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 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.

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

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.