By the time of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, Marie Antoinette’s popularity was already declining, and her reputation was tarnished by gossip. The necklace in question was commissioned by King Louis XV of France, who was Marie Antoinette’s grandfather-in-law, in 1772, probably for his mistress, Madame du Barry. The necklace cost approximately 2 million [read more]
Isabella of Valois was born on 9 November 1389 in Paris. Her parents were the King and Queen of France, Charles VI and his wife Isabeau of Bavaria. Isabella was the third child to be born to her parents, though her elder siblings both died as infants. A further nine children were born to the [read more]
Read part four here. In France, she was welcomed by her son Louis, and she was also joined by her daughter Pauline with her husband Henri and newborn daughter Marie. Dorothea was delighted by her granddaughter, whom she described as “fair, fat, and fresh, always in a good temper, laughing and restless, a little angel…” [read more]
Read part two here. Dorothea accompanied Charles to the Congress of Vienna as he needed someone to play the part of hostess and his wife Catherine was off having an affair with someone else. Dorothea was ready for a change of scenery, but she would have to leave her two little sons behind. This would [read more]
Read part one here. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince of Benevento, had focussed all his attention on his nephew Count Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord as his heir. And his heir needed a wife – preferably a rich one. It was probably Count Aleksander Batowski was hinted at Charles that Dorothea might be the woman for his [read more]
On 21 August 1793, Princess Dorothea of Courland was born as the daughter of Dorothea von Medem, Duchess of Courland and Peter von Biron, the last Duke of Courland (in present-day Latvia). Or was she perhaps the daughter of Count Aleksander Batowski? No one knows for sure, but she was recognised by the Duke as [read more]
Copyright © 2024 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by MH Themes