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Maria Isabel of Portugal, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

December 26, 1771 – Birth of Julie Clary, wife of King Joseph Bonaparte of Naples and Sicily, Spain and the Indies, in Marseilles, France
Full name: Marie Julie
Marie Julie Clary was the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother Joseph Bonaparte who was King of Naples from 1806 – 1808, and King of Spain from 1808 – 1813. Julie and Joseph had two daughters. In 1808, King Carlos IV of Spain and his son King Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon where they forced them both to abdicate their rights to the Spanish throne. Napoleon declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed and installed his brother Joseph as King of Spain. Julie never lived in or even traveled to Spain, preferring to live in France. In 1813, Due to the defeats in the Peninsular War, Napoleon was forced to reinstate Ferdinand VII as King of Spain. Joseph went into exile in Switzerland and Julie remained in France.  Joseph eventually went to the United States where he lived for seventeen years before returning to Europe. In 1840, Joseph joined Julie in Florence, where she had settled. Julie accepted him back despite his adultery In the United States which resulted in two American daughters. In 1844, Joseph died in Florence. Julie survived him by eight months dying in Florence on April 7, 1845, aged seventy-three.
Unofficial Royalty: Julie Clary Bonaparte, Queen of Spain, Queen of Naples

December 26, 1777 – Birth of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, in Darmstadt, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, now in Hesse Germany
In 1804, Ludwig married his first cousin, Princess Wilhelmine of Baden. The couple had five children including Ludwig’s successor Ludwig III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, Prince Alexander whose morganatic marriage to Countess Julia Hauke started the Battenberg/Mountbatten family, and Princess Maria who married Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. Ludwig became Grand Duke upon his father’s death in March 1830 and continued his father’s policies. Soon after his accession, he demanded that the state assume all his personal debts. This led to a growing dislike for Ludwig among the Hessian people. He also stood strongly against calls for a more liberal government that was sweeping through Europe. Following the beginning of the March Revolution of 1848, Grand Duke Ludwig II abdicated on March 5, 1848, in favor of his eldest son.
Unofficial Royalty: Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

December 26, 1800 – Death of Mary Robinson, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, in Englefield Green, Surrey, England; buried at St. Peter and St. Andrew Churchyard in Windsor, Berkshire, England
Mary Robinson was a noted English poet and actress who became the first mistress of the future King George IV, while he was still Prince of Wales. Their relationship lasted just two years. Her first book of poetry, Poems By Mrs. Robinson,  was published in 1775. She soon caught the attention of Georgina Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire who became somewhat of a patron to Mary, sponsoring the publication of Mary’s second book of poetry, Captivity. While performing as Perdita in an adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Winter Tale in 1779 at the Drury Lane Theater in London, Mary caught the attention of The Prince of Wales who attended a performance and was instantly smitten.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary Robinson, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom

December 26, 1818 – Death of Maria Isabel of Portugal, Queen of Spain, second of the four wives of King Ferdinand VII of Spain at the Palace of Aranjuez in Spain; buried at the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real in Spain
Maria Isabel was the daughter of King João VI of Portugal and Infanta Carlota Joaquina of Spain. She married her maternal uncle Ferdinand VII of Spain, who was 13 years older than her. Ferdinand’s first wife had died childless ten years earlier. The marriage was made to strengthen relations between Spain and Portugal, and of course, to provide heirs to the throne. Maria Isabel gave birth to a daughter who only lived for five months.  There were terrible complications when 21-year-old Maria Isabel went into labor with her second child, a daughter who was in breech position and died in utero. Maria Isabel had lost consciousness and appeared to have stopped breathing, so the doctors believed she had died. When they began to cut her open to remove the dead child, she let out a cry of pain, fainted, and bled to death.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Isabel of Portugal, Queen of Spain

December 26, 2004 – Death of Sir Angus Ogilvy, husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent, at Kingston Hospital in London, England; buried at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore in Windsor, England
Angus Ogilvy was the second son of David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie. Angus’s grandmother, Mabell Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie was a close lifelong friend of Queen Mary and served as one of her ladies-in-waiting for over 50 years. His father served as a Lord-in-Waiting to King George V and then as Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1937-1965. An uncle served as an equerry to the future King Edward VIII while he was Prince of Wales. His elder brother served as Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth II from 1984-1997 and his sister-in-law, Virginia, has been a lady-in-waiting to The Queen since 1973.  In 1963, Angus married Princess Alexandra of Kent and they had two children. Queen Elizabeth II offered Angus an Earldom but he graciously declined. He died from throat cancer in 2004.
Unofficial Royalty: Sir Angus Ogilvy

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Emperor Taisho of Japan; Credit – Wikipedia

Royal Events on December 25

• Unofficial Royalty: Christmas Message of King Charles III of the United Kingdom

December 25, 1461 – Birth of Christina of Saxony, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, wife of King Hans of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, in Torgau, Electorate of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
In 1478, Christina married the future King Hans of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Christina and Hans had six children. In 1501, Hans began a long-term affair with Edel Jernskjæg, one of Christina’s ladies-in-waiting. The affair caused a scandal and a de facto termination of their marriage. From that time on, the marriage of Hans and Christina was one in name only. Christina was a devout Catholic (the Reformation had not yet occurred in Denmark) and she founded convents for the nuns of the Poor Clares in Copenhagen and Odense. In 1513, King Hans died from injuries after he was thrown from his horse. Christina survived her husband by eight years, dying aged 59, and was buried wearing the habit of a Poor Clares nun.
Unofficial Royalty: Christina of Saxony, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden

December 25, 1584 – Birth of Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, wife of King Felipe III of Spain, in Graz, Austria
The daughter of Karl II, Archduke of Austria-Styria and his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria, Margaret married Felipe III, King of Spain in 1599. Felipe and Margaret, both children of parents who were an uncle and his niece, were first cousins once removed and also second cousins, adding to more inbreeding in the House of Habsburg.  Margaret and Felipe III had eight children, including King Felipe III’s successor King Felipe IV and Ana María Mauricia (better known as Queen Anne of France) who married King Louis XIII of France. They were the parents of King Louis XIV of France. In 1611, Margaret died at the age of twenty-six from childbirth complications eleven days after giving birth to her eighth child.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain

December 25, 1667 – Birth of Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal, mistress of King George I of Great Britain, in Emden, Electorate of Brandenburg, now part of Altenhausen in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt
In 1691, Melusine became the mistress of George, Electoral Prince of Hanover, the future Elector of Hanover and King George I of Great Britain. Despite the fact that the future King George I had affairs while he lived in Hanover, when his wife had an affair, she was divorced, sent off to a German castle for the rest of her life, and her lover disappeared, supposedly murdered. Melusine was more like a wife to George. She accompanied him to London when he became King of Great Britain and became a naturalized British citizen. After George I’s death, Melusine lived out the remainder of her life at her London home in the companionship of a large bird, probably a raven, in which she believed that George’s soul had been reincarnated.
Unofficial Royalty: Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal 

December 25, 1833 – Birth of Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, 2nd wife of Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg, in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Through their mothers who were sisters, Adelheid-Marie was the first cousin of King Frederick VIII of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, King George I of Greece, Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, Crown Thyra Princess of Hanover, and Prince Valdemar of Denmark. Adelheid-Marie married the future Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg in 1851. The couple had two surviving children including Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Adelheid-Marie died at the age of 82.
Unofficial Royalty: Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

December 25, 1901 – Birth of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, born Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Duchess of Gloucester at Montagu House in London, England
Full name: Alice Christabel
Alice was the widow of King George V’s son Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, aunt of Queen Elizabeth II, and mother of Prince Richard, the current Duke of Gloucester. She was born Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott, the daughter of John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch and 9th Duke of Queensberry and Lady Margaret Bridgeman. In 1935, Alice married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and the couple had two sons. During the early reign of Henry’s niece Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester carried out royal engagements including some overseas tours. Princess Alice died peacefully in her sleep at Kensington Palace in London at the age of 102, the longest-lived member of the British Royal Family so far.
 Unofficial Royalty: Birth of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

December 25, 1902 – Birth of Princess Françoise of Greece and Denmark, second wife of Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark, born Princess Françoise of Orléans in Paris, France
Full name: Françoise Isabelle Louise Marie
Françoise was the daughter of Prince Jean of Orléans, Duke of Guise, an Orléanist pretender to the throne of France, and Princess Isabelle of Orléans. She was a great-great-granddaughter of Louis Philippe I, King of the French, four times over and a great-granddaughter of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil and King Ferdinand VII of Spain. In 1929, she married the widowed Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark and the couple had one son. Christopher died in 1940, at the age of 51, after suffering from a lung abscess. After her husband’s death, Françoise’s financial situation was tenuous. After living in several different places, she finally settled with her sister in Paris, France. Françoise became very introverted and greatly limited her social interactions. Suffering from depression, her health quickly declined. She died in Paris, France in 1953, just two months after her 50th birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Françoise of Orléans, Princess Françoise of Greece and Denmark

December 25, 1926 – Death of Emperor Taishō of Japan at the Imperial Palace at Hayama, in Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, Japan; buried at the Musashino Imperial Mausoleum in Tokyo, Japan
Emperor Taishō’s mother Lady Naruko Yanagihara was a concubine to his father Emperor Meiji, was the last concubine to give birth to a Japanese emperor. Three weeks after his birth, Taishō suffered from cerebral meningitis and this affected his health and his mental capacity, including a speech disorder and difficulty walking, for the rest of his life. In 1900, Taishō married Lady Sadako Kujō (Empress Teimei). Because of Taishō’s diminished mental capacity, Emperor Meiji wanted an intelligent, articulate, and dignified wife for his son, and he found those qualities in Sadako. The couple had four sons including Hirohito, Emperor Shōwa. In 1912, Taishō succeeded his father as Emperor of Japan. He was kept out of public view as much as possible because of his mental incapacity.  It soon became apparent that he could not carry out any public functions, participate in daily government matters, or make decisions. This was all left to his ministers and his son Crown Prince Hirohito. Finally, Crown Prince Hirohito was named Prince Regent in 1921. Taishō died of a heart attack at the age of 47.
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Taishō of Japan

December 25, 1936 – Birth of Princess Alexandra of Kent, daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent, at 3 Belgrave Square in London, England
Full name: Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel
The only daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece, Alexandra is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, and through her mother, she is a first cousin once removed of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Along with her brothers Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent, she grew up at Coppins, the family’s country home in Iver in Buckinghamshire, England. In 1942, her father was killed in a plane crash, just weeks after the birth of her younger brother. In the late 1950s, Princess Alexandra began to take on royal duties, supporting her cousin, Queen Elizabeth II. In 1963, Alexandra married The Honorable Angus Ogilvy, second son of David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie. The couple had one son and one daughter.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Alexandra of Kent

December 25, 2019 – Death of Ari Behn, the former husband of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway; buried at the Cemetery of Our Saviour in Olso, Norway
Ari’s work career was diverse. He was an author, the owner of a fashion design company, the designer of a successful collection of glasses and dishes, made documentaries for television, and worked as a writer for various publications. In 2002, Ari married Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, the daughter of King Harald V of Norway. Ari and Princess Märtha Louise had three daughters. In August 2016, it was announced that the couple separated. They divorced in 2017. Sadly, Ari Behn died by suicide at his home in Lommedalen, Norway. He was 47 years old.
Unofficial Royalty: Ari Behn
Unofficial Royalty: Funeral of Ari Behn

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Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

December 24, 1167 – Birth of King John of England at Beaumont Palace in Oxford, England
John was the youngest of the eight children of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right. In 1199, John succeeded his childless brother King Richard I as King of England. During his reign, John lost the French territories of Normandy, Maine, Touraine, Anjou, and Poitou, all ancestral territories of his Norman or Angevin ancestors. While John was trying to save his French territories, his discontented English barons led by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, were protesting John’s continued misgovernment of England. The result of this discontent was the best-known event of John’s reign, the Magna Carta, the “great charter” of English liberties. Among the liberties were the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown.
Unofficial Royalty: King John of England

December 24, 1597 – Birth of Honoré II, Prince of Monaco in Monaco
When Honoré  II was two years old, his mother died due to childbirth complications. In 1604, his father Hercule, Lord of Monaco was stabbed to death while walking through the streets of Monaco at night. A month short of his seventh birthday, Honoré succeeded his father as Lord of Monaco. In 1612, Honoré II started using the title of Prince, becoming the first Prince of Monaco. Honoré II became a vassal of King Louis XIII of France in 1633. Many Princes of Monaco were vassals of the Kings of France while remaining sovereign princes of Monaco. The Princes of Monaco and their families spent most of their lives in France and intermarried with French and Italian noble families. In 1616, Honoré married Ippolita Trivulzio, the daughter of the Italian nobles. Honoré and Ippolita had one son who died before his father. During his reign, Honoré II did much to extend, rebuild, and transform what was originally the 1191 fortress of his Grimaldi ancestors into what is today’s Prince’s Palace of Monaco. After a reign of fifty-eight years, Honoré II, Prince of Monaco died in Monaco on January 10, 1662, at the age of 64.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Honoré II of Monaco

December 24, 1634 – Birth of Mariana of Austria, Queen of Spain, second wife of her maternal uncle King Philip IV of Spain, in Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Mariana was the daughter of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria and his first wife Maria Anna of Spain. She was betrothed to Balthasar Carlos, Prince of Asturias, the son and heir of King Felipe IV of Spain, Mariana’s uncle, the brother of her mother. However, Balthasar Carlos died three months after the betrothal from smallpox, leaving his father with no male heir. 44-year-old King Felipe IV arranged to marry his son’s former fiancée, his 14-year-old niece Mariana. Mariana and Felipe IV had five children but only two survived childhood, including Felipe IV’s heir, the physically and mentally disabled King Carlos II of Spain. While a person in the fifth generation normally has thirty-two different ancestors, Carlos II had only ten different ancestors in the fifth generation. After the death of her husband, Mariana served as Regent for her four-year-old son, and remained an influential figure during his reign, until her death.
Unofficial Royalty: Mariana of Austria, Queen of Spain

December 24, 1660 – Death of Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange, daughter of King Charles I of England, wife of Willem II, Prince of Orange, mother of King William III of England, at Whitehall Palace in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Mary was created the first Princess Royal. Her mother Queen Henrietta Maria, daughter of King Henri IV of France, wanted to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the King of France was styled Madame Royale. In 1641, Mary married the future Willem II, Prince of Orange. Mary and Willem had one child, Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England. Mary died from smallpox at the age of 29. Her son Willem III, Prince of Orange, the future King William III of England, was just ten years old and had lost both parents to smallpox. William’s wife and co-ruler Queen Mary II would also die of smallpox at the age of 32.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange

December 24, 1803 – Death of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the Ducal Crypt Chapel in the Meiningen municipal cemetery until 1977 when his remains were removed from the chapel, cremated, and buried elsewhere in the cemetery.
Georg became Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in July 1782, upon the death of his childless brother Karl Wilhelm. Four months later, he married Princess Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. The couple had three children including Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen who married King William IV of the United Kingdom. One of the first things Georg did upon becoming Duke was to open the Ducal library and art collections to the public. He also oversaw the design of the new English Garden in Meiningen on the site of the former municipal cemetery and began to transform Meiningen into a prestigious royal city. Having always been in poor health, Georg I died at the age of 42, after developing a fever.
Unofficial Royalty: Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

December 24, 1837 – Birth of Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, at the Herzog-Max-Palais (Duke Max Palace) in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie
In 1854, Sisi, as she was known, married Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. The couple had four children including their only son Crown Prince Rudolf who died in a suicide pact with his mistress. The marriage was not a happy one for Sisi. Although her husband loved her, Sisi had difficulties adjusting to the Austrian court and did not get along with Imperial family members, especially her mother-in-law. Sisi felt emotionally distant from her husband and fled from him and her duties at court by frequent traveling. On September 10, 1898, while walking to a ferry landing on Lake Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland with her lady-in-waiting, Sisi was stabbed to death by twenty-five-year-old Luigi Lucheni.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria

December 24, 1845 – Birth of King George I of Greece, born Prince Vilhelm of Denmark, at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Christian Vilhelm Ferdinand Adolf Georg
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: King George I of Greece

December 24, 1879 – Birth of Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen of Denmark, wife of King Christian X of Denmark, in Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Full name: Alexandrine Auguste
Alexandrine was the eldest of the three children of Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia. In 1898, she married the future King Christian X of Denmark. The couple had two sons including King Frederik IX of Denmark. Christian and Alexandrine were devoted to one another and enjoyed a happy marriage. The couple became king and queen of Denmark in 1912. While their popularity waxed and waned throughout Christian’s rule, he and Alexandrine are generally viewed as successful as king and queen.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen of Denmark

December 24, 1900 – Death of Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, the longest-serving member of Queen Victoria’s household, in her room at Osborne House, after over 45 years of service, companionship, and friendship to Queen Victoria. She was buried several days later in Finstock, Oxfordshire, England
Born Lady Jane Conyngham in 1826, she was the eldest daughter of Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham. She married Francis Spencer, 2nd Baron Churchill. Widowed in 1886, Jane remained at Queen Victoria’s side for the rest of her life. On Christmas Eve 1900, Jane died in her sleep in her room at Osborne House. She was buried several days later in Finstock, Oxfordshire, England. Queen Victoria was not told of her death immediately, as her doctors felt the news would be devastating to her already weakened health. Once told, she was heartbroken, and sent a wreath for Jane’s funeral with a handwritten note – “A mark of most loving affection and grateful remembrance from her devoted friend, Victoria, R.I.” Less than a month later, Queen Victoria also passed away at Osborne House.
Unofficial Royalty: Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill

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

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Friedrich August I, King of Saxony; Credit – Wikipedia

December 23, 1230 – Death of Berengaria of Navarre, Queen of England, wife of King Richard I of England, at L’Epau Abbey in Le Mans, County of Maine, now in France; buried at L’Epau Abbey
Berengaria of Navarre was the only English queen never to set foot in the country. Her husband King Richard I of England spent about only six months of his ten-year reign in England. There is evidence that she may have visited England in the years following his death when she was Queen Dowager. In 1191, King Richard I of England married Berengaria of Navarre at the Chapel of St George in Limassol, Cyprus. Then his fleet, along with Berengaria and Richard’s recently widowed sister Joan, Queen of Sicily, traveled to the Holy Land where Richard participated in the Crusades. Berengaria and Richard’s marriage was childless. In 1199, Richard died from gangrene after being hit by an arrow during a castle siege in France. After Richard’s death, Berengaria received the revenues of the tin mines in Devon and Cornwall in England, and the city of Le Mans, the capital of the County of Maine, was settled on her as dower, the means of support for a widow. In 1228, Berengaria founded the Cistercian Abbey of L’Epau near Le Mans, retired there, and died there at the age of 67.
Unofficial Royalty: Berengaria of Navarre, Queen of England

December 23, 1544 – Birth of Anna of Saxony, Princess of Orange, second wife of Willem I, Prince of Orange (the Silent) in Dresden, Duchy of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
Three years after the death of his first wife, Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange married Anna of Saxony. The marriage was not happy and Anna and Willem often lived apart. In early 1571, Anna realized she was pregnant. She was accused of adultery, later admitted adultery, and was forced to agree to a divorce. In 1572, Anna was sent to her family in Saxony where they imprisoned her as an adulteress. The windows of her room were walled up and fitted with additional iron bars. A square hole was made in the door through which food and drink were given to her. An iron gate was installed on the outside of the door prohibiting any attempt to escape. Anna died shortly before her 33rd birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna of Saxony, Princess of Orange

December 23, 1750 – Birth of Friedrich August I, King of Saxony, in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
Full name: Friedrich August Josef Maria Anton Johann Nepomuk Alois Xavier
Friedrich August I was the first King of Saxony, reigning from 1806 to 1827. His family had been rulers of the Electorate of Saxony of the House of Wettin and held the Elector title for several centuries. In 1769, Friedrich August married Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. The couple had one daughter. As Elector, Friedrich August was not involved in establishing Napoleon’s Confederation of the Rhine, which brought about the end of the Holy Roman Empire. Staying out of politics, he was drawn in when Napoleon advanced into German territory, siding with Prussia. The Saxon forces suffered significant losses and Friedrich August soon surrendered. He was forced to join the Confederation of the Rhine and had to cede territory to the Kingdom of Westphalia. However, the trade-off was Saxony’s elevation to a kingdom. So on December 20, 1806, Friedrich August became King Friedrich August I of Saxony. As he had no male heirs, upon his death in 1827, Friedrich August was succeeded by his younger brother Anton.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich August I, King of Saxony

December 23, 1777 – Birth of Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia in Saint Petersburg, Russia
In 1793, fifteen-year-old Alexander married fourteen-year-old Louise of Baden who took the Russian name Elizabeth Alexeievna. Two daughters were born during the marriage but both died in early childhood. It is possible that the daughters were not Alexander’s. Both Alexander and his wife had affairs and their marriage was one in name only. Alexander became Emperor of All Russia in 1801 upon the assassination of his father Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. The most important event during Alexander’s reign was the Napoleonic Wars, a series of major conflicts (1803 – 1815) pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against various coalitions of European powers. In 1812, Napoleon’s army invaded Russia. The French forces eventually were repelled by the brutal Russian winter and retreated to the borders of Russia, pursued by the Russian army. The French Army was almost completely destroyed and it was the motivation for composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, written in 1882 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s invading army.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia

December 23, 1864 – Birth of Princess Zorka of Montenegro, first wife of the future King Peter I of Serbia, in Cetinje, Montenegro
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 had 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 Andrew 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

December 23, 1865 – Birth of Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg in Vienna, Austria
Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg was heir presumptive to the throne of Württemberg for just a year before the monarchy was abolished in 1918. Three years later, upon the death of his distant cousin, King Wilhelm II, he became Head of the House of Württemberg and pretender to the former throne.
Unofficial Royalty: Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg

December 23, 1910 – Birth of Maria de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Countess of Barcelona, mother of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, in Madrid, Spain
Full name: María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luisa Carolina Victoria y Todos los Santos
The daughter of Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and his second wife Princess Louise of Orléans. Maria Mercedes had a very impressive royal lineage. On her father’s side, she was descended from multiple branches of the Bourbon-Two Sicilies family who ruled in Italy until the late 19th century. On her mother’s side, Maria Mercedes was descended from both recent Spanish and French royalty. In 1935, she married Juan, Count of Barcelona, the heir to the defunct Spanish throne. They had three children including the future King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Maria Mercedes’ adult life was dominated by the actions of Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator. It was Franco who kept the family from living in Spain and was constantly at odds with Maria Mercedes’ husband. In 1969, Franco ultimately decided that the Spanish monarchy should be restored following his death. As suspected, Franco passed over Juan, Count of Barcelona as his successor in favor of Juan Carlos. In 1976, Maria Mercedes and her husband finally returned to live in Spain.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria de las Mercedes of the Two Sicilies, Countess of Barcelona

December 23, 1933 – Birth of Emperor Emeritus Akihito of Japan at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan
The eldest son of Emperor Hirohito and Princess Nagako of Kuni, Akihito was the heir-apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne from birth. In 1959, Akihito married Michiko Shōda. It was the first time a commoner married into the Imperial Family. There was much speculation that Akihito’s mother strongly opposed the marriage and that after the marriage she treated her commoner daughter-in-law harshly. Akihito and Michiko had two sons and one daughter. In 1989, when his father died, Akihito became Emperor of Japan. Akihito abdicated in 2019 in favor of his son Naruhito. After Akihito abdicated, he was entitled Jōkō, an abbreviation of Daijō Tennō (Emperor Emeritus).
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Emeritus Akihito of Japan

December 23, 1943 – Birth of Queen Silvia of Sweden, wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, born Silvia Renate Sommerlath in Heidelberg, Germany
Silvia studied to be an interpreter and then worked at the Argentinean Consulate in Munich, Germany. She is fluent in six languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, and Portuguese. Silvia put her language skills to use when she worked as a hostess trainer between 1971 and 1973 for the Organizing Committee of the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. She then became Deputy Head of Protocol of the Organizing Committee for the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, Silvia met Carl Gustaf, then Crown Prince of Sweden. While the couple was courting, Carl Gustaf’s grandfather  King Gustaf VI Adolf died in 1973, and Carl Gustaf became King of Sweden. Silvia and Carl Gustaf married in 1976 and are the parents of three children, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip, and Princess Madeleine.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Silvia of Sweden

December 23, 1975 – Birth of Prince Ali of Jordan, son of King Hussein of Jordan and his third wife Queen Alia, in Amman, Jordan
Prince Ali is the brother of Princess Haya of Jordan and the half-brother of King Abdullah II of Jordan. He has served in the Jordanian Special Forces and attended Princeton University in New Jersey, graduating in 1999. In 2004, he married Rym Brahimi, a former CNN journalist and the couple has two children. Prince Ali is President of the Jordan Football Association and has also served as Vice President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan

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Alice Heine, wife of Prince Albert I of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

December 22, 1670 – Birth of Anna Sophie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, wife of Ludwig Friedrich I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, in Gotha, then in the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, now in the German state of Thuringia
Anna Sophie was the eldest of the eight children and the eldest of the six daughters of Friedrich I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. In 1691, 21-year-old Anna Sophie married 24-year-old Ludwig Friedrich of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the son and heir of Albrecht Anton, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Ludwig Friedrich and Anna Sophie had thirteen children. Via their daughter, Anna Sophie who married Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Ludwig Friedrich and Anna Sophie are the ancestors of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert, and their uncle Leopold I, King of the Belgians. The royal families of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom are their descendants.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna Sophie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

December 22, 1748 – Death of Prince Johann Nepomuk Karl of Liechtenstein in Wischau, now in the Czech Republic; buried at Liechtenstein Crypt in Vranov nearby Brno, Czech Republic
In 1732, eight-year-old Johann Nepomuk Karl became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein upon the early death of his father. The former reigning Prince of Liechtenstein Josef Wenzel I served as regent and guardian for Johann Nepomuk Karl until he reached his majority in 1745. He carefully prepared Johann Nepomuk Karl to take over the government. However, when Johann Nepomuk Karl reached the age of 21 and took over the government, it appeared as if he had not learned anything. He was soon neglecting his government duties. In 1748, Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein died at the age of 24. Because Johann Nepomuk Karl had no male heir, the former reigning Prince of Liechtenstein Josef Wenzel I once again became the reigning Prince.
Unofficial Royalty: Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein

December 22, 1799 – Birth of Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma at Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain
Full name: Carlo Ludovico Ferdinando
Carlo Ludovico was born in Spain because, in 1796, the Duchy of Parma was occupied by French troops. After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the Duchy of Parma was not returned to the Bourbon-Parma family. Instead, the Congress of Vienna gave it to Napoleon’s second wife Marie-Louise of Austria. In 1820, Carlo Ludovico married Maria Teresa of Savoy, one of the twin daughters of King Vittorio Emanuele I of Sardinia. In 1847, at the death of Napoleon’s second wife Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma, Carlo Ludovico succeeded her as the reigning Duke of Parma according to the stipulations of the Congress of Vienna. However, the reign of Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma was short. He was very unpopular with the citizens of Parma, and within a few months, he was ousted by a revolution. Carlo Ludovico regained control of Parma with the help of Austrian troops but finally abdicated in favor of his son Carlo III, Duke of Parma in 1849. After his abdication, Carlo Ludovico lived at Weistropp Castle, a castle he had purchased in Klipphausen, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. He also spent time in Paris, France and Nice, France.
Unofficial Royalty: Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma

December 22, 1925 – Death of Alice Heine, Princess of Monaco, second wife of Prince Albert I of Monaco, in Paris, France; buried at Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France
Alice Heine was the second wife of Prince Albert I of Monaco, and the first American woman to marry a reigning European sovereign. Her father Michel Heine was a French banker and businessman from a prominent German-Jewish banking family and established a bank in New Orleans, Louisiana. The family returned to France in 1875, and Alice married Marie Odet Richard Armand de La Chapelle de Saint-Jean de Jumilhac, 7th Duke of Richelieu. Jewish by birth, Alice converted to Roman Catholicism before the marriage. The couple had two children. When her husband died in 1880, Alice became a wealthy young widow. She became one of the leading hostesses in European society and met the future Prince Albert I of Monaco. However, Albert’s father, Prince Charles III, would not permit them to marry. After his father died in 1889, Albert became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco and married Alice. The couple had no children. Eventually, Alice and Albert’s lack of mutual interests drove them apart. Alice had an affair with the composer Isidore de Lara. Although Albert had many affairs, he could not tolerate Alice’s affair. In 1901, at the opening of the opera, Albert publicly accused Alice of her affair and slapped her across the face. Alice left the opera immediately and left Monaco the next morning. Albert banned her from ever returning to Monaco. The couple was granted a legal separation in 1902 but never divorced. Alice settled at Claridge’s in London, England. While in London, she became a close friend of Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Alice died in Paris, France at the age of 67.
Unofficial Royalty: Alice Heine, Princess of Monaco

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Amalia of Oldenburg, wife of King Otto of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

December 21, 1657 – Birth of Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, mistress of King James II of England
Catherine’s father Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet of Ailesford, was among the close circle of King Charles II, brother of the future King James II, enabling his family to access the royal court. Catherine caught the eye of James and became his mistress before she was sixteen years old. Catherine and James had one daughter and two sons but both sons died in infancy. When James became King James II of England. Catherine’s yearly pension was doubled to £4,000 and she was created Countess of Dorchester and Baroness of Darlington in her own right for life. After James II lost his throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and fled to France, Catherine remained in England. Catherine’s pension stopped and the grants of Irish land James II had given her were called into question. However, she may have acted as a double agent for William III who gave her a pension. In 1696, Catherine married Sir David Colyear (1656 – 1730), Lieutenant-General of the Scots Brigade, and they had two sons.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, mistress of King James II of England

December 21, 1750 – Death of Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, wife of Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, in Vienna, Austria, on December 21, 1750; in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna
Elisabeth Christine was the eldest of the four daughters of Ludwig Rudolf, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In 1708, she married the future Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Elisabeth Christine and Karl had one son who died in infancy and three daughters, with one dying in childhood, including Maria Theresa of Austria, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia because she succeeded to her father’s Habsburg hereditary lands. In 1740, at the age of 55, Elisabeth Christine’s husband Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor died after a ten-day illness. His symptoms were typical of death cap mushroom poisoning but the definitive cause of Karl’s death remains unknown. Elisabeth Christine survived her husband by ten years, dying, aged 59, in Vienna, Austria, on December 21, 1750.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress

December 21, 1800 – Birth of Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, first wife of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, mother of Prince Albert, in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Luise Pauline Charlotte Friederike Auguste
The mother of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, Louise was the only child of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and his first wife Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Louise’s mother never recovered from childbirth and died eleven days after Louise was born at the age of 21. In 1817, Louise married Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha). The couple had two sons, Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Although the marriage was initially happy, the couple soon grew apart due to Ernst’s infidelities. In 1823, Louise had an affair with Gottfried von Bülow, the court chamberlain. The following year, she had an affair with Alexander von Hanstein, one of her husband’s equerries. Louise was forced to go into exile and permanently cut off from her children. She suffered greatly due to her separation from her two sons. Images of her sons and visitation rights were denied to her. Ernst and Louise were divorced in 1826. Louise’s lover, Freiherr (Baron) Alexander von Hanstein followed her into exile and the couple married in 1826. In 1831, Louise was diagnosed with incurable cervical cancer Louise and died at the age of 30.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

December 21, 1818 – Birth of Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece, wife of King Otto of Greece, in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Luise Pauline Charlotte Friederike Auguste
Amalia was the daughter of Duke Augustus of Oldenburg (later Grand Duke of Oldenburg) and his first wife Princess Adelheid of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. In 1836, Amalia married King Otto I of Greece but their marriage remained childless. King Otto had been born Prince Otto of Bavaria of the Wittelsbach dynasty, the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. In 1833, Otto had been appointed king of the newly created Kingdom of Greece. Amalia wisely realized that her style of dress should emulate the style of the Greek people. She created a “romantic folksy court dress” which became the Greek national costume. In 1862, a coup took place, and Otto was overthrown. Otto and Amalia left Greece for Bavaria aboard a British warship. They lived at the Neue Residenz in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria for the remainder of their lives.
Unofficial Royalty: Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece

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Prince George, Duke of Kent; Credit – Wikipedia

December 20, 1537 – Birth of King Johan III of Sweden at Stegeborg Castle in Söderköping, Sweden
Johan was the eldest of the ten children of King Gustav I Vasa of Sweden and his second wife Margareta Leijonhufvud. In 1569, he became King of Sweden after a rebellion against his mentally ill half-brother King Eric XIV of Sweden.  Johan married Katarina Jagellonica of Poland and the couple had three children. During his reign, Johan III carried out extensive building projects. He participated personally in planning various buildings and provided his own architectural drawings. In 1570, Johan III ended the Nordic Seven Years War with Denmark and Sweden, a war his half-brother Erik had started. During the following years, Johan successfully fought Russia in the Livonian War and made a peace treaty with Russia. After the death of his first wife, Johan married Gunilla Bielke and they had one son. After a reign of twenty-three years, Johan died at the age of 54.
Unofficial Royalty: King Johan III of Sweden

December 20, 1765 – Death of Louis, Dauphin of France, son of King Louis XV of France, at the Château de Fontainebleau in France; buried at the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, France
Louis, Dauphin of France was the elder son and heir apparent of his father Louis XV, King of France. Unfortunately, like several other Dauphins that preceded him, Louis died prematurely and never became King of France. After the death of his first wife Maria Teresa Rafaela, Infanta of Spain, Louis married Maria Josepha of Saxony. They had eight children including three Kings of France: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. Louis died of tuberculosis at the Château de Fontainebleau in France on December 20, 1765, at the age of 36.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis, Dauphin of France

December 20, 1784 – Birth of Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe in Bückeburg, County of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany
In 1787, two months after his second birthday, Georg Wilhelm became the reigning Count of Schaumberg-Lippe upon the death of his 64-year-old father. In 1807, after joining the Confederation of the Rhine, sixteen German states joined together in a confederation formed by Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, the County of Schaumberg-Lippe was raised to the Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe and Georg Wilhelm became its first reigning prince. In 1816, Georg Wilhelm married Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont and the couple had nine children. During the Revolutions of 1848, when there were demands for more participation in government and democracy, Georg Wilhelm gave in to some liberal demands but then changed to a more reactionary course in 1849 by abolishing the new constitution without restoring the old one. George Wilhelm died at the age of 75.
Unofficial Royalty: Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe

December 20, 1902 – Birth of Prince George, Duke of Kent, son of King George V of the United Kingdom, at York Cottage, Sandringham in Norfolk, England
Full name: George Edward Alexander Edmund
In 1934, George married Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark. They were both great-grandchildren of King Christian IX of Denmark and therefore, second cousins. This would be the last time a foreign princess married into the British Royal Family. George and Marina had three children, the first cousins of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom: Prince Edward who succeeded his father as Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Michael. Sadly, just six weeks after the birth of Prince Michael, Prince George was killed when his military plane crashed in Scotland.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince George, Duke of Kent

December 20, 1904 – Death of Alexandrine of Baden, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, wife of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, at Schloss Callenberg in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in the Glockenberg Cemetery in Coburg
Alexandrine was the eldest of the eight children of Leopold I, Grand Duke of Baden and Princess Sophie of Sweden. In 1842, she married the future Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the elder brother of Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert. Before the marriage, Ernst was suffering from a venereal disease as a result of his many affairs. He had been warned that continued promiscuity could leave him unable to father children. Ernst had at least three illegitimate children, but his marriage was childless, perhaps due to Ernst passing the venereal disease to Alexandrine causing her to become infertile. Alexandrine was loyal and devoted to her husband despite his infidelities and believed their lack of children was her fault. In 1844, Ernst’s father died and he became Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernst was not well-loved by his people, but Alexandrine was. She supported many charities including the Ernst Foundation for needy students. Alexandrine survived her husband by eleven years, dying at the age of 84.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandrine of Baden, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

December 20, 1963 – Birth of Infanta Elena of Spain, daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain, at Our Lady of Loreto Clinic in Madrid, Spain
Full name: Elena María Isabel Dominica de los Silos de Borbón y de Grecia
Infanta Elena is the eldest of King Juan Carlos’s three children. In 1995, Elena married Jaime de Marichalar y Sáenz de Tejada. The couple had two children before divorcing in 2010. During her father’s reign, Elena often represented the monarchy at functions within Spain and abroad. However, since her father’s abdication and the accession of her brother, King Felipe VI, she and her sister Infanta Cristina no longer take on any official duties.
Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Elena of Spain

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Louise of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

December 19, 1554 – Birth of Filips Willem, Prince of Orange in Buren, Guelders, now part of the Netherlands, then part of the Habsburg Netherlands
Filips Willem was the only son of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange and the first of his four wives Anna van Egmont. In 1568, Willem I, Filips Willem’s father, became the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs who held the land that we now know as the Netherlands and Belgium. That set off the Eighty Years’ War and resulted in the formal independence of the Dutch Republic in 1581. Angered by Willem I’s revolt, King Philip II of Spain arranged for 13-year-old Filips Willem to be kidnapped and taken to Spain, partly as a hostage, but also to be raised as a Catholic and a loyal subject to Spain. Filips Willem never saw his father again. In 1584, Balthasar Gérard, a subject and supporter of Philip II, assassinated Willem I. Filips Willem became Prince of Orange, however, he was not allowed to return to his homeland because he was not trusted and was considered an agent of Spain. In 1596, 28 years after he was kidnapped, Filips Willem returned to the Netherlands and lived at the Palace of Nassau in Brussels. At the request of the States-General (the legislature), he did not engage in political affairs.
Unofficial Royalty: Filips Willem, Prince of Orange

December 19, 1594 – Birth of King Gustavus II Adolphus the Great of Sweden at Castle Tre Kronor in Stockholm, Sweden
Also known as Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden, he was officially given the name Gustavus Adolphus the Great by the Riksdag of the Estates, the legislature in 1634, two years after he died in battle. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and made Sweden a great power that would result in it becoming one of Europe’s largest and leading nations during the early modern period. He became King of Sweden at the age of sixteen when his father Karl IX, King of Sweden died in 1611. In 1620, Gustavus Adoplphus married Maria Eleonora left Brandenburg. Their only surviving child was Christina who succeeded her father as reigning Queen of Sweden. The Thirty Years’ War was fought mostly within the Holy Roman Empire, mainly in present-day Germany, from 1618 to 1648. Although it started as a religious war (Protestant nations against Catholic nations), it developed into a territorial war. Before Gustavus Adolphus left to lead the Swedish army in the Thirty Years’ War, he secured his daughter Christina’s right to inherit the throne, in case he never returned and gave orders that Christina should receive an education normally given to only boys. Gustavus Adolphus died, aged 37, during the Battle of Lützen on November 16, 1632.
Unofficial Royalty: King Gustavus II Adolphus the Great of Sweden

December 19, 1683 – Birth of King Felipe V of Spain, the first Bourbon King of Spain, born as Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou; son of Louis of France, Le Grand Dauphin and grandson of King Louis XIV of France, at the Palace of Versailles in France
In 1700, Carlos II, King of Spain died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Philippe’s father Louis, Le Grand Dauphin had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain because his mother Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain had been the half-sister of Carlos II. However, neither Philippe’s father nor his elder brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, Carlos II, King of Spain named 16-year-old Philippe of Anjou, Duke of Anjou his successor. Felipe and his first wife Maria Luisa of Savoy had four sons but only two survived childhood. They both became Kings of Spain and they both had childless marriages. Felipe had six children his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma including King Carlos III. Felipe suffered from mental instability and as he grew older, his mental issues worsened and his wife Elisabeth became the de facto ruler of Spain. Only the singing of the Italian castrato opera singer Farinelli (born Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi) brought any peace to Felipe. Farinelli would sing eight or nine arias for the king and queen every night, usually with a trio of musicians.
Unofficial Royalty: King Felipe V of Spain

December 19, 1751 – Death of Princess Louise of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway, daughter of King George II of Great Britain, wife of King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway, at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
In 1743, 19-year-old Louise married the future King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway, the son and heir of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway.  King Christian hoped that this marriage would cause the British government to support his or his son’s claim to the Swedish throne.  Furthermore, the Danish government hoped (incorrectly) that marriage would put a damper on Crown Prince Frederik’s affairs and drunkenness.  The couple had five children, got along reasonably well and although Frederik continued his affairs, Louise pretended not to notice them. Louise’s husband succeeded his father as King Frederik V in 1746. Sadly Louise died only five years later at the age of 27. While pregnant with her sixth child, Louise died due to complications from a miscarriage, a day after her 27th birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Louise of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark

December 19, 1778 – Birth of Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France, daughter of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême (Legitimist pretender), at the Palace of Versailles in France
Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte was the only one in her family to survive the French Revolution. She married her first cousin Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, the son of her father’s younger brother, the future King Charles X of France. The couple had no children. After the end of the Bourbon Restoration in 1830, Marie-Thérèse once again lived in exile, this time with the former King Charles X, her uncle and her father-in-law, and her husband Louis-Antoine. The exiles ultimately moved to the estate of Count Johann Baptist Coronini near Gorizia, which was in Austria but now in Italy. After the death of her husband, Marie-Thérèse moved to the Schloss Frohsdorf, just outside Vienna, Austria where she spent her days taking walks, reading, sewing, and praying. There she died from pneumonia at the age of 72.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France, Duchess of Angoulême

December 19, 1798 – Birth of Lady Mary Fox, born Mary FitzClarence, the fourth of the ten children and the second of the five daughters of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
Mary married another illegitimate child. Her husband Charles Fox was the illegitimate son of Henry Fox, 3rd Baron Holland, through an affair with Elizabeth Vassall, the wife of Sir Godfrey Webster, 4th Baronet. Their marriage was childless. Mary and Charles established their household in Little Holland House, a Fox family property in Kensington, London, England. In 1835, Mary was appointed State Housekeeper at Windsor Castle. Two years later, Mary’s father King William IV died and Mary’s first cousin Victoria ascended the throne. Like her siblings and their spouses, Mary and Charles occasionally dined at Windsor Castle with Queen Victoria. In 1837, Mary published a utopian feminist gothic novel entitled “An Account of an Expedition to the Interior of New Holland”. New Holland was a contemporary European name for Australia. In her novel, Mary portrayed New Holland as “a mysterious and unreal” place.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Mary Fox, born Mary FitzClarence, Illegitimate Daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom

December 19, 1814 – Birth of Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, second wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Palermo, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now Italy
Maria Antonia was the daughter of Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. In 1833, she became the second wife of her first cousin Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Saxony. They had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV. In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Tuscany permanently because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The family settled in the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ruled by Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives.  After her husband died in 1879, Maria Antonia mostly lived at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, a town on the Traunsee, a lake in Austria.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

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Queen Christina of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

December 18, 1075 – Death of Edith of Wessex, Queen Consort of Edward the Confessor, King of England, at St. Mary’s Abbey in Winchester, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Edith was the daughter of Godwin, Earl of Wessex one of the most powerful earls in England. In 1045, Edith married Edward the Confessor, King of England. The marriage was childless and Edward, about twenty years older than Edith, treated her with great respect and endowed her with valuable property all over England. It is possible that Edward had a series of strokes in 1065. He was too ill to attend the dedication of his greatest achievement Westminster Abbey and Edith represented him. Edward the Confessor died several days later, on January 5, 1066. The Witan elected Edith’s brother Harold Godwinson to succeed Edward as King Harold II. However, Edward the Confessor had named William II, Duke of Normandy his successor, so William invaded England.  He won the English crown by conquest at the Battle of Hastings in which Edith’s brothers Harold,  Gyrth, and Leofwine were killed. The new King William I of England treated Edith with great respect and although she lost some of her dower lands, she remained an important landowner. Edith died at around the age of 50, apparently from a disease that she had suffered from for some time.
Unofficial Royalty: Edith of Wessex, Queen of England

December 18, 1574 – Birth of Maria Anna of Bavaria, Archduchess of Inner Austria, 1st wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, in Munich, Duchy of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria
Maria Anna of Bavaria was the first wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. She died before her husband became King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and Holy Roman Emperor, so she held only the title Archduchess of Inner Austria. Maria Anna and Ferdinand had seven children but only four survived childhood. Maria Anna was ill for a long time before she died on March 8, 1616, at the age of forty-one, in Graz, Inner Austria, now in Austria.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Anna of Bavaria, Archduchess of Inner Austria

December 18, 1577 – Death of Anna of Saxony, the divorced second wife of Willem I, Prince of Orange, at the Palace of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, where she was imprisoned because of adultery; buried in the Meissen Cathedral in the Electorate of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany, in a nameless tomb near her ancestors
Three years after the death of his first wife, Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange married Anna of Saxony. The marriage was not happy and Anna and Willem often lived apart. In early 1571, Anna realized she was pregnant. She was accused of adultery, later admitted adultery, and was forced to agree to a divorce. In 1572, Anna was sent to her family in Saxony where they imprisoned her as an adulteress. The windows of her room were walled up and fitted with additional iron bars. A square hole was made in the door through which food and drink were given to her. An iron gate was installed on the outside of the door prohibiting any attempt to escape. Anna died shortly before her 33rd birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna of Saxony, Princess of Orange

December 18, 1626 – Birth of Queen Christina of Sweden at Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm, Sweden
Considered one of the most learned women of the 17th century, Queen Christina is remembered for refusing to marry, abdicating her throne, converting to Roman Catholicism, living the rest of her life in Rome, and being one of only three women to be interred in the crypt at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Christina is one of three women who have been reigning queens of Sweden. She was the only surviving child of Gustavus II Adolphus the Great, King of Sweden, and succeeded him upon his death when she was only six years old. Born a Lutheran, Christina wanted to convert to Roman Catholicism. Christina’s wish to convert to Roman Catholicism was not the only reason for her abdication. After reigning for twenty years and working at least ten hours a day, Christina had what may be interpreted as a nervous breakdown, or perhaps in more modern terms, she was burned out. She abdicated in 1654 in favor of her cousin Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden, and within a few days, 28-year-old Christina left Sweden. She eventually settled in Rome where she played a prominent role in Rome’s cultural life.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Christina of Sweden

December 18, 1724 – Birth of Louisa of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark, daughter of King George II of Great Britain and wife of King Frederik V of Denmark, at Leicester House in London, England
In 1743, 19-year-old Louisa married the future King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway, the son and heir of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway.  King Christian hoped that this marriage would cause the British government to support his or his son’s claim to the Swedish throne.  Furthermore, the Danish government hoped (incorrectly) that marriage would put a damper on Crown Prince Frederik’s affairs and drunkenness.  The couple had five children, got along reasonably well and although Frederik continued his affairs, Louisa pretended not to notice them. Louisa was popular with the Danish people and was interested in music, dance, and theater. The Danish people greatly appreciated Louisa’s efforts to learn and speak Danish and her insistence that her children learn Danish, a rarity in an almost German-language Danish court.
Unofficial Royalty: Louisa of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark

December 18, 1863 – Birth of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I, in Graz, Austria
Full name: Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria
Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Archduke Karl Ludwig’s elder brothers were Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and Maximilian, the executed Emperor of Mexico. Franz Ferdinand’s life changed when his first cousin Crown Prince Rudolf died by suicide in 1889. Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, had no sons so the succession would pass to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Archduke Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Archduke Franz Ferdinand. When Karl Ludwig died in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir to his uncle’s throne. Franz Ferdinand fell in love with Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin. Because Sophie was not a member of a reigning or formerly reigning family, she could not marry a member of the Imperial Family. Emperor Franz Joseph finally agreed to the marriage with the stipulations that Franz Ferdinand would keep his place in the succession but Sophie could never be empress and their children would never have succession rights. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie married in 1900 and had three children.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

December 18, 1941 – Birth of Prince William of Gloucester, son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England
Full name: William Henry Andrew Frederick
Prince William was the elder of the two sons of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V, and  Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott. William attended Magdalene College, Cambridge to read history, graduating with a BA degree in 1963, which was raised to an MA degree in 1968. Following Cambridge, he spent a year at Stanford University in California studying political science, American history, and business. He worked for Lazard, an investment bank, and in the British diplomatic service in Lagos, Nigeria as the third secretary at the British High Commission, and in Tokyo, Japan as the second secretary in the British Embassy. Prince William was a licensed pilot, owned several airplanes, and enjoyed competing in air shows. On August 28, 1972, William planned on competing at the Goodyear International Air Trophy races at Halfpenny Green, near Wolverhampton, England. Sadly, William was killed when his plane crashed during the competition.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince William of Gloucester

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Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

December 17, 1732 – Death of Prince Josef Johann Adam of Liechtenstein in Valtice, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic; buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic.
Josef Johann Adam became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein upon the death of his father Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein on October 11, 1721.  He married four times and had a total of eight children but only two children, including his successor Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein, survived childhood.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Josef Johann Adam of Liechtenstein

December 17, 1734 – Birth of Maria I, Queen of Portugal at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: Maria Francisca Isabel Josefa Antonia Gertrudes Rita Joana
The first of the two Queen Regnants of Portugal, Maria was the eldest of the four children and the eldest of the four daughters of José I, King of Portugal. It was inevitable that Maria would become the reigning Queen of Portugal. However, since female succession to the throne of Portugal had never happened before, her father decided that Maria would marry his younger brother Infante Pedro of Portugal, the first male in the line of succession. In 1760, 25-year-old Maria married her 42-year-old paternal uncle Pedro. Maria and Pedro had six children. Maria is considered to have been a good ruler in the period before her mental instability, which was first noticed in 1786 when she had to be carried back to her apartments in a state of delirium. Her mental instability continued to worsen. The deaths of her husband Pedro in 1786, her eldest son and heir José in 1788, and her confessor Inácio de São Caetano, Archbishop of Salonica in 1788 may have caused her to develop a major depressive disorder. Her second son João, now heir to the throne, served as prince regent.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria I, Queen of Portugal

December 17, 1800 – Birth of Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Bernhard Erich Freund
Bernhard was the only son of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and the younger brother of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen who married King William IV of the United Kingdom.  In 1803, three-year-old Bernhard became Duke of Saxe-Meiningen upon his father’s death. In 1825, Bernhard married Princess Marie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel and the couple had two children. Although he had earlier aligned himself with Prussia, in the mid-1860s, Bernhard instead sided with Austria during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Following Austria’s defeat, the Prussians forced Bernhard to abdicate on September 20, 1866, in favor of his son, Georg II. Bernhard took up residence at the Great Palace in Meiningen, previously built as a dower home for his mother. He died there at the age of 81.
Unofficial Royalty: Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

December 17, 1802 – Birth of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Franz Karl Joseph
Archduke Franz Karl was the son of Emperor Franz I of Austria, the father of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, the grandfather of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination led to World War I, and the great-grandfather of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria. In 1824, Franz Karl married 1824, Franz Karl married Princess Sophie of Bavaria, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and the couple had five children. Franz Karl had no ambitions of power and had never been interested in politics, the exact opposite of his wife Sophie. Sophie’s biggest ambition was to place her oldest son Franz Joseph on the Austrian throne. During the Revolutions of 1848, she persuaded her husband to give up his rights to the throne in favor of their son Franz Joseph. On December 2, 1848, Franz Karl’s mentally incapacitated brother Emperor Ferdinand abdicated the throne in favor of his 18-year-old nephew Franz Joseph.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduke Franz Karl of Austria

December 17, 1847 – Death of Marie Louise of Austria, Empress of France, second wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, at Parma, Duchy of Parma, now in Italy; buried at the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche in Vienna, Austria
Archduchess Maria Ludovica of Austria was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla in her own right. Because his wife Josephine had not provided him with an heir, French Emperor Napoleon was searching for a new bride who could bear him an heir and set his sights on the leading royal families of Europe. After Napoleon divorced his first wife, Maria Ludovica married him in 1810, became Empress of the French and Queen of Italy, and took the French version of her name, Marie Louise. The couple did have one child, a son, who died at the age of 23. After Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and his exile to Saint Helena in 1815, Marie Louise had no further contact with him. Marie Louise married two more times and had three children with her second husband. As Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise supported many causes, with much of her efforts going toward improving medical care and treatment. She established a childbirth hospital and a training school for nurses, as well as a hospital for those with mental illness. In early December 1847, Maria Louise fell ill with pleurisy and her condition quickly worsened. She died at the age of 56.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie Louise of Austria, Empress of France

December 17, 1860 – Death of Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden, wife of King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden, at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in Sweden; buried at Riddarholm Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Désirée was the youngest of the nine children of François Clary, a wealthy French merchant. Through Désirée and her sister Julie, their parents are the ancestors of the royal families of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden. Désirée became engaged to Napoleon Bonaparte in April 1795, but Napoleon soon became involved with Joséphine de Beauharnais, and the engagement ended in September 1795. In 1798, she married Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, a noted French general and future King of Sweden and Norway. They had one son, born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte, later King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway. In August 1810, Désirée’s husband was elected Crown Prince of Sweden and Norway to succeed the childless King Carl XIII of Sweden and Norway. Not wanting to leave Paris, Désirée did not initially accompany her husband to Sweden. When she eventually went to Sweden, she did not like it at all and returned to Paris. In 1818, King Carl XIII of Sweden died, and Désirée’s husband ascended the thrones of Sweden and Norway as King Carl XIV Johan. However, Désirée, now known as Queen Desideria, would not return to Sweden until 1823. Although she planned to make just a temporary visit, Désirée would instead remain in Sweden for the rest of her life and died there at the age of 83.
Unofficial Royalty: Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden

December 17, 1887 – Birth of Hermine Reuss of Greiz, (titular) German Empress, Queen of Prussia, second wife of Wilhelm II, former German Emperor and King of Prussia, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, German Empire, now in Thuringia, Germany
Hermine was a widow with five children when one of Hermine’s sons sent birthday wishes to Wilhelm II, formerly German Emperor, living in exile at Huis Doorn in Doorn, the Netherlands, who then invited the boy and his mother to Doorn. Wilhelm found Hermine very attractive and greatly enjoyed her company. Having both been recently widowed, the two had much in common. Wilhelm was determined to marry Hermine despite objections from his children. 63-year-old Wilhelm and 34-year-old Hermine married on November 5, 1922, in Doorn. Although Wilhelm had abdicated, he continued to use his royal styles and titles, and therefore Hermine was styled Her Imperial Majesty The German Empress, Queen of Prussia. Hermine returned to Germany after Wilhelm died in 1941. After World War II, Hermine was held under house arrest at Frankfurt an der Oder in the Soviet Zone of Germany. She died at Paulinenhof, a Soviet internment camp near Brandenburg, Germany. She was buried at the Temple of Antiquities in Potsdam, Germany where Wilhelm’s first wife, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, and several other family members are also buried.
Unofficial Royalty: Hermine Reuss of Greiz, German Empress, Queen of Prussia

December 17, 1890 – Birth of Prince Joachim of Prussia, son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Joachim Franz Humbert
In 1916, Joachim married Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt and the couple had one son. After World War I and the fall of the German Empire, Joachim and Marie-Auguste divorced. Prince Joachim struggled to accept his status as a commoner and became greatly depressed. On the evening of July 18, 1920, he shot himself with a revolver at Villa Leignitz in Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, Germany. He was found by his elder brother August Wilhelm and taken to the Saint Joseph Hospital in Potsdam, where he died the following day.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Joachim of Prussia

December 17, 1909 – Death of King Leopold II of the Belgians at the Royal Palace of Laeken in Laeken, Belgium; buried at Royal Vault at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Leopold II was the second-born but first surviving child of King Leopold I of the Belgians. His father was born Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, uncle of both Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, so Leopold II was the first cousin of both Victoria and Albert. In 1853, he married Marie Henriette of Austria. They had three daughters and one son who died young. The marriage was not happy and the couple lived mostly separate lives. After the death of their only son, Leopold and Marie Henriette tried to have another son, but the result was another daughter Clémentine. The couple completely separated after Clémentine’s birth. Leopold II was the second monarch of Belgium and is known for his exploitation of the Congo Free State for his personal gain and the horrendous atrocities committed against the native people. When Leopold II died at the age of 74, he was so unpopular with the Belgian people that his funeral procession was booed.
Unofficial Royalty: King Leopold II of the Belgians

December 17, 2007 – Birth of James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex, son of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, England
Full name: James Alexander Philip Theo
As the eldest (and only) son of a Duke, James uses his father’s subsidiary title, Earl of Wessex. Under the terms of King George V’s Letters Patent of 1917, as grandchildren of the sovereign in the male line, they are Prince and Princess of the United Kingdom, with the style of Royal Highness. However, at the time of Edward and Sophie’s marriage, a press release was issued from Buckingham Palace. Along with announcing Prince Edward’s new title as Earl of Wessex, it stated that Queen Elizabeth II, with the agreement of Edward and Sophie, had decided that any children born to them should not be given the style of Royal Highness, but instead be given courtesy titles as children of a peer. In 2023, when his father was granted the title Duke of Edinburgh, James began to use his father’s secondary title Earl of Wessex.
Unofficial Royalty: James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex

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