Talk:Duke George of Oldenburg

Inaccurate Facts

On 22 January 1811, Oldenburg was annexed by Napoleon. Duke George at this time was the heir of his brother Duke Augustus. As George was married to Alexander I's sister, this was a great insult by Napoleon to the Russians, and was one of many grievances Alexander would bring up in their correspondence. The Oldenburg family was later given back their duchy after Napoleon's defeat.

This states that Augustus was the ruler of Oldenburg when Napoleon annexed Oldenburg. Duke George's father, Peter, didn't even rule Oldenburg yet, and his elder brother wasn't even heir yet, not to mention George who was third in line. William, Duke of Oldenburg, his father's cousin, was still alive and ruling. Duke George's father only started ruling Oldenburg and his elder brother Augustus became heir 11 years after George's death. So George couldn't possibly be heir during Napoleon's annexation of Oldenburg. I think Emperor Alexander I was angry not just because of George, but because the (Grand) Ducal Family of Oldenburg were their junior cousins, and it was through the generosity of Emperor Alexander's father, Emperor Paul I, that the Duchy of Oldenburg was create in the first place. So Napoleon's attack on the Duchy was equal to Emperor Alexander I attacking the Kingdom of Westphalia. This is my opinion, anyway. --Queen Elizabeth II's Little Spy (talk) 05:34, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

References

Princely vs ducal title

Although reliable sources in English have yet to be found by way of verification, it appears that this Russian branch of the German House of Oldenburg were known in their adopted country by the unique title of Prints (russification of the German word for a cadet prince, Prinz) rather than by their apparently legal German title of Herzog or "Duke". Until this can be properly sorted out using sources that can be cited in the article, the historical reality should nonetheless be noted here, lest it be forgot. FactStraight (talk) 04:21, 13 June 2012 (UTC)