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Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily; Credit – Wikipedia

August 13, 1090 – Death of Constance of Normandy, Duchess of Brittany, daughter of King William I of England (the Conqueror), buried at St. Melans near Rhedon in France
Born around 1066, Constance was one of the daughters of William I and Matilda of Flanders.  She married Alan IV, Duke of Brittany in 1086 but they had no children. Two chroniclers of the time had very different views of Constance. Orderic Vitalius wrote that Constance was caring and attentive to her husband’s subjects and that her death on August 13, 1090, was the greatest loss for the inhabitants of the duchy. However, William of Malmesbury wrote that her “harsh and conservative manner” of government made Constance unpopular in the duchy, and her husband ordered her servants to poison her.
Unofficial Royalty: Constance of Normandy, Duchess of Brittany

August 13, 1752 – Birth of Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily, first wife of the future Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia
Maria Carolina was the thirteenth of the sixteen children and the tenth of the eleven daughters of Empress Maria Theresa, who was in her own right Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, and Queen of Bohemia, and Franz, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Duke of Lorraine. During childhood, Maria Carolina was very close to her younger sister Maria Antonia, better known as the ill-fated Marie Antoinette, Queen of France. Maria Carolina married King Ferdinando IV of Naples and III of Sicily, who became King of the Two Sicilies after her death. Despite her dislike for her husband, Maria Carolina fulfilled her most important duty – to continue the dynasty. Maria Carolina and Ferdinando had seventeen children but only seven survived childhood. Seven of their children died from smallpox. However, four of their five surviving daughters married sovereigns, and their son Francesco succeeded his father.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily

August 13, 1792 – Birth of Queen Adelaide of the United Kingdom, wife of King William IV of the United Kingdom, born Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen at the Elisabethenburg Palace  in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Adelheid Luise Therese Karoline Amalie
After twenty-one-year-old Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of George, Prince of Wales, died delivering a stillborn son, the unmarried, aging sons of King George III began a frantic search for brides to provide for the succession. One of the sons was William, Duke of Clarence (the future King William IV).  William had never married but had lived for 20 years with actress Dorothea Jordan. Soon after Princess Charlotte of Wales died, negotiations began for the marriage of William to Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, and the engagement was announced on April 19, 1818. William was 52 and Adelaide was 25. Adelaide loved children but was destined not to have one of her own. Sadly, Adelaide had two babies who died in early infancy, a miscarriage, and two stillbirths. A child of William and Adelaide would have succeeded to the throne as William’s two elder brothers (George IV and Frederick, Duke of York) had no surviving children.  Adelaide wrote to her widowed sister-in-law the Duchess of Kent, “My children are dead, but your child lives, and she is mine too.”  That child was the future Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen of the United Kingdom

August 13, 1904 – Death of Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington, Queen Victoria’s Lady of the Bedchamber 1843-1858 and Mistress of the Robes 1861–1868, 1874–1880, in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England;  buried at Stratfield Saye House in Hampshire, England
Born Lady Elizabeth Hay, daughter of George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale, she married Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington

August 13, 1910 – Birth of Said bin Taimur, Sultan of Oman in Muscat, Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, now the Sultanate of Oman
In 1932, Said’s father, Taimur bin Feisal, abdicated. The new 21-year-old Sultan of Oman inherited a country heavily in debt to the United Kingdom and India. To break away from the United Kingdom (Oman had become a British protectorate in 1891) and maintain autonomy, Oman needed to regain economic independence. During his reign, Said maintained close oversight of Oman’s budget. Oil wealth would have allowed Said to modernize his country. However, his policies were extremely conservative and he opposed any modernization, therefore, Oman was isolated from the outside world. He achieved Oman’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1951. In 1970, Said was overthrown in a coup d’etat by his son Qaboos bin Said Al Said, Sultan of Oman. Said bin Taimur, former Sultan of Oman lived out the rest of his life in exile in the United Kingdom.
Unofficial Royalty: Said bin Taimur, Sultan of Oman

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Tsesarevich Alexei of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

August 12, 1503 – Birth of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway at Gottorp Castle in Schleswig, Duchy of Schleswig, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein
Christian III lived during the time of the Reformation. After the death of his father, the Catholic Frederik I, the Council of State had a lengthy discussion on whether the Danish throne should go to Christian, Frederik I’s Lutheran son from his first marriage, or Frederik I’s Catholic twelve-year-old son Johann from his second marriage. In 1534, Christian was proclaimed Christian III, King of Denmark at an assembly of Lutheran nobles in Jutland. However, the Council of State, made up of mostly Catholic bishops and nobles, refused to accept Christian III as king. Johann, Frederik’s son from his second marriage, was deemed too young and the council was more amenable to restoring the deposed King Christian II to the throne because he had supported both the Catholics and Protestant Reformers at various times. Christopher, Count of Oldenburg, the grandson of a brother of King Christian I of Denmark and the second cousin of both Christian II and Christian III, led the military alliance to restore King Christian II to the throne. What resulted was a two-year civil war, known as the Count’s Feud, from 1534 – 1536, between Protestant and Catholic forces, that led to King Frederik I’s son from his first marriage ascending the Danish throne as King Christian III. In 1537, Christian III was also recognized as King of Norway.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian III of Denmark

August 12, 1674 – Birth of Marie of Lorraine, wife of Antonio I, Prince of Monaco in Paris, France
In 1688, in the Chapel Royal at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France, 14-year-old Marie married 27-year-old Antonio, the future Prince of Monaco. Antonio and Marie had six daughters but only two survived to adulthood. The elder surviving daughter Louise-Hippolyte succeeded her father as the reigning Princess of Monaco. The marriage was not happy. In what seems to have become a Grimaldi tradition, Antonio had several illegitimate children from different affairs. Marie responded by finding lovers of her own. In 1701, Antonio became Prince of Monaco upon the death of his father Louis I, Prince of Monaco. Marie spent the last years of her life quietly, frequently returning to the French court. She died at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco on October 30, 1724, at the age of 50.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Lorraine, Princess of Monaco

August 12, 1762 – Birth of King George IV of the United Kingdom at St. James’s Palace in London, England
George’s birth marked the first time an heir had been born to a reigning monarch since the birth of King James II’s son in 1688. At birth, George was automatically Duke of Cornwall as the eldest son of the reigning monarch. Five days after his birth, George was created Prince of Wales. George was created a Knight of the Garter at age three and was introduced to ceremonial functions at an early age. In 1795, George married Caroline of Brunswick, his first cousin. This marriage is one of the worst ever royal marriages. Upon first seeing Caroline, George said to his valet, “Harris, I am not well. Pray get me a glass of brandy.” Caroline said George was fat and not as handsome as his portrait. It is doubtful that the couple spent more than a few nights together as husband and wife. Their only child, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was born nine months later. They both found each other equally unattractive and never lived together nor appeared in public together.  Their daughter Charlotte married Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (the uncle of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and the future King of the Belgians), but she predeceased both her parents, dying in childbirth in 1817 at the age of 21, along with her son. Had Charlotte lived, she would have succeeded her father on the throne.
Unofficial Royalty: King George IV of the United Kingdom

August 12, 1779 – Birth of Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Hanover, Electorate of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
In 1807, Georg represented his father in Paris to negotiate the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz’s entry into the Confederation of the Rhine. He again represented his father seven years later at the Congress of Vienna. Through his efforts, Mecklenburg-Strelitz was raised to a Grand Duchy. Georg became Grand Duke in 1816, upon his father’s death. Georg found Mecklenburg-Strelitz in great debt and in need of much rebuilding. To eliminate much of the debt, he sold several towns to Prussia, towns given to the Grand Duchy at the Congress of Vienna. He abolished serfdom and throughout his reign, he worked to raise education standards, building schools and instituting compulsory education. He made vast improvements to the infrastructure which would help to energize the grand duchy’s economy.
Unofficial Royalty: Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

August 12, 1872 – Birth of Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor, England
Full name: Franziska Josepha Louise Augusta Marie Christina Helena
Marie Louise was the daughter of Princess Helena, the third daughter of Queen Victoria, and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1890, Marie Louise married Prince Aribert of Anhalt. However, the marriage was unsuccessful. In 1900, the marriage was dissolved by Marie Louise’s father-in-law, at her husband’s insistence. It has been speculated that the marriage was never consummated and implied that Aribert was homosexual, and had been caught in a delicate situation by either his wife or his father. In her memoirs, Marie Louise states that even though her marriage was annulled, she maintained the vows she had made at her wedding, and would never remarry.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein

August 12, 1904 – Birth of Tsesarevich Alexei of Russia, son of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, at Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia
Alexei’s mother Empress Alexandra, born Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, was the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Before Alexei’s birth, Queen Victoria’s son Prince Leopold, two of her grandsons, and two of her great-grandsons had been born with hemophilia, a genetic disease that prevents the blood from clotting properly. One of the grandsons was Empress Alexandra’s brother Prince Friedrich of Hesse and by Rhine (Frittie) who died of a brain hemorrhage at age 2 ½ after falling out a low window to the ground below. Therefore, there was a risk that Empress Alexandra was a hemophilia carrier. Even before Alexei was two months old, when he suffered severe bleeding from his navel, it was evident that he too had been born with hemophilia. After Alexei’s birth, three more great-grandsons of Queen Victoria would also be diagnosed with the disease.  In 2009, DNA analysis done on the remains of Empress Alexandra, Alexei, and his sister Anastasia, the only sister who was a carrier, revealed that Alexei suffered from the rare, severe form of hemophilia, known as Hemophilia B or Christmas Disease. Throughout his short life, Alexei suffered greatly.
Unofficial Royalty: Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia in Queen Victoria’s Descendants

August 12, 1932 – Birth of Queen Sirikit of Thailand, widow of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand; born Sirikit Kitiyakara at the home of Lord Vongsanuprabhand, her maternal grandfather, in Bangkok, Siam, now Thailand
Sirikit’s paternal grandfather Prince Kitiyakara Voralaksana was the twelfth son of King Chulalongkorn of Siam.  She shared a descent from King Chulalongkorn with her husband King Bhumibol Adulyadej and they are first cousins once removed.  While he was attending the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, King Bhumibol Adulyadej frequently visited Paris and it was there that he met his future wife Sirikit Kitiyakara who was the daughter of the Thai ambassador to France. Both Sirikit and King Bhumibol Adulyadej were studying at the Thai embassy and a relationship developed. They married in 1950, just a week before the king’s coronation. After the coronation, the 22-year-old king and the 17-year-old queen returned to their studies in Lausanne, Switzerland. The couple had three daughters and one son including the current King of Thailand, King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Sirikit of Thailand

August 12, 2013 – Death of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, at Huis ten Bosch Palace, his mother’s residence in The Hague; buried at the Dutch Reformed Cemetery in Lage Vuursche, Utrecht,  the Netherlands
On February 17, 2012, while on the royal family’s annual skiing holiday in Lech, Austria, Prince Friso was buried under an avalanche and was in a coma. According to medical reports, he had been buried for 25 minutes and suffered neurological injuries due to the lack of oxygen. On March 1, 2012, he was moved to Wellington Hospital in London, England, nearer to his family’s home. In the summer of 2013, he was declared to be in a minimally conscious state and no longer in need of hospital care. He was moved again on July 9, 2013, to Huis ten Bosch Palace, his mother’s residence in The Hague in the Netherlands. It was there that Prince Friso passed away at the age of 44.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau

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Nikolai Kulikovsky and Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

August 11, 1467 – Birth of Mary of York, daughter of King Edward IV of England, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Mary was the second of the ten children and the second of the seven daughters of King Edward IV of England, the first King of England from the House of York, and Elizabeth Woodville. In 1481, negotiations began for a marriage between Mary and Frederik, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig (the future King Frederik I of Denmark and Norway), the youngest son of King Christian I of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. However, at the end of 1481, Mary became seriously ill with an unknown illness and died, aged fourteen. She was interred on the north side of the altar in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England at the side of her younger brother George, who had died three years earlier at the age of two. Mary’s parents were interred in a tomb nearby – her father in 1483 and her mother in 1492.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary of York

August 11, 1730 – Birth of Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, in Philippsthal, Landgraviate of Hesse-Philippsthal, now in Hesse, Germany
In 1750, Charlotte Amalie married Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, who was 43 years older. He had previously contracted a morganatic marriage and had ten children, but they were not eligible to succeed to the ducal throne. This marriage was solely intended to provide an heir for Saxe-Meiningen. The couple had eight children. Following her husband’s death in 1763, Charlotte Amalie was appointed the sole guardian of their sons and served as Regent of Saxe-Meiningen.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

August 11, 1763 – Birth of Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, in Langenburg, Principality of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
In 1782, Luise Eleonore married Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. The couple had three children including Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the wife of King William IV of the United Kingdom. In December 1803, her husband died and her three-year-old son became Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Luise Eleonore became Regent and is credited with steering the duchy through very difficult times.
Unofficial Royalty: Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

August 11, 1863 – Birth of Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein in Dolzig, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Poland
In 1864, following the Second Schleswig War, the Duchy of Holstein and the Duchy of Schleswig became occupied territories of the German Confederation, and two years later, following the Austro-Prussian War, part of the new Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein. Just like his father, Prussia recognized Ernst Gunther as the mediatized duke of these two duchies, with the rank and all the titles. (mediatize – to annex monarchy to another state, while allowing certain rights to its former sovereign)
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein

August 11, 1873 – Birth of Luise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg, Princess Eduard of Anhalt, wife of the future Eduard, Duke of Anhalt, in Altenburg, Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, now in Thuringia, Germany
In 1895, Luise Charlotte married Eduard, the future Duke of Anhalt. They had six children but were divorced on January 26, 1918, just a few months before he succeeded to the ducal throne. Luise Charlotte spent her remaining years in Altenburg, Germany where she died in 1953.
Unofficial Royalty: Luise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg, Princess Eduard of Anhalt

August 11, 1958 – Death of Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky, second husband of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, at 2130 Camilla Road, Cooksville in Ontario, Canada, a suburb of Toronto; buried at York Cemetery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Grand Duchess Olga was in an unsuccessful marriage with Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg when, in 1903, she saw Nikolai at a military review. It was love at first sight. Despite Olga’s continuing requests to her brother Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, permission for marriage was not granted until 1916. Olga and Nikolai had two sons. After the Russian Revolution, the couple and their sons lived in Denmark. After World War II, the Soviet Union notified the Danish government that Olga was accused of conspiracy against the Soviet government. Because they were fearful of assassination or kidnap attempts, Nikolai and Olga decided to move their family across the Atlantic to the relative safety of rural Canada. By 1952, Olga and Nikolai’s sons had moved away and the farm became a burden so they sold it and moved to a five-room house at 2130 Camilla Road, Cooksville, Ontario, Canada, a suburb of Toronto, where Nikolai died.
Unofficial Royalty: Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky

August 11, 1968 – Birth of Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, widow of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, born Mabel Martine Wisse Smit in Pijnacker, the Netherlands
Mabel is the widow of Prince Friso, son of the former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, who was critically injured in a skiing accident after being buried by an avalanche in 2012. He died eighteen months after the accident. Mabel is a prominent human rights activist and has served in leadership roles in several human rights organizations. Most notably, in 2008, she became the first CEO of The Elders, an international non-governmental organization of public figures noted as senior statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates founded by Nelson Mandela.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau

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King Ferdinand VI of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

August 10, 1520 – Birth of Madeleine of Valois, Queen of Scots, daughter of King François I of France and first wife of James V, King of Scots, at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
After the Battle of Flodden in 1514, where James IV, King of Scots led an invading army into England, was defeated, and died in the battle, Scotland wanted to strengthen their alliance with France. The Treaty of Rouen was signed in 1517 and one of the provisions was for James V, King of Scots to marry a French princess. When James V reached a marriageable age, talks began regarding a marriage with Madeleine. However, Madeleine had tuberculosis and her ill health was an issue and another French bride, Mary of Bourbon, was offered as a substitute. When James V came to France to meet Mary of Bourbon, he met Madeleine and decided to marry her. Because of his daughter’s health issues, François I was reluctant to agree to the marriage, but eventually, he did so. Madeleine and King James V of Scotland were married on January 1, 1537, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The couple arrived in Scotland on May 19, 1537, after months of celebrations in France, with Madeleine’s health having further deteriorated. Madeleine wrote a letter to her father on June 8, 1537, saying that she was feeling better and that her symptoms had subsided. Despite this, on July 7, 1537, Madeleine died from tuberculosis in her husband’s arms, a month short of her seventeenth birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Madeleine of Valois, Queen of Scots

August 10, 1759 – Death of King Fernando VI of Spain at the Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón in Madrid, Spain; buried at Salesas Reales Church in Madrid, Spain
In 1729, Fernando married Barbara of Portugal, daughter of João V, King of Portugal. The couple had no children. Fernando succeeded his father Felipe V, King of Spain in 1746, and reigned for thirteen years. His wife Barbara died in 1758 and her death broke Fernando’s heart. During the last year of his reign, probably at least partially caused by his wife’s death, Fernando VI rapidly lost his mental capacity and was held at the Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón, near Madrid, where he died less than a year after Barbara’s death, on August 10, 1759, as the age of 45.
Unofficial Royalty: King Fernando VI of Spain

August 10, 1869 – Birth of Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg, second wife of Friedrich August II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, in Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg- Schwein, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Elisabeth Alexandrine married Friedrich August II, the last Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. She was the sister of Prince Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the husband of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. After her husband was forced to abdicate on November 11, 1918, when the German Empire fell, the couple took up residence at Rastede Castle in Rastede near Oldenburg, Germany. Elisabeth Alexandrine remained close to her large family, often spending time with her brother Heinrich in the Netherlands.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg

August 10, 1876 – Death of Charles Elmé Francatelli, maitre d’hôtel and chief cook in ordinary to Queen Victoria from 1840 – 1842, in Eastbourne, England
Charles Francatelli’s story in the TV series Victoria is mostly fictional. For two years only, from March 9, 1840 to March 31, 1842, Francatelli served as maitre d’hôtel and chief cook in ordinary to Queen Victoria. For some reason, he was dismissed, perhaps because Queen Victoria did not like his French cuisine. Francatelli did have one more royal client. From 1863 – 1865, he served as chef de cuisine to The Prince and Princess of Wales (the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) at their London home, Marlborough House. He did marry (but not to Queen Victoria’s dresser Marianne Skerrett as depicted in the television series Victoria) and have children.
Unofficial Royalty: Charles Elmé Francatelli

August 10, 1888 – Birth of Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark, son of King George I of Greece, in Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg, Russia
Christopher was the only one of his parents’ eight children not born in Greece. His birth was a surprise, as his eldest sibling was 20 years old at the time of Christopher’s birth. Christopher was offered the thrones of Lithuania, Albania, and Portugal, all of which he refused. Christopher believed a throne should be accepted only when the prospective ruler was seriously dedicated to leading a country. Christopher did not believe himself to be sufficiently up to the challenge.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark

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Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

August 9, 1669 – Birth of Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina, Tsaritsa of All Russia, first wife of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia, in Moscow, Russia
Eudoxia was the last ethnic Russian and non-foreign wife of a Russian tsar or emperor. She was the mother of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and the paternal grandmother of Peter II, Emperor of All Russia. She was chosen as a bride for Peter I by his mother Natalia Naryshkina who hoped 17-year-old Peter would settle down and turn from an adolescent into a man. Peter could not stand Eusoxia’s conservative relatives and soon abandoned her for a Dutch beauty Anna Mons. Their relationship lasted twelve years until Peter met Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya, first his mistress, then his second wife, and finally his successor on the Russian throne as Catherine I, Empress of All Russia. In September 1698, Eudoxia was finally banished to a convent and their marriage was over.
Unofficial Royalty: Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina

August 9, 1693 – Birth of Sophia Wilhelmina of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the first wife of Friedrich Anton, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, in Saalfeld, then in the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in the German state of Thuringia
On February 8, 1720, in Saalfeld, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in the German state of Thuringia, 26-year-old Sophia Wilhelmina married 28-year-old Friedrich Anton, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Sophia Wilhelmina and Friedrich Anton had three children but only two survived childhood. The marriage of Friedrich Anton and Sophia Wilhelmina lasted only seven years as Sophia Wilhelmina died on December 4, 1727, aged 34, in Rudolstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia Wilhelmina of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

August 9, 1696 – Birth of Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein in Prague, Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic
Full name: Josef Wenzel Lorenz
The great-grandnephew of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein, Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein reigned from 1712 – 1718, was the Regent of Liechtenstein from 1732 – 1745 and reigned again from 1748 – 1772.  In 1718, Josef Wenzel married his first cousin Princess Anna Maria Antonie of Liechtenstein. They had five children who all died in childhood. Josef Wenzel had a successful military career in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire. He also served as a diplomat for Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI. Josef Wenzel, Prince of Liechtenstein died on February 10, 1772, aged 75, in Vienna Austria. With no surviving sons, Josef Wenzel was succeeded by his nephew, the son of his brother Prince Emmanuel, as Franz Josef I, Prince of Liechtenstein.
Unofficial Royalty: Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein

August 9, 1847 – Birth of Queen Maria Vittoria of Spain, wife of King Amadeo I of Spain, born Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo in Paris, France
Full name: Maria Vittoria Carlotta Enrichetta
Maria Vittoria was from an Italian noble family and inherited her father’s noble titles becoming Princess della Cisterna, Princess di Belriguardo, Marchioness di Voghera, and Countess di Ponderano in her own right. She married Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta, the second son of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy. Amedeo and Maria Vittoria had three sons. Their descendants through their eldest son have been the disputed claimants to the headship of the House of Savoy along with descendants of Amedeo’s brother King Umberto I of Italy. After Queen Isabella II of Spain was deposed in 1870, Amedeo was elected King of Spain and Maria Vittoria was Queen Consort. Without popular support, Amedeo abdicated the Spanish throne on February 11, 1873, and left Spain.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, Queen of Spain

August 9, 1854 – Death of King Friedrich August II of Saxony from injuries sustained in a carriage accident in Karrösten, Austria; buried in the Wettin Crypt at the Dresden Cathedral in the Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
On August 9, 1854, King Friedrich August II died in Karrösten, Austria, from injuries sustained in a carriage accident. The previous day while traveling in the Tyrol, the King had fallen from the carriage into the path of one of the horses which stepped on his head. His widow Queen Maria Anna, had a chapel built on the site of the King’s accident. The Königskapelle (King’s Chapel) was consecrated the following year.
Unofficial Royalty: King Friedrich August II of Saxony

August 9, 1902 – Coronation of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey in London, England, after a six-week delay due to his emergency appendectomy
Edward’s wife Alexandra of Denmark was crowned with him.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Unofficial Royalty: Guts and Glory: Edward VII’s Appendix and the Coronation that Never Was

August 9, 1928 – Death of Friedrich II, Grand Duke of Baden in Badenweiler, Germany; buried in the Grand Ducal Chapel in the Pheasant Garden in Karlsruhe, Germany
Friedrich II was the last Grand Duke of Baden, reigning from 1907 until the end of the German Empire in 1918. When Wilhelm II, German Emperor abdicated in 1918, riots broke out throughout the German Empire. Friedrich and his family were forced to flee Karlsruhe Palace, for Zwingenberg Castle in the Neckar Valley. They then arranged to stay at Langenstein Castle, where Friedrich formally abdicated the throne of Baden on November 22, 1918. Soon the family was permitted to return to their home on the island of Mainau in Lake Constance in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Nearly blind and in poor health, Grand Duke Friedrich II died in the spa town of Badenweiler, Germany while taking a cure
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich II, Grand Duke of Baden

August 9, 1968 – Death of Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen, pretender to the former throne of Saxony, and head of the House of Saxony, from 1932 until his death, in Samedan, Switzerland; buried at the Royal Chapel in Königskapelle in Karrösten, Austria
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen

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Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, born Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine; Credit – Wikipedia

August 8, 1709 – Birth of Ernst Ludwig II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany
Ernst Ludwig was the third son, but his elder brothers died before their father, making him heir to the ducal throne. He became Duke upon his father’s death in November 1724. Just fifteen years old, his brief reign was overseen by his two uncles, Friedrich Wilhelm and Anton Ulrich. Ernst Ludwig died just five years later.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst Ludwig II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

August 8, 1824 – Birth of Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, born Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, first wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in the German state of Hesse
Full name: Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie
Name after marriage: Maria Alexandrovna
In 1841, Marie married the future Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. Maria Alexandrovna had eight children with her husband including Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, the father of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of All Russia, Nicholas II’s five paternal uncles, and one daughter Maria Alexandrovna who married Queen Victoria’s son Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. In 1863, Maria Alexandrovna contracted tuberculosis. Frequent childbirth, her husband’s infidelity, and the death of her eldest son Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich completely undermined Maria’s already weak health. Maria spent the autumn and the fall in the warmer climates of Crimea and Italy. Her health worsened after two assassination attempts on her husband’s life in 1879 and another one in 1880. Empress Maria Alexandrovna died on June 3, 1880, at the age of 55, just eight months before her husband was assassinated.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia

August 8, 1832 – Birth of King Georg of Saxony in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
Full name: Friedrich August Georg Ludwig Wilhelm Maximilian Karl Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xaver Cyriacus Romanus
As his elder brother King Albert of Saxony had no children, Georg was heir-presumptive to the Saxon throne from the time of Albert’s accession in 1873. Albert died in 1902, and Georg became King of Saxony at nearly 70 years old. Because of his age, many felt he should step down and let the throne pass to his son, Friedrich August. His unpopularity increased during the textile workers’ strike in Crimmitschau in 1903-1904. Refusing to give in to the demands for higher wages and better working conditions, the King sent military forces into the city to force the end of the strike. His reign lasted only two years. After falling ill with influenza earlier in the year, King Georg died on October 15, 1904.
Unofficial Royalty: King Georg of Saxony

August 8, 1867 – Death of Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies, second wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, in Albano Laziale, Kingdom of Italy, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples
In 1836, Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies, first wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died at the age of 23 from childbirth complications after giving birth to a son. The widowed king met Maria Theresa during his stay in Vienna, Austria later in 1836, and they became engaged to strengthen the relations between Austria and the Two Sicilies and married in 1837. Maria Cristina and Ferdinando had twelve children. Ferdinando died in 1859 at the age of 49 after hesitating to have surgery for a strangulated hernia. During Ferdinando II’s reign, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, began. During the reign of Ferdinando’s son Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Maria Theresa and her children left Naples and settled in Rome. In the summer of 1867, a cholera epidemic broke out in Rome.  Both Maria Theresa and her youngest son, ten-year-old Gennaro developed cholera and died from the disease.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies

August 8, 1955 – Death of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria at Leutstetten Castle in Starnberg, in the German state of Bavaria; buried at the Theatinerkirche in Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand
Rupprecht was Crown Prince of Bavaria from 1913 until the end of the Bavarian monarchy in 1918. From his father’s death in 1921, he became the pretender to the former Bavarian throne and Head of the House of Wittelsbach. Through his direct descent from King Charles I of England, he also became heir to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland in the Jacobite Succession.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

August 8, 1959 – Birth of Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missneid of Qatar, wife of Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, in Al-Khor, Qatar
In 1977, Mozah became the second wife of Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the future Emir of Qatar. The couple had seven children. On June 25, 2013, after eighteen years as Emir, Sheikh Hamad publically announced his abdication in favor of his son Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa. Internationally, Mozah often represented her husband at major royal functions and accompanied him on most state visits. She is considered by many to be one of the most glamorous and fashionable royals in the world and remains a visible member of Qatar’s royal family, often seen supporting her son, the current Emir.
Unofficial Royalty: Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missneid of Qatar

August 8, 1988 – Birth of Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York at Portland Hospital in London, England
Full name: Beatrice Elizabeth Mary
On September 26, 2019, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of  Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Beatrice and Edoardo’s wedding, scheduled for May 29, 2020, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Beatrice and Edoardo were married in a private ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, on the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, on July 17, 2020.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

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