Throughout history, the rulers of various countries have cheated on their wives so often that having illegitimate children has become a kind of norm. The exception was rather ... the lack of them. What was the fate of the royal bastards?
The appearance of children out of wedlock with one or another monarch or an inferior member of the royal family did not arouse outrage. Queen Maria Krystyna, mother of the ruler of Spain, Alfonso XIII (1886–1941) admitted that she did not know the exact number of her grandchildren. In turn, Prince Ernest II, the ruling brother-in-law of Queen Victoria in the Duchy of Saxony-Coburg-Gothy, had so many lovers - both aristocrats and women of the people - that virtually every child encountered in the capital of his state could be begotten by him ...
The parents of the men who became fathers of illegitimate babies were not upset by the behavior of their sons. This is confirmed by the case of Prince Ludwik Battenberg (1854–1921), son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and Polish Countess Julia Hauke.
Sailor prince and actress
Ludwik spent his childhood in Hesse, Germany, on the Jugenheim estate near Darmstadt. When he reached his teens, he dreamed of a career as a sailor. His homeland, however, had no access to the sea and did not have a fleet. The only option was to serve abroad. 14-year-old Ludwik joined the British Navy thanks to the protection of Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria, who married his cousin and settled in Darmstadt.
He was welcomed with open arms in London:he was a frequent guest of the monarch and her son Edward, Prince of Wales.
Battenberg devoted himself to the service and, being handsome and gallant and attracting the attention of women, he had a girlfriend in literally every port . In 1879, during a longer stay in London, he established a relationship with the beautiful actress and celebrity Lillie Langtry, nicknamed "Jersey Lillie" because of her birthplace - the island of Jersey. The woman was married, but this fact did not prevent her from romancing other men. In 1877, among them was ... Louis' uncle - Edward, Prince of Wales.
As he was handsome and gallant, Ludwik attracted the attention of women.
Battenberg and the actress spent several months together, after which the woman informed him that she was expecting his child. Ludwik informed his parents about his mistress's pregnancy. Alexander and Julia immediately sent an emissary to London. The matter was silenced:in exchange for a large sum of cash, Mrs. Langtry was to remain silent about the romance and its fruit, and never contact Ludwik.
In 1878, Lillie gave birth to a daughter, Jeanne Marie, whom her husband considered his own child. Ludwik's reputation has remained flawless. Six years later, he married Princess Victoria Heska, granddaughter of Queen Victoria. It wasn't until the age of 20 that Jeanne Marie found out who her real father was. When she once expressed her dissatisfaction with being an illegitimate child, her mother replied: "I guess it's a good thing you were fathered by one of the navy's most handsome officers, not a drunken Irishman without a penny?" .
Read more:The bastard of the English king, the Spanish prince and the French marshal in one person. The extraordinary life of the legendary dog of war
Loving Romanovs
Paweł I, husband and father of 9 children, had an affair with Princess Anna Łopukhin and became the father of her daughter (the child died soon). His son Alexander I also had a long-time lover - Maria Naryshkin, née Światopełk-Czetwertyńska. The woman bore him several children, which her official husband recognized as his own. Interestingly, the daughter of Alexander I and Maria - Sophia - often visited her real father's house, where she was always welcomed by Elizabeth, the imperial wife. In turn, Alexander II not only started an affair with Ekaterina Dolgoruka and had four children with her, but also brought her to his residence and lodged her in the room above the sick wife's room ...
The above-mentioned illegitimate descendants of the Romanovs did not have any special achievements that would make their mark in history. The exception was Paweł Aleksandrow, son of Grand Duke Konstanty and actress Józefina Friedrichs.
Paul I's family.
When he was born in 1808, his father was married (although he had been separated from his wife Anna Fedorovna for 7 years). Konstanty could not give the boy his surname, but gave him a paternal name - Konstantynowicz. Formally, Paul did not belong to a dynasty. The Romanovs, however, treated him like a family member. Alexander I, Konstanty's brother, even became his godfather. And when Paweł got married, the wedding was held at the Winter Palace and all his paternal relatives were present at the ceremony.
The young man became an artilleryman officer. But he was more attracted to scientific work than a warrior. The results of his research were used by the Soviets for many years, for example during the production of the famous "Katyusha", which contributed to the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War. Of course, it was not officially said who developed the concept of this weapon.
Currently, there is ul. Konstantinov. One of the craters on the dark side of the moon is also named after him.
Find out more about what the life of the illegitimate royal children was like in past eras.
Danish princess missed opportunity
While men's misdeeds were widely tolerated, young ladies had to pride themselves on an impeccable reputation in order to find a suitable party. Princess Thyra (1853–1933), daughter of the King of Denmark, Krystian IX, learned about it painfully. At 17, the girl reciprocatedly fell in love with a young man whose veins did not contain a single drop of blue blood. It was a cavalry officer, Wilhelm Frimann Marcher.
Their feeling was so passionate that Thyra dared consummate the relationship and soon became pregnant. Krystian IX and his wife Luiza were devastated. To hide their daughter's "immoral" behavior, her parents decided to send her to Greece, where their son, Jerzy, reigned. The official reason for the departure of the princess was ... the jaundice she allegedly suffered from. The warm and sunny climate of Greece was supposed to help her convalesce. In fact, Thyra was to give birth to her brother in the privacy of a palace and give the child up for adoption.
Princess Thyra with her husband and children.
In 1871, she gave birth to a daughter who was taken from her shortly after giving birth. The girl was taken in by the Danish Jorgensen family and named her Kate. Meanwhile, during Thyra's stay in Greece, her beloved William committed suicide after talking to Krystian IX, who ordered him to forget about his beloved.
Though the Danish royal family made efforts to keep the secret secret, soon rumors began circulating at European courts about Thyra's illegitimate child. This shattered her matrimonial prospects. As the daughter and sister of kings, she could count on getting married to a monarch or heir to the throne, but years passed and the only man who offered her marriage was the prince of Hanover, Ernest August. He had neither a throne nor his own state and had to live in exile in Austria. However, the girl accepted his proposal, and their relationship turned out to be happy. Officially, the existence of her illegitimate daughter was confirmed only a dozen (!) Years ago.
Bibliography:
- Hough. R. Louis and Victoria. London, 1974.
- Skott, St. Romanovs:yesterday and today . Warsaw, 1994.
- Wiernicka V. Secrets of the Russian Tsars. Łódź, 2018.
- Боханов А. Н. Мария Федоровна . - М .:Вече, 2013.