Marie Anne Arcadie Eugénie (Claret) Meyer (1826 - 1897)

Born 30 May 1826 in Ixelles, Belgique

Ancestors

Wife of Ferdinand Friedrich Anton Meyer — married 30 Jun 1845 in Ixelles, Belgique

Descendants

Died 13 Jan 1897 at age 70 in Katzberg, Sachsen-Meiningen, Deutschland

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Biography

Arcadie Claret , Baronin von Eppinghoven

Mistress of Leopold I of Belgium

Leopold also had two sons, George and Arthur, by a mistress, Arcadie Meyer (née Claret). George was born in 1849, and Arthur was born in 1852. At Leopold's request, in 1862 the two sons were created Freiherr von Eppinghoven by his nephew, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; in 1863 Arcadie was also created Baronin von Eppinghoven.[18] Leopold I met Arcadie Claret in 1842 or at the latest in 1844. She was then only sixteen or eighteen and almost immediately became his mistress. He installed it luxuriously in a patrician house, Koningsstraat, Sint-Joost-ten-Node (now number 312). Because the king's love life did not go unnoticed and was extensively covered in the press, in 1845 he organized a marriage of convenience between Claret and his servant and friend, the Coburger Ferdinand Meyer ( Coburg 1808 - Karlsruhe 1864), who then ordered the children king had conceived with his mistress as his acknowledged. Meyer was a widower of Virginie Wouters (1819-1841) from whom he had three children.

The two sons of Leopold, Georg , born in Liege in 1849 and Christian , born in Laken in 1852, were registered as Meyer in the civil status documents.

Sources

• Arcadie Claret (Wikipedia)
• Leopold I of Belgium (Wikipedia)
• Capron, Victor (2006). Sur les traces d'Arcadie Claret : le Grand Amour de Léopold Ier (in French). Brussels.
• Capron, Victor (1995), La descendance naturelle de Léopold Ier. Brussels.
• Claessens, Henriette (2002) Leven en liefdes van Leopold I, Tielt, Lannoo, 2002, 433 p. (ISBN 978-9-02094-789-2).
• "Belgique, Brabant, registres d’état civil, 1582-1914," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DTL7-S9C?cc=1482191&wc=STL9-829%3A966886201%2C966916701 : 22 May 2014), Elsene > Geboorten, huwelijken, overlijden 1845-1846 > image 170 of 661; België Nationaal Archief, Brussels (Belgium National Archives, Brussels).