The Children of Emperor Franz II of Austria: The "Child" Emperor Ferdinand of Austria

By Jennifer Linforth
It is common knowledge that many royals intermarry. One such couple would raise a retarded son who later became the Emperor of Austria. Emperor Franz II of Austria (1768-1835) married his double first cousin, Marie Therese of Naples and Sicily (1772-1807). Ferdinand was the second born out of twelve children. Born with epilepsy, the famous Hapsburg lip and a over-sized head he was only one of many sadly challenged royals of this line. His sister, Marianna was often kept hidden from the world due to her mental state and sad disfigurements.

Nandle as he was known grew into a gentle and loving child. His speech was stammered often repeating things he already said and his weak limbs made it hard for him to walk or hold heavy objects. The epileptic attacks were frequent and his appearances in public limited lest the world see the horrible truth of his state. His father however was a family man and was often seen at his side even though public appearances of the child were carefully staged. It is said that Emperor Franz often would weep in pain as his son shuffled about the palace or attempted to speak. Fun loving Nandle enjoyed music boxes and sometimes was seen wedging himself in baskets so to roll around on the floor.

Despite skeptics Ferdinand was officially crowed his father’s heir in 1830 and took the throne of Austria in 1835. His father on his death bed told his son to “Reign, and don’t change anything.” Ferdinand did, through some of the most trying times of Austrian history until revolution forced him to abdicate to his now famous nephew Franz-Josef. Through the years of his silent service to Austria he ruled for the most part in image only relying on aide to do what his feeble mind would not allow.

Emperor Ferdinand became known as “the good-natured of Austria” and summed up his rule and life in one sentence. "It is easy to govern, but what is difficult is to sign one's name…."

Jennifer Linforth expands the classics by continuing The Phantom of the Opera. and are available now. Look for future books based on the classics, in addition to her unique historical romances. "Ms. Linforth's prose is phenomenally beautiful and hauntingly breathtaking." ~ Coffee Time RomanceMADRIGALABENDLIED

The Children of Mark Twain

by Jacquie Rogers

Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) is probably the best-known American author of all time. He was curious (a close friend of Nikola Tesla) and he had a case of the wonderlust that served his writing well. He was a popular speaker, novelist, and he promoted his works relentlessly. Twain made a lot of money from his writing, but he wasn't so hot at investing, so spent a good share of his time scraping by.

In 1870, he married Olivia Langdon, the sister of Twain's friend, Charles Langdon. They first lived in Buffalo, New York, and then moved to Hartford, Conneticut, where they built a house and settled. Their first child, a son named Langdon, was born prematurely in 1870 and died in 1872 of diptheria.

Next came Olivia Susan Clemens, called Suzy. She suffered from poor health all her life but was a very intelligent child, penning a biography of her father when she was only thirteen. This biography was included in Twain's Chapters from my Autobiography. Suzy attended Bryn Mawr University and was active in theater, writing plays, acting, and singing. She left after a year, but continued writing.

Most sources say she was the apple of her daddy's eye, but she had difficulty living under the umbrella of Mark Twain's daughter. In August of 1896, she contracted spinal meningitis and died three days later at the age of 24. Her parents were devastated, and Mark Twain never did get over his losss.

In 1874, a third child was born to Samuel and Olivia Clemons: contralto Clara Langhorne Clemens Samossoud. Clara had the distinction of being the only one of her siblings to live a long life. She was a talented singer and studied voice and piano in Vienna and elsewhere in Europe. Her debut European performance was in Florence, Italy. She performed frequently in the United States as well.

Clara married Ossip Gabrilowitsch, a pianist, conductor, and composer. They had a daughter, Nina, and Gabrilowitsch died in 1936 of stomach cancer. In 1944, she married symphony conductor Jacques Samossoud, a man twenty years younger than she.

Because she was the only child who survived, Clara managed the Mark Twain estate until her death. Her daughter died four years later of a possible drug overdose.

The last child born was Jane Lampton Clemens, called "Jean." She contracted scarlet fever at age two and was never healthy after that. From the time she was ten years old until her death, she suffered seizure, later diagnosed as epilepsy. She spent many years in and out of sanitariums, and died of a heart attack caused by a seizure when she was bathing. She was only 29.

There are no surviving direct descendants of Samual and Olivia Clemens.

Sources:
Steamboat Times
Twaintimes
Wikipedia: Clara
Virginia.edu

Jacquie Rogers writes quirky, magical romances. Available now are: Western historical romance, MUCH ADO ABOUT MARSHALS 
Contemporary western, DOWN HOME EVER LOVIN' MULE BLUES
Multi-era faery story, FAERY SPECIAL ROMANCES
Christmas story, FAERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.

She's co-founder of 1st Turning Point, a pay-it-forward website where authors teach, share and learn promotion and marketing.

Guest Blog: Lindsay Townsend

This week, we're welcoming historical romance author and regular contributor, Lindsay Townsend, as she celebrates the release of her latest novel, TO TOUCH THE KNIGHT, from Kensington Zebra. Lindsay is giving away a copy! Here's the blurb:

As a pestilence sweeps medieval England, a low-born woman has only the sharpness of her wits—and the courage of her heart…Edith of Warren Hemlet plays a dangerous game. At the knights’ tourneys across the land, among the lords and ladies, she is a strange foreign princess. But in the privacy of her tent with the other survivors of her village, she is but a smith’s widow with a silver tongue. They are well-fed, but if discovered, the punishment is death. And one knight—fierce, arrogant, and perilously appealing—is becoming far too attentive…

Sir Ranulf of Fredenwyke cares little for tourneys: playing for ladies’ favors, when his own lady is dead; feasting, while commoners starve; “friendly” combat, when he has seen real war. Still, one lady captivates him—mysterious in her veils and silks, intoxicating with her exotic scents and bold glances. Yet something in her eyes reminds him of home…and draws him irresistibly to learn her secrets…
 

***An Interview with Lindsay Townsend***

Your historicals are set in the ancient world and the Middle Ages. If you could go back in time, where would you go?


I would love to have been alive in the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria during the 1st or 2nd centuries. To browse in that amazing library! Or, like my Flavia in Flavia's Secret, I would have seized the chance to bathe in the Roman baths of Aquae Sulis and see the whole healing and religious site. Sarmatia, my heroine in Bronze Lightning, fulfills my own wish when she sees Stonehenge and Avebury as they were in the Bronze Age. She also helps a metalsmith to create the wonderful treasures of the Bush Barrow Hoard, something I would like to attempt, if only in a more modest way.


During the Middle Ages, I wish I could have seen the great Arabian cities and seats of learning and culture, or hear the scholars debate at the University of Bologna. It would have been fascinating to be a courtier at the Duc de Berry's court or a Knight of the Garter at the court of Edward III. More likely I would have been a peasant woman, working I hope in a part of England where the dues to my lord were light.  I would happily settle to be a craftswoman, perhaps working in a free town, or a lady whose fortune would not tempt greedy barons to invade my lands.This more modest world is one I enjoy exploring in my 'knight' books, including To Touch The Knight.


What do you most enjoy about writing historical romance?


I really enjoy writing tender, getting-to-know-you scenes in my books, including the historical romances. I relish the differences in culture and beliefs that are part of historical romance and enjoy using the morals and customs of a particular time to add tension and throw obstacles in the way of my heroes and heroines. Events shape my historical characters and they in turn share happenings and adventures. Sometimes I use situations from the direct historical record, such as the tense coronation of William I in A Knight's Captive, or the customs of the world of the tourney in A Knight's Enchantment and To Touch The Knight.


What, apart from reading, influences your work?


Nature - I love the British countryside. I have a semi-wild garden filled with primroses, cowslips, bluebells, St John's Wort, old roses, marigolds, cherries, apples and plums. I go walking in woodland to relax and to be inspired. I watch the birds and animals and think about the animals that use to thrive in our woods, such as the wild boar.  (In parts of the south of England, by the way, wild boar are coming back.)


Music also influences my work. I listen to certain pieces and for some reason pictures and scenes play in my head. It must be simply how my mind works.


Television and radio can also be wonderful windows on the world, sharing all kinds of information that I can adapt and feed into my own stories.


What are you working on at the moment?


I'm trying to promote my recently published To Touch the Knight. I've also just finished the proof-reading on one novel and returned the edits to another story. At present I'm working on scanning my previously published romantic suspense Voices in the Dark, for re-issue on Smashwords.


What do you have coming out next?


I have a romantic suspense, Palace of the Fountains, appearing this month. This is a modern story set in Spain, but it has its roots in the past.


Thank you for having me at Unusual Historicals today!

Lindsay Townsend
http://www.lindsaytownsend.net/
http://www.twitter.com/lindsayromantic

Thank you, Lindsay! Remember, leave a comment to win a free copy of TO TOUCH THE KNIGHT!

Excerpt Thursday: Lindsay Townsend

This week on Excerpt Thursday, we're welcoming historical romance author and regular contributor, Lindsay Townsend, as she celebrates the release of her latest novel, TO TOUCH THE KNIGHT, from Kensington Zebra. Join us on Sunday, when Lindsay will be here to talk about the novel and give away a copy! Here's the blurb:

As a pestilence sweeps medieval England, a low-born woman has only the sharpness of her wits—and the courage of her heart…

Edith of Warren Hemlet plays a dangerous game. At the knights’ tourneys across the land, among the lords and ladies, she is a strange foreign princess. But in the privacy of her tent with the other survivors of her village, she is but a smith’s widow with a silver tongue. They are well-fed, but if discovered, the punishment is death. And one knight—fierce, arrogant, and perilously appealing—is becoming far too attentive…

Sir Ranulf of Fredenwyke cares little for tourneys: playing for ladies’ favors, when his own lady is dead; feasting, while commoners starve; “friendly” combat, when he has seen real war. Still, one lady captivates him—mysterious in her veils and silks, intoxicating with her exotic scents and bold glances. Yet something in her eyes reminds him of home…and draws him irresistibly to learn her secrets…

***An Excerpt from To Touch the Knight***


In this excerpt, Edith the heroine and Ranulf the hero are intrigued by each other can cannot resist tormenting and 'testing' each other. The novel takes place just after the first outbreak of the Black Death, against the glittering backdrop of the world of the tournament.

The following day, the theme of the tournament had changed. Damsels were to wear white and the knights black. Sir Tancred had hurried to her tent before dawn, noisy as a blackbird with the news.

"It is to be a procession of Day and Night, the ladies the day..."

And one has his black armor already, for night.

"...We are to ride in company to the wayside spring of a saint, Saint Loye or Saint Frideswide, I forget which, and the damsels will dip their favors in the sacred waters."

Edith quelled a churning rush of panic: she could not ride, not as a lady would. "May I ride with you, Sir Tancred?"

"Princess! It will be an honor!" His face shone in anticipation. "It will be splendid!"

Edith smiled and agreed that it was indeed splendid, while she uttered her genuine thanks and wondered if they would pass any villages. If they did, would the people there be hale and fed? Her eyes strayed through the open tent flap to the present combat field and that host of tall grass and growing wheat. It was surely wrong to allow that to rot, when there were men enough to harvest, at least the hay. The wheat would not be ready yet.

Concern for the crops? But you have left that life behind.

"Peace, my brother," Edith thought in answer in her head, but the waste irked her.

"Do the damsels set tasks for the knights today?" she asked Sir Tancred. This had been a feature of Lady Blanche's tournament so far and she was eager to give Ranulf of Fredenwyke a very particular task, one he would no doubt refuse. She still ached to see his expression when she proposed it.

"That is for tomorrow, after a morning game of hoodman blind."

"I see." Edith itched to say that in her village, a game where one person's hood was turned so that the 'face' of the hood was to the back of the head and the person, blind-folded, was urged to give chase, was considered fit for children. She recalled that as a princess of Cathay she should not know it. "What is hoodman blind, Sir Tancred?"

Her thoughts drifted as her companion eagerly explained. She would not be taking part in hoodman blind: if caught she would be too easily recognized, or worse, unveiled.

I do not miss a child's game, she told herself, wondering even so how it would be to be caught by the black knight himself. He would be gentle, skimming his long fingers lightly across her shoulders, and then her face. When he knew her - as he must at once when he felt the veil - would he wind an arm about her bare middle and scoop her closer to him? Would he thrust her away? Or would he kiss her?

Edith felt her breath stop and her fingers tremble. Such thoughts were idle folly and she was startled by her own soft-heartedness. It must be lust. You have been too long without a mate. Consider your own pale costume: you must be the most splendid and shocking of the damsels.


Ranulf spurred his black palfrey to ride alongside Sir Tancred and his pillion, smirking as the princess unpinned yet another scrap from her costume to hand across to another ever-gracious knight.

"Well met, Sir Dew, Lady Jade," he said, noting the shield of the latest who had received the saucy wench's favor: this time a blue heron on a gold background. So far he had counted five favors granted and five warriors he would fight: he meant to best them all and take nothing from them but those irritating bits of silk. Then we shall see if men are quite so eager to ask for them, eh?

"We are night and day today." Sir Tancred shook his own black cloak and jutted his beard. "You will fight in your own armor?"

"I do. My squire and my page await me at the tourney ground, when we return from the sacred spring." Ranulf watched the small, pale figure riding behind Sir Tancred as he said "page," but the hardened princess did not flinch. "Lady Day." He stood on his stirrups and bowed, hearing the larks in the fields close by and the heady buzz of the damsels' chatter.

"Lord Night."

She stared off into the distance, so far as he could tell. He guided his palfrey closer still, catching a whiff of her perfume.

Her costume, the lack of it, was astonishing. Her head and hair were covered and veiled but as for the rest of her...

He whistled softly, turning the sound quickly into a tune so she would not realize he was disconcerted and yes, frankly impressed.

Truly she was as opulent, as translucent, as fragrant as a lily. Today he and others could see her long, shapely legs, glimpsed through a series of light-as-air skirts that seemed both white and colorless. He had been ready for her naked waist and belly but the tiny, tight-fitting sleeveless jerkin clung to her breasts like moon-light. He found himself imagining if her nipples were pink or dark and cursed himself for being so easily ensnared.

Her feet, brushing Sir Tancred's meaty calves, were narrow, high-arched, and bare.

He decided it was safe and indeed very pleasing to stare at her dainty little feet. "You do not feel the cold, Lady Day? I have heard the land of Cathay is far warmer than England; some would say as hot as hell."

Sir Tancred snorted and his horse danced beneath the pair as he must have tightened his grip on the bridle, but "Lady Day" sighed like a moth moving round a candle and finally fixed her bright eyes on him.

“I never feel the cold, Lord Night. What do you call those blue flowers in the road?”

“Speedwell, my lady,” several young squires replied, all at once, but Ranulf smiled at her obvious ploy. He decided to test her some more.

"I was at a joust once where the ladies gave so much of their sleeves and veils, chemises and mantles, to their jousting knights that they were all but naked by the end of the tournament."

"Strange, Lord Night. I was told that such a fable was from the romance of Perceforest." She smiled, or at least above the white veil pinned across the lower half of her face her eyes crinkled.

"I have heard the romance, too, but this time I saw it," Ranulf went on, determined to have his point. "But you, I note, are already in that state. What will you do, if a knight at the lists asks you for a favor?"

"Are you asking me, Lord Night?"

He admired her courage in tilting straight at the heart of the matter. For that reason he chose not to shame her. "Indeed I am, my lady."

Her dark brows drew close in a frown: clearly she had not expected that answer.

"Nay, I see you puzzled, but do not trouble so, princess. I will find a way. I do not think you can lose any more cloth." He grinned and spurred on, cantering to greet Lady Blanche and Giles, who were already kneeling at the spring.

Lindsay Townsend

Follow Lindsay on Twitter

The Children of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald

By: Isabel Roman

In this case the child of. Frances Scott "Scottie" Fitzgerald (October 26, 1921 – June 16, 1986) was the only child of Zelda Sayre and F. Scott Fitzgerald. She is buried next to her parents at St. Mary's Catholic Church Cemetery in Rockville, Maryland.

Couldn't find much about her, but since I didn't know she existed before my search, I learned everything there was on the internet! Everything in this blog is from either the Wiki article or the IMDB page.

Upon her birth, Zelda reportedly said that she hoped Frances would be a "beautiful little fool." In The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan says this at the birth of her daughter. Ah, fiction from life.

A writer, political activist, patron of the arts, and newspaper reporter, serving on the staffs of Time, The New Yorker, The Democratic Digest, and The Northern Virginia Sun, where she was chief political writer. She also wrote for The New York Times and The Washington Post. Also a playwright, composer, producer of musicals, and a Democratic Party activist.

Author of three books: 'Don't Quote Me' (about the women of the Washington press); 'The Romantic Egotists' (a pictorial biography of her parents); and 'An Alabama Journal 1977', (written after her return to Montgomery in 1973).

Married twice, she had four children (this from the wiki article-IMDB claims 3 from the second marriage, difficult to corroborate anything on her!)

Isabel Roman is the pseudonym used by writing team Christine Koehler and Marisa Velez. Their Victorian Druids series has been featured on The Home Shopping Network and is available in bookstores everywhere. Currently they're working on a Prohibition-era series and wondering why time flies so quickly. Visit the Isabel Roman blog!

The Illegitimate Children of James V

Blythe Gifford

A post on the children of James V, King of Scots, (right) could well be expected to focus on his only surviving child, a daughter who became Mary, Queen of Scots, a queen whose name is known by those who know nothing else of Scotland’s history.

His two legitimate sons, James Stewart and Robert Stewart, were born about a year apart and died about a month apart, just after Robert was born, about mid-year in 1541 and just about a year before King James himself died, leaving Mary Queen at the age of six days.

King James no doubt had never expected succession to come down to an infant girl, for although he had only three legitimate heirs, he fathered at least nine children out of wedlock, three of those before he was twenty. Seven of those children were sons.

It is these illegitimate children I write about today.

As with so many Scottish kings, James was crowned while still an infant, at the age of one, just after the death of his father, James IV, in 1513. The tale is told that young James V was encouraged in his debauchery by one of his regents, but to be fair, illegitimate children had long been a royal prerogative, in England and Scotland. Young James came by it honestly. His own father had seven children out of wedlock by four different mistresses.

But James, who became king in his own right at age 16, was able to best his father. And although the identities of some of the mothers of his children are lost to history, some of his mistresses were the daughters of Scottish nobles. Their children were treated accordingly. This meant that several of them played prominent roles in Scottish history and proved problematic to their half sister, Queen Mary.

Five of the illegitimate sons of King James V were named “Priors” as children. This meant they held the five richest livings in the Scottish Church—Holyrood, Kelso, Melrose, Coldingham, and St Andrews. (This did not happen, of course, without the approval of the Pope. James apparently wrote asking his permission for three of his illegitimate sons to receive ecclesiastical positions before 1532, when the boys were still babes.)

I’ve listed the children below. Don’t worry if you get confused. Three are named James, their father’s name; two are named Robert.

James Stewart, Abbot of Kelso and Melrose. Perhaps born as early as 1529, when his father was 17, James was the son of Elizabeth Shaw “of Sauchie.” He died before age 30.

John Stewart, Lord Darnley. Born 1531/32, before James V was 20, he was reported to be the son of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Carmichael, a woman two years younger than he. John lived to be barely 32, but long enough to be active in the Scottish Reformation, to marry, and to have children.

James Stewart, Earl of Moray and Mar. James (shown here) was also born somewhere between 1531 and 1533, but his mother was Margaret, daughter of the 4th Lord Erskine who was his father’s favorite mistress. (There were even rumors King James thought to marry Margaret Erskine.) He went on to become the most powerful of James’ illegitimate children. A stanch Protestant, he remained close to his half-sister Queen Mary until she married Henry Stuart, a Catholic. (According to some counts, the earl “changed sides” five times during her reign.)
After her death, however, he was Regent for young James VI, his nephew, who later became James I, uniting England and Scotland under one king. The Earl was shot in 1570, before the age of 50, by a supporter of Queen Mary, the first recorded assassination by a firearm.

Robert, Earl of Orkney. Born in 1533, Robert’s mother, Euphemia, was daughter of Lord Elphinstone, and also granted livings from the church, both before and after the Reformation. King James VI re-created the title Earl of Orkney for him in 1581, when he was approaching fifty.

Adam Stewart. Also the son of an earl’s daughter and a prior of the church. He is reported to have married and died in 1606.

Jean Stewart. This daughter married (and subsequently divorced for desertion) Archibald Campell, the 5th earl of Argyll.
T
hree other children recorded are: James Stewart (another one), Robert Stewart, also a Prior, and Margaret Stewart. Two of these are of “unknown” mothers.

Had King James had half the number of healthy legitimate heirs, history might have been very different.

Blythe Gifford has written five, 14th century medieval romances for Harlequin Historicals featuring characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket, most recently HIS BORDER BRIDE. The Chicago Tribune called her work "the perfect balance between history and romance." She is working on her next book, which will again be set on the Scottish Borders.

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The Children of FDR

By Carrie Lofty

Franklin Delano Roosevelt had six children with his wife, Eleanor, although the first FDR Jr., born in 1909, also died that year. A second FDR Jr. would eventually be christened in 1914. Thus five of his children survived into adulthood, all of whom lived to advanced ages during a tumultuous century.

His firstborn, a daughter named Anna, emerged into the world only 14 months after her parents' marriage. During two marriages, first to a stockbroker and then to a newspaper editor, she was active in both writing and editing. As Eleanor Roosevelt began to take a more active interest in social causes, FDR invited Anna to move into the White House and serve as the official hostess. Thus Anna was preset at the Yalta Conference and for many of the major political functions during WWII. Eventually she and her third husband became active in labor relations, the Kennedy Administration, and various other political and public relations enterprises. She died in 1975 of throat cancer at the age of 69.

FDR welcomed his first son into the world a year after Anna. After attending Harvard and the Boston School of Law, James Roosevelt campaigned for his father's 1932 election. His business in insurance became so successful that he dropped out of law school and began working full-time for his father's administration in 1937, first as Presidential Secretary. He became a commissioned Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps, serving first as an attache to British forces before requesting an active duty post. He served with the controversially forward-thinking Marine Raiders and earned the Silver Star, eventually retiring as a Brigadier General in 1959. He also went to Hollywood, then served as a US Representative from California between 1955-65, during which time he actively spoke against Joseph McCarthy. He eventually published several memoirs, married four times, and fathered seven children. He died at age 83 in 1991 of Parkinson's, the last of FDR's children.

Elliott Roosevelt was born in 1910, eventually following in his older brother's footsteps by becoming an active member of the Armed Forces during WWII. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps, the forerunner to the Air Force, and served as a pilot and commander. After flying over 300 combat missions, he retired a brigadier general upon the war's conclusion. He never achieved the same level of success in civilian life. He raised horses in Portugal, worked on a ranch in Texas, and lived on the property Eleanor bought on his behalf. He died in 1990 at age 80, after having been married five times. He fathered five children and adopted four.

FDR's third surviving son, name FDR Jr., contracted a serious strep infection in 1936 that was successfully treated with new sulfonamide antibiotics. Because of his father's fame, FDR Jr.'s recovery and the press that followed ushered in a new era of antibiotic acceptance among the US public, which greatly aided in wartime medicine. He eventually married five times and fathered five children, with his primary life's work revolving around politics and the law. He also imported cattle and Fiats, until his death in 1988 of throat cancer on his 74th birthday.

The last child born to FDR and Eleanor was John Aspinwall Roosevelt. He served in the US Navy as a lieutenant and received the Bronze Star. After marrying a woman whose father was staunchly Republican, John "defected" to the Republican Party, which caused considerable friction in his solidly Democratic family. That tension only increased as he actively campaigned for the likes of Eisenhower and Nixon. Despite his active interest in politics, he was the only of his brothers who never campaigned for public office. He retired as vice president of an investment firm in 1980, before heading up various charity organizations. He married only twice and fathered four children before his death in 1981 at age 65.

What I find most fascinating about the Roosevelt children is the participation in armed service. Can you imagine the children of any modern-era president serving on the front lines of a major conflict, or even being allowed to do so? Amazing, really!

SONG OF SEDUCTION's sequel from Carina Press, PORTRAIT OF SEDUCTION, is now available! Later this year watch for Carrie's new Victorian series from Pocket, as well as her "Dark Age Dawning" romance trilogy from Berkley, co-written with Ann Aguirre under the name Ellen Connor. "Historical romance needs more risk-takers like Lofty." ~ Wendy the Super Librarian

CATCH ME Winner

We have a winner for Lorelie Brown's CATCH ME. A free copy goes to:

Barbara E!

Contact Carrie to provide your mailing address. The book must be claimed by next Sunday or another winner will be drawn. Please stop back later to let us know what you thought! Congratulations!

The Children of King Henry I of England

King Henry I of England

Henry I of England (1100 to 1135), son of William the Conqueror, was as noteworthy for his political power, as for the tragedy of his legitimate son and daughter's lives. Henry had the misfortune to lose his heir William in a fire on the English Channel and while his barons swore to support his daughter Matilda's claim, they changed their minds after Henry's death, allowing for his nephew Stephen to seize the throne. Perhaps more notorious was the number of illegitimate children Henry fathered. Even more exceptional, most of Henry’s bastards went on to prominent positions throughout the British Isles and France. The daughters married into powerful families including the Scottish royal line, while the sons became earls, archbishops and abbots of the feudal Church.

Artist's illustration of Bristol Castle, which Robert de Caen originally built

Robert of Caen, born in 1090, lived in his father’s household from at least the age of ten. In 1119, he married an heiress Mabel, a granddaughter of the powerful Earl Roger Montgomery of Shrewsbury. She brought the wealth of lands in Gloucester to the union. A few years later, when Henry summoned his barons to England to recognize Matilda as a future Queen, Robert swore an oath in support of her, as did the King’s nephew Stephen. When he usurped Matilda’s claim, Robert accepted his rule. Two years later, he became Matilda’s commander-in-chief during the Anarchy (1135 to 1154), a tumultuous period when she and her cousin vied for the throne. In 1141, Matilda’s supporters captured King Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln, but seven months later, his allies apprehended Robert. In a prisoner exchange, both men gained their freedom. Robert continued his campaign to establish her rule and that of her son, the future Henry II, but he died before its achievement on October 31, 1147.

Loch Tay island, where Queen Sybil's church stood

Sybil, born possibly two years after Robert, was King Henry’s daughter by his long-time mistress, Sybil Corbet. The daughter had another connection to the royal family, being the granddaughter of Count Robert of Mortain, brother of William the Conqueror.  After 1107, Sybil married the young Scots King Alexander. Although they were devoted to each other, they did not have any children. She died in 1122 and Alexander founded a church on the island of Loch Tay, where she died. Alexander never re-married and his brother David inherited the throne.
 
Sybil’s full-blood brother Rainald de Dunstanville first became Earl of Cornwall, when he supported King Stephen. Like his half-brother Robert of Caen, he soon switched sides and led a rebellion. Rainald married well in 1139 to Beatrice, an heiress with lands throughout Cornwall. They would have seven children together. Two years later, his half-sister Matilda conferred the earldom on him again. The Anarchy allowed Rainald to evade payment of taxes on his holdings, which did not change until 1175, when Rainald died without a living male heir.

In 1103, Juliane, another bastard daughter of King Henry by his mistress Ansfride, married Eustace de Pacy in Normandy. The couple shared similar circumstances. Eustace’s father William de Breteuil acknowledged him despite his illegitimate birth. Sixteen years later, King Henry held his own granddaughters from Juliane as pledges for Eustace’s safekeeping of the castle at Ivry. Eustace failed in his bid and as revenge, Henry had his granddaughters eyes put out and the tips of their noses cut off. A naturally aggrieved Juliane sided with her husband against her father. He besieged her in the castle at Breteuil. She requested a meeting with him, but tried to put a bolt from a crossbow in his heart. Surrounded and helpless, Juliane surrendered. Later, she and her husband sought Henry’s forgiveness and she retired to the abbey at Fontevrault.
 
Isabel is one of the most provocative of Henry’s illegitimate daughters. The controversy stems from her ancestors’ ties to Henry. Isabel was the granddaughter of Comte Robert de Meulan, who had been an advisor to King Henry from the beginning of his reign. The men were longtime friends and Henry would have seen Robert’s children grow up during his long reign. When Robert died in 1117, Henry claimed his eldest sons, the 13-year-old twins Waleran de Meulan and Robert of Leicester as wards. Their sister Isabel was at least three years younger, yet in 1120, she bore Henry an illegitimate daughter who shared her mother’s name. While this last of the King’s mistresses went on to marry Gilbert de Clare and become the mother of Richard, known as Strongbow, her daughter never wed.     
 
Henry acknowledged at least fifteen other bastards during his lifetime. No other English king, including Charles II five centuries later, fathered as many illegitimate children. For those aligned with Henry’s children through marriage and political alliance, the link to royal blood mattered most, not the legitimacy of that connection.