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Royal bastard

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Arms of theDuke of Grafton,an illegitimate son of Charles II, showing a baton sinister
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Aroyal bastardis a child of a reigning monarch born out of wedlock. The king might have a child with a mistress, or the legitimacy of a marriage might be questioned for reasons concerning succession.

Notable royal bastards includeRobert, Earl of Gloucester,son ofHenry I of England,Henry FitzRoy,son ofHenry VIII of England,and theDuke of Monmouth,son ofCharles II.The Anglo-Norman surname Fitzroy means son of a king and was used by variousillegitimateroyal offspring, and by others who claimed to be such. In medieval England a bastard's coat of arms was marked with abendor baton sinister.[1]

Notable fictional examples includeMordred,the villainous illegitimate son ofKing Arthur.Some fictional portrayals of royal bastards are less negative, such as the character ofPhilip the Bastardin Shakespeare'sKing John.

Ancient Rome[edit]

Unlike medieval royalty, the Romans were more concerned with continuity of family name than with bloodline.[2]If a man recognized a child as his, this was accepted by law, and the issue of who the biological father was did not arise.[2]Children not recognized could beexposedor brought up as a slave. For example, EmperorClaudiusinitially accepted a girl as his daughter, but later rejected her and had her exposed.[2]Emperors often adopted their successors. There are no recorded examples of aristocrats in classical times accusing other aristocrats of being illegitimate, as was common in later periods.[2]

Caesarionwas possibly the illegitimate son ofJulius CaesarbyCleopatra,which would also make him Caesar's only known child besidesJulia.

Belgium[edit]

A book published in February 2011 claimed thatAlbert II of Belgiumhas an illegitimate half-sister named Ingeborg Verdun, the daughter ofKing Leopold IIIand Austrian-Belgian ice skaterLiselotte Landbeck.[3]

In October 2020, the illegitimate daughter ofAlbert II of Belgiumwas legally acknowledged after DNA testing to be titledPrincess Delphine of Belgiumby the Belgian Court of Appeal. Ms Delphine Boël intends to change her surname to her father's Saxe-Coburg.[4]

Flanders and Brabant[edit]

Older illegitimate children founded important family branches, as reported in theTrophées de Brabant: tome 1[5]([6]):

England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom[edit]

English kings[edit]

Henry Fitzroywas the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII by teenage mistressElizabeth Blount.

Papal legates decree in 786[edit]

See also:Anglo Saxon paganismandAugustine of Canterbury

In the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy then Kingdom, descendants of kings were calledaethelings,whether legitimate or not. When a kingship became vacant, aWitanwould meet to name an aetheling as king. Papal legates visited the great hall ofOffa of Merciain 786 and decreed that an English king "must not be begotten in adultery or incest" and that "he who was not born of a legitimate marriage" could not succeed to the throne.[7]It is likely no rule of succession had set as to bastardy before this decree.[7]

Anglo-Saxon kings[edit]

Two Anglo-Saxon kings of England had sons who faced opposition to their succession seemingly based on the status of their mother. Leading figures in the kingdom refused to accept the succession ofÆthelstan,eldest son ofEdward the Elder.Some medieval chroniclers writing centuries later describe his mother,Ecgwynn,as a concubine or of low social status, while others portray her as a noble wife, and some modern historians have attributed the challenge to his succession as related to questions of the status of his mother.Edward the Martyr,eldest son ofEdgar the Peaceful,likewise faced opposition due to the nature of his birth. A contemporary charter calls the king's later spouse his 'lawful wife' and seems to afford her son, Edmund, a higher status than his elder half-brother, Edward. Later chroniclers are contradictory, one making Edward an illegitimate child born to a nun, another calling his mother a noblewoman wed to his father. Scholarly opinion is divided whether Edward was born to an extramarital liaison or simply bore lesser status because his mother had not been consecrated as queen, unlike the powerfulÆlfthryth,mother of his younger half-brothers.

Stephen[edit]

Gervase de Blois(written variously,often in latest books Gervais of Blois), an illegitimate son ofStephen,wasAbbot of Westminsterfrom 1138 toc.1157.[8]Stephen had two other illegitimate children from the same mother – Ralph and Americ of Blois.

Henry I[edit]

Henry Ihad about two dozen recognized illegitimate children, includingRobert, 1st Earl of Gloucester,Sybilla of Normandy(wife ofKing Alexander I of Scotland),Maud FitzRoy(wife ofConan III, Duke of Brittany), Constance or Maud FitzRoy,Mabel FitzRoy,Alice FitzRoy,Gilbert FitzRoy,[9]andEmma.[citation needed]"It might be permissible to wonder how it was that Henry I managed to keep track of all his illegitimate children, but there is no doubt that he did so," wrote historian Given-Wilson.[8]

Henry II[edit]

Henry IIhad several illegitimate children, most notablyGeoffrey, Archbishop of YorkandWilliam Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury(who inherited his earldom from his wife's father,William of Salisbury). William's mother wasIda de Tosny,while Geoffrey's may have been called Ykenai.

Richard I[edit]

Richard the Lionhearthad at least one illegitimate child:Philip of Cognac,who died young (possibly in battle). He features as Philip the Bastard in Shakespeare'sKing John.

John[edit]

Johnhad at least five children with mistresses during his first marriage toIsabelle of Gloucester,and two of which are known to have been noblewomen. He had eight or more others including Jeanne/Joan, Lady of Wales(wife ofLlywelyn the Great) andRichard FitzRoy.

Edward IV of England[edit]

Edward IVhad at least five illegitimate children, includingArthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle(laterLord Deputy of Calais) by his mistressElizabeth Lucy.

Perkin Warbeckclosely resembled Edward IV and claimed to be his sonRichard of Shrewsbury;it has been theorised that Perkin was one of Edward's illegitimate children.

Richard IIIjustified his accession to the throne by claiming that the children ofEdward IVwere the product of an invalid marriage.

Richard III[edit]

Richard IIIhad at least two illegitimate children:John of Gloucester(Captain of Calaisfor a time) and Katherine, second wife ofWilliam Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.

Henry VII[edit]

SirRoland de Velvillewas, in one account, the illegitimate son ofHenry VIIand "aBretonlady. "

Henry VIII[edit]

Main article:Illegitimate children of Henry VIII

Henry VIIIhad one acknowledged illegitimate child,Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset.As he had manymistresses,historians put forward six other likely instances including the mercenaryThomas Stukley,the poetRichard Edwardesand two ofMary Boleyn's children.

His daughterElizabethwas in then Catholic canon law illegitimate, as Henry had married her mother,Anne Boleynhaving divorcedQueen Catherine;it was lawful under his new Anglican legal system.

Scottish kings[edit]

Kings of Great Britain[edit]

Charles II[edit]

Charles IIfathered at least 20 illegitimate children, of whom he acknowledged 14.[10]The most famous of these wasJames Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth,his son byLucy Walter.After Charles' death, Monmouth led a rebellion against his uncleJames II.Charles had no legitimate children who survived childhood.

WhenNell Gwynnbrought her first child to Charles, she told it, "Come hither you little Bastard and speak to your father!".[11]Charles responded, "Nay, Nellie, do not call the child such a name", to which Gwynn replied "Your Majesty has given me no other name by which I may call him." Charles then named the child "Beauclerk"and bestowed the title" Earl of Burford ".

Charles Iwith his son, the future James II. Both James and his older brotherCharles IIwere known for their numerous illegitimate children.
Illegitimate children of Charles II[edit]

ByLucy Walter(c.1630–1658):

  1. James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth(1649–1685), found and executed nine days after skirmish of his forces'Battle of Sedgemoor.

ByElizabeth Boyle, Viscountess Shannon(1622–1680):

  1. Charlotte FitzRoy, Countess of Yarmouth(1650–1684),

ByCatherine Pegge

  1. Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth(1657–1680), known as "Don Carlo", createdEarl of Plymouth(1675)
  2. Catherine FitzCharles (born 1658; she either died young or became a nun at Dunkirk)[12]

ByBarbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland(1641–1709)

  1. Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex(1661–1722). She may have been the daughter of Roger Palmer, but Charles accepted her.[13]
  2. Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland(1662–1730).
  3. Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton(1663–1690). Ancestor of theDukes of Grafton.
  4. Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield(1664–1717).
  5. George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland(1665–1716).
  6. Lady Barbara FitzRoy(1672–1737). She was probably the child of theDuke of Marlborough.[14]She was never acknowledged by Charles.[15]

ByNell Gwyn(1650–1687):

  1. Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans(1670–1726)
  2. James, Lord Beauclerk (1671–1680)

ByLouise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth(1649–1734)

  1. Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and Lennox(1672–1723). Ancestor of theDukes of RichmondandLennox.

ByMoll Davis,courtesan and actress of repute:[16]

  1. Lady Mary Tudor(1673–1726)

James II and VII[edit]

James II and VIIhad 13 illegitimate children.[17]

George I[edit]

George Ihad 3 illegitimate children by his mistress,Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal,includingMelusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham.

Monarchs of the United Kingdom[edit]

William IV[edit]

William IVhad 11 illegitimate children.[18]They used the surname "FitzClarence", because he wasduke of Clarence.[18]

Edward VII[edit]

Edward VIIwas claimed to be the natural father of the modelOlga de Meyer.[19]

France[edit]

Anthony, bastard of Burgundywas the illegitimate son ofPhilip the Goodof Burgundy. He was known asle grand bâtard(the great bastard). He was legitimized by King Charles VIII in 1485.

Henri IV[edit]

Henri IVhad many mistresses and illegitimate children. The children ofGabrielle d'Estréesare notable because the King may have signed a wedding agreement with their mother before her unexpected death in 1599.

Louis XIV[edit]

Louis XIVhad many mistresses and illegitimate children.Madame de Maintenonwas their governess.[20]

"The bastards", as they were called, were compared to mules, unnatural hybrids who should not reproduce. "No issue should come of such species," the king once said.[21]Louis, nonetheless, found appropriate spouses for his illegitimate children.[21]

As illegitimate children were considered impure, their mothers might attempt to purify them through pious behavior.[21]Louise de La Vallièrehad six children by Louis XIV, includingMarie Anne de Bourbon(1666–1739) andLouis de Bourbon(1667–1683). She repented by joining a Carmelite convent. There she wore a belt of iron spikes that cut into her flesh.[21]

Church leaders denounced Madame de Montespan, Louis' best-known mistress, who had seven children by him. In 1675, Father Lécuyer refused to give her absolution.[22]"Is this the Madame that scandalises all France?" he asked. "Go abandon your shocking life and then come throw yourself at the feet of the ministers of Jesus Christ."

The king's efforts to legitimize his illegitimate children showed his, "Olympian disdain for public opinion," according to one modern author.[20]The edict of Marly, issued in July 1714, granted two of Louis' sons by Montespan the right to succeed to the French throne.[23]This hugely unpopular decision led to a political crisis called the "bastard distortion" in 1714–1715.[23]It was reversed by theParliament of Parisin July 1717, after Louis had died.[23]

Louis XV[edit]

Like his great-grandfather,Louis XVhad many mistresses and illegitimate children, but contrary to him, he never legitimized any of them.

  • ByPauline Félicité de Mailly
    • Charles Emmanuel Marie Magdelon de Vintimille du Luc
  • By Jeanne Perray:
    • Amélie Florimond de Norville
  • ByMarie-Louise O'Murphy
    • Agathe Louise de Saint-Antoine de Saint-André[24]
    • Marguerite Victoire Le Normant de Flaghac.[25]
  • ByFrançoise de Chalus
  • By Marguerite Catherine Haynault
    • Agnès Louise de Montreuil
    • Anne Louise de La Réale
  • By Lucie Madeleine d'Estaing
    • Agnès Lucie Auguste
    • Aphrodite Lucie Auguste
  • By Anne Coppier de Romans
    • Louis Aimé de Bourbon, called theAbbot of Bourbon;he was the only one of the illegitimate children of Louis XV who was officially recognized.[26]
  • By Jeanne Louise Tiercelin de La Colleterie
    • Benoît Louis Le Duc[27]

Monaco[edit]

Prince Albert II of Monacohas two illegitimate children,Jazmin Grace GrimaldiandAlexandre Grimaldi-Coste.

Portugal[edit]

KingPeter I of Portugalhad an illegitimate son,John,who became Grand Master of the Order of Avis, and following the childless death of his legitimate half-brother, KingFerdinand I of Portugaland the ensuing1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum,he succeeded as King John I, founding theHouse of Avisthat would rule Portugal for the next two centuries. John I had an illegitimate son,Afonso,who was named Duke of Braganza by his half-brother, the regentPeter, Duke of Coimbra.He thus founded theHouse of Braganzathat in 1640 would successfully claim the Portuguese crown on the basis of this descent, and rule into the 20th century.

KingCarlos I of Portugalallegedly had an illegitimate daughter who became one of the most famous and controversial royal bastards in the history of European royalty:Maria Pia of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza.[28][29][30][31]

Russia[edit]

EmpressCatherine the Great(reigned 1762 to 1796) had an illegitimate child in 1762,Alexei Grigorievich Bobrinksy,who was born a few months before she took the throne. Catherine officially acknowledged him in a letter sent in 1781. Later, his half-brother Emperor Paul made him a count of the Russian Empire and promoted him to general-major. He married Baroness Anna Dorotheavon Ungern-Sternbergand had issue that continues to this day.

Spain[edit]

In 783,Mauregatus of Asturias,the illegitimate son of KingAlfonso I of Asturiasallegedly born to a Moorish serf, took the throne upon the death of his brother-in-lawSilo of Asturias,reigning for about 5 years.

The will ofSancho III of Pamplona,who died in 1035, lands in theCounty of Aragonwere left to his illegitimate sonRamiro,who would grow these holdings into theKingdom of Aragon,and whose sonSancho Ramírez,becameKing of Pamplona.Ramiro's illegitimate son, also namedSancho Ramírez,was madeCount of Ribagorza.KingGarcía Sánchez III of Pamplona,had an illegitimate sonSancho Garcés,and when KingAlfonso the Battlerdied in 1134, grandsons of royal bastards Sancho Ramírez of Ribagorza and Sancho Garcés of Uncastillo were among the candidates for succession, with the latter being successful, becoming KingGarcía Ramírez of Navarre.

Alfonso VI, King of León and Castile,had a complex family born to multiple wives and mistresses, but only one son,Sancho,born to a fugitive Muslim mistress,Zaida of Seville.Sancho was named his father's heir in 1107, but was killed following a battle the next year. Alfonso's legitimate daughter QueenUrraca of Leónsucceeded, but her rule in Portugal was challenged by her illegitimate half-sister,Theresa, Countess of Portugal,whose ambitions for independence were realized by her son,Afonso I of Portugal.Urraca herself, as queen regnant, would have two recognized illegitimate children by noblemanPedro González de Lara,her main supporter against her former husband Alfonso the Battler.

In the 14th century, the English-allied KingPeter of Castilewould be overthrown by an alienated nobility in favor of his illegitimate half-brother, Henry of Trastámara, who thus became king asHenry II of Castileand was ancestor of the later royal family.

In the 16th centuryJohn of Austria(Spanish: Juan de Austria) was an illegitimate son of Holy Roman EmperorCharles V.In his last will of 1558, the Emperor officially recognized Juan as his son and put him to the service of his legitimate successorPhilip II.He devoted his life to the service of his half-brother, King Philip II of Spain, and is best known for his role as the admiral of the Holy Alliance fleet at the Battle of Lepanto.

In 2003, Leandro Ruiz Moragas, an illegitimate son of KingAlfonso XIII's, gained the right to call himself a prince.[32]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Given-Wilson, Chris, and Alice Curteis,The Royal Bastards of Medieval England(1995), pp. 52, 48-49.
  2. ^abcdCatharine Edwards,The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome,pp. 51–52.
  3. ^Leo Van Audenhaege,From Küssnacht to Argenteuil
  4. ^Daughter of Belgium's former king wins long battle to become Princess; Reuters; By Marine Strauss, October 2, 2020
  5. ^Trophées de Brabant: tome 1, réparti en dix livres: Christophe Butkens - Christ. Leger, 1637 -
  6. ^addition contenant la succession de aucuns bastards de Brabant; p. 652
  7. ^abJohn Cannon, Ralph Griffiths,The Oxford Illustrated History of the British,p. 37
  8. ^abChris Given-Wilson, Alice Curteis,The royal bastards of medieval England(1984).
  9. ^Thompson, Kathleen (June 2003)."Affairs of State: the illegitimate children of Henry I".Journal of Medieval History.29(2): 129–151.doi:10.1016/s0304-4181(03)00015-0.ISSN0304-4181.
  10. ^George Edward Cokayne,The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain,Vol. 6, p. 706.
  11. ^The Museum of foreign literature, science, and art,Volume 14 edited by Robert Walsh, Eliakim Littell, John Jay Smith
  12. ^Hutton, p. 125
  13. ^Cokayne, George E.;Gibbs, Vicary (1926), "Appendix F. Bastards of Charles II", in Doubleday, H. A.; Warrand, D.; de Walden, Howard (eds.),The Complete Peerage,London: St. Catherine Press, Volume VI, pp. 706–708
  14. ^Miller,Charles IIpp. 97, 123
  15. ^Fraser, Antonia (1979),King Charles II, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson,ISBN0-297-77571-5,pp. 65, 286.
  16. ^Fraser, p. 287
  17. ^David Hilliam,Kings, queens, bones, and bastards: who's who in the English monarchy from Egbert to Elizabeth II
  18. ^abRoger Powell, MA & Peter Beauclerk Dewar,Royal Bastards(2008).
  19. ^"Adolf de Meyer | [Olga de Meyer, probably at Saint Moritz]".
  20. ^abCruttwell, Maud,Madame de Maintenon,p. 67.
  21. ^abcdEmmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, Jean-François Fitou,Saint-Simon and the court of Louis XIV,p. 106
  22. ^A lust for virtue: Louis XIV's attack on sin in seventeenth-century FranceBy Philip F. Riley
  23. ^abcEmmanuel Le Roy Ladurie,The Ancien Régime: a history of France, 1610–1774,p. 284.
  24. ^Les enfants naturels de Louis XV - 02. Agathe-Louise de Saint-Antoine de Saint-Andréin: histoire-et-secrets.comArchived2018-02-06 at theWayback Machine[retrieved 9 March 2013].
  25. ^Camille Pascal, "Le goût du roi: Louis XV et Marie-Louise O'Murphy".This theory is supported by three facts: 1. The King gave Marie-Louise O'Murphy the sum of 350,000 livres between 1771-1772 (Marguerite, then a three-years-old child, surpassed the dangerous first year of infancy, and Louis XV probably wanted to protect the mother of his child), 2. When Marguerite married in 1786 all the royal family was present and signed the marriage contract, and 3. After the Bourbon Restoration, King Charles X gave Marguerite an "annual indemnity" of 2,000 francs from his own treasure and a further payment of 3,000 francs from theCivil List.
  26. ^Evelyne Lever:Le crépuscule des rois - chronique 1757-1789,Fayard 2013, p. 68.
  27. ^Louis XV secured for him capital of 223,000 livres who reported an annual revenue of 24,300 livres. In August 1774 Louis XVI signed a letter of Official Recognition of Nobility for him (identical to the other illegitimate children of Louis XV). In 1785 (when he took the Holy Orders) he received a dispensation from the Pope because of his illegitimate origin. After the Bourbon Restoration, Louis XVIII accorded him a pension of 6,000 francs from the Civil List, which was augmented to 20,000 francs in May 1821.Charles X(with whom he had an extraordinary physical resemblance) not only maintained his pensions but also paid his exorbitant gambling debts. In 1830 he solicited King Louis-Philippe I to secure his pensions, which the King granted.
  28. ^"Princess Maria Pia of Saxe-Coburg, duchess of Braganza" in CHILCOTE, Ronald H.;The Portuguese Revolution: State and Class in the Transition to Democracy,page 37. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; Reprint edition (August 31, 2012).
  29. ^"...Her Royal Highness D. Maria Pia of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Braganza, the Crown Princess of Portugal"in PAILLER, Jean;Maria Pia of Braganza: The Pretender.New York: ProjectedLetters, 2006;
  30. ^"…aquela que todo o mundo conhece e trata (…) por Maria Pia de Saxe-Coburgo e Bragança" in SOARES, Fernando Luso;Maria Pia, Duquesa de Bragança contra D. Duarte Pio, o senhor de Santar,Lisboa: Minerva, p. 40, 1983.
  31. ^[Luís D'Oliveira Nunes;Maria Pia - A Guerreira.Edição do Autor, 2021.
  32. ^"Spain's 'royal bastard' becomes prince".BBC.

Further reading[edit]

  • Roger Powell and Peter Beauclerk,Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family(2008)
  • Chris Given-Wilson and Alice Curteis,The Royal Bastards of Medieval England(1995)
  • Peter Beauclerk-Dewar and Roger PowellRight Royal Bastards: The Fruits of Passion(2007)
  • Anthony J. Camp,Royal Mistresses and Bastards Fact and Fiction 1714–1936(2007)
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