Secrets of the Gotha IV Trivia Quiz

Answer: Elizabeth Charlotte Wittelsbach of Bavaria

Princess Elizabeth was born on 27th May 1652 in Heidelberg, Germany, the daughter of Elector Charles Louis Wittelsbach of the Palatine and Princess Charlotte von Hesse of Cassel. Duke Philippe of Orleans, brother to Louis XIV, had been a widower for nearly three years when he married his second wife, after the death of Princess Henrietta Anne Stuart of Great Britain. Philippe and Elizabeth were married on 15th January 1673 in Chalons, France and had three children; Duke Alexander of Valois, Duke Philippe II of Orleans and Princess Elizabeth, the duchess of Lorraine. Elizabeth outlived her husband by over a decade, dying on 8th December 1712 in Paris, France.

"She possessed not only the face and figure of a German foot soldier, but the language and character also ... but she not the kind of woman to be astonished for long or to moan in rain over the disadvantages of a union more symbolic than real. She had wit and in her famous letters took her revenge for the unkind remarks her appearance and manners had provoked in Versailles".

Answer: Philippe II

Philippe II was born on 2nd August 1674 in Paris, France as the only surviving son of Duke Philippe I de Orleans of Orleans and Princess Elizabeth Charlotte Wittelsbach of Palatine. Growing up in the shadow of his famous uncle, Louis XIV, Philippe ended up marrying Louis' natural daughter, Princess Madeline Françoise de Bourbon of France, his first cousin, on 18th February 1692 in Versailles, France. Upon the death of his father-in-law, Philippe became the regent for his great-nephew, Louis XV, as the latter was only five years old and only this boy stood between him and the throne. Philippe and Madeleine had seven children including the duchess of Berri, the duchess of Modena, the queen of Spain, the princess of Conti and the duke of Orleans. Having never gained the throne, Philippe II died on 2nd December 1723 in Versailles, France.

"In the last years of Louis XIV's reign there had been nobody between the crown and the duke of Orleans except a very young boy, the future Louis XV, and at a period when children died like flies, it was not unreasonable to imagine that [he] might succeed to the throne. He gave it more thought than anyone else and many people strongly suspected him of having had some of his cousins poisoned".

Answer: The House of Conti

Princess Louisa Henrietta de Conde of Conti was born on 20th June 1726, the only daughter of Duke Louis Armand II de Conde of Conti and Princess Louise Elizabeth de Conde of Bourbon. She was married to the duke of Orleans on 17th December 1743 and had only two children; Duke Philippe IV of Orleans and Princess Marie Louise, the duchess of Montmorency. Louisa died quite young at the age of 32 on 9th February 1759.

"In 1743, when he was 18, Louis Philippe married the heiress to the Conti family, a girl of 17, as delightful as she was precocious, who responded with equal enthusiasm to the amorous transports of her husband. Their mutual passion was short lived, but so intense that it could have been said of them 'that they had found the way to make marriage indecent'".

Answer: Louise Marie de Bourbon of Penthievre

The Bourbons of Penthievre were the descendants of another one of Louis XIV's illegitimate lines, through Louis' son, the count of Toulouse. Louise Marie was born on 13th March 1753, the daughter of Duke Louis Jean de Bourbon of Penthievre and Princess Maria Theresa d'Este of Modena. She was married to the duke of Orleans on 5th April 1769 and had four children; the king of France, the duke of Montpensier, the count of Beaujolais and Princess Eugenia. Louise Maria never saw her eldest son become the king of France in 1830, as she died on 23rd June 1821.

"...to marry the richest heiress in France Louise, grand-daughter of the Count of Toulouse, a legitimised bastard of Louis XIV. Such an ancestry had nothing to commend it to the duke of Orleans, who was already extremely annoyed that through Madame de Blois, the hated blood of the Montespans ran in his veins and in those of his children".

Answer: Philippe IV

Maria alleged that she was the child who was born on 6 Oct 1773. The duchess of Orleans had given birth to a girl and the Duke had arranged, in the event of a girl being born, that a boy child would take her place. This claim would have been rather hard to verify as the old duke had been executed during the French Revolution decades earlier and the duchess had died in 1821.

In 1830, Louis Philippe I of France had only just taken the throne and was not about to be displaced by this woman claiming to be the true heir.

The Royal family did not believe her claim and she lived out her days in Paris, close to the Orleans family home, which would have been hers.

Answer: Philippe IV

For a member of the royal family and potentially next in line for the throne himself, it is interesting to note that Philippe IV favoured the French Revolution. Marie Antoinette took a disliking to the duke and he returned the favour. When he did escape Paris, he went to England and spent a lot of time in the company of the Prince of Wales, later George IV. A member of the National Assembly, Philippe IV voted for the death of Louis XVI, but did not escape the guillotine himself. The man who could have been king was executed on 6th November 1793 in Paris, France.

"He found himself carried almost in spite of himself to the forefront of the revolution and the execration to which his name gave rise after the King's death made him capable of all crimes, even those which he had not committed".

Answer: Yes

The blade of the guillotine, which he had tried to avoid by sacrificing to it the lives of others, overtook him at last and he was executed on 23 Oct 1793, showing more courage on this occasion than he had shown in his entire life. His family more or less abandoned him.

Answer: King Louis Philippe I

Louis Philippe did not get along with his cousin, the Bourbon king Louis XVIII. Resentful of the popularity Louis Philippe was gaining, the king stripped him of his titles and privileges.

"In 1814 they [Louis Philippe and Marie Amelie] returned to France and had already provided two children. Although Louis XVIII was officially on good terms with his cousin, he always tried to exclude him from public affairs and refused him the title of HRH that he demanded, a title to which his wife, as daughter of Ferdinand I [of Sicily] had a right. When the couple were announced, the usher would open the double door to announce 'HRH the duchess of Orleans' and would close one side to allow 'my Lord the duke of Orleans'

Answer: The Duke of Montpensier

The youngest son of Duke Louis Philippe I of Orleans and Princess Marie Amelie de Bourbon of Sicily, Anton Marie Philippe was born on 31st July 1824 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France and within six years, his father had become king of France. However this did not increase his chances of ruling France, let alone anywhere else, as Anton had five elder brothers. His ambition was outlined in his choice of bride, the infante Luisa Ferdinanda, the only surviving sister of Isabella II of Spain. Once the marriage had taken place on 10th October 1846 in Madrid, Spain, Anton now set his sights of his sister-in-law's throne. Isabella already had trouble within her family, with her uncle claiming the throne, arguing that her father's decision to abolish Salic Law before his death was illegal.

"Louis Philippe's youngest son was 'cultivated, attractive, sympathetic, a grand seignior without ostentation, endowed with unlimited ambition. He hoped to fulfil his ambition by marrying the Infante Princess Luisa Ferdinanda of Spain, the younger sister of Queen Isabella II and replace Isabella on the throne."

Answer: The Duke of Alencon

Whilst the dukes of Guise and Chartres, as well as the Count of Paris, married their first cousins, the Duke of Alencon married a Duchess of Bavaria, Sophie Charlotte Augustine, on 23 Feb 1847 in Germany. Together they had two children, Princess Louise Victoria and Duke Philippe of Vendome. Ferdinand Philippe of Alencon died on 29 Jun 1910 in Wimbledon, England.