Secrets of the Gotha III Trivia Quiz

Answer: England

"The first of these unfortunate princesses was Sophia of Brunswick-Celle, wife of George I of England, whose love affair with the handsome Count of Koenigsmark earned her forty years seclusion in the fortress of Ahlden". Technically the first German queen consort, Sophia Dorathea had married the Elector of Hanover on 1682 and had two children, George and Sophia Dorathea.

However the couple soon split as George preferred the company of his mistresses. The last straw for the future queen was when she embarked on her own love affair and had the misfortune of being caught.

She died on 13th November 1726 in Hanover, Germany, a prisoner of her jealous husband.

Answer: Prussia

"In 1765 a princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel married the prince royal of Prussia and although she escaped life imprisonment and violent death she did know the humiliation of being repudiated by her husband. He relegated her to an old palace in Stettin so that it would be easier for him to marry a princess of Hesse-Darmstadt". That Prince Royal of Prussia was the future Frederick William II.

They were married on 14th July 1765 in Charlottenburg, Berlin. Of their four year marriage, only one child was produced; Frederica Charlotte (b. 7 May 1767).

The union was dissolved in 1769 in order for Frederick to marry Princess Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Answer: the Duke of Cambridge

"When the electorate of Hanover had been transformed into a kingdom, England had hastily sent the duke of Cambridge there, as viceroy. He was later replaced by his brother, the duke of Cumberland".

During the reigns of Georges I, II, III and IV and William IV, England and Hanover had been ruled by the same person. However when Victoria succeeded to the throne of Britain, Salic Law prevented her from inheriting Hanover, which went to her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland. Once Cumberland had become king, he was able to send his brother, Cambridge, home.

Answer: Ernest Augustus I

"He had married Duchess Frederika of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who died long before him and in a manner which was a mystery to the skilled doctors of Hanover. Although he was very susceptible to feminine charm, the king had remained strangely faithful to his dead wife".

Answer: George V

"He became king of Hanover under the name of George V and married a princess of Saxe-Altenburg and had three children by her, a son and two daughters. Driven from his throne in 1866, George V took refuge in Austria and acquired a vast castle, where the royal family of Hanover lived for a long time".

Answer: William II

"The rape of [Hanover] had been the work of Bismarck, and William II would have very much liked to restore it to its legitimate owner. He therefore had the idea of marrying his daughter, Princess Victoria, to the future Hanoverian heir, which gave him an excuse for the restoration: he would be giving a throne to his beloved daughter".

Answer: 1918

Although the Prussian army had occupied Hanover since 1866, George V had never renounced his rights to the throne and in exile was still considered the king. With the conclusion of the First World War, many German states, duchies, principalities and kingdoms were abolished, with the ruling families exiled and stripped of their titles; Hanover was one many states that lost their sovereignty.

Answer: the Duke of Cumberland

Ernest Augustus I was the son of George III of England and was created the Duke of Cumberland in his youth and the title had passed to his successors who also inherited the kingdom of Hanover. With the outbreak of the First World War, the entire British royal family was forced to renounce all their German titles and any relatives who stood against Britain had their titles stripped. Today, the pretender to the throne of Hanover, Ernest Augustus, could also claim his ancestral ducal title under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917, but has yet to do so.

Answer: Christian IX

Princess Thyra was the youngest daughter of Christian IX and Princess Luise von Hesse of Cassell, born on 29th September 1853. With her five siblings, Thyra was married off according to her parent's political ambitions. Her brothers and sisters became the king of Denmark, the queen of Great Britain, the queen of Greece and the Empress of Russia. With the marriages of his children and grandchildren, Christian IX became the father-in-law of Europe, much like Queen Victoria becoming the grandmother of Europe. Between these two, every single major royal family, ruling and deposed, can count either if not both as their ancestors.

Answer: Princess Caroline Grimaldi of Monaco

Having divorced his first wife of sixteen years, Ernest then married HSH Caroline of Monaco, the heiress presumptive of the tiny principality. Whilst Ernest had two children from his first marriage and Caroline has three from her first marriage, they have one child together, Princess Alexandra (b. 1999). With Ernest's marriage to a Catholic, he forfeited his position in the line of British succession.

All the information, and quotations, for these questions was taken from Ghislain de Diesbach's "Secrets of the Gotha". (New York: Meredith Press, 1964)