In 1807 a strange pair appeared in the small south-thuringian town Hildburghausen: a gentleman who was called Vavel de Versay and which one held for a count, and a lady which was always to be seen only deeply veiled. Both lived in complete seclusion on the public life, in particular as they moved to the Castle Eishausen in 1810, few kilometres away from Hildburghausen. They left the castle only to exits in their carriage or to walks in the garden near the castle. While the gentleman still had sporadically contact with the villagers of Eishausen, the lady was completely isolated from the outside world.

The pair led a rich household and distinguished itself by great charity in the duchy. The court of Saxony-Hildburghausen has protected the pair and has respected its wish for seclusion. The lady died after 30 years of lonesome life in 1837, the gentleman in 1845. On account of their strange life they were called later the "Dark Count" and the "Dark Countess".

After their death turned out that the "count" was a Dutch diplomat called Leonardus Cornelius van der Valck in reality. The information about the "countess", which made van of the Valck after her death (Sophie(a) Botta, 58 years old, single, from Westphalia), nobody believed. 

So some people believed, she has been in truth the Bourbon princess Madame Royale, a daughter of king Louis XVI and queen Marie Antoinette of France. She should have been substituted by another person in 1795 after her captivity in the Temple prison in Paris, caused by an unintentional pregnancy or suffered psychic damages. While the wrong princess came as a Duchess of Angoulême into the history, the real king's daughter should have kept herself hidden in Hildburghausen and Eishausen.

The "Madame Royale" Historical Society deals with these historical events and gives a general introduction to the subject on the present website.