The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1892-01-15
EUROPE'S RULING FAMILIES.

The Descendants of Two Sisters Are ut
the Head of Many Countries.
1t is not generally known that the
reigning houses of Europe, with few ex-
ceptions, are descended from two sisters,
the one being the mother of almost all
of the Catholic princes and princesses,
and the other Of the majority of those
Of the evangelical confession. The late
Frederick Theodore Richter, the his
torian, first discovered this interesting
historical fact in 1876. The genealogical
records of the various families in proof
of the assertion of Richter, however,
have been published for the first time by
DIR. Ottokar LOrenz, professor Of history
in the University of Jena.
The parents of the two sisters whose
descendants have become so powerful
were two German rulers Of comparative
insignifcance: Duke Louis Rudolph of
Brunswick-W o~lfenbuettel, who died in
1875, and his wife, Christine Louis, who
departed this life in 1747-a daughter of
Prince Albrecht Ernst Of Oettingen.
The elder daughter Of the ducal pair,
the Princess Elizabeth Christine, after
her conversion to the Catholic church.
married in 1908 the subsequent Emperor
Charles VI Of Germany.
The Empress Elizabeth Christine,
through her daughter, Maria Theresa,
the ancestor of the houses of Habsburg-
and-through the marriages of female
descendants-the reigning families of
Portugal, Brazil and Italy (Savoy-Ca-
rignan), Sa1ony, the present reigning
families of Spain and Bavaria, the Span
ish BourbOns and all Of the Orleans fam
lily. These descendants number all told
about 400, and belong in the majority of
instances to the Catholic church.
The second daughter Of the ducal pair
mentioned above, the Princess AntOi-
nette Amalie, married her cousin, Duke
Ferdinand Ii Of Brunswick evern. The
fruits Of this marriage were three daugh-
ters, the Princesses Louise, Amalie and
J%ulianne, and One O n the Duke Carl.
From Princess Louise-Amalie, who mar
ried Prince August William of Prussia,
a brother Of Frederick the Great, and
thus became the mother of Frederick
William IL, is descended the present
royal house Of Prussia. Through the
marriages Of other female descendants
she is also the female progenitor of the
reigning families Of Russia, Mecklen-
burg-Schwerin, Baden and the Neither
lands.
The second daughter Of the Princess
Antoinette A1nalie, the Princess Sophie,
became the wife of Duke Ernst Friedric
of Coburg-Saalfeld, and the ancestor in
the female line of the entire house Of Co.
burg, and through it of the ruling fami-
lies Of England, Belgium, Hesse-Darm-
stadt and Portugal.
The third daughter Of the Princess Az
~toinette Amalie, the Princess Julianne.
married King Frederic V Of Denmark.
From her are descended the reigning
houses of Denmark, Observation-Disclosures
burg, Hesse-Cassel and Greece.
Finally, from Duke Carl Of Brunswick,
who died in 1880, the only sOn Of Prin-
cess Antoinette Amalic, was descended
the house Of Brunswick, which became
extinct in 1895 by the death Of the late
duke. Thus Antoinette Amalie, who was
gathered to her ancestors in 1862. has had
365 descendants, who, with row excep-
tons, profess the Protestant form OF be-
lief. Duke Louis Rudolph. who died in
1885, has had up to the present time al
most 800 descendants, including almost
all Of the ruling families in Europe
New York Tribune.