1.
Latin
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
2.
Nobility
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The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be largely honorary, and vary from country to country and era to era. There is often a variety of ranks within the noble class. g, san Marino and the Vatican City in Europe. Hereditary titles often distinguish nobles from non-nobles, although in many nations most of the nobility have been un-titled, some countries have had non-hereditary nobility, such as the Empire of Brazil. The term derives from Latin nobilitas, the noun of the adjective nobilis. In modern usage, nobility is applied to the highest social class in pre-modern societies and it rapidly came to be seen as a hereditary caste, sometimes associated with a right to bear a hereditary title and, for example in pre-revolutionary France, enjoying fiscal and other privileges. Nobility is a historical, social and often legal notion, differing from high socio-economic status in that the latter is based on income. Being wealthy or influential cannot, ipso facto, make one noble, various republics, including former Iron Curtain countries, Greece, Mexico, and Austria have expressly abolished the conferral and use of titles of nobility for their citizens. Not all of the benefits of nobility derived from noble status per se, usually privileges were granted or recognised by the monarch in association with possession of a specific title, office or estate. Most nobles wealth derived from one or more estates, large or small and it also included infrastructure such as castle, well and mill to which local peasants were allowed some access, although often at a price. Nobles were expected to live nobly, that is, from the proceeds of these possessions, work involving manual labour or subordination to those of lower rank was either forbidden or frowned upon socially. In some countries, the lord could impose restrictions on such a commoners movements. Nobles exclusively enjoyed the privilege of hunting, in France, nobles were exempt from paying the taille, the major direct tax. In some parts of Europe the right of war long remained the privilege of every noble. During the early Renaissance, duelling established the status of a respectable gentleman, Nobility came to be associated with social rather than legal privilege, expressed in a general expectation of deference from those of lower rank. By the 21st century even that deference had become increasingly minimised, in France, a seigneurie might include one or more manors surrounded by land and villages subject to a nobles prerogatives and disposition. Seigneuries could be bought, sold or mortgaged, if erected by the crown into, e. g. a barony or countship, it became legally entailed for a specific family, which could use it as their title. Yet most French nobles were untitled, in other parts of Europe, sovereign rulers arrogated to themselves the exclusive prerogative to act as fons honorum within their realms. Nobility might be inherited or conferred by a fons honorum
3.
Marriage
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The definition of marriage varies according to different cultures, but it is principally an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be compulsory before pursuing any sexual activity, when defined broadly, marriage is considered a cultural universal. Individuals may marry for several reasons, including legal, social, libidinal, emotional, financial, spiritual, whom they marry may be influenced by socially determined rules of incest, prescriptive marriage rules, parental choice and individual desire. In some areas of the world, arranged marriage, child marriage, polygamy, conversely, such practices may be outlawed and penalized in parts of the world out of concerns for womens rights and because of international law. These trends coincide with the human rights movement. Marriage can be recognized by a state, an organization, an authority, a tribal group. It is often viewed as a contract, Marriages can be performed in a secular civil ceremony or in a religious setting via a wedding ceremony. The act of marriage usually creates normative or legal obligations between the individuals involved, and any offspring they may produce, some cultures allow the dissolution of marriage through divorce or annulment. In some areas, child marriages and polygamy may occur in spite of laws against the practice. For example, the number of marriages in Europe decreased by 30% from 1975 to 2005 and these changes have occurred primarily in Western countries. The word marriage derives from Middle English mariage, which first appears in 1250–1300 CE and this in turn is derived from Old French, marier, and ultimately Latin, marītāre, meaning to provide with a husband or wife and marītāri meaning to get married. The adjective marīt-us -a, -um meaning matrimonial or nuptial could also be used in the form as a noun for husband. Anthropologists have proposed several competing definitions of marriage in an attempt to encompass the wide variety of marital practices observed across cultures, even within Western culture, definitions of marriage have careened from one extreme to another and everywhere in between. The anthropological handbook Notes and Queries defined marriage as a union between a man and a such that children born to the woman are the recognized legitimate offspring of both partners. In recognition of a practice by the Nuer people of Sudan allowing women to act as a husband in certain circumstances, Kathleen Gough suggested modifying this to a woman, none of these men had legal rights to the womans child. Economic anthropologist Duran Bell has criticized the definition on the basis that some societies do not require marriage for legitimacy. He argued that a definition of marriage is circular in societies where illegitimacy has no other legal or social implications for a child other than the mother being unmarried. In 1955 article in Man, Leach argued that no one definition of marriage applied to all cultures and he offered a list of ten rights associated with marriage, including sexual monopoly and rights with respect to children, with specific rights differing across cultures
4.
Emperor
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An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the equivalent, may indicate an emperors wife, mother. Emperors are generally recognized to be of an honour and rank than kings. The Emperor of Japan is the currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as Emperor. Both kings and emperors are monarchs, but emperor and empress are considered the higher monarchical titles. In as much as there is a definition of emperor, it is that an emperor has no relations implying the superiority of any other ruler. Thus a king might be obliged to pay tribute to another ruler, or be restrained in his actions in some unequal fashion, although initially ruling much of Central Europe and northern Italy, by the 19th century the Emperor exercised little power beyond the German speaking states. In Eastern Europe the rulers of the Russian Empire also used translatio imperii to wield authority as successors to the Eastern Roman Empire. Their title of Emperor was officially recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1514, in practice the Russian Emperors are often known by their Russian-language title Tsar, which may also used to refer to rulers equivalent to a king. Historians have liberally used emperor and empire anachronistically and out of its Roman and European context to any large state from the past or the present. Such pre-Roman titles as Great King or King of Kings, used by the Kings of Persia, however such empires did not need to be headed by an emperor. Empire became identified instead with vast territorial holdings rather than the title of its ruler by the mid-18th century, outside the European context, emperor was the translation given to holders of titles who were accorded the same precedence as European emperors in diplomatic terms. In reciprocity, these rulers might accredit equal titles in their languages to their European peers. Through centuries of international convention, this has become the dominant rule to identifying an emperor in the modern era, also the name of the position split in several branches of Western tradition, see below. Later new symbols of worldly and/or spiritual power, like the orb, rules for indicating successors also varied, there was a tendency towards male inheritance of the supreme office, but as well election by noblemen, as ruling empresses are known. Ruling monarchs could additionally steer the succession by adoption, as occurred in the two first centuries of Imperial Rome. Of course, intrigue, murder and military force could also mingle in for appointing successors, probably the epoch best known for this part of the imperial tradition is Romes third century rule. When Republican Rome turned into a de facto monarchy in the half of the 1st century BC
5.
Queen regnant
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An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire. A queen regnant possesses and exercises sovereign powers, a queen consort shares her husbands rank and titles, but does not share the sovereignty of her husband. The husband of a queen regnant traditionally does not share his wifes rank, however, the concept of a king consort is not unheard of in contemporary or classical periods. A queen dowager is the widow of a king, a queen mother is a queen dowager who is also the mother of a reigning sovereign. The Byzantine Empress Irene sometimes called herself basileus, emperor, rather than basilissa, empress and Jadwiga of Poland was crowned as Rex Poloniae, King of Poland. Among the Davidic Monarchs of the Kingdom of Judah, there is mentioned a queen regnant, Athaliah. The much later Hasmonean Queen Salome Alexandra was highly popular, accession of a regnant occurs as a nations order of succession permits. The scope of succession may be matrilineal, patrilineal, or both, or, rarely, open to general election when necessary, the right of succession may be open to men and women, or limited to men only or women only. Historically, many realms forbade succession by women or through a line in obedience to the Salic law. No queen regnant ever ruled France, for example, only one woman, Maria Theresa, ruled Austria. As noted in the list below of widely known ruling queens, in the waning days of the 20th century and early days of the 21st, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Luxembourg and the UK amended their acts of succession to absolute primogeniture. In some cases the change does not take effect during the lifetimes of people already in the line of succession at the time the law was passed, in 2011, the 16 Realms of the Commonwealth agreed to remove the rule of male-preference primogeniture. Once the necessary legislation was passed, this means that had Prince William had a daughter first, in China, Wu Zetian became the Chinese empress regnant and established the Zhou Dynasty after dismissing her sons. It should be noted, however, that Empress Wu used the title huangdi and in many European sources, although the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan is currently barred to women, this has not always been the case, throughout Japanese history there have been eight empresses regnant. Again, the Japanese language uses the term josei tennō for the position which would be empress regnant in English, monarch Order of succession Queen consort Rani Regent Salic law Sultana Monter, William. The Rise of Female Kings in Europe, 1300-1800, studies 30 women who exercised full sovereign authority in Europe
6.
Queen consort
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A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. In Brunei, the wife of the Sultan is known as a Raja Isteri with prefix Pengiran Anak, equivalent with queen consort in English, a queen consort usually shares her husbands social rank and status. She holds the equivalent of the kings monarchical titles, but historically, she does not share the kings political. A queen regnant is a queen in her own right with all the powers of a monarch, where some title other than that of king is held by the sovereign, his wife is referred to by the feminine equivalent, such as princess consort or empress consort. In monarchies where polygamy has been practiced in the past, or is practiced today. In Morocco, King Mohammed VI has broken with tradition and given his wife, Lalla Salma, prior to the reign of King Mohammed VI, the Moroccan monarchy had no such title. In Thailand, the king and queen must both be of royal descent, the kings other consorts are accorded royal titles that confer status. Other cultures maintain different traditions on queenly status, a Zulu chieftain designates one of his wives Great Wife, which would be the equivalent to queen consort. Conversely, in Yorubaland, all of a chiefs princess consorts are essentially of equal rank, in general, the consorts of monarchs have no power per se, even when their position is constitutionally or statutorily recognized. In some cases, the queen consort has been the power behind her husbands throne, e. g. Maria Luisa of Parma. Past queens consort, Queen Jang, consort to Sukjong of Joseon
7.
Matilda of Tuscany
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Between 6 and 11 May 1111 she was crowned Imperial Vicar and Vice-Queen of Italy by Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor at the Castle of Bianello. Matildas mother, Beatrice of Lorraine, was the Emperors first cousin, renowned for her learning, Matilda was literate in Latin, as well as reputed to speak German and French. The extent of Matildas education in military matters is debated and it has been asserted that she was taught strategy, tactics, riding and wielding weapons, but recent scholarship finds these claims contentious. Following the death of their father in 1052, Matildas brother, Frederick, inherited the family lands, Matildas sister, Beatrice, died the next year, making Matilda heir presumptive to Fredericks personal holdings. Fredericks rather suspicious death soon thereafter made Matilda the last member of the House of Canossa, mother and daughter were taken to Germany, but Godfrey successfully avoided capture. Unable to defeat him, Henry sought a rapproachment, the Emperors death in October 1056, which brought to throne the underage Henry IV, seems to have accelerated the negotiations. Godfrey was reconciled with the crown and recognized as Margrave of Tuscany in December, while Beatrice and Matilda were released. By the time she and her returned to Italy, in the company of Pope Victor II. Matildas mother and stepfather became heavily involved in the series of disputed papal elections during their regency, Godfreys brother Frederick became Pope Stephen IX, while both of the following two popes, Nicholas II and Alexander II, had been Tuscan bishops. Matilda made her first journey to Rome with her family in the entourage of Nicholas in 1059, Godfrey and Beatrice actively assisted them in dealing with antipopes, while the adolescent Matildas role remains unclear. In 1069, Godfrey the Bearded lay dying in Verdun, Beatrice and Matilda hastened to reach Lorraine, anxious to ensure a smooth transition of power. The marriage proved a failure, the death of their child shortly after birth in August 1071. By the end of 1071, Matilda had left her husband, Matildas bold decision to repudiate her husband came at a cost, but ensured her independence. Beatrice started preparing Matilda for rule by holding court jointly with her and, eventually, Godfrey fiercely protested the separation and demanded that Matilda come back to him, which she repeatedly refused. The Duke descended into Italy in 1072, determined to save the marriage and he sought the help of both Matildas mother and her ally, the newly elected Pope Gregory VII, promising military aid to the latter. Matildas resolution was unshakable, and Godfrey returned to Lorraine alone and he had lost all hope by 1074. Rather than supporting the Pope as promised, Godfrey turned his attention to imperial affairs, meanwhile, the conflict later known as the Investiture Controversy was brewing between Gregory and Henry, with both men claiming the right to appoint bishops and abbots within the Empire. Matilda and Godfrey soon found themselves on opposing sides of the dispute, German chroniclers, writing of the synod held at Worms in January 1076, even suggested that Godfrey inspired Henrys allegation of a licentious affair between Gregory and Matilda
8.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
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Eleanor of Aquitaine was a Queen consort of France and England. As a member of the Ramnulfids rulers in southwestern France, she was one of the most powerful and she inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine from her father, William X, in 1137, and by successive marriages became Queen of France and then of England. She was patron of literary figures such as Wace, Benoît de Sainte-Maure and she led armies several times in her life and was a leader of the Second Crusade. As Duchess of Aquitaine, Eleanor was the most eligible bride in Europe, three months after she became duchess, she married King Louis VII of France, son of her guardian, King Louis VI. As Queen of France, she participated in the unsuccessful Second Crusade, soon afterwards, Eleanor sought an annulment of her marriage, but her request was rejected by Pope Eugene III. However, after the birth of her second daughter Alix, Louis agreed to an annulment, the marriage was annulled on 11 March 1152 on the grounds of consanguinity within the fourth degree. Their daughters were declared legitimate and custody was awarded to Louis, as soon as the annulment was granted, Eleanor became engaged to the Duke of Normandy, who became King Henry II of England in 1154. Henry was her cousin and eleven years younger. The couple married on Whitsun,18 May 1152, eight weeks after the annulment of Eleanors first marriage, in a cathedral in Poitiers, over the next thirteen years, she bore Henry eight children, five sons, three of whom would become kings, and three daughters. However, Henry and Eleanor eventually became estranged, Henry imprisoned her in 1173 for supporting their son Henrys revolt against him. She was not released until 6 July 1189, when Henry died and their son, Richard the Lionheart. Now Queen dowager, Eleanor acted as regent while Richard went on the Third Crusade, on his return Richard was captured, Eleanor lived well into the reign of her youngest son, John. She outlived all her children except for John and Eleanor, on the other hand, some chronicles mention a fidelity oath of some lords of Aquitaine on the occasion of Eleanors fourteenth birthday in 1136. This, and her age of 82 at her death. Her parents almost certainly married in 1121 and her birthplace may have been Poitiers, Bordeaux, or Nieul-sur-lAutise, where her mother and brother died when Eleanor was 6 or 8. It became Eléanor in the langues doïl of northern France and Eleanor in English, there was, however, another prominent Eleanor before her, Eleanor of Normandy, an aunt of William the Conqueror, who lived a century earlier than Eleanor of Aquitaine. In Paris as the Queen of France she was called Helienordis, by all accounts, Eleanors father ensured that she had the best possible education. Eleanor came to learn arithmetic, the constellations, and history and she also learned domestic skills such as household management and the needle arts of embroidery, needlepoint, sewing, spinning, and weaving
9.
Mary of Burgundy
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Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, reigned over many of the territories of the Duchy of Burgundy, now mainly in France and the Low Countries, from 1477 until her death. As the only child of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, due to the great prosperity of many of the territories that comprised the duchy, Mary was often referred to as Mary the Rich. Mary of Burgundy was born in Brussels at the castle of Coudenberg, to Charles the Bold, then known as the Count of Charolais. Her birth, according to the court chronicler Georges Chastellain, was attended by a clap of thunder ringing from the otherwise clear twilight sky. Her godfather was Louis, Dauphin of France, in exile in Burgundy at that time and she was assigned Anne of Burgundy as her governess. Philip the Good died in 1467 and Marys father assumed control of the duchy of Burgundy, since her father had no living sons at the time of his accession, Mary became his heiress presumptive. Her father controlled a vast and wealthy domain made up of the Duchy of Burgundy, the Free County of Burgundy, as a result, her hand in marriage was eagerly sought by a number of princes. The first proposal was received by her father when she was five years old. Mary assumed the rule of her fathers domains upon his defeat in battle, King Louis XI of France seized the opportunity to attempt to take possession of the Duchy of Burgundy proper and also the regions of Franche-Comté, Picardy and Artois. The king was anxious that Mary should marry his son Charles and thus secure the inheritance of the Low Countries for his heirs, by force of arms if necessary. Mary was compelled to sign a charter of rights known as the Great Privilege in Ghent on 10 February 1477 on the occasion of her recognition as her fathers heir. The duchess also had to not to declare war, make peace, or raise taxes without the consent of these provinces and towns. Mary soon made her choice among the suitors for her hand by selecting Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. The marriage took place at Ghent on the evening of 16 August 1477, in the Netherlands, affairs now went more smoothly, the French aggression was temporarily checked, and internal peace was in large measure restored. On 27 March 1482, the duchess died after a fall from her horse near Wijnendale Castle and she loved riding and was falconing with Maximilian when her horse tripped, threw her, and then landed on top of her, breaking her back. She died several days later, having made a detailed will and she is buried in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges. Marys marriage into the House of Habsburg would prove to be a disaster for France, since the Burgundian inheritance would later bring it into conflict with Spain, Marys son Philip succeeded to her dominions under the guardianship of his father. Her children were as follows, Philip the Handsome, who succeeded his mother as Philip IV of Burgundy and became Philip I of Castile through his marriage to Joanna of Castile
10.
King of the Romans
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King of the Romans was the title used by the German king following his election by the princes from the time of Emperor Henry II onward. The title was predominantly a claim to become Holy Roman Emperor and was dependent upon coronation by the Pope, the title originally referred to any elected king who had not yet been granted the Imperial Regalia and title of Emperor at the hands of the Pope. Later it came to be used solely for the apparent to the Imperial throne between his election and his succession upon the death of the Emperor. The territory of East Francia was not referred to as the Kingdom of Germany or Regnum Teutonicum by contemporary sources until the 11th century, during this time, the kings claim to coronation was increasingly contested by the papacy culminating in the fierce Investiture Controversy. Pope Gregory VII insisted on using the derogatory term Teutonicorum Rex in order to imply that Henrys authority was merely local, Henry continued to regularly use the title Romanorum Rex until he finally was crowned Emperor by Antipope Clement III in 1084. Henrys successors imitated this practice, and were also called Romanorum Rex before, candidates for the kingship were at first the heads of the Germanic stem duchies. As these units broke up, rulers of principalities and even non-Germanic rulers were considered for the position. The only requirements generally observed were that the candidate be a male, a Catholic Christian. The kings were elected by several Imperial Estates, often in the city of Frankfurt after 1147. They were the Prince-Archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne as well as the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Saxon duke, after the Investiture Controversy, Charles intended to strengthen the legal status of the Rex Romanorum beyond Papal approbation. Consequently, among his successors only Sigismund and Frederick III were still crowned Emperors in Rome, the Golden Bull remained effective as constitutional law until the Empires dissolution in 1806. After his election, the new king would be crowned as King of the Romans, though the ceremony was no more than a symbolic validation of the election result, it was solemnly celebrated. The details of Ottos coronation in 936 are described by the medieval chronicler Widukind of Corvey in his Res gestae saxonicae, the kings received the Imperial Crown from at least 1024, at the coronation of Conrad II. In 1198 the Hohenstaufen candidate Philip of Swabia was crowned Rex Romanorum at Mainz Cathedral, at some time after the ceremony, the king would, if possible, cross the Alps, to receive coronation in Pavia or Milan with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy. Finally, he would travel to Rome and be crowned Emperor by the Pope, in such cases, the king might retain the title King of the Romans for his entire reign. At this time Maximilian also took the new title King of the Germans or King in Germany, the following were ruling Kings of the Romans, i. e. men who ruled the Kingdom without subordination to another King but who had not yet been crowned Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy, no person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Emperor. However, the Emperor could, and often did, have an elected to succeed him after his death
11.
Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough
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She was born Henrietta Churchill, and became The Hon. Henrietta Churchill when her father was made a Scottish Lord of Parliament in 1682 and Lady Henrietta Churchill in 1689 and she married The Hon. Francis Godolphin in 1698, becoming Lady Henrietta Godolphin. She became Viscountess Rialton in 1706 when her father-in-law was created Earl of Godolphin, an act of English parliament in 1706 allowed the 1st Dukes daughters to inherit his English titles. Following his death in 1722, Lady Godolphin became suo jure Duchess of Marlborough, the Duchess died in 1733, aged 52, in Harrow, Middlesex, and she was buried on 9 November 1733 in Westminster Abbey. Her titles passed to her nephew, the 5th Earl of Sunderland, however, she was a princess of the Holy Roman Empire and a Princess of Mindelheim, and subsequently a Princess of Mellenburg after her fathers lands in the empire were exchanged for one another. Godolphin, Henrietta, suo jure duchess of Marlborough
12.
Maria Theresa
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Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, by marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Holy Roman Empress. She started her 40-year reign when her father, Emperor Charles VI, Charles VI paved the way for her accession with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and spent his entire reign securing it. Upon the death of her father, Saxony, Prussia, Bavaria, Prussia proceeded to invade the affluent Habsburg province of Silesia, sparking a nine-year conflict known as the War of the Austrian Succession, and subsequently conquered it. Maria Theresa would later try to reconquer Silesia during the Seven Years War. Of the sixteen, ten survived to adulthood and she had eleven daughters and five sons. She criticised and disapproved of many of Josephs actions, Maria Theresa understood the importance of her public persona and was able to simultaneously evoke both esteem and affection from her subjects. However, she refused to allow religious toleration and contemporary travelers thought her regime was bigoted and superstitious. As a young monarch who fought two wars, she believed that her cause should be the cause of her subjects. The dowager empresses, her aunt Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg and grandmother Eleonor Magdalene of the Palatinate-Neuburg, were her godmothers and her father was the only surviving male member of the House of Habsburg and hoped for a son who would prevent the extinction of his dynasty and succeed him. Thus, the birth of Maria Theresa was a disappointment to him. Charles sought the other European powers approval for disinheriting his nieces and they exacted harsh terms, in the Treaty of Vienna, Great Britain demanded that Austria abolish the Ostend Company in return for its recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction. France, Spain, Saxony-Poland, Bavaria and Prussia later reneged, little more than a year after her birth, Maria Theresa was joined by a sister, Maria Anna, and another one, named Maria Amalia, was born in 1724. The portraits of the family show that Maria Theresa resembled Elisabeth Christine. The Prussian ambassador noted that she had blue eyes, fair hair with a slight tinge of red, a wide mouth. Unlike many other members of the House of Habsburg, neither Maria Theresas parents nor her grandparents were closely related to each other, Maria Theresa was a serious and reserved child who enjoyed singing and archery. She was barred from riding by her father, but she would later learn the basics for the sake of her Hungarian coronation ceremony. The imperial family staged opera productions, often conducted by Charles VI and her education was overseen by Jesuits
13.
Elizabeth of Russia
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Elizabeth Petrovna, also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, was the Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death. She led the country into the two major European conflicts of her time, the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War, on the eve of her death Russia spanned almost 16,200,000 square kilometres. Her domestic policies allowed the nobles to gain dominance in government while shortening their terms of service to the state. She encouraged Mikhail Lomonosovs establishment of the University of Moscow and Ivan Shuvalovs foundation of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg and she also spent exorbitant sums of money on the grandiose baroque projects of her favourite architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, particularly in Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo. The Winter Palace and the Smolny Cathedral in Saint Petersburg are among the monuments of her reign. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs due to her opposition to Prussian policies. Elizabeth was born at Kolomenskoye, near Moscow, on 18 December 1709, Peter valued Catherine and married her again at Saint Isaacs Cathedral in St. Petersburg on 9 February 1712. On this day his two surviving children by Catherine were legitimized by their father and this circumstance would later be used by Elizabeths political opponents to challenge her right to the throne on grounds of illegitimacy. Of the twelve children born to Peter and Catherine only two daughters, Anna and Elizabeth survived to adulthood, both of them were given the title of Tsarevna on 6 March 1711, and of Tsesarevna on 23 December 1721. They had one surviving sibling, crown prince Alexei Petrovich, who was their fathers son by his first wife Eudoxia Lopukhina. As a child Elizabeth was the favorite of her father. She resembled him both physically and temperamentally and she was a bright girl, if not brilliant, but received only an imperfect and desultory formal education. Even though he adored his daughter Peter did not devote time or attention to her education and he had a son from his first marriage to a noblewoman and did not anticipate that a daughter born to his second wife might one day inherit the throne. Indeed, no woman had ever sat upon the throne of Russia yet and it was therefore left to Catherine to raise the girls, but she was herself too uneducated to be able to superintend the formal education of her daughters. Elizabeth had a French governess and grew fluent in Italian, German and she was also an excellent dancer and rider. Like her father Elizabeth was physically active and loved riding, hunting, sledging, skating, from her earliest years she delighted everyone with her extraordinary beauty and vivacity, and was regarded as the leading beauty of the Russian Empire. The wife of the British minister described Elizabeth as fair, with brown hair, large sprightly blue eyes, fine teeth. She is inclinable to be fat, but is very genteel and she speaks German, French and Italian, is extremely gay and talks to everyone
14.
Princess Wilhelmine, Duchess of Sagan
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Katharina Friederike Wilhelmine Benigna, Princess of Courland, Duchess of Sagan was a German noble from the ruling family of Courland and Semigallia and a sovereign Duchess of Sagan. Wilhelmine is mainly known for her relationship with Klemens Metternich, a statesman of the Austrian Empire, french transcription of her name is Wilhelmine Catherine Frédérique Biron, Czech Kateřina Frederika Vilhelmína princezna Kuronská. Among the Czechs she is known as kněžna Kateřina Zaháňská, Wilhelmine was born to Peter von Biron, the last Duke of Courland, and his third wife Anna Charlotte Dorothea von Medem. Wilhelmine spent her earliest childhood in Mitau, in 1795 the Duke was forced to cede his Duchy to the Russian Empire, and the family moved to the Duchy of Sagan in Silesia, which had been acquired in 1786. Among other properties bought by her father during the 1780s was County Náchod in Bohemia, Wilhelmine, who inherited both Sagan and Náchod, selected this castle as her summer residence. The young duchess was very beautiful, intelligent, eloquent and educated in philosophy and she fell in love with Swedish general Gustav Armfelt, her mothers lover and her tutor. The secret relationship with an older and married Armfelt resulted in the birth of an illegitimate daughter named Adelaide Gustava Aspasia. The delivery was traumatic, and, due to an incompetent midwife, Wilhelmine gave up her child to one of Armfelts relatives in Sweden and never saw her again. Wilhelmine greatly regretted this decision as time went on, the marriage did not last and ended in divorce in 1805. Wilhelmine spent the rest of her moving between Vienna, Prague, Ratibořice and Sagan. She also undertook journeys to Italy, England and France and her second marriage with prince Vasily Troubetzkoy, which lasted from 1805 to 1806, also ended in divorce. In Vienna, she set up a salon attended by the highest nobility, an attractive woman, she attracted many aristocratic lovers. She had a short-lived and turbulent relationship during the spring of 1810 with Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, although Wilhelmine first met Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich in 1801, their love affair did not start until the spring of 1813. The passion between the two is documented by over 600 letters written by Metternich that were discovered in 1949 by Marie Ulrichová in Plasy Cloister. These letters also describe the details of the political situation of the day. Modern historians speculate that Wilhelmine, who hated Napoleon, was the one who pushed Metternich away from a cautious pro-French position, the negotiations in 1813 that resulted in an anti-Napoleonic coalition between Prussia, Austria and Russia were held in one of Wilhelmines homes, Ratibořice Castle. During the Congress of Vienna, the relationship ended, as Wilhelmine didnt like playing the role of an unacknowledged mistress, because of the impossibility of having any more children, she became a foster parent to many young girls. From 1819 until 1828, Wihelmine was married to Prince Karl Rudolf von der Schulenburg and this marriage also ended in divorce
15.
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
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There was also a short-lived wartime state existing from 8 March to 22 September 1918 with the same name. Plans for it to part of the United Baltic Duchy. The area became a part of Latvia at the end of World War I, see Duchy of Courland, in 1561, during the Livonian Wars, the Livonian Confederation was dismantled and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, an order of German knights, was disbanded. On the basis of the Treaty of Vilnius, the part of Estonia. Other members of the Order became the Couronian nobility, with the fiefdoms they had hitherto held becoming their estates, in all, Kettler received nearly one-third of the land in the new duchy. Mitau was designated as the new capital and a Diet was to meet twice a year. Several parts of the Courish area did not belong to the Duchy, the Order of Livonia had already loaned the Grobiņa district to the Duke of Prussia. Another district, the Bishopric of Piltene, also called the Bishopric of Courland, belonged to Magnus and he promised to transfer it to the Duchy of Courland after his death, but this plan failed and only later did Wilhelm Kettler regain this district. Like the other members of the Order, Kettler was German, in 1570, he issued the Privilegnum Gotthardinum, which allowed the landholders to enserf the native peasantry on their lands. When Gotthard Kettler died in 1587, his sons, Friedrich and Wilhelm and they divided the Duchy into two parts in 1596. Friedrich controlled the part, Semigalia, with his residence in Mitau. Wilhelm owned the western part, Courland, with his residence in Goldingen, Wilhelm regained the Grobiņa district when he married the daughter of the Duke of Prussia. He also paid out and regained control over the Piltene district, here he developed metalworking, shipyards, and the new ships delivered the goods of Courland to other countries. However, relations between the duke and the landowners were quite hostile, in addition, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was the overlord of the Duchy of Courland, supported the landowners. Wilhelm expressed his disappointment with the landowners, but this ended with his removal from the seat in 1616. Finally, Wilhelm left Courland and spent the rest of his life abroad, thus, Friedrich became the only duke of Courland after 1616. From 1600 to 1629, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden conducted a war with its main battlefields around Riga, as the result, Sweden gained control of central and northern Latvia, which became Swedish Livonia. The Commonwealth retained the part of the Duchy of Livonia
16.
Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife
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Princess Arthur of Connaught, 2nd Duchess of Fife, GCStJ was a granddaughter of King Edward VII and great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Alexandras father was Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, Princess Louise accordingly became the Duchess of Fife. Alexandra was born at East Sheen Lodge, Richmond on 17 May 1891, as a female-line granddaughter of the British monarch, Alexandra was not entitled to the title of Princess of the United Kingdom Great Britain and Ireland, nor to the style of Her Royal Highness. Instead she was styled Lady Alexandra Duff, as the daughter of a duke, on 5 November 1905, King Edward VII declared his eldest daughter Princess Royal. From that point, Her Highness Princess Alexandra held her title and rank, not from her ducal father, around 1910, Alexandra became secretly engaged to Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark, a son of King George I of the Hellenes. The engagement was terminated when their disapproving parents learned of the liaison, as Prince Christophers father was a younger brother of Princess Alexandras maternal grandmother, the hopeful couple were first cousins once-removed. On 15 October 1913, Princess Alexandra married her cousin Prince Arthur of Connaught at the Chapel Royal, St. Jamess Palace, the brides attendants were, Princess Mary, daughter of King George V. Princess Mary of Teck and Princess Helena of Teck, daughters of Prince Adolphus, Princess May of Teck, daughter of Prince Alexander of Teck and Princess Alice of Albany. Prince Arthur of Connaught was the son of the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, third son of Queen Victoria and thus a younger brother of her maternal grandfather. As such, Arthur and Alexandra were first cousins once removed, after their marriage, Alexandra was referred to as HRH Princess Arthur of Connaught, in accordance with the tradition that a wife normally shares the title and style of her husband. With her husband, Alexandra also carried out engagements on behalf of her uncle, King George V. She also served as a Counsellor of State between 1937 and 1944, during World War I, Princess Arthur of Connaught served as nurse at St. Marys Hospital in Paddington. When Prince Arthur was appointed general of the Union of South Africa in 1920, she accompanied him to Pretoria. Upon the couples return to Britain, she continued to carry out royal duties and she died at her home near Primrose Hill, London, in 1959 and was buried at St Ninians Chapel, Braemar. The Royal Encyclopedia, ISBN 0-333-53810-2 Marlene A. Eilers, Queen Victorias Descendants, ISBN 91-630-5964-9 Alison Weir, Britains Royal Families, the Complete Genealogy, rev. ed. ISBN 0-7126-4286-2
17.
Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
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Born at Liria Palace on 28 March 1926, she was the only child of the 17th Duke of Alba by his wife, María del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, 9th Marchioness of San Vicente del Barco. Her godmother was the Queen Consort of Spain, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, wife of Alfonso XIII de Borbón, as head of the dynasty, she was styled by her most senior title of Duchess of Alba, whilst holding over 40 other hereditary titles. According to Guinness World Records, she was the most titled aristocrat in the world, via her descent from James FitzJames, she was King James II of Englands senior illegitimate descendant. She was inducted into Vanity Fairs International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 2011, on 12 October 1947, the Duchess married Don Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz, son of the Duke of Sotomayor. The wedding in Spain, just after the Second World War, is considered to be one of the last great weddings of European nobility, the New York Times called it the most expensive wedding of the world. It was reported that 20 million pesetas was spent at that time, six children were born of this marriage, who were all conferred noble titles by their mother, in accordance with Spanish Royal protocol, including the rank of Grandee of Spain. After becoming a widow, the Duchess remarried on 16 March 1978 to Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zárate, a Doctor of Theology, the wedding caused shock, Aguirre was illegitimate, which was scandalous in 1970s Spain. Eight years younger than the Duchess, he maintained a relationship with her children. During their marriage he administered, with his stepson Carlos, the Alba estates, details emerged in 2008 regarding the Duchesss intention to marry Alfonso Díez Carabantes, a civil servant who also runs a public relations business,24 years her junior. The duchess decided to proceed with the marriage, overcoming her childrens opposition by giving them their inheritance in advance.5 billion, Díez formally renounced any claim to her wealth. They married on 5 October 2011 at the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville, the Duchess, whose passions included flamenco, performed a quick few steps of the dance in front of the crowds that had gathered outside the palace on the day of the wedding. As a socialite, the duchess met famous VIPs from Spain, jackie Kennedy visited her Seville palace, as did Wallis Simpson, Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco. In 1959 the duchess hosted one Dior show for charitable purposes in her Liria Palace in Madrid, movie stars such as Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn and Raf Vallone visited Liria Palace. In her youth the duchess posed for Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton and she appeared on the cover of Time and Harpers Bazaar. The Duchesss titles included that of Duchess of Berwick and she was a descendant of King James II. The mother of the first duke of Berwick was Arabella Churchill, sister of the first duke of Marlborough, in 1802 after the death of the 13th duchess, who was childless, the dukedom passed to her relative, the duke of Berwick, a Spanish nobleman. The Duchess died in the Palacio de las Dueñas on November 20,2014 and she was survived by her last husband, her six children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She was succeeded by her son Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 14th Duke of Huéscar, after her death the Duchess body was laid in repose at the Town Hall, where thousands of Sevillans paid their last respects
18.
Grandee
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Grandee is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility, as well as Portuguese nobility and Brazilian nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the Ancien Régime, the term can refer to other people of a somewhat comparable, exalted position, roughly synonymous with magnate, formerly a rank of high nobility. By extension, the term can refer informally to any important person of status, particularly wealthy. The term is used in the United Kingdom to refer to influential long-standing members of the Conservative Party, Labour Party. Most Spanish noble titles are granted as títulos del Reino, many of which predate the modern Spanish monarchy, the Kings of Spain re-established in 1520 the ancient dignity of Grande to confer as an additional rank of honour. The dignity of Grandee began to be assumed by Spains leading noblemen in the Middle Ages to distinguish them as a Grand señor, from lesser ricoshombres, the conferral of grandeeships initially conveyed only ceremonial privileges, such as remaining covered or seated in the presence of royalty. Over time grandees received more rights, eg. freedom from taxation, immunity from arrest, save at the Kings command. These rights later became open to abuse with some Grandees renouncing their allegiance to the monarchy to wage war on the King, in the late 1470s, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I were the first to clamp down on grandee powers assumed by the medieval territorial nobles. In the 16th century, limitations on the number of grandees were introduced by King Charles I, all grandees traditionally have been addressed by the king as mi Primo, whereas ordinary nobles are formally styled as mi Pariente. The dignity of grandee was abolished by the Napoleonic King Joseph Bonaparte, nowadays, all grandees are deemed to be of the first class, and is an honorific dignity conferring neither power or legal privilege. A Grandeza de España is separate legal entity from a title of nobility, although grandezas are normally, since the 20th century invariably the King of Spain has conferred a Grandeza de España upon any newly created duke. A grandee of any noble rank is higher in precedence than a non-grandee, thus, a baron-grandee would outrank a non-grandee marquess, thus rendering the dignity of grandeza an hereditary rank of precedence rather than a title of nobility. Grandees and their consorts are entitled to the prefix of the Most Excellent Lord/Lady or His/Her Most Excellency. Both Portuguese and Brazilian nobility formerly used the term Grande, to designate a higher rank of noblemen, the Brazilian system, for instance, automatically deemed dukes, marquises and counts Grandes do Império. Viscounts and barons could also be ennobled with or without grandeza, viscounts ennobled with grandeeship displayed an counts coronet on their coat of arms, and Barons ennobled with grandeeship bore a coat of arms surmounted by a viscounts coronet. Brazilian grandeeships, like its nobility, were not hereditary titles, the abolition of the monarchies in Portugal and Brazil extinguished the formal use of such titles, although their use continues among some of the Portuguese aristocracy. During the English Civil War, senior officers from the landed gentry serving in the New Model Army, opposing the Levellers. The disagreements were aired publicly at the Putney Debates, which started in late October 1647, Grandes de España Fidalgo Flaith Grandee -1911 Encyclopedia
19.
Duke of Cadaval
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The Dukes of Cadaval have their origins in Dom Álvaro of Braganza, Lord of Tentúgal, Póvoa, Buarcos and Cadaval, 4th male son of Dom Ferdinand I, 2nd Duke of Braganza. Dom Álvaro married Dona Filipa de Melo, the daughter and heir of Rodrigo Afonso de Melo. The title was created on April 26,1645, by King John IV of Portugal to his distant cousin, Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira de Melo, who was already 3rd Marquis of Ferreira and 5th Count of Tentúgal. D. Nuno Álvares Pereira de Melo D. Luís Ambrósio Álvares Pereira de Melo D. Jaime Álvares Pereira de Melo D. Nuno Caetano Álvares Pereira de Melo D, miguel Caetano Álvares Pereira de Melo D. Nuno Caetano Álvares Pereira de Melo D. Maria da Piedade Álvares Pereira de Melo D. Jaime Segismundo Álvares Pereira de Melo D. Nuno Maria José Caetano Álvares Pereira de Melo D. Jaime Álvares Pereira de Melo D, Diana Álvares Pereira de Melo Count of Tentúgal, Marquis of Ferreira. The Dukes family name is Álvares Pereira de Melo, Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira, the remarkable Constable of Portugal, is among their ancestors. When Jaime III Álvares Pereira de Melo, 10th Duke of Cadaval died in 2001, he left four daughters, two from his first marriage, and two others from his second marriage. Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, in the de jure capacity of Head of the historical Royal House of Portugal, Dona Rosalinda also obtained both titles of Marquise of Ferreira and Countess of Tentúgal, historically allocated to the heir of the Duke of Cadaval. Rosalinda is designated to succeed her younger sister as Duchess of Cadaval. There is some controversy about the Hermès title, as effectively it constitutes a new creation since inauguration of the republican regime, genealogy of the Dukes of Cadaval. Casa Cadaval | Official Site ”Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil” – Vol. II, pages 459-463
20.
Jeanne d'Albret
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Jeanne dAlbret, also known as Jeanne III, was the queen regnant of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. She married Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, and was the mother of Henry of Bourbon, who became King Henry III of Navarre and IV of France and she became the Duchess of Vendôme by marriage. Jeanne was the spiritual and political leader of the French Huguenot movement. After her public conversion to Calvinism in 1560, she joined the Huguenot forces, during the first and second war she remained relatively neutral, but in the third war she fled to La Rochelle, becoming the de facto leader. After negotiating a treaty with Catherine de Medici and arranging the marriage of her son, Henry, to Catherines daughter, Marguerite. Jeanne was the last active ruler of Navarre, in 1620, Jeannes grandson Louis XIII annexed Navarre to the French crown. Her mother, the daughter of Louise of Savoy and Charles and she received an excellent education under the tutelage of humanist Nicolas Bourbon. Described as a frivolous and high-spirited princess, she also, at an early age, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, offered to have her married to his son and heir, Philip, to settle the status of the Kingdom of Navarre. Despite having been whipped into obedience, she, nevertheless, continued to protest and had to be carried bodily to the altar by the Constable of France, before her wedding, Jeanne signed two documents which she had officers of her household sign. She remained at the royal court, after the death of Francis in 1547 and the accession of Henry II to the French throne, Jeanne married Antoine de Bourbon, first prince of the blood, at Moulins in the Bourbonnais on 20 October 1548. The marriage was intended to consolidate territorial possessions in the north and south of France, Jeannes marriage to Antoine was described by author Mark Strage as having been a romantic match. A contemporary of Jeanne said of her that she had no pleasure or occupation except in talking about or writing to and she does it in company and in private. The waters cannot quench the flame of her love, in 1554, he fathered an illegitimate son, Charles, by Louise de La Béraudière de lIsle Rouhet, a court beauty known as La belle Rouet. Antoines frequent absences left Jeanne in Béarn to rule alone, and in charge of a household which she managed with a firm. The couple had five children, of only two, Henry, king of France and king of Navarre, and Catherine, duchess of Lorraine. On 25 May 1555, Henry II of Navarre died, at which time Jeanne, on 18 August 1555 at Pau, Jeanne and Antoine were crowned in a joint ceremony according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The previous month, a coin commemorating the new reign had been minted. It was inscribed in Latin with the words, Antonius et Johanna Dei gratia reges Navarrae Domini Bearni
21.
Catherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk
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Catherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, suo jure 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, was an English noblewoman living at the courts of King Henry VIII, King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth I. She was the wife of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. Her second husband was Richard Bertie, a member of her household, an outspoken supporter of the English Reformation, she fled abroad to Wesel and later the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the reign of Queen Mary I, to avoid persecution. Lord Willoughbys first wife, Mary Hussey, the daughter of William Hussey, Chief Justice of the Kings Bench, had died childless before 1512, and in June 1516 he married Maria de Salinas. Dona Maria de Salinas had come to the English court with Henry VIIIs Queen consort, Catherine of Aragon, the King favoured another match bolstering his own marital alliance with Spain, and even named one of his warships the Mary Willoughby. Catherine had two brothers, Henry and Francis, who died as infants, according to Goff, Catherine likely spent her early childhood at Parham, as her mother was in almost constant attendance on Henry VIIIs Queen, Catherine of Aragon. On 14 October 1526, when Catherine was seven years of age, Lord Willoughby died after falling ill during a visit to Suffolk, as his only surviving child, Catherine inherited the barony. At her fathers death, Catherines wardship fell to the King, Catherine is said to have been betrothed to Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln, Suffolks son by his third wife, Mary Tudor. Mary Tudor died at Westhorpe, Suffolk, on 25 June 1533 and she was promised to the Dukes son, but he is only ten years old, & although it is not worth writing to your Majesty, the novelty of the case made me mention it. Although Suffolk was forty-nine and Catherine only fourteen, the marriage was a successful one, the marriage brought Catherine into the extended royal family, because Henry VIIIs will made his younger sister Mary Tudors descendants the next heirs to the throne after his own children. Where Catherine Howard had not misbehaved herself, noted for her wit, sharp tongue, and devotion to learning, by the last years of Henry VIIIs reign the Duchess of Suffolk was also an outspoken advocate of the English Reformation. She became a friend of Henrys last queen, Catherine Parr, particularly after the Duke died in 1545. In 1546, as the Queens religious views grew controversial, the King ordered the Queens arrest, the Duchess of Suffolk once gave a banquet and during a party game afterwards named Bishop Gardiner as the man she loved least. She named her pet spaniel Gardiner, provoking much amusement when she called her dog to heel, several years later when Gardiner was imprisoned during the reign of King Edward VI, she is quoted as saying, It was merry with the lambs when the wolf was shut up. Suffolk died 22 August 1545, and it was rumoured that the King was considering the Duchess — still only in her mid-20s — as his seventh wife, in February 1546, Van der Delft wrote, I hesitate to report there are rumours of a new queen. Some attribute it to the sterility of the present Queen, while others say there will be no change during the present war. Madame Suffolk is much talked about and is in great favour, but the friendship of the two Catherines remained strong, and after Henry VIIIs death in 1547, the Duchess helped fund the publication of one of Catherine Parrs books, The Lamentation of a Sinner. She also became a patron of John Day, Englands leading religious publisher, beginning in 1550, the Duchess helped establish Stranger churches for foreign Protestants, principally Dutch, who were fleeing religious persecution on the Continent
22.
Joan of Kent
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Joan assumed the title of 4th Countess of Kent and 5th Baroness Wake of Liddell after the death of her brother, John, in 1352. Joan was the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent and her father Edmund was the son of King Edward I and his second wife, Margaret of France, daughter of Philip III of France. Edmunds support of his older half-brother, King Edward II of England, placed him in conflict with the queen, Isabella of France, and her lover Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. Edmund was executed after Edward IIs deposition, and Joans mother, the Earls widow, Margaret, was left with four children for whom to care. Joans first cousin, the new King Edward III, took on the responsibility for the family and his wife, Queen Philippa, was Joans second cousin. In 1340, at the age of twelve, Joan secretly married Thomas Holland of Upholland, Lancashire, the following winter, while Holland was overseas, her family forced her to marry William Montacute, son and heir of the first Earl of Salisbury. Joan later averred that she did not disclose her existing marriage with Thomas Holland because she had been afraid that disclosing it would lead to Thomass execution for treason upon his return and she may also have become convinced that the earlier marriage was invalid. Several years later, Thomas Holland returned from the Crusades, having made his fortune and he appealed to the Pope for the return of his wife and confessed the secret marriage to the king. When the Earl of Salisbury discovered that Joan supported Holland’s case, in 1349, Pope Clement VI annulled Joan’s marriage to the Earl and sent her back to Thomas Holland, with whom she lived for the next eleven years. They had five children before Holland died in 1360 and their children were, Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter Lady Joan Holland, who married John IV, Duke of Brittany. Lady Maud Holland, who married firstly to Hugh Courtenay and secondly to Waleran III of Luxembourg and he was buried in the church of Austin Friars, London. When the last of Joans siblings died in 1352, she became the 4th Countess of Kent and 5th Lady Wake of Liddell. Evidence of the held by Edward, the Black Prince for Joan may be found in the record of his presenting her with a silver cup. Edwards parents did not, however, favour a marriage between their son and their former ward, Queen Philippa had made a favourite of Joan at first, but both she and the king seem to have been concerned about Joans reputation. English law was such that Joans living ex-husband, Salisbury, might have claimed any children of her subsequent marriages as his own, in addition, Edward and Joan were within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity. The secret marriage they allegedly contracted in 1360 would have been invalid because of the consanguinity prohibition, at the Kings request, the Pope granted a dispensation allowing the two to be legally married. The official ceremony occurred on 10 October 1361, at Windsor Castle with the King, in 1362, the Black Prince was invested as Prince of Aquitaine, a region of France which belonged to the English Crown since the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II. He and Joan moved to Bordeaux, the capital of the principality, two sons were born in France to the royal couple
23.
Anne Boleyn
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Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of King Henry VIII, and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henrys marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution by beheading, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation. Anne was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard, in February/March 1526, Henry VIII began his pursuit of Anne. She resisted his attempts to seduce her, refusing to become his mistress – which her sister Mary had been and it soon became the one absorbing object of Henrys desires to annul his marriage to Queen Catherine so he would be free to marry Anne. When it became clear that Pope Clement VII would not annul the marriage, in 1532, Henry granted Anne the Marquessate of Pembroke. Henry and Anne married on 25 January 1533, after a marriage on 14 November 1532. On 23 May 1533, newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared Henry and Catherines marriage null and void, five days later, he declared Henry, shortly afterwards, the Pope decreed sentences of excommunication against Henry and Cranmer. As a result of marriage and these excommunications, the first break between the Church of England and Rome took place and the Church of England was brought under the Kings control. Anne was crowned Queen of England on 1 June 1533, on 7 September, she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was disappointed to have a rather than a son but hoped a son would follow. Anne subsequently had three miscarriages, and by March 1536, Henry was courting Jane Seymour, in order to marry Jane Seymour, Henry had to find reasons for his marriage with Anne to end. Henry had Anne investigated for treason in April 1536. She was beheaded four days later, modern historians view the charges against her, which included adultery, incest, and plotting to kill the king, as unconvincing. Some say that Anne was accused of witchcraft but the indictments make no mention of this charge, after the coronation of her daughter, Elizabeth, as queen, Anne was venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation, particularly through the works of John Foxe. Over the centuries, she has inspired, or been mentioned, in artistic and cultural works. Anne was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, later Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormond, Thomas Boleyn was a well respected diplomat with a gift for languages, he was also a favourite of King Henry VII, who sent him on many diplomatic missions abroad. Anne and her siblings grew up at Hever Castle in Kent, however, the siblings were born in Norfolk at the Boleyn home at Blickling. A lack of records from the period has made it impossible to establish Annes date of birth
24.
Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange
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Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of the countries of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten. Princess Catharina-Amalia is the eldest child of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima and she became heir apparent when her father ascended the throne on 30 April 2013. Princess Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria was born at 17,01 CET on 7 December 2003 in the HMC Bronovo in The Hague, as the first child of the then-Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima. On 12 June 2004, Catharina-Amalia was baptised by Reverend Carel ter Linden in the Great Church in The Hague, Princess Catharina-Amalia has two younger sisters, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane. She lives with her parents and sisters in Villa Eikenhorst on the estate De Horsten in Wassenaar, the family will move to Huis ten Bosch in The Hague in the future. Since 10 December 2007, Catharina-Amalia has attended the primary school Bloemcampschool in Wassenaar. She now attends the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in the Hague, where her aunt Princess Laurentien attended and she speaks Dutch, English, and some Spanish. On her seventh birthday, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain once owned by her great-grandfather, the princess herself was prevented from attending the naming ceremony by school obligations. Catharina-Amalia was one of the bridesmaids at the wedding of her godmother, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, and Daniel Westling, Princess Catharina-Amalia will assume a seat in the Advisory Division of the Council of State of the Netherlands upon reaching the age of majority at 18. Upon the abdication, Princess Catharina-Amalia became the Princess of Orange as heir apparent, at the website of the Royal House of the Netherlands
25.
Prince of Orange
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Prince of Orange is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. Under the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, Frederick William I of Prussia ceded the Principality of Orange to King Louis XIV of France, the title is traditionally borne by the heir apparent of the Dutch monarch. The title descends via absolute primogeniture since 1983, meaning that its holder can be either Prince or Princess of Orange, the Dutch royal dynasty, the House of Orange-Nassau, is not the only family to claim the title. Rival claims to the title have been made by German emperors and kings of the House of Hohenzollern, the current users of the title are Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange suo jure, Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, and Guy, Marquis de Mailly-Nesle. The Principality originated as the County of Orange, a fief in the Holy Roman Empire and his Occitan name is Guilhem, however, as a Frankish lord, he probably knew himself by the old Germanic version of Wilhelm. William also ruled as count of Toulouse, duke of Aquitaine, the chanson appears to incorporate material relating to William of Gellones battle at the Orbieu or Orbiel river near Carcassonne in 793 as well as to his seizure of the town of Orange. As the Empires boundaries retreated from those of the principality, the prince acceded to the rights that the Emperor formerly exercised. Orange ceased to exist as a realm, de facto. Although no longer descended from Louis-Charles, a branch of the Mailly family still claim the title today, in 1714 Louis XIV bestowed the usufruct of the principality on his kinsman, Louis Armand of Bourbon, Prince de Conti. After his death in 1727 the principality was deemed merged in the Crown by 1731, in this way, the territory of the principality lost its feudal and secular privileges and became a part of France. The Treaty of Utrecht allowed the King of Prussia to erect part of the duchy of Gelderland into a new Principality of Orange, the kings of Prussia and the German emperors styled themselves Princes of Orange till 1918. Several of his descendants became stadtholders and they claim the principality of Orange on the basis of agnatic inheritance, similar to that of William the Silent, who had inherited Orange from his cousin René of Châlon. They did however have a claim, albeit distant, to the principality itself due to John William Frisos descent from Louise de Coligny, who was a descendant of the original Princes of Orange. They could also claim descent from the del Balzo, an Italian branch of the des Baux family, via the marriage of Princess Anne to William IV, Prince of Orange. Anne was the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain, Elizabeth Woodwilles grandmother was Margherita del Balzo, another descendant of Tiburge dOrange. They also claimed on the basis of the testament of Philip William, Maurice, finally, they claimed on the basis that Orange was an independent state whose sovereign had the right to assign his succession according to his will. France never recognized any of this, nor allowed the Orange-Nassaus or the Hohenzollerns to obtain anything of the principality itself, the Oranje-Nassaus nevertheless assumed the title and also erected several of their lordships into a new principality of Orange. They maintain the tradition of William the Silent and the house of Orange-Nassau, only the direct line of descent to Raimond V is shown here
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Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant
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Crown Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, Princess of Belgium, is the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. The eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, she acquired her position after her grandfather King Albert II abdicated in favour of her father on 21 July 2013. The first child of the then Duke and Duchess of Brabant, Elisabeth was delivered by caesarian section at 21,58 pm on 25 October 2001 at the Hôpital Erasme in Anderlecht, Brussels. She was baptized on 9 December 2001 in the chapel of Ciergnon Castle in the Belgian Ardennes, by Cardinal Godfried Danneels and her godparents are Archduke Amedeo of Austria-Este, and Countess Hélène dUdekem dAcoz. She has two brothers, Prince Gabriel and Prince Emmanuel, and a younger sister, Princess Eléonore. This is a significant change in the habits of the royal family, Elisabeth also attends dance classes conducted in Dutch at the Municipal Music Academy in Asse, in Flemish Brabant. Elisabeth speaks Dutch, French and German, in 2006, she attended the Te Deum in honour of Belgian National Day. In 2007, she accompanied her father to the opening of Technopolis and she also attended the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition and the presentation at the Royal Palace of a model of the Belgian Antarctic station which bears her name, Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. She was a bridesmaid to the weddings of her aunts, Elisabeth, when she married Margrave Alfonso Pallavicini in 2006 and Hélène. In 2014, she was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her cousin and godfather, Prince Amedeo. On 21 July 2013, once her father had taken the oath of office as King of the Belgians, Princess Elisabeth became heir apparent to the throne, in October 2014, Elisabeth gave a speech in honour of the First World War commemoration. On 6 May 2015, Elisabeth made a speech before christening a ship Pollux, if she ascends the throne as expected, she will be Belgiums first queen regnant. Instead the title was abolished, as French Hainaut was not considered linguistically neutral for the title to be conferred on her as the Countess of Hainaut suo jure, the official website of the Belgian Royal Family Belgian Monarchy-Princess Elisabeth Best of Princess Elisabeth
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Duke of Brabant
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The Duke of Brabant was formally the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, the Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant. This was an Imperial fief which was assigned to Count Henry III of Leuven shortly after the death of the preceding Count of Brabant, Count Palatine Herman II of Lotharingia. Although the corresponding county was quite small its name was applied to the country under control of the Dukes from the 13th century on. In 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lotharingia, formerly Lower Lotharingia, this title was now practically without territorial authority, but was borne by the later Dukes of Brabant as an honorific title. In 1288, the Dukes of Brabant became also Duke of Limburg, the title fell to the Dukes of Burgundy in 1430. Counts of Leuven, Counts of Brussels and Landgraves of Brabant, Henry III, already Count of Leuven and Brussels from 1078. The oldest Son/daughter becomes automatically the duke/duchess of Brabant when his/her father becomes King of the Belgians, when the Duke of Brabant loses his father, or when he abdicates, his title goes to the next in line, and he becomes the new King of the Belgians. Unlike the office of King of the Belgians, you do not have to reach the age of 18 to become Duke of Brabant, however, if a Duke of Brabant does not reach the age of 18, he cannot ascent to the Throne of Belgium. When the prince becomes duke of Brabant, this takes precedence of the other titles. When the Duke of Brabant marries legally, after permission of the King, the last Duke of Brabant became King in 2013, and passed the title to his oldest child. The current Duchess, Crown Princess Elisabeth was in 2013 only 12 years old when she became duchess, Leopold II Leopold, son of Leopold II - the only prince who died a Duke of Brabant. Leopold III Baudouin Philippe Elisabeth Coat of arms of Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant Dukes of Brabant family tree Charters of the Duchy of Brabant Counts of Louvain, genealogical note
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Leonor, Princess of Asturias
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Leonor, Princess of Asturias, is the elder daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain. Leonor is first in the line of succession to the throne and her sister, Infanta Sofía, follows her in the line of succession. Leonor was born on 31 October 2005 at 1,47 am in the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid by means of a caesarean section necessitated by non-progression of labour and her birth was announced by the Royal Family to the press via SMS. Leonor left the Ruber Clinic with her parents on 7 November 2005 and she was baptised in the Zarzuela Palace by the Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, Antonio Rouco Varela, on 14 January 2006. Like her father in 1968, Leonor was christened with water from the Jordan River and she was also given the additional names of de Todos los Santos, a Bourbon tradition. Her godparents were her grandparents, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía. Leonors education began at the daycare for the children of the Spanish Royal Guard and she began her first year of elementary school on 15 September 2008 at the Santa María de los Rosales School in Aravaca, just outside Madrid. Her father is an alumnus of the school and her younger sister Sofía is also enrolled there. Leonor is fluent in both Spanish and English and has studied Mandarin, in May 2014, Leonor made her first official visit to the San Javier airforce base in Murcia. On 18 June 2014, King Juan Carlos signed the instrument of abdication, at this time, Leonors father became the King of Spain as Felipe VI, and Leonor herself became the heir presumptive and the new Princess of Asturias. Spains monarchy operates under a system of cognatic primogeniture, meaning that Leonor. Under the current law, however, if her parents have a son, Leonor would be displaced in the line of succession and again become an infanta. Despite a recent change from male-preference to absolute primogeniture for Spanish titles of nobility, if Leonor ascends the throne, she will be Spains first queen regnant since Isabella II, who reigned from 1833 to 1868. In October 2014, a wax figure of Leonor was unveiled at the Museo de Cera in Madrid, on 20 May 2015, Leonor had her first communion. A day before her 10th birthday, she was granted the Order of the Golden Fleece by her father and she also holds the historical titles of Duchess of Montblanc, Countess of Cervera and Lady of Balaguer. Coat of arms of the Princess of Asturias List of honours of the Spanish Royal Family by country Princess of Asturias Awards Official website Infanta Leonor - Genealogy of Infanta Leonor
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Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
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Prince of Asturias
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Prince or Princess of Asturias, was the title of the heir of the Kingdoms of Castile and Leon and later the main title used by the heir of the Kingdom of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Article 572, the title originated in 1388, when King John I of Castile granted the dignity – which included jurisdiction over the territory– to his first-born son Henry. The custom of granting titles to royal heirs had already been in use in the Kingdoms of Aragon, England. In 1705, with the advent of the House of Bourbon on the Spanish throne, from its origins, there have been buying and selling operations. These lordships were unique, they were territories that in remote times formed the Kingdom of Asturias, Henry, once King, ceded the counties to his illegitimate son Alfonso Enríquez. After two decades of conflicts of varying intensity, the arrived at a compromise through means of the marriage between Prince Henry and Catherine of Lancaster. On 8 July 1388 the Treaty of Bayonne was signed between John of Lancaster and King John I of Castile, establishing the final dynastic reconciliation after the assassination of King Peter I, the title was granted with a ceremony. Besieged by the Kings troops, he submitted to the arbitration of King Charles VI of France, the territory was subdued, and his royal status was confirmed. In the early days of its creation, the title of Prince of Asturias was not just an honorific title. The Prince ruled it in representation of the King and was able to appoint judges, mayors, in the periods in which no prince was proclaimed, the Principality did not disappear but was directly governed by the monarch, to whose treasury were sent the jurisdictional rents. With Prince John the title was added to a list of titles used by the Hispanic monarchy, the heir adding the titles of Prince of Asturias, Girona, Spain, and the New World. The imperialist aspirations are observed in the new title of the heir of the Catholic Monarchs, Prince of these Kingdoms, Prince of the Spains and the New World. The 16th and 17th centuries were characterized by conflicts between the King and the principality because of the titles and dignities granted and referring to the territory. Only during the reign of Philip IV was a proper ceremony introduced for the Princes oath as heir, another period for the title began at the beginning of the 19th century with the arrival of the constitutional regime. During discussions, some proposed that the Prince should be renamed of the Spains and not of Asturias, while others wanted him to use the dignity only after his oath. The project remained unchanged and was finally approved, however, the Royal Order of 25 March 1875 ratified the doctrine of 1850 by granting Infanta María Isabel Francisca de Asís the title of Princess of Asturias. The Royal Decree of 22 August 1880 tried to clarify all the confusion and established the titles and honors of the Prince and Infantes. The decree stated that any immediate successor, male or female, had to be granted the title.1 of the Constitution
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Claude of France
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Claude of France, was Sovereign Duchess of the Duchy of Brittany after her mother, Anne, and Queen of France by marriage to Francis I. Claude was born on 13 October 1499 in Romorantin-Lanthenay as the eldest daughter of Louis XII of France, because her mother had no surviving sons, Claude became heiress to the Duchy of Brittany. The crown of France, however, could only to and through male heirs. Eager to keep Brittany separated from the French crown, Queen Anne, with help of Cardinal Georges dAmboise, promoted a solution for this problem. A part of the contract promised the inheritance of Brittany to the prince, already the next in line to thrones of Castile and Aragon, Austria. Thus, all the causes of the rivalry between Charles V and Francis I were decided even before the succession of the two princes. Indeed, previously Louise of Savoy obtained from the king a secret promise that Claude could be married to her son, Anne of Brittany, furious to see the triumph of Marshal of Gié, exerted all her influence to obtain his conviction for treason before the Parliament of Paris. On 9 January 1514, when her died, Claude became Duchess of Brittany. With this union, it was secured that Brittany would remain united to the French crown, however, the union was short-lived and childless, Louis XII died less than three months later, on 1 January 1515, reputedly worn out by his exertions in the bedchamber. Francis and Claude became king and queen, the time in history that the Duchess of Brittany became Queen of France. As Queen, Claude was eclipsed at court by her mother-in-law, Louise of Savoy, and her sister-in-law and she never ruled over Brittany, in 1515 she gave the government of her domains to her husband in perpetuity. Gabriel Miron repeated his functions under Anne of Brittany and remained as Chancellor of Queen Claude and first doctor, after Francis became king in 1515, Anne Boleyn stayed as a member of Claudes household. Its assumed that Anne served as Claudes translator whenever there were English visitors, such as in 1520, Anne Boleyn returned to England in late 1521, where she eventually became Queen of England as the second wife of Henry VIII. Diane de Poitiers, another of Claudes ladies, was an inspiration of the School of Fontainebleau of the French Renaissance. Claude was crowned Queen of France at St. Denis Basilica on 10 May 1517 by Cardinal Philippe de Luxembourg and she spent almost all her marriage in an endless round of annual pregnancies. Her husband had mistresses, but was usually relatively discreet. Claude imposed a moral code on her own household, which only a few chose to flout. Both Duchies joined in all good deed to our beautiful kingdom, the pawn of so much dynastic maneuvering, Claude was short in stature and afflicted with scoliosis, which gave her a hunched back, while her husband was bigger and athletic
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Dictionary of National Biography
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The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography was published on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes and he approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of the Cornhill Magazine, owned by Smith, to become editor. Stephen persuaded Smith that the work should focus on subjects from the UK and its present, an early working title was the Biographia Britannica, the name of an earlier eighteenth-century reference work. The first volume of the Dictionary of National Biography appeared on 1 January 1885, in May 1891 Leslie Stephen resigned and Sidney Lee, Stephens assistant editor from the beginning of the project, succeeded him as editor. While much of the dictionary was written in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, by 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to the work. Successive volumes appeared quarterly with complete punctuality until midsummer 1900, when the series closed with volume 63, the year of publication, the editor and the range of names in each volume is given below. The supplements brought the work up to the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co. to Oxford University Press in 1917, until 1996, Oxford University Press continued to add further supplements featuring articles on subjects who had died during the twentieth century. The supplements published between 1912 and 1996 added about 6,000 lives of people who died in the century to the 29,120 in the 63 volumes of the original DNB. In 1993 a volume containing missing biographies was published and this had an additional 1,000 lives, selected from over 100,000 suggestions. Consequently, the dictionary was becoming less and less useful as a reference work, in 1966, the University of London published a volume of corrections, cumulated from the Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research. There were various versions of the Concise Dictionary of National Biography, the last edition, in three volumes, covered everyone who died before 1986. In the early 1990s Oxford University Press committed itself to overhauling the DNB, the new dictionary would cover British history, broadly defined, up to 31 December 2000. The research project was conceived as a one, with in-house staff co-ordinating the work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. Following Matthews death in October 1999, he was succeeded as editor by another Oxford historian, Professor Brian Harrison, in January 2000. The new dictionary, now known as the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, was published on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes in print at a price of £7500, most UK holders of a current library card can access it online free of charge. In subsequent years, the print edition has been able to be obtained new for a lower price. At publication, the 2004 edition had 50,113 biographical articles covering 54,922 lives, a small permanent staff remain in Oxford to update and extend the coverage of the online edition
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Oxford University Press
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Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world, and the second oldest after Cambridge University Press. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the known as the delegates of the press. They are headed by the secretary to the delegates, who serves as OUPs chief executive, Oxford University has used a similar system to oversee OUP since the 17th century. The university became involved in the print trade around 1480, and grew into a printer of Bibles, prayer books. OUP took on the project became the Oxford English Dictionary in the late 19th century. Moves into international markets led to OUP opening its own offices outside the United Kingdom, by contracting out its printing and binding operations, the modern OUP publishes some 6,000 new titles around the world each year. OUP was first exempted from United States corporation tax in 1972, as a department of a charity, OUP is exempt from income tax and corporate tax in most countries, but may pay sales and other commercial taxes on its products. The OUP today transfers 30% of its surplus to the rest of the university. OUP is the largest university press in the world by the number of publications, publishing more than 6,000 new books every year, the Oxford University Press Museum is located on Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. Visits must be booked in advance and are led by a member of the archive staff, displays include a 19th-century printing press, the OUP buildings, and the printing and history of the Oxford Almanack, Alice in Wonderland and the Oxford English Dictionary. The first printer associated with Oxford University was Theoderic Rood, the first book printed in Oxford, in 1478, an edition of Rufinuss Expositio in symbolum apostolorum, was printed by another, anonymous, printer. Famously, this was mis-dated in Roman numerals as 1468, thus apparently pre-dating Caxton, roods printing included John Ankywylls Compendium totius grammaticae, which set new standards for teaching of Latin grammar. After Rood, printing connected with the university remained sporadic for over half a century, the chancellor, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, pleaded Oxfords case. Some royal assent was obtained, since the printer Joseph Barnes began work, Oxfords chancellor, Archbishop William Laud, consolidated the legal status of the universitys printing in the 1630s. Laud envisaged a unified press of world repute, Oxford would establish it on university property, govern its operations, employ its staff, determine its printed work, and benefit from its proceeds. To that end, he petitioned Charles I for rights that would enable Oxford to compete with the Stationers Company and the Kings Printer and these were brought together in Oxfords Great Charter in 1636, which gave the university the right to print all manner of books. Laud also obtained the privilege from the Crown of printing the King James or Authorized Version of Scripture at Oxford and this privilege created substantial returns in the next 250 years, although initially it was held in abeyance. The Stationers Company was deeply alarmed by the threat to its trade, under this, the Stationers paid an annual rent for the university not to exercise its full printing rights – money Oxford used to purchase new printing equipment for smaller purposes
