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queen mothers who gave birth to the most

children

happy mother's day if you think the kids

and your family are a lot to handle

imagine having over a dozen of them that

was the reality for the royal women in

today's video the primary expectation of

queens and other well-born women of the

past was to have as many children as

possible to secure their husband's

dynasty and bear a few spares to be used

in advantageous political marriages

their fertility was their life they were

married young and caught on a treadmill

of pregnancy birth handing their babies

over to be raised by wet nurses and

tutors and hopping back into bed to

conceive again as soon as possible

surely they looked forward to the relief

of menopause

from a mere 14 offspring to a whopping

23

here are nine queens and empresses who

bore an extraordinary number of children

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mughal empress consort 14 children

mumtaz was born in 1593

to a noble persian family at 19 she

married shah jahan the future ruler of

the mughal empire which dominated

modern-day india and parts of

afghanistan kashmir and bangladesh

mumtaz was the second of three political

brides of the emperor but he had eyes

only from mumtaz after fulfilling his

obligation to sire a child by each of

his other wives he ignored them

completely he found mumtaz in appearance

and character elect among all women of

the time the couple had an intimate and

loving relationship she was his trusted

advisor and constant companion at court

and on military campaigns

shah jahan showered her with expensive

gifts and the highest allowance ever

paid to immugal empress

she gave birth to 14 children

seven of whom survived to adulthood

ul nisa who died of smallpox at three

jahanara dara siko who became heir

apparent

shuja

roshinara

arong zeb izod who died in infancy

soraya who died of smallpox at seven an

unnamed son who died shortly after birth

murad and luft dulat and san who all

died in childhood mumtaz had a difficult

30-hour labor with her 14th child after

the delivery she bled to death

her youngest child gohar survived shah

jahan was devastated and ordered the

construction of the taj mahal one of the

wonders of the world as her mausoleum he

was buried next to her 27 years later

towards the end of his life his four

surviving sons went to war over his

throne third son orang zeb was

victorious and became the next mughal

emperor

charlotte of mecklenburg australis queen

consort of great britain and ireland 15

children charlotte born in 1744 was a

german princess and britain's first

known by racial queen though her black

more ancestor madrigana was 13

generations back at 17 she wed 23 year

old king george iii of great britain and

ireland the pair got along well and

preferred a quiet life at home with

their many children to court social life

charlotte gave birth to her first child

the future king george iv within a year

of their wedding she delivered 15

children in 21 years the next were

frederick william iv who succeeded his

brother when he died without an heir

charlotte who married the king of

wurttemberg

edward the eldest brother to produce a

surviving legitimate heir the future

queen of victoria augusta elizabeth who

became land graven of hess homburg ernst

august who inherited the kingdom of

hanover from his brother because

victoria as a woman could not augustus

frederick adolphus mary sophia

octavius alfred and amelia i am planning

a video profiling all of george and

charlotte's children soon

queen charlotte maligned her state of

constant pregnancy while expecting her

14th child she wrote i don't think a

prisoner could wish more ardently for

his liberty than i wish to be rid of my

burden and see the end of my campaign i

would be happy if i knew it was the last

time she did however love her children

dearly and they adored her in turn her

two youngest sons alfred 2 and octavius

4 died of smallpox the rest of her

children all survived to adulthood sadly

remarkable for the 18th century

charlotte wanted to spare her daughters

the agony of constant pregnancy allow

them a good education and keep them by

her side she was reluctant to let them

marry which they either never did or put

off until they were in their 40s none of

charlotte's daughters had any surviving

children of their own in his later years

king george iii suffered from

debilitating mental illness and their

eldest son became prince regent

charlotte died at the age of 74 with

many of her children by her side

anna yagalunika queen consort of germany

bohemia and hungary 15 children anna was

born in 1503 the only daughter of king

vladislas ii of bohemia and hungary her

parents died when she was young and she

was sent to be raised at the court of

the holy roman emperor maximilian the

first

at 18 she wed the emperor's grandson

ferdinand who was the same age as she at

first ferdinand was shy and unsure what

to do with his new bride but eventually

the couple developed a loving bond which

resulted in 15 children

his habsburg family had a long history

of intermarrying resulting in numerous

genetic illnesses stillborn babies and a

dangerously short line of succession but

anna brought fresh dna to the family all

but two of her children survived giving

the habsburg dynasty a much needed boost

her children were elizabeth maximilian

who would succeed his father as holy

roman emperor anna who married the duke

of bavaria

ferdinand maria who married the duke of

julich cleve berg mogged elena who

became a nun catherine who married king

ziggysmund ii augustus of poland eleanor

who married the duke of mantua margaret

who became a nun john who died in

childhood barbara

charles ursula who died in childhood

helena who also became a nun and juana

who married francisco the first de

medici grand duke of tuscany ferdinand's

older brother charles v inherited the

holy roman empire from their grandfather

anna's brother louis died childless

after being thrown from a horse anna was

next in line to the throne of bohemia

and hungary but those kingdoms weren't

keen on having a female ruler

so ferdinand claimed the thrones on his

wife's behalf and they ruled there as

king and queen

days after giving birth to her 15th

child anna died at the age of 43

probably of childbed fever an infection

brought on by unsanitary conditions

during the labor

ferdinand never remarried he inherited

the title of holy roman emperor from his

brother nine years after his wife's

death

eleanor of castile queen consort of

england 16 children the spanish princess

was named for her great grandmother

queen eleanor of aquitaine in

1254 at the age of 13 she married her

second cousin

the 15 year old future king edward the

first of england edward was a fierce

warrior who went on crusade conquered

whales and tried to beat scotland into

submission but at home he was devoted

and loving towards his wife and is one

of the few kings of england who is

believed to have been faithful during

his marriage

eleanor was always by his side enduring

the harsh conditions of military camp

life all while bearing 16 children she

gave birth to her first child when she

was just 13. the baby girl died within a

few days

her next two babies catherine and joanna

also died shortly after birth children

born to teenage mothers whose bodies

have not yet fully developed face

increased risk of premature birth and

other complications

in the middle ages it was common for the

first few children of teenage royal

brides to be miscarried or stillborn

john and henry survived birth but died

before the age of ten child number six

eleanor was the first to survive to

adulthood while the king and queen were

on crusade eleanor delivered a stillborn

daughter

joan alfonzo and margaret all survived

berengaria died at two another daughter

was stillborn mary lived to become a nun

next another stillborn son

elizabeth survived and married the count

of holland by this time eleanor's body

was worn out but her only living son and

edward's only heir alfonso died of

illness at the age of ten so eleanor

became pregnant one final time her last

child edward outlived his father to

become king edward ii in 1307

while on the march with her husband in

northern england eleanor contracted

malaria her body was too weak to fight

the disease her children were called to

her side to bid her farewell and she

died at 48.

devastated king edward ordered the

construction of 12 elaborate stone

crosses which mark the route of her

funeral procession from lincoln to

london

keran queen consort of armenia 16

children

keran nicknamed anna was the daughter of

a turkish prince

she married leo ii king of armenia

sometime before

1262. her birth is not recorded so it is

unclear how old she was

contemporary scribes noted that karan

had a wonderful soul and a beautiful

body and that she was a good friend to

her husband in trouble and joy she gave

birth to 16 children 10 singletons and

three sets of twins her first unnamed

son died young as did her second and

third constantine and femi her fourth

hetham ii lived to become king of

armenia but was murdered

next came a daughter isabella then

thoros iii who succeeded his brother as

king and was also murdered reuben and

isabella died young simpad and another

isabella were twins simpad became king

after heathum and was not murdered but

isabella was

constantine the first was king for a

year

rita married byzantine emperor michael

the ninth paleologus her twin sister

thia fanu died on the way to her own

wedding

nurses became a priest queen quran's

last pregnancy was with a set of twins

ocean who was the youngest brother to

become king and was murdered and alinak

after bearing so many children

exhausted queen quran became a nun and

retired to a monastery where she died in

1285.

maria theresa holy roman empress 16

children

maria theresa was born in 1717 the

eldest of three daughters to holy roman

emperor charles vi

at 19 she was wed to francis iii stephen

duke of lorraine and she fell hard for

him but he was unfaithful to her

throughout their marriage

as women were barred from ruling in

various parts of the empire maria

theresa made her husband her co-emperor

but she never allowed him to attend

council meetings or influence politics

she was the true power in the empire

all the while she was defending and

expanding her empire approving policy

and pushing through reforms she

delivered 16 children in 19 years

she asserted that had she not been

almost constantly pregnant she would

have gone into battle herself the

empress used her 13 surviving offspring

as political pawns in powerful dynastic

marriages all over europe a number of

her children contracted smallpox and

several died maria theresa had her

offspring inoculated against the dreaded

disease popularizing the new life-saving

procedure

her children were maria elizabeth who

died at three

maria anna who became an abbess

maria carolina who died at one joseph

who succeeded her as holy roman emperor

maria christina who became duchess of

texan maria elizabeth also an abbess

charles joseph maria amalia duchess of

parma leopold ii who succeeded his

brother as holy roman emperor maria

carolina who died at birth maria joanna

maria josepha maria carolina queen

concert of naples and sicily who bore 17

children and is next on our list

ferdinand carl marie antoinette who

became queen of france and finally

maximilian francis archbishop of cologne

i have videos profiling the fascinating

lives of all of maria theresa's children

which i will link in the description

while francis clearly made time for his

wife he also kept dozens of mistresses

jealous the empress created a chastity

commission to clamp down on prostitution

homosexuality and adultery the

commission raided clubs brothels and

private parties and it was whispered

that the empress was searching for her

wayward husband

he died after 29 years of marriage and

the empress wore black for the rest of

her life she contracted smallpox and

died at the age of 63.

maria carolina of austria queen consort

of naples and sicily 17 children she

inherited her mother maria theresa's

prodigious fertility she was very close

to her younger sister marie antoinette

who went on to become queen of france

the empress had already betrothed three

of her daughters to king ferdinand of

sicily and naples but one by one they

each died of smallpox maria carolina was

the next in line and she was terribly

upset about the engagement she wept and

begged to be released saying the

marriage was surely unlucky but her

protests were ignored and she was

shipped off to italy at the age of 15.

the couple immediately disliked each

other she found him very ugly and he

said of their wedding night she sleeps

like the dead and sweats like a pig

their mutual dislike did not get in the

way of their chief matrimonial duty

perpetuating the dynasty maria carolina

gave birth to 17 children though sadly

only seven survived to adulthood maria

theresa who married her first cousin

francis ii holy roman emperor maria

luisa who married her first cousin

ferdinand iii grand duke of tuscany

carlo and maria anna who both died of

smallpox francisco who inherited the

kingdom of two sicilies from his father

maria christina who married king charles

felix of sardinia ginaro and giuseppe

who both died of smallpox maria amalia

who married louis philippe and became

queen of the french

maria carolina who was stillborn maria

antoinetta who married the future king

francis vii of spain

maria clotilled maria enchetta and carlo

who all died of smallpox

leopoldo and alberto and maria isabella

who both died in childhood

king ferdinand was a poor ruler and

maria carolina quickly became the real

power in naples and sicily she took a

page from her mother's book and used her

mini offspring in political marriages

connecting her family to dynasties all

over europe her kingdom was overrun by

napoleon's army and the family fled to

austria to seek the help of her nephew

emperor francis the first

before he could retake naples in sicily

the stressed out queen maria carolina

was found lying dead on the floor of her

room surrounded by papers

she had suffered a stroke at the age of

62. she did not live to see napoleon's

final defeat or her husband's

restoration as king

anne queen of great britain 18 children

anne was born in 1665 the second

daughter of king charles ii younger

brother james

at 18 she was married to prince george

of denmark and they settled in england

their first child was a stillborn

daughter she next gave birth to mary and

anne sophia but when they were nearly

two and one the family became ill with

smallpox anne miscarried another infant

and both of their baby daughters died

the couple were devastated and often sat

in silence holding hands and grieving

their lost children

over 16 years and lost 18 children to

miscarriage stillbirth or infant

mortality only a few lived long enough

to be named her seventh child prince

william survived the longest and was

granted the title duke of gloucester he

was ann's pride joy and the only hope

for the stuart dynasty

but he died at the age of 11 of an

unknown cause

her eighth mary and ninth george were

born alive and were baptized but died

within hours

anne's 15th pregnancy resulted in twins

who were miscarried too early for her

doctors to determine their sex

medical historians believe that anne's

numerous tragic losses were due to her

having hughes syndrome which causes the

blood to be sticky and thick this would

explain many of the queen's health

problems which confined her to a

wheelchair later in life

sticky blood has a hard time traveling

through the veins of an adult but it is

nearly impossible for it to travel

through the minuscule veins of a fetus a

now commonplace medication

aspirin would have thinned anne's blood

and saved her baby's lives

while anne was going through all of this

emotional reproductive turmoil great

britain was going through political

turmoil anne's uncle charles ii died

without a legitimate heir and her father

became king james ii

he shocked the protestant nation by

converting to catholicism parliament

invited his eldest daughter mary and her

husband william prince of orange to

peacefully invade the nation

chase james out and become joint king

and queen

they died childless and anne became

queen in 1702

two years earlier anne had suffered her

final pregnancy and lost her only living

son william

without an heir to carry on the stuart

dynasty it was decided that the throne

of great britain would go to anne's

closest protestant relative george

prince elector of hanover

queen anne died in 1714 age 49.

and now the queen with the most recorded

offspring deranjan daddyani queen

consort of georgia with an astonishing

23 children daranjian was a princess of

western georgia born in 1738. when she

was just 12 she was married to the 30

year old future king heraclius ii of

georgia whose second wife had recently

died he already had four sons from his

late wives over the next 30 years

darjeeon gave birth to 23 children 13 of

whom reached adulthood

solomon who died at two elene miriam

sophia who died in childhood live on

owain who died in childhood euelen

vachtan solome and barry who died in

childhood temuraz who became the

catholic patriarch of georgia and was

later canonized as saint anton ii of

georgia anastasia ketevan soslan david

who died in childhood miran

koreshan who died in childhood alexander

lor saab who died in childhood ekatrina

tekel parnos

archil

and aslamas khan who died in childhood

queen darjeon wanted to secure the reign

of her own sons rather than those of her

husband's late wives she persuaded

heracleous to sign a will stating that

after his eldest son george was king the

throne would go to his brothers rather

than his own sons but after heracleous

died king george vii threw out the will

saying that his stepmother had coerced

his father into signing it

rivalry grew between king george and his

stepmother and five surviving

half-brothers

miran alexander and parnos the two sides

sought the support of their powerful

neighbors

george was backed by russia and

darshan's sons by iran alexander

attempted a coup but he failed and

dowager queen darcian was arrested and

imprisoned king george died in 1800 and

russia stepped in to prevent a new king

from being named darcian appealed to

tsar alexander the first to name one of

her own sons over george's son prince

david but instead the tsar annexed the

nation for himself bringing an end to a

millennia of bhagavatit dynasty rule in

georgia

he forced darjean and her family to move

to russia so he could keep an eye on

them and they couldn't inspire rebellion

dowager queen darshian spent the rest of

her life in a rented house in saint

petersburg she died in 1807 age 69.

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