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King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV of Tonga; Credit – Wikipedia

July 4, 1394 – Death of Mary de Bohun, first wife of King Henry IV of England, at Peterborough Castle in Peterborough, England; buried at St Mary of the Annunciation of  the Newarke in Leicester, England, which was destroyed under the Dissolution of the Chantries Act of Edward VI
Mary died while delivering her daughter Philippa, her second daughter and seventh child. She was never queen because she died before her husband became king.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary de Bohun, Countess of Northampton, Countess of Derby

July 4, 1394 – Birth of Philippa of England, daughter of King Henry IV of England, wife of Eric of Pomerania, King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, at Peterborough Castle in Peterborough, England
Eleven-year-old Philippa was married by proxy to 24-year-old Eric of Pomerania, King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway on November 26, 1405, at Westminster Abbey in London. Philippa was formally proclaimed Queen of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway on December 8, 1405, in the presence of the Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ambassadors. In August 1406, Philippa left England to travel to Sweden and married Eric of Pomerania in person on October 26, 1406, at Lund Cathedral in Lund, Sweden. Documentation from the wedding indicates that Philippa wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with gray squirrel and ermine, making her the first documented princess to wear a white wedding dress. On November 1, 1406, Philippa was crowned Queen of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
Unofficial Royalty: Philippa of England, Queen of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway

July 4, 1799 – Birth of King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway in Paris, France
Born Joseph Francois Oscar Bernadotte
Oscar was the son of General Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, a Marshal of France, and Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, known as Désirée, the first fiancée of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1810, just as Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was about to start a new position as governor of Rome, the Swedish Riksdag elected him heir to the childless King Carl XIII of Sweden. The Riksdag wanted a soldier as the king because of their worries over Russia. Oscar was eleven years old when his father was elected Crown Prince of Sweden and he moved to Stockholm with his mother Désirée. Oscar was given the title Duke of Södermanland, and, unlike his mother, quickly learned Swedish and adapted to life in Sweden. Oscar’s father reigned as King Carl XIV Johan and started the House of Bernadotte which still reigns in Sweden.
Unofficial Royalty: King Oscar I of Sweden

 July 4, 1890 – Birth of Irene Mountbatten, Marchioness of Carisbrooke, wife of Queen Victoria’s grandson Alexander Mountbatten, Marquess of Carisbrooke, born Lady Irene Denison, daughter of William Denison, 2nd Earl of Londesborough in London, England
Lady Irene’s family was well-connected. For her 18th birthday, a party was held at St. Dunstan’s Lodge in Regents Park, London, and The Duke and Duchess of Connaught attended along with their daughter Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden, and her husband, the Crown Prince (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden). Lady Irene was a debutante in 1908, the same year as her 18th birthday party. A periodical from the time called Lady Irene an interesting debutante and said that she is “fond of sport…shares her parents’ interest in the drama” and “…acted from childhood.”After her marriage, she was styled Irene Mountbatten, Marchioness of Carisbrooke.
Unofficial Royalty: Irene Mountbatten, Marchioness of Carisbrooke

July 4, 1918 – Birth of King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV of Tonga at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
In his youth, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou began competing in the pole vault, and by the age of fourteen, he held the Tonga pole vault record, a record that stood for many years. Upon graduating from university in Australia where he received both a bachelor’s degree and a law degree, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou returned to Tonga and began a career in government. His mother Queen Sālote appointed him Minister of Education in 1943, Minister of Health in 1944, and in 1949, he was appointed Prime Minister of Tonga, a position he held until he succeeded his mother and became King of Tonga in 1965.
Unofficial Royalty: King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV of Tonga

July 4, 1937 – Birth of Queen Sonja of Norway, wife of King Harald V of Norway, born  Sonja Haraldsen in Oslo, Norway
Sonja Haraldsen first met Crown Prince Harald at a dinner party in 1959 hosted by a mutual friend. The relationship between the Crown Prince and Sonja was controversial as many people felt the Crown Prince should marry a princess, not a Norwegian commoner. The controversy continued for years as did the relationship despite the media’s attempts to promote a royal marriage with either of the Greek princesses Sophia and Irene. Crown Prince Harald made it clear to his father, King Olav V, that he would remain unmarried if he could not marry Sonja. This would have resulted in a succession crisis as Harald was the sole heir to the throne. At that time, Norway did not allow female succession, so his two sisters Ragnhild and Astrid were not in the line of succession. Finally, in 1968, when King Olav felt the position of the Norwegian people had changed to favor Sonja, he consulted with parliamentary leaders and other government leaders and gave his consent for the Crown Prince to marry a commoner.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Sonja of Norway

July 4, 1942 – Birth of Prince Michael of Kent at Coppins in Iver, Buckinghamshire, England
Full name: Michael George Charles Franklin
Because Prince Michael was born on American Independence Day, his father Prince George, Duke of Kent asked President Franklin Roosevelt to be one of his son’s godparents. President Roosevelt accepted and the baby prince was named Michael George Charles Franklin. Sadly, six weeks after his son’s birth, on August 25, 1942, the Duke of Kent died in a Royal Air Force plane crash in the service of his country.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Michael of Kent
Unofficial Royalty: Born on the Fourth of July

July 4, 1957 – Birth of Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand, daughter of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, at Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand
Princess Chulabhorn attended the Chitralada School in the Dusit Palace complex. Following her secondary education, she attended Kasetart University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Organic Chemistry in 1979. She continued her studies in organic chemistry at Mahidol University, receiving her doctorate in 1985. In 1982, Princess Chulabhorn married Virayudh Tishyasarin, an Air Vice Marshal in the Royal Thai Air Force, and the couple had two daughters. With permission from her father, she retained her royal title and style. The marriage ended in divorce two years later.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand

July 4, 2011 – Death of Otto von Habsburg, last Crown Prince of Austria, son of the last Emperor of Austria, Karl I, at his home in Pöcking, Germany; buried at  Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria
The last Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia and later in his long life, a member of the European Parliament, Otto von Habsburg was the eldest and the longest surviving of the eight children of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma. Otto was given what was called “the last Emperor’s funeral.” Following a 13-day period of mourning in many of the countries that were once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a requiem mass was held at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, and Otto then was buried in the Crypt Chapel of the Imperial Crypt in Vienna where his mother was also buried. At the time of his burial, Otto’s wife Regina was reburied nearby. 1,000 guests attended the funeral and over 100,000 people lined the streets of Vienna. The ceremonies caused large parts of central Vienna to be closed to traffic. The funeral was televised on Austrian television. Otto’s heart was buried at Pannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary on the day after his funeral.
Unofficial Royalty: Otto von Habsburg

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Marie de Medici, Queen of France; Credit – Wikipedia

July 3, 1642 – Death of Marie de Medici, Queen of France, second wife of King Henri IV of France, in the Free Imperial City of Cologne, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia; her heart is buried at Cologne Cathedral, other remains are buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France
The House of Medici came into prominence in the 15th century, as founders of the Medici Bank, the largest bank in Europe, and later as Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Along with Marie, other prominent family members included Catherine de’ Medici, consort to King Henri II of France, and Popes Leo X, Clement VII, and Leo XI. Among her children are King Louis XIII of France and Henrietta Maria who married King Charles I of England.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie de Medici, Queen of France

July 3, 1741 – Death of Elisabeth Thérèse of Lorraine, Queen of Sardinia, third wife of Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia, at the Palace of Venaria in Turin, Kingdom of Sardina, now in Italy; first buried at the Cathedral of Saint Giovanni Battista in Turin and was moved to the Royal Basilica of Superga in Turin in 1786
Elisabeth Therese died at the age of 29, from puerperal fever (childbed fever), thirteen days after giving birth to her third child, her only child who survived childhood.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Thérèse of Lorraine, Queen of Sardinia

July 3, 1743 – Birth of Sophia Magdalena of Denmark and Norway, Queen of Sweden, wife of King Gustav III of Sweden, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
In 1766, Sophia Magdalena married the future King Gustav III of Sweden. On March 16, 1792, King Gustav III was shot by Jacob Johan Anckarström during a masquerade at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, Sweden. King Gustav III died of his wounds at the Stockholm Royal Palace on March 29, 1792, at the age of 46. Assassination ringleader, Count Anckarström, was beaten for three days before he was beheaded, mutilated, and dismembered. The event is the subject of Giuseppe Verdi’s 1859 opera Un ballo in maschera.  Sophia Magdalena was horrified by the murder of her husband, but it was a relief that as Queen Dowager, she could retreat from public life.
Unofficial Royalty: Sofia Magdalena of Denmark, Queen of Sweden

July 3, 1857 – Death of Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, in Belgrave Square, London, England; buried in the Bedford Chapel at St. Michael’s Church in Chenies, Buckinghamshire, England
Born Anna Maria Stanhope, she was the eldest daughter of Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington. She married Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford

July 3, 1933 – Birth of Maximilian, Margrave of Baden, Head of the House of Zähringen and pretender to the former Grand Ducal throne of Baden from 1963 – 2022, in Salem, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Maximilian Andreas Friedrich Gustav Ernst August Bernhard, Prince of Baden,
Unofficial Royalty: Maximilian, Margrave of Baden

July 3, 1934 – Death of Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands, born Duke Heinrich of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin, husband of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, at The Hague in the Netherlands; buried at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
During the last years of his life, Hendrik’s health quickly deteriorated. His arthritis intensified, he gained much weight and suffered his first heart attack in 1929. The second heart attack followed on June 28, 1934. During the afternoon of July 3, 1934, while in his office, Prince Hendrik died at the age of 58 of cardiac arrest. He had a white funeral and was buried in the royal vault at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands

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King Olav V of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

July 2, 1694 – Disappearance (Death?) of Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, lover of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover, wife of the future King George I of Great Britain, at the Leineschloss in Hanover, Electorate of Hanover, now in the German state of Lower Saxony
The marriage of first cousins Sophia Dorothea of Celle and George, Electoral Prince of Hanover, the future King George I of Great Britain, was happy at first but soon both George and Sophia Dorothea found affection elsewhere. George fell in love with one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting Melusine von der Schulenburg, and Sophia Dorothea fell in love with her childhood friend Philip Christoph von Königsmarck. In 1694, Sophia Dorothea’s affair was revealed to her father-in-law and uncle Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. On the morning of July 2, 1694, after a meeting with Sophia Dorothea, 29-year-old Philip Christoph von Königsmarck disappeared from the Leineschloss in Hanover and was never seen again. It was widely believed he was secretly murdered that same day. Officially, Philip Christoph von Königsmarck is still a missing person.
Unofficial Royalty: Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Lover of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover

July 2, 1823 – Death of Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Oldenburg at Plön Castle in Plön, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; buried in the Prince-Bishop’s Mausoleum at Lübeck Cathedral in the independent free city of Lübeck, now in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Wilhelm was the first Grand Duke of Oldenburg, although he never formally used the title. By 1777, Wilhelm was suffering from mental illness. An intended engagement to Princess Charlotte of Hesse-Darmstadt was called off. He lived the remainder of his life in seclusion. Upon his father’s death in 1785, Wilhelm became the reigning Duke of Oldenburg but due to his illness, it was in name only. Instead, his cousin, Peter, Prince-Bishop of Lübeck, served as Regent during his entire reign. Wilhelm died at the age of 69.
Unofficial Royalty: Peter Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

July 2, 1849 – Birth of Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, Queen of Bavaria, wife of King Ludwig III of Bavaria, at Brno, Austrian Empire, now in the Czech Republic
Full name: Maria Theresa Henriette Dorothee
Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este was the last Queen Consort of Bavaria and the Jacobite claimant to the British throne from 1875 until she died in 1919.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, Queen of Bavaria
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

July 2, 1882 – Birth of Princess Marie Bonaparte, Princess George of Greece, in Saint-Cloud, France
Marie’s maternal grandfather was François Blanc, the principal developer of Monte Carlo and the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco. She was very wealthy because she was the sole heir to her mother’s fortune. Marie married Prince George of Greece, the second son of King George I of Greece. In the years that the Greek Royal Family was in exile, Marie used her significant wealth to support many of them. She provided the use of several of her homes in France and paid for education and living expenses. Those who benefited from Marie’s generosity included her brother-in-law Prince Andrew and his family including the young Prince Philip, the future husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Marie and George remained favorites of Prince Philip, and in 1953, they attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marie Bonaparte, Princess George of Greece

July 2, 1903 – Birth of King Olav V of Norway, born Prince Alexander of Denmark, at Appleton House on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England
Born: Prince Alexander Edward Christian Frederik of Denmark
The son of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of the United Kingdom, he assumed the name Olav when his father became King Haakon VII of Norway in 1905. He was the paternal grandson of King Frederik VIII of Denmark and Princess Louise of Sweden, and the maternal grandson of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The current King of Norway, Harald V, is his son.  An avid skier and sailor, Olav represented Norway in the 1928 Olympic Games, winning a Gold Medal in the sailing competition, and remained active in sailing his whole life.
Unofficial Royalty: King Olav V of Norway

July 2, 1932 – Death of King Manuel II of Portugal in exile at Fulwell Lodge in London, England; buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
On February 1, 1908, the royal family was attacked by assassins while riding in a carriage en route to the palace. Manuel was shot only in the arm but his father was shot in the head, dying instantly, and his brother Luís Filipe was also mortally injured and died several minutes later. Manuel became the last Portuguese monarch, reigning just two and a half years before Portugal was declared a republic. Manuel lived in exile in England and died unexpectedly at his English home. With permission from the Portuguese government, his remains were returned to Lisbon on a British cruiser and were received at Commerce Square, the same place his father and brother had been assassinated 24 years earlier. The procession traveled to the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora where he was interred in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza.
Unofficial Royalty: King Manuel II of Portugal

July 2, 1959 – Wedding of King Albert II of Belgium and Paola Ruffo di Calabria at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Belgium
In November 1958, Albert and Paola were both in Rome to attend the coronation of Pope John XXIII. They first met at a reception held at the Belgian Embassy and were instantly smitten. Just a month later, On December 6, 1958, Albert proposed and Paola accepted. Two months later, he introduced Paola to his family, and finally, the engagement was announced on April 13, 1959.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of King Albert II of Belgium and Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria

July 2, 2011 – Religious wedding of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock in the Main Courtyard of the Prince’s Palace in Monaco; the civil ceremony was held on July 1, 2011, in the Throne Room of the Prince’s Palace
Prince Albert first noticed Charlene Wittstock at the Monaco International Swim Meet in 2000 where she won the 200-meter backstroke. For the next five years, the couple periodically dated privately. Their relationship went public at the Opening Ceremonies for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. After that,  the couple was seen together at several events including the Monaco Grand Prix, the Rose Ball held annually in Monaco, the Princess Grace Foundation Awards Gala, and most notably at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling in Stockholm on June 19, 2010. On June 23, 2010, four days after the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock became engaged.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock

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