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Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, born Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine; Credit – Wikipedia
August 8, 1709 – Birth of Ernst Ludwig II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany
Ernst Ludwig was the third son, but his elder brothers died before their father, making him heir to the ducal throne. He became Duke upon his father’s death in November 1724. Just fifteen years old, his brief reign was overseen by his two uncles, Friedrich Wilhelm and Anton Ulrich. Ernst Ludwig died just five years later.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst Ludwig II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
August 8, 1824 – Birth of Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, born Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, first wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in the German state of Hesse
Full name: Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie
Name after marriage: Maria Alexandrovna
In 1841, Marie married the future Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. Maria Alexandrovna had eight children with her husband including Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, the father of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of All Russia, Nicholas II’s five paternal uncles, and one daughter Maria Alexandrovna who married Queen Victoria’s son Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. In 1863, Maria Alexandrovna contracted tuberculosis. Frequent childbirth, her husband’s infidelity, and the death of her eldest son Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich completely undermined Maria’s already weak health. Maria spent the autumn and the fall in the warmer climates of Crimea and Italy. Her health worsened after two assassination attempts on her husband’s life in 1879 and another one in 1880. Empress Maria Alexandrovna died on June 3, 1880, at the age of 55, just eight months before her husband was assassinated.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia
August 8, 1832 – Birth of King Georg of Saxony in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
Full name: Friedrich August Georg Ludwig Wilhelm Maximilian Karl Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xaver Cyriacus Romanus
As his elder brother King Albert of Saxony had no children, Georg was heir-presumptive to the Saxon throne from the time of Albert’s accession in 1873. Albert died in 1902, and Georg became King of Saxony at nearly 70 years old. Because of his age, many felt he should step down and let the throne pass to his son, Friedrich August. His unpopularity increased during the textile workers’ strike in Crimmitschau in 1903-1904. Refusing to give in to the demands for higher wages and better working conditions, the King sent military forces into the city to force the end of the strike. His reign lasted only two years. After falling ill with influenza earlier in the year, King Georg died on October 15, 1904.
Unofficial Royalty: King Georg of Saxony
August 8, 1867 – Death of Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies, second wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, in Albano Laziale, Kingdom of Italy, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples
In 1836, Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies, first wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died at the age of 23 from childbirth complications after giving birth to a son. The widowed king met Maria Theresa during his stay in Vienna, Austria later in 1836, and they became engaged to strengthen the relations between Austria and the Two Sicilies and married in 1837. Maria Cristina and Ferdinando had twelve children. Ferdinando died in 1859 at the age of 49 after hesitating to have surgery for a strangulated hernia. During Ferdinando II’s reign, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, began. During the reign of Ferdinando’s son Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Maria Theresa and her children left Naples and settled in Rome. In the summer of 1867, a cholera epidemic broke out in Rome. Both Maria Theresa and her youngest son, ten-year-old Gennaro developed cholera and died from the disease.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies
August 8, 1955 – Death of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria at Leutstetten Castle in Starnberg, in the German state of Bavaria; buried at the Theatinerkirche in Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand
Rupprecht was Crown Prince of Bavaria from 1913 until the end of the Bavarian monarchy in 1918. From his father’s death in 1921, he became the pretender to the former Bavarian throne and Head of the House of Wittelsbach. Through his direct descent from King Charles I of England, he also became heir to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland in the Jacobite Succession.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne
August 8, 1959 – Birth of Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missneid of Qatar, wife of Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, in Al-Khor, Qatar
In 1977, Mozah became the second wife of Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the future Emir of Qatar. The couple had seven children. On June 25, 2013, after eighteen years as Emir, Sheikh Hamad publically announced his abdication in favor of his son Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa. Internationally, Mozah often represented her husband at major royal functions and accompanied him on most state visits. She is considered by many to be one of the most glamorous and fashionable royals in the world and remains a visible member of Qatar’s royal family, often seen supporting her son, the current Emir.
Unofficial Royalty: Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missneid of Qatar
August 8, 1988 – Birth of Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York at Portland Hospital in London, England
Full name: Beatrice Elizabeth Mary
On September 26, 2019, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Beatrice and Edoardo’s wedding, scheduled for May 29, 2020, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Beatrice and Edoardo were married in a private ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, on the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, on July 17, 2020.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
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