The Bostonian Singer Who Married a Portuguese King and Had Her Inheritance Taken From Her
<p>It reads like a typical chapter of Portuguese history — by which I mean it reads like a melodramatic soap opera replete with intrigue, betrayal, the good guys being duped, and the bad guys walking off with all the loot.</p>
<p>Welcome to Portuguese History 101.</p>
<p>Her name was Elise Friedericke Hensler, later to be created Countess of Edla solely for the purpose of marrying Dom Ferdinand II, King of Portugal, in 1869.</p>
<p>King Ferdinand’s reign had ended in 1853, due to the death of his wife, Queen Maria II of Portugal, but he had retained his title.</p>
<p>A King could not marry a commoner — and an unmarried mother at that! Their upcoming wedding was a scandal.</p>
<p>Elise was born on May 22, 1836, in Switzerland, and relocated with her family to Boston when she was still very young.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-bostonian-singer-who-married-a-portuguese-king-and-had-her-inheritance-taken-from-her-19080ecae00"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>