Author Archives: Susan

June 12: Today in Royal History

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King George V of Hanover; Credit – Wikipedia

June 12, 1734 – Death in battle of James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica, 1st Duke of Fitz-James, illegitimate son of King James II of England; buried at the Scots College in Paris, France. His tomb was destroyed during the French Revolution and his remains were lost.
James FitzJames, a great military leader who was killed on the battlefield, was the illegitimate son of King James II of England and his mistress Arabella Churchill. James’ military training with the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire proved invaluable. From 1689 – 1691, he served in the Williamite War in Ireland in which the Jacobite supporters of the exiled King James II unsuccessfully fought to restore the House of Stuart to the English throne. After the 1691 Treaty of Limerick, James withdrew permanently to France. He served in the French Army in twenty-nine campaigns. Although the French were victorious at the Siege of Philippsburg, on June 12, 1734, the nearly 64-year-old James was killed when a cannonball decapitated him while he was inspecting the work on trenches.
Unofficial Royalty: James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica, 1st Duke of Fitz-James (article coming soon)

June 12, 1878 – Death of King George V of Hanover in Paris, France; buried in the Royal Tomb House under St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
George succeeded his father, born Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, the fifth son of King George III, as King of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, as well as Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Earl of Armagh, in the Peerage of Ireland, in 1851. King George V of Hanover reigned for only 15 years, being exiled from Hanover in 1866 as a result of his support for Austria in the Austro-Prussian War. On September 20, 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia. George never abdicated from the throne of Hanover and he and his wife Marie lived in exile in Gmunden, Austria and Paris, France where George died at the age of 59. A funeral service was held at the Lutheran Church in the Rue Chacat in Paris and then King George’s remains were transported to England and buried in the Royal Tomb House under St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle
Unofficial Royalty: King George V of Hanover

June 12, 1952 – Birth of Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen, a disputed pretender to the Headship of the Russian Imperial Family and the throne of Russia since 2013, in Amorbach, then in West Germany, now in the German state of Bavaria
Karl Emich, also known by his Orthodox Russian name Nikolai Kirillovich Romanov, is the great-great-grandson of Alexander II, the great-grandson of Kirill Vladimirovich, and disputed pretender to the Russian throne from 2013 – present.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen

June 12, 1968 – Birth of Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, wife of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, born Sibilla Weiller in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Full name: Sibilla Sandra Weiller y Torlonia
Sibilla Weiller is a descendant of Spanish and British monarchs. See descent below:
King Alfonso XIII of Spain m. Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (granddaughter of Queen Victoria) > Infanta Beatriz of Spain m. Prince Alessanadro Torlonia of Civitella-Cesi > Olimpia Torlonia m. Paul Weiller > Sibilla Weiller. She married her distant cousin, Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, the youngest child of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium. The couple have four children.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg

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.

Christmas Message – December 25 – United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Embed from Getty Images
A family watches as King Charles III gives his first Christmas Message on December 25, 2022, in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The King paid tribute to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II.

At 3:00 PM British Time on December 25, the British Monarch’s pre-recorded Christmas Message is broadcast throughout the United Kingdom. It is also broadcast in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth nations at times convenient to those countries. In the United States, C-SPAN broadcasts the message at times that vary depending on the network’s schedule. On the internet, the Christmas Message is embargoed until 3:00 PM British Time. The Christmas Message is now written by the Monarch sometimes with input from family and advisors.

History of the Christmas Message

King George V giving the 1934 Christmas Message; Credit – Wikipedia

John Reith, the founding Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), suggested to King George V that he make a short speech on BBC radio in 1922, the founding year of the BBC. King George V considered the new radio just entertainment and declined. Ten years later, John Reith again asked King George V to make a speech, and with the encouragement of his wife Queen Mary and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, he agreed. On December 25, 1932, King George V read the first Christmas Message, written by the renowned English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist Rudyard Kipling.

Embed from Getty Images
On December 25, 1952, Queen Elizabeth II gave her first Christmas Message at Sandringham House

The Christmas Message has been broadcast every year since 1932 with several exceptions. There was no Christmas Message in 1936 because King Edward VIII had abdicated the throne just two weeks prior, on December 10, 1936. Because Queen Elizabeth II was weeks away from the births of Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, there was no Christmas Message in 1959 and 1963. In 1969, it was decided to forgo the Christmas Message because a repeat of the documentary film Royal Family, televised in the summer in connection with the investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales, was already scheduled for the holiday period. Instead, Queen Elizabeth II issued a written Christmas Message in 1969.

Queen Elizabeth II giving the first televised Christmas Message in 1957; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 25, 1957, Queen Elizabeth II gave the first televised Christmas Message in the Long Library at Sandringham House.

The Christmas Message

A family watching as Queen Elizabeth II gives what would be her last Christmas Message on December 25, 2021, in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle. The Queen marked the death of her husband Prince Philip earlier in the year.

The text of the Christmas Message usually reflects current issues and concerns along with the monarchy’s milestones and the Monarch’s personal feelings about Christmas. Several months before Christmas, the Monarch decides upon a theme, and related videos and photos are collected for inclusion in the broadcast. Queen Elizabeth II mostly wrote the text of her Christmas Messages, sometimes receiving input from her husband Prince Philip and her staff. King Charles III writes his own Christmas Messages without any input.

The Christmas Message is recorded a few days before Christmas. The location is usually Buckingham Palace, but recordings have also been made at Windsor Castle and Sandringham House. In 2003, a special broadcast from Combermere Barracks, the Household Cavalry Barracks in Windsor, was arranged at Queen Elizabeth II’s request. In 2022, King Charles III gave his first Christmas Message at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Traditionally, the Christmas Message broadcast begins with the British national anthem God Save the King/Queen except for 1968, 1986–2000, 2002, and 2007 when the national anthem was played at the end of the Christmas Message.

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.

Works Cited

  • Hardman, Robert. (2007). A Year With The Queen. Simon and Schuster.
  • The Christmas Broadcast. The Royal Family. (n.d.-c). https://www.royal.uk/the-christmas-broadcast
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Royal Christmas message. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Christmas_message

June 11: Today in Royal History

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King George I of Great Britain; Credit – Wikipedia

June 11, 1183 – Death of Henry the Young King, son of King Henry II of England, at Martel Castle in Turenne, France; buried at Rouen Cathedral in Rouen, France
When Henry was 15, his father adopted the French practice of ensuring the succession by declaring his heir the junior king and he was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Despite his rank of junior king, King Henry II refused to grant Henry land or allow him to participate in the government. With his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine and his brothers Richard (the future King Richard I of England) and Geoffrey, he nearly overthrew King Henry II in 1173. In 1182–83, Henry had a falling out with his brother Richard when Richard refused to pay homage to him on the orders of King Henry II. As he was preparing to fight Richard, Henry became ill with dysentery (also called the bloody flux), the scourge of armies for centuries. It was clear that Henry was dying and he repented his sins by prostrating himself naked on the floor before a crucifix. Henry the Young King died holding a ring his father had sent as a sign of his forgiveness for rebelling against him. Henry was so popular that the people of Le Mans and Rouen almost went to war for the custody of his body. He had requested to be buried in Rouen Cathedral, but as his body traveled through Le Mans, the bishop ordered his body to be buried at the cathedral there. The Dean of Rouen Cathedral had to resort to legal means to bury Henry according to his wishes.
Unofficial Royalty: Henry the Young King

June 11, 1456 – Birth of Anne Neville, Queen of England, daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, wife of King Richard III of England, at Warwick Castle in Warwick, England
Anne was the wife of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (son of King Henry VI) and the wife of King Richard III. Born Lady Anne Neville, she was the younger of the two daughters of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and Lady Anne Beauchamp. Anne’s father, known as “the Kingmaker,” was one of the major players in the Wars of the Roses, originally on the Yorkist side but later switching to the Lancastrian side. Both Anne’s parents were descendants of King Edward III of England.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne Neville, Queen of England

June 11, 1488 – Death of James III, King of Scots, killed in the Battle of Sauchieburn in Scotland; buried at Cambuskenneth Abbey in Stirlingshire, Scotland
James was killed in the Battle of Sauchieburn. The circumstances of James III’s death were greatly exaggerated and romanticized by the 16th-century chroniclers. Supposedly, he was murdered when he went to seek refuge in a cottage shortly after the battle in Milltown near Bannockburn. Most likely, James III, King of Scots had already died on the battlefield.
Unofficial Royalty: James III, King of Scots

June 11, 1560 – Death of Marie of Guise, Queen of Scots, second wife of James V, King of Scots and mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, at Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland; buried at the church in the Convent of Saint-Pierre in Reims, France
On August 7, 1548, five-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots set sail for France where she would be raised with her future husband François, Dauphin of France. She would not return to Scotland for thirteen years. Mary’s mother Marie of Guise remained in Scotland as the principal member of the Council of Regency. 1560, 44-year-old Marie died of dropsy (edema). Marie’s body was embalmed and placed in a lead coffin. It lay in St. Margaret’s Chapel in Edinburgh Castle until March 18, 1561. On that day, the coffin was secretly carried from the castle at midnight and taken to Leith where the coffin was placed onboard a ship bound for France. Mary, Queen of Scots attended her mother’s funeral in France in July 1561.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Guise, Queen of Scots

June 11, 1726 – Birth 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 Royal Alcazar in Madrid, Spain
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

June 11, 1727 – Death of King George I of Great Britain at the Prince-Bishop’s Palace in the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, now in Lower Saxony, Germany; originally buried at the chapel of Leine Castle in the Electorate of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany; in 1957, his remains were re-interred at the Berggarten Mausoleum at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hanover, Germany
On June 3, 1727, King George I, also Elector of Hanover, set out for another visit to Hanover. During the journey, George became ill and lost consciousness. It was noticed that his face had become distorted and his right hand hung limply at his side, a sign that he had suffered a stroke. The courtiers decided to continue with the journey to Hanover, where George died in the Prince-Bishop’s Palace in the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück. Following the instructions of George’s son, now King George II, George was buried in the chapel at Leineschloss in the Electorate of Hanover. He was the first British monarch since King Richard I in 1199 to be buried outside England. The castle and the chapel were severely damaged during World War II, and in 1957, King George I’s remains were re-interred at the Berggarten Mausoleum at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hanover, Germany, near his mother’s burial site.
Unofficial Royalty: King George I of Great Britain

June 11, 1903 – Assassination of King Alexander I of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga by a military coup d’etat at the Stari Dvor (Old Palace) in Belgrade, Serbia; buried at St. Mark’s Church in Belgrade, Serbia
On June 11, 1903, 26-year-old Alexander I, King of Serbia and his 38-year-old wife Queen Draga were brutally shot, mutilated, and thrown out a window at the Stari Dvor (Old Palace) in Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia.
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of King Alexander I and Queen Draga of Serbia
Unofficial Royalty: King Alexander I of Serbia
Unofficial Royalty: Draga Mašin, Queen of Serbia

June 11, 1914 – Death of Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Berlin, Kingdom of  Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany; buried in the New Crypt at the Johanniterkirche in Mirow, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
A great-grandson of King George III of the United Kingdom, Adolf Friedrich was 14th in line of succession to the British throne at the time of his birth. He was the highest-ranking person in the British succession who did not hold any British titles. Adolf Friedrich was the heir apparent to the throne of Mecklenburg-Strelitz for 43 years and succeeded to the Grand Ducal throne on May 30, 1904, following his father’s death. His reign lasted for only ten years. In March 1914, the Grand Duke fell ill and underwent an operation in a private hospital in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg. He never fully recovered and died at the hospital.
Unofficial Royalty: Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

June 11, 1928 – Birth of Queen Fabiola of Belgium, wife of King Baudouin of the Belgians, born Fabiola de Mora y Aragón in Madrid, Spain
Full name: Fabiola Fernanda Maria de las Victorias Antonia Adelaida
Born to a Spanish aristocratic family, Fabiola was the fifth of the six children of Gonzalo de Mora y Fernández, Riera y del Olmo, 4th Marquess of Casa Riera, 2nd Count of Mora and his wife Blanca de Aragón y Carrillo de Albornoz, Barroeta-Aldamar y Elío. Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, was her godmother. In 1960, Fabiola married King Baudouin of the Belgians, who had been king since his father King Leopold III abdicated in 1951. Unfortunately, King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola lost five children to miscarriages and never had children. On December 5, 2014, Queen Fabiola died and was buried with her husband at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Fabiola of Belgium

June 11, 1934 – Birth of Prince Henrik of Denmark, husband of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, born Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat in Talence, Gironde, France
Full name: Henri Marie Jean André
Prince Henrik’s parents were members of the French nobility. After a brief stint in the military, Henrik entered the French foreign services. At the time he met Princess Margrethe of Denmark, the eldest of the three daughters of King Frederik IX of Denmark in 1965, Henri was working as the third secretary at the French embassy in the Department of Oriental Affairs in London. On June 10, 1967, Princess Margrethe married Henrik at the Holmens Kirke in Copenhagen,  Denmark. The couple had two sons. Later in life, Henrik suffered from dementia. he died peacefully in his sleep on February 13, 2018, at the age of 83.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Henrik of Denmark

June 11, 1968 – Birth of Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, son of Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, in Zurich, Switzerland
Full name: Alois Philipp Maria
Alois is the eldest son of Prince Hans-Adam II. At the time of his father’s accession in 1989, he became The Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1993, Alois married Duchess Sophie in Bavaria and the couple had four children. Alois works for the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation, which oversees and manages the various assets of the Princely Family. In 2004, Prince Hans-Adam II appointed Alois as his “permanent representative for exercising the sovereign powers due to him, in preparation for his succession to the throne.” Alois now performs all his father’s duties both within the principality and internationally, however, Hans-Adam remains Head-of-State.
Unofficial Royalty: Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein

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.

June 10: Today in Royal History

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Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; Credit – Wikipedia

June 10, 1437 – Death of Joan of Navarre, Queen of England, second wife of King Henry IV of England, at Havering Palace in London, England; buried at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, England
At the time of their marriage, a second marriage for both, Henry IV was about 37 and Joan was about 35, but they had no children together. Joan got along well with her stepchildren especially Henry of Monmouth, Prince of Wales, the future King Henry V of England.  Henry IV died in 1413 and King Henry V held his stepmother in the highest regard as shown by his appointing “his dearest mother” as regent several times. Joan lived quietly through the reign of King Henry V and into the reign of his son King Henry VI. She died at her favorite residence, Havering Palace in the village of Havering-atte-Bower in what is now the London Borough of Havering, and was buried with King Henry IV at Canterbury Cathedral.
Unofficial Royalty: Joan of Navarre, Queen of England

June 10, 1688 – Birth of James Francis Edward Stuart, “The Old Pretender”, son of King James II of England, at St. James Palace in London, England
Upon the death of his exiled father in 1701, James was recognized by King Louis XIV of France as the rightful heir to the English and Scottish thrones. Spain, the Vatican, and Modena recognized him as King James III of England and VIII of Scotland and refused to recognize William III, Mary II, or Anne as legitimate sovereigns. As a result of James claiming his father’s lost thrones, he was attainted for treason in 1702 and his titles were forfeited under English law. After James II lost his throne, the Jacobite (from Jacobus, the Latin for James) movement formed. The goal of the Jacobites was to restore the Roman Catholic Stuart King James II of England/VII of Scotland and his heirs to the thrones of England and Scotland. 1719, James Francis Edward Stuart married Maria Clementina Sobieska. The couple had two sons: Charles Edward Stuart, The Young Pretender, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. After James’ failures to regain the throne, attention fell upon his son Charles Edward, The Young Pretender, whose Jacobite Rising of 1745 culminated in the final devastating loss for the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden. James Francis Edward Stuart died at his home, the Palazzo Muti in Rome, on January 1, 1766, aged 77.
Unofficial Royalty: James Francis Edward Stuart
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

June 10, 1711 – Birth of Princess Amelia of Great Britain, daughter of King George II of Great Britain, at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover, Kingdon of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Amelia Sophia Eleanora
Amelia never married. After the death of her mother in 1737, Amelia became the constant companion to her father. She also acted as hostess for her unmarried brother Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, who had a career in the Royal Army. Amelia followed her brother’s military campaigns and was always quite worried about him when he was at the front. Amelia was the last surviving child of her parents and lived for the first twenty-six years of the reign of her nephew King George III whose father Frederick, Prince of Wales had predeceased his father King George II.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Amelia of Great Britain

June 10, 1713 – Birth of Princess Caroline of Great Britain, daughter of King George II of Great Britain, at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover, Kingdon of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Caroline Elizabeth
Princess Caroline was not only her mother’s namesake but her favorite child. She was known in the family for telling the truth and was always consulted when there were disagreements between the royal siblings because she could be counted on telling exactly what happened.  After the marriage of her eldest sister Anne to Willem IV, Prince of Orange, Caroline became her mother’s main confidant and she remained so for the rest of her mother’s life. Princess Caroline never married. When her mother died in 1737, Queen Caroline expressly left her three youngest children, all teenagers, in the care of her daughter Caroline.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Caroline of Great Britain

June 10, 1811 – Death of Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried in St. Michael’s Church in Pforzheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Originally, Margrave of Baden, Karl Friedrich was the first Grand Duke of Baden. In 1805, he fought on the side of the French, gaining territories from the Austrian Empire. In 1806, he joined the Confederation of the Rhine, and upon the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Karl Friedrich declared himself sovereign, as Grand Duke of the newly created Grand Duchy of Baden. He continued to support the French, and in the Peace of Vienna in 1809, and gained more territory from the Kingdom of Württemberg. Through his efforts, Karl Friedrich had quadrupled the size of the Grand Duchy of Baden by the end of his reign.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden

June 10, 1835 – Birth of Ferdinando IV, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy
Full name: Ferdinando Salvatore Maria Giuseppe Giovan Battista Francesco Luigi Gonzaga Raffaello Ranieri Gennaro
In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinando IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. Ferdinando was unable to return to Florence to claim his throne, and an elected Tuscan National Assembly formally deposed him on August 16, 1859. Ferdinando hoped to recover his throne because France and Austria had promised to recognize his rights. However, neither France nor Austria was willing to take any steps to bring about his restoration. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy, and Ferdinando’s hopes to reclaim the throne were ended. Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
Unofficial Royalty: Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany

June 10, 1838 – Birth of Marguerite Bellanger, mistress of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, born Julie Justine Marine Leboeuf on June 10, 1838, in Saint-Lambert-des-Levées, Maine-et-Loire, France
Using the stage name Marguerite Bellanger, she had a brief career on the Paris stage before she was noticed by Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. She was the mistress of Napoleon III from 1863 until 1870 when he was deposed and exiled. In February 1864, Marguerite gave birth to a son Charles Jules Auguste François Marie Leboeuf, who was in all likelihood, the Emperor’s son. With the Emperor’s exile in 1870, his affair with Marguerite ended. In 1872, she married William Kulbach, Baronet, a Captain in the British Army and the couple lived in England and France. Marguerite Bellanger, aged 48, died on November 23, 1886, at the Château de Villeneuve-sous-Dammartin, near Meaux, France.
Unofficial Royalty: Marguerite Bellanger, Mistress of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French

June 10, 1876 – Birth of Wilhelm Ernst, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in Weimar, Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Wilhelm Ernst Karl Alexander Friedrich Heinrich Bernhard Albert Georg Hermann
From 1897 until 1909, Wilhelm Ernst was also the heir presumptive to the Dutch throne. King Willem III of the Netherlands died in 1890, leaving the throne to his ten-year-old daughter Wilhelmina. As a grandson of Princess Sophie of the Netherlands, the younger sister of King Willem III, Wilhelm Ernst was the next person in the line of succession. This caused great panic in the Netherlands, where the people feared German influence or the potential of being annexed by Germany. Several attempts were made to change the succession, or limit Wilhelm Ernst to holding only one throne should he succeed in the Netherlands. The succession crisis was lessened in 1909 when Wilhelmina gave birth to her daughter, the future Queen Juliana. Wilhelm Ernst was the last Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, abdicating on November 9, 1918.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelm Ernst, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

June 10, 1897 – Birth of Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia, daughter of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, at Peterhof near St. Petersburg, Russia
Tatiana, like her sister Olga, was a good student but worked harder and was more dedicated. She had a great talent for sewing, embroidery, and crocheting. Tatiana was practical, had a natural talent for leadership and so she was nicknamed “The Governess” by her sisters. She was closer to her mother than any of her sisters and was considered by many to be Empress Alexandra’s favorite daughter. Therefore, Tatiana was the one sent as the sisters’ representative when they wanted something from their parents.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia

June 10, 1921 – Birth of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, born Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark at Villa Mon Repos in Corfu, Greece
In 1939, during Philip’s first year at the Royal Naval College Dartmouth, the British Royal Family: King George VI, his wife Queen Elizabeth, and their daughters Princess Elizabeth, and Princess Margaret, made a visit. Because of his family relationship (Elizabeth and Philip are second cousins once removed through their descent from King Christian IX of Denmark and third cousins through their descent from Queen Victoria), Philip was asked to join the party to entertain the two young princesses. Elizabeth and Philip had already met in 1934 when she was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her uncle, The Duke of Kent, to Philip’s first cousin, Princess Marina of Greece. However, it was at Dartmouth that the 13-year-old Elizabeth truly took notice of her nearly 18-year-old cousin. It is said that Elizabeth was instantly smitten with the dashing Philip and the two began a correspondence that quickly blossomed into a romance.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

June 10, 1967 – Wedding of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Henri de Laborde de Monpezat at the Church of Holmen in Copenhagen, Denmark
While studying at the London School of Economics in 1965, Margrethe was invited to a dinner at the French embassy. As an employee of the embassy at the time, Henri was expected to attend but was ambivalent about meeting the Danish princess by whom he was to be seated. Henri later said that to his surprise he found Margrethe interesting from their first meeting, but was a bit intimidated by her and said little during the dinner as a result. Margrethe said she had no real impression of Henri from their first meeting. Margrethe and Henri were both guests at a wedding shortly after the first dinner. The two chatted at the wedding reception and on the plane ride back to London, as they were seated together once again. Upon their return to London, Margrethe and Henri gradually began seeing more and more – and growing mutually fonder – of one another. The couple kept a low profile for more than a year, made easier by the fact that Margrethe’s anonymity in Britain. The couple was so private that upon the news that an engagement announcement was imminent, most Danes had no idea their princess had been exclusively dating anyone.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Henri de Laborde de Monpezat

June 10, 1974 – Death of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester at Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire, England; buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore in Windsor, England
In 1965, while driving back to his home Barnwell Manor after attending the funeral of Winston Churchill, the Duke suffered a stroke causing a car accident. The Duchess suffered injuries to the face which required 57 stitches. Three years later, the Duke suffered another stroke which left him incapacitated. The Duchess continued to talk and read to her husband hoping he could hear and understand. She never did tell him about the death of their son in a plane crash, but she thought he understood from watching television.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

June 10, 1976 – Birth of Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, current pretender to the Prussian throne, and head of the Prussian branch of the House of Hohenzollern
Full name: Georg Friedrich Ferdinand
Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia is the current pretender to the Prussian throne and head of the Prussian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. He is the direct male-line descendent of Prussia’s last King (and German Emperor), Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Unofficial Royalty: Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia

June 10, 1982 – Birth of Princess Madeleine of Sweden, daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at Drottningholm Palace in Drottningholm, Sweden
Full name: Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine
Madeleine is the youngest of the three children of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. In 2013, she married Christopher O’Neill, a British-American businessman. The couple has three children. Madeleine has a very active role in the World Childhood Foundation, founded by her mother Queen Silvia in 1999 to reach and support children at risk around the world. After their marriage, Madeline and Christopher lived in New York City, and their first child was born there. In early 2015, they returned to Sweden. In August 2018, it was announced that Madeleine and her family would be moving to Florida, in the United States, where Madeleine has continued her work with the World Childhood Foundation. In March 2023, it was announced that the family would move back to Sweden in August 2023 but the move was postponed until 2024.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Madeleine of Sweden

June 10, 1993 – Wedding of King Abdullah II of Jordan and Rania al-Yasin at the Zahran Palace in Amman, Jordan
In January 1993, a friend of Rania took her to a dinner party hosted by Prince Abdullah’s sister. “The minute Rania walked in, I knew it right there and then,” said Abdullah in a 2005 interview with People magazine. “It was love at first sight.” A whirlwind courtship began. Abdullah took Rania on motorbike rides across the desert, waterskiing on the Red Sea, and flying in helicopters. After a courtship of just two months, King Hussein reportedly drove his son to the home of Rania’s parents so Abdullah could propose. With King Hussein and her family looking on, Rania accepted.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of King Abdullah II of Jordan and Rania al-Yasin

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June 9: Today in Royal History

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Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

June 9, 1661 – Birth of Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia in Moscow, Russia
When Feodor’s father Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia died in 1676, he was succeeded by 15-year-old Feodor. Even though Feodor had been well educated and had a fine intellect, he had a debilitating physical condition that prevented him from fully participating in reigning. In 1682, at the age of 20, Feodor died childless and without making an order concerning the succession to the throne. This was eventually resolved by the decision to have two tsars at the same time – Feodor’s brother Ivan V and his half-brother Peter I (the Great) under the regency of Sofia Alexeevna, Feodor’s eldest sister.
Unofficial Royalty: Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia

June 9, 1640 – Birth of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria
Full name: Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician
A contemporary and first cousin of King Louis XIV of France, Leopold was not expected to be the heir of his father’s heir, but his elder brother died from smallpox at the age of twenty-one. When his father died in 1657, seventeen-year-old Leopold succeeded to his father’s Habsburg hereditary lands but was not elected as Holy Roman Emperor until July 18, 1658. Leopold’s reign was dominated by the defense against French expansion under his first cousin King Louis XIV of France.
Unofficial Royalty: Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

June 9, 1672 – Birth of Peter I “the Great”, Emperor of All Russia at the Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, Russia
After the death of their elder half-brother Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia, who was disabled by an unknown disease that left him disfigured and partially paralyzed, Peter and his older half-brother Ivan, who had serious physical and mental disabilities, were co-rulers of Russia. Peter married twice to Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina and then to Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya, later Catherine I, Empress of All Russia. Peter had fourteen children but only three survived to adulthood including Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia. Upon his half-brother’s death in 1696, Peter assumed complete authority. Peter is perhaps the greatest Romanov ruler. He is known for his modernization reforms and founding the city of St. Petersburg. Peter was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he wanted Russia to have a seaport to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk on the White Sea to the north and closed to shipping during the winter. Previously titled Tsar of All Russia, Peter was officially proclaimed Emperor of All Russia in 1721.
Unofficial Royalty: Peter I, Emperor of All Russia (the Great)

June 9, 1701 – Death of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, son of King Louis XIII of France and brother of King Louis XIV of France, at the Château de Saint-Cloud in France; buried at the Basilica of St. Denis near Paris
The only sibling of King Louis XIV, Philippe’s careful investment and management of his various estates made him a wealthy man. His wealth was greatly increased when he inherited the fortune of his extremely wealthy paternal first cousin Anne Marie Louise of Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier upon her death. Philippe is acknowledged as the biological and financial founder of the House of Orléans. His descendants include King Felipe VI of Spain, King Philippe of the Belgians, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Henri, Count of Paris, the Orléanist pretender to the French throne, and Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, the pretender to the Italian throne.
Unofficial Royalty: Philippe I, Duke of Orléans

June 9, 1806 – Birth of Ludwig III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany
Ludwig was the brother of Prince Alexander, the founder of the Battenberg/Mountbatten dynasty and Marie who married Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. His marriage to Mathilde Caroline of Bavaria was childless and he was succeeded by his nephew Ludwig IV who married Queen Victoria’s daughter Alice.
Unofficial Royalty: Ludwig III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

June 9, 1820 – Death of Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange, wife of Willem V, Prince of Orange, at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, Dutch Republic, now in the Netherlands; first buried at Het Loo Palace, reinterred in 1831 at the new crypt at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
Wilhelmina married Willem V, Prince of Orange. In 1795, her husband lost power when the Dutch Republic was threatened by invading French armies. Revolutionary Dutch patriots, now supported by the French Army, replaced the Dutch Republic with the Batavian Republic which remained in power until 1806. Wilhelmina’s family fled to England where they lived in exile until in London in the part of Kew Palace known as the Dutch House with the permission of Willem V’s first cousin King George III. In 1806, Napoleon created the Kingdom of Holland for his brother Louis and the Batavian Republic ended. In 1813, with the help of Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia, the House of Orange was restored and Wilhelmina’s son became Willem I, the first King of the Netherlands.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange

June 9, 1923 – Death of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Schomberg House, Pall Mall in London, England; buried at Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore in Windsor, England
Helena took a very active role in royal duties and engagements at a time when this was not nearly as common as it is today. In addition, she was very involved in charity work, particularly in the area of nursing. She served as president of the Royal British Nurses Association and was one of the founding members of the British Red Cross.  She was also the founding president of the Royal School of Needlework. Upon her death, Helena was first interred in the Royal Crypt at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. In 1928, her remains, along with those of her husband and infant son Harald were moved to the newly established Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore in Windsor, England.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Helena of the United Kingdom

June 9, 1930 – Birth of Princess Ragnhild of Norway, daughter of King Olav V of Norway, at the Royal Palace in Oslo, Norway
Full name: Ragnhild Alexandra
Named for another Ragnhild, the wife of Harald Fairhair, the first king of a united Norway who reigned 872 – 930, Ragnhild was the first native Norwegian princess born in Norway in over 600 years. Ragnhild married Erling Lorentzen, a commoner and her former bodyguard. Reportedly, Ragnhild’s grandfather King Haakon VII consented to the marriage only after the intervention of her mother Crown Princess Märtha. Ragnhild lost her style of Royal Highness with the marriage, becoming known instead as Her Highness Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen. The couple settled in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and had three children. Ragnhild died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 16, 2012, following a bout with cancer. Her remains were transferred to Norway where her funeral was held and at her request, Ragnhild was buried at Asker Church in Asker, Norway.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Ragnhild of Norway

June 9, 1946 – Shooting death of King Ananda Mahidol, Rama VIII of Thailand, at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand; his ashes are enshrined in the base of the Buddha statue at Wat Suthat in Bangkok, Thailand
20-year-old King Ananda Mahidol was found shot to death in his bed in the Boromphiman Throne Hall, a residential palace located in the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. He was scheduled to return to the University of Lausanne in Switzerland four days later to begin work on his Ph.D. King Ananda Mahidol was succeeded by his 18-year-old brother Bhumibol Adulyadej who reigned for seventy years. Although three people were tried and executed for King Ananda Mahidol’s supposed assassination, the circumstances of his death have never been fully explained and his death is still seen as a mystery.
Unofficial Royalty: The Mysterious of Ananda Mahidol, King of Thailand
Unofficial Royalty: King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand

June 9, 1993 – Wedding of Emperor Naruhito of Japan, then Crown Prince, and Masako Owada, married at the Kashiko-dokoro, the Shinto shrine of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan
800 guests were invited, including Imperial Family members, the bride’s relatives, government officials, lawmakers, judges, and industrial leaders. Very few friends of the bride and groom were invited and no foreigners were invited. The groom’s parents, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, were not among the 800 guests. They stayed in their imperial sitting room a few hundred yards from the shrine and waited until midafternoon when the newlyweds visited them to inform them of the morning marriage. Guests did not actually attend the wedding ceremony. They stood in the Imperial Garden for the 10 AM wedding and only saw the bride and groom, accompanied by Shinto ritualists, chamberlains, and ladies-in-waiting, as they slowly walked down a long wooden porch.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Emperor Naruhito of Japan and Masako Owada

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Royal Birthdays & Anniversaries: June 9 – June 15

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Below is a select list of birthdays and wedding anniversaries for current monarchies. It does not purport to be a complete list. Please see the Current Monarchies Index in the heading above for more information on current monarchies.

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Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako; Credit – Imperial Household Agency

31st wedding anniversary of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan; married at the Kashiko-dokoro, the Shinto shrine of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan on June 9, 1993.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Emperor Naruhito of Japan and Masako Owada

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43rd birthday of Prince Hashim bin Al Hussein of Jordan, son of King Hussein I of Jordan and his fourth wife Queen Noor; born in Amman, Jordan on June 10, 1981
Wikipedia: Prince Hashim bin Al Hussein

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42nd birthday of Princess Madeleine of Sweden, daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden; born at Drottningholm Palace in Drottningholm, Sweden on June 10, 1982
Full name: Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland

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King Abdullah II of Jordan and Rania al-Yasin; Credit – www.hellomagazine.com

31st wedding anniversary of King Abdullah II of Jordan and Rania al-Yasin; married at the Zahran Palace in Amman, Jordan on June 10, 1993
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of King Abdullah II of Jordan and Rania al-Yasin

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56th birthday of Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, son of Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein; born in Zurich, Switzerland on June 11, 1968
Full name: Alois Philipp Maria
Unofficial Royalty: Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein

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56th birthday of Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, wife of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg; born Sibilla Weiller in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France on June 12, 1968
Full name: Sibilla Sandra Weiller y Torlonia
Sibilla Weiller is a descendant of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg

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59th birthday of Infanta Cristina of Spain, daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain, in Madrid, Spain on June 13, 1965
Full name: Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia de la Santísima Trinidad de Borbón y de Grecia
Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Cristina of Spain

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Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist; Credit – Wikipedia

9th wedding anniversary of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist, married at the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on June 13, 2015
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist

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June 8: Today in Royal History

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Tomb of Edward the Black Prince at Canterbury Cathedral; Credit – Susan Flantzer

June 8, 1042 – Death of King Harthacnut of England at Lambeth, London, England; buried at Winchester Cathedral in Winchester, England
Harthacnut was the son of Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway and his second wife Emma of Normandy, the widow of Æthelred II the Unready, King of the English. He had two half-siblings who were also Kings of England: Harold Harefoot, King of England and Saint Edward the Confessor, King of England who succeeded him. On June 8, 1042, Harthacnut attended a wedding in Lambeth, London, England. As he was drinking to celebrate the wedding, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, “He died while standing with his drink. Suddenly he fell to the ground with violent convulsions.” Harthacnut was only 23-24 years old. There were unproven suspicions that he was poisoned and there were people who would have benefitted from his death. His death also could have been caused by a stroke due to excessive drinking. A 2015 study speculated that perhaps up to fourteen Danish kings, including Harthacnut, who suddenly died at a relatively young age without being ill, possibly died of Brugada Syndrome, a genetic disorder in which the electrical activity in the heart is abnormal. It increases the risk of abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death.
Unofficial Royalty: King Harthacnut of England

June 8, 1376 – Death of Edward, Prince of Wales, known as the Black Prince, son and heir of King Edward III of England, at the Palace of Westminster in London, England; buried at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, England
Edward was one of the seven Princes of Wales who never became King. He is best known for his military career in the Hundred Years War. Around 1365, Edward contracted an illness that ailed him until he died in 1376. It was believed that he contracted dysentery, which killed more medieval soldiers than battle, but it is unlikely that he could survive a ten-year battle with dysentery. Other possible diagnoses include edema, nephritis, or cirrhosis. By 1371, Edward could no longer perform his duties and returned to England. In 1372, he forced himself to attempt one final campaign, hoping to save his father’s French possessions, but the prevailing winds off the shores of France prevented the ships from landing and the campaign was aborted. Edward’s health was now completely shattered.  A week before his forty-sixth birthday, Edward died. His father King Edward III died a year later and was succeeded by his ten-year-old grandson King Richard II, the surviving son of Edward the Black Prince.
Unofficial Royalty: Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince)

June 8, 1492 – Death of Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England, wife of King Edward IV of England, at St. Saviour’s Abbey in Bermondsey, London, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Elizabeth Woodville was the mother of Elizabeth of York who married King Henry VII of England. In 1487, two years into the reign of King Henry VII, she retired to Bermondsey Abbey in London, England where she lived for the rest of her life. She was present at the birth of her granddaughter Margaret Tudor at Westminster Palace in November 1489 and at the birth of her grandson, the future Henry VIII, King of England, at Greenwich Palace in June 1491. Elizabeth died at Bermondsey Abbey on June 8, 1492, at the age of 55. With the exception of her daughter Elizabeth, who was awaiting the birth of her fourth child, and her daughter Cecily, her other daughters, Anne, Catherine, and Bridget attended her funeral at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle where Elizabeth Woodville was buried with her husband King Edward IV of England.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England

June 8, 1671 – Death of Edgar Stuart, Duke of Cambridge, at Richmond Palace in Surrey, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England in a vault under the monument to his great-great-grandmother Mary, Queen of Scots in the south aisle of the Henry VII Chapel
Born on September 14, 1667, Edgar was the youngest of the four sons of the future King James II of England, who was then Duke of York, and his first wife Anne Hyde. At the time of his birth, his three brothers who had been born before Edgar had all died. His only living siblings were his two elder sisters, the future Queen Mary II of England and the future Queen Anne of England, who turned out to be the only surviving children of their parents’ eight children. Until his early death, Edgar was second in the line of succession to the English throne after his father. Edgartown, Massachusetts on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, established in 1642, was named after Edgar when it was incorporated in 1671
Unofficial Royalty: Edgar Stuart, Duke of Cambridge

June 8, 1714 – Death of Dowager Electress Sophia of Hanover, granddaughter of King James I of England and mother of King George I of Great Britain, at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hanover, Electorate of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany; initially buried at the Chapel of Leineschloss in Hanover which was destroyed during World War II; in 1957 her remains were moved to the mausoleum of King Ernest Augustus I in the Berggarten of Herrenhausen Gardens.
In 1701, Parliament passed the Act of Settlement, giving the succession to the British throne to Sophia and her Protestant heirs because the Stuarts failed to produce a surviving heir. This act ensured the Protestant succession and bypassed many Catholics who had better claims to the throne.  On  June 5, 1714, 83-year-old Sophia fell ill after receiving an angry letter from Queen Anne of Great Britain. Two days later, while she was walking in the gardens of Schloss Herrenhausen, it began to rain quite heavily and Sophia ran to a shelter where she collapsed. She died the next day. Sophia narrowly missed becoming queen, having died two months before Queen Anne. Sophia’s son George, Elector of Hanover, became King George I of Great Britain, the first monarch of the House of Hanover.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia, Electress of Hanover

June 8, 1795 – Death of Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France, Titular King Louis XVII of France, son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, at the Temple Prison in Paris, France; buried in the cemetery of Ste. Marguerite in Paris, France; his heart was interred at Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France on June 8, 2004
Born in splendor at the Palace of Versailles, Louis-Charles died from tuberculosis at the age of ten, imprisoned at the Temple, the remains of a medieval fortress in Paris, after seeing his father Louis XVI, his mother Marie Antoinette, and his aunt Elisabeth led off to be beheaded. Of all the royal prisoners in the Temple, Louis-Charles’ sister Marie-Thérèse was the only one to survive.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France – Titular King Louis XVII of France

June 8, 2013 – Wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill at the Royal Chapel in the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
Following a broken engagement in 2010, Princess Madeleine moved to New York to work for the World Childhood Foundation, a charitable organization founded by her mother, Queen Silvia. It was here that she met Mr. O’Neill and the two quickly became a couple.  The Swedish Royal Court announced their engagement in October 2012. Protocol dictates that members of the Royal Family must be Swedish citizens, and may not be involved in positions of responsibility in business. Mr. O’Neill continued working and did not apply for Swedish citizenship. He requested that he not be granted any royal status or title. Princess Madeleine did not take on Mr. O’Neill’s name and remained HRH Princess Madeleine.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill

June 8, 2014 – Death of Prince Katsura of Mikasa, son of Prince Mikasa of Japan, grandson of Emperor Taishō of Japan, at the University of Tokyo Hospital in Tokyo, Japan; buried at the Toshimagaoka Cemetery in Tokyo, Japan
Prince Katsura was paralyzed from the waist down after suffering from a series of strokes in 1988 and used a wheelchair. Despite vision loss in his right eye, paralysis, and memory issues, he remained active in public life and was president of various charity organizations. He died from a massive heart attack at the age of 66. Since Prince Katsura never married and his two brothers only had daughters, his death marked the end of his father’s branch of the Japanese Imperial Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Katsura of Mikasa

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Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton, Illegitimate Son of King Charles II of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite fathering many illegitimate children with his mistresses, King Charles II of England had no children with his wife Catherine of Braganza. Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family. Lucy Walter and Charles II are ancestors of Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

King Charles II of England; Credit -Wikipedia

On June 18, 1662, in London England, Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton was born. The surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. Charles was the illegitimate son of King Charles II of England and one of his mistresses Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland in her own right. Charles’s paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France (the daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici). His maternal grandparents were William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning.

In 1642, the English Civil War broke out between King Charles I and the Parliamentarian and Puritan forces. When the situation deteriorated in the spring of 1646, the future King Charles II, then Prince of Wales, was sent out of England. The execution of King Charles I on January 30, 1649, made his son Charles the de jure King of England. Until the Stuart Restoration in 1660, when the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland was restored and King Charles II returned to England, he lived in exile in various places.

Charles’ mother Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles’ mother was born in 1640 as Barbara Villiers, the only child of William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning. In 1643, Barbara’s father died in the First English Civil War, leaving his 18-year-old widow and his three-year-old daughter in financial difficulty. Barbara’s mother soon married Charles Villiers, 2nd Earl of Anglesey, her late husband’s cousin. The marriage was childless and Barbara’s stepfather died from smallpox in 1661. Barbara was considered one of the most beautiful of the young Royalist women but her lack of a dowry did not help her marriage prospects. In 1659, Barbara married the Roman Catholic Roger Palmer, later 1st Earl of Castlemaine, against his family’s wishes.

At the end of 1659, Roger and his new wife left with other supporters of the exiled Charles, Prince of Wales (the future King Charles II) joining him in the Spanish Netherlands. In 1660, Barbara became King Charles II’s mistress. After years of exile during the Commonwealth, on May 1, 1660, Parliament formally invited Charles, as King Charles II, to be the English monarch in what has become known as the Restoration. On May 23, 1660, Charles landed in Dover, England, and on his 30th birthday, May 29, 1660, King Charles II entered London in a procession.

Besides Charles, Barbara gave birth to five other children and it is surmised that they were all the children of King Charles II. Through their children, Barbara Palmer and King Charles II are the ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York, and their children Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie. As a reward for Barbara’s services, Charles II created Roger Palmer Earl of Castlemaine in 1661.

The children of Barbara Palmer, probably the children of King Charles II, and therefore, probably the full siblings of Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton:

Barbara Palmer with her son Charles FitzRoy as Madonna and Child; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles, initially known as Charles Palmer, was registered as the son of his mother’s husband the Roman Catholic Roger Palmer, and was styled Lord Limerick, one of Palmer’s subsidiary titles. Thinking the infant was his son, Palmer had him baptized as a Roman Catholic. Within a few days, the infant Charles was re-baptized again as a member of the Church of England at the Church of St. Margaret’s, Westminster with King Charles II as one of his godparents, declaring, “He is my son.”

In 1670, Charles’ mother Barbara Palmer was created Duchess of Cleveland in her own right. The dukedom was created with a special remainder allowing it to be inherited by her first son Charles and his heirs male, despite her son being illegitimate. That same year, King Charles II officially recognized Charles as his son. Charles then used the surname FitzRoy and was styled Earl of Southampton, the subsidiary title of his mother who had been created Duchess of Cleveland in her own right. In 1675, King Charles II created his son Duke of Southampton.

Also in 1670, Charles was betrothed to Mary Wood, the only child and the heiress of Sir Henry Wood, 1st Baronet, Clerk of the Green Cloth, and Mary Gardiner, a daughter of the Royalist Sir Thomas Gardiner of Cuddesdon. Sir Henry served as Treasurer to Queen Henrietta Maria. His wife was a Maid of Honor to Queen Henrietta Maria and one of the four Dressers of King Charles II’s wife Catherine of Braganza. Mary Wood’s mother died of smallpox in 1671 and her father also died the same year. Following her father’s death in 1671, Mary went to live with Charles’s mother Barbara Palmer. In 1679, Charles and Mary were married but a year later, sixteen-year-old Mary died, like her mother, of smallpox. After many legal maneuvers, Mary’s fortune passed to her widower 18-year-old Charles Fitzroy who remained unmarried for fourteen years.

In 1694, 32-year-old Charles married Anne Pulteney, daughter of Sir William Pulteney, a Member of Parliament.

Charles and Anne had six children:

In 1688, the Glorious Revolution forced Charles’s paternal uncle King James II of England to vacate the throne in favor of his daughter (and Charles’s first cousin) Queen Mary II and her husband and first cousin (also Charles’s first cousin) King William III. Unlike his sister Anne, who joined the former King James II in exile in France, Charles remained in England. Despite not following his uncle, Charles, along with several other peers – his brother Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, his brother George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, his brother-in-law Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield, and his brother-in-law William Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth, opposed the offer of the crown to William and Mary. In 1691, Charles was suspected of plotting to restore his uncle, the former King James II, to the throne. After an unsuccessful Jacobite attempt to ambush and kill King William III in 1696, Charles signed the Association of 1696 which pledged loyalty to King William III (Queen Mary died in 1694). Thereafter, although he was partial to his uncle James II, Charles accepted the right of King William III to reign.

When Charles’ mother Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland died on October 9, 1709, aged 68, he became 2nd Duke of Cleveland. On September 9, 1730, 68-year-old Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland died in London, England. He was succeeded by his eldest son William FitzRoy. However, William was childless and when he died in 1774, all his titles became extinct.

Burial site of Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland; Credit – By 14GTR – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=123825812

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland was buried on November 3, 1730, at Westminster Abbey in the Duke of Ormond’s vault, now the Royal Air Force Chapel, at the east end of Henry VII’s Chapel. Charles’ second wife Anne Pulteney, survived him by sixteen years, dying on February 20, 1746, aged 82, and was interred with her husband. Those interred in the Duke of Ormond’s vault have no monument. Their names were inscribed on a stone over the vault only in the late 19th century when Arthur Stanley, Dean of Westminster viewed the coffins in the vault. Now a carpet with the Royal Air Force insignia permanently covers the stone with the inscription of the names.

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.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2020). Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Mistress of King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/barbara-palmer-1st-duchess-of-cleveland-mistress-of-king-charles-ii-of-england/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-ii-of-england/
  • Fraser, Antonia. (2002). King Charles II. Phoenix.
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_FitzRoy,_2nd_Duke_of_Cleveland

June 7: Today in Royal History

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Statue of Robert the Bruce in Stirling, Scotland; Credit – By Ally Crockford – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28842870

June 7, 1329 – Death of Robert I, King of Scots (Robert the Bruce) at the Manor of Cardross, near Dumbarton, Scotland; buried at Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, Scotland
Robert the Bruce is a Scottish national hero and was King of Scots during the First War of Scottish Independence.  The Scots refused to tolerate English rule, resulting in the Wars of Scottish Independence, a series of military campaigns fought between Scotland and England, first led by William Wallace and after his execution, led by Robert the Bruce. Robert the Bruce as Earl of Carrick and 7th Lord of Annandale, held estates and property in Scotland, a barony and some minor properties in England, and a strong claim to the throne of Scotland. On March 27, 1306, Robert the Bruce was proclaimed Robert I, King of Scots, and the crown was placed on his head by Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan. According to tradition, the ceremony of crowning the monarch was performed by a representative of Clan MacDuff.
Unofficial Royalty: Robert I, King of Scots

June 7, 1394 – Death of Anne of Bohemia, Queen of England, first wife of King Richard II, at Sheen Palace in Surrey, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
In June 1394, Anne became ill with the plague while at Sheen Palace with her husband. She died three days later on June 7, 1394, at the age of 28. King Richard II was so devastated by Anne’s death that he ordered Sheen Palace to be destroyed. For almost 20 years it lay in ruins until King Henry V started a rebuilding project in 1414. Richard II gave Anne a magnificent funeral. The funeral procession made its way from Sheen Palace to Westminster Abbey lit by candles and torches made from wax specially imported from Flanders. Those in the procession were dressed all in black and wore black hoods. King Richard was angered when Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel arrived late for the funeral. The king struck the earl in the face with his scepter.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne of Bohemia, Queen of England

June 7, 1840 – Birth of Princess Charlotte of Belgium, Empress Carlotta of Mexico, daughter of King Leopold I of the Belgians, wife of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico (born an Archduke of Austria), at the Royal Castle in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Maria Charlotta Amelia Augusta Victoria Clementina Leopoldina
In 1861, Charlotte’s husband Archduke Maximilian of Austria, brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, accepted the offer of becoming Emperor of Mexico. The liberal forces led by Benito Juárez, the former president the French had deposed, refused to recognize his rule. There was continuous warfare between the French troops and the forces of Juárez who wanted a republic. Maximilian was condemned to death by a court of war and on June 19, 1867, he was executed by a firing squad. After her return to Belgium, Charlotte developed a mental illness and was declared insane.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Belgium, Empress Carlotta of Mexico

June 7, 1840 – Death of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany; buried in the Mausoleum in the garden of Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin
After the early death at the age of 34 of his first wife Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the mother of his nine children, Friedrich Wilhelm III instituted an order that her family should mourn her death each year on July 19, the anniversary of her death. Luise was buried in the garden of Charlottenburg Palace where her husband had a mausoleum built over her grave. Friedrich Wilhelm III survived his first wife by thirty years and was buried by her side. His second wife Countess Auguste von Harrach survived him by 33 years and is also buried in the mausoleum, although she has no stone or marker.
Unofficial Royalty: King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia

June 7, 1876 – Death of Queen Josefina of Sweden, born Joséphine of Leuchtenberg, wife of King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Queen Josefina was the daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais, the son of Empress Joséphine (Napoleon Bonaparte‘s first wife) from her first marriage to Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais, who had been guillotined during the French Revolution. Her mother was Princess Augusta of Bavaria, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. In 1823, Josefina married King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway. The couple had five children including two Kings of Sweden and Norway. Josefina brought to Sweden jewelry that had belonged to her grandmother Empress Josephine, still worn by the Swedish and Norwegian royal families. The Cameo Tiara, originally made for her grandmother Joséphine, Empress of the French, was worn by her descendant Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden at her wedding in 2010. Photos of both women wearing the Cameo Tiara are in the article linked below. Josefina survived her husband for 17 years and died in Stockholm on June 7, 1876, at age 69. She remained Roman Catholic, was given a Catholic funeral, and was buried with her husband at Riddarholmen Church.
Unofficial Royalty: Joséphine of Leuchtenberg, Queen Josefina of Sweden

June 7, 1907 – Birth of Prince Sigvard of Sweden, later Sigvard Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg, son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, at Drottningholm Palace in Drottningholm, Sweden
Full name: Sigvard Oscar Fredrik
Sigvard lost his style His Royal Highness and his title of Prince of Sweden when he married a commoner. In 1951, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg conferred on him the title of Count of Wisborg. Sigvard died in 2002, in Stockholm, Sweden. He was 94 years old, and for the last eight years of his life, he was the eldest living great-grandchild of Queen Victoria and her longest-lived descendant.
Unofficial Royalty: Sigvard Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg

June 7, 1960 – Birth of Prince Radu of Romania, husband of Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania, born Radu Duda in Iaşi, Romania
Radu Duda is the husband of Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania, the eldest of the five daughters of the late former King Michael I of Romania who abdicated in 1947 when Romania ceased to be a monarchy. Margareta and Radu live at the Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest, Romania, and undertake public engagements in Romania and in other countries that help contribute to the successful modernization of Romania, reconcile with the past, and link Romania to other countries.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Radu of Romania

June 7, 1969 – Birth of Prince Joachim of Denmark, son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, at the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Joachim Holger Valdemar Christian
Joachim is the younger of the two sons of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. In 1995, he married Alexandra Manley. The couple had two sons and divorced in 2005. Joachim married Marie Cavallier in 2008 and they have one son and one daughter. In September 2020, Prince Joachim started work as the defense attaché at the Danish Embassy in Paris, France. With the appointment, Joachim received the permanent rank of brigadier general. During the summer of 2023, Joachim and his family moved to Washington, DC in the United States where he will become defense attaché at the Danish Embassy.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Joachim of Denmark

June 7, 2002 – Death of Princess Lilian of Belgium, Princess de Réthy, born Lilian Baels, second wife of King Leopold III of the Belgians, at the Château d’Argenteuil, near Waterloo, Belgium; buried at Royal Vault at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Despite surviving her husband by nearly 20 years, it was at his funeral that Princess Lilian made her last official public appearance. She spent the remaining years of her life pursuing her interests in medicine (having established a Cardiology Foundation in 1958 following her son Alexandre’s heart surgery the previous year in the United States) and editing her husband’s memoirs “Pour l’Histoire” (For History), published in 2001.  Princess Lilian’s funeral was held at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, attended by the entire Belgian royal family except for her elder daughter Marie-Christine, who had completely severed all ties with her family. Princess Lilian was interred in the Royal Crypt, beside her husband and his first wife Queen Astrid, who tragically died at a young age in a car accident.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Lilian, Princess de Réthy

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June 6: Today in Royal History

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Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Empress of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

June 6, 1625 – Death of Anna Maria von Boskowitz and Černahora, Princess of Liechtenstein, wife of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein in Plumov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic; buried in the Old Crypt at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, then in Moravia, now in the Czech Republic
In 1590, Anna Maria married Baron Karl von Liechtenstein, the future first Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein. Anna Maria and Karl had four children including Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein. Anna Maria died, aged 50, on June 6, 1625, in Plumov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. She was buried in the Old Crypt at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, founded by Karl’s younger brother Maximilian and his wife Katharina, Anna Maria’s sister.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna Maria von Boskowitz and Černahora, Princess of Liechtenstein

June 6, 1710 – Death of Louise de La Vallière, Duchess of La Vallière and Duchess of  Vaujours, mistress of King Louis XIV of France, at Notre-Dame-des-Champs, a Carmelite convent in the Faubourg Saint-Jacques in Paris, France, as Sister Louise de la Miséricorde; buried in the convent cemetery
Louise was the mistress of King Louis XIV of France from 1661 until 1667. By 1670, having been forced to remain at court and live with Louis XIV’s new mistress Madame de Montespan, Louise became ill and at one point was near death. Upon recovering, she sought solace in religion, and the following year, decided to leave court and enter a convent. However, Louis XIV forced her to return for several years. Finally, in 1674, she was permitted to leave the court and entered the Carmelite convent in Faubourg-Saint-Jacques. She took her vows the following year, becoming Sister Louise de la Miséricorde.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise de La Vallière, Duchess of La Vallière and Duchess of  Vaujours

June 6, 1714 – Birth of King José I of Portugal at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: José Francisco António Inácio Norberto Agostinho
To strengthen an alliance with Spain, a double marriage between Portugal and Spain was arranged between José and Mariana Victoria of Spain, daughter of Felipe V, King of Spain, and between José’s elder sister Barbara and Felipe V’s son and heir Fernando, Prince of Asturias, later Fernando VI, King of Spain. José and Mariana Victoria had four daughters including his successor Maria I, the first reigning Queen of Portugal.
Unofficial Royalty: King José I of Portugal

June 6, 1772 – Birth of Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Empress of Austria, second wife of Emperor Franz I of Austria, at the Royal Palace of Naples in the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily
Maria Theresa married her double first cousin Archduke Franz of Austria, later Emperor of Austria. This was Franz’s second marriage and the only one of his four marriages that resulted in surviving children. Seven of their twelve children survived to adulthood. Among the children of Franz and Maria Theresa were: Marie-Louise, the second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte; Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria; and Maria Leopoldina, the wife of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. Maria Theresa’s twelfth child lived only three days and Maria Theresa also died, a week later due to birth complications at the age of 34.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Empress of Austria

June 6, 1836 – Death of King Anton of Saxony in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany; buried in the Wettin Crypt at the Dresden Cathedral
Anton became King of Saxony, upon the death of his elder brother King Friedrich August I, who had only one surviving child, a daughter. Anton also had no male heirs. His first marriage was childless and the one son and three daughters from his second marriage either died at birth or died in infancy. Anton was succeeded by his nephew King Friedrich August II.
Unofficial Royalty: King Anton of Saxony

June 6, 1872 – Birth of Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, wife of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, at the Neues Palais in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Victoria Alix Helene Luise Beatrice
A grandchild of Queen Victoria, Alix is best remembered as Alexandra Feodorovna, the last Empress of Russia, who transmitted hemophilia to her only son and who was assassinated along with her husband Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, and five children during the Russian Revolution.
Unofficial Royalty: Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia

June 6, 1934 – Birth of King Albert II of Belgium at Stuyvenberg Castle in Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Albert Félix Humbert Théodore Chrétien Eugène Marie
In early July 2013, King Albert announced his intention to abdicate, citing health reasons. On July 21, 2013, Belgium’s National Day, he signed the formal document of abdication and was succeeded by his son, King Philippe.
Unofficial Royalty: King Albert II of Belgium

June 6, 2012 – Death of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, son of Prince Mikasa of Japan, at the Sasaki Institute Kyoundo Hospital in Tokyo, Japan; buried at the Toshimagaoka Imperial Cemetery in Tokyo, Japan
Tomohito was the grandson of Emperor Taishō, the nephew of Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa), and the first cousin of Emperor Akihito.  He had serious health issues. In 1991, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer which went into remission. Over the years, Tomohito was treated sixteen times for various forms of cancer including larynx cancer, throat cancer, and recurrences of the cancers. He died from multiple organ failure due to the cancers.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Tomohito of Mikasa

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