© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Today’s Royal Events

• Unofficial Royalty: Belgium – King’s Day (November 15)

November 15, 1498 – Birth of Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France, wife of King Manuel I of Portugal and second wife of King François I of France, in Leuven, Spanish Netherlands, now in Belgium
Eleanor was the eldest of the six children of Philip (the Handsome), Duke of Burgundy and Joanna, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon. Her two brothers were Kings and Holy Roman Emperors and Eleanor and her three sisters were all Queen Consorts  In 1518, 19-year-old Eleanor became Queen of Portugal when she married 49-year-old Manuel I.  The couple had one surviving daughter. After Manuel’s death from the plague in 1521, Eleanor remained unmarried for nine years. To seal a treaty between the Holy Roman Empire and France, François I, King of France, a widower for several years, agreed to marry Eleanor, the sister of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Eleanor and François were married in 1530. Eleanor was ignored by François I who preferred his mistresses. Eleanor and François had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France

November 15, 1527 – Death of Catherine of York, Countess of Devon, daughter of King Edward IV of England, wife of William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, at Tiverton Castle in Devon, England; buried at Tiverton Church in Devon, England
In 1495, sixteen-year-old Catherine married twenty-year-old William Courtenay, son and heir of Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, a strong supporter of the then-current monarch, King Henry VII, and they had three children. After her marriage, Catherine remained close to her eldest sister Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VII. She attended the wedding of her eldest nephew Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon in November 1501, and the betrothal of her eldest niece Margaret Tudor to James IV, King of Scots in January 1502. After the death of her husband in 1511, Catherine took a vow of celibacy and was rarely at court. One of her few appearances at court was in 1516 for the christening of her great-niece, Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s daughter, the future Queen Mary I of England, at which Catherine was the godmother. Catherine of York died on November 15, 1527, at Tiverton Castle in Tiverton, Devon, England, aged 48.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine of York, Countess of Devon

November 15, 1799 – Birth of Maria Anna of Saxony, first wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony
Full name: Maria Anna Carolina Josepha Vincentia Xaveria Nepomucena Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Johanna Antonia Elisabeth Cunigunde Gertrud Leopoldina
In 1817, Maria Anna married the future Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The couple had three daughters. Maria Anna and her husband were the founding patrons of L’Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata, the first female boarding school in Florence to educate aristocratic and noble young ladies. The school is still in existence. Maria Anna’s inability to produce a male heir caused depression which coupled with her chronic ill health, made her developing tuberculosis more severe.  On March 24, 1832, 32-year-old Maria Anna died.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Anna of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

November 15, 1801 – Death of Maria Clementina of Austria, Duchess of Calabria, first wife of the future Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies, in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples
Maria Clementina was one of the sixteen children of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor) and Maria Luisa of Spain. In 1797, Maria Clementina married the future Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. The couple had a son and a daughter but only their daughter survived. Maria Clementina and Francesco had a loving and happy but short marriage. She died from tuberculosis, at the age of 24, before Francesco became King of the Two Sicilies. Her infant son had died four months earlier.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Clementina of Austria, Duchess of Calabria

November 15, 1828 – Death of Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler, Queen of Saxony, wife of King Friedrich August I of Saxony, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany; buried at Dresden Cathedral
1769, Amalie married Friedrich August III, Elector of Saxony. Amalie and her husband had one surviving daughter. In 1806, Amalie became the first Queen of Saxony when the Electorate of Saxony was elevated to a Kingdom, and her husband assumed the throne as King Friedrich August I. Amalie’s husband died in May 1827 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Anton. Amalie survived her husband by a year and a half, dying at the age of 73.
Unofficial Royalty: Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler, Queen of Saxony

November 15, 1853 – Death of Queen Maria II of Portugal in childbirth at Necessidades Palace in Lisbon, Portugal; buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
In 1835, Maria II married Auguste de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg but he died two months later. A year later, she married Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a first cousin of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple had eleven children. Maria II faced problems in giving birth with prolonged and extremely difficult labors. By the time she was 25-years-old, Maria was obese and the births became even more complicated. The combination of many successive pregnancies, her obesity which eventually caused her heart problems, and the prolonged, difficult labors led doctors to warn Maria about the serious risks she would face in future pregnancies. Maria replied, “If I die, I die at my post.”  Maria II at the age of 34 after giving birth to a stillborn son.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Maria II of Portugal

November 15, 1863 – Death of King Frederik VII of Denmark in Glücksburg, Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
In 1828, Frederik married Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark, the younger of the two daughters of the reigning King of Denmark, Frederik VI. The marriage was childless and unhappy, mostly due to Frederik’s affairs and drinking. The couple separated in 1834 and divorced in 1837. Frederik married again in 1841 to Caroline Mariane of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Once again, the marriage was childless and unhappy. In 1844, Caroline Mariane visited her parents and refused to return to Denmark. The couple divorced in 1846. In 1848, Frederik succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father. Two years later, he married his third wife Louise Rasmussen, a ballerina and stage actress. Frederik began a relationship with Louise during the 1840s. As this was a morganatic marriage, Louise was not Queen of Denmark. Instead, she was given the title Countess Danner. Frederik and Louise did not have any children.  King Frederik VII of Denmark died from erysipelas, a bacterial skin infection, at the age of 55.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik VII of Denmark

November 15, 1889 – Birth of King Manuel II of Portugal at Belém Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis Eugénio
King Manuel II of Portugal was the last Portuguese monarch, reigning just two and a half years before Portugal was declared a republic. 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 King Carlos I of Portugal was shot in the head, dying instantly, and his elder brother Luís Filipe, Prince Royal was also mortally injured and died several minutes later. At just 18 years old, Manuel became the last King of Portugal.
Unofficial Royalty: King Manuel II of Portugal

November 15, 1895 – Birth of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, daughter of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, at Tsarskoe Selo, Russia
Olga was the eldest of the five daughters and the eldest of the six children of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Alix of Hesse and by Rhine. Because Olga reached her teens before World War I, there was talk about marriage for her. The most serious talk was for a marriage between Olga and Prince Carol of Romania (the future King Carol II), the son of King Ferdinand I of Romania and Queen Marie, born a British princess and a first cousin of Olga’s mother. During a visit in 1914 to Romania, Olga did not like Carol, while Carol’s mother Queen Marie was unimpressed with Olga. Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) and Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia (the future King Alexander I of Yugoslavia) were also mentioned as potential husbands. Olga wanted to marry a Russian and remain in her own country. When World War I started, any marriage talk was postponed.
Unofficial Royalty: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, Grand Duchesses of Russia

November 15, 1956 – Death of Elisabetha of Romania, Queen of Greece, wife of King George II of Greece, in Cannes, France; buried at the Hedinger Church in Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Elisabeth was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria through her mother Princess Marie of Edinburgh. In 1921, she married the future King George II of Greece. George and Elisabeth had no children, and would eventually divorce in 1935. After her divorce, Elisabeth petitioned to have her Romanian citizenship restored (she had relinquished it upon her marriage), and through very shrewd investments the booming Romanian economy, managed to become financially well-off. She devoted much of her time to charity, working with many organizations to help children and those who were ill. At her own expense, Elisabetha established a hospital and children’s home in Bucharest, Romania. After her nephew King Mihai was forced to abdicate in 1947, the Romanian royal family left Romania. After staying briefly in Sigmaringen, Germany, and in Zurich, Elisabeth eventually settled in Cannes, France where she leased an apartment and later taught piano lessons. She died in Cannes at the age of 62.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabetha of Romania, Queen of Greece

November 15, 1977 – Death of Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois, daughter of Prince Louis II of Monaco and his mistress Marie Juliette Louvet, in Paris, France; buried at the Chapelle de la Paix (Chapel of Peace) in Monaco
Charlotte began life as Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet, the illegitimate daughter of the future Prince Louis II of Monaco and Marie Juliette Louvet. Her parents had met the previous year in Paris, where Marie worked as a hostess in a nightclub. Because Louis was unmarried and without an heir, the Monegasque throne was likely to pass to his first cousin once removed Wilhelm, the Duke of Urach, a German nobleman who was the son of his father’s aunt Princess Florestine of Monaco. In 1918, a law was passed allowing for the adoption of an heir with succession rights. In 1919, Louis legally adopted Charlotte, giving her the Grimaldi surname. Her grandfather Prince Albert I created her HSH Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois. Upon Louis’ accession in 1922, Charlotte became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco. In 1920, Charlotte married Count Pierre de Polignac, and the couple had two children including the future Prince Rainer III. By 1925, Charlotte and Pierre were living separate lives and formally divorced in 1933. Charlotte knew the very Catholic Monaco would never fully accept her. In 1944, Charlotte renounced her succession rights to the Monegasque throne in 1944 in favor of her son Rainier. She died in 1977 at the age of 79.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois

November 15, 1977 – Birth of Peter Phillips, son of Anne, Princess Royal and her first husband Mark Philipps, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, England
Full name: Peter Mark Andrew
Peter is the eldest of the eight grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. In 2008, he married Canadian Autumn Kelly. The couple had two daughters, the first two great-grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II, and both have dual citizenship, making them the first Canadians in the line of succession to the British throne. On February 11, 2020, Peter and Autumn Phillips announced their intention to divorce. They had separated in 2019. The divorce of Peter and Autumn Phillips became final on June 14, 2021.
Unofficial Royalty: Peter Phillips

November 15, 2024 – Death of Yuriko, Princess Mikasa of Japan, wife of Prince Mikasa of Japan, at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, Japan
Princess Mikasa was the wife of the late Prince Mikasa, the youngest son of Emperor Taishō, the brother of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), and the uncle of Emperor Akihito. Prince and Princess Mikasa had three sons and two daughters. All three sons predeceased their parents. Princess Mikasa’s husband died in 2016, at the age of 100, a little more than a month before his 101st birthday. At the time of his death, he was the world’s oldest royal and the longest-lived member of the Japanese Imperial Family. Five days before Prince Mikasa’s death, he and his wife celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in his hospital room. Princess Mikasa survived her husband by eight years, dying of old age, on November 15, 2024, at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, Japan aged 101.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mikasa of Japan

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

November 14, 1567 – Birth of Maurits, Prince of Orange at Castle Dillenburg, the ancestral seat of the Orange branch of the House of Nassau now in Hesse, Germany 
Maurits was the only surviving son and the fourth of the five children of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange and his second wife Anna of Saxony. In 1618, Maurits succeeded his childless half-brother Filip Willem. Maurits never married but he did have a number of illegitimate children.
Unofficial Royalty: Maurits, Prince of Orange

November 14, 1650 – Birth of Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England, at Binnenhof Palace in The Hague, the Dutch Republic now in the Netherlands
William was the only child of Willem II, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and Mary, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England. William’s father died at age 24 of smallpox eight days before William’s birth, so from birth, William was the sovereign Prince of Orange. In 1677, William married his first cousin Mary, the elder surviving daughter of James, Duke of York, later King James II of England/James VII of Scotland. William followed Mary and her sister Anne in the line of succession to the English throne. In 1688, Mary’s father King James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution and Mary and her husband William became joint sovereigns as King William III and Queen Mary II. The couple had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: King William III of England, Prince of Orange

November 14, 1687 – Death of Nell Gwyn, mistress of King Charles II of England, in London, England; buried at the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, England
Nell was an orange girl in the theater, selling fruit and sweetmeats within the theater. She later became an actress. The affair between Nell and King Charles II began in April 1668 when Nell was attending a performance at Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theater. Charles II was in the next box and was more interested in flirting with Nell than watching the play. Charles II invited Nell and her escort to supper, along with his brother the Duke of York. Charles and Nell had one surviving son, Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans. The descendants of Nell and King Charles II have continued the line of the Dukes of St. Albans through the centuries. Nell remained one of Charles II’s mistresses until he died in 1685. On his deathbed, Charles remembered Nell when he told his brother James to look after his mistresses: “Let not poor Nelly starve.” King James II eventually paid most of Nell’s debts and gave her an annual pension of £1,500. In March 1687, Nell suffered a stroke, probably due to the effects of syphilis, that left her paralyzed on one side. Two months later, a second stroke left her confined to her bed. After suffering a third stroke, Nell died at the age of 37. Her funeral took place in a packed St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London, where she was also buried, with many more mourners lining the streets outside the church.
Unofficial Royalty: Nell Gwyn, mistress of King Charles II of England

November 14, 1734 – Death of Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, mistress of King Charles II of England, in Paris, France; buried at the Church of the Carmelite Convent in Paris, France
Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and King Charles II of England are the ancestors of Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom, Diana, Princess of Wales,  and Sarah, Duchess of York. In 1669, her parents arranged for her to be placed in the household of Henriette-Anne, Duchess of Orléans, at the Palace of Versailles, hoping Louise would catch the eye of King Louis XIV of France and become a royal mistress. In January 1670, Louise accompanied Henriette-Anne on a diplomatic mission to her brother King Charles II at Dover Castle in England. King Louis XIV hoped Louise would catch the eye of his first cousin King Charles II and then there would be a French mistress at the English court. When the diplomatic mission was completed, Henriette-Anne offered her brother his choice of jewelry from her jewelry box which Louise handed to her. Placing his hand on Louise’s hand, Charles is reputed to have said: “This is the only jewel I want!” Louise and Charles II had one child, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox.  Louise held on to the title of official mistress until the end of King Charles II’s life in 1685. The generous pension that Charles II had given her was rescinded in 1688 following the Glorious Revolution that deposed King James II and placed his daughter Queen Mary II and his nephew and Mary’s husband King William III upon the throne. Louise returned to France where King Louis XIV of France and King Louis XV  provided Louise with a pension and protected her against her creditors. Louise died in Paris, France, aged 85.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, mistress of King Charles II of England

November 14, 1812 – Birth of Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies, first wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, in Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia, now in Italy
Full name: Maria Cristina Carlotta Giuseppa Gaetana Efisia
Maria Cristina was the daughter of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. In 1832, she married Ferdinando II, King of Two Sicilies. Maria Cristina was shy, modest, reserved, and a very devout Catholic. During the short time that she was Queen of the Two Sicilies, Maria Cristina prevented the carrying out of all death sentences. She was called “the Holy Queen” for her deep religious devotion. She endured her nearly constant illnesses with patience and piety and was popular with the people for her charity, modesty, and humility. On January 21, 1836, five days after giving birth to her only child, the future Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies, 23-year-old Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications. In 1859, a cause for the canonization of Maria Cristina as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church was opened. In 1872, Maria Cristina was declared a Servant of God and in 1937, she was declared a Venerable Servant of God. In 2013, Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle due to her intercession and approved Maria Cristina’s beatification. She is known in the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy and is one step away from canonization as a saint. On January 25, 2014, the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy, the burial site of Maria Cristina, was the site of her beatification ceremony. Several thousand people attended the ceremony including the two branches of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
Unofficial Royalty: Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies

November 14, 1847 – Birth of Princess Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Yurievskaya, morganatic second wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, in Moscow, Russia
Princess Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Catherine Dolgorukov in English, was first the mistress and then the second and morganatic wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. In 1880, six weeks after the death of his wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna from tuberculosis, Alexander II made a morganatic marriage with Catherine. This marriage caused a scandal in the Imperial Family and violated Russian Orthodox rules regarding the waiting period for remarriage following the death of a spouse. Alexander granted his new wife the title of Princess Yurievskaya and legitimized their four children who were then styled Prince/Princess. On March 13, 1881, Emperor Alexander was assassinated when a bomb was thrown into his carriage. Shortly after Alexander’s funeral, Catherine left Russia forever. She moved to France and, in 1888, settled in Nice on the French Riviera. where she died on February 15, 1922, at the age of 74, forgotten and ignored, her obituary only three lines long.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine Dolgorukov, Princess Yurievskaya

November 14, 1854 – Birth of Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe, Queen Victoria’s Acting Mistress of the Robes 1883–1885 and 1892–1895 and Lady of the Bedchamber 1897–1901, on Lower Brook Street in Mayfair, London, England
Born Lady Anne Spencer-Churchill, daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, she married James Innes-Ker, 7th Duke of Roxburghe.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe

November 14, 1866 – Death of the former King Miguel I of Portugal in exile in Bronnbach, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg; buried first in the Engelberg Monastery in Grossheubach, Kingdom of Bavaria; reburied in 1967 in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
Miguel was the son of King João VI of Portugal who reigned until he died in 1826. At that time, João VI’s elder son succeeded to the throne as King Pedro IV. Pedro was king for only two months, abdicating in favor of his daughter Queen Maria II of Portugal. Maria Antonia’s father Miguel served as regent for his niece Maria II. As regent, Miguel claimed the Portuguese throne in his own right. This led to a difficult political situation, during which many people were killed, imprisoned, persecuted, or sent into exile, finally culminating in the Portuguese Liberal Wars. Ultimately, Miguel was deposed in 1834 and lived his last thirty-two years in exile. In 1851, Miguel married Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, and the couple had six daughters and a son. Through the marriages of their many children and grandchildren, Miguel and his wife Adelaide are the ancestors of the current monarchs of Luxembourg, Belgium, and Liechtenstein, as well as pretenders to the thrones of Portugal, Austria, Bavaria, and Italy. Miguel died while hunting at the age of 64.
Unofficial Royalty: King Miguel II of Portugal

November 14, 1893 – Birth of Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg
Full name: Georg Philipp Albrecht Carl Maria Joseph Ludwig Lubertus Stanislaus Leopold
Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg was Head of the House of Württemberg, and pretender to the former throne, from 1939 until he died in 1975.
Unofficial Royalty: Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg

November 14, 1923 – Death of Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover at Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden, Austria; buried in the mausoleum at Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden, Austria
The only son of King Georg V of Hanover, Ernst August was the last Crown Prince of Hanover and was the last to hold the British Dukedoms of Cumberland and Teviotdale. Ernst August became Crown Prince of Hanover upon his father’s accession in November 1851. However, in 1866, Hanover was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia. The family went into exile in Austria but spent much of their time in Paris. In 1878, Ernst August married Princess Thyra of Denmark, the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and the couple had six children. Upon his father’s death in June 1878, Ernst August inherited his titles, becoming the 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, and Earl of Armagh in the United Kingdom, and became head of the House of Hanover. He was also made a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, his father’s first cousin. However, Ernst August was removed from the roll of the Order of the Garter in 1915, and in 1917 was stripped of his title of Prince of the United Kingdom. As a result of the Titles Deprivation Act, in 1919 he was stripped of his British peerages for bearing arms against Great Britain during World War I. The titles – Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale – remain in abeyance, and his direct descendants could petition to have them restored. To date, no such petition has been made.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover

November 14, 1935 – Birth of King Hussein I of Jordan in Amman, Jordan
King Hussein of Jordan was one of the most important figures in the Middle Eastern region. His efforts for peace in the region earned him the respect of millions around the world. His father King Talal suffered from mental illness and was forced to abdicate in 1952 after a reign of only one year. The 16-year-old Hussein became King of Jordan with a regency council established until he reached the age of 18. King Hussein had four marriages and a total of eleven children. After a battle with lymphatic cancer, King Hussein died in 1999 and was succeeded by his son King Abdullah II.
Unofficial Royalty: King Hussein I of Jordan

November 14, 1948 – Birth of King Charles III of the United Kingdom, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Charles Philip Arthur George
Upon the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, Charles succeeded to the throne as King Charles III of the United Kingdom. King Charles III is the first British monarch to be descended from two children of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. All monarchs after Queen Victoria have been descendants of her eldest son and heir King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Through his father, Charles is also a descendant of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the second daughter and third child of Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: King Charles III of the United Kingdom

November 14, 1973 – Wedding of Princess Anne of the United Kingdom and Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey in London, England
It was through their mutual love of horses that Mark Phillips met Princess Anne. The couple first met at the equestrian events during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City where Mark was a reserve member of the British equestrian team. The couple became engaged in April 1973  at the Badminton Horse Trials, the major equestrian event in the United Kingdom, in which both Anne and Mark competed. Buckingham Palace announced their engagement on May 29, 1973.  The couple had one son and one daughter. Princess Anne and Mark Phillips separated in 1989 and their divorce was finalized in 1992. Both Anne and Mark remarried.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Anne of the United Kingdom and Captain Mark Phillips

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover; Credit – Wikipedia

November 13, 1312 – Birth of King Edward III of England at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
King Edward III of England is considered one of the important English rulers of the Middle Ages. After the disastrous reign of his father King Edward II, Edward made his kingdom into one of the most organized military powers in Europe. In 1328, Edward III married Philippa of Hainault. The couple had fourteen children. Their sons married into the English nobility, and their descendants later battled for the throne in the Wars of the Roses. Edward’s main preoccupation during his 50-year reign was his claim to the French throne which started the Hundred Years War. The hero of these battles was Edward III’s eldest son and heir, Edward, Prince of Wales, who has come to be known as the Black Prince. The Black Prince died at the age of 45, probably of dysentery, in 1376, a year before his father died, and his son succeeded his grandfather as King Richard II.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward III of England

November 13, 1717 – Birth of Prince George William of Great Britain, son of King George II of Great Britain, at St. James’ Palace in London, England
Little Prince George William lived from November 13, 1717 – February 17, 1718, three months and four days, but an event in his short life caused a huge family argument. The principals in the argument were George William’s grandfather King George I of Great Britain and his father The Prince of Wales, the future King George II of Great Britain. It was the beginning of the battles between fathers and sons that would plague the House of Hanover.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince George William of Great Britain

November 13, 1726 – Death of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the divorced wife of King George I of Great Britain, after 32 years of imprisonment at Castle of Ahlden in Principality of Celle now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried at Stadtkirche St. Marien in Celle
The marriage between first cousins Sophia Dorothea and George, the future King George I of Great Britain, was happy at first, but soon they both found affection elsewhere. George fell in love with one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting, Melusine von der Schulenburg.  Sophia Dorothea fell in love with a Swedish Count, Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, an officer in the Hanoverian army. Despite warnings, from her mother and friends, Sophia Dorothea and her lover wrote letters to each other, met secretly, and planned to escape Hanover together. On the morning of July 2, 1694, after a meeting with Sophia Dorothea, von Königsmarck disappeared from Leineschloss Castle in Hanover and was never seen again. It was widely believed that George ordered von Königsmarck’s death. A tribunal of judges and Lutheran Church officials declared the marriage of George and Sophia Dorothea dissolved on the grounds of Sophia Dorothea’s desertion. Because she was considered the guilty party, Sophia Dorothea was not allowed to remarry, would never again see her children, and would be kept in captivity at the Castle of Ahlden for the last 32 years of her life. Sophia Dorothea suffered a stroke in August 1726 and never again left her bed. She refused medical attention and food and died at the age of 60. King George I would not allow mourning at the British court and was furious when he learned that his daughter, who had married King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, had ordered court mourning in Prussia.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia Dorothea of Celle

November 13, 1801 – Birth of Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Queen of Prussia, wife of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Elisabeth Ludovika was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Princess Caroline of Baden. She was the twin sister of Amalie Auguste below. In 1823, Elisabeth Ludovika married the future King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, after four years of negotiations regarding religion. Friedrich Wilhelm was required to be Lutheran, while Elisabeth Ludovika was Catholic. Eventually, it was agreed that she could retain her religion with the expectation that she would eventually convert. She did convert, but not until 1830. Other than a stillborn child born early in their marriage, the couple had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Queen of Prussia

November 13, 1801 – Birth of Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, Queen of Saxony, wife of King Johann of Saxony, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Amalie Auguste was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Princess Caroline of Baden. She was the twin sister of Elisabeth Ludovika above. In 1822, Amalie Auguste married the future King Johann of Saxony. Their marriage was a happy one, and the couple had nine children including two Kings of Saxony. Amalie Auguste’s husband became the heir presumptive to the Saxony throne in 1836, when King Anton died and was succeeded by Johann’s elder brother, King Friedrich August II. Amalie Auguste and her husband were close with the King and his wife Maria Anna, who was Amalie Auguste’s younger sister, and the two women worked together to support numerous charities and institutions.
Unofficial Royalty: Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, Queen of Saxony

November 13, 1810 – Death of Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, wife of King Louis XVIII of France, in exile at Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire, England; first buried at  in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey in London, England, a year later reinterred at the Cathedral of Cagliari in Sardinia, Italy
Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy was the wife of King Louis XVIII of France, although he did not become King until after her death, during the Bourbon Restoration. The couple married in 1771 but had no children. In June 1795, Marie Joséphine’s husband became the titular King of France following the death of the only surviving son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. However, as the French monarchy had been abolished years earlier, the two remained in exile as Count and Countess of Provence. They continued living in different parts of Europe before moving to England in 1808, taking up residence at Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire, England. Marie Joséphine died at Hartwell House at the age of 57.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, Countess of Provence

November 13, 1848 – Birth of Albert I, Prince of Monaco in Paris, France
Full name: Albert Honoré Charles
Albert was the only child of Prince Charles III of Monaco and Antoinette de Merode. He made an unsuccessful marriage to Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie Amélie of Baden. The couple had one child, the future Prince Louis II of Monaco. Their marriage was annulled by the Catholic Church. In 1889, upon the death of his father, Albert became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. The following month, he married the Dowager Duchess de Richelieu, born Marie Alice Heine in New Orleans, Louisiana. The marriage was childless. Besides being the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Albert I left an interesting legacy. He was a pioneer of oceanography and founded the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. His interest in the origins of man caused him to found the Institute for Human Paleontology in Paris, which conducted many archeological digs. Because of his quest for world peace, the prince founded the International Institute for Peace, a predecessor of the League of Nations and the United Nations.
Unofficial Royalty: Albert I, Prince of Monaco

November 13, 1856 – Death of Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen at Waldleiningen Castle in  Mörschenhardt, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried in Amorbach Abbey until 1866, when his remains were moved to Waldleiningen Castle
Karl was the maternal half-brother of Queen Victoria. At the age of ten, Karl became Prince of Leiningen upon his father’s death in 1814. However, in 1806, the Principality of Leiningen had been mediatized – annexed to another state(s), while allowing certain rights to its former sovereign. The Principality of Leiningen ceased to exist and was divided between the Grand Duchy of Baden, the Kingdom of Bavaria, and the Grand Duchy of Hesse. The family retained Amorbach Abbey in Amorbach, which remains the family seat of the Princes of Leiningen. Karl suffered a severe apoplectic attack in 1855 which greatly affected his health. A second attack the following year proved fatal. Karl died at the age of 52 with his sister Feodora of Leiningen, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg by his bedside.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen

November 13, 1907 – Birth of Giovanna of Italy, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria, wife of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria, in Rome, Italy
Full name: Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria
Giovanna was the daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and Princess Elena of Montenegro. In 1930, she married Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria. The couple had two children including Tsar Simeon III who succeeded his father and later as Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha), served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005 and as party leader until 2009. After the Soviet invasion and the abolition of the monarchy in the 1940s, the family lived in exile. In 1993, following the fall of the communist regime, Giovanna made a memorable visit to Bulgaria, on the 50th anniversary of her husband’s death.
Unofficial Royalty: Giovanna of Italy, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria

November 13, 1929 – Death of Princess Viktoria of Prussia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at the Hospital of St. Francis in Bonn, Germany; buried at Schloss Friedrichshof, Kronberg im Taunus, Germany
Princess Viktoria, known in the family as Moretta, was the daughter of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia. In 1890, she married Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe. Moretta suffered a miscarriage early in the marriage and the couple never had children.  After Adolf’s death, she made a controversial marriage to Alexander Zoubkov, a Russian refugee described as a “dancer”, who was 35 years younger and carelessly spent her money. Moretta was forced to sell the contents of Palais Schaumburg, her home in Bonn, Germany, but the sale did not net much money and she moved into a single furnished room in the Bonn suburb of Mehlem. In 1929, Moretta announced that she was divorcing her second husband but she died of pneumonia a few days later at the age of 63.
Unofficial Royalty: Viktoria of Prussia, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, Mrs. Zoubkoff

November 13, 1943 – Birth of Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, second wife of Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia, pretender to the Serbian throne, born Katherine Clairy Batis in Athens, Greece
Katherine is the second wife of Alexander, Crown Prince of Serbia, the last heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the current pretender to the throne of Serbia. She was previously married to Jack Andrews and has two children from that marriage. Katherine and Alexander have no children but Katherine is the stepmother to Alexander’s three sons from his first marriage to Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans Bragança. Katherine spends much time working with charitable organizations.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia

November 13, 1989 – Death of Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein at a hospital in Grabs, Switzerland; buried in the Princely Crypt at St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Franz Josef was named after Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria who was his mother’s paternal uncle and his godfather. In 1938, Franz Joseph succeeded his childless great-uncle Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Franz Josef was the first sovereign prince to live full-time in the principality and made his home at Vaduz Castle. In 1943, Franz Joseph married Countess Georgina von Wilczek. The couple had five children including the current Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II. In 1984, Franz Josef II handed over most of his powers to his son Hans-Adam. His wife Princess Gina died on October 18, 1989, at the age of 68 after a long battle with cancer. She had once said. “My husband and I have become one. Everyone believes we are not able to exist without the other.” Only 26 days after the death of his wife, Prince Franz Josef II died at the age of 83.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein

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Princess Grace of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

November 12, 1035 – Death of Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway at Shaftesbury, Dorset, England; initially buried at the Old Minster in Winchester, England, remains now in Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, England
One of only two British monarchs to be given the epithet “the Great” (the other was Alfred the Great), Cnut was King of England, Denmark, and Norway, and his dominions were called the North Sea Empire. He was the elder son of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and Norway, and also King of England. Cnut the Great died when he was about 40 years old. He was buried at the Old Minster in Winchester, England. When the Old Minster was demolished in 1093, Canute’s remains were moved to Winchester Cathedral. They are among the remains in the mortuary chests that rest on top of the choir screen.
Unofficial Royalty: Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark and Norway

November 12, 1858 – Death of Prince Alois II of Liechtenstein at Lednice Castle in Eisgrub, Moravia, Kingdom of Bohemia, now Lednice, Czech Republic; buried at the Liechtenstein Crypt in Vranov near Brno, now in the Czech Republic
Full name: Alois Maria Josef Johann Baptista Joachim Philipp Nerius
In 1831, Alois married Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, and the couple had eleven children including two sovereign Princes of Liechtenstein. Upon the death of his father Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein in 1836, Alois became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1837, Alois went to the United Kingdom on a diplomatic mission and attended the coronation of Queen Victoria. Like his father and grandfather, Alois continued to modernize his estates and reorganize their administration. Prince Alois II was the first reigning prince to visit the Principality of Liechtenstein, as we know it today, but he did not live there.  He died, aged 62, on November 12, 1858, at Lednice Castle in Eisgrub, Moravia, Kingdom of Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire, now Lednice, Czech Republic.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Alois II of Liechtenstein

November 12, 1886 – Birth of Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Galliera, son of Infante Antonio of Spain, Duke of Galliera (a grandson of King Ferdinand VII of Spain) and Infanta Eulalia of Spain (a daughter of Queen Isabella II), in Madrid, Spain
Full name: Alfonso María Francisco Antonio Diego
Alfonso was the husband of Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1906, at the wedding of his first cousin King Alfonso XIII of Spain to Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Alfonso met the bride’s first cousin, Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple married in 1909 and had three sons.
Unofficial Royalty: Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Galliera

November 12, 1929 – Birth of Grace Patricia Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco, wife of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Grace was the daughter of John B. Kelly Sr., an American Olympic gold medalist in rowing, and Margaret Majer, the first coach of women’s teams at the University of Pennsylvania. Grace had a career as an actress and won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1954, for her role in The Country Girl. In 1955, Grace attended the Cannes Film Festival and was introduced to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. A relationship soon developed, and in December 1955, Rainier visited Grace and her family in Philadelphia. The couple’s engagement was announced in January 1956. They married on April 18, 1956, in Monaco and had three children including the current Prince of Monaco, Albert II. On September 13, 1982, while driving back to Monaco from the family’s home in France, Princess Grace suffered a stroke. The car veered off the road, and both Grace and her daughter Princess Stephanie were severely injured. Grace never regained consciousness, having suffered major internal injuries, and died on September 14, 1982.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Grace of Monaco

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Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine; Credit – Wikipedia

November 11, 1599 – Birth of Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, Queen of Sweden, wife of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, in Königsberg, Duchy of Prussia, now Kaliningrad, Russia
In 1620, Maria Eleonora married King Gustavus II Adolphus the Great of Sweden. Gustavus Adolphus is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history, making Sweden one of Europe’s largest and leading nations during the early modern period. Although Maria Eleonora’s husband Gustavus Adolphus was successful in many endeavors, he was not successful in providing a male heir. At the Battle of Lützen on November 16, 1632, Gustavus Adolphus was killed. His only surviving child was six-year-old Christina, Queen of Sweden who succeeded her father but never married,  abdicated, subsequently converted to Roman Catholicism, and moved to Rome. Already suffering from mental issues, Maria Eleonora’s grief was quite painful and her mental issues worsened considerably after her husband died in battle. Her young daughter’s regency government feared that Maria Eleonora’s mental instability would adversely influence the young Queen Christina. They decided to separate mother and daughter and Maria Eleonora was sent away from court. Years later, she was able to return to court and Nyköping Castle was granted to her as a residence by order of her daughter. Maria Eleanora survived her husband by twenty-three years, dying at the age of 55, on March 28, 1655, shortly after the abdication of her daughter Queen Christina.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, Queen of Sweden

November 11, 1748 – Birth of King Carlos IV of Spain at the Palace of Portici, Portici, Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, now in Italy
Full name: Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego
In 1788, Carlos succeeded his father King Carlos III of Spain as King Carlos IV of Spain. Carlos IV would rather hunt than deal with government affairs and the running of the government was left mostly to his wife Maria Luisa of Parma and Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. It is probable that de Godoy had a long-term relationship with Maria Luisa and that he was the father of her youngest son. In 1808, after riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII. Less than two months later, Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon I, Emperor of the French where he forced them both to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. Carlos IV, his wife Maria Luisa, and some of their children were held captive. Napoleon kept Carlos and Maria Luisa’s son Fernando VII under guard in France for more than five years until the 1813 Treaty of Valençay provided for the restoration of Fernando VII as King of Spain. After Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815, King Fernando VII refused to allow his parents to return to Spain. Carlos IV and Maria Luisa settled in Rome at the Palazzo Barberini where they both died in 1819.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carlos IV of Spain

November 11, 1861 – Death of King Pedro V of Portugal at Necessidades Palace in Lisbon Portugal; buried at the  Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
Pedro became King of Portugal in 1853 after his mother Queen Maria II of Portugal died in childbirth delivering her eleventh child who also died. As he was just sixteen, his father served as Regent until Pedro reached his majority two years later. Pedro quickly removed the Prime Minister and appointed more left-leaning politicians, ending years of unrest within the Portuguese government. In 1858, Pedro married Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen who died two years later from diphtheria. King Pedro V died of typhoid fever in late 1861, along with two of his brothers. As he had no children from his brief marriage, Pedro was succeeded by his younger brother Luís.
Unofficial Royalty: King Pedro V of Portugal

 November 11, 1869 – Birth of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy in Naples, Italy
Full name: Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro
The only child of King Umberto I of Italy and Princess Margherita of Savoy, Vittorio Emanuele III became King of Italy in 1900 upon the assassination of his father and reigned until his abdication in 1946. In 1896, Vittorio Emanuele III married Princess Elena of Montenegro. The couple had five children. After World War I, the Fascist movement, led by Benito Mussolini gained power. In 1922, all sense of democracy was pushed aside and Mussolini established himself as a dictator with Vittorio Emanuele III merely his puppet. After Italy’s defeat in World War II, a referendum was held to decide whether to retain the monarchy or become a republic. Hoping to save the monarchy, Vittorio Emanuele III abdicated in 1946, in favor of his son. However, his hopes were not realized, and the Italian monarchy was formally abolished just weeks later. The royal family was sent into exile. Vittorio Emanuele settled in Alexandria, Egypt, where he died on December 28, 1947.
Unofficial Royalty: King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy

November 11, 1882 – Birth of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
Full name: Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf
In 1905, Gustav Adolf married Princess Margaret of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The couple had five children. In 1920, Margaret was eight months pregnant with her sixth child when she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection set in, killing Margaret and her unborn child. In 1923, Gustav Adolf married Lady Louise Mountbatten (born Princess Louise of Battenberg). The couple had a stillborn daughter in 1925, and after that, they had no more children. Another tragedy hit in 1947 Gustav Adolf when his eldest son Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten was killed in an airplane crash. In 1950, Gustav Adolf became King of Sweden at age 67 upon the death of his father King Gustaf V. Gustaf Adolf’s personality, his informal and modest nature, and his expertise and interest in a wide range of areas made him popular with the Swedish people. It was said that he wrote 7,000 signatures per year and hosted 3,000 guests per year. He was the patron of about 200 scientific, sporting, and art organizations. King Gustaf VI Adolf died on September 15, 1973, just short of his 91st birthday, and he was succeeded by his 27-year-old grandson King Carl XVI Gustaf, the current King of Sweden.
Unofficial Royalty: King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden

November 11, 1917 – Death of Liliuokalani, former Queen of the Hawaiian Islands, the only queen regnant and the last monarch of the Hawaiian Islands, at her home, Washington Place in Honolulu, Hawaii
Liliuokalani, Queen of the Hawaiian Islands was the only queen regnant and the last monarch of the Hawaiian Islands, reigning from 1891 until she was deposed in 1893. She composed Aloha ʻOe or Farewell to Thee, one of the most recognizable Hawaiian songs. In 1893, a group of local businessmen and politicians composed of six non-native Hawaiian Kingdom subjects, five American nationals, one British national, and one German national overthrew Queen Liliuokalani and took over the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Unofficial Royalty: Liliuokalani, Queen of the Hawaiian Islands

November 11, 1953 – Death of Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, Princess of Prussia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, died and buried at Schloss Hemmelmark in Barkelsby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Irene was the daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and her husband Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. She is often overlooked, as history tends to focus on two of her sisters – Ella and Alix – who both married into the Russian Imperial Family and tragically lost their lives at the hands of the Bolsheviks in 1918. Irene married her first cousin Prince Heinrich of Prussia, the son of Friedrich III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal. Like her mother and sister Alix, Irene was a hemophilia carrier and passed it to two of her three sons. They were two of the nine descendants of Queen Victoria who suffered from the disease. In 1894, Irene and Heinrich bought Hemmelmark, an estate in Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Germany, as it was close to Heinrich’s military base in Kiel. Hemmelmark would become the family’s primary home. It was there that Irene died at the age of 87.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, Princess of Prussia
Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia in Queen Victoria’s Descendants

November 11, 1955 – Birth of former King Jigme Singye Wangchuk of Bhutan; born at Dechenchholing Palace in Thimphu, Bhutan
King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, 4th Dragon King of Bhutan reigned from 1972 until he abdicated in 2006 in favor of his son Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. Beginning his reign as an absolute monarch, Jigme Singye was instrumental in the democratization of the small nation, continuing the steps that his father had begun. He established and strengthened ties with neighboring India and put Bhutan on the map. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was the transition to a constitutional monarchy.
Unofficial Royalty: King Jigme Singye Wangchuk of Bhutan

November 11, 1981 – Birth of Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; born at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Full name: Guillaume Jean Joseph Marie
Guillaume is the eldest of five children of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Cuban-born María Teresa Mestre y Batista-Falla and the heir to the throne of Luxembourg. In 2012,  Guillaume married Belgian-born Countess Stéphanie de Lanoy. The couple has two sons. Guillaume is a member of the State Council (Conseil d’Etat), composed of twenty-one citizens who advise the Chamber of Deputies, the legislature of Luxembourg, in the drafting of legislation. He also participates in the administration and fundraising of several organizations.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg

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King Leopold III of Belgium and Astrid of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

November 10, 1480 – Birth of Bridget of York, daughter of King Edward IV of England, at Eltham Palace in Kent, England
Destined to be a nun, Bridget of York was the youngest of the ten children of King Edward IV of England, the first King of England from the House of York, and Elizabeth Woodville. When Bridget entered Dartford Priory in Dartford, Kent, England to become a nun is unknown. Dartford Priory, founded by King Edward III and developed under his grandson and successor King Richard II, was chosen for Bridget because of its royal background and because it was common for daughters of the nobility to become nuns there. Very little is known about Bridget’s life once she entered Dartford Priory. Except for her mother’s funeral, there is no evidence that Bridget ever left Dartford Priory. Bridget died at Dartford Priory but exactly when she died is unknown. Bridget was interred in the choir of the Dartford Priory church. However, Dartford Priory was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536 – 1541).
Unofficial Royalty: Bridget of York

November 10, 1495 – Death of Dorothea of Brandenburg, Queen of Denmark, wife of two Danish kings, King Christopher and King Christian I; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
In 1445, 15-year-old Dorothea married 29-year-old Christopher III, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Christopher suddenly died in 1448 without an heir. Dorothea married the new king Christian I in 1448. Christian I and Dorothea had five children. Their two surviving sons both became kings and their only daughter became a queen consort. Dorothea had a great influence on her husband and was the regent of his kingdoms when he was away. In 1481, Christian I died and was succeeded by his elder son Hans. Until her death, Dorothea remained politically active during Hans’ reign. Dorothea died in 1495 at the age of 65.
Unofficial Royalty: Dorothea of Brandenburg, Queen of Denmark

November 10, 1565 – Birth of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, favorite of Queen Elizabeth I of England, at Netherwood near Bromyard, Herefordshire, England
A favorite of Queen Elizabeth I but beheaded for treason, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex was the great-grandson of Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, and the stepson of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, Queen Elizabeth I’s favorite. Robert Dudley had much influence on his godson and stepson Robert Devereux. Robert served in the military under his stepfather’s command in the Netherlands. Several years before he died in 1588, Dudley introduced Robert to the Elizabethan court, and Elizabeth I increasingly became interested in the young man. Robert spent much time in the company of Elizabeth I and succeeded his stepfather in royal favor. Although Elizabeth I was thirty-two years older than Robert, she found it very pleasant to be adored by such a young man.
Unofficial Royalty – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, favorite of Queen Elizabeth I of England

November 10, 1683 – Birth of King George II of Great Britain at  Schloss Herrenhausen in Hanover, Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, now in the German state of Lower Saxony
Full name: George Augustus
King George II  was the elder of the two children of Georg Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later King George I of Great Britain), and his wife and first cousin, Sophia Dorothea of Celle. Upon the death of Queen Anne in 1714, George II’s father became the first monarch from the House of Hanover. In 1705, George II married Caroline of Ansbach. The couple had eight children and through their children’s marriages, George and Caroline are the ancestors of many European royal families including the British, Danish, Dutch, Greek, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish Royal Families. In 1727, King George I died in Hanover and was buried there. His son succeeded him as King George II. The composer George Frederick Handel was commissioned to write four new anthems for George II’s coronation, including the rousing Zadok the Priest which has been played at every British coronation ever since. You can see it performed here: YouTube: Zadok the Priest
Unofficial Royalty: King George II of Great Britain

November 10, 1697 – Birth of Louise Hippolyte, Sovereign Princess of Monaco at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco
Louise-Hippolyte was the second but the eldest surviving of the six daughters of Antonio I, Prince of Monaco. Her father decided, with the permission of King Louis XIV of France, that Louise Hippolyte’s husband would take the surname Grimaldi and jointly rule Monaco with her. In 1715, Louise-Hippolyte married French noble Jacques François Leonor Goyon de Matignon. They had nine children but only four survived to adulthood, including Honoré III, Prince of Monaco. When her father died, Louise-Hippolyte decreed that she would be the sole ruler, all documents would be issued in her name only, and her husband and children would stay in France. Louise-Hippolyte had a very short reign of ten months. Several weeks before Christmas of 1731, a smallpox epidemic spread through the Mediterranean coastal areas. Louise-Hippolyte died from smallpox, aged 34, on December 29, 1731.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise Hippolyte, Sovereign Princess of Monaco

November 10, 1710 – Birth of Adam Gottlob Moltke, favorite of King Frederik V of Denmark, in Riesenhof, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now Walkendorf in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Through the influence of his uncle, twelve-year-old Adam was employed as a page for Crown Prince Christian of Denmark in 1722. When Christian came to the throne in 1730 as Christian VI, King of Denmark, Adam was appointed chamberlain to Christian VI’s 7-year-old son Crown Prince Frederik (later Frederik V). The close relationship between Adam and Frederik was established and lasted until Frederik’s death. In 1746, when King Frederik V became King of Denmark, Adam was appointed Court Marshal of Denmark and was made a Privy Councilor. In addition, Adam was given the Bregentved estate in Haslev on the Danish island of Zealand and it is still owned by Adam’s descendants. In 1750, Frederik V created Adam a Count. Although Frederik V took part in the government by attending council meetings, he suffered from alcoholism, and therefore, most of his reign was dominated by his very able ministers led by Adam Gottlob Moltke.
Unofficial Royalty: Adam Gottlob Moltke, Favorite of King Frederik V of Denmark

November 10, 1720 – Birth of Honoré III, Prince of Monaco in Paris, France
Full name: Honoré Camille Léonor Grimaldi
Honoré III, Prince of Monaco is the longest-reigning sovereign of Monaco but the French Revolution had dire consequences for his family and caused the Principality of Monaco to be annexed to France from 1793 until the defeat of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French in 1814. He married Maria Caterina Brignole and the couple had two sons including Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. Honoré III was imprisoned during the French Revolution. He died soon after his release from prison, in Paris on March 21, 1795, at the age of 74, but his burial place is unknown.
Unofficial Royalty: Honoré III, Prince of Monaco

November 10, 1849 – Birth of Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, husband of Louise, Princess Royal, in Edinburgh, Scotland
Full name: Alexander William George
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.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife

November 10, 1858 – Birth of Heinrich XXVII, 5th Prince Reuss of Gera in Gera, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Thuringia, Germany
Heinrich XXVII was the last reigning Prince Reuss of Gera, abdicating after the German defeat in World War I, on November 11, 1918. In 1884, Heinrich XXVII married Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the daughter of Hermann, 6th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Leopoldine of Baden. Elise’s paternal grandmother was Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Heinrich XXVII and Elise had five children. After Heinrich XXVII abdicated, the new government of Reuss-Gera made an agreement with Heinrich XXVII that granted him some castles and land.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XXVII, 5th Prince Reuss of Gera

November 10, 1926 – Wedding of King  Leopold III of the Belgians and Princess Astrid of Sweden at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Belgium
Astrid and Leopold first met during Leopold’s trip to Scandinavia in the fall of 1925. After that Leopold visited Astrid incognito. The two met again publicly at the christening of Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma in the middle of 1926. On September 21, 1926, shortly after the christening, Astrid and Leopold announced their engagement.  Astrid and Leopold had three children: Josephine-Charlotte who married Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Baudouin, King of the Belgians, and Albert II, King of the Belgians. Their grandson Philippe, is the current King of the Belgians. Sadly, Astrid died in a car accident in 1935 at the age of 29.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of King Leopold III of the Belgians and Princess Astrid of Sweden

November 10, 1964 – Death of Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois, at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France; buried at the Chapelle de la Paix in Monaco 
Born Count Pierre de Polignac, Pierre was the husband of Princess Charlotte of Monaco, the daughter of Louis II, Prince of Monaco, and the father of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. Once Pierre had produced a male heir, he was no longer necessary. His father-in-law Prince Louis II disliked him and Charlotte became unhappy shortly after the marriage. In the mid-1920s, the couple unofficially separated. Pierre and Charlotte were legally separated by a French court in 1930. On February 18, 1933, they were divorced by the ordinance of Prince Louis II, and the divorce was confirmed by a French tribunal in December 1933. During the reign of his son Prince Rainier III, Pierre lived in a villa near the Prince’s Palace in Monaco. Pierre died of cancer on November 10, 1964, and was buried at the Chapelle de la Paix in Monaco where his former wife Princess Charlotte, his daughter Princess Antoinette, and her deceased children have also been buried.
Unofficial Royalty: Count Pierre de Polignac, Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois

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