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Prince Alfred of Great Britain; Credit – Wikipedia

August 20, 1752 – Birth of Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, first wife of Carl II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in Darmstadt, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Friederike Karoline Luise
In 1768, Friederike married Carl, the future Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Friederike and Carl had ten children. Three days after giving birth to her last child, who died in infancy, Friederike died from childbirth complications. Two years later, her widower married her sister who also died in childbirth.
Unofficial Royalty: Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

August 20, 1783 – Death of Prince Alfred of Great Britain, son of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
Before Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine that contained the cowpox virus in 1796 and that led to the eradication of smallpox, there was another way to possibly prevent smallpox called variolation, first seen in China in the fifteenth century. About 3% of those inoculated developed a severe case of smallpox and died but that was preferable to catching smallpox with its mortality rate of 20–40% and scarred survivors. In 1722, King George I allowed the inoculation of two of his grandchildren, the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and they survived. King George III also allowed the inoculation of his children. Among the 3% who died after receiving the smallpox inoculation were the two younger sons of King George III, Prince Alfred, and at a later date, Prince Octavius. After the inoculation, Alfred did not recover as he should have. His face and his eyelids had eruptions from the smallpox inoculation and he had difficulty with breathing. The doctors agreed that he would survive for only a few weeks more which came as a great shock to his family. After suffering from prolonged bouts of fever, Alfred died on August 20, 1782, a month short of his second birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Alfred of Great Britain
Unofficial Royalty: Smallpox Knew No Class Boundaries

August 20, 2003 – Birth of Prince Gabriel of Belgium, son of King Philippe of the Belgians, in Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht, Belgium
Full name: Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie
Prince Gabriel is the elder of the two sons and the second of four children of King Philippe of the Belgians and his wife Queen Mathilde, born Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz. Belgium changed its succession law in 1991 to absolute primogeniture where the succession passes to the eldest child of the sovereign regardless of gender. Males and females have equal succession rights. This means that Gabriel’s elder sister Elisabeth is the heir apparent and is first in the line of succession as the eldest child. Following Elisabeth in the line of succession are her three siblings in order of their birth.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Gabriel of Belgium

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Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, wife of King Manuel II of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

August 19, 1186 – Death of Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, son of King Henry II of England, at Paris, France, buried in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France
Geoffrey was one of the four surviving sons of King Henry II. As the sons of King Henry II grew up, tensions over the future inheritance of their father’s empire began to emerge, encouraged by King Louis VII of France and then his son King Philippe II of France. After the death of Henry the Young King, his eldest son, King Henry II had to make plans for the disposition of his empire, but he kept his thoughts secret. This caused more ill feelings between him and his three remaining sons, Richard, Geoffrey, and John. King Philippe II of France was determined to exploit the situation to his benefit. Dissatisfied with having just the Duchy of Brittany, Geoffrey also wanted the County of Anjou and Philippe encouraged him in his plans to once again rebel against his father. However, Geoffrey suddenly died at the age of 27. One contemporary source says Geoffrey died of a fever. However, several other sources say he was thrown from his horse during a tournament and trampled to death.
Unofficial Royalty: Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany

August 19, 1284 – Death of Alfonso, Earl of Chester, son of King Edward I of England, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Alfonso was the third son and ninth child of Edward I and his first wife Eleanor of Castile.  His two elder brothers were already dead so he was the heir apparent.  If he had not died at age 10 England could have had a King Alfonso.
Unofficial Royalty: Alfonso, Earl of Chester

August 19, 1493 – Death of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria in Linz, Duchy of Austria, now in Austria; initially buried in the Ducal Crypt at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, on November 12, 1513, the remains of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor were transferred from the Ducal Crypt to a monumental tomb at St. Stephen’s Cathedral
Friedrich III reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from 1440 to 1493, as Friedrich V, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola from 1424 to 1493, and as Friedrich V, Duke (Duchy of Austria) and then Archduke of Austria (Archduchy of Austria) from 1457 to 1493. He would lay the foundation that would keep the House of Habsburg in a power play position until its fall after World War I.  During his reign, Friedrich concentrated on re-uniting the Habsburg hereditary lands of Austria. In February 1493, Friedrich’s health began to worsen. He had an issue with his left leg which contemporary sources referred to as gangrene but in today’s modern medicine, the issue was caused by arteriosclerosis. Friedrich’s doctors decided to amputate the affected leg. Although Friedrich survived the amputation, he died on August 19, 1493, in Linz, Duchy of Austria, now in Austria, at the age of 77. Contemporary sources say the cause of his death was complications from the leg amputation, old age, or dysentery-like diarrhea from eating melon.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria

August 19, 1596 – Birth of Elizabeth Stuart, Electress Palatine, daughter of King James I of England, at Falkland Palace in Fife, Scotland
Through her daughter Sophia, Electress of Hanover whose son succeeded to the British throne as King George I after the Protestant Stuarts died out, Elizabeth is the ancestor of the British royal family and most other European royal families, including those of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, as well as the former royal families of Greece, Romania, Prussia, and Russia.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Stuart, Electress Palatine

August 19, 1743 – Birth of Jeanne Bécu, Countess du Barry, mistress of King Louis XV of France, in Vaucouleurs, France
Jeanne Bécu, Countess du Barry was the last official mistress of King Louis XV of France, from 1768 until the King died in 1774. Following the King’s death in 1774, Jeanne was banished from court and sent to the Abbey du Pont-aux-Dames. After a year, she was permitted to leave the abbey but banned from coming within 10 miles of Versailles. During her time as the King’s mistress, Jeanne had been gifted with a slave – Zamor – who remained in her household. Zamor later joined the Jacobin club, and upon discovering this, Jeanne dismissed him. In retaliation, Zamor gave testimony implying that Jeanne had assisted numerous aristocrats who had fled the French Revolution. Due to this testimony, Jeanne was arrested and charged with treason. A swift trial took place and she was found guilty and sentenced to death by guillotine.
Unofficial Royalty: Jeanne Bécu, Countess du Barry, mistress of King Louis XV of France

August 19, 1777 – Birth of Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies at the Royal Palace of Naples in the Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy
Full name: Francesco Gennaro Giuseppe
Francesco became King of the Two Sicilies at the age of 48, upon the death of his father. As king, Francesco followed conservative policies. He was content to leave the running of the government in the hands of his favorites and advisers. During Francesco’s reign, the Carbonari, an informal network of secret revolutionary societies, grew stronger especially in eastern Sicily and in the Italian mainland part of the kingdom. In Sicily, smuggling and corruption flourished. Numerous crimes were committed by private armed gangs in the service of nobles and large landowners, from which the Cosa Nostra, also known as the Sicilian Mafia, later developed.
Unofficial Royalty: Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies

August 19, 1778 – Birth of Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Countess of Mensdorff-Pouilly in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Sophie Friederike Karoline Luise
Sophie was the sister of Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, and an aunt to both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Sophie was very close to her sister Antoinette who was just a year younger. They both attended balls at the Schloss Fantaisie in Eckersdorf, Bavaria, a meeting place for French emigrants who had escaped from the French Revolution and the later reign of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. It was there that she met her future husband Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly. The couple had six sons who were the first cousins of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Countess of Mensdorff-Pouilly

August 19, 1856 – Birth of Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
In 1889, Friedrich married Princess Marie of Baden but the couple had no children. Friedrich became the reigning Duke of Anhalt upon his father’s death in January 1904. While a competent ruler, he focused much more on cultural pursuits. He established a Court Theatre which would become very well-known throughout Europe and attract some of the leading singers and musicians from around the world. Friedrich died on April 21, 1918, aged 61. In 1958, the remains of members of the House of Anhalt were removed from the Ducal Mausoleum secretly by night for political reasons. Dessau was then in Communist East Germany.  All the remains were reburied in the Ziebigker Cemetery in Dessau in a common grave, marked only by a simple wooden cross. In 2019, Friedrich’s remains were moved a second time and reinterred in the Marienkirche in Dessau, the traditional burial site of the Dukes of Anhalt-Dessau dating back to the 15th century. The Marienkirche was destroyed during World War II and has since been rebuilt.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt

August 19, 1873 – Death of Karl II, Duke of Brunswick at the Beau-Rivage Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland; buried in the Garden of the Alps in Geneva, Switzerland
In 1815, the Duchy of Brunswick was established by the Congress of Vienna. That same year, Karl’s father died in battle, and Karl became the reigning Duke of Brunswick. He and his brother were placed under the guardianship of their father’s first cousin (and their uncle by marriage), The Prince Regent of Great Britain – the future King George IV of the United Kingdom and of Hanover. The Prince Regent also reigned in Brunswick on Karl’s behalf. When Karl turned 18 in 1822, he claimed his majority, but the Prince Regent claimed that he would not reach his majority until turning 21. A compromise was reached, and Karl took control of the government on his 19th birthday in 1823. In 1830, the July Revolution broke out and Karl lost his throne. Karl made several attempts to regain the throne, but all were unsuccessful. He spent the next 40 years living in London and Paris. When the Franco-Prussian War began in 1870, Karl was forced to leave Paris and settled at the Beau-Rivage Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, where he died.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl II, Duke of Brunswick

August 19, 1890 – Birth of Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, wife of King Manuel II of Portugal, in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Auguste Viktoria Wilhelmine Antonie Mathilde Ludovika Josephine Maria Elisabeth
In 1912, Augusta Viktoria met the former King Manuel II of Portugal while both were visiting Switzerland. Manuel had become King in 1908 following the assassinations of his father and elder brother but was deposed two years later when the Portuguese First Republic was declared. Since Augusta Victoria and Manuel married after he was deposed, she was never actually Queen of Portugal, although she was often styled as such by courtesy. The couple at Fulwell Park, Manuel’s home outside London, England. Augusta Viktoria and Manuel had no children. After Manuel’s death, Augusta Viktoria married Count Robert Douglas, head of the Swedish comital house of Douglas (a branch of the Scottish Clan Douglas). The couple lived at Langenstein Castle in Orsingen-Nenzingen, Baden, Germany, and had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

August 19, 1946 – Birth of Prince Philipp of Liechtenstein, son of Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein, in Zurich, Switzerland
Full name: Philipp Erasmus Alois Ferdinand Maria Sebaldus
In 1971, Philipp married Isabelle de l’Arbre de Malander and the couple had three sons. Prince Philipp worked in banking and finance. In 1979, Philipp became chairman of the board of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank, owned by the Liechtenstein government. In 1981, he became a member of the board of directors of The Liechtenstein Global Trust, owned by the Princely House of Liechtenstein through The Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Philipp of Liechtenstein

August 19, 1973 – Birth of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, wife of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, born Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in Kristiansand, Norway
Mette-Marit first briefly met Crown Prince Haakon of Norway at a music festival in the mid-1990s. The two met again in 1999 and began a relationship. When their engagement was announced in late 2000, it was not without controversy. The couple did, however, have the support of Haakon’s King Harald V and Queen Sonja, and after a series of public interviews, they also regained the support of the Norwegian people.  Mette-Marit and Haakon have a daughter and a son. It was announced on October 24, 2018, that Mette-Marit was diagnosed with chronic pulmonary fibrosis, a respiratory disease in which scars are formed in the lung tissue, leading to serious breathing problems. There is no known cure for the scars and damage in the lungs due to pulmonary fibrosis. Life expectancy is generally less than five years.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

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Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria with his mother Sophie of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia

August 18, 1645 – Death of Eudoxia Lukyanovna Streshneva, Tsarista of All Russia, second wife of the first Romanov ruler Michael I, Tsar of All Russia; first buried at the Ascension Convent in the Moscow Kremlin, in 1929 moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin
Eudoxia’s life was concerned with childbearing to continue the new Romanov dynasty and there was much pressure on her to produce a son, especially after her first two children turned out to be girls. She gave birth to ten children, but only four reached adulthood including her husband’s successor Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia.  She died only a few weeks after her husband and was buried at the Ascension Convent, a Russian Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin where royal and noblewomen were buried. In 1929, the Ascension Convent was dismantled by the Soviets to make room for the Red Commanders School. At that time, the remains of those buried there were moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.
Unofficial Royalty: Eudoxia Lukyanovna Streshneva, Tsarista of All Russia

August 18, 1683 – Birth of Christian Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in Saalfeld, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Thuringia, Germany
Christian Ernst fell in love with Christiane von Koss, the daughter of the Saalfeld forestry master. This relationship displeased both his father and his only surviving half-brother Franz Josias. Eventually, Christian Ernst’s father consented to the marriage, and the couple was married morganatically on om his birthday August 18, 1724. A morganatic marriage meant that Christiane and any children from the marriage would not be entitled to her husband’s titles and privileges. As the elder son, Christian Ernst was his father’s heir but because of his unequal marriage, his half-brother Franz Josias claimed the sole inheritance of the duchy. However, Johann Ernst decided that both his sons should reign jointly, and upon his death in 1729, his will forced the joint reign.
Unofficial Royalty: Christian Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

August 18, 1765 – Death of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor in Salzburg, Austria; buried at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
In 1736, Francis Stephen married Maria Theresa of Austria, the only surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI and the heir to the Habsburg Empire. The couple had sixteen children but only eight survived childhood including two Holy Roman Emperors and Maria Antonia better known as Queen Marie Antoinette of France. Upon her father’s death in 1740, Maria Theresa became the sovereign ruler of the Habsburg territories in her own right of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma, and she was the only female to hold the position. The Habsburgs had been elected Holy Roman Emperors since 1438, but in 1742 Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria from the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII. He died in 1745 and via a treaty Maria Theresa arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor as Franz I. Despite the snub, Maria Theresa wielded the real power and Francis Stephen was content to leave the act of reigning to his wife.
Unofficial Royalty: Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor

August 18, 1781 – Death of Franz Josef I, Prince of Liechtenstein; buried at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov nearby Brno, Czech Republic
The nephew of Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, Franz Josef I reigned as Prince of Liechtenstein from 1772 – 1781. In 1750, Franz Josef married Countess Leopoldine von Sternberg, the daughter of Count Franz Philipp of Sternberg and Countess Leopoldine of Starhemberg. Franz Josef and Leopoldine had eight children including two sovereign Princes of Liechtenstein.  Before he became Prince of Liechtenstein, Franz Josef participated in a number of diplomatic missions on behalf of the Holy Roman Empire.
Unofficial Royalty: Franz Josef I, Prince of Liechtenstein

August 18, 1830 – Birth of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Franz Joseph Karl
Franz Joseph was born during the reign of his grandfather Emperor Franz I. Franz’s eldest son and successor Ferdinand suffered from epilepsy, hydrocephalus, neurological problems, and a speech impediment and although he married in 1831, the marriage was probably never consummated and therefore no children were expected. Franz Joseph’s father was the third, but the second surviving son of Emperor Franz I, so Franz Joseph was expected to eventually succeed to the throne. The biggest ambition of Franz Joseph’s mother Sophie of Bavaria was to place her oldest son on the Austrian throne. During the Revolutions of 1848, she persuaded her husband to give up his rights to the throne in favor of their son Franz Joseph, and on December 2, 1848, Emperor Ferdinand abdicated the throne in favor of his 18-year-old nephew. Franz Joseph was now Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Croatia, and King of Bohemia.
Unofficial Royalty: Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria

 August 18, 1831 – Birth of Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont, first wife of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse
Full name: Helena Wilhelmine Henriette Pauline Marianne
In 1853, Helena married Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont.  The couple had six daughters and one son. Because of her efforts, the relatively poor House of Waldeck-Pyrmont was linked by the marriages of their children to the richer ruling dynasties of Würtemberg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Georg Viktor and Helena are the ancestors of the Dutch royal family through their daughter Emma and the Swedish royal family through their daughter Helena. Their daughter Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont married the youngest son of Queen Victoria, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.
Unofficial Royalty: Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont

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Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

August 17, 1153 – Death of Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne, son of King Stephen of England, at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England; buried at Faversham Abbey in Kent, England
Eustace was the second but first surviving son of King Stephen and Matilda of Boulogne.  He became the ruler of his mother’s country in 1147 at the age of 21.  Eustace married Constance, the only daughter of King Louis VI of France.  He had a very unpleasant personality and more or less imprisoned his wife in Canterbury Castle.  He died childless “of fever” or “in a fit of madness” and was buried at Faversham Abbey.  At Eustace’s death, young Henry Fitzempress came to England to claim his rights to the English throne through his mother Empress Matilda (or Maud), the only surviving child of Henry I.  Stephen, who was Empress Matilda’s first cousin and Henry reached an agreement with the Treaty of Wallingford which allowed Stephen to rule until his death when the throne would pass to Henry who ruled as Henry II.
Unofficial Royalty: Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne

August 17, 1153 – Birth of William IX, Count of Poitiers, son of King Henry II of England, in Normandy, France
William was the first child of Henry and Eleanor of Aquitaine and ironically was born on the day Eustace of Boulogne, King Stephen’s son and heir died. (See Eustace’s entry above for more information.) William died when he was three.
Unofficial Royalty: William  IX, Count of Poitiers

August 17, 1473 – Birth of Richard, Duke of York, son of King Edward IV of England, at the Dominican Friary in Shrewsbury, England
Sometimes called Richard of Shrewsbury after his place of birth, Richard, Duke of York and his elder brother briefly King Edward V of England have been immortalized as the two “Princes in the Tower” who mysteriously disappeared. Richard was the sixth of the ten children and the second of the three sons of King Edward IV of England, the first King of England from the House of York, and Elizabeth Woodville.
Unofficial Royalty: Richard, Duke of York

 August 17, 1786 – Death of Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia, at the Palace of Sanssouci in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany; originally buried at the Garrison Church in Potsdam, re-buried at the Palace of Sanssouci
King Friedrich II of Prussia, best known as Frederick the Great, was the son of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, daughter of King George I of Great Britain. In 1733, Friedrich married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, but they spent most of their lives separated, seeing each other only a handful of times after he became King. They had no children, and upon becoming King in 1740, Friedrich named his brother Augustus as Crown Prince. Augustus predeceased Friedrich so his son succeeded as King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Aside from his promotion of the arts, Friedrich proved himself a skilled military commander and is attributed with great advancements in his kingdom. Friedrich II died quietly in his study at the Palace of Sanssouci at the age of 74.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia

August 17, 1786 – Birth of Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld, Duchess of Kent, wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent; mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Marie Luise Viktoria
In November of 1817, the death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, necessitated the marriages of the unmarried sons of King George III to provide an heir to the throne.  Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (fourth son of King George III) married the 32-year-old widow Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Edward had never married but had lived for 28 years with his mistress Julie de Montgenêt de Saint-Laurent. In September 1818, Edward and Victoria set out for Leiningen, where the Duchess of Kent’s young son from her first marriage was the Sovereign Prince. However, when the Duchess became pregnant, they were determined to return to England so the possible heir to the throne would be born there. They took up residence in an apartment at Kensington Palace and it was there that their only child, the future Queen Victoria, was born on May 24, 1819.
Unofficial Royalty: Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld, Duchess of Kent

August 17, 1887 – Birth of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, at the Castle of Persenbeug in Persenbeug-Gottsdorf, Austria
Full name: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Maria
In 1911, Karl married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. The couple had eight children. Their oldest child Otto, who was Crown Prince during his father’s short reign, was the longest surviving of their children and died on July 4, 2011, at the age of 98. In 1889, after the suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, the next heir was Karl’s grandfather Archduke Karl Ludwig, but within a few days, he renounced his claim in favor of his son Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir until his assassination on June 28, 1914, an event that was one of the causes of World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been allowed to make a morganatic marriage with the condition that the children of the marriage would not have succession rights. Upon Franz Ferdinand’s death, Karl became the heir. He succeeded to the throne upon the death of Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1916 and was the last Emperor of Austria. Karl spent the rest of his life in exile, dying in 1922. On October 3, 2004, Pope John Paul II beatified Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, and he is known as Blessed Karl of Austria. Beatification is the third of four steps toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. On January 31, 2008, the Roman Catholic Church, after a 16-month investigation, formally recognized a second miracle attributed to Karl I which is required for his canonization as a saint. However, no word on his canonization has been forthcoming.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl I, Emperor of Austria

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