Princess Louise-Marie of Belgium
Encyclopedia
Louise Marie of Belgium (18 February 1858, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
– 1 March 1924, Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
), princess of Belgium, was the eldest daughter of Leopold II
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
, king of the Belgians, and his wife Marie Henriette, archduchess of Austria
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
.
Marriage and issue
Born Louise Marie Amélié of Belgium, Louise-Marie married Philipp, prince of Saxe-Coburg and GothaHouse of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is a German dynasty, the senior line of the Saxon House of Wettin that ruled the Ernestine duchies, including the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
-Koháry, her second cousin, in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, on 4 February/4 May 1875 and had two children:
- Leopold Clement Philipp August Maria (HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, 19 July 1878 - ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, 27 April 1916). - Dorothea Maria Henriette Auguste LouisePrincess Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and GothaDorothea Maria Henriette Auguste Louise was a princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by birth and the duchess of Schleswig-Holstein through her marriage to Ernst Gunther, duke of Schleswig-Holstein...
(ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, 30 April 1881 - WürttembergWürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
, 21 January 1967), married on 2 August 1898 to Ernst GüntherErnst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-HolsteinErnst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein was a son of Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. He inherited his father's title as titular duke of Schleswig-Holstein....
, duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.
The marriage was disliked by her father, who regarded it as a unwelcome alliance with Prussia, but her mother approved of it because Philip lived in Hungary. The relationship between Louise and Philip was not happy: Philip is said to have been authoritarian, though he did introduced her to pornography, and Louise responded to his authoritarianism by living a lavish lifestyle at the court of Vienna, where she attracted much attention. In 1880, she suggested the marriage between her sister Stephanie and Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria.
Scandal and divorce
In 1895, Louise-Marie became romantically involved with Géza Mattachich (1868–1923), stepson of Oskar Keglevich, count of BuzinHouse of Keglević
The House of Keglević is a Croatian noble family originally from Dalmatia, their members were pointed out in public life, also as soldiers...
. Mattachich was a lieutenant in a Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n regiment of the Austrian army
Military of Austria
The Österreichisches Bundesheer , is the name for the military of the Republic of Austria....
. They met in the Prater
Prater
The Wiener Prater is a large public park in Vienna's 2nd district . The amusement park, often simply called "Prater", stands in one corner of the Wiener Prater and includes the .-Name:...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
In January 1897, she scandalized Vienna by permanently leaving her husband, Prince Philipp, for Mattachich and taking her daughter with her. They traveled first to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, then Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, living in other destinations in the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the rest of Europe. Her son became estranged from her, because he felt her actions had ruined his chance for inheritance. Her daughter soon left her mother at the advice of her fiancé, the duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
.
In 1898, Prince Philipp and Mattachich fought a duel in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, first with guns, then with swords, in which the prince was injured.
Mattachich had been arrested in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
and imprisoned for four years for forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
, because he was not the stepson of Oskar Keglevich.
Louise-Marie and Prince Philipp were finally divorced in Gotha
Gotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
on 15 January 1906, almost eight years after Louise had begun divorce proceedings.
Later life
Estranged both from her father, her husband, and her children, Louise-Marie's extravagant expenses brought her deeper and deeper in debt. Despite being daughter of arguably the wealthiest King of the age, she was forced to claim bankruptcy after it became known that Mattachich had forged the signature of Louise-Marie's sister, Princess StéphaniePrincess Stéphanie of Belgium
Stéphanie was a Belgium princess by birth, and then made Crown Princess of Austria through her marriage to the heir of the Habsburg dynasty, Archduke Rudolf...
, on promissory notes for jewelry worth approximately $2,500,000. As a result of this episode she was institutionalized in May 1898 for six years. Mattachich was sentenced to four years in prison for forgery. Once his sentence was over, he helped Louise-Marie escape from the asylum in which she was interned in 1904; they were together until his death in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. After Mattachich's death she was given a home by Elisabeth
Elisabeth of Bavaria (1876-1965)
Elisabeth of Bavaria , was the queen consort of Albert I of Belgium and was the mother of Leopold III of Belgium and grandmother of Baudouin I of Belgium and Albert II of Belgium.-Family:Born in Possenhofen Castle, her father was Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, an ophthalmologist of...
, the wife of her cousin, Albert I
Albert I of Belgium
Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
, king of the Belgians.
Controversy
A renowned flirt before her marriage, it is suspected that her lovers included her future husband's brother FerdinandFerdinand I of Bulgaria
Ferdinand , born Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, was the ruler of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1918, first as knyaz and later as tsar...
, tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, and Rudolf, crown prince of Austria and the future husband of her sister, Stephanie.
Ancestry
Louise-Marie's ancestors in four generationsSources
- Louise de Belgique, Autour des trônes que j'ai vu tomber, Albin Michel, Paris, 1921
- Olivier Defrance, Louise de Saxe-Cobourg : Amours, argent, procès, Racine, Bruxelles, 2000 (ISBN 2-87386-230-0)
- Ouvrage collectif, Louise et Stephanie de Belgique, Le Cri, 2003 (ISBN 2-87106-324-9)
- Comte Geza Mattachich, Folle par raison d'État : la princesse Louise de Belgique. Mémoires inédits du comte Mattachich, 1904
- Dan Jacobson, All for Love, Hamish Hamilton, Londres, 2005 (ISBN 0241142733)