eisenach branch of the family do not have legitimate or non-morganatic children.

Unmarried Konrad of Saxe-Meiningen was born in 1952, and he has no issue.

With Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach and Saxe-Meiningen's end, it's likely that the most senior remaining member of the House of Wettin, Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha would become nominal prince of Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach and Saxe-Altenburg.

British Royalty and the Ernestine Duchy Titles

Through Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert, the British monarchy changed from the House of Hanover or Guelph to the Wettin family and the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

In 1917 King George V rebranded the royals from the Germanic Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the thoroughly British name of Windsor at the suggestion of his private secretary Arthur Bigge, Lord Stamfordham.

The Mountbatten-Windsor royals are not considered Ernestine descendants because, unlike their German cousins, they enjoy cognatic—male- and female-line—descent.

In 1917 George V renounced any claims that British royalty had to German titles and lands so King Charles III can't claim the Saxon duchies. He has enough titles and estates already, so he won't miss them.

Sources

• Saxon duchies | historical region, Germany | Britannica
  
• The Wettin Dynasty of Saxony | Emperor Charles V
  
• The Ernestine Line's Saxon Duchies