View source for Grandmother of Europe

{{Short description|Nickname of various female monarchs}}
The [[sobriquet]] '''grandmother of Europe''' has been given to various women, primarily female sovereigns who are the ascendant of many members of European nobility and royalty, as well as women who made important contributions to Europe.
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==Royalty==
* [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] (1122–1204) was Queen-consort of France from 1137 to 1152, then of England from 1154 to 1189. She earned the nickname because her descendants included royalty in England, France, Denmark, Castile, and Sicily, among other kingdoms.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sausmikat |first=Rita|title=Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History: Eleanor of Aquitaine's Political Career and Its Significance to Noblewomen|journal=Vexillum|volume=5|page=36|year=2016|url=http://www.vexillumjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Vexillum-5-2016.pdf|access-date=December 14, 2019}}</ref>
* [[Éléonore Desmier d'Olbreuse]] (1639–1722) was the wife of [[George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]], and the maternal grandmother of [[George II of Great Britain]].{{Explain|date=December 2019|reason=Is she known as GoE? By whom?}}
* [[Elizabeth Charlotte, Madame Palatine]] (1652-1722), was the second wife of [[Philippe I, Duke of Orléans]] (younger brother of [[Louis XIV of France]]). Through her daughter she was the grandmother of [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I]], Holy Roman Emperor, the husband of [[Maria Theresa]], and great-grandmother of [[Joseph II]] and [[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold II]] (both Holy Roman Emperors) and [[Marie Antoinette]], the last [[Queen of France]] before the [[French Revolution]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Le Temps retrouvé XXVI: Relation de la Cour de France|publisher=Mercure de France|author=[[Ezechiel Spanheim|Spanheim, Ezechiel]]|year=1973|location=Paris, France|pages=74–79, 305–308}}</ref> 
* [[Maria Theresa]] (1717–1780), Empress of Austria, was the only female ruler of the [[Habsburg monarchy]]. Many of her children and grandchildren married many European royals and nobles. {{Explain|date=December 2019|reason=Is she known as GoE? By whom?}}
* [[Empress Joséphine|Joséphine de Beauharnais]] (1763–1814) was Empress-consort of French Emperor [[Napoleon]]. She was the maternal grandmother of [[Napoleon III]] and the great-grandmother of several Swedish and Danish royals.{{Explain|date=December 2019|reason=Is she known as GoE? By whom?}}
* [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily]] (1782–1866) was Queen-consort of the French king [[Louis Philippe I]]. She is known as ''Grand-mère de l'Europe''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Isabelle comtesse de Paris|title=La Reine Marie-Amélie, Grand-mère de l'Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rzuPPQAACAAJ|year=1998|publisher=Perrin|language=French|isbn=978-2-262-01451-3}}</ref>
* [[Queen Victoria]] (1819–1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/personnage/Victoria_I_re/148807 |title=Queen Victoria I|work=[[Éditions Larousse]]|language=French|accessdate=1 December 2019}}</ref> She had nine children, who married with royal families throughout Europe.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Bassaid |first=Leila |date=2017 |title=Symbolism of the Longest Reigning Queen Elizabeth II from 1952 to2017 |type=PhD |url=http://dspace.univ-tlemcen.dz/bitstream/112/11178/1/leila-bassaid.pdf |access-date=December 14, 2019}}</ref> At the outbreak of the First World War, her [[Royal descendants of Queen Victoria and of King Christian IX|grandchildren occupied the thrones of both Germany and the United Kingdom]].

==Others==
* [[Louise Weiss]] (1893–1983) was a French author and a [[European Union]] politician. She earned the nickname not for her grandchildren but for her own contributions to European political institutions.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Haritos|first=Anne Blanche|title=Dear Readers|journal=Women of Europe Newsletter|date=November 1993|issue=39|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5092211.pdf|access-date=December 14, 2019}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Europe}}

* [[Descendants of Queen Victoria]]
* [[Christian IX of Denmark]], a [[Father-in-law of Europe]]
* [[Royal descendants of Queen Victoria and of King Christian IX]]
*[[Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt]], the most recent common ancestor of all current European monarchs
*[[John William Friso, Prince of Orange]], the most recent common ancestor of all European monarchs, current and former
**[[Royal descendants of John William Friso]]
* [[Miguel I of Portugal]], known as the ''Grandfather of Europe''
**[[Descendants of Miguel I of Portugal]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Broad-concept articles]]
[[Category:Monarchies of Europe]]
[[Category:Women in Europe]]
[[Category:Joséphine de Beauharnais]]
[[Category:Maria Theresa]]
[[Category:Queen Victoria]]
[[Category:European royalty]]
[[Category:Eleanor of Aquitaine]]