1.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
2.
Palais-Royal
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The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre, the larger inner courtyard, the Cour dHonneur, has since 1986 contained Daniel Burens site-specific art piece Les Deux Plateaux, known as Les Colonnes de Buren. In 1830 the Cour dHonneur was enclosed to the north by what was probably the most famous of Pariss covered arcades, demolished in the 1930s, its flanking rows of columns still stand between the Cour dHonneur and the popular Palais-Royal Gardens. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, the palace was the residence of Cardinal Richelieu. The architect Jacques Lemercier began his design in 1629, construction commenced in 1633 and was completed in 1639, upon Richelieus death in 1642 the palace became the property of the King and acquired the new name Palais-Royal. After Louis XIII died the year, it became the home of the Queen Mother Anne of Austria and her young sons Louis XIV and Philippe, duc dAnjou. From 1649, the palace was the residence of the exiled Henrietta Maria and Henrietta Anne Stuart, wife, the two had escaped England in the midst of the English Civil War and were sheltered by Henrietta Marias nephew, King Louis XIV. Henrietta Anne was later married to Louis younger brother, Philippe de France, the following year the new duchesse dOrléans gave birth to a daughter, Marie Louise dOrléans, inside the palace. After their marriage, the became the main residence of the House of Orléans. The Duchess created the gardens of the palace, which were said to be among the most beautiful in Paris. Under the new couple, the Palais-Royal would become the social center of the capital. The court gatherings at the Palais-Royal were famed all around the capital as well as all of France and it was at these parties that the crème de la crème of French society came to see and be seen. Guests included the members of the royal family like the Queen Mother, Anne of Austria, the duchesse de Montpensier, the Princes de Condé. Philippes favourites were also frequent visitors, the palace was redecorated and new apartments were created for the maids and staff of the Duchess. After Henrietta Anne died in 1670 the Duke took a wife, the Princess Palatine. Saint-Cloud thus became the residence of her eldest son and the heir to the House of Orléans. For the convenience of the bride, new apartments were built and it was at this time that Philippe commissioned the gallery for his famous Orleans Collection of paintings, which was easily accessible to the public. The architect was Jules Hardouin-Mansart, and the cost of reconstruction was totaled to be 400,000 livres
3.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
4.
House of Bourbon
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The House of Bourbon is a European royal house of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century, by the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma. Spain and Luxembourg currently have Bourbon monarchs, the royal Bourbons originated in 1268, when the heiress of the lordship of Bourbon married a younger son of King Louis IX. The house continued for three centuries as a branch, while more senior Capetians ruled France, until Henry IV became the first Bourbon king of France in 1589. Restored briefly in 1814 and definitively in 1815 after the fall of the First French Empire, a cadet Bourbon branch, the House of Orléans, then ruled for 18 years, until it too was overthrown. The Princes de Condé were a branch of the Bourbons descended from an uncle of Henry IV. Both houses were prominent in French affairs, even during exile in the French Revolution, until their respective extinctions in 1830 and 1814. When the Bourbons inherited the strongest claim to the Spanish throne, the claim was passed to a cadet Bourbon prince, a grandson of Louis XIV of France, who became Philip V of Spain. The Spanish House of Bourbon has been overthrown and restored several times, reigning 1700–1808, 1813–1868, 1875–1931, Bourbons ruled in Naples from 1734–1806 and in Sicily from 1734–1816, and in a unified Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from 1816–1860. They also ruled in Parma from 1731–1735, 1748–1802 and 1847–1859, all legitimate, living members of the House of Bourbon, including its cadet branches, are direct agnatic descendants of Henry IV. The term House of Bourbon is sometimes used to refer to this first house and the House of Bourbon-Dampierre, the second family to rule the seigneury. In 1268, Robert, Count of Clermont, sixth son of King Louis IX of France, married Beatrix of Bourbon, heiress to the lordship of Bourbon and their son Louis was made Duke of Bourbon in 1327. His descendant, the Constable of France Charles de Bourbon, was the last of the senior Bourbon line when he died in 1527. Because he chose to fight under the banner of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and lived in exile from France, the remaining line of Bourbons henceforth descended from James I, Count of La Marche, the younger son of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon. With the death of his grandson James II, Count of La Marche in 1438, all future Bourbons would descend from James IIs younger brother, Louis, who became the Count of Vendôme through his mothers inheritance. In 1514, Charles, Count of Vendôme had his title raised to Duke of Vendôme and his son Antoine became King of Navarre, on the northern side of the Pyrenees, by marriage in 1555. Two of Antoines younger brothers were Cardinal Archbishop Charles de Bourbon, Louis male-line, the Princes de Condé, survived until 1830. Finally, in 1589, the House of Valois died out and he was born on 13 December 1553 in the Kingdom of Navarre
5.
Louis XIV of France
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Louis XIV, known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monarch of a country in European history. In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIVs France was a leader in the centralization of power. Louis began his rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister. By these means he became one of the most powerful French monarchs, under his rule, the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to Huguenots, was abolished. The revocation effectively forced Huguenots to emigrate or convert in a wave of dragonnades, which managed to virtually destroy the French Protestant minority. During Louis reign, France was the leading European power, and it fought three wars, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg. There were also two lesser conflicts, the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions, warfare defined Louis XIVs foreign policies, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique, in peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military, Louis XIV was born on 5 September 1638 in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. He was named Louis Dieudonné and bore the title of French heirs apparent. At the time of his birth, his parents had married for 23 years. His mother had experienced four stillbirths between 1619 and 1631, leading contemporaries thus regarded him as a divine gift and his birth a miracle of God. Sensing imminent death, Louis XIII decided to put his affairs in order in the spring of 1643, in defiance of custom, which would have made Queen Anne the sole Regent of France, the king decreed that a regency council would rule on his sons behalf. His lack of faith in Queen Annes political abilities was his primary rationale and he did, however, make the concession of appointing her head of the council. Louis relationship with his mother was uncommonly affectionate for the time, contemporaries and eyewitnesses claimed that the Queen would spend all her time with Louis. Both were greatly interested in food and theatre, and it is likely that Louis developed these interests through his close relationship with his mother. This long-lasting and loving relationship can be evidenced by excerpts in Louis journal entries, such as, but attachments formed later by shared qualities of the spirit are far more difficult to break than those formed merely by blood
6.
Roman Catholicism
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The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services
7.
Louis XV of France
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Louis XV, known as Louis the Beloved, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five, Cardinal Fleury was his chief minister from 1726 until the Cardinals death in 1743, at which time the young king took sole control of the kingdom. During his reign, Louis returned the Austrian Netherlands, territory won at the Battle of Fontenoy of 1745, Louis also ceded New France in North America to Spain and Great Britain at the conclusion of the Seven Years War in 1763. He incorporated the territories of Lorraine and Corsica into the kingdom of France and he was succeeded by his grandson Louis XVI in 1774. French culture and influence were at their height in the first half of the eighteenth century, however, many scholars believe that Louis XVs decisions damaged the power of France, weakened the treasury, discredited the absolute monarchy, and made it more vulnerable to distrust and destruction. Evidence for this view is provided by the French Revolution, which broke out 15 years after his death, norman Davies characterized Louis XVs reign as one of debilitating stagnation, characterized by lost wars, endless clashes between the Court and Parliament, and religious feuds. A few scholars defend Louis, arguing that his negative reputation was based on propaganda meant to justify the French Revolution. Jerome Blum described him as a perpetual adolescent called to do a mans job, Louis XV was born in the Palace of Versailles on 15 February 1710 during the reign of Louis XIV. His grandfather, Louis Le Grand Dauphin, had three sons with his wife Marie Anne Victoire of Bavaria, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, and Charles, Duke of Berry. Louis XV was the son of the Duke of Burgundy and his wife Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, the eldest daughter of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy. At birth, Louis XV received a title for younger sons of the French royal family. In April 1711, Louis Le Grand Dauphin suddenly died, making Louis XVs father, the Duke of Burgundy, at that time, Burgundy had two living sons, Louis, Duke of Brittany and his youngest son, the future Louis XV. A year later, Marie Adélaïde, Duchess of Burgundy, contracted smallpox and her husband, said to be heartbroken by her death, died the same week, also having contracted smallpox. Within a week of his death, it was clear that the two children had also been infected. The elder son was treated by bloodletting in an unsuccessful effort to save him. Fearing that the Dauphin would die, the Court had both the Dauphin and the Duke of Anjou baptised, the Dauphin died the same day,8 March 1712. His younger brother, the Duke of Anjou, was treated by his governess, Madame de Ventadour. The two year old Dauphin survived the smallpox, on 1 September 1715, Louis XIV died of gangrene, having reigned for 72 years
8.
Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse
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Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse, duc de Penthièvre, a legitimated prince of the blood royal, was the son of Louis XIV and of his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. At the age of five, he became admiral of France. Born at the Château de Clagny in Versailles, Louis Alexandre de Bourbon was the third son, at birth, he was put in the care of Madame de Monchevreuil along with his older sister Françoise-Marie de Bourbon. Louis Alexandre was created Count of Toulouse in 1681 at the time of his legitimation, in February 1684, he became colonel of an infantry regiment named after him and in 1693 mestre de camp of a cavalry regiment. During the War of Spanish Succession, he was given the task of defending Sicily, in January 1689, he was named governor of Guyenne, a title which he exchanged for that of governor of Brittany six years later. On 3 January 1696, he was created a marshal of France, during the War of the Spanish Succession he commanded the French fleet at the Battle of Vélez-Málaga in 1704. He remained in this capacity until being succeeded by Joseph Fleuriau dArmenonville in 1722, the proposal of his marriage to Charlotte de Lorraine, Mademoiselle dArmagnac, member of a cadet branch of the House of Guise had met with the categorical refusal of Louis XIV. On 2 February 1723, the comte de Toulouse married Marie Victoire de Noailles and she was the widow of Louis de Pardaillan de Gondrin, his nephew, son of his half-brother Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin, whose mother was Madame de Montespan. The marriage was kept secret until the death of the regent, the couple had one son, Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre. He and his sisters tried to avoid the court and the intrigues of their brother, the duc du Maine, and his wife Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, the duchess, at the Château de Sceaux. The decision was reversed after the death of Louis XIV when Louis Alexandres cousin, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, the comte de Toulouse died at the Château de Rambouillet on 1 December 1737. He was buried in the village 12th century Saint-Lubin church, on 30 September 1766, the countess died at the Hôtel de Toulouse, the Parisian mansion not far from the Louvre which the count had bought from Phélypeaux, marquis de La Vrillière, in 1712. She too was buried in the crypt in the Rambouillet church. Upon the counts death, the duc de Penthièvre, succeeded his father in his posts and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Toulouse, Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of. Mgr le comte de Toulouse, son père. »
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Marie Anne de Bourbon
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Marie Anne de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the eldest legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress Louise de La Vallière. At the age of thirteen, she was married to Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti and her fathers favourite daughter, Marie Anne was widowed in 1685 aged 19. She never married again and had no children, following her mothers retirement to a convent, Marie Anne continued to reside at her fathers court and was later her mothers heiress. She later became the Duchess of La Vallière in her own right, born secretly at the Château de Vincennes outside Paris on 2 October 1666 while the court was in residence, Marie Anne was the eldest illegitimate child of King Louis XIV. Considered by some as the kings most beautiful daughter, she would become his favourite female child and his favourite child, however, was her younger half-brother, Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine. She and her younger brother Louis de Bourbon were put in the care of Madame Colbert and they were raised by Madame Colbert away from the intrigues of the Court. The following year, Marie Anne was legitimised by her father on 14 May 1667, on the same day, her mother was given the titles of Duchess of La Vallière and of Vaujours with letters patent. Marie Anne would succeed to her mothers La Vallière title, during her youth, she was known as Mademoiselle de Blois, a style that was later granted to her younger half-sister, Françoise Marie de Bourbon, youngest daughter of the king by Madame de Montespan. On 16 January 1680, Marie Anne married her cousin, Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti and he had fallen in love with her at first sight. Her dowry was one million livres, the marriage was the first between a Prince of the Blood and one of Louis XIVs legitimised daughters which caused a scandal at the time. After a disastrous wedding night, the marriage remained sterile and Marie Anne shocked the court when she stated that her husband was not good at making love. In 1683, she lost her brother the Count of Vermandois. The young count had been exiled from court after being involved in a scandal involving the Chevalier de Lorraine. From all sources, Marie Anne was quite upset by her brothers death, while, according to contemporary accounts, in 1685, her husband contracted smallpox from Marie Anne. Although she recovered, he succumbed after five days, after his death, she was called Madame la Princesse Douairière, and also la Grande Princesse de Conti. She never remarried and even refused an offer of marriage from the Sultan of Morocco, during the five years of her marriage to the Prince of Conti, a Prince of the Blood, she was one of the most important ladies at her fathers court. As the Conti line descended from the Condés, the latter took precedence over the former and this matter of etiquette, so important at Versailles, led to friction between the two. In 1698, there might have been a proposal from her nephew, Philippe of France and he later became the King of Spain and married twice to Marie Louise of Savoy and then Elisabeth Farnese
10.
Affair of the Poisons
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The Affair of the Poisons was a major murder scandal in France which took place in 1677–1682, during the reign of King Louis XIV of France. During it, a number of prominent members of the aristocracy were implicated and sentenced on charges of poisoning, the scandal reached into the inner circle of the king. It led to the execution of 36 people, there were also rumours that she had poisoned poor people during her visits in hospitals. After being accused she fled, but was arrested in Liège, brinvilliers was tortured and confessed, was sentenced to death, and on 17 July was tortured with the water cure, beheaded, and her body burned at the stake. Her alleged accomplice Sainte-Croix did not face charges because he had died of causes in 1672. The sensational trial drew attention to a number of mysterious deaths. Prominent people, including Louis XIV, became alarmed that they might be poisoned, the affair proper opened in February 1677 after the arrest of Magdelaine de La Grange on charges of forgery and murder. La Grange appealed to François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis of Louvois, Louvois reported to the king, who told Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie, who, among other things, was the chief of the Paris police, to root out the poisoners. La Reynie sought to calm the king, the subsequent investigation of potential poisoners led to accusations of witchcraft, murder and more. Authorities rounded up a number of fortune tellers and alchemists who were suspected of selling not only divinations, séances and aphrodisiacs, but also inheritance powders. Some of them confessed under torture and gave lists of their clients. The most famous case was that of midwife Catherine Deshayes Monvoisin or La Voisin, La Voisin implicated a number of important individuals in the French court. Questioned while intoxicated, La Voisin claimed that Montespan had bought aphrodisiacs and performed black masses with her in order to gain and she had worked with a priest named Étienne Guibourg. There was no evidence beyond her confessions, but bad reputations followed these people afterwards, eleanor Herman, in her book Sex with Kings, claims that the police, given reports of babies bones, uncovered the remains of 2,500 infants in La Voisins garden. However, Anne Somerset disputes this in her book The Affair of the Poisons, also involved in the scandal was Eustache Dauger de Cavoye, the eldest living scion of a prominent noble family. Cavoye was disinherited by his family when, in an act of debauchery, upon his disinheritance, he opened a lucrative trade in inheritance powders and aphrodisiacs. He mysteriously disappeared after the ending of Louiss official investigation in 1678. Because of this and his name, he was suspected of being the Man in the Iron Mask
11.
Letters patent
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Letters patent can be used for the creation of corporations or government offices, or for the granting of city status or a coat of arms. Letters patent are issued for the appointment of representatives of the Crown, such as governors and governors-general of Commonwealth realms, in the United Kingdom they are also issued for the creation of peers of the realm. A particular form of letters patent has evolved into the modern patent granting exclusive rights in an invention. e, the opposite of letters patent are letters close, which are personal in nature and sealed so that only the recipient can read their contents. Letters patent are thus comparable to other kinds of open letter in that their audience is wide, letters patent are so named from the Latin verb pateo, to lie open, exposed, accessible. The originators seal was attached pendent from the document, so that it did not have to be broken in order for the document to be read. Thus letters patent do not equate to a letter but rather to any form of document, deed, contract, letter, despatch, edict, decree. Letters patent are a form of open or public proclamation and an exercise of extra-parliamentary power by a monarch or president. Prior to the establishment of Parliament, the monarch ruled absolutely by the issuing of his written orders. They can thus be contrasted with the Act of Parliament, which is in effect an order by Parliament. No explicit government approval is contained within letters patent, only the seal or signature of the monarch, in their original form they were simply written instructions or orders from the sovereign, whose order was law, which were made public to reinforce their effect. According to the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice, there are 92 different types of letters patent. The Patent Rolls are made up of copies of English royal letters patent. In 1634, during the Thirty Years War, the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II became convinced that his general Albrecht von Wallenstein was plotting treason, on 24 January 1634 the Emperor signed a secret patent removing him from his command. Finally an open patent, charging Wallenstein with high treason, was signed on 18 February, in the patent, Ferdinand II ordered to have Wallenstein brought under arrest to Vienna, dead or alive. On the basis of patent, several of Wallensteins officers assassinated him and were rewarded by the Emperor. The form of patent for creating peerages has been fixed by the Crown Office Order 1992. Part III of the schedule lays down nine pro forma texts for creating various ranks of the peerage, lords of appeal in ordinary, gender-specific differences are highlighted in italics. In Commonwealth realms, letters patent are issued under the powers of the head of state
12.
Parlement
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A parlement was a provincial appellate court in the France of the Ancien Régime, i. e. before the French Revolution. In 1789,13 parlements existed, the most important of which was by far the Parlement of Paris, while the English word parliament derives from this French term, parlements were not legislative bodies. They consisted of a dozen or more judges, or about 1,100 judges nationwide. They were the court of appeal of the judicial system. Laws and edicts issued by the Crown were not official in their respective jurisdictions until the parlements gave their assent by publishing them, the members were aristocrats called nobles of the gown who had bought or inherited their offices, and were independent of the King. From 1770 to 1774 the Lord Chancellor, Maupeou, tried to abolish the Parlement of Paris in order to strengthen the Crown, however, when King Louis XV died in 1774, the parlements were reinstated. The parlements spearheaded the resistance to the absolutism and centralization of the Crown, but they worked primarily for the benefit of their own class. Alfred Cobban argues that the parlements were the obstacles to any reform before the Revolution. In November 1789, early in the French Revolution, all parlements were suspended, the political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the Kings Council, and consequently enjoyed ancient, customary consultative and deliberative prerogatives. In the 13th century, the parlements acquired judicial functions, then the droit de remontrance against the king, the Paris parlements jurisdiction covered the entire kingdom as it was in the 14th century, but did not automatically advance in step with the Crowns ever expanding realm. The Parlement of Paris played a role in stimulating the nobility to resist the expansion of royal power by military force in the Fronde. In the end, the King won out and the nobility was humiliated, in such a case, the parlements powers were suspended for the duration of this royal session. King Louis XIV moved to centralize authority into his own hands, in 1665, he ordained that a Lit de justice could be held without the king having to appear in person. In 1667, he limited the number of remonstrances to only one, in 1671–1673, however, the parlements resisted the taxes occasioned by the Dutch War. In 1673, the king imposed additional restrictions that stripped the parlements of any influence upon new laws by ordaining that remonstrances could only be issued after registration of the edicts. After Louis death in 1715, all the restrictions were discontinued by the regent and these locations were provincial capitals of those provinces with strong historical traditions of independence before they were annexed to France. Nevertheless, the Parlement of Paris had the largest jurisdiction of all the parlements, covering the part of northern and central France. In some regions provincial States-General also continued to meet and legislate with a measure of self-governance, tenure on the court was generally bought from the royal authority, and such positions could be made hereditary by payment of a tax to the King called la Paulette
13.
Count of Toulouse
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The Count of Toulouse was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the counts ruled the city of Toulouse. The counts and other members were also at various times counts of Quercy, Rouergue, Albi, and Nîmes. Count Raymond IV founded the Crusader state of Tripoli, and his descendants were also counts there. They reached the zenith of their power during the 11th and 12th centuries, during the youth of young Louis the Pious his tutor, Torson, ruled at Toulouse as the first count. In 788, Count Torson was captured by the Basques under Adalric, upon his release, Charlemagne, at the Council of Worms, replaced him with his Frankish cousin, William of Gellone. William in turn successfully subdued the Gascons, in the ninth century, Toulouse suffered in common with the rest of western Europe. It was besieged by Charles the Bald in 844, and taken four years later by the Normans, about 852, Raymond I, count of Quercy, succeeded his brother Fredelo as Count of Rouergue and Toulouse. It is from Raymond that all the counts of Toulouse document their descent. Raymond IIs grandson, William III, married Emma of Provence, from this time on, the counts of Toulouse were powerful lords in southern France. Raymond IV, assumed the titles of Marquis of Provence, Duke of Narbonne. Afterward, the count set sail with the First Crusade, after the conquest of Jerusalem, he set siege to the City of Tripoli in the Levant. Raymond died before the city was taken in 1109, but is considered the first Count of Tripoli and his son, Bertrand, then took the title. He and his successors ruled the Crusader state until 1187, Raymonds son and successor, Bertrand, had followed him to the Holy Land in 1109. Therefore, at Raymonds death the great estates and Toulouse went to Bertrands brother. His rule, however, was disturbed by the ambition of William IX and his granddaughter, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who urged her husband Louis VII of France to support her claims to Toulouse by war. Upon her divorce from Louis and her subsequent marriage to Henry II of England, Eleanor pressed her claims through Henry, Raymond V, a patron of the troubadours, died in 1194, and was succeeded by his son, Raymond VI. Following the 1208 assassination of the Papal legate, Pierre de Castelnau, Raymond was excommunicated, Raymond was eager to appease the Pope, and was pardoned
14.
Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine
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Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine was a legitimised son of the French king Louis XIV and his official mistress, Madame de Montespan. The kings favourite son, he was the founder of the semi-royal House of Bourbon-Maine named after his title, Louis-Auguste de Bourbon was born at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 31 March 1670. His siblings, Louis-César, Louise-Françoise and Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon were also there after their births. Their mother, living with the king at Versailles, rarely saw her children, on 19 December 1673, when Louis-Auguste was three years old, Louis XIV legitimised his children by Montespan by letters patent registered by the Parlement de Paris. At this time, Louis-Auguste received the title of duc du Maine, in 1674, at the age of four, Louis-Auguste and his siblings were officially introduced to the court at Versailles. In the same year, he was made a colonel-general of the Swiss Guards, du Maines greatest enemy at court became his fathers sister-in-law, the duchesse dOrléans, known at court as Madame. The maréchal du Luxembourg, a military strategist, was put in charge of the childs military training. Despite this, Louis-Auguste never became more than a mediocre soldier and he was made Grand Maître de France. As a result, Louis-Auguste became the comte dEu, sovereign Prince of the Dombes and he also received the governorship of Languedoc and was awarded the Order of the Holy Spirit. In April 1684 du Maine represented the king at the wedding of the Duke of Savoy to du Maines cousin, in 1688, Louis Auguste was made a capitaine général des galères. However, the Grand Condé, a distant relative of the king. So du Maine was allowed to choose among the three unmarried daughters of Condés son, the duc dEnghien and he chose Louise Bénédicte, Mademoiselle de Charolais, over her sisters, Anne Marie, Mademoiselle de Condé and Marie Anne, Mademoiselle de Montmorency. All three were small, the eldest was beautiful, and full of sense and wit. Presided over by the Cardinal de Bouillon, the guest of honour was the exiled James II of England, Madame de Montespan, who had fallen out of favour with the king after the Affaire des Poisons, did not attend her sons wedding. The duc du Maine received a gift of one million livres from his father at his wedding and his bride was given a hundred thousand livres in cash, with clothes and jewels worth an additional two hundred thousand livres. Louise Bénédicte felt disgraced by her marriage to a légitimé de France and was often unfaithful, as the groom and bride were both physically handicapped, people at court snickered, Voici lunion dun boiteux et dune manchote. Nonetheless, the couple eventually had three children who grew to adulthood and their daughter, baptised at Versailles on 9 April 1714, was known as Mademoiselle du Maine and named Louise-Françoise de Bourbon. In 1707, Madame de Montespan died, and the duc du Maine inherited a portion of her fortune, including the château de Clagny
15.
Louis, Grand Dauphin
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Louis of France was the eldest son and heir of Louis XIV, King of France, and his spouse, Maria Theresa of Spain. As the heir apparent to the French throne, he was styled Dauphin and he became known as Le Grand Dauphin after the birth of his own son, Le Petit Dauphin. As he died before his father, he never became king, as a Fils de France he was entitled to the style of Royal Highness. He was baptised on 24 March 1662 at the chapel of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, at the ceremony, Cardinal de Vendôme and the Princess of Conti acted as proxies for the godparents, Pope Clement IX and Queen Henrietta Maria of England. For this ceremony, Jean-Baptiste Lully composed the motet Plaude Laetare Gallia, when Louis reached the age of seven, he was removed from the care of women and placed in the society of men. No prince could have been deserving of such feelings. Monseigneur, as the heir to the throne was now known, had inherited his mothers docility, all his life he remained petrified with admiration of his formidable father and stood in fear of him even while lavish proofs of affection were showered upon him. The best way for Monseigneur to do someone an injury was to him to the royal favour. He knew it, and did not conceal it from his rare petitioners, Louis XIV saw to it that his sons upbringing was quite the opposite of his own. Bossuet overwhelmed his backward pupil with such splendid lessons that the Dauphin developed a horror of books, learning. By the age of eighteen, Monseigneur had assimilated almost none of the knowledge amassed to so little purpose, and it was said that when Louis was an adult, he could pass a whole day simply tapping his cane against his foot in an armchair. Nonetheless, his generosity, affability, and liberality gave him popularity in Paris. Louis was one of six children of his parents. The others all died in childhood, the second longest-lived, Marie Thérèse of France. According to various reports, Marie Louise and Louis were in love, however, Louis XIV used Marie Louise to forge a link with Spain and forced her to marry the invalid Charles II of Spain, the Dauphins own half-uncle. Louis was engaged to his cousin, Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria. She was an older than Louis and, upon arriving at the French court, was described as being very unattractive. Nonetheless, she was a cultured princess
16.
Cellamare conspiracy
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The Cellamare conspiracy of 1718 was a conspiracy against the then Regent of France, Philippe dOrléans. Concocted in Spain, the plot was the brainchild of Antonio del Giudice, Prince of Cellamare, Antonio del Giudice went to France during the Regency of Philippe dOrléans. The Prince of Cellamare and his embassy wanted to try to depose Philippe dOrléans from power, with the support of the Spanish ambassador, a plot to carry out the transferral was soon woven into the entourage of the duchess. According to the memoirs of the duchess lady-in-waiting the Baroness de Staal, Melchior de Polignac, the Duke of Richelieu was at the time having a romantic affair with one of the Regents daughters, Charlotte Aglaé dOrléans. The Baronesss memoirs said that the duke and duchess of Maine had wanted to call a meeting between the États généraux regarding the matter, the Duke of Richelieu was imprisoned in the Bastille where he was later visited by his lover Charlotte Aglaé dOrléans dressed in disguise. Despite this, the guilty members of the plot were all pardoned by 1720, on 9 January 1719, France declared war on Spain, following in the footsteps of England who had done so a couple of weeks earlier, on 27 December 1718. Two years later, the aims of the Cellamare conspiracy were revived in the Pontcallec Conspiracy, the current information was taken from the present Conspiration de Cellamare on French Wikipedia
17.
Marquise de Caylus
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Marthe-Marguerite Le Valois de Villette de Mursay, marquise de Caylus, was a French noblewoman and writer. Born in Poitou, she was the daughter of vice-admiral Philippe, Marquis de Villette-Mursay, and Marie-Anne de Châteauneuf and her father was a cousin of Madame de Maintenon, who brought up Marthe-Marguerite like her own daughter. In 1686 she married Anne de Tubières, comte de Caylus and her elder son, Anne-Claude-Philippe, was also a man of letters and an archaeologist. Madame de Caylus left piquant and valuable memoirs of the court of Louis XIV and these were edited by Voltaire, and by many later editors. Souvenirs de Madame de Caylus, Mercure de France, ISBN 2-7152-1424-3 This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Wood, James. London and New York, Frederick Warne, Works by Marthe-Marguerite Caylus at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Marquise de Caylus at Internet Archive
18.
Fils de France
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Fils de France was the style and rank held by the sons of the kings and dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille de France, the children of the dauphin were accorded the same style and status as if they were the kings children instead of his grandchildren or great-grandchildren. The king, queen, queen dowager, enfants de France, the dauphin, the heir to the French throne, was the most senior of the fils de France and was usually addressed as Monsieur le dauphin. The kings next younger brother, also a fils de France, was simply as Monsieur. Daughters were referred to by their given name prefaced with the honorific Madame, while sons were referred to by their peerage title. The kings eldest daughter was known as Madame Royale until she married, the illegitimate children of French kings, dauphins, and princes du sang were not entitled to any rights or styles per se, but often they were legitimised by their fathers. Even then, however, they were never elevated to the rank of fils de France, all enfants de France were entitled to the style of Royal Highness from the reign of Louis XIII. However, in practice that formal honorific was less used than the more traditionally French styles of Monsieur. The styles of the family varied as follows, Under the Valois monarchs. Philip VI made his eldest son Duke of Normandy and his second son Duke of Orléans, john II made his eldest son Duke of Normandy, and his younger sons dukes of Anjou, Berry, and Burgundy. Anjou and Burgundy established long-lived dynasties, while the Duke of Berry lived for a long time, Orléans was reused for the younger son of Charles V, while Berry was reused for the younger son of Charles VII. By the accession of Francis I, all of the cadet branches descended from Valois kings had succeeded to the throne or become extinct. Thus the king had a selection of traditional titles to choose from. Orléans was the most preferred, followed by Anjou, the Bourbon kings followed the traditional titling, with Berry used for the third son. As lifespans extended, Burgundy was used for the eldest son of the Dauphin, but as fortune would have it, only the title of Orléans would be transmitted hereditarily until the Revolution. This was a form of address for the dauphin, the dauphin de France, was the title used for the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791 and then from 1824 to 1830. Louis de France, son of the preceding, who became the dauphin in 1711, was known as le Petit Dauphin. This was another way of addressing Le Grand Dauphin, the legitimate son of Louis XIV
19.
Louis Philippe I
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Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 as the leader of the Orléanist party. He spent 21 years in exile after he left France in 1793 and he was proclaimed king in 1830 after his cousin Charles X was forced to abdicate in the wake of the events of the July Revolution of that year. His government, known as the July Monarchy, was dominated by members of a wealthy French elite and he followed conservative policies, especially under the influence of the French statesman François Guizot during the period 1840–48. He also promoted friendship with Britain and sponsored colonial expansion, notably the conquest of Algeria and his popularity faded as economic conditions in France deteriorated in 1847, and he was forced to abdicate after the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1848. He lived out his life in exile in Great Britain, Louis Philippe was born in the Palais Royal, the residence of the Orléans family in Paris, to Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, and Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince of the Blood and his mother was an extremely wealthy heiress who was descended from Louis XIV of France through a legitimized line. Louis Philippe was the eldest of three sons and a daughter, a family that was to have erratic fortunes from the beginning of the French Revolution to the Bourbon Restoration. Louis Philippes father was exiled from the court, and the Orléans confined themselves to studies of the literature. Louis Philippe was tutored by the Countess of Genlis, beginning in 1782 and she instilled in him a fondness for liberal thought, it is probably during this period that Louis Philippe picked up his slightly Voltairean brand of Catholicism. When Louis Philippes grandfather died in 1785, his father succeeded him as Duke of Orléans, from October 1788 to October 1789, the Palais Royal was a meeting-place for the revolutionaries. Louis Philippe grew up in a period that changed Europe as a whole and, following his fathers support for the Revolution. In his diary, he reports that he took the initiative to join the Jacobin Club. In June 1791, Louis Philippe got his first opportunity to become involved in the affairs of France, in 1785, he had been given the hereditary appointment of Colonel of the 14th Regiment of Dragoons. With war on the horizon in 1791, all proprietary colonels were ordered to join their regiments, Louis Philippe showed himself to be a model officer, and he demonstrated his personal bravery in two famous instances. The young colonel broke through the crowd and extricated the two priests, who then fled, at a river crossing on the same day, another crowd threatened to harm the priests. Louis Philippe put himself between a peasant armed with a carbine and the priests, saving their lives, the next day, Louis Philippe dove into a river to save a drowning local engineer. For this action, he received a crown from the local municipality. His regiment was moved north to Flanders at the end of 1791 after the Declaration of Pillnitz, Louis Philippe served under his fathers crony, the Duke of Biron, along with several officers who later gained distinction in Napoleons empire and afterwards
20.
Henri, Count of Paris (born 1933)
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Henri dOrléans, Count of Paris, Duke of France, is a member of the former French ruling dynasty of the House of Bourbon, and one of the current pretenders to the defunct French crown as Henry VII. A descendant of King Louis-Philippe, he is the current head of the Orléans line of the Bourbon dynasty, Henri of Orléans is a former military officer as well as an author and painter. Henri dOrléans is protector of the Orléans obedience of the Order of Saint Lazarus and this law was abrogated in 1950, but Henri had already been allowed to enter France by special favour of President Vincent Auriol in 1948. On 25 August 1940, Henris grandfather, Jean of Orléans, Duke of Guise and his father was recognised by most French royalists as head of the French royal house, and Henri became their dauphin. He studied at the Institut dÉtudes Politiques de Paris and then served in the military, for his military service, he was decorated with several French distinctions. On 5 July 1957, he married Duchess Marie Therese of Württemberg and he received the title Count of Clermont. Five children were born from this union, princess Blanche Elisabeth Rose Marie of Orléans. Her godparents were Duchess Elisabeth of Wurtemberg, and Monsieur Michel Coulages, Prince Jean Charles Pierre Marie of Orléans, Duke of Vendôme and Dauphin de Viennois, married civilly in Paris on 19 March 2009 with Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart. The religious ceremony took place at the Senlis Cathedral on 2 May 2009, princess Thérèse Isabelle Marie Éléonore of Orléans Prince Pierre Jean Marie dOrléans. In 1984, Henri and Marie-Thérèse received a civil divorce, as a civil marriage, this was not a valid marriage in the Catholic Church, it was not recognised by a number of French royalists. Henris father, too, was furious, he disinherited Henri, stripped him of his titles, Henri, though, refused all mail addressed to him as Count of Mortain. Meanwhile, Marie-Thérèse, the former Countess of Clermont, was granted the title Duchesse de Montpensier by her father-in-law, tensions lessened after several years, and Henris father reinstated him as heir apparent and gave Micaela the title Princesse de Joinville. Relations between Henri and his wife, the Duchesse de Montpensier also improved and became cordial. Although Henri adopted the title of Count of Paris upon the death of his father, upon the death of Henris mother, his new wife Micaëla assumed that title. The Count of Paris was then able to remarry his wife, Micaëla Countess of Paris and Duchess of France in a valid marriage in the Catholic Church. The French courts denied that they had jurisdiction over the dispute, after his fathers death, a court-appointed lawyer searched through the late counts effects on behalf of his nine children, to reclaim what remained of the familys dissipated fortune. Jewels, art-work, and a medieval illustrated manuscript were found. These were auctioned off, raising approximately US$14 million, soon after, in 2000 however, bailiffs pursued Henri for US$143,000 back rent after he fled the Villa Boileau, a 17th-century Paris house he had occupied
21.
Juan Carlos I of Spain
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Juan Carlos I was King of Spain from 1975 until his abdication in 2014. Juan Carlos is the grandson of Alfonso XIII, the last king of Spain prior to the abolition in 1931. Juan Carlos was born in Rome, Italy, during his familys exile, Juan Carloss father, Don Juan, was the fourth child of Alfonso who had renounced his claims to the throne in January 1941. Don Juan was seen by Franco to be too liberal and in 1969, was bypassed in favour of Juan Carlos as Francos successor, Juan Carlos spent his early years in Italy and came to Spain in 1947 to continue his studies. After completing his education in 1955, he began his military training. Later, he attended the Naval Military School, the General Academy of the Air, in 1962, Juan Carlos married Princess Sophia of Greece in Athens, daughter of King Paul. The couple had two daughters and a son together, Elena, Cristina, and Felipe, due to Francos declining health, Juan Carlos first began periodically acting as Spains head of state in the summer of 1974. Expected to continue Francos legacy, soon after his accession, Juan Carlos, however, introduced reforms to dismantle the Francoist regime and this led to the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum, which re-established a constitutional monarchy. In 1981, Juan Carlos played a role in preventing a coup that attempted to revert Spain to Francoist government in the Kings name. In 2008, he was considered the most popular leader in all Ibero-America, in 2014, Juan Carlos, citing personal reasons, abdicated in favour of his son, who acceded the throne as Felipe VI. He was baptized as Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias and he was given the name Juan Carlos after his father and maternal grandfather, Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. His early life was dictated largely by the concerns of his father. He moved to Spain in 1948 to be educated there after his father persuaded Franco to allow it and he began his studies in San Sebastián and finished them in 1954 at the San Isidro Institute in Madrid. He then joined the army, doing his officer training from 1955 to 1957 at the Military Academy of Zaragoza, Juan Carlos has two sisters, Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz, and Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria. He also had a brother, Alfonso. On the evening of Holy Thursday,29 March 1956, Juan Carloss younger brother Alfonso died in a gun accident at the familys home Villa Giralda in Estoril, Portugal. The accident took place at 20.30 hours, after the Infantes return from the Maundy Thursday religious service and it is alleged that Juan Carlos began playing with a gun that had apparently been given to Alfonso by General Franco. Rumors appeared in newspapers that the gun had actually held by Juan Carlos at the moment the shot was fired
22.
Albert II of Belgium
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Albert II reigned as King of the Belgians from 1993 until his abdication in 2013. On 3 July 2013, King Albert II attended a session of the Belgian cabinet. He then announced that on 21 July, he would abdicate the throne for health reasons and he was succeeded by his son Philippe on 21 July 2013. Albert II was the monarch to abdicate in 2013, following Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. In doing so, he was also the second Belgian monarch to abdicate following his father, King Leopold III, Prince Albert was born in Stuyvenberg Castle, Brussels, as the second son and youngest child of King Leopold III and his first wife, Astrid of Sweden. He was third in line to throne at birth and was given the title Prince of Liège, Queen Astrid died in a car accident in August 1935 in which King Leopold was lightly injured but survived. The king later remarried Lilian Baels in 1941 which produced three children, Prince Alexander, Princess Marie-Christine and Princess Maria-Esmeralda. The prince and the returned to Belgium on 2 August 1940. They continued their studies until 1944, either at Laeken, or at the Chateau of Ciergnon in the Ardennes. Due to the situation in Belgium, King Leopold and his family moved to the villa Le Reposoir in Pregny, Switzerland. During that time, Prince Albert would continue his education in a school in Geneva. King Leopold III, accompanied by Prince Baudouin and Prince Albert, in 1958, Albert went to the Vatican to witness the coronation of Pope John XXIII. At a reception at the Belgian Embassy, he met Italian Princess Paola Ruffo di Calabria, “We were both shy, so we only talked a little, ” Paola said later about their first meeting. Shy but smitten, Prince Albert proposed marriage to her, to which she accepted, two months after their meeting, the prince introduced his future wife to his family, and four months later to the press. Upon arriving in Brussels for the first time before her wedding, the couple, supported by both families, intended to marry at the Vatican. However, the Belgian government disagreed as they felt the Belgian people should not be denied the opportunity to celebrate a royal wedding, particularly after a difficult decade post-war. The Pope, after diplomatic pressure, refused them a marriage at the Vatican. The couple married on 2 July 1959 and have three children, two sons and a daughter, twelve grandchildren and one child, King Philippe of the Belgians
23.
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
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Henri is the current Grand Duke of Luxembourg, reigning since 7 October 2000. He is the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium, the Princes godparents were the Prince of Liège and the Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg. Henri has four siblings, Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria, Prince Jean of Luxembourg, Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, on 12 November 1964, when Henri was aged nine, his grandmothers abdication and his fathers subsequent accession as Grand Duke made him heir apparent. As the Grand Dukes eldest son, he took the title of Hereditary Grand Duke. Henri was educated in Luxembourg and in France, where he obtained his baccalaureate in 1974 and he then studied political science at University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International Studies, graduating in 1980. The Grand Duke also undertook military training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. While studying in Geneva, Henri met the former María Teresa Mestre y Batista and they married in Luxembourg on 4 February/14 February 1981 with the previous consent of the Grand Duke, dated 7 November 1980. The couple have five children, The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, born 11 November 1981, Prince Félix Léopold Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg, born 3 June 1984, married German Claire Margareta Lademacher on 17 September 2013 and 21 September 2013. From 1980 to 1998, he was a member of the Council of State, on 4 March 1998, Prince Henri was appointed as Lieutenant Representative by his father, Grand Duke Jean, meaning that he assumed most of his fathers constitutional powers. On 7 October 2000, immediately following the abdication of his father, Henri acceded as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, with the exception of Grand Duke of Luxembourg, all the titles refer to places in modern Germany, particularly in the House of Nassaus ancestral region of Nassau. On 2 December 2008 it was announced that Grand Duke Henri had stated he would refuse to ratify a new law on euthanasia that had been approved earlier in the year by the Chamber of Deputies. The signature of the Grand Duke was required under the Constitution in order for the law to take effect and this would remove one of the legislative roles of the Grand Duke, namely the approving of new legislation. The Luxembourg royal house had tried to block a decision by parliament only once before, the head of state no longer has to sanction laws for them to take effect, he merely promulgates them. As the head of a monarchy, Grand Duke Henris duties are primarily representative. However, he retains the power to appoint the Prime Minister and Government, to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, to promulgate laws. Grand Duke Henri is Commander-in-Chief of the Luxembourg Army, in which he holds the rank of General and he is also an Honorary Major in the British RAF Regiment. One of the Grand Dukes main functions is to represent Luxembourg in the field of foreign affairs, in May 2001, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa undertook their first foreign state visit to Spain, at the invitation of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. Grand Duke Henri is a member of the International Olympic Committee, a member of The Mentor Foundation, the Grand Duke lives with his family at Berg Castle in Luxembourg
24.
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
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Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Naples is the only son of Umberto II, the last King of Italy, and his wife, Marie-José of Belgium. Vittorio Emanuele also uses the title Duke of Savoy and claims the headship of the House of Savoy and these claims are disputed by supporters of his third cousin, Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta. He has lived for most of his life in exile – following the referendum of 1946 which affirmed the abolition of the monarchy. On several occasions he has been the centre of controversy in Italy and abroad due to a series of incidents and he was revealed to be a member of Propaganda Due, the state within a state responsible for high-level corruption and political manipulation. In France he was tried on a charge, of which he was cleared of unlawful killing. A trial on these began in Potenza, Italy on 21 December 2009. Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia was acquitted of all charges in 2007 and 2010, Vittorio Emanuele was born 12 February 1937 in Naples to Umberto, Prince of Piedmont, who would later become the last King of Italy as Umberto II, and Princess Marie-José of Belgium. Following the separation of the exiled ex-King and ex-Queen, Prince Vittorio Emanuele lived with his mother in an estate in Merlinge, Vittorio Emanuele and his family currently reside in Geneva. Vittorio Emanuele has worked as a banker and an aircraft salesman, Vittorio Emanuele has one son, Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice, born on 22 June 1972, who has two daughters. When King Umberto II, left Italy, he purported to take the hereditary Grand Masterships of the orders of his royal house with him. These orders were the Ordine supremo della Santissima Annunziata and the Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro, Umberto II claimed to hold these until his death in 1983. Amedeo has received the support of the President of the Council of the Senators of the Kingdom Aldo Alessandro Mol, Vittorio Emanuele and his son have applied for judicial intervention to forbid Amedeo from using the title Duke of Savoy. An initial hearing was scheduled in the court of Arezzo, with a ruling expected by 6 June 2006, in line with certain other countries that were formerly monarchies, Italian law restricted the male line of the House of Savoy from entering Italy. This was enacted via a special constitutional temporary disposition, in force from 1948, Vittorio Emanuele lobbied the Parliament of Italy over the years in which the law prohibiting his return was in force, to be allowed to return to his homeland after 56 years in exile. In 1999, he filed a case at the European Court of Human Rights, in September 2001, the court decided to hold a hearing on the case at a date later to be fixed. In order to achieve a return to his homeland, he renounced any claim to the defunct throne and he publicly assured the Italian government that the nation and the crown properties, confiscated by the State in 1946, are no longer ours, referring to the House of Savoy. For that matter we have no claim on the Crown jewels and we have nothing in Italy and we are not asking for anything. Vittorio Emanuele also dropped his case at the European Court of Human Rights, in February 2002, Vittorio Emanuele and his son Emanuele Filiberto wrote a signed letter, published through a law firm, in which they formally expressed their loyalty to the Constitution of Italy
25.
Morganatic marriage
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Now rare, it is also known as a left-handed marriage because in the wedding ceremony the groom held his brides hand with his left hand instead of his right. Generally, this is a marriage between a man of birth and a woman of lesser status. Usually, neither the bride nor any children of the marriage have a claim on the succession rights, titles, precedence. The children are considered legitimate for all purposes and the prohibition against bigamy applies. In some countries, a woman could marry a man of lower rank morganatically. e, the Latin term, applied to a Germanic custom, was adopted from a Germanic term, *morgangeba. Morgen is the German word for morning, while the Latin word is matutinus, the bride received property from the bridegrooms clan. It was intended to ensure her livelihood in widowhood, and it was to be separate as the wifes discrete possession. e. King Erik XIV of Sweden married the servant Karin Månsdotter morganatically in 1567, and later secondly, ludwig Wilhelm, Duke in Bavaria and Henriette Mendel. She was created Baroness von Wallersee, and their daughter, Marie Louise, victor Emmanuel II of Italy in 1869 married morganatically his principal mistress Rosa Teresa Vercellana Guerrieri. Popularly known in Piedmontese as Bela Rosin, she was born a commoner, late in his life, the widowed ex-king Fernando II of Portugal married the opera singer Elise Hensler, who was created Countess von Edla. Royal women who married morganatically, Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma contracted a second marriage with a mediatized count after the death of her first husband. Queen Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, regent of Spain after her husbands death while their daughter and she married one of her guards in a secret marriage. Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, the widow of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, in 1917, Emperor Charles I of Austria, conferred upon Lónyay a non-dynastic title of prince. Succession to the Danish throne followed the specifications of the Lex Regia until the Danish Act of Succession was passed in 1953, prominent morganatic marriages include the 1615 marriage of King Christian IV of Denmark to noblewoman Kirsten Munk. Kirsten was titled Countess of Schleswig-Holstein and bore the King 12 children, King Frederick VII married the ballerina Louise Rasmussen, who was raised to the rank of Countess Danner in 1850. There were no children of this marriage, when Christian IX of Denmarks brother, Prince Julius of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg married Elisabeth von Ziegesar in 1883, the king granted her the title Countess af Røst. They were granted the prefix of Prince and their descendants bear the title Count af Rosenborg in the Danish nobility. Neither of the children of Queen Margrethe II has married a person of royal birth or of the titled aristocracy
26.
Duke of Chartres
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Originally, the Duchy of Chartres was the comté de Chartres, a County. The title of comte de Chartres thus became duc de Chartres and this duchy–peerage was given by Louis XIV of France to his nephew, Philippe II dOrléans, at his birth in 1674. Philippe II was the son and heir of the kings brother, Philippe de France. 882-886 Hastings, Norman Chief, beat Carloman II of France in 879, agreed to settle and he sold it in 886 to finance an expedition during which he disappeared. The northern portion of the County of Blois, bordering on Normandy, was sometimes alienated as the County of Chartres, but the Counts of Blois who possessed it did not use a separate title for it. In 1391, the death of the son of Guy II, Count of Blois prompted him to sell the inheritance of the County of Blois to Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans. Married to Adela of Normandy 1102-1151 Theobald II, Count of Champagne, Count of Blois, Chartres and Meaux, married 1123 to Mathilde of Carinthia 1151-1191 Theobald V, Count of Blois, Count of Blois and Chartres, son of the former. In 1286, she sells the county of Chartres to Philip IV of France The kings of France installed Vidame of Chartres to administer the city and county, but it seems that the title was given to princes of blood. Renée de France, Duchesse de Chartres, daughter of Louis XII and Anne Brittany, married to Hercules dEste, Duke of Ferrara Alfonso II dEste, Duke of Ferrara, access to power in 1830 under the name of Louis-Philippe Ier. 1810-1830, Ferdinand-Philippe son of preceding Robert, a brother of the comte de Paris was titled duc de Chartres. The title is held, as a courtesy title, by Charles-Louis, duc de Chartres, son of the Orléanist claimant to the throne of France, Jacques
27.
Elizabeth Charlotte, Madame Palatine
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Princess Elisabeth Charlotte was a German princess and, as Madame, the wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV of France, and mother of Frances ruler during the Regency. Louis invoked her hereditary claim to the Palatinate as pretext to launch the Nine Years War in 1688. Her vast, frank correspondence provides an account of the personalities and activities at the court of her brother-in-law, Louis XIV for half a century. Her grandmother Elizabeth of Bohemia was a Scottish and later English princess, daughter of James I of England and granddaughter of Mary and her first cousin became George I, the first Hanover King of England. In childhood she became known as Liselotte—a portmanteau of her names and her parents were in an unhappy dynastic marriage and in 1653 her father began an affair with Marie Luise von Degenfeld, one of his wifes attendants. He purported to marry her motu proprio as a prince-elector of the Empire, without benefit of a judicial divorce, Liselotte was five years old when she was sent to live with her fathers sister, Sophia, wife of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover. She always remembered her time with her aunt as the happiest of her life, in 1663, Liselotte had to move back to Heidelberg where she lived with her stepmother, fifteen half-siblings, and brother, the future Charles II, Elector Palatine. On 16 November 1671, she was married by proxy at Metz to Philippe I, by prearrangement, after leaving her fathers realm but prior to arriving in France, she formally converted to Roman Catholicism. At the French court, her husband Philippe was known by the honorific of Monsieur. As his wife, Elisabeth Charlotte assumed the style of Madame, Elisabeth Charlotte was very close to her two stepdaughters Marie Louise and Anne Marie. When Marie Louise left France to marry Charles II of Spain in 1679, the homosexual proclivities of her husband were well known at court. Elisabeth Charlotte confided that he needed rosaries and holy medals draped in the places to perform the necessary act with her. Elisabeth Charlotte objected to money spent on his favourites and the exercise of their influence with him to enrich themselves. That is not at all pleasant, besides putting me in a position where, as God is my witness, we would have to live entirely on the Kings charity, Liselotte also had an apartment at the Kings private residence, the Château de Marly. In her dowager years she would stay at the Grand Trianon built by her brother-in-law, the marriage at first proved to be happy, with the birth of two male heirs. After the death of the couples first son, the Duke of Valois, she experienced depression, after this birth, the relationship between husband and wife was never as close as it had been. After the birth of their daughter Élisabeth Charlotte, the couple agreed to cease conjugal relations. Philippe turned to his minions, and Elisabeth Charlotte to writing and her letters to her aunt, Sophia of Hanover, and others, created not only a vivid picture of life during the reign of Louis XIV, but also of the regency era of her son, Philippe
28.
Cardinal Richelieu
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Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu and Fronsac, commonly referred to as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman, nobleman, and statesman. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1607 and was appointed Foreign Secretary in 1616, Richelieu soon rose in both the Catholic Church and the French government, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIIIs chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642, he was succeeded by Cardinal Mazarin, Cardinal de Richelieu was often known by the title of the kings Chief Minister or First Minister. He sought to consolidate power and crush domestic factions. By restraining the power of the nobility, he transformed France into a strong and his chief foreign policy objective was to check the power of the Austro-Spanish Habsburg dynasty, and to ensure French dominance in the Thirty Years War that engulfed Europe. Although he was a cardinal, he did not hesitate to make alliances with Protestant rulers in attempting to achieve his goals. While a powerful figure, events like the Day of the Dupes show that in fact he very much depended on the kings confidence to keep this power. As alumnus of the University of Paris and headmaster of the Collège de Sorbonne, Richelieu was also famous for his patronage of the arts, most notably, he founded the Académie Française, the learned society responsible for matters pertaining to the French language. Richelieu is also known by the sobriquet lÉminence rouge, from the red shade of a cardinals clerical dress and this in part allowed the colony to eventually develop into the heartland of Francophone culture in North America. He is also a character in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Born in Paris, Armand du Plessis was the fourth of five children, at the age of nine, young Richelieu was sent to the College of Navarre in Paris to study philosophy. Thereafter, he began to train for a military career and his private life seems to have been typical of a young officer of the era, in 1605, aged twenty, he was treated by Théodore de Mayerne for gonorrhea. King Henry III had rewarded Richelieus father for his participation in the Wars of Religion by granting his family the bishopric of Luçon. The family appropriated most of the revenues of the bishopric for private use, they were, however, challenged by clergymen, to protect the important source of revenue, Richelieus mother proposed to make her second son, Alphonse, the bishop of Luçon. Alphonse, who had no desire to become a bishop, became instead a Carthusian monk, thus, it became necessary that the younger Richelieu join the clergy. He had strong interests, and threw himself into studying for his new post. In 1606 King Henry IV nominated Richelieu to become Bishop of Luçon, as Richelieu had not yet reached the canonical minimum age, it was necessary that he journey to Rome for a special dispensation from the Pope. This secured, Richelieu was consecrated bishop in April 1607, soon after he returned to his diocese in 1608, Richelieu was heralded as a reformer
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