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The Marriage of Princess Louise of Wales with the Duke of Fife at Buckingham Palace, 27th July 1889 by Sydney Prior Hall; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

July 27, 1765 – Birth of Friederike of Württemberg, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp, wife of the future Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, in Treptow an der Rega, Pomerania, now Trzebiatów, Poland
Full name: Friederike Elisabeth Amalie Auguste
At just 15 years old, Friederike married Prince Peter of Holstein-Gottorp (later Duke Peter I of Oldenburg) on June 6, 1781. The marriage was promoted by her sister Sophie, who was married to the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, and was intended to help strengthen the relationship between Württemberg and Russia. Friederike and Peter had two surviving children. Several weeks after having given birth to a stillborn son, Friederike died at the age of 20.
Unofficial Royalty: Friederike of Württemberg, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp

July 27, 1773 – Birth of Luisa of Naples and Sicily, first wife of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany at the Royal Palace in Naples, Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, now in Italy
Full name: Luisa Maria Amalia Teresa
Luisa was the daughter of King Ferdinando IV of Naples and III of Sicily, later Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies, and his first wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. In 1790, Luisa married Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. At the Tuscan court, there was gossip about Luisa’s lack of attractiveness. However, many considered the gossip about her looks superficial and saw Luisa as someone who showed great kindness to everyone. Luisa and her husband had five children. Sadly, she died in childbirth delivering a stillborn son in 1802.
Unofficial Royalty: Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

July 27, 1888 – Birth of Prince Oskar of Prussia, son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, at Marmorpalais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Oskar Karl Gustav Adolf
In 1914, Oskar married Countess Ina-Marie von Bassewitz. The marriage was considered morganatic, so the bride could not take her husband’s style and title. Instead, four days before the wedding, Ina-Marie was created Countess von Ruppin. The couple had four children. Several years later, in November 1919, the marriage was decreed dynastic, and Ina-Marie and her children were elevated to HRH Prince/Princess of Prussia as of June 1920.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Oskar of Prussia

July 27, 1889 – Wedding of Princess Louise of Wales, later Princess Royal, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, and Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife, later 1st Duke of Fife, at the Private Chapel in Buckingham Palace, London, England
Despite her mother’s possessiveness and her grandmother’s matchmaking, Louise decided that she wanted to marry for love. She preferred to marry a British subject rather than a European prince that would take her away from home and so, like her aunt Princess Louise who had married the future 9th Duke of Argyll, she chose a husband from the British aristocracy, Alexander Duff, then the 6th Earl Fife.  When Louise’s grandmother Queen Victoria arrived at Sandringham to discuss a potential engagement with Louise’s parents, she was met by Louise who tearfully explained that if she was not allowed to marry Alexander, she would die an old maid. Queen Victoria, who had known Alexander since childhood, explained that as her grandmother and sovereign, she had to spend some time with her potential groom before deciding about the marriage. Queen Victoria was partial to Scotsmen and approved of the marriage when she spent some time with Alexander.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife

July 27, 1900 – Birth of Prince Knud of Denmark, later Hereditary Prince of Denmark, son of King Christian X of Denmark. at Sorgenfri Palace in Lyngby-Taarbæk, Denmark
Full name: Knud Christian Frederik Michael
In 1947 when King Christian X died and his elder son became King Frederik IX, Knud was the heir presumptive. Danish succession law did not allow for female succession, so King Frederik IX’s three daughters, including the current monarch Queen Margrethe II, were not in the line of succession. It was expected that Knud and then his elder son Ingolf would become king. However, the 1953 Danish Act of Succession allowed a female to become queen if she did not have any brothers. With the passage of that act, Knud and his son Prince Ingolf went from being first and second in the line of succession to being fourth and fifth after the three daughters of King Frederik IX. The 2009 Act of Succession now allows for the eldest child to become the monarch regardless of gender. To compensate for the change in the succession, Knud was given the title Hereditary Prince of Denmark, and both Knud and his elder son Ingolf were granted fixed annuities and additional flexible annuities for life.
Unofficial Royalty: Hereditary Prince Knud of Denmark

July 27, 1932 – Death of Archduchess Gisela of Austria, daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, in Munich, Germany; buried at St. Michael’s Church in Munich, Germany
Gisela married her second cousin Prince Leopold of Bavaria. The couple had a long and happy marriage and lived in the Palais Leopold in the Schwabing section of Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. Leopold died in 1930, at the age of 84. Two years later, Gisela died aged 76. She was buried with her husband in the Wittelsbach crypt at St. Michael’s Church in Munich, Germany.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduchess Gisela of Austria

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King Otto of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

July 26, 1678 – Birth of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, King of Croatia, and King of Hungary, in Vienna, Austria
Joseph ruled over the hereditary Habsburg lands and was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1705. In 1699, Joseph married Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Joseph and Wilhelmine Amalie had three children but their only son died from hydrocephalus before his first birthday.
Joseph’s reign lasted just six years. During the smallpox epidemic in 1711, which killed Louis, Le Grand Dauphin of France, the only surviving child and heir of King Louis XIV of France, and three siblings of the future Holy Roman Emperor Franz I, Joseph also became ill with smallpox. He died, aged thirty-two, on April 17, 1711, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.
Unofficial Royalty: Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor

July 26, 1756 – Birth of Maria Fitzherbert, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, born Maria Anne Smythe at Tong Castle in Shropshire, England
Maria Fitzherbert was the mistress of The Prince of Wales (later King George IV of the United Kingdom) from 1784 until 1794 and again from 1798 until 1807. The couple married secretly in 1785, however, the marriage was not considered legal as it had not received the approval of the Sovereign as required under the Royal Marriages Act.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Fitzherbert, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom

July 26, 1767 – Death of Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, mistress of King George II of Great Britain, at Marble Hill House in Twickenham, London, England; buried at Berkeley Castle in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England
In 1714, Henrietta and her husband Charles Howard, the future 9th Earl of Suffolk traveled to Hanover hoping to get into the circle of the future King George I and secure themselves a better financial future. Their venture was successful, and following George’s accession to the British throne, the couple returned to England, and both received positions within the Royal Household. Charles was appointed Groom of the Bedchamber to the new King, and Henrietta was appointed a Woman of the Bedchamber to the new Princess of Wales, Caroline of Ansbach. Through this role, Henrietta met and became the mistress of the Prince of Wales, the future King George II, and maintained a relationship with him until 1734.
Unofficial Royalty: Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk

 July 26, 1865 – Birth of Marie of Baden, Duchess of Anhalt, wife of Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt, in Baden-Baden, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Marie Luise Amelie Josephine
In 1889, Marie married the future Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt. Her husband became the reigning Duke of Anhalt upon his father’s death in 1904. Although the couple did not have any children, their marriage was a happy one. Marie quickly became involved in charity after her marriage, supporting organizations that promoted education and care for the underprivileged. In 1892, along with her mother-in-law, she helped found the Anhalt Deaconess Institution, which educated women in caring for the sick and the poor.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Baden, Duchess of Anhalt

July 26, 1867 – Death of former King Otto of Greece, born Prince Otto of Bavaria, at Neue Residenz in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried at Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
In 1832, the Convention of London established Greece as a kingdom, and the Great Powers appointed Prince Otto of Bavaria the new kingdom’s first king. However, while away from Athens in 1862, a coup led to the formation of a provisional government, and Otto was deposed. Under the advice of the Great Powers, Otto accepted the situation, and he again boarded a British warship and returned to Bavaria. He would continue to wear his Greek uniforms and secretly gave most of his fortune to support the Greek troops in the Cretan Rebellion of 1866. He spent his exile living at the New Palace in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. At his specific request, he was buried in his Greek uniform.
Unofficial Royalty: King Otto of Greece

July 26, 1938 – Death of Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at Easton Lodge in Little Easton, Essex, England; buried at the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Warwick, Warwickshire, England
Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, was the mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom from 1889 until 1898, while he was The Prince of Wales. A renowned social hostess, she later put much of her time, effort, and money into helping those less fortunate. Interestingly, Daisy was descended from King Charles II of England in several different ways, through his mistresses Nell Gwyn, Barbara Palmer, and Louise de Kéroualle.
Unofficial Royalty: Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom

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Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of the Belgians; Credit – Wikipedia

July 25, 1182 – Death of Marie of Blois, Countess of Boulogne in her own right, daughter of King Stephen of England, at the Abbey of St. Austrebert near Montreuil-sur-Mer, County of Boulogne; buried at the Abbey of St. Austrebert
A daughter of King Stephen of England, Marie of Blois was Countess of Boulogne in her own right after the deaths of her mother Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne in her own right and her two surviving brothers Eustace and Willliam who were both Count of Boulogne but had childless marriages. As a young girl, Marie entered a convent and became a nun. Shortly after Marie became Countess of Boulogne, she was abducted from her convent by a young nobleman and forced into marriage with the nobleman who then claimed the title of Count of Boulogne jure uxoris (by right of his wife). The marriage was eventually annulled and Marie returned to religious life as a nun.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Blois, Countess of Boulogne

July 25, 1394 -Birth of James I, King of Scots and his elder twin brother Robert who died in infancy, at Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, Scotland
Robert III, King of Scots,  the father of James I, feared for the safety of his only surviving son because of the machinations of his half-brother and decided to send him to France. However, the ship 12-year-old James was sailing on was captured by English pirates who delivered James to King Henry IV of England. Robert III, King of Scots, aged 68, died soon after hearing of his son’s captivity. 12-year-old James was now the uncrowned King of Scots and would remain in captivity in England for eighteen years where he was more of a guest than a hostage. While in England, James met his future wife Lady Joan Beaufort, the daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset who was the eldest of the four children of John of Gaunt, son of King Edward III, and his mistress Katherine Swynford.  The English considered a marriage to a Beaufort gave the Scots an alliance with the English instead of the French. The couple was married in 1424,  traveled to Scotland, and had eight children.
Unofficial Royalty: James I, King of Scots

July 25, 1642 – Birth of Louis I, Prince of Monaco at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco
Nine-year-old Louis became heir apparent to the throne of Monaco when his father Hercule Grimaldi, Marquis of Baux, the only child and the heir of Honoré II, Prince of Monaco, was killed accidentally in a firearms accident. Louis married Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont, from a French noble family and the couple had six children. After a reign of fifty-eight years, Honoré II, Prince of Monaco, Louis’ grandfather, died in 1662, and 20-year-old Louis became Prince of Monaco.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis I, Prince of Monaco

July 25, 1821 – Death of Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey, mistress of the future King George IV of the United Kingdom, in Cheltenham, England; buried in the Villiers Family vault in Middleton Stoney, Oxfordshire, England
Frances began her affair with George, then Prince of Wales, in 1793, following a string of other discreet affairs. George was secretly married, in contravention to the Royal Marriages Act, to Maria Fitzherbert, but his wandering eye could not be kept in check. Frances had convinced the Prince to end his relationship with Mrs. Fitzherbert and encouraged him to marry his future wife, Caroline of Brunswick. Frances was appointed a Lady of the Bedchamber to the new Princess of Wales. Frances and George continued their affair and he also brought Mrs. Fitzherbert back into his life. The two women disliked each other greatly, but the Prince continued his affairs with both. Then, a new mistress made her appearance, The Marchioness of Hertford soon replaced Frances as the Prince of Wales’s mistress. By 1807, Frances lost her royal household position and left the court. Having been widowed in 1805 and left with little financial means, Frances struggled to maintain the lifestyle expected of someone of her rank. She benefited only from her son’s generosity who increased her annual income and often paid off her debts.
Unofficial Royalty: Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom

July 25, 1797 – Birth of Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, Duchess of Cambridge, wife of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, at Rumpenheim Castle in Offenbach am Main in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Auguste Wilhelmine Luise
Augusta was the youngest of the eight children of Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen. Her father was the youngest son of Landgrave Friedrich II of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Mary of Great Britain, daughter of King George II of Great Britain. After the tragic death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, the king’s aging bachelor sons needed to seek brides to provide for the succession. Of all the bachelor sons, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge was the most eligible. He married Augusta of Hesse-Kassel. The groom was 44 and the bride was 20. Despite the age difference, the marriage was happy. Adolphus was in love with Augusta, and the couple had three children. Augusta and Adolphus are the ancestors of the current British royal family. Their youngest child Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge was the mother of Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, later Queen Mary, the wife of King George V of the United Kingdom
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, Duchess of Cambridge

July 25, 1860 – Birth of Louise Margaret of Prussia, Duchess of Connaught, wife of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, at Marmorpalais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Luise Margarete Alexandra Victoria Agnes
Louise Margaret was the granddaughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia. In 1879, she married Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. They had one son and two daughters including Margaret of Connaught who married Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden. Margaret died before her husband became King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden but she is an ancestor of the Danish and Swedish Royal Families. Louise Margaret spent the first twenty years of her marriage accompanying her husband on his various military assignments. In 1911, Arthur was appointed the first Governor-General of Canada who was a member of the Royal Family. Louise Margaret and her youngest child Patricia accompanied Arthur to Canada. Louise Margaret died from bronchial pneumonia at the age of 56. She became the first member of the British Royal Family to be cremated, which was done at Golders Green Crematorium. Burying ashes in an urn was still unfamiliar at the time, and her urn was placed in a coffin during the funeral, which was held at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise Margaret of Prussia, Duchess of Connaught

July 25, 1869 – Birth of Prince Ferdinando Pio of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria, in Rome, Italy
Prince Ferdinando Pio, Duke of Calabria was Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and pretender to the former throne from 1934 until he died in 1960. His death brought about a dispute between two branches of his extended family, both claiming to be the rightful heir and thus head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Ferdinando Pio of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria

July 25, 1876 – Birth of Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians, wife of King Albert I of the Belgians, born Elisabeth of Bavaria at Possenhofen Castle in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Elisabeth Gabriele Valérie Marie
Elisabeth was the third of six children of Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria (a grandson of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria), and his second wife, Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal (a daughter of King Miguel I of Portugal). She was named after her father’s sister, Empress Elisabeth “Sisi” of Austria. While in Paris in May 1897, attending the funeral of her aunt, Elisabeth met her future husband, the future Albert I, King of the Belgians. The two quickly became involved, and several months later they became engaged. They married in 1900 and had three children.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgians

July 25, 1938 – Death of Prince Franz I of Liechtenstein in Valtice, Czechoslovakia, now in the Czech Republic; buried in the New Crypt of the Princely Mausoleum on the grounds of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, in Vranov, near Brno, in Czechoslovakia, now in the Czech Republic
In 1914, Franz met Elisabeth von Gutmann, the widow of the Hungarian Baron Géza Erős of Bethlenfalva, at a gala for the Relief Fund for Soldiers. The couple wanted to marry in 1919 but Franz’s brother Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein refused to consent to the marriage because of Elsa’s lower social status and Jewish background, although she had converted to Catholicism before her first marriage. Elsa and Franz secretly married Elsa in 1919, and that same year, Pope Benedict XV received the couple at the Vatican. Johann II died in 1929, and as he was unmarried with no children, his only brother succeeded as Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Now that Franz was the Sovereign Prince, he could officially marry Elsa. Their marriage was childless and upon Franz’s death, he was succeeded by his great-nephew, Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Franz I of Liechtenstein

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Prince William, Duke of Gloucester; Credit – Wikipedia

July 24, 1681- Death of Agaphia Semenovna Grushevskaya, Tsaritsa of All Russia, first wife of Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia; first buried at the Ascension Convent, a Russian Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin, in 1929 moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin
On July 21, 1681, Agaphia gave birth to a son Tsarevich Ilya Feodorovich. Sadly, Agaphia died of puerperal fever (childbed fever) three days later at the age of 18. Tsarevich Ilya Feodorovich survived his mother by a week. Feodor III was so grief-stricken that he was unable to attend his wife’s funeral. Agaphia was buried at the Ascension Convent, a Russian Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin where royal and noblewomen were buried. In 1929, the Ascension Convent was dismantled by the Soviets to make room for the Red Commanders School. At that time, the remains of those buried there were moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.
Unofficial Royalty: Wives of Feodor III of Russia: Agaphia Semenovna Grushevskaya and Marfa Matveyevna Apraksina

July 24, 1689 – Birth of Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne of Great Britain, at Hampton Court Palace in Richmond, England
Full name: William Henry
Queen Anne had 17 pregnancies with only five children being born alive. Two died on the day of their birth, two died at less than two years old within six days of each from smallpox, and Prince William died at age 11.  When Virginia’s General Assembly named Williamsburg as the colony’s capital in 1699, it ordered that its main street “in honor of his Highness William Duke of Gloucester shall for ever hereafter be called and knowne by the Name of Duke of Gloucester Street.” Sadly, 11-year-old William died on July 30, 1700, leaving the House of Stuart with no heir. His death was the major reason for the passage of the Act of Settlement in 1701 which gave the throne to Sophie, Electress of Hanover and her Protestant descendants. Upon the death of Queen Anne, William’s mother, Sophia of Hanover’s son ascended to the British throne as King George I.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince William, Duke of Gloucester

July 24, 1720 – Birth of Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, Queen of Sweden, wife of King Adolf Frederik of Sweden, in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Upon her wedding in 1744 to King Fredrik I, her new husband gave Louisa Ulrika the ownership of Drottningholm Palace, not too far from the Swedish capital of Stockholm. During Louisa Ulrika’s ownership of Drottningholm Palace, the palace interior was redecorated in a more sophisticated French rococo style. On Louisa Ulrika’s 33rd birthday, Adolf Fredrik presented her with the Chinese Pavillion on the grounds of Drottningholm Palace. Louisa Ulrika was also responsible for rebuilding Drottningholm Palace Theatre after the original building burned down in 1762. Louisa Ulrika encouraged the leading scientists of the time to gather at Drottningholm Palace. The famous Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus worked there, cataloging the royal collections’ natural objects. Louisa Ulrika and Adolf Fredrik continued to reside at the palace during their reign. In 1777, Louisa Ulrika sold Drottningholm Palace to the Swedish state. Currently, it is the home of the Swedish Royal Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, Queen of Sweden

July 24, 1759 – Birth of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia at the Royal Palace in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy
Vittorio Emanuele I reigned as King of Sardinia from the abdication of his elder brother Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia in 1802 until he abdicated in 1821 in favor of his younger brother Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia. As the senior surviving descendant of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans, daughter of King Charles I of England and sister of James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots, Vittorio Emanuele I became the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland after the death of his brother Carlo Emanuele in 1819. James II had been deposed by the Glorious Revolution in 1688. The goal of the Jacobites was to restore the Roman Catholic heirs of King James II of England/VII of Scotland to the thrones of England and Scotland. However, unlike the Stuart Jacobite pretenders – James II’s son James Edward Francis Stuart and James II’s grandsons Charles Edward Stuart and Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart – none of the later Jacobite pretenders ever claimed the title.
Unofficial Royalty: Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

July 24, 1796 – Birth of Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg in Hildburghausen, Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Georg Karl Friedrich
As a younger son, it was not expected that Georg would one day succeed to the ducal throne. However, Georg became Duke of Saxe-Altenburg on November 30, 1848, succeeding his brother Joseph who was forced to abdicate. As Duke, he reformed the financial administration of the duchy and founded the George Foundation, which worked to promote and support artists and craftsmen. Georg came significant amounts of his own money to welfare efforts for the poor, earning him the nickname ‘Georg the Good’.
Unofficial Royalty: Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg

July 24, 1817 – Birth of Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg, born Hereditary Duke of Nassau at Biebrich Palace in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich
Adolph was the son of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau whom he succeeded in 1839. Adolph’s first wife Grand Duchess Elisabeth Mikhailovna of Russia died in childbirth along with her child. Adolph married again to Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau. They had five children, but only two lived to adulthood including his successor Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 1890, Adolphe became Grand Duke upon the accession of Queen Wilhelmina to the Dutch throne. The three previous kings of the Netherlands had also been Grand Dukes of Luxembourg. However, because Luxembourg did not allow female succession, Wilhelmina could not succeed to the throne of Luxembourg. 73-year-old Adolphe was a Protestant in a Catholic country and knew little about Luxembourg, so he left the governing to his prime minister.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg

July 24, 1860 – Birth of Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at Neues Palais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Viktoria Elisabeth Auguste Charlotte
Princess Charlotte was the daughter of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor. Charlotte wanted to leave home as quickly as possible. As a marriage offered her the only way out, Charlotte found herself a prince, her shy and well-educated second cousin Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen. Because the prince was a suitable marriage candidate and their daughter caused much unrest at home, Charlotte’s parents agreed to the marriage. Charlotte and Bernhard were in 1878  when Charlotte was not quite 18. In 1914, Charlotte’s husband became the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. His reign was short as Bernhard was forced to abdicate on November 10, 1918, and spent the rest of his life in his former country as a private citizen.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

July 24, 1947 – Birth of Princess Sarvath El Hassan of Jordan, wife of Prince Hassan of Jordan, younger brother of King Hussein I of Jordan, born Sarvath Ikramullah, in Calcutta, India
Sarvath and her husband served as Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Jordan for 34 years, until 1999 when King Hussein named his eldest son Abdullah to succeed him just days before his death. During this time, Princess Sarvath worked with many organizations and initiatives within Jordan, with much of her focus on education and social welfare. The couple continues to represent Jordan at royal events around the world.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Sarvath El Hassan of Jordan

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Wedding of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom and Prince Henry of Battenberg; Credit – www.victorian-gothic.co.uk  THE BACK: (L-R): Prince Alexander of Bulgaria, brother of the groom; Princess Louise of Wales; Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine; Princess Victoria of Wales; Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg, brother of the groom THE MIDDLE: (L-R): Princess Maud of Wales; Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine; Princesses Marie Louise and Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein THE FRONT: (L-R): Princesses Victoria Melita, Marie, and Alexandra of Edinburgh and the bridal couple

July 23, 1536 – Death of Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII of England, in Thetford, Norfolk, England; buried first at Thetford Priory, later moved to St. Michael’s Church in Framlingham, Suffolk, England
Henry Fitzroy died somewhat unexpectedly at the age of seventeen, likely of tuberculosis. At this point, King Henry VIII had made both his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, illegitimate and was left with no real heir. Henry VIII may have been planning to legitimize his son in the years before Fitzroy’s death. Fitzroy was buried rather hastily at Thetford Priory in Norfolk and with no autopsy, suggesting that perhaps he died of the plague. Fitzroy’s remains were later moved to St. Michael the Archangel Church in Framlingham, Suffolk, England where his widow was later interred.
Unofficial Royalty: Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset

July 23, 1781 – Birth of Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Juliane Henriette Ulrike
Juliane was the aunt of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She had an unhappy marriage with Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia, grandson of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia and son of the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. In 1799, Juliane left Russia under the auspices of medical treatment but was soon forced to return. After her father-in-law Paul I was assassinated in 1801, she once again found an opportunity to leave. Later that year, her mother came to Russia to accompany Juliane to Coburg to recover from ill health. Upon arriving home in Coburg, she refused to return to Russia and soon began negotiations for a divorce. However, the Russian court would not allow a formal end to the marriage.
Unofficial Royalty: Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia

July 23, 1880 – Birth of Prince Elia of Bourbon-Parma in Biarritz, Switzerland
Full name: Elia Roberto Carlo Maria
Prince Elia of Bourbon-Parma was head of the House of Bourbon-Parma and pretender to the former ducal throne of Parma from 1950 until he died in 1959. Additionally, he served as regent from 1907-1950 for two of his elder brothers Enrico and Giuseppe, who were mentally disabled.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Elia of Bourbon-Parma

July 23, 1885 – Wedding of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and Prince Henry of Battenberg, at St. Mildred’s Church in Whippingham, Isle of Wight, England
In 1884, Henry of Battenberg’s brother Prince Louis of Battenberg married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, the eldest child of Queen Victoria’s third child Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine. Of course, Henry attended the wedding in Darmstadt and so did the bride’s aunt Princess Beatrice. Queen Victoria had expectations that Beatrice would never marry and would remain her personal assistant and secretary. However, during the wedding celebrations, Henry and Beatrice fell in love. When Beatrice told her mother of her desire to marry Henry, Queen Victoria did not speak to Beatrice for seven months. Eventually, the Queen realized that Beatrice would not back down and with some persuasion from the Prince of Wales, Alice’s widower Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and Henry’s brother Prince Louis of Battenberg, Queen Victoria decided to allow the marriage with several conditions: Henry must renounce his military career, his nationality, and his home and agree to live with Beatrice and the Queen.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom and Prince Henry of Battenberg

July 23, 1986 – Wedding of Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Sarah and Andrew had crossed paths throughout their lives, but they first really noticed each other a couple of years prior to their engagement at a weekend party at Floors Castle, the Scottish home of the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe. Afterward, Sarah visited Windsor Castle, attended Ascot Week, dined at Buckingham Palace, and attended the ballet at Covent Garden with Andrew. Their friendship was slowly becoming something more. Their budding romance was helped along by the matchmaking skills of the Princess of Wales. Diana and Andrew, having been childhood neighbors at Sandringham, were longtime friends. On February 19, 1986, Andrew’s birthday, at the Scottish home of the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe, where their romance first started, Andrew proposed to Sarah. Sarah accepted but added, “If you wake up tomorrow morning, you can tell me it’s all a huge joke.” Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson separated on March 19, 1992, and divorced on May 30, 1996. The couple remains on friendly terms and Sarah, no longer HRH The Duchess of York, uses the style of a divorced duchess, Sarah, Duchess of York.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson

July 23, 1999 – Death of King Hassan II of Morocco in Rabat, Morocco; buried at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco
On July 23, 1999, King Hassan II of Morocco died, aged 70, from pneumonia in Rabat, Morocco. Over forty heads of state and other dignitaries attended his funeral including United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, American President Bill Clinton, former American President George H.W. Bush, French President Jacques Chirac, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, King Abdullah II of Jordan, King Juan Carlos of Spain, and Prince Charles representing his mother Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The funeral became a diplomatic opportunity with many leaders holding informal meetings before and after the funeral.
Unofficial Royalty: King Hassan II of Morocco

July 23, 2012 – Death of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, Head of the House of Saxony and pretender to the former throne of Saxony from 1968, in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland; buried at the Royal Chapel in Königskapelle in Karrösten, Austria
Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen was Head of the House of Saxony and pretender to the former throne of Saxony from 1968 until he died in 2012. Having no children, his death brought about a dispute over the headship of the family between several of his relatives.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen

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Wedding of Princess Maud of Wales and Prince Carl of Denmark, later King Haakon VII of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

July 22, 1210 – Birth of Joan of England, Queen of Scots, daughter of King John of England, wife of  Alexander II, King of Scots, in Gloucester, England
Joan was the eldest of the three daughters and the third of the five children of King John of England and Isabella of Angoulême.  Joan’s father died when she was six years old, leaving his eldest son King Henry III, a nine-year-old, to inherit his throne. Five years later, marriage negotiations were occurring for Joan. Twelve years older than Joan, Alexander II, King of Scots was the only son of William I, King of Scots (the Lion), and became King of Scots in 1214 when he was sixteen years old. On June 21, 1221, at York Minster in York, England, eleven-year-old Joan married 23-year-old Alexander. Alexander’s court was dominated by his mother Dowager Queen Ermengarde and Joan’s position was not strong. Joan and Alexander never had any children, which left Alexander without an heir, a major issue for any king. An annulment of the marriage was risky as it could provoke a war with England.
Unofficial Royalty: Joan of England, Queen of Scots

July 22, 1478 – Birth of Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, husband of Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, in Bruges, Duchy of Burgundy, now in Belgium
Philip was the son of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. When his mother died, he inherited the Burgundian Netherlands.  He married Juana, the second daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and León and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, and their eventual successor.  The year before his death, he co-reigned with his wife as Philip I. 
Unofficial Royalty: Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, King of Castile and León 

July 22, 1535 – Birth of Katarina Stenbock, Queen of Sweden, third wife of King Gustav Vasa I of Sweden, in Torpa, Västergötland, Sweden
Katarina’s mother was the sister of King Gustav I Vasa of Sweden’s second wife Margareta Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud. Therefore, Katarina was the first cousin of the ten children of Gustav Vasa and Margareta Leijonhufvud. Katarina’s parents, part of the Kungafränderna (The King’s Relatives), were given prominent positions and had much influence at court. It is quite probable that Katerina served as a maid of honor to her aunt Margareta Leijonhufvud. When Katerina’s aunt died in 1551, Gustav Vasa decided to marry Katarina despite the king being 56 and Katarina being 17. Gustav Vasa saw this marriage as a way to forgo the costs and the time-consuming negotiations necessary to arrange a marriage with a foreign princess in the complicated political climate in Europe due to the ongoing conflicts caused by the Protestant Reformation. Katarina’s family saw the marriage as a way to preserve the family connection they had made with Gustav Vasa through his previous marriage with Margareta Leijonhufvud. Katarina and Gustav Vasa had no children but Katarina served as a stepmother to her first cousins, the children of Gustav Vasa and her aunt Margareta Leijonhufvud.
Unofficial Royalty: Katerina Stenbock, Queen of Sweden

July 22, 1746 – Death of Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, Dauphine of France, 1st wife of Louis, Dauphin of France, the son of Louis XV, King of France, at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France; buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France
In 1744, Maria Teresa married Louis, Dauphin of France, the son of Louis XV, King of France. Maria Teresa Rafaela soon became pregnant. On July 19, 1746, she gave birth to a daughter, named Marie-Thérèse by her husband in honor of his adored wife. Maria Teresa Rafaela initially recovered from childbirth but then her condition deteriorated quickly and she died on July 22, 1746, aged 20, at the Palace of Versailles. Maria Teresa’s husband Louis never succeeded to the French throne. He died of tuberculosis on December 20, 1765, at the age of 36.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, Dauphine of France

July 22, 1751 – Birth of Caroline Matilda of Wales, Queen of Denmark and Norway, daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, sister of King George III of the United Kingdom, wife of King Christian VII of Denmark, was born at Leicester House in London, England
Caroline Matilda has a sad history. Soon after her marriage to her first cousin Christian VII, Caroline Matilda discovered he was severely mentally ill. Johann Friedrich Struensee, Christian’s doctor, had some success dealing with the king but he also became the lover of the ill-treated Caroline Matilda, whose marriage was less than satisfactory. When the affair became known, Sturensee was brutally executed and Caroline Matilda’s marriage was dissolved, she lost her title of Queen and was forcibly separated from her children whom she never saw again. She was held in custody for the rest of her life at Celle Castle in the Kingdom of Hanover. Her time in custody proved to be short.  Three years later, Caroline Matilda died of “a putrid fever and sore throat,” probably scarlet fever at the age of 23.
Unofficial Royalty: Caroline Matilda of Wales, Queen of Denmark

July 22, 1832 – Death of Napoléon II (Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte), son of Napoleon Bonaparte and his second wife Marie Louise of Austria, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria; originally buried in the Kapuzinergruft in Vienna; in 1940 his remains were transferred to Les Invalides in Paris, France where his father is buried
Napoléon I divorced his childless first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais telling her he needed to find another wife who could provide him a son. He married Marie Louise of Austria and they had one son Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte. After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoléon I abdicated in favor of his four-year-old son and was exiled to the island of Saint Helena. Napoléon II “reigned” for two weeks, when King Louis XVIII of France, the elder of the two surviving brothers of the beheaded King Louis XVI of France, returned to France to resume the throne he had vacated earlier that year due to Napoléon I’s return from his first exile. Napoléon II and his mother lived in her homeland of Austria. He had been dealing with lung problems from a very early age and eventually developed tuberculosis. He died on July 22, 1832, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria at the age of twenty-one.
Unofficial Royalty: Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon II

July 22, 1848 – Birth of Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in Neustrelitz, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Full name: Adolf Friedrich August Viktor Ernst Adalbert Gustav Wilhelm Wellington
Adolf Friedrich was the son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Augusta of Cambridge. At the time of his birth, he was 14th in line to the British throne, as his mother was a granddaughter of King George III of the United Kingdom. Adolf Friedrich was the highest-ranking person in the British succession who did not hold any British titles.
Unofficial Royalty: Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

July 22, 1896 – Wedding of Princess Maud of Wales, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, and Prince Carl of Denmark, later King Haakon VII of Norway, at the Private Chapel in Buckingham Palace in London, England
Because Maud’s mother was a Danish Princess, Maud visited her Danish relatives often and was familiar with her first cousin Prince Carl of Denmark, who was three years younger than her. There had been family gossip that Maud and Carl might marry, so it was not all that surprising when Carl proposed to Maud during a family reunion at Fredensborg Castle and Maud accepted. In 1905, upon the dissolution of the Union between Sweden and Norway, Carl became King of Norway taking the name Haakon VII. Because of their mutual descent from King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, the Norwegian Royal Family is the most closely related royal family to the British Royal Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of King Haakon VII of Norway and Princess Maud of Wales

July 22, 1899 – Birth of King Sobhuza II of Swaziland at the Zombodze Royal Residence in Zombodze, Swaziland
King Sobhuza II of Swaziland was the Paramount Chief and King of Swaziland, from 1899 – 1982, for 82 years and 254 days. Because Swaziland was a British protectorate from 1906–1968 and not a sovereign state, he is not on the list of longest-reigning sovereign monarchs. However, he is number one on the list of longest reigning monarchs of dependent or constituent states. Sobhuza was quite influential in the events leading to Swaziland’s independence. He rejected the constitution proposed by the British government, in which he would become a constitutional monarch. Following the elections of 1973, the constitution of Swaziland was suspended by King Sobhuza II who ruled the country by decree until he died in 1982. Despite being an absolute monarch, Sobhuza was able to blend traditional tribal customs with strategies to manage economic and social change for Swaziland, now called Eswatini.
Unofficial Royalty: King Sobhuza II of Swaziland

July 22, 2013 – Birth of Prince George of Wales, son of Prince William, Prince of Wales, at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, England
Full name: George Alexander Louis
Prince George is the eldest of the three children of Prince William, Prince of Wales and the former Catherine Middleton. He is second in line to the British throne, behind his father.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince George of Wales

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