The Creators of Pena – King Ferdinand II and the Countess oa

DescriptionAuthor: Margarida de Magalhães Ramalho Publisher: Parques de Sintra, 2013 ISBN: 978-989-98669-0-4 The reconstruction and restoration of the Chalet of the Countess, located in Sintra’s Park of Pena, brought the building back to life out of the memories of the site and correspondingly raising longstanding questions that had been lost to the course of time and especially about its creators: King Ferdinand II and the Countess of Edla. In order to better understand the motivation of the couple in designing this space and also with a view to gathering the documental evidence and objects and works destined for an exhibition on life in the Chalet of the Countess, the historian Margarida de Magalhães Ramalho engaged in research, backed by Parques de Sintra, which has generated a deeper understanding of the relationship between Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, king-consort to Queen Maria II, and his second wife, Elise Hensler, a lyrical singer from an American family of Swiss origins.