Chapter 63 The Tragic Princess Donaghy, Nephews and Uncles
There are some interesting things about British kings. On the contrary to the Virgin Queen Elizabeth, Queen Anne, the second monarch after the current British King George II, has a record of 18 pregnancies, which is the most recorded among British queens.
Anne's father was James II. Since James had no sons, Anne's sister inherited the throne and became Mary II. Mary II also had no descendants, so she established Anne as his heir early on.
Anne ascended the throne at the age of 37, and everyone could foresee that the monarch would also have no children.
Because she was known as the Brandy Lady and was addicted to alcohol, her symptoms of alcoholism were very severe, her body became extremely bloated, she suffered from ventilation, and she even ascended the throne in a wheelchair.
Anne was so eager to have a baby that she imagined she was pregnant twice out of 18 recorded times.
But all her children were stillborn or miscarried, not only because of poor medical care, but also because of her alcoholism and perhaps some undiagnosed disease.
Twelve years after her coronation, Anne finally gave birth to no offspring and died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Because of her short stature and obesity, even the coffin was made into a specially made square shape.
Because Anne had no descendants, a German who could not speak English, the 54-year-old George of Hanover, was crowned King of England, George I.
Every king has his own characteristics, and George I seemed to have unique aesthetic skills.
He doesn't like beautiful women, he prefers ladies with special features.
Speaking of the king that the British dislike the most, it must be George I, because he is recognized as the worst husband and father.
When he ascended the throne at the age of 54, he attended the coronation ceremony with his two lovers from England. Londoners were good at irony and gave the two women nicknames. One was called a Pillar because she was very thin, and the other was called an Elephant because she was very fat.
And both women are very ugly.
But the orthodox princess of George I was a famous beauty and the biological mother of George II.
This beauty is called Sophia Donaghy.
But her fate was completely different from that of the two lovers.
George I's mother had been engaged to Donaghy's father, but because George I's mother was infected with smallpox and was disfigured, Donaghy's father broke off the engagement.
George's mother has always held a grudge against this.
Therefore, when George I married the daughter of his former betrothed, this mother-in-law made Donaghy suffer a lot.
George I did not care at all about Donathy's situation. After Donathy gave birth to his heir George II, he stayed with his lover.
Donaghy was under house arrest in the castle of Arden in northern Germany for 20 years.
Due to the torture of her mother-in-law and the estrangement of her husband, Donaghy was unbearably lonely. She met Count Kenigsmark, a Swedish aristocrat, and fell in love with him. The two made an appointment to elope.
On the eve of the elopement, the count disappeared and was later found dead.
After this blow, and then more strict house arrest, Donaghy died in loneliness and despair after 32 years of house arrest.
Not only did George II hate his father because he could not see his mother, but the reason why the British disliked George I was also related to his cruel attitude towards the princess.
Seven months after Donaghy's death, George I also died, perhaps because of illness, or perhaps because he was stimulated by seeing his wife's curse-filled suicide note.
In short, Donaghy's son, George II, ascended the throne and is now the King of England.
Donaghy's daughter is also related to Prussia.
The tragic Princess Donaghy was forced to separate from her son George II when he was 11 years old and his daughter when they were 7 years old, and they were not allowed to see each other again.
Her daughter also has the same name as her, also named Sophia Donaghy. This Donaghy had an involuntary political marriage when she was 19 years old. Her marriage partner was her cousin who was one year younger than her. At that time, the Kingdom of Prussia
The heir, later King of Prussia, was Frederick William, Frederick I.
The personalities of Donaghy and Frederick were very different. Although Donaghy was born in Hanover, she was influenced by French style. She tried hard to transform the Berlin court into the elegant Louis XIV style, but ended in failure.
Because her husband, Frederick I was as frugal as the protagonist in Molière's play "The Miser". He wore military uniform from morning to night, openly preached the theory that education is useless, and believed that temperance is the state of a man and is the only way to practice it.
Real machismo and straight men.
Therefore, driven by the style of Frederick I, the court was very rough. Donaghy gave birth to her eldest son and second son soon after her marriage, but they all died before their first birthday.
Regarding the child's death, the same rumor spread throughout Prussia:
The eldest son was frightened to death because his grandfather, Frederick, fired a cannon salute beside his cradle in celebration.
Before the second son's neck had grown strong, his father put a gold crown on his head, which ended up killing him.
After the death of two children, Donaghy couldn't bear it anymore. After giving birth to her third child, she decided to raise it by herself no matter what.
So this child escaped the circle of straight men and grew up under the doting care of his mother.
Frederick I, who held the title of Sergeant King, had a violent personality. He managed the country by managing the army and established autocratic royal power. Therefore, he was very dissatisfied with his son.
Because this child was influenced by his mother's French style, he liked to have long hair and wear gorgeous clothes, read some philosophical books all day long, and liked to listen to opera and play the flute. He was very inconsistent with the image of a man, and he was as depraved as a woman.
The child also disliked his father, because his father not only took away his collection of books and banned him from contact with art, but also often deprived him of food and beat him with a cane.
When the child was 18 years old, he was forced to marry a woman he didn't like, Teresa. He couldn't bear it and decided to flee abroad.
He got help from a friend who was a second lieutenant, but he was captured the same day.
Frederick I planned to have his son executed, but was stopped by his courtiers. Instead, his friend the ensign was to be beheaded, and the child had to watch from the sidelines.
The second lieutenant said to the child: "It is my honor to die for you."
The child said: "Please forgive me" and then passed out.
Ten years later, the father died and the child became the king. The surrounding countries disapproved of the new king who had been imprisoned in the fortress and obeyed his father's orders honestly.
After all, this was just a small and weak country with a population of 2 million. No matter how powerful the army left by Frederick I was, it was nothing to be afraid of.
The new king was determined to be an enlightened monarch. After he succeeded to the throne, he immediately abolished his father's "torture" and "inspection" systems and began to build an opera house and carry out reforms. However, this was only a domestic move and was unlikely to be successful.
But seven months after he took the throne, he made a move that shocked the whole of Europe.
He intervened in the succession issue of the Habsburg family, and without even declaring war, he sent troops to occupy the province of Silesia, which did not like the rule of the girl.
Maria Theresa therefore called the new king a "monster", a "devil", and a "thief of Silesia", and hated him with all her heart.
This child's achievements have surpassed his father's, and he also has a well-known characteristic, a loud mouth.
Yes, this child is the grandson of the tragic princess Sophia Donaghy and the nephew of the current British King George II.
But the uncle wanted his nephew to protect Hanover, the land of Longxing, for him and sign a non-infringement agreement, but the child flatly refused.