Aroyal bastard is a child of a reigning monarch born out of wedlock. The king might have a child with amistress, or the legitimacy of a marriage might be questioned for reasons concerning succession.
Notable royal bastards includeRobert, Earl of Gloucester, son ofHenry I of England,Henry FitzRoy, son ofHenry VIII of England, and theDuke of Monmouth, son ofCharles II. TheAnglo-Norman surnameFitzroy means son of a king and was used by variousillegitimate royal offspring, and by others who claimed to be such. Inmedieval England, a bastard'scoat of arms was marked with abend or baton sinister.[1]
Notable fictional examples includeMordred, the villainous illegitimate son ofKing Arthur. Some fictional portrayals of royal bastards are less negative, such as the character ofPhilip the Bastard inWilliam Shakespeare'sKing John.
Unlike medieval royalty, the Romans were more concerned with continuity of family name than with bloodline.[2] If a man recognized a child as his, this was accepted by law, and the issue of who the biological father was did not arise.[2] Children not recognized could beexposed or brought up as a slave. For example, EmperorClaudius initially accepted a girl as his daughter, but later rejected her and had her exposed.[2] Emperors often adopted their successors. There are no recorded examples of aristocrats in classical times accusing other aristocrats of being illegitimate, as was common in later periods.[2]
Caesarion was possibly the illegitimate son ofJulius Caesar byCleopatra, which would also make him Caesar's only known child besidesJulia.
A book published in February 2011 claimed thatAlbert II of Belgium has an illegitimate half-sister named Ingeborg Verdun, the daughter ofKing Leopold III and Austrian-Belgian ice skaterLiselotte Landbeck.[3]
In October 2020, the illegitimate daughter ofAlbert II of Belgium was legally acknowledged after DNA testing to be titledPrincess Delphine of Belgium by the Belgian Court of Appeal. Ms Delphine Boël intends to change her surname to her father's Saxe-Coburg.[4]
Older illegitimate children founded important family branches, as reported in theTrophées de Brabant: tome 1:[5][6]
In the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy then Kingdom, descendants of kings were calledaethelings, whether legitimate or not. When a kingship became vacant, aWitan would meet to name an aetheling as king. Papal legates visited the great hall ofOffa of Mercia in 786 and decreed that an English king "must not be begotten in adultery or incest" and that "he who was not born of a legitimate marriage" could not succeed to the throne.[7] It is likely no rule of succession had set as to bastardy before this decree.[7]
Two Anglo-Saxon kings of England had sons who faced opposition to their succession seemingly based on the status of their mother. Leading figures in the kingdom refused to accept the succession ofÆthelstan, eldest son ofEdward the Elder. Some medieval chroniclers writing centuries later describe his mother,Ecgwynn, as a concubine or of low social status, while others portray her as a noble wife, and some modern historians have attributed the challenge to his succession as related to questions of the status of his mother.Edward the Martyr, eldest son ofEdgar the Peaceful, likewise faced opposition due to the nature of his birth. A contemporary charter calls the king's later spouse his 'lawful wife' and seems to afford her son, Edmund, a higher status than his elder half-brother, Edward. Later chroniclers are contradictory, one making Edward an illegitimate child born to a nun, another calling his mother a noblewoman wed to his father. Scholarly opinion is divided whether Edward was born to an extramarital liaison or simply bore lesser status because his mother had not been consecrated as queen, unlike the powerfulÆlfthryth, mother of his younger half-brothers.
Gervase de Blois (written variously, often in latest books Gervais of Blois), an illegitimate son ofStephen, wasAbbot of Westminster from 1138 toc. 1157.[8] Stephen had two other illegitimate children from the same mother – Ralph and Americ of Blois.
Henry I had about two dozen recognized illegitimate children, includingRobert, 1st Earl of Gloucester,Sybilla of Normandy (wife ofKing Alexander I of Scotland),Maud FitzRoy (wife ofConan III, Duke of Brittany), Constance FitzRoy,Mabel FitzRoy,Alice FitzRoy,Gilbert FitzRoy,[9] andEmma.[citation needed] "It might be permissible to wonder how it was that Henry I managed to keep track of all his illegitimate children, but there is no doubt that he did so," wrote historian Given-Wilson.[8]
Henry II had several illegitimate children, most notablyGeoffrey, Archbishop of York andWilliam Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (who inherited his earldom from his wife's father,William of Salisbury). William's mother wasIda de Tosny, while Geoffrey's may have been called Ykenai.
Richard the Lionheart had at least one illegitimate child:Philip of Cognac, who died young (possibly in battle). He features as Philip the Bastard in Shakespeare'sKing John.
John had at least five children with mistresses during his first marriage toIsabelle of Gloucester, two of whom are known to have been noblewomen. He had eight or more others including Jeanne/Joan, Lady of Wales (wife ofLlywelyn the Great) andRichard FitzRoy.
Edward IV had at least five illegitimate children, includingArthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (laterLord Deputy of Calais) by his mistressElizabeth Lucy.
Perkin Warbeck closely resembled Edward IV and claimed to be his sonRichard of Shrewsbury; it has been theorised that Perkin was one of Edward's illegitimate children.
Richard III acceded to the throne after the children ofEdward IV were declared by Parliament to be the product of an invalid marriage.
Richard III had at least two illegitimate children:John of Gloucester (Captain of Calais for a time) and Katherine, second wife ofWilliam Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.
SirRoland de Velville was, in one account, the illegitimate son ofHenry VII and "aBreton lady."
Henry VIII had one acknowledged illegitimate child,Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset. As he had manymistresses, historians put forward six other likely instances including the mercenaryThomas Stukley, the poetRichard Edwardes and two ofMary Boleyn's children.
His daughterElizabeth was in then Catholic canon law illegitimate, as Henry had married her mother,Anne Boleyn having divorcedQueen Catherine; it was lawful under his new Anglican legal system.
Charles II fathered at least 20 illegitimate children, of whom he acknowledged 14.[10] The most famous of these wasJames Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, his son byLucy Walter. After Charles' death, Monmouth led a rebellion against his uncleJames II. Charles had no legitimate children who survived childhood.
WhenNell Gwynn brought her first child to Charles, she told it, "Come hither you little Bastard and speak to your father!".[11] Charles responded, "Nay, Nellie, do not call the child such a name", to which Gwynn replied "Your Majesty has given me no other name by which I may call him." Charles then named the child "Beauclerk" and bestowed the title "Earl of Burford".
ByLucy Walter (c.1630–1658):
ByElizabeth Boyle, Viscountess Shannon (1622–1680):
ByBarbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland (1641–1709)
ByNell Gwyn (1650–1687):
ByLouise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth (1649–1734)
ByMoll Davis, courtesan and actress of repute:[16]
James II and VII had 13 illegitimate children.[17]
George I had 3 illegitimate children by his mistress,Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal, includingMelusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham.
William IV had 11 illegitimate children.[18] They used the surname "FitzClarence", because he was Dukeof Clarence.[18]
Edward VII was claimed to be the natural father of the modelOlga de Meyer.[19] German comedianHape Kerkeling claims to be his great-grandson from a liaison between Edward and his great-grandmother inMarienbad.[20]
Anthony, bastard of Burgundy was the illegitimate son ofPhilip the Good of Burgundy. He was known asle grand bâtard (the great bastard). He was legitimized by King Charles VIII in 1485.
Henri IV had many mistresses and illegitimate children. The children ofGabrielle d'Estrées are notable because the King may have signed a wedding agreement with their mother before her unexpected death in 1599.
Louis XIV had many mistresses and illegitimate children.Madame de Maintenon was their governess.[21]
"The bastards", as they were called, were compared to mules, unnatural hybrids who should not reproduce. "No issue should come of such species," the king once said.[22] Louis, nonetheless, found appropriate spouses for his illegitimate children.[22]
As illegitimate children were considered impure, their mothers might attempt to purify them through pious behavior.[22]Louise de La Vallière had six children by Louis XIV, includingMarie Anne de Bourbon (1666–1739) andLouis de Bourbon (1667–1683). She repented by joining a Carmelite convent. There she wore a belt of iron spikes that cut into her flesh.[22]
Church leaders denounced Madame de Montespan, Louis' best-known mistress, who had seven children by him. In 1675, Father Lécuyer refused to give her absolution.[23] "Is this the Madame that scandalises all France?" he asked. "Go abandon your shocking life and then come throw yourself at the feet of the ministers of Jesus Christ."
The king's efforts to legitimize his illegitimate children showed his, "Olympian disdain for public opinion," according to one modern author.[21] The edict of Marly, issued in July 1714, granted two of Louis' sons by Montespan the right to succeed to the French throne.[24] This hugely unpopular decision led to a political crisis called the "bastard distortion" in 1714–1715.[24] It was reversed by theParliament of Paris in July 1717, after Louis had died.[24]
Like his great-grandfather,Louis XV had many mistresses and illegitimate children, but contrary to him, he never legitimized any of them.
Prince Albert II of Monaco has two illegitimate children,Jazmin Grace Grimaldi andAlexandre Grimaldi-Coste.
KingPeter I of Portugal had an illegitimate son,John, who became Grand Master of the Order of Avis, and following the childless death of his legitimate half-brother, KingFerdinand I of Portugal and the ensuing1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum, he succeeded as King John I, founding theHouse of Avis that would rule Portugal for the next two centuries. John I had an illegitimate son,Afonso, who was named Duke of Braganza by his half-brother, the regentPeter, Duke of Coimbra. He thus founded theHouse of Braganza that in 1640 would successfully claim the Portuguese crown on the basis of this descent, and rule into the 20th century.
KingCarlos I of Portugal allegedly had an illegitimate daughter who became one of the most famous and controversial royal bastards in the history of European royalty:Maria Pia of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza.[29][30][31][32]
EmpressCatherine the Great (reigned 1762 to 1796) had an illegitimate child in 1762, Alexei Grigorievich Bobrinksy, who was born a few months before she took the throne. Catherine officially acknowledged him in a letter sent in 1781. Later, his half-brother Emperor Paul made him a count of the Russian Empire and promoted him to general-major. He married Baroness Anna Dorotheavon Ungern-Sternberg and had issue that continues to this day.
In 783,Mauregatus of Asturias, the illegitimate son of KingAlfonso I of Asturias allegedly born to a Moorish serf, took the throne upon the death of his brother-in-lawSilo of Asturias, reigning for about 5 years.
The will ofSancho III of Pamplona, who died in 1035, lands in theCounty of Aragon were left to his illegitimate sonRamiro, who would grow these holdings into theKingdom of Aragon, and whose sonSancho Ramírez, becameKing of Pamplona. Ramiro's illegitimate son, also namedSancho Ramírez, was madeCount of Ribagorza. KingGarcía Sánchez III of Pamplona, had an illegitimate sonSancho Garcés, and when KingAlfonso the Battler died in 1134, grandsons of royal bastards Sancho Ramírez of Ribagorza and Sancho Garcés of Uncastillo were among the candidates for succession, with the latter being successful, becoming KingGarcía Ramírez of Navarre.
Alfonso VI, King of León and Castile, had a complex family born to multiple wives and mistresses, but only one son,Sancho, born to a fugitive Muslim mistress,Zaida of Seville. Sancho was named his father's heir in 1107, but was killed following a battle the next year. Alfonso's legitimate daughter QueenUrraca of León succeeded, but her rule in Portugal was challenged by her illegitimate half-sister,Theresa, Countess of Portugal, whose ambitions for independence were realized by her son,Afonso I of Portugal. Urraca herself, as queen regnant, would have two recognized illegitimate children by noblemanPedro González de Lara, her main supporter against her former husband Alfonso the Battler.
In the 14th century, the English-allied KingPeter of Castile would be overthrown by an alienated nobility in favor of his illegitimate half-brother, Henry of Trastámara, who thus became king asHenry II of Castile and was ancestor of the later royal family.
In the 16th centuryJohn of Austria (Spanish: Juan de Austria) was an illegitimate son of Holy Roman EmperorCharles V. In his last will of 1558, the Emperor officially recognized Juan as his son and put him to the service of his legitimate successorPhilip II. He devoted his life to the service of his half-brother, King Philip II of Spain, and is best known for his role as the admiral of the Holy Alliance fleet at the Battle of Lepanto.
In 2003, Leandro Ruiz Moragas, an illegitimate son of KingAlfonso XIII's, gained the right to call himself a prince.[33]
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