The Forgotten Ancestress of the British Royal Family

[@lynnblack6493]

That really is wonderful. Forced to give up his claim to throne, but his heirs ascended the British throne. Crazy! Loved the story...

[@livesandhistories]

One could say that history is better than fiction. I'm really glad you liked the story.

[@denisek292]

What a beautiful love story. In a time when arranged marriages were the norm, two aristocratic lovers decided riches were not worth the happiness they would lose. Thank you for telling this amazing story.

[@livesandhistories]

I'm delighted you liked meeting this couple. Thank you for watching, Denise.

[@annfisher3316]

Admire her sentiment, she could not give her hand without her heart, unheard of at that time. What a tragic demise and sad life for her grieving husband, but brightened by their granddaughters marriage. 💛👑💛 Thank you for this very interesting journey back Queen Elizabeth's family tree.

[@livesandhistories]

A cruel blow for Duke Alexander - life is simply unfair, I suppose. Thanks for watching, Ann.

[@LJB103]

King Charles III has this story on both sides of his family. The morganatic marriage of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine to Countess Julia Hauke created the Battenberg family (with a name change to Mountbatten during WWI), the ancestors of Prince Philip. Excellent video.

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you, Louis.

[@juz3r1]

This is false information! Prince Philip's family, being noble, inherited it from his father. On the other hand, he renounced the title of Prince of Greece and Denmark (House of Glücksburg). But he did not have a good relationship with his father. His father was still married when he ran around Paris chasing whores. It was his mother who belonged to the House of Battenberg. Actually, now King Charles III is a descendant of the House of Oldenburg, as the House of Glücksburg is a side branch of the Oldenburgs.

[@LJB103]

@@juz3r1 So what you are saying is that no one has ancestors on their mother's side.

[@rayn8740]

What an incredible story of how unpredictable life can be. Thanks for sharing.

[@livesandhistories]

My thoughts exactly! I'm really glad you liked the story.

[@meeeka]

What a splendid job! You've answered to many questions I've always had about the Tecks. One can never look at the UK royals as simply stodgy past-German royals, once it is understood there is a strain of flamboyant Hungarian nobility spun through!

[@livesandhistories]

It makes me so happy to know that viewers like you get answers from watching my videos. Thank you, Michelle.

[@prof.cecilycogsworth3204]

Thanks for posting this wonderful story.

[@livesandhistories]

My pleasure! Thank you for watching.

[@vishnukanagalingam1991]

Thank you so much for telling their stories. The storytelling is really good.

[@livesandhistories]

Glad you like them!

[@VeracityLH]

A lovely and well-told tale of romantic royals. Having traced the royal lines, I've known about Claudine for a long time and am glad to see someone bring her forward and talk about her life. Though a short one, it certainly had far reaching effects. Some historians have speculated that Queen Mary was fierce about protecting the dignity of the royal family because of what she and her family suffered, being both "poor relations" of Queen Victoria and being Highnesses instead of Royal Highnesses because of this morganatic marital history. I can imagine her enhanced horror at the actions of her eldest because of her family history. Thank you for sharing Claudine's life and legacy. 🤓

[@livesandhistories]

Without a doubt, Princess May’s background and her family’s experiences played a major part in her life. I’m really glad that you liked this video - thank you.

[@kaiduponte4091]

What a beautiful story, thank you so much for sharing it!

[@livesandhistories]

I'm really glad you liked the story, Kai.

[@OfficeSpace2909]

Such a touching story that had a tragic start and ended in elevated triumph.

[@livesandhistories]

True - it was as if that "elevated triumph" was meant to happen somehow.

[@marshavilkas3512]

The paternal grandmother of Queen Mary of Teck:)

[@jamellfoster6029]

Wow great great grandmother of the Late Queen Elizabeth II...

[@Eurafrican]

How interesting! I had no idea the Windsors have a Hungarian ancestress. Claudine and Alexander got the last laugh! Beautiful that Queen Mary/Princess May had a memorial erected for her grandmother.

[@sirwelch9991]

I always waited for a video about her. Thank you.

[@livesandhistories]

I'm delighted you found a video about her on my channel. Thank you for watching.

[@sirwelch9991]

@@livesandhistories You're Welcome.

[@simon112]

Thank you as always L&H, truly a love story, I knew next to nothing about this beautiful lady, a very kind human soul who as you rightly said deserves to be rememberd.

[@livesandhistories]

I'm really glad you liked meeting this very kind human soul. Thanks for watching, Simon.

[@simon112]

@@livesandhistories always a plesure L&H, superb research and presentation, absoulute perfection thank you.

[@debraturner4559]

Queen Mary was a great access to the British Royal family. She was the right Queen at the right time for the British people. It is sometimes said Queen Elizabeth II inherited many of her good qualities from her grandmother, neither one put a step wrong and each had a calm, intelligent and dutiful nature.

[@livesandhistories]

That's true, Debra.

[@elainechubb971]

Thank you so much for such an interesting account of Queen Mary's ancestry--which was quite new to me. The illustrations in the video were excellently chosen so we could see the people involved and their milieu. (My only criticism was that the audio was very low-volume, so I had to turn on the closed captions, about the royal family of tech!) One comment about the unfortunate death of the lovely countess was that then women rode side saddle, which meant their seat was less secure than when riding astride. This probably contributed to her becoming thrown. Prince George's "inheriting" his dead brother's fiancee is reminiscent of the future Henry VIII's marrying his brother Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon.

[@livesandhistories]

A great comment - not only for the feedback it provides, but also for the information it offers. Thank you, Elaine.

[@meeeka]

The "inheriting" of fiancées is common in these families: Dagmar (sister of Q. Alexandra) passed down to Alex III; May of Teck (q. Mary) to George from his brother Albert; and others my old brain can't recall this minute.

[@elainechubb971]

@@meeeka i suppose that when a betrothal was made largely for dynastic or political reasons, those reasons persisted even after the death of one prospective partner. Wasn't Prince Philip of Spain, husband of Mary I, supposed to be considering marrying Elizabeth should his middle-aged and infirm wife died? Spain still wanted to acquire England as part of its empire!

[@dumitriudaniela]

i am Romanian and i love that i could finally find a documentary about this countess. Because she was born in a part of our country where hungarian minorities mostly live, Romanian historians and media dont talk much about it, which is why i never knew the whole story. I personally am very much in love with the beautiful Transylvanian areas that are so rich in mansions, aristocracy and fascinating history. I never visited her place of birth ( Rhédey Castle from Sângeorgiu de Pădure, Mureş county in Transylvania) because it was never mentioned in the list of castles to be visited by tourists. I recently found that they offer tours and i plan to go there soon.

[@livesandhistories]

I am delighted that you found this video useful. To many, Transylvania is a part of the world steeped in legend; but, as it turns out, its history is also surprising and interesting. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here, much appreciated.

[@mgrainger3805]

Please continue your videos..I love these

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you very much, I will.

[@Heothbremel]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ I love rescuing people's histories from oblivion :)

[@livesandhistories]

Me too, Anastasia. I've made it my mission to dig up these sort of stories :)

[@gwig3630]

Another brilliantly done video. Thank you so much.😊

[@livesandhistories]

I'm delighted you think so. Thank you.

[@ladyjusticesusan]

Wow! Thank you for posting. That was excellent t!!!

[@livesandhistories]

My pleasure! Thank you.

[@jacquelinefickis1734]

Countess Claudine was a beautiful royal woman and it is the first time I hear about her

[@livesandhistories]

I'm glad you liked meeting this 'beautiful royal woman.' Thank you for watching, Jacqueline.

[@cab_law]

Always excited to see a new video from your channel!

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you so much for saying this. It means a lot.

[@katerynavolkova-shapovalen995]

Thank you very much for this such an amazingly interesting video!

[@livesandhistories]

Glad you enjoyed it, Kateryna.

[@katerynavolkova-shapovalen995]

@@livesandhistories a lot, indeed!

[@MD11339]

I loved this video. I love all your videos…..Thankyou. Please do more videos, I cannot wait to see more.

[@livesandhistories]

It's lovely to hear this. Thank you kindly.

[@EAlyahya]

I interestingly find that the House of Teck/Cambridge is similar to the House of Battenberg/Mountbatten in which they both came from humble morganatic branch of german royal dynasties with personal style of serene highness; the Teck from House of Württemberg and the Battenberg from House of Hesse-Darmstadt. Both houses are the results of non-agnatic marriage to an ancestress with low-ranked nobility; the Teck from Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde and the Battenberg from Countess Julia Therese Salomea von Hauke. Both are maternally related to the British royal family; the Teck being descendants of King George III and the Battenberg being descendants of Queen Victoria. Both houses have two siblings married into the British royal descendants; Princess Victoria Mary of Teck later Queen Mary to Prince George, Duke of York later King George V) and Prince Alexander of Teck to Princess Alice of Albany. Prince Henry of Battenberg to Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom and Prince Louis of Battenberg to Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. They came to Britain as extended British royal family, naturalised and served in the British Army, renounced their germanic titles and replaced with British noble titles (marquess and earl) and even followed suit the Saxe-Coburg/Windsor in changing their germanic house names into English name; Teck to Cambridge and Battenberg to Mountbatten. Who knows later on their descendants became the monarch of the UK.

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you very much for writing this in-depth comment. Much appreciated.

[@dr.calebrobbins.3177]

I'd read recently of Charles 111 claiming descent from Vlad the Impaler , however he did not go into the detail. Wonderful story about Countess Claudine. Perhaps the " Romantic gene " had a boost with Diana's imput into the Prince & Princess of Wales,... William and Katherine steadfast commitment. Who knows - lets not get carried away. Claudine, it's rather a lovely name.

[@livesandhistories]

I did not know about the Wallachian connection, but for sure His Majesty has it on good authority that there is one. I’m glad you liked the story about Countess Claudine. Thank you for watching.

[@Jerseyboondocks]

Thank you again for this real story in history, told in a lovely voice narrator.

[@livesandhistories]

I'm so glad you liked this video. Thank you very much for watching, Aileen.

[@VeracityLH]

Btw, the Württembergs had other ties to the British throne. Alexander of Teck's uncle King Frederick I of Württemberg had married 2 Hanoverian princesses. His first wife was Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, a niece of George III of Great Britain, and Frederick's second wife was Charlotte, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of George III. So Alexander of Teck had marital connections to the British throne long before his and Claudine's son married a granddaughter of George III. You run into some fun things when tracing out royal genealogies!

[@livesandhistories]

A fascinating journey through the history of royal genealogy. Wonderful!

[@jamellfoster6029]

Queen Mary was a pretty lady. Very kind as well and committed to duty. A wonderful queen consort.

[@SeldimSeen1]

Fascinating. Thank you for sharing.

[@livesandhistories]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@esterherschkovich6499]

So interesting 🤔 thanks so much 💐

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you so much, Stella. I'm so happy you found this interesting.

[@dennisthomas6782]

Very lovely story .

[@dburton2765]

Very cool, thank you. xx

[@MynameisInigoMontoya4]

I was not aware of this one! Great info!!

[@livesandhistories]

I'm glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching, Victoria.

[@freedpeeb]

Thank you! That was very informative.

[@livesandhistories]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jamellfoster6029]

Wow... You can see Queen Elizabeth II in her face!!! You can tell she was the Late Queen's ancestress...

[@livesandhistories]

They were both amazing ladies.

[@jamellfoster6029]

@@livesandhistories so true.

[@donnaeve6084]

Queen Victoria and Princess Beatrice

[@janegardener1662]

Very interesting, thank you!

[@livesandhistories]

Glad you enjoyed it!. Thanks Jane.

[@tamyczek]

Very interesting story, exciting to learn something new :)

[@livesandhistories]

Glad to hear it!

[@swagnilla_ice]

At last we can see that Duke Edward followed his great-grandfather's model when he gave up his crown for the love of his life. For both men, a royal title wasn't worth not marrying for love.

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

There's a rumour that Queen Mary was a bit of a kleptomaniac: when she visited other aristocratic homes she sometimes filched knick-knacks and they were too polite to demand them back. Don't know how true that is...

[@tudorrosey76]

It is very true and it is because she grew up a poor part of the aristocratic society. When King Charles was still Prince Charles, he told many people he was related to Count Dracula and that his great grandmother’s side of the family hailed from Transylvania.

[@franmellor9843]

..and also if they knew queen Mary was coming they would hide as much as possible

[@meeeka]

The Tecks were followed by financial scandals. Everytime I see the Cambridge emeralds, I recall what they had to do to get them back from one of the many lovers of one of May's unfortunate brothers.

[@marcomanino9172]

Very interesting

[@livesandhistories]

Glad you think so! Thank you for watching, Marco.

[@NoMercy8008]

Right at the beginning of the video, within the first second, even before you started talking, i noticed that the background music is very nice, a great choice ^-^ Once again, an avid reader, I like it :D I feel like there's a pattern. Most of the people featured in your videos seem to be avid readers and/or patrons of the arts. Now, is that because you tend to select those people, or is it because those people tend to be significant? In any case, as I said, i like it ^-^ I love reading. And it is nice to hear that she was able to marry out of love and was able to make her own choices in that regard, even if it meant giving up some titles and so on. He even learned a new language for her, that's at least some dedication ^-^ Oh no, of course THAT sort of love ends so early and so suddenly. I guess the most beautiful love stories are also the most tearful ones, and the most tearful love stories are also the most beautiful ones. Wow, a second happy marriage in one video though, now THAT seems truly very rare to me :D It is very very fascinating and amazing to me how intricate and how surprising the connections of European royal houses can be. And i find it very ironic that the marriage between Claudine and Alexander was initially refused because she was "just a countess", not "of sufficient rank", yet ultimately she ended up being a relatively close ancestor of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was obviously loved and respected by so so many people all over the world. Once again, this is one of those things where i can't help but wonder, what if? What if that romance between Claudine and Alexander never happened? Ultimately, that might have meant that Elizabeth II would probably never have been born, and looking at how much influence and impact she had, the world might have been very different in some ways. That is one of the big reasons why I love hearing about those stories, why I am very grateful that these stories survive for us to know about them in the first place, and why i am so very happy that you invest the time, effort and passion to tell us about them 💛 Thank you very very much for that ❤ As always I enjoyed the video very much and I really appreciate it :) Looking forward to the next one! And I hope you are in good health and happiness. All the best ^-^

[@livesandhistories]

Whenever I discover that the characters presented in my videos loved reading or they were patrons of the arts, I like to mention these aspects because we can get a glimpse into their personalities and, maybe, it can be inspirational for the people who might be watching these videos. It is indeed fascinating and captivating, especially when doing research, to find out how different royal houses and dynasties were/are related to each other. This can be a springboard for asking questions like “what if?” And you’re absolutely right - had it not been for the romance between Countess Claudine and Duke Alexander, we would not have had Elizabeth II, a much loved and respected monarch. Anyway, before ending this comment, I would like to mention that I am really glad you find these videos useful. Thank you very much for watching. Keep well.

[@carmenhomer1965]

Wow so interesting

[@livesandhistories]

Glad you think so!

[@patriciajrs46]

I think this story is great. It's sad that she died by being trampled. I find it fascinating, and highly confusing, how the Britain Royals are related to a great deal of so many countries! Related to Vlad. How interesting. I think that anytime a royal marries for the sake of his/ her heart they are very smart. Succession be hanged, the people deserve a life , lovingly as people.

[@livesandhistories]

I'm delighted you liked the story, Patricia. And you're right, the royals should have a say in choosing what to do with their own private lives.

[@buttercup3333]

What a tragic death 😰

[@livesandhistories]

Heartbreaking.

[@erzsebetkabdebo-pinter9664]

Gróf Rhédey Claudia MAGYAR grófnő volt! Good for everyone to know: Countess Claudia Rhédey was a HUNGARIAN Countess!

[@livesandhistories]

Indeed, she was.

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

Another interesting subject would be King Ferdinand IV of Naples (a.k.a. Ferdinand III of Sicily and later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies) and his Austrian wife Queen Maria Carolina, who reigned in Naples at the time of the French Revolution but had to move to Sicily under British protection while Napoleon put his brother Joseph than his cavalry marshal Murat on the Naples throne. It seems that the Queen was a real diva!

[@livesandhistories]

James, I have to admit that every time you make suggestions like these, which I find really interesting, I go into research mode. Thank you so much for sharing them here.

[@renshiwu305]

So Mary of Teck and George V were descended from George III (great-granddaughter and great-great-grandson). Good grief.

[@lynette50]

Related to Vlad the Impaler... So the rumours of Vampires in the existing Royal family are true.. Who knew? What a beautiful story..

[@Caterina...3]

Very interesting, thank you! The UK royalty had no English at all until Queen Consort Elizabeth but she was Scottish (kinda sorta English but not really). Diana was the first English blood it seems. Now we find out their Hungarian too! There's a lot going on with those genes! 🙄🙄🙄

[@livesandhistories]

I'm delighted you found this interesting. You're right. Discovering the ancestry of the Royal family is a sort of journey through many kingdoms and countries.

[@Caterina...3]

@@livesandhistories I ABSOLUTELY found this video interesting! First, the love story this video is based on was beautiful and sad. She loved him so much that she didn't want to live separated from him and he loved her so much that life was empty without her. This love is rare, I saw it with my Mom's parents and my own parents. I looked for it and have a great love but not that fairy tale inspired love. The history of these people was mapped out perfectly, right down to the present English family reigning over the UK. Some of the art work are beautiful works of beautiful people. Your delivery is clear, concise and an easy, pleasurable listen. This is the first video of yours I came across. I subscribed and this weekend plan of watching other videos you have. Thank you so much for all your research and putting it all together in this perfectly produced video! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@livesandhistories]

@@Caterina...3 It is absolutely wonderful to hear that your grandparents and parents were/are blessed with special love. When one finds this sort of love, the journey through life seems to be more bearable, in my opinion. Thank you very much for becoming one of my subscribers. All the best to you.

[@universemadeofcreativity5820]

it's funny how things turn out for her by actions marrying her future husband & taking him not being able to take his birth right to his family new throne but in the odd twist of fate her own son's daughter princess may became the future queen of England after even her husband went though by marrying her & yet her granddaughter change her family's future for better in many ways she even got more lucky to marry a loving as royal marriages comes for times he wasn't prefect but as far as i know Mary's husband never cheated on her but even if he did he still cared very deeply for her as his queen they both took their royal jobs seriously & didn't take for granted unlike Mary of teck oldest son sadly did ... Edward the 6th i think? so many rulers with the sames over the centuries how man took the same name but sadly for Claudine's great grandson & Mary's oldest son did repeat history but it did turn out for the better for the royal family but king Edward had to give his crown & birth right but for a woman who truly didn't love him but maybe after everything grow to like or love him in a different way but history still repeated itself ... true love is so strange sometimes it can show us a loving marriage like countess Claudine & her husband or sad very one sided marriage that Wallace & Ex-king Edward had if your not careful who you chose to marry

[@lollypop2413]

Charles should have married camila and relinqished his title....but he didnt have the heart....

[@klaszlo8260]

Nagyon. Szép. Megható. Szi'vbemarkolo'. Tele. Tragédia'kkal

[@klaszlo8260]

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