Cat's Historical Doodles

Maria Francisca Isabel Josefa Antónia Gertrudes Rita Joana was born on 17 December 1734 at the Ribeira Palace, in Lisbon. She was daughter of King José of Portugal (not yet king) and his wife, Mariana Victoria of Spain. On the day of her birth, her grandfather, King João V of Portugal , created her Princess of Beira. When her father succeeded to the throne in 1750, Maria (aged 16) became his heiress presumptive and was given the traditional titles of Princess of Brazil and Duchess of Braganza. Maria grew up in a time when her father’s government was dominated completely by the Marquis of Pombal. He took control of the government after the terrible Lisbon earthquake of 1 November 1755, in which around 100000 people lost their lives. After the earthquake, King José was often uncomfortable at the thought of staying in enclosed spaces, and later suffered from claustrophobia. He then had a palace built away from the city centre, which became known as Real Barraca de Ajuda (Royal ...

Françoise was born on 27 November 1635. Her father was the Huguenot Constant d’Aubigné, who was incarcerated for conspiring against Cardinal Richelieu; her mother, Jeanne de Cardilhac, was the daughter of Constant’s jailer. Jeanne had her daughter baptised in her own Catholic faith. In 1639, Françoise’s father was released from prison, and went with his family to the island of Martinique. Jeanne was a strict mother and gave her children a Protestant education. Constant returned to France, leaving behind his wife and children; Jeanne was forever trying to be “mother and father” to her children. In 1647, she returned to France to join her husband. Within months of the return, Constant died, and Françoise went to the care of Madame de Villette, her father’s sister. The de Villettes were wealthy and took good care of Françoise, but they were ardent Protestants and continued to school Françoise in their beliefs. When this became known, an order was issued that Françoise had to be edu...

Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna was born on 2 November 1755 at the Hofburg Palace, in Vienna. She was the youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, and her husband Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. Maria Antonia was raised together with her three-year old sister, Maria Carolina, with whom she had a lifelong close relationship. Despite the private tutoring she received, the results of Maria Antonia’s schooling were less than satisfactory. At the age of ten, she could not write correctly in German, French and Italian, and conversations with her were stilted. She was, however, a good musician. She played the harp, the harpsichord and the flute, and she had a beautiful singing voice. Following the Seven Years’ War and the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, Maria Theresa decided to end hostilities with King Louis XV of France. They sealed their alliance with a marriage: on 7 February 1770, Louis XV requested the hand of Maria Antonia for his eldest son and heir, Louis-Auguste. Upon her a...

João Francisco António José Bento Bernardo was born on 22 October 1689, in Lisbon. He was son of King Pedro II of Portugal and his wife, Queen Maria Sophia . João had a stimulating upbringing surrounded by Europe’s most brilliant minds. The political policies of King Pedro II made the Portuguese court wealthy, the economy stable and the military strong. This made a richly varied and interesting childhood possible for the young Infante. As a child, he was under the tutelage and influence of the Jesuits, and learned military education, politics, astronomy, nautical studies, mathematics and history. J ust over a month before João’s 10th birthday, his mother died aged just 33. This caused João to retreat from court and become depressed. The former Queen of England, his aunt Catherine , returned to Portugal to help João and take control of his education. She remained his tutor and female role model until her death in 1705. The death of his sister, Teresa Maria, in February 1704 gr...

Maria Madalena Bárbara Xavier Leonor Teresa Antónia Josefa, better known as Bárbara, was born on 4 December 1711, in Lisbon. She was the eldest child of King João V of Portugal and his wife, Maria Anna of Austria. Although her parents were married in 1708, they remained childless for nearly 3 years. The King had made a promise to God that if an heir was born, a great convent would be built as a sign of gratitude. Bárbara was born and, as promised, the King had the Convent of Mafra built. When Bárbara was born, she was the presumptive heir to the Portuguese throne, so she received the title of Princess of Brazil. She was supplanted when her mother gave birth to a son, Pedro. Pedro would die two years later but, by then, Maria Anna had given birth to the future King, José. Bárbara received a fine education and loved music. A talented harpsichord player, she was taught by Domenico Scarlatti, a great musician and composer. In 1729, at the age of 18, Bárbara married...

Caroline Matilda (Danish: Caroline Mathilde) was born on 22 July 1751, in London. She was the ninth and youngest child of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and his wife, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. Caroline Matilda was brought up by her strict mother away from the court; she was described as natural and informal and, as such, she was uninterested in politics and court intrigues as an adult. Despite the irregularities of her education, Caroline Matilda was musically gifted, an accomplished singer and could speak three languages: Italian, French and German. In 1764, a marriage was suggested between Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark, and herself. This marriage was considered suitable because both the British and Danish royal families were Protestant and of the same rank. Additionally, the British-born Queen Louise of Denmark had been very popular in her new country. The official betrothal was announced on 10 January 1765. On 14 January 1766, in the middle of the wedding prepa...

Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska was born on 23 June 1703, in Trzebnica; she was the second daughter of Stanislaw I Leszczy ń ski and his wife, Catherine Opali ń ska. She had an older sister, Anna, who died in 1717. She was born the year before her father was made King of Poland by Charles XII of Sweden, who had invaded the country in 1704. In 1709, her father was deposed, and the family was granted refuge by the King of Sweden in the city of Kristianstad. In Sweden, they were welcomed by the dowager queen Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, and became popular members of society life. During this period of her life, Maria began speaking Swedish and later, as Queen of France, she was known to welcome Swedish ambassadors with the phrase Welcome, dearest heart! in Swedish. In 1714, the King of Sweden gave them permission to live in his fiefdom of Zweibrücken, where they were supported by the income of the fiefdom. They lived there until Charles XII died in 1718 and Z...