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King Henri III of France;  Credit – Wikipedia

August 2, 1100 – Suspicious death of King William II Rufus of England in the New Forest in Hampshire and Wiltshire, England; buried at Winchester Cathedral in Winchester, England
On August 2, 1100, William II Rufus, King of England rode out from Winchester Castle on a hunting expedition to the New Forest, accompanied by his brother Henry, who succeeded William II Rufus as King Henry I of England, and several nobles. During the hunt, an arrow hit William Rufus in his chest, puncturing his lungs, and killing him. Was there a conspiracy? Read more at the link below.
Unofficial Royalty: Suspicious Death of William II Rufus, King of England
Unofficial Royalty: King William II Rufus of England

August 2, 1589 – Assassination of King Henri III of France by Jacques Clement at the Château de Saint-Cloud in Hauts-de-Seine, France; buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, near Paris, France
Jacques Clément was a fanatic Dominican monk who sided with the Catholic League. He planned to kill King Henri III of France who he believed to be the enemy of Catholicism because he gave some rights to the Protestant Huguenots. On August 1, 1589, Henri III of France was with his army at Saint-Cloud, preparing to attack Paris. Jacques Clément, carrying false papers, was granted access to deliver important documents to Henri III. After giving Henri III some documents, Clément told Henri that he had a secret message for him. Henri III asked his attendants to step back to give him privacy. Clément whispered in Henri’s ear while stabbing him in the abdomen. Henri’s guards immediately killed Clément.
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Henri III, King of France
Unofficial Royalty: King Henri III of France

August 2, 1849 – Birth of Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Parma, first wife of Roberto I, Duke of Parma, in Gaeta, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy
Maria Pia was the daughter of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Theresa of Austria. She was the first wife of Roberto I, Duke of Parma from 1854 – 1859 and titular Duke of Parma from 1859 until he died in 1907. As a not quite six-year-old, Roberto succeeded his father who was assassinated, and then lost his throne five years later due to the Italian unification movement. Maria Pia and Roberto had twelve children. Six of the children were mentally disabled, two died in infancy, and one was stillborn. Their eldest child Marie Louise married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar). The dangerous practice of close pregnancies and births – twelve children in thirteen years of marriage – made Maria Pia weak and sickly. At the age of 33, Maria Pia died of puerperal fever (childbed fever), a week after giving birth to her last child, a stillborn son.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Parma

August 2, 1858 – Birth of Queen Emma of the Netherlands, second wife of King Willem III of the Netherlands, born Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont at Arolsen Castle in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia
In 1877, Queen Sophie, the first wife of King Willem III of the Netherlands died, and Willem was eager to marry again to ensure the future of the House of Orange. One of his three children (all sons) had died and neither of the other two sons was married. At the suggestion of his only sister, he got in touch with the royal couple of Waldeck and Pyrmont, who had several marriageable daughters. In July 1878, Willem visited the family at their summer home where he met 23-year-old Princess Pauline and 20-year-old Princess Emma. His eyes first fell on Pauline, but soon he chose Emma and proposed to her. Willem was 61 years old, 41 years older than Emma. Emma had lessons in the Dutch language and history before her marriage because she wanted to come to her new country Dutch. The couple was married on January 7, 1879. Emma had a positive influence on Willem and their marriage was happy. Their only child Wilhelmina succeeded her father as Queen of the Netherlands.
Unofficial Royalty: Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen of the Netherlands

August 2, 1868 – Birth of King Constantine I of Greece in Athens, Greece
Constantine married a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Princess Sophie of Prussia, daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal. In 1913, Constantine’s father King George I of Greece was assassinated and he acceded to the Greek throne as King Constantine I. Due to much political turmoil, Constantine was forced to abdicate in 1917, restored to the throne in 1920, and then forced to abdicate a second time. He lived the rest of his life in exile.
Unofficial Royalty: King Constantine I of Greece

August 2, 1878 – Birth of Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, Princess of Sweden, daughter of King Frederik VIII of Denmark at Charlottenlund Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Ingeborg Charlotta Carolina Frederikke Louise
Ingeborg married Prince Carl of Sweden, son of King Oscar II of Sweden, and they were the parents of Queen Astrid of Belgium and Crown Princess Märtha of Norway. Belgian Kings Baudouin and Albert II, Norwegian King Harald V, and the late Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, the wife of the late Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg are all grandchildren of Carl and Ingeborg. The royal families of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Norway descend from Carl and Ingeborg.
Unofficial Royalty: Ingeborg of Denmark, Princess of Sweden

August 2, 1906 – Birth of Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha at Callenberg Castle in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Johann Leopold Wilhelm Albrecht Ferdinand Viktor
Johann Leopold was the eldest of the five children of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a grandson of Queen Victoria. Although the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha no longer existed, Johann lost his succession rights when he made an unequal marriage in 1932. His younger brother Friedrich Josias became Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha upon the death of their father in 1954.
Unofficial Royalty: Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

August 2, 1916 – Birth of Queen Zein of Jordan, wife of King Talal of Jordan and mother of King Hussein I of Jordan, born Zein al-Sharaf Bint Jamal in Alexandria, Egypt
Born Zein al-Sharaf bint Jamal, she married her first cousin Prince Talal bin Abdullah, the eldest son of the future King Abdullah I of Jordan. The couple had six children including King Hussein I of Jordan. In 1951, her husband became King of Jordan upon the assassination of his father King Abdullah I of Jordan. At the time of his father’s death, Talal was in a sanatorium in Switzerland being treated for a nervous breakdown. Zein held the power while the newly proclaimed King Talal was treated outside the country. The Jordanian Parliament declared Talal mentally unfit a year later and proclaimed his eldest son Hussein King of Jordan. Zein again took the reins of power when her son Hussein was proclaimed king, until May 1953, when he turned eighteen and assumed full constitutional duties. During the reign of her son, Zein was an influential figure behind the scenes.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Zein of Jordan

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King Alexander of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

August 1, 1402 – Death of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, son of King Edward III of England, at Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, England; buried at the Church of the Mendicant Friars in Kings Langley, England
As a son of King Edward III, Edmund participated in many military campaigns in France with his brothers. Edmund’s nephew succeeded his grandfather as King Richard II of England. At Richard’s coronation, Edmund carried the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Dove, also called the Rod of Equity and Mercy. In 1381, Edmund served as chief commissioner in his nephew’s marriage negotiations to marry Anne of Bohemia. In 1399, Edmund was acting as regent while his nephew King Richard II was in Ireland. Henry of Bolingbroke (King Henry IV), another nephew, the son of Edmund’s brother John of Gaunt, was planning to depose his cousin Richard. Edmund was prepared to oppose Henry but instead decided to make peace with him.  Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, age 61, died on August 1, 1402, at his birthplace and was buried with his first wife at the Church of the Dominicans at Kings Langley, England. Edmund’s tomb was moved to the Church of All Saints in Kings Langley in 1575, and can still be seen there.
Unofficial Royalty:  Edmund of Langley, Duke of York

August  1, 1691 – Death of Marie de Hautefort, favorite of King Louis XIII of France
Marie de Hautefort was a close confidante and favorite of King Louis XIII of France. She was also a close friend and prominent member of the household of his wife Queen Anne, the former Anne of Austria. Marie first met King Louis XIII through her grandmother’s position as a lady-in-waiting to Louis XIII’s mother and wife.  Marie had an on-again, off-again relationship with Louis XIII and his wife Anne, shortly before and then after the death of Louis XIII.  She left the French court permanently in 1644 and married Charles de Schomberg, Duke d’Halluin, a military leader. After her husband’s death, Marie returned permanently to Paris and resumed contact with the Dowager Queen Anne. The two continued to correspond until Queen Anne died in 1666.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie de Hautefort, favorite of King Louis XIII of France

August 1, 1714 – Death of Queen Anne of Great Britain at Kensington Palace in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Queen Anne suffered a stroke on July 30, 1714. She died at Kensington Palace on August 1, 1714, at the age of 49 after suffering another stroke. Her remains were buried at Westminster Abbey in a vault under the monument to George Monck, Duke of Albemarle in the Henry VII Chapel. Charles II, William III, Anne’s sister Mary II, and Anne’s husband George of Denmark were also buried in this vault. Anne had become so obese that her coffin was much larger than the other coffins in the vault. Electress Sophia of Hanover, the heir to the throne according to the Act of Settlement, had died on June 8, 1714, just six weeks before the death of Queen Anne, and so Sophia’s son became King George I and started the Hanover dynasty.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Anne of Great Britain

August 1, 1817 – Birth of Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe, now in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany
Full name: Adolf Georg
Adolf married his maternal first cousin Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont. The couple had eight children including Adolf’s successor Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe who married Princess Viktoria of Prussia, daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. On November 21, 1860, upon the death of his father Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumberg-Lippe, Adolf became the reigning Prince of Schaumberg-Lippe.
Unofficial Royalty: Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe

August 1, 1858 – Death of Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont, wife of Georg II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, in Pyrmont, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried in the Princely Mausoleum at Schloss Rhoden in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse
Emma married Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Emma survived her husband by thirteen years and was buried with her husband in the Princely Mausoleum at Schloss Rhoden in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. Emma was the grandmother of Princess Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont who became Queen of the Netherlands when she married King Willem III of the Netherlands. Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont was born the day after her grandmother died and was named in her honor.
Unofficial Royalty: Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont

August 1, 1893 – Birth of King Alexander I of Greece at the Tatoi Palace near Athens, Greece
Alexander was the second of the three sons of King Constantine I of Greece and Princess Sophie of Prussia, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. All three sons were Kings of Greece. Alexander was king for only three years. On October 25, 1920, King Alexander died after contracting septicemia from a monkey bite several weeks earlier.
Unofficial Royalty: King Alexander I of Greece

August 1, 1924 – Birth of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, then in the Sultanate of Nejd, now in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz was proclaimed the sixth King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on August 1, 2005, upon the death of his half-brother King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. Throughout his life, King Abdullah had a love of the desert and a love of horsemanship. He was a breeder of pure Arabian horses and the founder of the equestrian club in Riyadh. Another lifelong passion was reading which he considered very important. He established two libraries, the King Abdulaziz Library in Riyadh, and one in Casablanca, Morocco. King Abdullah died on January 23, 2015, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the age of 90, three weeks after being hospitalized for pneumonia. He was succeeded by his 79-year-old half-brother Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the current King of Saudi Arabia.
Unofficial Royalty: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

August 1, 2005 – Death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; buried at the Al-Oud Cemetery in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Upon the death of his half-brother King Khalid on June 13, 1982, Fahd became King of Saudi Arabia. In 1986, King Fahd adopted the title Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques replacing His Majesty, to signify an Islamic rather than a secular authority. In 1990, Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, placing the Iraqi army on the Saudi-Kuwaiti border. King Fahd agreed to host American-led coalition troops in Saudi Arabia and later allowed American troops to be based there. This decision brought him considerable criticism and opposition from many Saudis and his full brothers, the Sudairi Seven, who objected to the presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil. Many foreign dignitaries attended King Fahd’s funeral on August 2, 2005, including American Vice President Dick Cheney, French President Jacques Chirac, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Prince Charles of the United Kingdom, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Unofficial Royalty: King Fahd of Saudi Arabia

August 1, 2016 – Death of Anne of Bourbon-Parma, Queen of Romania, wife of former King Michael of Romania, at a hospital in Morges, Switzerland; buried at the Curtea de Argeș Cathedral in Curtea de Argeș, Romania
Anne was the wife of King Michael I of Romania, whom she married after he abdicated the throne. She was the daughter of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma and  Princess Margrethe of Denmark. On her father’s side, she was the niece of Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma (husband of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg) and Empress Zita of Austria (wife of Karl, the last Emperor of Austria). On her mother’s side, she was the great-granddaughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and therefore closely related to the royal families of Denmark, Greece, Russia, and the United Kingdom. It was not until 1992 that Anne first set foot on Romanian soil. Her husband was banned from the country, but Anne made several visits on his behalf. In 1997, the ban restrictions were lifted and some royal properties were returned to the royal family, including the Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest, which served as their primary residence when in Romania.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne of Bourbon-Parma, Queen of  Romania

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Maria Ana of Portugal, wife of Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg, with her six daughters; Credit – Wikipedia

 July 31, 1527 – Birth of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria
Maximilian married his first cousin Infanta Maria of Spain, the daughter of his uncle Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was also King Carlos I of Spain and Isabella of Portugal. The couple had fifteen children including two Holy Roman Emperors and two Queen Consorts (France and Spain).  Upon the death of his father Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, who was also King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia and Archduke of Austria, Maximilian succeeded as ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Holy Roman Emperor. During his reign, Maximilian had to deal with the ongoing Ottoman-Habsburg wars, conflicts with his Spanish Habsburg cousins, and the effects of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg officially ended the religious struggle between Lutherans and Catholics, and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing the rulers of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their state.
Unofficial Royalty: Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria

July 31, 1750 – Death of King João V of Portugal at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal; buried at the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon.
When João was nearly ten years old, his 32-year-old mother Maria Sophia of Neuburg died. His mother’s death caused changes in João’s behavior. He became withdrawn and depressed. His paternal aunt Catherine of Braganza, the widow of King Charles II of England, had returned to Portugal to live in 1693. Catherine took over caring for João and remained his main female role model until she died in 1705. In 1706, João’s father Pedro II, King of Portugal died and his 17-year-old son  João became King of Portugal. In 1708,  João married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, the daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. The couple had six children. In 1742, 52-year-old João had a stroke and became partially paralyzed. He recovered somewhat but was left diminished and much less energetic. His wife Maria Anna served as regent for the rest of his life. After a reign of forty-three years, João V, King of Portugal, aged 60, died on July 31, 1750.
Unofficial Royalty: King João V of Portugal

 July 31, 1737 – Birth of Princess Augusta of Wales, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales at St. James’ Palace in London, England
Augusta was the elder sister of King George III of the United Kingdom. She married Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, the future Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The couple had seven children including Caroline who married her first cousin, the future King George IV of the United Kingdom. (The marriage was a disaster.) Augusta never fully adapted to life in Brunswick nor was she well-liked. Any popularity she had was damaged by the fact that her three eldest sons were born with handicaps. Although Augusta reported to her brother King George III that her marriage was happy, it was actually unhappy. Karl found Augusta dull and preferred to spend time with his mistresses. After her husband was killed during the Napoleonic Wars and Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was occupied by the French, Augusta escaped to Sweden. Her brother King George III sent a British naval ship to transport his sister back home to England. Augusta lived in London with her daughter Caroline, Princess of Wales. Augusta got to know her granddaughter Princess Charlotte of Wales, who told her grandmother upon their first meeting “that she was the merriest old woman she ever saw.” Augusta died on March 23, 1813, at the age of 75.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Augusta of Wales, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

July 31, 1769 – Birth of Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham, Mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, born Elizabeth Denison
Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham was the last mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, from 1820 until he died in 1830. George IV was so devoted to her that he bequeathed her his plate and jewels, although she refused them when he died. He also provided housing at Windsor Castle and the Brighton Pavilion for Elizabeth and her family. He ensured that they traveled with him when he moved from one residence to the other. She was given full use of the King’s horses and carriages, and most of the large dinners held at her London townhouse were prepared in the kitchens of St. James’s Palace. To King George IV, nothing was ‘off limits’ for his beloved Elizabeth. However, it would all come to a quick end on the morning of June 26, 1830, when King George IV died at Windsor Castle. By the following day, Elizabeth had packed her belongings and left Windsor for her brother’s home before traveling to Paris, reportedly expelled from the country by the new King William IV.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham, Mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom

July 31, 1812 – Birth of Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil, second wife of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil (King Pedro IV of Portugal), in Milan, Lombardy-Venetia, now in Italy
Full name: Amélie Auguste Eugénie
Amélie was the daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais (son of Empress Jospéhine, the first wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, from her first marriage) and Princess Augusta of Bavaria. Because of a political and economic crisis, her husband Emperor Pedro I of Brazil abdicated his throne in favor of a daughter from his first marriage. Pedro, Amélie, and their daughter Maria Amélie returned to Portugal. Both Pedro and his daughter Maria Amélie died from tuberculosis.  Amélie financed the construction of a hospital to treat patients with lung diseases in Funchal on the island of Madeira in Portugal called the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélie which is still in existence. When Amélie died, the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélia was handed over to her sister Queen Joséphine of Sweden, and according to the terms of Amélie’s will, it is owned and administered by the Swedish Royal Family. King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden have visited the hospital.
Unofficial Royalty: Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil

July 31, 1816 – Birth of Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies, second wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, at Weilburg Castle near Vienna, Austria 
Full name: Maria Theresia Isabella
In 1836, Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies, wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died at the age of 23 from childbirth complications after giving birth to a son. The widowed king met Maria Theresa during his stay in Vienna, Austria later in 1836, and they became engaged to strengthen the relations between Austria and the Two Sicilies and married in 1837. Maria Cristina and Ferdinando had twelve children. Ferdinando died in 1859 at the age of 49 after hesitating to have surgery for a strangulated hernia. During Ferdinando II’s reign, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, began. During the reign of Ferdinando’s son Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Maria Theresa and her children left Naples and settled in Rome. In the summer of 1867, a cholera epidemic broke out in Rome.  Both Maria Theresa and her youngest son, ten-year-old Gennaro developed cholera and died from the disease.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies

July 31, 1924 – Death of Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg, son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, in Territet, Switzerland; buried in the Schaffhausen Forest Cemetery in Schaffhausen, Switzerland
The Battenberg/Mountbatten family descends from Franz Joseph’s parents Prince Alexander of Hesse and by the Rhine and his morganatic wife Countess Julia von Hauke. Franz Joseph married Princess Anna of Montenegro but the couple did not have children. During World War I, they found their financial situation more and more precarious and sometimes struggled to make ends meet. After 1920, they began to receive some financial support from Edwina Mountbatten, the wife of Franz Joseph’s nephew Louis Mountbatten, the future 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Until her death in 1960, Edwina continued to send money to Princess Anna. Prince Franz Joseph outlived all of his siblings.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg

July 31, 1942 – Death of Maria Ana of Portugal, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, wife of Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg, in exile during World War II in New York City; temporarily interred at Calvary Cemetery in Queens in New York City and then buried at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg after World War II
Maria Ana married Guillaume, the future Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The couple had six daughters including two reigning Grand Duchesses of Luxembourg. Maria Ana fled Luxembourg with her family when the German Army invaded in 1940. She died in New York City on July 31, 1942, of a stomach ailment and was temporarily interred at Calvary Cemetery in Queens in New York City. Her remains were later returned to Luxembourg and buried at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Ana of Portugal, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

July 31, 1993 – Death of Baudouin I, King of the Belgians in the Villa Astrida in Motril, Spain; buried at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
On July 31, 1993, King Bauduin died at Villa Astrida, his private retreat in Motril, Spain. Although King Baudouin had heart surgery in March 1992, his death from heart failure still came unexpectedly and sent Belgium into a period of deep mourning. He was succeeded by his brother King Albert II, who would reign for the next 20 years until he abdicated in favor of his son Philippe. Baudouin’s funeral was held at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels, Belgium, and attended by many royals from around the world. One notable guest was Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, who rarely attended royal funerals. Following the funeral, King Baudouin’s remains were entombed in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, the traditional burial site of the Belgian monarchs.
Unofficial Royalty: King Baudouin I of the Belgians

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Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of France; Credit – Wikipedia

July 30, 1126 – Death of Cecilia of Normandy, Abbess of Holy Trinity Abbey, daughter of King William I of England, at the Abbey of the Holy Trinity in Caen, Normandy, now in France; buried at the Abbey of Holy Trinity in Caen, Normandy
In early childhood, Cecilia was promised as a nun to the abbey her mother Matilda of Flanders founded, the Abbey of the Holy Trinity (also called the Abbaye-aux-Dames, Abbey of the Women), in Caen, Duchy of Normandy. Cecilia had a successful career at the abbey. In 1112, Cecilia became the Abbess of the Abbey of the Holy Trinity. Cecilia died on July 30, 1126, at the Abbey of the Holy Trinity and was buried at the abbey in the choir of the nuns, on the main axis of the church, opposite the choir of the laypeople where her mother Matilda of Flanders was buried. However, Cecilia’s grave is no longer accessible.
Unofficial Royalty: Cecilia of Normandy, Abbess of Holy Trinity Abbey

July 30, 1569 – Birth of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein at Valtice Castle in Valtice, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic
Karl I was the first Prince of Liechtenstein and the founder of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein. In 1590, Karl married Baroness Anna Maria von Boskowitz and Černahora. They had four children including Karl I’s successor Karl Eusebius. In 1592, Karl became the treasurer of Archduke Matthias of Austria, a future Holy Roman Emperor. Karl and his younger brothers were raised in the Evangelical Lutheran faith but they all converted to Catholicism in 1599. Karl’s younger brother Maximilian and his wife founded a Pauline monastery, and had the Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary built on the monastery grounds in the village of Vranov, then in Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. A crypt in the church served as the burial site for members of the House of Liechtenstein until the burial property was seized after World War II by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia. Since then, both Czechoslovakia and the current Czech Republic have refused to return the property to the Princely Family of Liechtenstein.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein

July 30, 1683 – Death of Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of France, wife of King Louis XIV of France, at the Palace of Versailles in France; buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France
Maria Theresa was the daughter of King Felipe IV of Spain and his first wife Elisabeth of France. As the Spanish monarchs at the time were part of the House of Habsburg, she was styled as Archduchess of Austria, as well as Infanta of Spain and Portugal. She was the first wife of King Louis XIV of France and gave birth to six children but only one, Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, survived childhood but he predeceased his father. At the end of July 1683, Maria Theresa fell ill, the result of an abscess in her left arm which was not treated correctly. Septicemia quickly set in causing her death.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of France

July 30, 1700 – Death of William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne of Great Britain, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Queen Anne had 17 pregnancies with only five children being born alive. Two died on the day of their birth, two died at less than two years old within six days of each from smallpox, and William, Duke of Gloucester died at age 11. Some modern medical experts feel that William had hydrocephalus, a condition in which there is an excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain. William celebrated his eleventh birthday at a party held at Windsor Castle. Jenkin Lewis, his servant, reported, “He complained a little the next day, but we imputed that to the fatigues of a birthday so that he was much neglected.” In the evening, William complained of a sore throat and chills. Two days later, he was no better and had developed a fever and was delirious. The doctors suspected smallpox, but no rash appeared, so they used the usual treatments of the time, bleeding and blistering, which no doubt, made William’s condition worse. The 11-year-old duke’s death was the major reason for the passage of the Act of Settlement in 1701 which gave the throne to Sophie, Electress of Hanover and her Protestant descendants. Upon the death of Queen Anne, William’s mother, Sophia of Hanover’s son ascended to the British throne as King George I.
Unofficial Royalty: William, Duke of Gloucester

July 30, 1769 – Birth of Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, husband of Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Friedrich Joseph Ludwig Carl August
While Friedrich was in the military, he showed no inclination to marry. In 1814, 45-year-old Friedrich met 44-year-old Princess Elizabeth, the third daughter and seventh of the fifteen children of King George III of the United Kingdom at a ball held at the British court. None of George III’s six daughters had been allowed to marry at the age when most princesses would marry. Eventually, three of the six daughters managed to get married. In 1818, Elizabeth read a letter from 48-year-old Friedrich, then Hereditary Prince of Hesse-Homburg to her mother asking to marry Elizabeth. Queen Charlotte was not easily persuaded to agree to the marriage and after heated discussions and interventions from several of Elizabeth’s siblings, the Queen agreed to the marriage. Using Elizabeth’s dowry and annual allowance, the couple built new roads in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, restored the castles in Bad Homburg and Meisenheim, and became involved in the care of the poor. Using seeds and seedlings from England, they created an English garden at Bad Homburg Castle.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg

July 30, 1833 – Birth of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
Karl Ludwig was the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I. In 1889, Crown Prince Rudolf died by suicide at his hunting lodge Mayerling. Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, had no sons, so the succession passed to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Franz Ferdinand. There have been suggestions that Karl Ludwig renounced his succession rights in favor of his son Franz Ferdinand. However, an act of renunciation was never formally signed and Karl Ludwig was never officially designated heir to the throne. He was only three years younger than Franz Joseph and not a realistic choice. When Karl Ludwig died in 1896, his son Ferdinand became the heir to his uncle’s throne.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria

July 30, 1872 – Birth of Princess Clémentine of Belgium, Princess Napoléon, daughter of Leopold II, King of the Belgians and wife of Prince Victor Bonaparte, the Bonapartist pretender to the French throne, at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Clémentine Albertine Marie Léopoldine
Clémentine was the third of the three daughters and the youngest of the four children of Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Archduchess Marie-Henriette of Austria. In 1869, when Leopold and Marie-Henriette’s only son Leopold died, King Leopold II blamed Queen Marie-Henriette for their son’s death. Little Leopold had fallen into a pond, caught pneumonia, and died. Hoping for a crown prince because only males could inherit the throne, Queen Marie-Henriette became pregnant again, but the long-awaited crown prince did not materialize as the child was a girl, Clémentine. Clémentine’s parents completely separated after her birth. In 1910, she married Prince Victor Bonaparte, the Bonapartist pretender to the French throne, and the couple had two children. On March 8, 1955, Clémentine died at the age of 82, at her home in Nice, France, the Villa Clairvallou.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Clémentine, Princess Napoléon

July 30, 1900 – Death of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Schloss Rosenau in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried in the Ducal Family’s mausoleum in Coburg Cemetery
Alfred’s father Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and elder brother, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom had both renounced their rights of succession to the throne of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, leaving Alfred as heir to childless his uncle Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The transition to his new position was not easy. The people were mostly against the idea of a British prince being their Duke even though his father was born a Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. However, Alfred was able to build up the people’s confidence in him and soon became quite popular.
Unofficial Royalty: Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

July 30, 1912 – Death of Emperor Meiji of Japan, at the Meiji Palace in Tokyo, Japan; buried in the Fushimi Momoyama Ryo (Graveyard) in Kyoto, Japan; his soul is enshrined in Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan
Since 1185, a shogun, a military dictator appointed by the Emperor had been the de facto ruler of Japan. In 1868, the last shogun lost power, and in the name and with the support of the young Emperor Meiji, a new, more Western-oriented upper class initiated the modernization of Japan known as the Meiji Restoration. Under Emperor Meiji’s reign, Japan started to become an industrial and naval power. The old feudal system was abolished and public state schools were introduced along with the Gregorian calendar. In 1890, the Emperor made the greatest contribution to the modernization of Japan with the enactment of a constitution. Emperor Meiji moved the capital of Japan from Kyoto to Edo (later Tokyo). Although he had little political power during his 45-year reign, he was an important symbol of the country’s unity. Emperor Meiji suffered from diabetes, nephritis, and gastroenteritis, and died of uremia at the age of 59.
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Meiji of Japan

July 30, 1936 – Birth of Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz, daughter of Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona, sister of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, in Cannes, France
Full name: María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos
In 1967, Infanta Pilar married Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada. The marriage was controversial because Luis was not royal and Pilar had to renounce her succession rights to the Spanish throne. Infanta Pilar was President of the International Equestrian Federation from 1994 – 2005. She was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1996 to 2006 and was then an Honorary member. She was also a member of the executive board of the Spanish Olympic Committee. Infanta Pilar died on January 8, 2020, at the age of 83 from colon cancer.
Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz

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King Umberto I of Italy; Credit – Wikipedia

July 29, 1672 – Birth of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Duc d’ Aubigny, an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England and Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, in London, England
Charles Lennox was an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom. After King Charles II died, Charles and his mother Louise went to France. Unsatisfied with his position at the French court and sure his position at the English court would be higher and that he would receive more revenue, 20-year-old Charles returned to England in 1692, during the reign of his first cousins, who reigned jointly as King William III and Queen Mary II. In 1692, Charles married Anne Brudenell, the daughter of Francis Brudenell, Lord Brudenell. The couple had two sons and one daughter. In 1683, the English colony of New York was divided into ten counties. Staten Island, now one of the five boroughs of New York City, and several minor neighboring islands, were designated as Richmond County, named after Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond. Still today, Staten Island is Richmond County, one of the counties of New York State.
Unofficial Royalty: Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and Lennox

July 29, 1735 – Death of Sophie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen in Prussia, third wife of Friedrich I, King in Prussia, at Schwerin Castle in Mecklenburg, Duchy of Mecklenburg Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; buried in the Schelfkirche St. Nikolai in Schwerin, Duchy of Mecklenburg Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Sophie Luise and her husband had no children. Being so much younger than her husband, and close in age to his children, Sophie struggled to find acceptance at the Prussian court. It did not help that her predecessor, Friedrich’s second wife Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, was greatly loved and admired by the Prussian people, and many saw Sophie Luise as a poor replacement. Sophie Luise became deeply religious but as time progressed, her devotion became obsessive and manic. During his final illness, her husband Friedrich awoke to find his wife standing before him, covered in blood and screaming at him. She had crashed through a glass door while running from her apartments to his, apparently to confront him in a fit of hysteria. Sophie Luise had no recollection of the event afterward and soon sent her husband back to Mecklenburg to be with her family. She lived the rest of her life with her widowed mother.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen in Prussia

July 29, 1787 – Birth of Sarah Lyttelton, Baroness Lyttelton, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria and Governess to the Royal Children, at Althorp in Althorp, Northamptonshire, England
 Born Lady Sarah Spencer, the daughter of George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer, she married Sir William Henry Lyttelton, 3rd Baron Lyttelton.
Unofficial Royalty: Sarah Lyttelton, Baroness Lyttelton

July 29, 1887 – Death of Marianne Skerrett, Head Dresser and Wardrobe-Woman to Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1862, at 41 Beaumont Street in Marylebone, London, England; burial unknown (Note: The depiction of Queen Victoria’s dresser in the series Victoria is completely false and an insult to the real person.)
Marianne Skerrett was born in 1793, so she was 44 years old when the 18-year-old Victoria became queen. She was intelligent, extremely well-read, and fluent in Danish, French, and German. Recommended to Queen Victoria by Louisa Petty-FitzMaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne, a Lady of the Bedchamber, Marianne became one of Queen Victoria’s two dressers in 1837 and eventually became head dresser. As the head dresser, Marianne oversaw the ordering of Queen Victoria’s clothing, shoes, hats, gloves, and undergarments. Marianne kept the wardrobe accounts and was diligent in checking all the bills to make sure no one tried to cheat Victoria. She was also responsible for supervising the hairdressers, dressmakers, and seamstresses who kept the royal wardrobe in good repair. After 25 years of serving Queen Victoria, Marianne retired in 1862 at the age of 69. She received a pension of £70 and went to live with her sister in the Marylebone section of London. Marianne Skerrett remained in contact with Queen Victoria, visiting her and writing to her, until she died in London, England on July 29, 1887, at the age of 94.
Unofficial Royalty: Marianne Skerrett

July 29, 1900 – Assassination of King Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Gaetano Bresci at Monza, Italy; buried in the Pantheon in Rome, Italy
On July 29, 1900, while visiting Monza, Italy, King Umberto I of Italy 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: Assassination of Umberto I, King of Italy
Unofficial Royalty: King Umberto I of Italy

July 29, 1981 – Wedding of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England
The Prince of Wales, later King Charles III, and Lady Diana Spencer were married on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. The Prince and Princess of Wales, separated in December 1992 and divorced in August 1996. Exactly a year later, Diana, Princess of Wales tragically died in a car accident in Paris, France.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer

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Carlo Alberto, King of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

July 28, 1684 – Death of Charlotte FitzRoy (Charlotte Paston, Countess of Yarmouth), the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England and his mistress Elizabeth Killigrew in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England

Charlotte’s second husband was William Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth. The Paston family is famous for the Paston Letters, a collection of letters between members of the Paston family and others written between 1422 and 1509. The letters are an important primary source of information about life in England during the Wars of the Roses and the early Tudor period. Charlotte died suddenly, aged thirty-four, on July 28, 1684, at her home in London and was buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte FitzRoy (Charlotte Paston, Countess of Yarmouth), Illegitimate Daughter of King Charles II of England

July 28, 1844 – Death of Joseph Bonaparte, former King of Spain and King of Naples in Florence, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence
Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, was King of Naples from 1806 – 1808 and King of Spain from 1808 – 1813 through the machinations of his brother. After the fall of Napoleon, Joseph spent his exile living in Switzerland, the United States (seventeen years total spent in New York City, Philadelphia, and New Jersey, where he had an estate, Point Breeze, in Bordentown, New Jersey, on the Delaware River), London, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany where he died and is buried.
Unofficial Royalty: Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain and King of Naples

July 28, 1849 – Death of Carlo Alberto I, King of Sardinia in exile in Porto, Portugal; buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy
In 1848, Carlo Alberto attempted to rid the Italian peninsula of Austria’s rule resulting in the First Italian War of Independence, part of the Italian Unification.  In 1849, Carlo Alberto abdicated in favor of his son Vittorio Emanuele II after his forces were defeated. On March 24, 1849, the day after his defeat, Carlo Alberto left the Italian peninsula and wound up in Porto, Portugal on April 19, 1849. During his travels to Portugal, he became ill with a liver condition. Although Carlo Alberto had coughing fits and two heart attacks, his doctors considered the liver condition more serious. After being in quite a serious condition, Carlo Alberto seemed to improve on July 28, 1849, but then his condition seriously deteriorated after a third heart attack. He was given last rites, fell asleep with a crucifix on his chest, and died at 3:30 PM at the age of 50.
Unofficial Royalty: Carlo Alberto I, King of Sardinia

July 28, 1852 – Birth of Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, wife of Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz, in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Ida Mathilde Adelheid
On October 8, 1872, 20-year-old Ida married 26-year-old Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz. Ida and Heinrich XXII had one son and five daughters. Their only son Heinrich XXIV would be unable to marry and be unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Heinrich XXIV would be nominally the 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz but two Regents from the House of Reuss-Gera (also called the Younger Line) successively ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz.
Unofficial Royalty: Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess Reuss of Greiz

July 28, 1860 – Birth of Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, wife of  Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, at Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia
In 1879,  Anastasia, the daughter of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia and the granddaughter of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia, married the future Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The couple had three children: Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IIV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Alexandrine who married King Christian X of Denmark, and Cecilie who married Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia. Anastasia had six brothers. Her brother Sergei was among the five other Romanovs murdered by the Bolsheviks along with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna on July 18, 1918. Two of her brothers, Nicholas and George, were among the four Grand Dukes murdered by the Bolsheviks on January 28, 1919.
Unofficial Royalty: Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

July 28, 1894 – Birth of Freda Dudley Ward, mistress of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, born Winifred May Birkin in Nottinghamshire, 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

July 28, 1952 – Birth of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand in the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall of the Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand
King Vajiralongkorn is the current King of Thailand. On October 13, 2016, upon the death his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand who had reigned for seventy years, it was announced that Vajiralongkorn would be proclaimed King of Thailand following a period of personal mourning. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn did not want to be immediately named king to give the nation time to mourn his father’s death. He was proclaimed King of Thailand on December 1, 2016. Coronation ceremonies for King Vajiralongkorn were held May 4 – May 6, 2019.
Unofficial Royalty: King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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King Otto of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Prince William, Duke of Gloucester; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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