As mentioned earlier an elderly Danish lady named Ellen Margrethe “Gete” Bondo Oldenborg Maaløe this autumn published her memoirs, Getes erindinger – Slægshistorie, erindringer og beretning om et “jævnt og (for det meste) muntert, (altid) virksomt liv”, in which she documents that she is the illegitimate great-granddaughter of King Frederik VII – the last monarch of the Oldenburg dynasty, who has been generally considered unable to have children.One of my friends in Denmark has now sent me the relevant chapter of this book, which provides some details about the descendants of Frederik VII by Else Maria Guldberg Poulsen (later Larsen). The affair resulted in a son, Frederik Carl Christian Poulsen, who was raised by a Commander Tuxen.
The book generally mentions few dates and no year is given for his birth, but it is said that his father was Crown Prince at the time and that the child on his birthday every year used to be taken to the palace, where his grandfather, Christian VIII, gave him presents and candy – this means that he must have been born in the 1840s.
The meetings with Christian VIII are also quite interesting as it means that the King must have known that his son was in fact capable of producing children. The author quotes four letters in her possession, in which Frederik VII clearly acknowledges the child as his. The King’s morganatic widow, Countess Danner, stayed in touch with him after the King’s death in 1863 and also left him an annual sum in her will.
Frederik Carl Christian Poulsen married Hansigne Åkerberg. They lived to celebrate their golden wedding, but died within three months of each other. They had a son, Poul, and a daughter, Ellen. The latter died unmarried and childless, while Poul Frederik Oldenborg Poulsen, who became a priest and amateur musician, married a woman called Nelly Bondo. They were the parents of the author and another daughter.
Gete Bondo Oldenborg Maaløe is herself childless after two marriages – to Valdemar Urban Maaløe and his second cousin Carl Adolph Saabye Maaløe – while her sister married four times and had two sons. Both these nephews are childless, meaning that the line of Frederik VII seems likely to come to an end in a not too distant future.
The illegitimate son has also been the subject of discussion between hobby genealogists on the internet. Some have consulted old censuses and church records, which give us further details.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dis-danmark.dk/forum/read.php?1,583168,583265
The boy seems to have been born on 21 November 1843 (also mentioned in Jan Møller's biography on Frederik VII), and his marriage to Hansigne Louise Aakerberg (born 1842-43) probably took place on 3 May 1872. Their daughter Ellen Kirstine Louise Frederikke was born in 1873-74, and their son Poul Frederik (Gete's father) in 1877-78.
A small correction regarding Gete's nephews: One of them is in fact married (but seemingly childless).
Thank you for that additional information. I am aware that Jan Møller mentions 21 November 1843 as the date of birth (that was also mentioned in my first post on this subject in September), but I am not sure from where Møller got that information and therefore it would have been interesting if the author had been willing to say something about it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this information. I wish I could get in touch with Ellen Margrethe “Gete” Bondo Oldenborg Maaløe or her relatives.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had Danish and German royal blood in her from both her parents. I know for a fact that her grandmother was a Princess/Duchess, who fell in love with a Danish soldier and they came to America, and from evidence from my grandmother past down from Christian VII, and my own investigation...I think my grandmother's grandmother might have been the older sister of Frederik Carl Christian Poulsen, and daughter of Frederick VII of Denmark and Else Maria Guldberg Poulsen. I wish I could find out more information about my family history. It would be very interesting to read this book. I think my mother would especially enjoy it. Do you know how I might be able to obtain a copy of this book? I would greatly appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteThere is a family story that my Great-Grandmother, Marie Pederson (Petersen, Peterson...) or her mother was a lady in waiting for the queen of Denmark. That would be Countess Danner. A Marie Pedersen was a "gemakpige" for Countess Danner in a census record. Marie Poulsen was also called Marie Pedersen. I suspect that she is my great-great grandmother and her daughter was Marie Pedersen. There may be more to the story.
Deletetimothychambers@yahoo.com
It seems one can order the book from the publisher's website: http://www.forlagetaadalen.dk/book.php?id=68
ReplyDeleteHe has had another child look to the females his offspring is still battling out with Mecklenberg lot all about money power
ReplyDelete