© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

January 29, 1584 – Birth of Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange in Delft, Holland, Dutch Republic, now in the Netherlands
Frederik Hendrik was the only child of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange and his fourth wife, French Huguenot Louise de Coligny. Louise’s father, Gaspard II de Coligny, was a French nobleman and admiral but is best remembered as a leader of the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants). He was killed during the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 when thousands of Huguenots were murdered. In 1625, Frederik Hendrik became Prince of Orange upon the death of his elder half-brother Maurits, Prince of Orange. That same year Frederik Hendrik married Princess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. They had nine children including Willem II, Prince of Orange who married Mary, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of King Charles I of England. Their one child was Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England. Frederik Hendrik ruled the Dutch Republic for 22 years. His reign is included in the era known as the Dutch Golden Age in which Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world.
Unofficial Royalty: Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange

January 29, 1601 – Death of Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, Queen of France, wife of King Henri III of France, at the Château de Moulins in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, first buried at the Convent of Capuchins in Paris,  in 1805, her remains were reburied at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France
In 1575, Louise married King Henri III of France. Shortly after her marriage, Louise suffered a miscarriage with complications and she never had children. However, Louise and Henri did not give up on ​​having children. They went on many pilgrimages and took thermal cures hoping to have an heir. Despite Henri’s affairs, Louise and Henri both loved each other and Louise did an admirable job with her duties as Queen of France. Their marriage lasted fourteen years until King Henri III was assassinated. After the assassination of Henri III in 1589, Louise became permanently depressed, always dressed in white, the traditional mourning color of French queens, and was nicknamed the “White Queen.”  On January 29, 1601, Louise died at the age of 47.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, Queen of France

January 29, 1749 – Birth of King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Christian VII was the only surviving son of King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway and his first wife Princess Louisa of Great Britain, and a grandson of King George II of Great Britain. In 1766, Christian succeeded to the Danish and Norwegian thrones after the early death of his father at age 42. That same year he married his first cousin Princess Caroline Matilda of Wales, daughter of Christian’s deceased maternal uncle Frederick, Prince of Wales. The couple had two children, but probably Christian was not Louise Auguste’s father. Because of Carolina Matilda’s affair with Christian’s physician Johann Friedrich Struensee, Struensee was beheaded, and 20-year-old Caroline Matilda lost her title of Queen and was forcibly separated from her children whom she never saw again. She was sent to Celle in her brother’s Kingdom of Hanover and lived the rest of her life at Celle Castle. Christian VII’s reign was marked by mental illness and for most of his reign, he was only nominally king. His half-brother Hereditary Prince Frederik was regent of Denmark from 1772-1784. From 1784 until Christian VII’s death, Christian’s son, later Frederik VI, acted as regent. On March 13, 1808, King Christian VII died from a stroke at the age of 59.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian VII of Denmark

January 29, 1794 – Birth of George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster, illegitimate son of King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, on Somerset Street, Portman Square in London, England
George was the first of ten children of King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. In 1819. George married Mary Wyndham, the daughter of George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont and his mistress Elizabeth Fox. The couple had seven children. George served as an army officer during the Peninsular War (1807–1814) and then served in India. He attained the rank of Major-General in the British Army. His father was proud of George’s military record but was very concerned with his drinking and gambling, issues which also affected some of William’s brothers. On March 20, 1842, at his home in Belgravia, London, 48-year-old George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster killed himself with a pistol given to him by his uncle King George IV when he was Prince of Wales. His suicide came as no surprise to his family, who had long been concerned about his mental condition.
Unofficial Royalty: George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster

January 29, 1817 – Death of Heinrich XIII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Greiz in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried at the Stadtkirche St. Marien, now in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany
Heinrich was the son of Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz and his first wife Countess Conradine Reuss of Köstritz. In 1786, he married Princess Wilhelmine Luise of Nassau-Weilburg and the couple had three sons. When his father died in 1800, Heinrich XIII succeeded as 2nd Prince Reuss of Greiz. In 1802, a large fire destroyed much of Greiz, the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. Approximately 430 buildings were destroyed. Many other buildings were demolished to prevent the fire from spreading. Heinrich XIII oversaw the rebuilding of Greiz in the neoclassical style. Heinrich XIII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Greiz died on January 29, 1817, aged 69.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XIII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Greiz

January 29, 1820 – Death of King George III of the United Kingdom at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
King George III is the longest-reigning British king, having reigned for 59 years, 96 days. His length of reign is surpassed only by two queens, both his descendants, his granddaughter Queen Victoria and his great-great-great-great-granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II. George established himself as one of the more popular Hanoverian kings.  He was admired for his respectable private life and gained sympathy for his illness.  He inherited the family’s love of music and was a patron of the arts and sciences.  George was very interested in agriculture and his creation of model farms at Windsor earned him the nickname “Farmer George” which he adored. The only disruption in his family’s domestic lives was George’s attacks of illness. There has been speculation that King George suffered from porphyria. George became so ill that Parliament needed to pass the Regency Act of 1811. The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, acted as Regent until his father died in 1820.
Unofficial Royalty: King George III of the United Kingdom

January 29, 1844 – Death of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha at Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Thuringia, Germany; initially buried in the crypt of the Church of St. Moritz in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany; in 1860, his remains were re-interred in the Ducal Mausoleum in Glockenberg Cemetery in Coburg
In 1806, Ernst succeeded his father Franz Friedrich Anton as Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Ernst was long content with bachelorhood until his mother insisted he marry to provide the duchy with heirs. In 1817, Ernst married Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. The couple had two sons including Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. Ernst and Louise soon grew apart due to Ernst’s infidelities. After discovering Louise’s affair with her chamberlain in 1824, Ernst forced Louise out of the duchy. She was exiled and permanently cut off from her children. The couple was officially divorced in 1826 and Louise died of cancer in 1831. In 1825, while Ernst and Louise’s divorce proceedings were occurring, Friedrich IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Louise’s uncle, died without an heir. This necessitated a rearrangement of the Ernestine duchies. Ernst received Gotha and ceded Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen. He subsequently became Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1832, Ernst married his niece Marie of Württemberg, the daughter of his sister Antoinette. The couple had no children and had little in common, but Marie had a loving relationship with her stepsons who were also her first cousins. Ernst died on January 29, 1844, at the age of 60.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

January 29, 1850 – Birth of Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 3rd wife of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in Raben Steinfeld, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Full name: Marie Karoline Auguste
In 1868, Marie married the widowed Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as his third wife. She was just 18 years old while Friedrich Franz was 45. They had four children together. Through their son Heinrich, who married Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Marie and her husband are ancestors of the Dutch royal family.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

January 29, 1860 – Death of Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden, wife of Karl, Grand Duke of Baden, in Nice, France; buried St. Michael’s Church in Pforzheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Stéphanie was from the same family as the first husband of Napoleon’s wife Josephine, Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais. Alexandre had been guillotined during the French Revolution. After the death of Stéphanie’s mother, Napoléon brought her to Paris and placed her under the care of his wife Joséphine. After becoming Emperor in 1804, Napoléon sought to strengthen alliances with several European dynasties by arranging several marriages of his extended family. One of these marriages was between Stéphanie and the future Karl I, Grand Duke of Baden in 1806. Before the marriage, Napoléon adopted Stéphanie and elevated her to an Imperial Highness and French Princess. Through her children’s marriages, Stéphanie’s descendants include the former Kings of Romania and Yugoslavia and the royal families of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Monaco. Stéphanie survived her husband by more than 41 years, dying at the age of 71.
Unofficial Royalty: Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden

January 29, 1870 – Death of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Rome, Papal States, now in Italy; buried at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
Upon his father’s death on June 18, 1824, Leopoldo became Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy. The former Grand Ducal Family of Tuscany settled in the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ruled by Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives. In November 1869, Leopoldo and his wife made a pilgrimage to Rome, and Leopoldo died there on January 29, 1870, at the age of 72.
Unofficial Royalty: Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany

January 29, 1887 – Birth of Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, at the Potsdam City Palace in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: August Wilhelm Heinrich Günther Viktor
August Wilhelm was the son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1908, August Wilhelm married his first cousin, Princess Alexandra Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. The marriage ended 12 years later, and August Wilhelm was given full custody of their son. August Wilhelm became involved with the Nazi Party, much to the dislike of his family. After World War II, he was arrested by US forces for being a Nazi. In 1948, August Wilhelm was finally sentenced to 2-½ years of hard labor but was considered to have already served his sentence and he was released. However, just after his release, new charges were filed and another arrest warrant was issued from a court in Potsdam, East Germany, which was now in the Soviet zone. He was never physically arrested because he soon became seriously ill and died.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia

January 29, 1906 – Death of King Christian IX of Denmark at Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Not born destined to be a king, King Christian IX was the father of King Frederick VIII of Denmark, King George I of Greece, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, and Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia. He was as much the “grandfather of Europe” as Queen Victoria was the “grandmother”. His grandchildren sat upon the thrones of Denmark, the United Kingdom, Russia, Greece, and Norway. He is the ancestor of six of the ten current European monarchs: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (and her husband Prince Philip), Queen Margrethe of Denmark, King Harald of Norway, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Philippe, King of the Belgians, and King Felipe VI of Spain. The late former King Michael of Romania and the late former King Constantine of Greece are also among his many descendants.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian IX of Denmark

January 29, 1912 – Death of Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, husband of Louise, Princess Royal (daughter of King Edward VII), in Aswan, Egypt; buried at the Private Chapel, Mar Lodge Mausoleum in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Duff as he was called, was the only son of James Duff, 5th Earl Fife and Lady Agnes Hay. In 1889, in the Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace, Duff married Princess Louise, the eldest daughter of the then Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). Louise and Duff were third cousins via their mutual descent from King George III. Duff’s descent was via the future King William IV’s long-time relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan by whom he had ten children who married into the British aristocracy. The couple had three children but their only son was stillborn. Despite their age difference, the couple was well-matched and settled down to a life of country pursuits with the Duff managing his Scottish estates and Louise becoming an expert at salmon fishing. While sailing to Egypt, Duff and his family were shipwrecked off the coast of Morocco. The family all survived but the Duke developed pleurisy, which may have been a result of the shipwreck, and died.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife

January 29, 1970 – Death of Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness, mistress of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, in New York, New York; buried next to her twin sister Gloria Vanderbilt at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California
Thelma was the identical twin sister of Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, the mother of Gloria Vanderbilt, a fashion designer and artist, and the mother of CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper.
Unofficial Royalty: Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness, mistress of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom

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© Unofficial Royalty 2024

King Henry VII of England; Credit – Wikipedia

January 28, 1457 – Birth of King Henry VII of England at Pembroke Castle, Wales
King Henry VII was the son of Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, who died three months before his son’s birth, leaving a 13-year-old pregnant widow Lady Margaret Beaufort. Henry’s father Edmund Tudor was the eldest child of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois, widow of King Henry V of England. His mother Lady Margaret Beaufort was the only child of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso. Through her father, Lady Margaret was a descendant of King Edward III of England. At the time of Henry’s birth, the Wars of the Roses, the fight for the English throne between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, was two years old. His mother was a descendant of the House of Lancaster. In 1470, after the Lancastrian King Henry VI was murdered in the Tower of London, Henry’s uncle Jasper Tudor left England for France and took his nephew Henry with him to keep him safe. In 1485,  Henry Tudor sailed to Wales with a small French and Scottish force. He then marched towards England accompanied by his uncle Jasper Tudor and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. On August 22, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty, King Richard III of England, lost his life and his crown. The battle was a decisive victory for the House of Lancaster, whose leader 28-year-old Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became the first monarch of the House of Tudor. In 1486, King Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, King Edward IV’s eldest child, thereby uniting the House of York and the House of Lancaster. Henry and Elizabeth had seven children including King Henry VIII of England. Through their daughter Margaret Tudor, they are the ancestors of the British royal family and many other European royal families.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry VII of England

January 28, 1547 – Death of King Henry VIII of England at Whitehall Palace in London, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Henry VIII was the son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV of England. Henry and his siblings represented the merging of the Lancasters and the Yorks who fought for power during the Wars of the Roses. King Henry VIII is famous for having six marriages. All three of his surviving children became monarchs of England. Henry’s disagreement with Pope Clement VII about an annulment for his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, creating an independent Church of England, free from the pope’s authority. Henry expanded royal power during his reign. He frequently used charges of treason and heresy against those who disagreed with him. Those accused were often executed without a formal trial through bills of attainder. Henry’s political goals were achieved through the work of his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favor.  As he aged, Henry became severely overweight and his health suffered. His health issues certainly hastened his death at the age of 55. Henry had made plans for a magnificent tomb but they were never carried out. He was buried in a vault at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, next to Jane Seymour, the wife who gave him a son. In 1649, the remains of the beheaded King Charles I were buried in Henry and Jane’s vault.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry VIII of England

January 28, 1768 – Birth of King Frederik VI of Denmark and Norway at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Frederik VI was the only son and the eldest of the two children of King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway and his and Caroline Matilda of Wales, the sister of King George III of the United Kingdom. Frederik’s father King Christian VII suffered from mental illness. His ill-treated mother Caroline Matilda had an affair with physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. After the affair was discovered Struenss was executed and Caroline Matilda was imprisoned in a castle and never saw her children again. In 1790, Frederik married his cousin Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel. Frederik and Marie had eight children but unfortunately, six of them, including two boys, died in infancy. Only two daughters survived and both daughters had childless marriages. In 1808, 1808, when his father died, Frederik became King of Denmark and Norway. After the French defeat in the Napoleonic Wars in 1814 and the loss of Norway, Frederik became more authoritarian and reactionary, giving up his former liberal ideas.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik VI of Denmark

January 28, 1845 – Death of Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia, Duchess of Nassau, first wife of Adolphe of Nassau, the future Grand Duke of Luxembourg, in childbirth at Castle Biebrich in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in Hesse, Germany; buried at the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Elizabeth in Wiesbaden
Elizabeth was the daughter of Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia and Princess Charlotte of Württemberg (Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna). Her paternal grandparents were Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and his second wife Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg (Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia). In 1844, 17-year-old Elizabeth married 26-year-old Adolphe, Duke of Nassau, the future Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The couple was delighted when Elizabeth became pregnant with their first child, but the happiness did not last. On January 28, 1845, after a very difficult labor, 18-year-old Elizabeth died giving birth to a daughter who did not survive the birth. With the blessing of Elizabeth’s uncle Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia, the grief-stricken Adolphe used Elizabeth’s dowry to build the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Elizabeth in Wiesbaden where Elizabeth and her daughter are buried.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia, Duchess of Nassau

January 28, 1855 – Death of Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia, first wife of Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later King of Italy, at the Royal Palace in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin
In 1842, Adelheid married Vittorio Emanuele of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy, son of Carlo Alberto,  King of Sardinia. At the time of the marriage, Adeleheid’s husband Vittorio Emanuele was heir to the Sardinian throne. The couple had eight children including Umberto I, the future King of Italy, and Maria Pia who married King Luís I of Portugal. In 1849, Adelheid became Queen of Sardinia following her father-in-law’s abdication and her husband’s accession to the throne. However, she died before her husband became King of Italy. Just days after giving birth to her last child, Adelheid fell ill after attending the funeral of her mother-in-law. She died four days later at the age of 32.
Unofficial Royalty: Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia 

January 28, 1919 – Execution of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, and three other Grand Dukes of Russia, by a firing squad at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia
On January 28, 1919, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (58 years old), Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich (58 years old), and two brothers, Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich (59 years old) and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich (55 years old) were taken to the courtyard of the Fortress of Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia and executed by a firing squad. The four Grand Dukes were all first cousins as their fathers were all sons of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. They were the last of the eighteen Romanovs killed as a result of the Russian Revolution. Their remains have not been found.
Unofficial Royalty: January 28, 1919 – Execution of Four Grand Dukes
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia
Wikipedia: Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia
Wikipedia: Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich of Russia

January 28, 1941 – Birth of Crown Prince Susan of the Albanians, wife of Crown Prince Leka I of the Albanians, born Susan Barbara Cullen-Ward on January 28, 1941, in Waverley, a suburb of Sydney, Australia
An avid Egyptologist, Susan received a scholarship to attend Sorbonne University in France where she met Crown Prince Leka I of Albania, the pretender to the throne of Albania. He later later invited her to come to Spain where she studied tourism. The couple married in 1975 and had one son. After living in exile since 1939, the royal family was invited to return to Albania in June 2002. Arriving with her husband, son, and mother-in-law Queen Geraldine, Susan continued her work for improving conditions for the Albanian people and remained steadfast in her unyielding support for her husband’s efforts. Sadly, just two years later, she died after having been diagnosed with lung cancer.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Prince Susan of the Albanians

January 28, 1950 – Birth of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, in Riffa, Bahrain
King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain is the eldest son of Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain and his wife, Hessa bint Salman Al Khalifa. Hamad was a driving force in establishing the Bahrain Defense Force and was appointed Commander-in-Chief. He later served as Minister of Defense and Deputy Head of the Al Khalifa Family Council. An avid helicopter pilot, Hamad was instrumental in establishing the Bahrain Air Force. Upon his father’s death on March 6, 1999, he became the Emir of Bahrain. Three years later, in 2002, he elevated the Emirate to a Kingdom and proclaimed himself the first King of Bahrain.
Unofficial Royalty: King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain

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Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Today’s Royal Events

• Unofficial Royalty: Monaco – Saint Dévote’s Day (January 27)

January 27, 1708 – Birth of Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia, daughter of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia and Catherine I, Empress of All Russia, mother of Peter III, Emperor of All Russia in Moscow, Russia
Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna was one of three of the fourteen children of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia to survive childhood. In 1725, Peter the Great died without naming an heir. Some historians speculate that Peter the Great wanted to declare Anne Petrovna as his heir. A coup arranged by Peter’s best friend Prince Alexander Menshikov proclaimed Peter the Great’s second wife (and Anna’s mother) Catherine the ruler of Russia. Later in 1725, Anna Petrovna married Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. In 1728, Anna gave birth to a son named Karl Peter Ulrich. Sadly, Anna died three months later, on May 4, 1728, at the age of 20. Anna’s son Karl Peter Ulrich succeeded her younger sister Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia as Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. However, the reign of Peter III lasted only six months. He was deposed by his wife, born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, who reigned as Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, and then murdered.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia

January 27, 1763 – Death of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in the Free City of Frankfurt, now in Hesse, Germany; buried in the Castle Church at Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany
In 1711, Anton Ulrich had secretly married Philippine Elisabeth Caesar, a lady-in-waiting to his elder sister. The marriage was morganatic and was met with great disapproval from his family. Anton Ulrich and Philippine Elisabeth had ten children who were not eligible to succeed to the throne. Philippine Elisabeth Caesar died in 1744.  In 1746, Friedrich Wilhelm, Anton Ulrich’s brother who had jointly reigned with him, died, and Anton Ulrich was now the only Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. His relatives had already been discussing the division of Saxe-Meiningen after his death due to the lack of heirs. However, Anton Ulrich married Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal, who was forty-three years younger, and the couple had eight children. After a reign of nearly 17 years, Anton Ulrich died at the age of 76.
Unofficial Royalty: Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

January 27, 1773 – Birth of Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex, son of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Augustus Frederick
Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex is infamously known for making two marriages in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772. In 1793, a very pregnant Miss Augusta Murray and Mr. Augustus Frederick (the Duke of Sussex) were married. Augusta gave birth to a son a month later.The marriage greatly angered King George III and it was declared null and void in August 1794. Despite this, Augustus and Augusta continued to live together. Another child, a daughter was born in 1801. The two illegitimate children used the last name D’Este as both their parents were descendants of the House of Este. After Augusta died in 1830, Augustus married again in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act, to a widow, Lady Cecilia Buggin. Because marriage was not considered legal, Cecilia could not take the style and title Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex, so instead, she assumed the surname Underwood, her mother’s maiden name, and was known as Lady Cecilia Underwood. The couple lived at Augustus’ apartments in Kensington Palace. Despite all of this, Augustus was respected by his niece Queen Victoria. He was given the honor of giving her away at her wedding. As a token of her gratitude, Queen Victoria created Augustus’ wife Cecilia Duchess of Inverness in her own right in 1840.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex

January 27, 1805 – Birth of Maria Anna of Bavaria (twin sister of Sophie Friederike below), Queen of Saxony, 2nd wife of King Friedrich August II of Saxony, in Munich, Electorate of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Maria Anna Leopoldine Elisabeth Wilhelmine
In 1833, Maria Anna, a daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, married Crown Prince Friedrich August of Saxony but they had no children. Three years later, she became Queen of Saxony upon her husband’s accession to the throne. Maria Anna founded a women’s association to help combat the famines plaguing parts of Saxony. This association continued to exist until the early 1930s.  In 1854, King Friedrich August II was killed in an accident while traveling in Tyrol, Austria. She survived her husband by 23 years, dying at the age of 72.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Anna of Bavaria, Queen of Saxony

January 27, 1805 – Birth of Sophie Friederike of Bavaria (twin sister of Maria Anna above), Archduchess of Austria, wife of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria, mother of two emperors: Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, the grandmother of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination sparked World War I and great-grandmother of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, in Munich, Electorate of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Sophie Friederike Dorothea Wilhelmine
The daughter of the first King of Bavaria, Maximilian I Joseph, Sophie was the mother of two emperors: Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, the grandmother of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination sparked World War I, and the great-grandmother of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria.  Sophie never recovered from the 1867 execution of her son Maximilian and she withdrew from public life.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie Friederike of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria

January 27, 1836 – Death of Wilhelmine of Baden, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine wife of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany; buried in the Altes Mausoleum in the Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt
In 1804, Wilhelmine married her first cousin, the future Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine, and they had five children including Prince Alexander whose morganatic marriage created the Battenberg/Mountbatten family, and Marie who married Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. Wilhelmine’s marriage was never happy, and she separated from her husband after the birth of their first three children. Wilhelmine had a large garden built on a hill in Darmstadt called the Rosenhöhe. She added several buildings, including a summer residence and a tea house. When her daughter Elisabeth died, Wilhelmine had a mausoleum called the Rosenhöhe built in the park instead of using the traditional grand ducal tomb in the Darmstadt Stadtkirche. The Rosenhöhe became the traditional burial site for the Grand Ducal Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelmine of Baden, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

January 27, 1844 – Death of Cecilia of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg, third wife of Grand Duke August I of Oldenburg, after delivering her third child, in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum in Saint Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg
Cecilia was not yet two years old when her father was deposed as King of Sweden in 1809. The family moved to Baden, and her parents divorced three years later. Cecilia met her future husband. Grand Duke August I of Oldenburg stopped in Baden during his travels, and within just an hour of conversation, he asked for her hand in marriage. Cecilia then moved to Vienna, where her brother was serving in the court of the Austrian Emperor Franz I. There, on May 5, 1831, Cecilia and August were married. Cecilia died on January 27, 1844, just days after giving birth to her youngest son.
Unofficial Royalty: Cecilia of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg

January 27, 1859 – Birth of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia,  at the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht
A grandson of Queen Victoria, Wilhelm was the last German Emperor and the last King of Prussia. In 1881, Wilhelm married Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. The couple had six sons and one daughter. Wilhelm was very militaristic and wanted to increase the strength of Germany’s armed forces, particularly the German Imperial Navy which he wanted to be the equal of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy. Although Wilhelm appeared to have some doubts after the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Serbia, Wilhelm incited Austria-Hungary to take revenge against Serbia for the assassination. Events worsened throughout July 1914 resulting in the beginning of World War I in August 1914. Years before the start of World War I, Germany had developed the Schlieffen Plan, a one-front war-winning offensive against France which was the thinking behind the German invasion of France and Belgium on August 4, 1914. After the German Empire’s loss, Wilhelm abdicated on November 9, 1918. A day later, he crossed the border by train and went into exile in the Netherlands, never to return to Germany. Wilhelm purchased Huis Doorn, a small manor house outside of Doorn, a small town near Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia

January 27, 1958 – Death of Prince Oskar of Prussia, son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, in Munich, Germany; buried at Hohenzollern Castle, in Bisingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
In 1914, Oskar married Countess Ina-Marie von Bassewitz. As the marriage was considered morganatic, the bride could not take her husband’s style and title. Instead, four days before the wedding, Ina-Marie was created Countess von Ruppin. The couple had four children. Several years later, in November 1919, the marriage was decreed dynastic, and Ina-Marie and her children were elevated to HRH Prince/Princess of Prussia as of June 1920. From 1926 until he died in 1958, Oskar served as Master of Knights of the Johanniterorden (Order of Saint John), an ancient order that has been a favorite of the Hohenzollerns. He is credited with saving the order from extinction at the hands of the Nazi regime. Prince Oskar suffered from declining health for the last few years of his life and died of stomach cancer in a clinic in Munich, Germany on January 27, 1958, at the age of 69.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Oskar of Prussia

January 27, 1971 – Death of Adelheid of Schaumburg-Lippe, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg, wife of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, in Ballenstedt, Germany; buried in the Mausoleum Garden at Schloss Bückeburg, the traditional burial site of the Princely Family of Schaumburg-Lippe, in Bückeburg, Lower Saxony, Germany
In 1898,  Adelheid married the future Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and the couple had four children. In 1908, Adelheid became the last Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg when her husband succeeded his father as Duke. Their reign, however, would be relatively short-lived. Her husband was forced to abdicate on November 13, 1918, when the German Empire was abolished. Following the abdication, Adelheid felt that she no longer had to endure her husband’s affairs and the shame it brought to her marriage. The couple separated and was divorced on January 17, 1920. After remaining mostly out of the public eye for the rest of her life, Adelheid died in Ballenstedt, East Germany, on January 27, 1971, at the age of 95.
Unofficial Royalty: Adelheid of Schaumburg-Lippe, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg

January 27, 2001 – Death of Queen Marie José of  Italy, born Marie José of Belgium, wife of King Umberto II of Italy, in Geneva, Switzerland; buried at the Cistercian Abbey of Hautecombe in Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille, France
Marie José was the youngest child and only daughter of Albert I, King of the Belgians and Elisabeth in Bavaria. She married Crown Prince Umberto of Italy, Prince of Piedmont, the son of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy. After World War II, King Victor Emmanuel III abdicated on May 9, 1946. Marie José and her husband became the new King and Queen of Italy, however, their reign was short-lived. A referendum was held on June 2, 1946,  with the majority voting to abolish the monarchy. Accepting the people’s will, Umberto and Marie José left Italy on June 13, 1946, and were barred under the terms of the new constitution from returning to Italian soil. They settled in Portugal, but soon separated, with Marie José and her children then living in Switzerland. In 1992, she sold her home in Switzerland and spent the next few years living with her daughter Marie-Béatrice in Mexico. She returned to Switzerland in 1996, and on January 27, 2001, 94-year-old Queen Marie José of Italy passed away in Geneva, Switzerland
Unofficial Royalty: Marie José of Belgium, Queen of Italy

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King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

January 26, 1763 – Birth of King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway, born Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte in Pau, France
King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway was born Jean Baptiste Bernadotte in Pau, France. He joined the military and quickly stood out for his courage and leadership. During the French Revolution, he rose quickly through the ranks, attaining the rank of Brigadier General in 1794. In 1798, he married Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, whose sister Julie Clary was married to Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte. Désirée had previously been engaged to Napoleon. Jean and Désirée had one son, the future King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway, born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte. In 1804, Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of France and appointed Bernadotte as a Marshal of France. 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. In 1814, as Crown Prince of Sweden, Bernadotte was actively involved in the events leading up to the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, in which Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden. Bernadotte became king in 1818 upon the death of King Carl XIII of Sweden/King Karl II of Norway. Bernadotte reigned as King Karl III Johan of Norway and as King Carl XIV Johan in Sweden where he started the House of Bernadotte which still reigns in Sweden.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway

January 26, 1876 – Death of Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil, second wife of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil/King Pedro IV of Portugal, in Lisbon, Portugal; buried first in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, since 1982 buried in the Ipiranga monument in São Paulo, Brazil
Amélie was the daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais (son of Empress Jospéhine, the first wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, from her first marriage) and Princess Augusta of Bavaria. Because of a political and economic crisis, her husband Emperor Pedro I of Brazil abdicated his throne in favor of a daughter from his first marriage. Pedro, Amélie, and their daughter Maria Amélie returned to Portugal. Both Pedro and his daughter Maria Amélie died from tuberculosis.  Amélie financed the construction of a hospital to treat patients with lung diseases in Funchal on the island of Madeira in Portugal called the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélie which is still in existence. After Amélie died at the age of 60 in Lisbon, Portugal, the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélia was handed over to her sister Queen Joséphine of Sweden, and according to the terms of Amélie’s will, it is owned and administered by the Swedish Royal Family. King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden have visited the hospital.
Unofficial Royalty: Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil

January 26, 1947 – Death of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, eldest son of King Gustaf VI Adolf and father of King Carl XVI Gustaf, in a commercial airplane crash at the Kastrup Airport in Kastrup, Denmark, near Copenhagen; buried at the Royal Cemetery at Haga Park in Solna, Sweden
Prince Gustaf Adolf was the father of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and would have himself become King of Sweden had he not died tragically in an airplane crash at the age of 40. In 1931, Gustaf Adolf married Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the daughter of Prince Carl Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a grandson of Queen Victoria. The couple had four daughters and one son, the future King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Prince Gustaf Adolf was killed in a commercial airplane crash on January 26, 1947, at the Kastrup Airport in Kastrup, Denmark, near Copenhagen. He was returning from a hunting trip and a visit to Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. The plane had landed at Kastrup for a routine stop before continuing to Stockholm. After taking off, the plane climbed to an altitude of only 150 feet, stalled, and plummeted nose-first to the ground, where it exploded upon impact. All 22 people aboard the plane were killed. Gustaf Adolf’s only son, nine-month-old Carl Gustaf, became second in the line of succession and would succeed his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf, in 1973.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten

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Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

January 25, 1477 – Birth of Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France, wife of King Charles VIII of France and second wife of King Louis XII of France, at the Château des ducs de Bretagne in Nantes, Duchy of Brittany, now in France
Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right, is the only woman to have been Queen Consort of France twice. She was the wife of King Charles VIII and the second of the three wives of King Louis XII. Anne was the daughter of François II, Duke of Brittany. When her father died in 1488, Anne became the Duchess of Brittany in her own right. In 1491, Anne married King Charles VIII of France. Anne and Charles had seven children but none survived. King Charles VIII died unexpectedly from a head injury in 1498. Because he had no surviving children, Louis, Duke of Orléans succeeded him as King Louis XII of France. Anne returned to Brittany and began taking steps to ensure the independence of her duchy. Louis XII did not want this to happen and so he had his 24-year childless marriage to Charles VIII’s sister Jeanne of France annulled and married Anne of Brittany in 1499. They had four stillborn sons and three miscarriages but they did have two daughters who survived to adulthood. After Anne’s death, the 52-year-old King Louis XII, still seeking a son to succeed him, married 18-year-old Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England, but Louis XII died three months after the marriage.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France

January 25, 1559 – Death of King Christian II of Denmark, Norway and Sweden in captivity at Kalundborg Castle in Denmark; buried at Saint Canute’s Cathedral in Odense, Denmark
Nicknamed Christian the Tyrant, Christian II was King of Denmark and Norway from 1513 until 1523 and also King of Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was the joint ruler of the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein with his paternal uncle Frederik, the future King Frederik I of Denmark and Norway. In 1523, Christian II was forced to abdicate and was exiled. After trying to reclaim the throne in 1531, Christian was imprisoned, first in Sønderborg Castle and then at Kalundborg Castle, for the last twenty-seven years of his life. He died at Kalundborg Castle at the age of 77.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian II of Denmark

January 25, 1661 – Birth of Prince Antonio I of Monaco in Paris, France
Antonio I, Prince of Monaco was the elder of the two sons and the eldest of the six children of Louis I, Prince of Monaco. In 1688, Antonio married Marie of Lorraine, the daughter of Louis of Lorraine, Count of Armagnac. Antonio and Marie had six daughters but only two survived to adulthood.  In 1701, when his father died, Antonio became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. He reigned for thirty years until he died on February 20, 1731, at the age of 70. Antonio I was succeeded by his eldest daughter Louise Hippolyte who had a very short reign of ten months. She died from smallpox at the age of 34, on December 29, 1731.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Antonio I of Monaco

January 25, 1755 – Birth of Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia, first wife of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, in Prenzlau, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Wilhelmine Luise
The daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, in 1773, Wilhelmine married Grand Duke Paul Petrovich (the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia), the son and heir of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia. After her marriage, she was known as Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna. After two-plus years of marriage, Natalia became pregnant. Sadly, she died at the age of 20 after six days of agonizing labor. Her child, a son, also died.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia

January 25, 1858 – Wedding of Victoria, Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Victoria, and the future Friedrich III, German Emperor at the Chapel Royal, St. James Palace in London, England
Victoria, Princess Royal and Prince Friedrich of Prussia, the future Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia, became engaged on September 29, 1855, but the engagement was not publicly announced until May 17, 1856. Because Vicky was so young, her parents decreed that the wedding would have to wait until Vicky was 17-years-old. They were married at the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace in London, England on January 25, 1858. The couple had eight children and the Greek, Prussian, Romanian, Serbian, and Spanish royal families descended from this marriage.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia

January 25, 1900 – Death of Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, in Dresden, Kingdom of Prussia; buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Przemków, Poland
Adelheid’s mother was Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the elder half-sister of Queen Victoria, and therefore Adelheid was Queen Victoria’s niece. In 1856, Adelheid married the future Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. They had seven children including Princess Auguste Viktoria who married Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia. Soon after her husband died in 1880, and her eldest daughter’s marriage in early 1881, Adelheid retired from public life, settling in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, where she spent her time painting and enjoying the arts. She died on January 25, 1900, in Dresden at the age of 64.
Unofficial Royalty: Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein

January 25, 1978 – Birth of Princess Charlene of Monaco, wife of Prince Albert II of Monaco, born Charlene Lynette Wittstock in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe
Charlene competed for the South African national swimming team. In the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she competed in the 4 X 100-meter medley and the team came in fifth place. She planned to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but could not due to a shoulder injury. In June 2000 at the Marenostrum International Swimming Meet in Monaco, Charlene first met Prince Albert II of Monaco who presided over the meet. Prince Albert was also an Olympian having competed in bobsledding in five Winter Olympics. For the next five years, the couple periodically dated privately. At the Opening Ceremonies for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, their relationship became public. Charlene and Albert married in a civil ceremony on July 1, 2011, in the Throne Room of the Prince’s Palace, and then in a religious ceremony on July 2, 2011, in the courtyard of the Prince’s Palace. Prince Albert and Princess Charlene have two children, boy and girl twins.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlene of Monaco

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