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Maria Caterina Brignole, Princess of Monaco. Credit: Wikipedia

March 18, 979 – Assassination of Saint Edward the Martyr, King of England at Corfe Castle in Dorset, England; initially buried at St. Mary’s Church in Wareham, Dorset, England, later buried at Shaftesbury Abbey and finally in at St. Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church in Woking, Surrey, England
In 975, when King Edgar the Peaceful died, he left two surviving sons: Edward around 13 years of age, and Æthelred around 7 years old. Various nobles and clergy formed factions that supported each of the brothers’ succession to the throne. Both boys were too young to have played any significant role in the political maneuvering, and so it was the brothers’ supporters who were responsible for the turmoil that accompanied the choice of a successor to the throne. In the end, Edward’s supporters, mainly Saint Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury and Oswald of Worcester, Archbishop of York, proved more powerful and persuasive, and he was crowned king before the year was out. Ælfthryth, the mother of Edward’s half-brother Æthelred, was not happy that her son, born of a legal marriage, was not king.  Aelfthryth invited her stepson Edward to Corfe Castle and arranged for him to be welcomed with a cup of wine. As Edward drank the wine, he was stabbed in the back while still mounted on his horse. He fell off, but his foot caught in the stirrup and he was dragged to his death.
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Saint Edward the Martyr, King of England
Unofficial Royalty: Saint Edward the Martyr, King of England

March 18, 1496 – Birth of Mary Tudor, Queen of France, Duchess of Suffolk, daughter of King Henry VII of England, at Richmond Palace in Surrey, England
The daughter of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, and the sister of King Henry VIII, 18-year-old Mary was first married to 52-year-old twice-married King Louis XII of France who was eager to have a son to succeed him, but Louis XII died just three months after the wedding. Through her second marriage to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, Mary was the grandmother of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey.  Mary got along well with her brother Henry VIII. However, in the late 1520s, their relationship became strained because Mary opposed Henry’s attempt to obtain an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn. Mary had known Catherine for many years and had a great fondness for her, but had developed a strong dislike for Anne Boleyn when she served as one of her maids of honor in France.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary Tudor, Queen of France, Duchess of Suffolk

March 18, 1609 – Birth of King Frederik III of Denmark and Norway at Haderslevhus Castle in Haderslev, Denmark
Frederik had an elder brother so he was not expected to become king. In 1643, he married Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and the couple had eight children. In 1647, Frederik’s 44-year-old childless elder brother Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark and heir apparent to the Norwegian throne died. His death opened up the possibility for Frederik to be elected heir apparent to the Danish throne. However, when King Christian IV died less than nine months later, Frederik had not yet been elected heir apparent to the Danish throne. After long deliberations between the Danish Estates and the Rigsraadet (royal council), he was finally elected King of Denmark. In 1660, Frederik III used his popularity to end the elective monarchy in favor of a hereditary, absolute monarchy in which the legislature was dissolved and the monarch ruled by decree. This lasted until 1849 when Denmark-Norway became a hereditary, constitutional monarchy. Frederik was an enthusiastic collector of books and his collection became the foundation for the Royal Library in Copenhagen which he founded in 1648. Frederik died at the age of 60, after three days of a painful illness, on February 9, 1670.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik III of Denmark

March 18, 1722 – Birth of Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz in Greiz, County of Reuss-Obergreiz, now in Thuringia, Germany
Heinrich XI was only eight-months-old when his father died on November 17, 1722. His four-year-old brother Heinrich IX succeeded their father as Count Reuss of Obergreiz but he reigned only four months, dying on March 17, 1723. Heinrich XI became Count Reuss of Obergreiz the day before his first birthday. Heinrich XI was a reigning Count and then a reigning Prince from 1723 until he died in 1800, a total of 77 years.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz

March 18, 1813 – Death of Maria Caterina Brignole, Princess of Monaco, wife of Honoré III, Prince of Monaco, at Wimbledon House in Wimbledon, London, England; buried at St. Aloysius Church in London, England
In 1757, Maria Caterina married Honoré III, Prince of Monaco, who was eager to marry to provide Monaco with an heir and to obtain Maria Caterina’s large dowry. The couple had two sons including Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. Maria Caterina and Honoré III lived mostly in Paris where Maria Caterina spent a lot of time with Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, a great-grandson of Louis XIV, King of France and his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan. Louis Joseph used his influence to obtain a legal separation for Maria Caterina from Honoré and the right to manage her own finances. Honoré finally realized his relationship with Maria Caterina was over and eventually accepted Maria Caterina’s relationship with Louis Joseph. There was never a divorce or annulment. Honoré continued with his mistresses and he allowed Maria Caterina to see her two sons.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Caterina Brignole, Princess of Monaco

March 18, 1848 – Birth of Princess Louise of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Louise Caroline Alberta
Louise developed a strong interest in the arts. Queen Victoria permitted her to enroll at The National Art Training School to pursue her interests, and she became a very skilled painter and sculptress. She sculpted a statue of Queen Victoria that stands on the grounds of Kensington Palace. In 1871, Louise married John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne and heir to the Dukedom of Argyll. Queen Victoria found this a wonderful match, infusing ‘new blood’ into the royal family. Others, including the Prince of Wales, found it appalling that the Princess should marry below her class. Louise and her husband had no children. From 1878 – 1883, Louise’s husband was Governor-General of Canada and the couple resided at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Louise was widowed in 1914 when her husband passed away after a lengthy illness. Louise would survive him by more than 25 years. During this time, she remained an active member of the royal family, taking part in official events and maintaining contact with her patronages and charities. Louise spent her remaining years at Kensington Palace, where she died at the age of 91.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Louise of the United Kingdom

March 18, 1895 – Death of Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry, Queen Victoria’s Mistress of the Robes 1841–1846, at Ditton Park in Slough, Buckinghamshire, England; buried in the family crypt at The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, at Dalkeith Palace in Midlothian, Scotland
Born Lady Charlotte Thynne, the daughter of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath, Charlotte married Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch and 7th Duke of Queensberry, in 1829.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry

March 18, 1913 – Assassination of King George I of Greece in Thessaloniki, Greece, buried at the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi, Greece
George was the son of King Christian IX of Denmark and the brother of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia. In 1863, he was unanimously elected King by the Greek National Assembly. In 1867, George married Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. They had eight children including Prince Andreas of Greece, the father of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. George quickly learned Greek and was often seen informally strolling through the streets of Athens. His reign of nearly 50 years was characterized by territorial gains as Greece established its place in pre-World War I Europe. In 1913, while walking in Thessaloniki, Greece, George was killed when an assassin shot him at close range in the back.
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of George I, King of Greece
Unofficial Royalty: King George I of Greece

March 18, 1914 – Birth of Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, Prince of Hanover in Brunswick in the Duchy of Brunswick now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Ernst August Georg Wilhelm Christian Ludwig Franz Joseph Nikolaus Oskar
Ernst August (IV) was the eldest son of Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia. He was the senior male-line descendant of King George III of the United Kingdom, which made him the pretender to the former Kingdom of Hanover. He was also a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria via his mother. In 1951, Ernst August (IV) married Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. They had six children including the present Prince Ernst August (V), the husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco. After his first wife’s death, Ernst August (IV) married Countess Monika zu Solms-Laubach. He died in 1987 at the age of 73.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, Prince of Hanover

March 18, 1929 – Death of Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Princess Reuss of Gera, wife of Heinrich XXVII, 5th and the last reigning Prince Reuss of Gera, at Schloss Osterstein in Gera, Germany; buried in the family cemetery in the Park of Schloss Ebersdorf in Saalburg-Ebersdorf in Thuringia, Germany
Elise was christened Elise Victoria Feodora Sophie Adelheid. Two of her names reflect that her paternal grandmother was Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Elise’s two siblings have connections to Queen Victoria’s family through their marriages. In 1884, Elise married Heinrich XXVII, the future 5th Prince Reuss of Gera and the couple had five children. When his father in 1913, Elise’s husband became the 5th Prince Reuss of Gera and the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. His reign was only five years long. After the German defeat in World War I in 1918, Heinrich XXVII abdicated his position as 5th Prince Reuss of Gera, and as Regent abdicated for the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz. The new government of Reuss-Gera made an agreement with Heinrich XXVII that granted him some castles and land. Heinrich XXVII, the 5th and last Prince Reuss of Gera died at the age of 70 on November 21, 1928, at Schloss Osterstein in Gera, Germany. Elise survived her husband by only four months, dying on March 18, 1929, aged 64.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Princess Reuss of Gera

March 18, 1983 – Death of Umberto II, the last King of Italy in Geneva, Switzerland; buried at Hautecombe Abbey in France
King Umberto II was the last monarch of Italy, reigning for just 34 days. In 1930, Umberto married Princess Marie-José of Belgium, the daughter of King Albert I of the Belgians and the couple had four children. At the end of World War II, Italy held a referendum to decide on the continuation of the monarchy, Umberto’s father King Vittorio Emanuele III formally abdicated on May 9, 1946, hoping to help ensure a positive result in the vote and Umberto took the throne as King Umberto II. The referendum was held on June 2, 1946, with the majority voting to become a Republic. Umberto had promised to accept and support the result and encouraged the Italian people to support the new government. On June 12, 1946, King Umberto II of Italy was formally deposed and left Italy. He settled in Cascais, Portugal, where he would live for the remainder of his life. His wife Queen Marie-José also left and settled near Geneva, Switzerland. The couple led separate lives but remained married. On March 18, 1983, King Umberto II died in a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. Despite the nearly 37 years since he sat on the Italian throne, his funeral was attended by members of most of the reigning and non-reigning royal houses of Europe.
Unofficial Royalty: King Umberto II of Italy

March 18, 2011 – Death of Princess Antoinette of Monaco, Baroness de Massy, sister of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, at The Princess Grace Hospital Centre; buried at the Chapelle de la Paix in Monaco
Antoinette was the elder of the two children of Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois and Count Pierre de Polignac.  Antoinette had one younger brother Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Princess Antoinette had a long-term affair with Alexandre-Athenase Noghès, a tennis player. The couple had three illegitimate children who were later legitimized when their parents married in 1951. The couple divorced three years later. Princess Antoinette married Dr. Jean-Charles Rey, President of the Conseil National, Monaco’s legislature, in 1961. Before they married, Antoinette and Rey had a long-term affair. Antoinette and Rey had no children and divorced in 1974. In 1983, Princess Antoinette married a former British ballet dancer John Gilpin. Gilpin died from a heart attack six weeks after marrying Antoinette. Princess Antoinette died at The Princess Grace Hospital Centre on March 18, 2011, at age 90.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Antoinette of Monaco, Baroness de Massy

March 18, 2012 – Death of King George Tupou V of Tonga at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong; buried at Malaʻekula Royal Burial Grounds, in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
King George Tupou V had a short reign from 2006 – 2012. His father had been an absolute monarch. George Tupou is known for introducing democracy to Tonga. During the period between his accession to the throne and his coronation, George Tupou and his advisors put together a framework for sweeping political reforms. Three days before the coronation ceremony, King George Tupou V announced he was ceding most of his executive powers to a democratically elected parliament. On March 18, 2012, King George Tupou V, aged 63, died at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
Unofficial Royalty: King George Tupou V of Tonga

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James IV, King of Scots; Credit: Wikipedia

March 17, 1040 – Death of King Harald I (Harefoot) of England in Oxford, England; buried at St. Clement Danes Church in London, England
Harald Harefoot (also known as Harald I) was the son of Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway and his first wife Ælfgifu of Northampton. Cnut had decreed that any sons of his second marriage should take precedence over the sons of his first marriage. This meant that his son Harthacnut from his second marriage to Emma of Normandy was the legitimate heir to England and Denmark. Harald was elected regent of England after his father died in 1035. He initially ruled England in place of his half-brother Harthacnut, who was stuck in Denmark due to a rebellion in Norway. Although Harald had wished to be crowned king, the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to do so. It was not until 1037 that Harald was officially proclaimed king.  24-year-old  Harald died after a reign of five years and was buried at St. Peter’s Abbey, the precursor to Westminster Abbey, which would start to be built on the site two years later. Harthacnut arrived in England and ascended the English throne unchallenged. He had Harald Harefoot’s body exhumed, decapitated, and thrown into a swamp, but then it was retrieved and thrown in the River Thames. A fisherman pulled Harald Harefoot’s body from the River Thames and it was buried at St. Clement Danes Church in London, originally founded by Danes in the ninth century.
Unofficial Royalty: King Harald I of England

March 17, 1473 – Birth of James IV, King of Scots, at Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland
James IV married Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England and sister of Henry VIII of England, as part of a treaty between Scotland and England. James IV and Margaret had four sons and two stillborn daughters. Only one of their children, James V, King of Scots, the father of Mary, Queen of Scots, survived infancy. Despite the great hopes of peace between England and Scotland as symbolized by the marriage of Margaret and James IV, Margaret’s brother Henry VIII did not have his father’s diplomatic patience and was heading toward a war with France. James IV was committed to his alliance with France and invaded England. Henry VIII was away on campaign in France and Flanders in 1513 and he had made his wife Catherine of Aragon regent in his absence. It was up to Catherine to supervise England’s defense when Scotland invaded. Ultimately, the Scots were defeated at the Battle of Flodden near Branxton, Northumberland, England on September 9, 1513, and 30-year-old King James IV was killed in the battle. Catherine sent Henry VIII the blood-stained coat of his defeated and dead brother-in-law. James IV’s seventeen-month-old son succeeded his father as James V, King of Scots.
Unofficial Royalty: James IV, King of Scots

March 17, 1814 – Birth of Kamehameha III, King of the Hawaiian Islands in Keauhou Bay, on the island of Hawaiʻi in the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kamehameha III, King of the Hawaiian Islands, reigned from 1825 to 1854. He was the longest-reigning monarch of the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands, reigning for 29 years and 192 days. In 1837, Kamehameha III married Kalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili, the only child of High Chief Naihekukui, who was commander of the native Hawaiian fleet at Honolulu. The couple had two sons, but they both died in infancy. During his reign, Kamehameha III’s goal was a careful balance of modernization by adopting Western ways while keeping his nation intact. On December 15, 1854, at the ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu, Kamehameha III suddenly died, aged 40, after a brief illness, possibly related to a stroke.
Unofficial Royalty: Kamehameha III, King of the Hawaiian Islands

March 17, 1817 – Birth of Kalama, Queen Consort of the Hawaiian Islands, wife of King Kamehameha III, in Kailua, on the island of Oahu, Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands, now in the state of Hawaii
Kalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili was the only wife of King Kamehameha III of the Hawaiian Islands, the first Hawaiian king not to practice polygamy. Kalama was the only child of Naihe Kukui Kapihe and Chiefess Iʻahuʻula, the younger sister of Charles Kanaʻina, who served on both the Privy Counsel as an advisor to the Kings of the Hawaiian Islands and in the House of Nobles. Kamehameha III and Kalama had two sons, but they both died in infancy. Kalama outlived her husband Kamehameha III and his nephew Kamehameha IV, and was known as the Queen Dowager. In 1869, during the reign of Kamehameha V, she welcomed Queen Victoria’s son Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh on his visit to the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands. Kamala, aged 53, died during the reign of Kamehameha V, on September 20, 1870, in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu.
Unofficial Royalty: Kalama, Queen Consort of the Hawaiian Islands, wife of King Kamehameha III

March 17, 1849 – Death of King Willem II of the Netherlands in Tilburg, the Netherlands; buried at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
When he was two years old, Willem’s family was forced into exile when the French invaded and occupied the Dutch Republic during the Napoleonic Wars. Willem spent his childhood at the Prussian court. He received military training, served in the Prussian Army, and then attended Oxford University in England. In 1811, he entered the British Army and was an aide-de-camp to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. Willem’s family returned to the Netherlands in 1813 after the French retreated. In 1816, Willem married Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia and the couple had five children. Willem came to the Dutch throne in 1840 when his father King Willem I abdicated due to constitutional changes he disagreed with, anger over the loss of Belgium, and his desire to make a morganatic second marriage with Henriëtte d’Oultremont after the death of his wife. During Willem II’s reign, the power of many monarchs diminished. The revolutions of 1848 and 1849, in which Louis-Philippe of France was deposed and other European monarchs were forced by violence to make concessions, made him fear for his throne. Willem decided to institute a more liberal government, believing it was better to grant reforms instead of having them imposed on him on less favorable terms later. During the few months of his life, Willem had health issues. He died, aged 57, on March 17, 1849.
Unofficial Royalty: King Willem II of the Netherlands

March 17, 1886 – Birth of Princess Patricia of Connaught, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth
Known as Patsy in the family, Princess Patricia was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia.  When she married  Sir Alexander Ramsay, she voluntarily relinquished the style of Royal Highness and the title of Princess of Great Britain and Ireland, and assumed the style Lady Patricia Ramsay. However, Lady Patricia remained a member of the British Royal Family, remained in the line of succession, and attended all major royal events including weddings, funerals, and coronations.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Patricia of Connaught

March 17, 1904 – Death of Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, son of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, at his home, Gloucester House in London, England; buried  in a  mausoleum at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, England
George was a male-line grandson of King George III, a first cousin of Queen Victoria, and the maternal uncle of Princess Victoria Mary (May) of Teck, the wife of King George V. Like his father, George had a career in the British army and was eventually Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. In 1847, George married actress Louisa Fairbrother in contravention of the 1772 Royal Marriages Act. The three children born of the marriage were considered illegitimate. Queen Victoria ignored her existence, and Louisa was not styled and titled as befitted the wife of George. She was first known as Mrs. Fairbrother and later as Mrs. FitzGeorge. In 1850, George’s father died and George became the 2nd Duke of Cambridge. Louisa died in 1890, at the age of 73. On March 17, 1904, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge died at the age of 84. Because George’s sons were illegitimate, his title Duke of Cambridge became extinct. 107 years later, the title Duke of Cambridge was created for Prince William, the great-great-great-great-grandson of George’s father Prince Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge, on the occasion of William’s wedding.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge

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Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Kent; Credit – Wikipedia

March 16, 1485 – Death of Anne Neville, Queen of England, wife of King Richard III of England, at Palace of Westminster in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, 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. Anne died of tuberculosis eleven months after the death of her only child, Edward, Prince of Wales. Her husband Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth five months after her death.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne Neville, Queen of England

March 16, 1688 – Birth of Christina Sophia of East Frisia, Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, second of the two wives of Friedrich Anton, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, in Bayreuth, then in the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, now in the German state of Bavaria
Princess Christina Sophia of East Frisia and Friedrich Anton, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt married in 1729, but their marriage was childless. However, Christina Sophia was the stepmother to her husband’s two surviving children from her husband’s first marriage. During Christina Sophia’s marriage to Friedrich Anton, her husband issued letters of protection to Jewish families and allowed them to settle in Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. These families developed into the Jewish community of the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.
Unofficial Royalty: Christina Sophia of East Frisia, Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

March 16, 1737 – Death of Erdmuthe of Dietrichstein, Princess of Liechtenstein, wife of her first cousin Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, in Vienna, then in the Duchy of Austria, now in Austria; buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Brno, Moravia, now Vranov, Czech Republic.
In 1681, nineteen-year-old Erdmuthe married her nineteen-year-old first cousin Hans-Adam, heir to the Principality of Liechtenstein. The couple had eleven children but all their sons predeceased Hans-Adam. Hans-Adam died in 1712, at the age of 49. After the death of her husband, Erdmuthe spent most of her time in Vienna and Judenau-Baumgarten, which was owned by the House of Liechtenstein and where Erdmuthe founded a hospital. She devoted herself to philanthropic activities, including providing shelters for the poor. Erdmuthe survived her husband by twenty-five years, dying on March 16, 1737, in Vienna, Austria at the age of 84.
Unofficial Royalty: Erdmuthe of Dietrichstein, Princess of Liechtenstein

March 16, 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden shot by Count Jacob Johan Ankarstrom at a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, Sweden; he died two weeks later
King Gustav III of Sweden is best known for being mortally wounded during a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, Sweden, and dying thirteen days later. The incident was the subject of Giuseppe Verdi’s 1859 opera Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball). Gustav was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederik of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, daughter of King George I of Great Britain. In 1766, Gustav married Princess Sophia Magdalena of Denmark and the couple had one surviving son. Gustav became King of Sweden upon the death of his father in 1771. In 1772, Gustav arranged for a coup d’état known as the Revolution of 1772 or Coup of Gustav III. The coup d’état reinstated an absolute monarchy and ended parliamentary rule. The Russo-Sweden War and the implementation of the Union and Security Act in 1789, which gave the king more power and abolished many of the privileges of the nobility, contributed to the increasing hatred of Gustav III, which had existed among the nobility since the 1772 coup. In the winter of 1791-1792, a conspiracy was formed within the nobility to kill the king and reform the government. Read more about the assassination in the link below.
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Gustav III, King of Sweden
Unofficial Royalty: King Gustav III of Sweden

March 16, 1809 – Birth of Emma Portman, Baroness Portman, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria
Born Emma Lascelles, daughter of Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood, she married Edward Portman, Baron Portman. Emma first met Queen Victoria in 1835 when the young Princess visited Harewood House, the home of the Lascelles family. Despite their ten-year age difference, the two began a friendship lasting until Emma’s death. So it was very fitting that in June 1837, Victoria wrote to Emma, shortly after her accession, asking her to become one of her Ladies in Waiting. She served as Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1851, and then as an Extra Lady between 1851 and 1865.
Unofficial Royalty: Emma Portman, Baroness Portman

March 16, 1856 – Birth of Louis Napoléon, Prince Imperial, the only child of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, in Paris, France
Full name: Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph
Exiled in England after the fall of his father, Louis Napoléon begged to participate in the Anglo-Zulu War in Africa.  When the Anglo-Zulu War started in Africa, Louis wanted to take part. He was only allowed to do so after his mother approved and Queen Victoria intervened to get him a place in the British Army.  On June 1, 1879, Louis participated in a nine-member reconnaissance mission that was surprised by forty Zulu warriors. Louis had not totally mounted his horse at the time of the attack, held on to the saddle as the horse started to run but fell off the horse. With his revolver in his hand, he started to run but the Zulus could run faster. The Zulus overtook him and stabbed to death the 23-year-year old Louis.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis Napoléon, Prince Imperial

March 16, 1861 – Death of Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Kent, mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Frogmore House in Windsor, England; buried at the Duchess of Kent’s Mausoleum at Frogmore, Windsor
In November of 1817, the death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, necessitated the marriages of the unmarried sons of King George III to provide an heir to the throne.  Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (fourth son of King George III) married the 32-year-old widow Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. At Kensington Palace in London, their only child, the future Queen Victoria, was born on May 24, 1819. Eight months later, Edward died.  In March of 1861, after the Duchess of Kent had surgery on her arm to remove an ulcer, a severe infection developed. On March 15, 1861, Queen Victoria was notified that her mother was not expected to survive for more than a few hours. Victoria, Albert, and their daughter Alice immediately traveled from London to Windsor where the Duchess resided at Frogmore House near Windsor Castle. The Queen found her mother in a semi-coma and breathing with great difficulty. At 9:30 on the morning of March 16, 1861, the Duchess of Kent died at the age of 74 without regaining consciousness. Her mother’s death was the first of the two major deaths Queen Victoria had to endure in 1861.  Her husband Prince Albert died in December.
Unofficial Royalty: Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Kent

March 16, 1890 – Death of Princess Zorka of Montenegro, wife of the future King Peter I of Serbia, in Cetinje, Montenegro; initially buried at the Cetinje Monastery in Cetinje, Montenegro, later her remains were moved to the Mausoleum of the Serbian Royal Family beneath St. George’s Church in Oplenac, Serbia
Zorka was the daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and the sister of Milicia and Anastasia, who married Russian Grand Dukes and are best known for having introduced Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, to Grigori Rasputin in 1905. In 1883, Zorka married Peter Karađorđević, son and heir of the former Prince of Serbia, Alexander, who abdicated in 1858. Zorka and Peter had five children, including the future King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. On March 16, 1890, 25-year-old Princess Zorka died while giving birth to her youngest child who also died. Thirteen years after her death, her husband would return the Karađorđević dynasty to the Serbian throne as King Peter I.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Zorka of Montenegro

March 16, 1912 – Death of Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry, Queen Victoria’s Mistress of the Robes 1885–1886, 1885–1886, 1895–1901 and Queen Alexandra’s Mistress of the Robes 1901-1912, at Dalkeith Palace in Midlothian, Scotland; buried in the family crypt at The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, at Dalkeith Palace
Born Lady Louisa Hamilton, she was the daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn and married William Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch and 8th Duke of Queensberry. They are the grandparents of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester and the great-great-grandparents of Sarah, Duchess of York. The Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry died at Dalkeith Palace in Midlothian, Scotland on March 16, 1912, aged 76.
Unofficial Royalty: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry

March 16, 1963 – Death of Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria, Princess of Windisch-Graetz, the only child of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, at Villa Habsburg in Vienna, Austria, buried at the Hütteldorfer Cemetery in Vienna, Austria
Elisabeth was the only child of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and Stéphanie of Belgium. She was only six years old when her father was found shot to death with his mistress Baroness Mary von Vetsera in an apparent suicide pact. Imperial dislike of Elisabeth’s mother Stéphanie had been high, and as a result, her paternal grandfather, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria took Elisabeth into his care. Following her mother’s remarriage to a Hungarian count in 1900, Elisabeth broke off all contact with her mother. In 1902, Elisabeth married Prince Otto of Windisch-Grätz. The couple had four children but the marriage had many problems. Elisabeth and Otto separated officially following World War I, and a battle over custody of their children followed. The two, however, did not legally divorce for nearly 30 years. After her separation, Elisabeth joined the Austrian Social Democratic Party and began a relationship with Leopold Petznak, a socialist leader. Her association with the Social Democratic Party and her devotion to Leopold earned Elisabeth the nickname “the Red Archduchess.” Leopold and Elisabeth married in 1948 and remained together until he died in 1956. Elisabeth’s relationship with her two surviving children was poor, and she left them few possessions upon her death, choosing instead to leave the majority to the Austrian state.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria, Princess of Windisch-Graetz

March 16, 1983 – Death of Freda Dudley Ward, mistress of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, in London, England
Freda Dudley Ward was the mistress of the future King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom from 1918 – 1934 while he was Prince of Wales.
Unofficial Royalty: Freda Dudley Ward, mistress of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom 

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Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

March 15, 1275 – Birth of Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant, daughter of King Edward I of England, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
On July 8, 1290, at Westminster Abbey, Margaret married Jean II, Duke of Brabant. Margaret was unhappy at the Brabant court and unhappy in her marriage. She was forced to accept her husband’s mistresses and their illegitimate children who were raised at court along with Margaret’s only child, the future Jean III, Duke of Brabant. Margaret’s husband died in 1312.  Margaret saw the birth of all her grandchildren, including Jeanne, Duchess of Brabant, who succeeded her father Jean III, Duke of Brabant in 1355 due to the deaths of all her brothers. Margaret’s exact death date is unknown. Most likely, she died in the Duchy of Brabant, sometime after March 11, 1333.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant

March 15, 1721 – Death of Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark and Norway, first wife of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway, at Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Louise grew up at her father’s modest court at Güstrow Castle. Her parents were adherents to Pietism, a movement in the Lutheran Church in the 17th century that stressed personal piety over religious formality and orthodoxy. In 1695, Louise married the future Frederik IV, King of Denmark and Norway. Louise and Frederik had four sons and one daughter. Sadly, three sons died in infancy. Louise found it difficult to endure her husband’s infidelities and even worse, his two bigamous marriages. At times, Louise reproached her husband, often leading to embarrassing situations at the court. It is suspected that Louise’s deep religiousness was also an escape from her disappointing marriage. Louise took part in the official court life and fulfilled her ceremonial duties. Otherwise, she led a withdrawn and quiet life. Queen Louise died on March 15, 1721, aged 53, at Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark and Norway

March 15, 1729 – Death of Elisabeth Eleonore of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, second wife of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the castle church at Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen
In 1675, Elisabeth Eleonore married Johann Georg of Mecklenburg-Mirow. The marriage was short-lived as Johann Georg died just five months later. In 1681, Elisabeth Eleonore married Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, who had been widowed the previous year. Elisabeth Eleonore and Bernhard had five children. The Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen was completed in 1692 and named for Elisabeth Eleonore who lived there with her husband, and their children for the duration of Bernhard’s reign. Following her husband’s death in 1706, Elisabeth Eleonore was drawn into the family battles over who would reign over the duchy. The in-fighting within the family took its toll on Elisabeth Eleonore, causing her to retire from public life. She died on March 15, 1729, at the age of 70.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Eleonore of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

March 15, 1779 – Birth of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (Lord Melbourne), Queen Victoria’s first Prime Minister, in London, England
In June 1837, King William IV died and he was succeeded by his 18-year-old niece Queen Victoria. Victoria never knew her father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, because he died when she was eight months old. Melbourne was her first Prime Minister. In Queen Victoria, Melbourne had the child, the companion, and the affection he craved. In Melbourne, Queen Victoria had the father figure she never had. Their close relationship was founded in Melbourne’s responsibility for tutoring the young queen about world politics and instructing her in her role, but the relationship was much deeper. Queen Victoria came to regard Lord Melbourne as a mentor and personal friend and he was given a private apartment at Windsor Castle. He resigned as Prime Minister in August 1841 after a series of parliamentary defeats. Melbourne and Queen Victoria said a private goodbye on the terrace at Windsor Castle. Victoria cried and Melbourne told her, “For four years I have seen you daily and liked it better each day.”
Unofficial Royalty: William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne

March 15, 1804 – Birth of Sir Charles Grey, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, at Howick Hall in Howick, Northumberland, England
General The Hon. Sir Charles Grey was Private Secretary to Queen Victoria from 1861 until 1870. He was the son of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey and The Hon. Mary Ponsonby. His father would later serve as Prime Minister from 1830-1834, and is the person for whom ‘Earl Grey Tea’ is named. In 1836, Charles married Caroline Eliza Farquhar, the daughter of Sir Thomas Farquhar, 2nd Baronet. Caroline would later serve as an Extra Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria from 1870-1890, after her husband died. The couple had six children. In 1849, Charles was appointed Private Secretary to Prince Albert. He was given apartments at St. James’s Palace and lived in the Norman Tower at Windsor Castle, and at Osborne Cottage at Osborne House, and his children grew up as playmates of some of Victoria and Albert’s children. Over the next twelve years, he became an influential member of the royal household and a close confidante and advisor to Prince Albert. After Prince Albert died in 1861, Charles seamlessly moved into the position of Private Secretary to The Queen, a role largely filled by Prince Albert since he and Victoria married in 1840.
Unofficial Royalty: Sir Charles Grey

March 15, 1972 – Birth of Prince Constantin of Liechtenstein, son of Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, in St. Gallen, Switzerland
Full name: Constantin Ferdinand Maria
Prince Constantin was the third of the three sons and the third of the four children of Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein and the late Princess Marie, born Countess Marie Aglaë of Wchinitz and Tettau. He received a law degree from the University of Salzburg in Austria and has worked primarily in the financial field, holding positions at investment firms in the United States and Europe. Constantin married Countess Marie Gabriele Franziska Kálnoky de Kőröspatak and the couple had three children. Prince Constantin died on December 5, 2023, at the age of 51. A statement released by the Princely House of Liechtenstein said: “The Princely House regrets to announce that H.S.H. Prince Constantin von und zu Liechtenstein passed away unexpectedly on 5 December 2023.” A private family funeral and burial took place at the Cathedral of St. Florin in Vaduz, Liechtenstein on December 10, 2023.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Constantin of Liechtenstein

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Josephine of Leuchtenberg, Queen of Sweden wearing the Cameo Tiara she brought into the Swedish royal family; Credit – Wikipedia

March 14, 1647 – Death of Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange in The Hague, Holland, Dutch Republic, now in the Netherlands; buried in the royal vault at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
Frederik Hendrik was the only child of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange and his fourth wife, French Huguenot Louise de Coligny. Louise’s father, Gaspard II de Coligny, was a French nobleman and admiral but is best remembered as a leader of the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants). He was killed during the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 when thousands of Huguenots were murdered. In 1625, Frederik Hendrik became Prince of Orange upon the death of his elder half-brother Maurits, Prince of Orange. That same year Frederik Hendrik married Princess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. They had nine children including Willem II, Prince of Orange who married Mary, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of King Charles I of England. Their one child was Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England. Frederik Hendrik ruled the Dutch Republic for 22 years. His reign is included in the era known as the Dutch Golden Age in which Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. For many years before his death, Frederik Hendrik suffered from gout. In the summer of 1646, he had a stroke that temporarily prevented him from speaking. After that, Frederik Hendrik was physically weak, difficult to cope with, and sometimes mentally unstable. He died on March 14, 1647, in The Hague, Holland, Dutch Republic at the age of 63.
Unofficial Royalty: Frederik Hendrik Prince of Orange

March 14, 1743 – Death of Catherine Darnley, illegitimate daughter of King James II of England and his mistress Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester (in her own right), in London, England; buried in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey in London, England
In 1706, Catherine became the third wife of John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, who was thirty-three years older than Catherine. They had three sons but sadly, they all died young. Buckingham House, a large townhouse in London, was built by Catherine’s husband John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham. The core of today’s Buckingham Palace is Buckingham House. Catherine died on March 14, 1743, aged about sixty-two, in London, England, and was buried in a vault with her second husband and their three children in the northeastern chapel of the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine Darnley, Illegitimate Daughter of King James II of England

March 14, 1807 – Birth of Jospéhine of Leuchtenberg, Queen Josefina of Sweden, wife of King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway, in Milan, Italy
Full Name: Joséphine Maximiliane Eugénie Napoléonne, known as Josefina after her marriage
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. When she married the future King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway,  she brought to Sweden jewelry that had belonged to her grandmother Empress Josephine, which members of the Swedish and Norwegian royal families still wear. The Cameo Tiara, originally made for Josephine’s grandmother, Joséphine, Empress of the French, was worn by her descendant Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden at her wedding in 2010. There are photos of both women wearing the Cameo Tiara 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

March 14, 1820 – Birth of Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, and after the unification of Italy in 1861, King of Italy, at the Palazzo Carignano in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia now in Italy
Full name: Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso
Vittoria Emanuele was the eldest son of Carlo Alberto, 7th Prince of Carignano, the future King of Sardinia. In 1842, he married Archduchess Adelheid of Austria and the couple had eight children. Vittorio Emanuele also had a longtime relationship with Rose Vercellana with whom he had two children. Vittorio Emanuele and Rosa eventually married. Following a massive defeat by the Austrian forces, Vittorio Emanuele’s father abdicated in 1849, and he became King of Sardinia as Vittorio Emanuele II. He became a driving force behind the Risorgimento, the Italian unification movement. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy. He focused on building up the new kingdom, both financially and culturally, further cementing his legacy as Father of the Fatherland (Padre Della Patria), a title given to him by the Italian people. He died at the age of 57.
Unofficial Royalty: Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy

March 14, 1824 – Death of Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Württemberg in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire; buried at Castle Friedenstein in the Prince’s Crypt at the castle church in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Thuringia, Germany
Antoinette was the sister of Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians and an aunt to both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1798, Antoinette married Duke Alexander of Württemberg whose brother Friedrich would become the first King of Württemberg. Antoinette and her husband had five children, including Marie who would become the second wife of her maternal uncle Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  Antoinette died from erysipelas, a bacterial infection of the superficial layer of the skin, at the age of 44 on March 14, 1824, in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Unofficial Royalty: Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Württemberg

March 14, 1844 – Birth of King Umberto I of Italy in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy
Full name: Umberto Ranieri Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio
Umberto was the eldest son of the future King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy and Archduchess Adelheid of Austria.  In 1868, Umberto married his first cousin, Princess Margherita of Savoy, and they had one son, King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy. Umberto became King of Italy upon his father’s death in 1878. Largely unpopular with the Italian people, Umberto was soon the target of two unsuccessful assassination attempts. However, on July 29, 1900, the third try was successful. On July 29, 1900, while visiting Monza, Italy, King Umberto I was shot and killed by Gaetano Bresci, an Italian anarchist claiming to avenge the deaths of people in Milan during the riots of May 1898.
Unofficial Royalty: Umberto I, King of Italy

March 14, 1864 – Birth of Princess Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg, wife of Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, in Altenburg, then in the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, now in the German state of Thuringia
In 1882, Maria Anna married the future Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and the couple had nine children. When his father died in 1893, Maria Anna’s husband Georg became the reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. As Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, Maria Anna supported churches and schools. Georg died in 1911, and Marie Anna survived her husband by seven years, dying on May 3, 1918, at age 54.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg, Princess of Schaumberg-Lippe

March 14, 1917 – Death of Louise Margaret of Prussia, Duchess of Connaught, wife of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, at Clarence House in London, England; buried at  the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore in Windsor, England
Louise Margaret was a 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 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 also 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

March 14, 1958 – Birth of Prince Albert II of Monaco at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco
Full name: Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre
Albert is the only son and the second of three children of Rainier III, Sovereign Prince of Monaco and American actress and Academy Award winner Grace Kelly. He represented Monaco in Two-Man Bobsled and Four-Man Bobsled in five Winter Olympics (1988/Calgary, 1992/Albertville, 1994/Lillehammer, 1998/Nagano, 2002/Salt Lake City). Prince Albert has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1985 and is President of the Monegasque Olympic Committee. Prince Rainier III died on April 6, 2005, and Albert became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Albert is the father of two illegitimate children, whose paternity was confirmed by DNA tests. Neither child has a claim on the throne of Monaco. In June 2001 at the Marenostrum International Swimming Meet in Monaco, which Prince Albert presided over, he met Charlene Wittstock (born 1978), a South African swimmer, who had represented her country in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Albert and Charlene were married in 2011. They have two children, boy and girl twins. Even though their daughter was born first, their son is the heir apparent because Monaco’s succession is male-preference cognatic primogeniture.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Albert II of Monaco

March 14, 1989 – Death of Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Empress of Austria, wife of Karl I, last Emperor of Austria, in Zizers, Switzerland; buried at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria; her heart is with Emperor Karl’s heart in the Monastery of Muri, Switzerland
Zita was the daughter of the deposed Robert I, Duke of Parma and his second wife Maria Antonia of Portugal. She had eleven siblings and twelve half-siblings from her father’s first marriage. In 1911, she married Archduke Karl of Austria, the last Emperor of Austria, and the couple had eight children. Karl died in 1922 at the age of 34. Zita never married again and wore black for the 67 years of her widowhood. Zita had large family birthday celebrations for her 90th and 95th birthdays. Her health had been failing since her 90th birthday and the former Empress Zita died on March 14, 1989, at her home in Zizers, Switzerland at the age of 96. The government of Austria allowed Zita’s funeral to take place in Austria, provided that the Habsburg family paid the cost. The funeral mass was held at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. At least 200,000 people had filed past her coffin during the two days it lay in state at the cathedral. Over 200 Habsburg and Bourbon-Parma family members and 8,000 other guests attended the funeral.
Unofficial Royalty: Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Empress of Austria

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Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine; Credit – Wikipedia

March 13, 1669 – Death of Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, Tsaritsa of All Russia, first wife of Alexei I, 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
In 1648, Maria Ilyinichna married Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia. They had thirteen children including two Tsars of All Russia, Fyodor III and Ivan V, and Sophia Alexeevna, who served as Regent for her brother Ivan V and half-brother Peter I (the Great). During this period, the life of Russian noblewomen, including the Tsaritsa of All Russia, was not a public one. They were expected to live in seclusion with little contact with men. Maria Ilyinichna was mainly involved in charitable and religious activities such as donating to facilities for the poor, sick, and disabled. On March 13, 1669, 45-year-old Maria Ilyinichna died of puerperal fever (childbed fever) five days after her most difficult childbirth. Her thirteenth child Yevdokia Alexeevna lived for only two days.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, Tsaritsa of All Russia

March 13, 1741 – Birth of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Joseph Benedict August Johannes Anton Michel Adam
Joseph II reigned from 1765 to 1790 as Holy Roman Emperor after being elected Holy Roman Emperor following the death of his father Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1765. He was co-ruler with his mother Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, the only woman to be ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands in her own right, from 1765 – 1780 of Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, and several other Habsburg hereditary lands. He was the sole ruler from 1780 to 1790, following the death in 1780 of his mother. Joseph married three times. His three wives and his three daughters all predeceased him.
Unofficial Royalty: Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria

March 13, 1767 – Death of Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France, the second wife of Louis, Dauphin of France, at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France; buried at the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, France
Maria Josepha was the daughter of Augustus III, Elector of Saxony, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania and Maria Josepha of Austria. In 1747, fifteen-year-old Maria Josepha married seventeen-year-old Louis, Dauphin of France, the son and heir apparent of his father Louis XV, King of France. They had eight children, including three Kings of France. Maria Josepha’s husband Louis never succeeded to the throne, dying of tuberculosis in 1765 at the age of 36. Maria Josepha, who had cared for Louis during his last illness, also contracted tuberculosis. She died at the Palace of Versailles, on March 13, 1767 at the age of 35, and was buried with her husband.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France

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

March 13, 1879 – Wedding of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria, and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
In 1878, Arthur met Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia on a visit to his eldest sister Victoria, German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia. Louise Margaret was friendly with the Crown Princess and her eldest daughter Charlotte. Queen Victoria considered Louise Margaret to be a less than satisfactory possible bride for her son. She was plain-looking and had bad teeth. Her parents were unpleasant, had an unhappy marriage, and lived apart. Queen Victoria wanted to avoid associating her family with a possible scandal. However, because Arthur was so happy at the prospect of marrying Louise Margaret, Queen Victoria remained open-minded. When Queen Victoria met Louise Margaret, she became more positive and the engagement was announced.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia

March 13, 1881 – Assassination of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia when a bomb is thrown at him near the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia; buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg
Of the twenty Romanov monarchs, five died violent deaths (Ivan VI, Peter III, Paul I, Alexander II, and Nicholas II). Alexander II was riding in a bomb-proof carriage, a gift from Emperor Napoleon III of France. As the carriage turned onto the Catherine Canal Embankment, a bomb was thrown. The carriage was damaged and several onlookers were wounded, but the emperor was unharmed. Next, Alexander II made a mistake that cost him his life. Unaware that another conspirator was leaning against a railing about six feet away, he left the carriage to inspect the damage and check on the wounded people, and a bomb was thrown directly between the emperor’s legs. The noise from the bomb was deafening, smoke filled the air, wounded people were screaming, and the snow was drenched with blood. When the smoke cleared, Alexander II lay mortally wounded, his legs crushed and torn from the blast of the bomb. Alexander asked to be taken to the Winter Palace so he could die there. Just the day before he died, Alexander II had completed plans to create an elected parliament and he intended to release these plans within a few days. Perhaps if Alexander II had lived Russia would have become a constitutional monarchy and not been led down the path the country ultimately took. Alexander II’s son and successor Alexander III was very conservative and reversed some liberal reforms of his father. One of the first things he did as emperor was to tear up his father’s plans for an elected parliament and cancel the order his father had signed the day he died.
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Alexander II, Emperor of All  Russia
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia

March 13, 1892 – Death of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine at Neues Palais in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany; buried in the New Mausoleum, Rosenhöhe Park in Darmstadt
Ludwig was married to Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria. They had seven children, including Alix, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. Ludwig and Alice were the great-grandparents of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Ludwig succeeded his childless uncle as Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine in 1877. At the end of 1878, Ludwig’s family, except his wife Alice and his daughter Ella, came down with diphtheria. Alice nursed her family back to health, and all survived except for their youngest daughter May. Sadly, Alice eventually also became ill and was unable to fight off the illness, and died on December 14, 1878. Ludwig survived his wife by fourteen years, dying of a heart attack, on March 13, 1892, at the age of 54.
Unofficial Royalty: Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

March 13, 1900 – Birth of Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Famed for her stature (6 feet 3 inches, 270 pounds) and her appearance at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga was the first Queen Regnant of the Kingdom of Tonga and its longest-reigning monarch.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga

March 13, 1948 – Death of Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square in London, England; buried at Frogmore Burial Ground in Windsor, England
Helena Victoria, known as Thora, was the daughter of Princess Helena, Queen Victoria’s daughter, and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. Thora never married and remained at home until her mother died in 1923. Following her mother’s example, Thora was involved in many charities and organizations. These included the YMCA, YWCA, and Princess Christian’s Nursing Home in Windsor (established by her mother). She was also, with her sister Marie Louise, an avid supporter of the arts, and often held small concerts and performances at their various homes. Thora’s last years were spent rather quietly. In 1941, she was named godmother to Prince William of Gloucester, elder son of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, to whom she was quite close. In November 1947, she made her last major public appearance at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. Princess Helena Victoria died four months later, on March 13, 1948, at the age of 77.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein

March 13, 1957 – Death of Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, Princess Nicholas of Greece, daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and wife of Prince Nicholas of Greece, in Athens, Greece; buried at the Royal Cemetery, Tatoi Palace, Greece
Elena was the only daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Through her father, she was the granddaughter of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, niece of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, and first cousin of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. In 1902, Elena married her second cousin Prince Nicholas of Greece, the son of King George I of Greece and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. The couple had three daughters, including Princess Marina of Greece who married Prince George, Duke of Kent. Because of the political situation in Greece, members of the Greek royal family, including Elena and her husband, were often in exile. The Greek monarchy was restored in 1935, and the following year, Elena and Nicholas returned to Greece. Having suffered from declining health for several years, Prince Nicholas died in 1938. Elena remained in Greece throughout World War II. Elena and her sister-in-law, Princess Andreas of Greece (the former Princess Alice of Battenberg), worked with the Red Cross during World War II to organize shelters and nurses in the poor neighborhoods of Athens. Elena lived the rest of her life in Greece, enjoying a close relationship with King Paul and Queen Friederike, and a particularly close bond with the future King Constantine II. She died at her home in Athens on March 13, 1957.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, Princess Nicholas of Greece

March 13, 1981 – Birth of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia in Madrid, Spain, the only child of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, a disputed pretender to Headship of the Russian Imperial Family and the throne of Russia since 1992
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia, also known as Prince George of Prussia through his father Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia, a great-grandson of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia), is the heir to his mother Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, a disputed pretender to the Headship of the Russian Imperial Family and the throne of Russia since 1992. The Headship of the Russian Imperial Family and succession to the former Russian throne has been in dispute, mainly due to disagreements over whether marriages in the Romanov family were equal marriages – a marriage between a Romanov dynast and a member of a royal or sovereign house. In 2021, George married Rebecca Virginia Bettarini, Director of the Russian Imperial Foundation in a civil ceremony in Moscow, Russia, on September 24, 2021, followed by a religious wedding on October 1, 2021, at Saint Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the first Romanov wedding held in Russia since the Russian Revolution.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia

March 13, 2017 – Death of Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark, at his home, Berleburg Castle in Bad Berleburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; buried at Forest Cemetery Sengelsberg in Berleburg
Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was the husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark. In 1919, Germany stopped recognizing the various titles of the nobility and royalty. However, in Germany today former hereditary titles are allowed only as part of the surname. Richard and Benedikte were married in 1968 and they had three children. Richard was active in several conservation programs including a project to reintroduce European bison on his 30,000-acre estate. Richard died at his home, Berleburg Castle, on March 13, 2017, at the age of 82.
Unofficial Royalty: Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

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