Maximilian III Joseph, “the much beloved” (March 28, 1727 – December 30, 1777), was a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Bavaria from 1745 to 1777. Born in Munich, Maximilian was the eldest son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII (Elector Charles Albrecht of Bavaria) and his wife, Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and his wife Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Upon his father’s death in January 1745, he inherited a country in the process of being invaded by Austrian armies as part of the War of the Austrian Succession. The 18-yea ..read more

Clement Affair Upon the illness of the king in Brandenburg during the campaign of 1719, he sent for Sophia Dorothea and entrusted her with his will, cautioning secrecy. Within the document, she was named regent during the minority of their son, with Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and King George I of Great Britain as guardians to the Crown Prince. The king’s favorites, military general Friedrich von Grumbkow and Duke Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau, offered the queen’s favorite Madame de Blaspiel a bribe if she procured information for them and influenced the queen in their favor; she in turn info ..read more

Friedrich II of Hesse-Cassel (August 14, 1720 – October 31, 1785) was Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel from 1760 to 1785. He ruled as an enlightened despot, and raised money by renting soldiers (called “Hessians”) to Great Britain to help fight the American Revolutionary War. He combined Enlightenment ideas with Christian values, cameralist plans for central control of the economy, and a militaristic approach toward international diplomacy. Early life Friedrich was born at Cassel in Hesse, the son of Wilhelm VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel and his wife Dorothea Wilhelmine of Saxe-Zeitz. His paternal ..read more

The Grand Ducal house of Luxembourg announced that Princess Stephanie, the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg has safely delivered a healthy baby boy at 10:04AM today, March 27, at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg. The infant will be named François Henri Luis Marie Guillaume and will be known as Prince François of Luxembourg. He is third in the line of succession to the Luxembourgian throne behind his father, Prince Guillaume, and older brother, Prince Charles. Congratulations ..read more

Shortly after the death of King Edward IV, Bishop Robert Stillington, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, is said to have informed Richard that Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid because of Edward’s earlier union with Eleanor Butler, making Edward V and his siblings illegitimate. Bishop Stillington asserted Eleanor Butler had had a legal precontract of marriage to Edward, which invalidated the king’s later marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. According to Richard Duke of Gloucester, this meant that he, rather than Edward’s sons, was the true heir to the throne. A precontract is a le ..read more

From the Emperor’s Desk: for some reason I am unable to post with pictures. I am looking into it and hopefully pictures will be back soon! Charles I (November 1, 1600 – January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from March 27, 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after his father inherited the English throne in 1603, he moved to England, where he spent much of the rest of his life. He became heir apparent to the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1612 upon the death of his elder broth ..read more

From the Emperor’s Desk: for some reason I am unable to post with pictures. I am looking into it and hopefully pictures will be back soon! First exile Exiled in Romania since December 1923, the former Greek King and his wife settled in Bucharest, where King Ferdinand and Queen Marie of Romania put at their disposal a wing of the Cotroceni palace for some time. After several weeks, however, the couple moved and established their residence in a more modest villa on Victory Avenue. Regular guests of the Romanian sovereigns, George and Elizabeth took part in the ceremonies which punctuated the lif ..read more

Conrad II (c. 989/990 – June 4, 1039), also known as Conrad the Elder and Conrad the Salic, was the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms of Germany (from 1024), Italy (from 1026) and Burgundy (from 1033). The son of Franconian count Henry of Speyer (also Henry of Worms) and Adelaide of Metz of the Matfriding dynasty, that had ruled the Duchy of Lorraine from 959 until 972, Conrad inherited the titles of count of Speyer and Worms during childhood af ..read more

Sophia Dorothea of Hanover (March 26, 1687 – June 28, 1757) was Queen in Prussia and Electress of Brandenburg during the reign of her husband, King Friedrich Wilhelm I, from February 25, 1713 to May 31, 1740. Sophia Dorothea was born on March 26, 1687 in Hanover. She was the only daughter of Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover, later King George I of Great Britain, and his wife and cousin, Sophia Dorothea of Celle the only surviving daughter of Georg Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, by his morganatic wife Eléonore Desmier d’Olbreuse (1639–1722), Lady of Harburg, a French Huguenot noblewoman ..read more

Frederick I (April 28, 1676 – April 5, 1751) was Prince Consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and also Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel from 1730. He was the son of Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, and Princess Maria Amalia of Courland. In 1692 the young prince made his Grand Tour to the Dutch Republic, in 1695 to the Italian Peninsula and later he studied in Geneva. After this he had a military career, leading the Hessian troops as Lieutenant General in the War of the Spanish Succession on the side of the Dutch. He was defeated in 1703 in the Battle o ..read more