© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld; Credit – Wikipedia

July 15, 1445 – Death of Lady Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots, wife of James I, King of Scots at Dunbar Castle in Scotland; buried at the Carthusian Charterhouse of Perth in Scotland
After the assassination of her husband James I, King of Scots, Joan married Sir James Stewart, known as the Black Knight of Lorne. Due to the many intrigues of the Scottish nobles, Joan was at Dunbar Castle for her protection. After a ten-month siege of Dunbar Castle, Joan died at around 41 years of age. She was buried beside her first husband James I, King of Scots in the Carthusian Charterhouse of Perth, which he had founded. On May 11, 1559, following a sermon by John Knox, a leader of the Scottish Reformation and the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the Carthusian Charterhouse in Perth was attacked by a mob of Protestant reformers. Everything was destroyed including the royal tombs and remains.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots

July 15, 1685 – Execution of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, an illegitimate son of King Charles II Of England by Lucy Walter, for treason at Tower Hill in London, England; buried at the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London in London, England
James was the eldest of Charles II’s illegitimate children. Sarah, Duchess of York, Princess Alice of Gloucester, Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons Prince William and Prince Harry are among his descendants.  James was convicted of treason for leading a rebellion against his uncle King James II of England. Apparently, he groveled at the feet of his uncle, begging for his life.  James was sent to the Tower of London and beheaded on Tower Hill on July 15, 1685.
Unofficial Royalty: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth

July 15, 1750 – Birth of Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany
Franz Friedrich Anton was the grandfather of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In 1777, Franz married Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf. They had nine children including Franz’s successor and Prince Albert’s father Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Queen Victoria’s mother Victoria, and Leopold, the first King of the Belgians. In 1775, Franz began a print collection that ultimately consisted of 300,000 prints. The collection can be visited at the Veste Coburg. Because of Franz, the family’s library had an extensive collection of books. Franz conducted an extensive renovation of the family castles. Walls, ditches, and towers were demolished and replaced by gardens and other green areas. In 1805, Franz bought back Schloss Rosenau which the family had been forced to sell in 1704 due to debts.
Unofficial Royalty: Franz Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

July 15, 1823 – Birth of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, son of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine, in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil
The Battenberg/Mountbatten family descends from Alexander and his morganatic wife Countess Julia von Hauke. Alexander had fallen in love with Julia Hauke, a lady-in-waiting to his sister Marie who had married the future Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. Although forbidden by Nicholas I, the current Emperor of All Russia, to marry, the couple married anyway as Julia was already pregnant with their first child. The marriage forced the couple to leave Russia, but the two were allowed to settle in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine. The marriage was viewed as morganatic and removed any future children from the Hesse and by Rhine line of succession. Julia was granted the title of Countess of Battenberg, a castle in Hesse and by Rhine. Eventually, the two regained some of their favor in Russia and Hesse and Hesse and by Rhine. Alexander and Julia had five children.  Through their son Louis, they are the ancestors of the British Royal Family and through their son Henry, they are ancestors of the Spanish Royal Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine

July 15, 1837 – Birth of Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Queen of Portugal, wife of King Pedro V of Portugal, in Krauchenwies, Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Stephanie Josepha Friederike Wilhelmine Antonia
In 1858, Stephanie married King Pedro V of Portugal. The marriage lasted a little more than one year. 22-year-old Stephanie died from diphtheria on July 17, 1859. Her husband, King Pedro V, was greatly saddened by his wife’s death and fell into a deep depression. He died of typhoid fever just two years later and was succeeded by his brother King Luís I.
Unofficial Royalty: Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Queen of Portugal

July 15, 1911 – Death of Louisa Montagu, Duchess of Manchester, Queen Victoria’s Mistress of the Robes 1852–1853, then Louise Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, after suffering a seizure during the races at the Sundown Park Race Course in Esher, Surrey, England; buried in the churchyard at St. Peter’s Church in Edensor, England, the traditional burial site of the Dukes of Devonshire and their families
Born Luise Friederike Auguste, Countess von Alten, the daughter of Karl Franz Viktor, Count von Alten, Louisa first married William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester. After his death, she married Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire.
Unofficial Royalty: Louisa Montagu, Duchess of Manchester

July 15, 1946 – Birth of Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei in Brunei Town, now called Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
On October 4, 1967, upon his father’s abdication, Hassanal Bolkiah became the 29th Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan (Head of State) of Brunei. He resides at Nurul Iman Palace, a massive place with nearly 1,800 rooms. According to Guinness World Records, it is the largest residential palace in the world, and the largest single-family residence ever built.
Unofficial Royalty: Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei

July 15, 1949 – Birth of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai in Al Shindagha, Dubai, Trucial States, now in the United Arab Emirates
Sheikh Mohammed became the Emir of Dubai in 2006 after the death of his brother Sheikh Maktoum. Of the seven rulers in the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed is the most widely known around the world. An avid fan of horse racing and breeding, he owns several major horse farms around the world. He is often seen at races in the United Kingdom, the most prominent being Royal Ascot, held each year in Windsor.
Unofficial Royalty: Rulers of the United Arab Emirates

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

Tsarevna Sophia Alexeievna, Regent of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

July 14, 1486 – Death of Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scots, daughter of King Christian I of Denmark and wife of James III, King of Scots, buried at Cambuskenneth Abbey in Scotland
Margaret, a popular queen, was described as beautiful, gentle, and reasonable. Many later historians called her far better qualified to rule than her husband. During the crisis of 1482, when her husband was deprived of power for several months, Margaret showed a greater interest in the welfare of her children than that of her husband, leading to the couple’s alienation. When Margaret died at the age of 30, there were suspicions that she had been poisoned by John Ramsay, 1st Lord Bothwell, a confidant of James III, although no evidence was found to support the charge. At the request of James III, Pope Innocent VIII commissioned an investigation of Margaret’s virtues and alleged miracles for possible canonization as a saint, but without result.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scots

July 14, 1602 – Birth of Cardinal Jules Mazarin, favorite of King Louis XIV of France, born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino in Pescina, Abruzzo Ultra, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy
Cardinal Mazarin was a favorite of King Louis XIV of France, and perhaps the most influential person in the French court at the time. Having served prominently in the court for several years during the reign of King Louis XIII, he was formally appointed Chief Minister by Queen Anne when she assumed the regency for her young son King Louis XIV, and Mazarin remained in that position until he died in 1661.
Unofficial Royalty: Cardinal Jules Mazarin, favorite of King Louis XIV of France

July 14, 1704 – Death of Tsarevna Sophia Alexeievna, Regent of Russia during the minority of her brothers Peter I and Ivan V, at Novodevichy Convent in Moscow, Russia; buried at the Smolensk Cathedral at the Novodevichy Convent
Regent of Russia for seven years during the early co-reign of her brother Ivan V and her half-brother Peter I (the Great), Tsarevna Sophia Alexeievna was the daughter of Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia and his first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. Because of her plotting against her half-brother Peter, Sophie was arrested, forced to give up her position as a member of the royal family, and forced to withdraw to the Novodevichy Convent under guard. Sophia was forced to become a nun under the name of Susanna. She remained in the strictest seclusion with the other nuns allowed to see her only on Easter.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia Alekseyevna, Regent of Russia

July 14, 1711 – Death by drowning of Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange while crossing the Hollands Diep, a wide river in the Netherlands; buried at the Grote of Jacobijnerkerk in Leeuwarden, Friesland now in the Netherlands
Johan Willem Friso became Prince of Orange in 1702, after the death of the childless Willem III, Prince of Orange who was also King William III of England. Johan Willem Friso married Marie Luise of Hesse-Kassel. They had two children including Willem IV, Prince of Orange. In July 1711, Johan Willem Friso traveled from the battlefields of the War of the Spanish Succession to The Hague to meet with King Friedrich I of Prussia about their succession dispute. To cross the Hollands Diep, a wide river in the Netherlands, Johan Willem Friso and his carriage traveled on a ferry. The captain had trouble with the sails and suddenly a great gust of wind filled the sails, the ferry capsized and Johan Willem Friso drowned at the age of 23 on July 14, 1711. His body was found floating in the river eight days later.
Unofficial Royalty:  Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange

July 14, 1824 – Death of Kamehameha II, King of the Hawaiian Islands, in London, England; buried at Mauna ʻAla (Fragrant Hills), the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii
While on a visit to London, England, Kamehameha II and the favorite of his five wives, Queen Kamāmalu, caught measles and died. They had no natural immunity because the people of the Hawaiian Islands had lived in isolation until their contact with Europeans.
Unofficial Royalty: Kamehameha II, King of the Hawaiian Islands

July 14, 1884 – Birth of Prince Adalbert of Prussia, son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, at Marmorpalais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Adalbert Ferdinand Berengar Viktor
During World War I, Adalbert served in the Prussian Navy, eventually taking command of the SMS Dresden in 1917. During this time, his family lived in Kiel, the home of the Prussian Navy. Following the end of the monarchy in November 1918, Adalbert left his family in Kiel and initially took refuge on his yacht. He soon moved to Bad Homburg, Germany where he purchased Villa Adelheidswert and was joined by his wife and children. Due to his wife’s health, they often traveled to Switzerland and eventually settled there permanently in 1928. They lived under the names Count and Countess von Lingen, keeping themselves out of the public and political realms and living a quiet and private life.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Adalbert of Prussia

July 14, 1933 – Birth of Franz, Duke of Bavaria, the current Head of the House of Wittelsbach, pretender to the former throne of Bavaria, and the current heir to the Jacobite Succession, in Munich, Germany
Full name: Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria
Unofficial Royalty: Franz, Duke of Bavaria
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

July 14, 1958 – Assassination of King Faisal II of Iraq in Baghdad, Iraq; Army of Iraq overthrows the monarchy; buried at the Royal Mausoleum in Adhamiyah, Iraq
On July 14, 1958, twenty-three-year-old Faisal II, the last King of Iraq, was assassinated at al-Rihab Palace in Baghdad, Iraq along with members of the Iraqi royal family and palace staff during the 14 July Revolution, also known as the 1958 Iraqi military coup. This ended the thirty-seven-year-old Hashemite monarchy in Iraq.
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Faisal II, King of Iraq

July 14, 1977 – Birth of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Sweden
Full name: Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée
In 1979, the Riksdag, the Swedish legislature, introduced an Act of Succession changing the succession to absolute primogeniture, meaning that the eldest child of the monarch, regardless of gender, is first in the line of succession. This Act of Succession became law on January 1, 1980, making Sweden the first monarchy to adopt absolute primogeniture. The previous 1810 Act of Succession allowed for only males to inherit the throne. Victoria’s brother Carl Philip was born Crown Prince in May 1979 and retained his title and first place in the succession for seven months until January 1, 1980, when his elder sister became Crown Princess and heir apparent.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

July 14, 1994 – Wedding of Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, daughter of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom, and Daniel Chatto, at St. Stephen Walbrook Church in London, England
The bride and groom met on a movie set.  He was an actor and she was a wardrobe assistant.  He was the son of an actor and a theatrical agent.  She was the daughter of a princess and the granddaughter of a king. He played a prince (one of her cousins) in a film.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones and Daniel Chatto

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

Caroline of Baden, Queen of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia

July 13, 1608 – Birth of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor in Graz, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria
In 1636, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor arranged for his son to be elected King of the Romans, ensuring he would be the next Holy Roman Emperor as Ferdinand III. On February 15, 1637, at the age of fifty-eight, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor died and his son was elected Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand III became Holy Roman Emperor at the beginning of the last decade of the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648) and had been commander-in-chief of the army since 1634. The Thirty Years’ War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, with an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians dying as a result of battle, famine, and disease. During Ferdinand III’s reign, the power of the Holy Roman Empire, which had increased during his father’s reign, declined.
Unofficial Royalty: Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Lower and Inner Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia

July 13, 1776 – Birth of Caroline of Baden, Queen of Bavaria, the second wife of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, in Karlsruhe, Margraviate of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Friederike Caroline Wilhelmine
Caroline and her family had numerous additional ties to the Russian, German, and Swedish thrones. She had a deep love of and talent for painting. On March 9, 1797, in Karlsruhe, shortly before her 21st birthday, Caroline married Maximilian, Duke of Zweibrücken (the future King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria). Maximilian was twenty years older than Caroline and had been widowed the previous year. In addition to the four surviving stepchildren from Maximilian’s first marriage, Caroline and her husband had seven children including two sets of twins. Caroline was the mother of two Queens of Saxony and a Queen of Prussia and the grandmother of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria.
Unofficial Royalty: Caroline of Baden, Queen of Bavaria

July 13, 1783 – Birth of August I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg at Schloss Rastede near Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Paul Friedrich August
In 1817, August married Princess Adelheid of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. They had two daughters including Amalie who married Prince Otto of Bavaria, later King of Greece. After his first wife died, August married two more times. August became Grand Duke of Oldenburg upon his father’s death in May 1829 and was the first ruler to formally use the title of Grand Duke. His reign saw the development of Oldenburg into one of the cultural centers of Germany, with August also promoting social causes along with the arts and sciences. However, he was unwilling to establish a Constitution, despite being obligated by the rules of the German Confederation. It was only in 1849, after the Revolutions of 1848, that he relented. August I died on February 27, 1853, at the age of 70, and was succeeded by his son Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg from his second marriage.
Unofficial Royalty: August I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

July 13, 1798 – Birth of Charlotte of Prussia, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, wife of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia, at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Friederike Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina
Name after marriage: Alexandra Feodorovna
Charlotte was the eldest of the four daughters and the third of the nine children of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Charlotte’s two elder brothers both became Kings of Prussia and the younger of the two brothers was the first German Emperor.  In 1817, Charlotte married Grand Nicholas Pavlovich of Russia, a brother of Alexander I, Emperor of Russia, who had no surviving children. Charlotte took the Russian name Alexandra Feodorovna and gave birth to seven children who would revive the Romanov dynasty. Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, the heir to the Russian throne, forfeited his rights to the Russian throne when he made a morganatic marriage. On December 1, 1825, 47-year-old Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia died and Charlotte’s husband became Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte of Prussia, Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia

July 13, 1807 – Death of Henry Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York and King Henry IX to the Jacobites, at the Episcopal Palace in Frascati, Italy, buried in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City
Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart was the younger of the two sons of James Francis Edward Stuart, The Old Pretender, who was the son of the exiled King James II of England/VII of Scotland.  In 1748, Henry was ordained a priest and then made a Cardinal-Priest.  He was created Cardinal-Bishop of the Diocese of Frascati near Rome in 1761. Henry became Dean of the College of Cardinals, who is often, but not necessarily, the longest-serving member of the whole College of Cardinals in 1803. Henry was a Cardinal for fifty-six years and is the longest-serving Cardinal in Roman Catholic Church history.  However, in modern times it is virtually impossible to become a Cardinal at the age of 22 as Henry did. With Henry’s death, the male line of the Royal House of Stuart was extinct. The Jacobite line of succession passed to King Carlo Emanuele IV of Sardinia through the line of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans, the youngest child of King Charles I of England. The Jacobite line of succession has proceeded over the years to the House of Savoy, the House of Austria-Este, and the House of Wittelsbach. It appears in the future, that it will proceed to the House of Liechtenstein.
Unofficial Royalty: Henry Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

July 13, 1840 – Death of Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Princess of Denmark, first wife of the future King Christian VIII of Denmark, in Rome, Italy; buried at the Teutonic Cemetery adjacent to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City
Charlotte Frederica was divorced from her husband after an alleged affair.  She was sent into exile and never again saw her son, the future King Frederik VII of Denmark. She finally settled in Rome where she converted to Roman Catholicism. She died in Rome in 1840, at the age of 55. Charlotte Frederica was buried in a tomb paid for by her son and created by the Danish sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau at the Teutonic Cemetery, a burial site adjacent to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City that had been dedicated to the German-speaking residents of Rome. On July 11, 2019, the tomb of Charlotte Frederica and the adjacent tomb of Princess Sophia of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Bartenstein were opened to search for the remains of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old who disappeared in 1983. Not only was there no sign of Emanuela’s remains, but the remains of Princess Sophia and Duchess Charlotte Frederica were missing. Vatican officials said they would research the burial records to discover what happened to their remains. It is possible that their remains were moved due to renovations at the end of the 1800s and again in the 1960s and 1970s.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Princess of Denmark
Unofficial Royalty: The Strange Case of the Tombs of Two 19th Century Princesses and a 20th Century 15-Year-Old Missing Girl.

July 13, 1842 – Death of Ferdinand-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, Prince Royal, Prince of Orléans, eldest son and heir of King Louis Philippe I of the French, in Sablonville, France due to a coach accident; buried at Royal Chapel in Dreux, France
In July 1842, Ferdinand was scheduled to leave on a trip to review French troops. Before he left on the trip, he planned to travel from the Tuileries Palace in Paris to nearby Neuilly-sur-Seine where his wife and two sons were staying. On July 13, 1842, Ferdinand left Paris in an open carriage. During the short trip, the horses became out of control and Ferdinand either jumped or was projected out of the carriage, resulting in a skull fracture. Despite the best attention of the doctors, 31-year-old Ferdinand died a few hours later, surrounded by family members who had rushed to the scene.
Unofficial Royalty: Ferdinand-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, Prince Royal, Prince of Orléans

July 13, 1861 – Birth of Maria Ana of Portugal, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, wife of Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg, at Schloss Bonnbach in Wertheim am Main, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Maria Ana do Carmo Henrique Teresa Adelaide Joana Carolina Inês Sofia Eulália Leopoldina Isabel Bernardina Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Francisca de Assisi and Paula Inácia Gonzaga
Maria Ana was the daughter of the deposed King Miguel I of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. She grew up mostly in Austria and Germany due to her father’s exile from Portugal. Despite the family’s status as ex-royalty, Maria Ana and her sisters all married well due in large part to the efforts of their mother. In 1893, Maria Ana married Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Maria Ana was Catholic and Guillaume was Protestant. They agreed that their children would be raised as Catholics because the majority of the population of Luxembourg was Catholic. The Grand Ducal Family has been Catholic ever since.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Ana of Portugal, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

Lady Mary Fox, aged 65, died on July 13, 1864, in London, England. Her husband Charles survived her by nearly nine years, dying at the age of 76, on April 13, 1873, in London. They are both buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, England.

July 13, 1884 – Birth of Caroline Reuss of Greiz, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, first wife of Wilhelm Ernst, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Caroline Elisabeth Ida
In 1903, Caroline married Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. The wedding was attended by the groom’s second cousin, Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia and his wife Augusta Viktoria, as well as his first cousin, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Hendrik. Caroline was against the arranged marriage, and it was only through the insistence of Wilhelm II and his wife Augusta Viktoria that she went through with the ceremony. They had no children.  Their marriage lasted less than two years. Caroline died on January 17, 1905, at just 20 years old. Officially, the cause of death was pneumonia, but there were many rumors that she died by suicide.
Unofficial Royalty: Caroline Reuss of Greiz, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

July 13, 1889 – Birth of Louise of Battenberg (later Lady Louise Mountbatten), Queen of Sweden, second wife of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, at Schloss Heiligenberg in Seeheim-Jugenheim, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany
Full Name: Louise Alexandra Marie Irene
Louise was the daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, the granddaughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and the maternal aunt of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In 1923, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden visited London and met Louise at a party. Gustaf Adolf had been a widower for three years following the death of his wife Margaret of Connaught, who was Louise’s first cousin once removed. The couple’s engagement was announced on July 1, 1923. They were married on November 3, 1923, in the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace in London. The marriage was a happy one, but unfortunately, they had a stillborn daughter in 1925 and no more children after that. In 1950, Louise’s husband became King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden upon the death of his father, and she became queen.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise of Battenberg, Queen of Sweden

July 13, 1957 – Birth of Princess Soamsawali of Thailand, 1st wife of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, born Soamsawali Kitiyakara at Guy’s Hospital in London, United Kingdom
Soamsawali’s father was the elder brother of Queen Sirikit, the wife of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. On January 3, 1977, nineteen-year-old Soamsawali married her twenty-four-year-old first cousin Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, the only son and the heir of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and his wife, Queen Sirikit, Soamsawali’s paternal aunt.  The couple had one daughter. Shortly after his first marriage, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn began living with Yuvadhida Polpraserth, a Thai actress. They had four sons and one daughter. Princess Soamsawali refused divorce for many years, but in 1993, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn sued for divorce in the family court. Despite the divorce, Vajiralongkorn and Soamsawali remain on cordial terms. Soamsawali was allowed to keep her title of princess and remain a member of the Thai royal family. In 2016, Vajiralongkorn became King of Thailand upon the death of his father. Soamsawali and her daughter continue to play a significant role in royal ceremonies and perform many duties on behalf of the Thai royal family.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Soamsawali of Thailand

July 13, 1966 – Death of Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Galliera, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at her estate El Botánico in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain; buried at the convent of the Capuchin Fathers at Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain
Full name: Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria
Beatrice was the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia. She married Infante Alfonso d’Orleans-Bourbon of Spain, the first cousin of Alfonso XIII, King of Spain who had married Beatrice’s first cousin Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. After the Spanish monarchy was overthrown, the country was thrown into the Spanish Civil War. Beatrice’s second son Alonso was killed in action during the Spanish Civil War, and the family lost their properties. Initially exiled to England, Beatrice and Alfonso eventually returned to Spain in 1937 and settled at a new estate El Botánico in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where they would live for the rest of their lives.
Unofficial Royalty: Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Galliera

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

Michael I, Tsar of All Russia, the first ruler of the House of Romanov; Credit – Wikipedia

July 12, 1122 – Death of Sybilla of Normandy, Queen of Scots, illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England, wife of Alexander I, King of Scots, on the Isle of Loch Tay, north of Kenmore, in Perthshire in the Highlands of Scotland; buried at the priory on the Isle of Loch Tay
In 1107, upon his accession to the Scots throne, Alexander I, King of Scots married the fifteen-year-old Sybilla. Alexander I and Sybilla’s father King Henry I were brothers-in-law as Henry I had married Alexander I’s sister Matilda (also known as Edith) of Scotland.  Sybilla and Alexander had no children. On July 12, 1122, Sybilla, aged around thirty, died on the Isle of Loch Tay (in Gaelic Eilean nam Bannaomh, Isle of Holy Women), north of Kenmore, a small village in Perthshire in the Highlands of Scotland. Alexander had erected a priory on the Isle of Loch Tay and granted it to Scone Abbey, which he and Sybilla had founded. It was at the priory on the Isle of Loch Tay that Sybilla died and was buried. Some sources say Sybilla was buried at Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, Scotland where her husband was buried.
Unofficial Royalty: Sybilla of Normandy, Queen of Scots, Illegitimate Daughter of King Henry I of England

July 12, 1596 – Birth of Michael I, Tsar of All Russia, the first ruler of the House of Romanov, in Moscow, Russia
In 1613, 16-year-old Michael became the first ruler of the House of Romanov when he was elected Tsar of All Russia by the Russian nobility. The nobles rejected several other candidates, and Michael became the consensus candidate. His ties to his great-aunt Tsaritsa Anastasia, first wife of Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible, and his grandfather Nikita Romanovich, a general, statesman, and courtier, made him popular with the Russian people and he had no ties to the noble families whose feuds had caused many problems. On July 22, 1613, in the Assumption Cathedral at the Moscow Kremlin, Michael’s coronation was held and the new ruling Romanov dynasty was founded.
Unofficial Royalty: Michael I, Tsar of All Russia

July 12, 1645 – Death of Michael I, Tsar of All Russia in Moscow, Russia; buried at Archangel Cathedral at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia
Michael had a horse accident when he was younger and the results of that injury plagued him for the rest of his life. By the time he was 30 years old, he was often carried around in an armchair. Michael I, Tsar of All Russia died at the age of 49 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin where many of the earlier rulers of Russia were buried. His wife Eudoxia Lukyanovna Streshneva survived him by only a few weeks, dying on August 18, 1645.
Unofficial Royalty: Michael I, Tsar of All Russia

July 12, 1651 – Birth of Margarita Teresa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress, the first of the three wives of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, at the Royal Alcazar in Madrid, Spain
Margarita Teresa was both first cousin and niece of her husband Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. Margarita Teresa and Leopold had four children but only one survived to adulthood. Weakened from six pregnancies in six years (four living childbirths and two miscarriages), and four months into her seventh pregnancy, Margarita Teresa died on March 12, 1673, at the age of 21, and was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna.
Unofficial Royalty: Margarita Teresa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress

July 12, 1663 – Birth of James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge, son of King James II of England, at St. James Palace in London, England
James, was the second son of James, Duke of York (later James II) and his first wife Anne Hyde.  Little James fell ill in April 1667 and died on June 20, 1667. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Unofficial Royalty: James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge

July 12, 1692 – Birth of Princess Maria Gabriele of Liechtenstein, the third cousin and first of the four wives of Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein, in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria
Maria Gabriele was the daughter of Hans-Adam I, the sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein who reigned 1684 – 1712. On December 1, 1712, in Vienna, twenty-year-old Maria Gabriele married twenty-two-year-old Josef Johann Adam, who became the sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein in 1721, after Maria Gabriele’s death. Sadly, after only eleven months of marriage, Maria Gabriele, aged twenty-one, died due to childbirth complications on November 7, 1713, while giving birth to her only child Prince Karl Anton of Liechtenstein who died in 1715.
Unofficial Royalty: The Four Wives of Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein

July 12, 1856 – Birth of Archduchess Gisela of Austria, daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, in Laxenburg, Lower Austria, Austrian Empire, the summer retreat of the Habsburgs
Full name: Gisela Louise Marie
In April 1873, Gisela married her second cousin Prince Leopold of Bavaria, son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria and Archduchess Augusta of Austria.  On September 10, 1898, Gisela’s mother Empress Elisabeth was assassinated when she was stabbed in the heart by the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni in Geneva, Switzerland. After her mother’s death, Gisela received 40% of her mother’s monetary assets and Achilleion Palace which her mother had built on the Greek island of Corfu to escape life at court
Unofficial Royalty: Archduchess Gisela of Austria, Princess of Bavaria

July 12, 1870 – Birth of Louis II, Prince of Monaco, at the home of his widowed maternal grandmother, born Princess Marie Amelie of Baden, in Baden-Baden, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Louis Honoré Charles Antoine
Louis was the only child of Prince Albert I of Monaco and Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton, and Princess Marie of Baden. Shortly after his birth, his mother left her husband and took Louis to the Grand Duchy of Baden where he was raised until the age of 11. He then returned to Monaco to begin preparing for his future royal role. Prince Louis was the grandfather of Prince Rainier III, who succeeded him.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis II, Prince of Monaco

July 12, 1905 – Birth of Prince John of the United Kingdom, youngest son of King George V of the United Kingdom, at York Cottage on the Sandringham Estate in Sandringham, England
Full name: John Charles Francis
For the first four years of his life, John appeared healthy, but at the age of four he suffered his first epileptic seizure, and his condition gradually worsened. Besides epilepsy, it is quite possible that John also had a mild form of autism. A household was set up for John at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate and John lived there under the care of his nanny Charlotte Bill who was called Lala, and several other staff members. A young girl named Winifred Thomas, who suffered from asthma and had been sent to the country to live with her aunt and uncle, was John’s companion. Winifred visited John nearly every day and the two went on walks and took care of the garden. Later in life, Winifred recounted John’s excitement at watching zeppelins passing over Sandringham in 1916 and his pleasure in meeting ‘a real, live soldier’, her father Sergeant Frederick Thomas who visited that same year. She also remembered his mother Queen Mary as a loving and interested parent who spent much time with her son. John’s grandmother Queen Alexandra also visited him often.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince John of the United Kingdom

July 12, 1959 – Birth of King Tupou VI of Tonga at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
King Tupou VI of Tonga is the current King of Tonga. He became king upon the death of his elder brother King George Tupou V on March 18, 2012.  King Tupou VI and his wife Queen Nanasipau’u were crowned in a ceremony conducted at Centenary Church in Nuku’alofa, Tonga on July 4, 2015. Many international guests attended and an estimated 15,000 people lined the roads.
Unofficial Royalty: King Tupou VI of Tonga

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

Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

July 11, 1238 – Birth of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales in Gwynedd, Wales
Dafydd ap Gruffydd was the last native and independent Prince of Wales from December 11, 1282, until his brutal execution on October 3, 1283, on the orders of King Edward I of England. Dafydd ap Gruffydd married Lady Elizabeth de Ferrers, daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby. Dafydd and Elizabeth had two sons and one daughter and all were ill-fated. After Dafydd’s brutal execution, King Edward I of England wanted to make sure that there were no more claimants to the Welsh throne. Dafydd’s two sons 15-year-old Llywelyn ap Dafydd and 7-year-old Owain ap Dafydd were imprisoned for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle in England. Much of the time they were kept in cages. Dafydd’s young daughter Gwladys ferch Dafydd was sent to the Sixhills Convent in Sixhills, Lincolnshire, England, where she spent the rest of her life, dying circa 1336.
Unofficial Royalty: Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales

July 11, 1274 – Birth of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots at Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland
Robert the Bruce is a Scottish national hero and was King of Scots during the First War of Scottish Independence. Robert de Bruis (or Brus), his birth name from his Norman ancestors, was popularly called Robert the Bruce. The Scots refused to tolerate English rule, resulting in the Wars of Scottish Independence, a series of military campaigns fought between Scotland and England, first led by William Wallace and after his execution, led by Robert the Bruce. Robert the Bruce as Earl of Carrick and 7th Lord of Annandale, held estates and property in Scotland, a barony and some minor properties in England, and a strong claim to the throne of Scotland. On March 27, 1306, Robert the Bruce was proclaimed Robert I, King of Scots.
Unofficial Royalty: Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots

July 11, 1657 – Birth of Friedrich I, King in Prussia in Königsberg, Duchy of Prussia, later in the Kingdom of Prussia, now Kaliningrad, Russia
Friedrich I, the founder of the Kingdom of Prussia and its first King, reigned from 1701 until 1713. Upon his father’s death in April 1688, Friedrich succeeded him as Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia. In November 1700, in exchange for supporting the Holy Roman Empire in the Spanish War of Succession, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor agreed to allow Friedrich III, Duke of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg to make Prussia a kingdom and become its first king.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich I, King in Prussia

July 11, 1723 – Birth of Karoline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt, Margravine of Baden, 1st wife of Karl Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach, later the first Grand Duke of Baden, in Darmstadt, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, now in Hesse, Germany
In 1751, Karoline Luise married the future Karl Friedrich, the first Grand Duke of Baden and they had four children. Karoline Luise’s numerous collections, including artwork, musical manuscripts, minerals, and other natural history artifacts, later formed the foundation for several museums in Karlsruhe.  After falling down some stairs in 1779, her health began to deteriorate. While in Paris, France with her son, she suffered a stroke and died.
Unofficial Royalty: Karoline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt, Margravine of Baden

July 11, 1766 – Death of Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Queen of Spain second wife of King Felipe V of Spain, at the Palacio Real de Aranjuez; buried at the Collegiate Church of the La Granja Palace in San Ildefonso, Spain
After the death of his first wife, Felipe V of Spain married Elisabeth in 1714, and they had six children. Felipe V experienced episodes of manic depression. During several periods, he was unable to handle government affairs and Elisabeth became the de facto ruler. As he grew older, Felipe V’s mental issues worsened and Elisabeth became the permanent de facto ruler of Spain. In 1746, Felipe V had a stroke and died a few hours later. Elisabeth’s stepson Fernando VI, King of Spain reigned for thirteen years. Fernando’s marriage was childless and when he died in 1759, Elisabeth’s elder surviving son succeeded his half-brother as King Carlos III of Spain. On July 11, 1766, aged 73, Elisabeth died at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez in Aranjuez, Spain.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Queen of Spain

July 11, 1866 – Birth of Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at the Neues Palais in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Irene Luise Maria Anna
Irene was the daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and her husband Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.  She married her first cousin Prince Heinrich of Prussia. Like her own mother, Irene was a carrier of hemophilia and passed it to two of her three sons. They were two of the nine descendants of Queen Victoria who suffered from the disease.
Unofficial Royalty: Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, Princess of Prussia
Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia in Queen Victoria’s Descendants

 July 11, 1867 – Death of Heinrich LXVII, 3rd Prince Reuss of Gera at Schloss Osterstein in Gera, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried at the Bergkirche St. Marien now in Schleiz, Thuringia, Germany
Upon the death of his unmarried brother Heinrich LXII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Gera on June 19, 1854, Heinrich LXVII became the 3rd Prince Reuss of Gera. His reign was reactionary to the failed German Revolutions of 1848 which had demonstrated discontent with the traditional, autocratic political structure of the thirty-nine independent states of the German Confederation. Heinrich LXII’s government implemented a reactionary amendment to the constitution limiting the legislature’s power.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich LXVII, 3rd Prince Reuss of Gera

July 11, 1914 – Death of Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in a private hospital in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany; buried in the New Crypt at the Johanniterkirche in Mirow, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
In 1908, Adolf Friedrich introduced a ministerial form of government but continued to meet resistance from the nobility when trying to make further reforms, such as the introduction of a new constitution. Thwarted at every attempt, in 1912 the Grand Duke offered to donate $2.5 million of his own funds to the national treasury and forfeit some of his sovereign rights, in exchange for a new constitution. But again, he was denied by the nobility. In January 1914, just months before his death, he was reported to be the second richest German sovereign, with a personal fortune of $88.75 million (over $2 billion today). In March 1914, the Grand Duke fell ill and underwent an operation in a private hospital in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg. He never fully recovered and died at the hospital.
Unofficial Royalty: Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

July 11, 1920 – Death of Eugénie de Montijo, Empress of the French, at Liria Palace in Madrid, Spain; buried in the Imperial Crypt at Saint Michael’s Abbey in Farnborough, England with her husband and her son
After her husband Napoleon III, Emperor of the French lost his throne, the family went into exile in England where Eugénie developed a friendship with Queen Victoria. Despite her advanced age, Eugénie was very active during World War I. She supported several hospitals in France and funded a military hospital in Farnborough, England. She also donated her yacht to the British Navy. For her contributions to the war effort, she was made a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 1919 by King George V. Eugénie died at the age of 94 while visiting relatives at the Liria Palace in Madrid, in her native Spain.
Unofficial Royalty: Eugénie de Montijo, Empress of the French

July 11, 2011 – Death of George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, son of Mary, Princess Royal and first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, at Harewood House near Leeds, England; buried at All Saint’s Church in Harewood, West Yorkshire, England
Lord Harewood had a deep interest in music, especially opera. He was editor of Opera magazine and director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He served as chairman of the board and musical director of the English National Opera and artistic director of the Edinburgh, Adelaide, and Leeds Music Festivals. Lord Harewood was the editor of two books about opera and the author of an autobiography, The Tongs and the Bones. During World War II, Lord Harewood served in the British Army with the Grenadier Guards. He was captured by the Germans and held as a prisoner of war.
Unofficial Royalty: George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood

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

William the Silent, Prince of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia 

July 10, 1086 – Murder of (Saint) Cnut IV, King of Denmark, at St. Alban’s Priory Church in Odense, Denmark; buried in front of the main altar of St. Alban’s Priory Church

Unofficial Royalty: (Saint) Cnut IV, King of Denmark

July 10, 1103 – Death of Eric I, King of Denmark in Paphos, Cyprus; buried at Chrysopolitissa Basilica in Paphos, Cyprus

Unofficial Royalty: Eric I, King of Denmark

July 10, 1451 – Birth of James III, King of Scots at Stirling Castle in Scotland
His birth date and birthplace are uncertain: either May 1452 at St. Andrew’s Castle or July 10, 1451 or July 20, 1451 at Stirling Castle. James III became King of Scots when he was nine years old. On August 3, 1460, his father 29-year-old James II, King of Scots was accidentally killed during the siege of Roxburgh Castle near the English border when a cannon nearby where he was standing exploded. As with the start of the reigns of James I and James II, Scotland once again had a child king. Mary of Guelders, the young king’s mother, served as the regent for her son until her death three years later. The remaining Scottish Stuarts, James IV, James V, Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VI, would also be child monarchs. James II’s death also continued the violent deaths of the Scottish Stuarts which started with the assassination of his father James I and continued with the deaths in battle of James III and James IV and the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Unofficial Royalty: James III, King of Scots

July 10, 1559 – Death of King Henri II of France from injuries suffered during a tournament at the Hôtel des Tournelles (now the Place des Vosges) in Paris, France; buried at Saint-Denis Basilica near Paris, France
King Henri II, at age 40, still liked to participate in tournaments even though he had been advised not to participate because of dizziness after physical exertion. On June 30, 1559,  Henri participated in what would be his last tournament.  Henri and Gabriel de Lorges, Comte de Montgomery, captain of the Scotch Guard jousted and Henri had been almost unseated from his horse. He insisted upon a rematch despite the urgings of his wife, the Duke of Savoy, and other friends to stop. The Comte de Montgomery reluctantly agreed to participate. de Montgomery’s lance struck the king’s helmet, splintered, and went through the visor going through the king’s right eye and his temple into the brain. The king was bleeding profusely and nearly unconscious. Henri’s wife Catherine d’Medici, desperate to find a way to cure her husband, had four criminals beheaded and then had splintered lances poked through the eyes at the same angle the lance had gone through Henry’s eye.  Henri’s condition continued to worsen.  On July 9, he was given the last rites and after suffering horribly for eleven days, Henri died, probably from a subdural hematoma and sepsis.
Unofficial Royalty: Henri II, King of France

July 10, 1584 – Assassination of Willem I, Prince of Orange (the Silent) at Prinsenhof in Delft, the Netherlands; buried at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange is known as the Vader des Vaderlands (Father of the Fatherland), and the Dutch national anthem, the Wilhelmus, was written in his honor. He got his nickname “the Silent” (in Dutch De Zwijger) not because he was quiet, but because of his habit of holding his tongue in difficult situations. Willem is the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau and the ancestor of the Dutch monarchs, the British monarchs from King George I forward, and other European royal families. Willem left the Roman Catholic Church and became a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. He was declared an outlaw by King Philip II of Spain, who offered 25,000 crowns to anyone who killed Willem. The assassin Balthasar Gérard went to the Prinsenhof, Willem’s home, announcing that he wanted to speak to Willem. He was told that Willem was at lunch and would speak to him afterward. Gérard went to his inn to get his pistols and returned to the Prinsenhof. Willem had finished his lunch and made his way to the stairs to his second-floor chamber where he worked and slept. Gérard, who had been hiding behind a pillar, jumped out and fired two shots, hitting Willem in the chest at close range. Willem collapsed and died instantly.
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Willem I the Silent, Prince of Orange
Unofficial Royalty: Willem I, Prince of Orange (the Silent)

July 10, 1867 – Birth of Prince Maximilian of Baden, Margrave of Baden, pretender to the former throne of the Grand Duchy of Baden and the Head of the House of Zähringen from 1928 until he died in 1929, in Baden-Baden, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg
Full name: Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Maximilian of Baden, Margrave of Baden

July 10, 1886 – Death of Duchess Agnes of Württemberg, Princess Reuss of Gera, wife of Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera, at Schloss Osterstein in Gera, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried at the Bergkirche St. Marien in Schleiz, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Thuringia, Germany
As Princess of Reuss-Gera, Agnes founded numerous organizations and institutes that bore her name, such as the Agnes School, a training institute for female servants in Gera, the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Gera. She was also an author and used Angelica Hohenstein as her pen name.
Unofficial Royalty: Duchess Agnes of Württemberg, Princess Reuss of Gera

July 10, 1953 – Birth of Princess Takamado, widow of Prince Takamado of Japan, born Hisako Tottori in Tokyo, Japan
Princess Takamado’s husband suddenly died of a cardiopulmonary arrest while playing squash with the Canadian ambassador. Although Princess Takamado was left a widow with three daughters, she continued her husband’s efforts to foster international goodwill. She has been extremely active with many charitable organizations involving sports, cultural exchange, and the environment, taking on all the positions formerly held by her late husband and many new positions. Princess Takamado often represents the Japanese Imperial Family at royal events in other monarchies.
Unofficial Royalty: Hisako Tottori, Princess Takamado

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

King Felipe V of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

July 9, 1511 – Birth of Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway, wife of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway, at Lauenburg Castle, Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, now in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Dorothea’s homeland, the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, was one of the first states of the Holy Roman Empire to accept the Protestant Reformation so Dorothea came to her marriage as a Lutheran. In 1525, in Lauenburg, fourteen-year-old Dorothea married the twenty-three-year-old future King Christian III of Denmark and Norway, son of Frederik I, King of Denmark and Norway.  Dorothea’s dowry of 15,000 guilders was considered extremely small. The groom’s father Frederik I, who had only reluctantly given his permission to the marriage, did not attend the wedding. Frederik I was the last Roman Catholic Danish monarch. All subsequent Danish monarchs have been Lutheran. Christian already had Lutheran views and, as King, would turn Denmark Lutheran. Perhaps, Frederik I’s refusal to attend his son’s wedding was due to religion and the small dowry.
Unofficial Royalty: Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway

July 9, 1746 – Death of King Felipe V of Spain, the first Bourbon King of Spain, born Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou; son of Louis of France, Le Grand Dauphin, and grandson of King Louis XIV of France, at El Escorial in Madrid, Spain; buried at Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso near Segovia, Spain
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 as 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 both had childless marriages. With his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Felipe had six children including his successor 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. Felipe died of a stroke at the age of 62.
Unofficial Royalty: King Felipe V of Spain

July 9, 1835 – Death of Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Countess of Mensdorff-Pouilly in Tuschimitz, Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic; buried in the park of Schloss Preitenstein, the family residence of the Mensdorff-Pouilly family, now in the Czech Republic
Sophie was the sister of Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, and an aunt to both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Countess of Mensdorff-Pouilly

July 9, 1836 – Birth of Sophia of Nassau, Queen of Sweden, wife of King Oscar II of Sweden at Biebrich Palace in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Sophia Wilhelmine Marianne Henriette
In 1857, Sofia married the future King Oscar II of Sweden and the couple had four sons. Queen Sofia was instrumental in establishing organized nursing schools in Sweden. A follower of Florence Nightingale, she learned much from a visit to the United Kingdom in 1881 and began her project upon returning to Sweden. In 1882, she arranged formal classes for nurses at the Sabbatsberg Hospital. Two years later, she opened the Sophiahemmet University College, and in 1889 it became the Sophiahemmet, a combined school for nurses and hospitals. When Queen Sofia died in 1913, she was the longest-serving Queen of Sweden, until surpassed in 2011 by Queen Silvia, wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Sofia is the last to hold the title of Dowager Queen. Queen Sofia is the ancestor of the current sovereigns of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia of Nassau, Queen of Sweden

July 9, 1857 – Birth of Friedrich II, Grand Duke of Baden in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leopold August
Friedrich became Grand Duke upon his father’s death in September 1907 and continued his father’s liberal policies. When the German Emperor abdicated in 1918, riots broke out throughout the German Empire, and Friedrich and his family were forced to flee Karlsruhe Palace, for Zwingenberg Castle in the Neckar valley. They then arranged to stay at Langenstein Castle, where Friedrich formally abdicated the throne of Baden on November 22, 1918.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich II, Grand Duke of Baden

July 9, 1863 – Death of Baron Christian Friedrich von Stockmar, advisor to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert from 1837-1847, in Coburg, the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried in the Stockmar family tomb at Glockenberg Cemetery in Coburg; later Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter Victoria, Princess Royal and her husband had a tomb erected for Stockmar in the Neo-Renaissance style
Unofficial Royalty: Baron Christian Friedrich von Stockmar

July 9, 1916 – Death of Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe, first husband of Princess Viktoria of Prussia, daughter of Friedrich II, German Emperor, King of Prussia and granddaughter of Queen Victoria, in Bonn, Kingdom of Prussia, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; buried in the family mausoleum in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe was the first husband of Princess Viktoria of Prussia (Moretta), a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1890, Prince Adolf met Princess Viktoria of Prussia, daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal, during a visit to Princess Marie of Wied, the mother of Queen Elisabeth of Romania. On November 19, 1890, he married Viktoria, known as Moretta, in Berlin. After an extended honeymoon in Egypt and Greece, the couple took up residence in the Palais Schaumburg in Bonn. Moretta had a miscarriage early in the marriage and the couple remained childless.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe

July 9, 1929 – Birth of King Hassan II of Morocco at the Royal Palace in Rabat, Morocco
From the 1960s to the late 1980s, Morocco’s human rights record was extremely poor. In Morocco, those years are known as the Years of Lead.  Thousands of dissidents were jailed, exiled, or disappeared. During this time, Morocco was one of the most repressive and undemocratic countries in the world. Due to pressure from other countries and human rights groups and the threat of international isolation, King Hassan began to gradually democratize Morocco. Political reforms in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a two-house legislature in 1997 and Morocco’s first opposition-led government came to power in 1998. On July 23, 1999, King Hassan II of Morocco died, aged 70, from pneumonia in Rabat, Morocco. Over forty heads of state and other dignitaries attended his funeral.
Unofficial Royalty: King Hassan II of Morocco

July 9, 1985 – Death of Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg at Fischbach Castle in Fischbach, Luxembourg; buried in the Ducal Crypt at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg was the sovereign from January 14, 1919, until November 12, 1964, when she abdicated in favor of her son Jean. During World War II, Germany invaded Luxembourg and Charlotte and her family spent most of the war in the United States. Charlotte returned to her homeland, and the family took up residence at Fischbach Castle, which had suffered significantly less damage than the other royal properties – Berg Castle and the Grand Ducal Palace. Her focus became rebuilding Luxembourg and bringing the tiny nation to a more prominent profile in Europe. Through the remainder of her reign, she entertained world leaders and paid visits to many others. Her efforts to gain Luxembourg a place on the world’s stage were successful.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

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

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Queen of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia

July 8, 975 – Death of King Edgar (the Peaceable) of England in Winchester, England, buried at Glastonbury Abbey in England
Most House of Wessex kings had a coronation at Kingston-on-Thames, the traditional site for Wessex coronations, St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury felt there was a need for a major ceremony similar to the coronations of the King of the Franks and the German Emperor. Dunstan wrote the order of service for Edgar’s coronation based upon ceremonies used by the Kings of the Franks and ceremonies used in the ordination of bishops. The main elements of the British coronation service and the form of the oath taken by the sovereign can be traced to the order of service devised by Dunstan for Edgar’s coronation. Although there have been revisions in the order of the ceremony, the sequence of taking an oath, anointing, investing of regalia, crowning, and enthronement found in the Anglo-Saxon text has remained constant.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edgar of England

July 8, 1332 – Death of Mary of Woodstock, daughter of King Edward I of England, at Amesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, England; buried at Amesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, England
The tenth child and sixth daughter of Edward I and his first wife Eleanor of Castile, Mary became a nun in 1285 and lived the rest of her life at the Benedictine convent at Amesbury, Wiltshire, England where she died and was buried in 1332.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary of Woodstock

July 8, 1617 – Execution of Leonora Dori Galigaï, favorite of Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France, at the Place de Grève in Paris, France
Leonora Dori Galigai and her husband Concino Concini, were favorites of Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France, the second wife of Henri IV, King of France. The behavior and policies of Concino and Leonora caused hatred among the French people. The French nobility had to deal with their power being weakened because Concino and Leonora’s Tuscan followers were given preference in the awarding of positions and privileges. The French common people resented the power of these Tuscans who had become masters of France. Henri IV’s son and successor, sixteen-year-old King Louis XIII, who detested Leonora and Concino, stepped up and asserted his position as King. In April 1617, he organized a coup d’état that resulted in the assassination of Concino. Soon after her husband’s death, Leonora was arrested, accused of witchcraft, tried, and found guilty. On July 8, 1617, at the Place de Grève in Paris, now the Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville, Leonora was beheaded, and then her headless body burned at the stake.
Unofficial Royalty: Leonora Dori Galigaï, favorite of Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France

July 8, 1640 – Birth of Henry Stuart, Prince of England, Duke of Gloucester, son of King Charles I of England, at Oatlands Palace, a Tudor and Stuart royal palace near Weybridge in Surrey, England
When Henry’s father King Charles I was deposed and beheaded during the English Civil War, Henry and his elder sister Elizabeth could not flee to France with their mother because they were not with her then. They remained in England under the care of the Parliamentarians and were moved from one residence to another. King Charles I was allowed to see 13-year-old Elizabeth and 8-year-old Henry before his beheading. Elizabeth died from pneumonia but Henry was eventually reunited with his mother Henrietta Maria in her native France. The monarchy was restored in 1660, and on May 23, 1660, King Charles II landed at Dover, England on his 30th birthday, accompanied by his brother Henry. There was a smallpox epidemic in London and twenty-year-old Henry became ill with the disease and died on September 13, 1660.
Unofficial Royalty: Henry Stuart, Prince of England, Duke of Gloucester

July 8, 1786 – Birth of Karl, Grand Duke of Baden at Karlsruhe Palace in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Karl Ludwig Friedrich
Karl became Grand Duke of Baden upon the death of his grandfather Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden in 1811. In 1806, Karl had married Stéphanie de Beauharnais. They had five children but their only son died within a week of his birth. In 1817, with no living male heirs, and only one unmarried uncle to succeed him, Karl formally gave dynastic rights to his half-uncles – the sons of his grandfather Karl Friedrich from his second, morganatic, marriage. This kept the Grand Ducal throne of Baden from passing to Karl’s brother-in-law King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. In 1818, Karl oversaw the passing of a new and much more liberal constitution.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl, Grand Duke of Baden

July 8, 1792 – Birth of Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Queen of Bavaria, wife of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, at Jagdschloss Seidingstadt, the summer residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Hildburghausen in Straufhain, Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Therese Charlotte Luise Friederike Amalie
Therese was included on a list of prospective brides for Napoleon I, Emperor of the French who was looking to marry into one of the old royal houses of Europe. However, the future King Ludwig I of Bavaria would become her husband. The couple met in December 1809 when Ludwig visited Hildburghausen and became engaged on February 12, 1810. After prolonged negotiations, primarily due to Therese’s unwillingness to convert to Catholicism, she and her family traveled to Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, for the marriage. Therese and Ludwig married on October 12, 1810, and celebrations were held for several days following at the Theresienwiese in Munich, a large outdoor space named in her honor. Theresienwiese is the site of Oktoberfest, held each year to commemorate the wedding.
Unofficial Royalty: Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Queen of Bavaria
Unofficial Royalty: Oktoberfest’s Royal Connection

July 8, 1824 – Death of Queen Kamāmalu of the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands, favorite the five wives of Kamehameha II, King of the Hawaiian Islands, in London, England; buried at Mauna ʻAla (Fragrant Hills), the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii
While on a visit to London, England, King Kamehameha II and the favorite of his five wives, Queen Kamāmalu, caught measles and died. They had no natural immunity because the people of the Hawaiian Islands had lived in isolation until their contact with Europeans.
Unofficial Royalty: Kamāmalu, Queen Consort of the Hawaiian Islands

July 8, 1827 – Birth of Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg  in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Nikolaus Friedrich Peter
After receiving his education, Peter served in both the Prussian and Hanoverian armies. In February 1852, he married Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg, the daughter of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Duchess Amelia of Württemberg. Peter became Grand Duke upon his father’s death in February 1853.
Unofficial Royalty: Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

July 8, 1848 – Birth of Roberto I, Duke of Parma in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy
Full name: Roberto Carlo Luigi Maria
Roberto I was the last Duke of Parma. As a not-quite-six-year-old, he succeeded his father who was assassinated, and then lost his throne five years later due to the Italian unification movement. Despite losing his throne, Roberto and his family had considerable wealth traveled in a private train of more than a dozen cars, and had several residences. Roberto is known for having 24 children, 12 from each of his two marriages. Among his children are Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma who married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar), Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma who married Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma who married Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg.
Unofficial Royalty: Roberto I, Duke of Parma

July 8, 1850 – Death of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, son of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Cambridge House, Piccadilly in London, England; originally buried in the Cambridge Mausoleum at St. Anne’s Church in Kew, London, England; the remains of Adolphus and his wife were reinterred in 1930 in the Royal Vault in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle at the instigation of their granddaughter Queen Mary
Adolphus was a paternal uncle of Queen Victoria and the grandfather of Queen Mary, wife of King George V, making him an ancestor of the current British royal family. Prince Adolphus died “of cramps in the stomach” at Cambridge House in Piccadilly, London at the age of 76. His niece Queen Victoria reported his death to her Uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians: “My poor good Uncle Cambridge breathed his last, without a struggle, at a few minutes before ten, last night.”
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge

July 8, 1853 – Death of Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach at Schloss Belvedere in Weimar, Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the Weimarer Fürstengruft in the Historical Cemetery in Weimar
After finishing his education, Karl Friedrich embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe. While visiting St. Petersburg in July 1803, Karl Friedrich met his future wife, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia. She was the daughter of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and his second wife Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg. They married in St. Petersburg, Russia on August 3, 1804, and had four children including Princess Augusta who married Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, German Emperor.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

July 8, 1859 – Death of King Oscar I of Sweden at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Oscar I’s health had never been strong and he began to suffer periods when he would fall silent in mid-sentence and then continue a minute later as if nothing had happened. By the early 1850s, these symptoms worsened and in 1852 he was forced to make a trip to the spa at Bad Kissingen in Bavaria in hopes of recovery. In the fall of 1852, he became ill with typhoid fever and it took a year for him to fully recover. He continued to have neurological symptoms and by 1857, it was suspected that Oscar had a brain tumor. By September 1857, Oscar was paralyzed and the doctors recommended that he be relieved of his duties, and his eldest son Carl was declared Regent. After Oscar’s death, an autopsy confirmed that he had a brain tumor.
Unofficial Royalty: King Oscar I of Sweden

July 8, 1996 – Death of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne from 1955 until his death, at Berg Castle in Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany; buried at the Wittelsbach cemetery at Andechs Abbey in Starnberg
Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria was Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne from 1955 until he died in 1996. He was the eldest surviving grandson of the last reigning King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, and also the heir to the Jacobite succession.
Unofficial Royalty: Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

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

King Talal of Jordan;  Credit – Wikipedia

July 7, 1307 – Death of King Edward I of England at Burgh-by-Sands, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Edward I may be best known for his relentless, but unsuccessful campaign to assert his overlordship over Scotland. It was resisted by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, (later King Robert I of Scotland) but it gave him one of his nicknames, “Hammer of the Scots,” which was inscribed on his tomb. In 1296, Edward I captured the Stone of Scone, an oblong block of red sandstone used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland. Edward had the Stone of Scone taken to Westminster Abbey, where it was fitted into a wooden chair, known as King Edward’s Chair, on which most subsequent English monarchs have been crowned. In 1996, 700 years after it was taken, the Stone of Scone was returned to Scotland. It is kept at Edinburgh Castle in the Crown Room alongside the crown jewels of Scotland (the Honours of Scotland) when not used at coronations. Ever the warrior, in the summer of 1307, Edward was on the way to Scotland, when the 68-year-old king died at Burgh by Sands in Cumbria, England.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward I of England

July 7, 1537 – Death of Madeleine de Valois, Queen of Scots, daughter of King François I of France and first wife of James V, King of Scots, at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland; buried at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland
Scotland wanted to strengthen their alliance with France.  The Treaty of Rouen was signed in 1517 and one of the provisions was for King James V of Scotland to marry a French princess. When King James V reached a marriageable age, talks began regarding a marriage with Madeleine.  However, Madeleine had tuberculosis but James V married her anyway. After months of celebrations in France, the couple arrived in Scotland on May 19, 1537,  but Madeleine’s health deteriorated. Madeleine wrote a letter to her father on June 8, 1537, saying that she was feeling better and that her symptoms had subsided.  Despite this, on July 7, 1537, Madeleine died from tuberculosis in her husband’s arms, a month short of her seventeenth birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Madeleine de Valois, Queen of Scots

July 7, 1683 – Death of Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel, Electoral Princess of Brandenburg, first wife of the future King Friedrich I in Prussia, in Berlin, Electorate of Brandenburg, now in Brandenburg, Germany; buried at the Berlin Cathedral
Elisabeth Henriette and Friedrich were first cousins and had known each other for most of their lives. Elisabeth Henriette’s mother encouraged and promoted the marriage which was a love match. Elisabeth Henriette, aged 22, contracted smallpox and died just weeks before her fourth wedding anniversary.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel, Electoral Princess of Brandenburg

July 7, 1718 – Death of Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, son of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia and his first wife Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina, at the Fortress of St. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia; buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg
Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, heir to the Russian throne, was the elder of the two sons of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia, and his first wife Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina. In 1711, 21-year-old Alexei married 17-year-old Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Alexei and Charlotte Christine had two children, Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna who died of tuberculosis at age 14, and Peter II, Emperor of All Russia who died of smallpox at age 14. Three days after giving birth to her son Peter, 21-year-old Charlotte Christine died from puerperal fever (childbed fever). In 1718, Alexei confessed to being involved in a plot to overthrow his father and implicated most of his friends. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to be executed. The sentence could be carried out only with Peter the Great’s signed authorization but Peter hesitated in making the decision.  28-year-old Alexei died at the Fortress of St. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg. His death most likely resulted from injuries suffered during his torture.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia

July 7, 1759 – Birth of Isabella Ingram-Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, born Isabella Anne Ingram in London, England
Isabella was the daughter of Charles Ingram, 9th Viscount of Irvine and Frances Shepherd. Charles Ingram was a prominent landowner and politician and served as a Groom of the Bedchamber to King George III from 1756 until 1763. She replaced Maria Fitzherbert, the long-time mistress of the Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, and was his mistress from 1807-1819.
Unofficial Royalty: Isabella Ingram-Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom

July 7, 1839 – Birth of Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, second wife of Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Baden-Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Feodora Victoria Adelheid
Feodora was the youngest child of Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Through her mother, she was the niece of Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

July 7, 1883 – Birth of Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia, son of Wilhelm I, German Emperor, at Marmorpalais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Wilhelm Eitel Friedrich Christian Karl
Eitel Friedrich married Duchess Sophie Charlotte of Oldenburg. The marriage was childless and never happy because Eitel Friedrich was continually unfaithful, and Sophie found it difficult to make friends in her new home. The couple was formally divorced on October 20, 1926. After World War I and the end of the German Empire, Eitel Friedrich remained active in monarchist circles and was an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia

July 7, 1972 – Death of King Talal of Jordan in Istanbul, Turkey; buried in a mausoleum at the Royal Cemetery, near Raghadan Palace within the Royal Compound (Al-Maquar) in Amman, Jordan
At the time of the assassination of his father King Abdullah I of Jordan in 1951, Talal was in a sanatorium in Switzerland being treated for a nervous breakdown. At first, it was unsure whether Talal would succeed his father due to his mental condition, but on September 5, 1951, he was proclaimed King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. On June 4, 1952, the Jordanian Cabinet announced that it was necessary to form a Regency Council because Talal’s condition had worsened despite the treatment. The Jordanian Parliament declared Talal mentally unfit on August 11, 1952, and proclaimed his eldest son Hussein King of Jordan. Talal died on July 7, 1972, in Istanbul, Turkey where he had spent the last years of his life in a sanatorium reportedly being treated for schizophrenia.
Unofficial Royalty: King Talal of Jordan

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

Sophie of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Baden;  Credit: Wikipedia

July 6, 1189 – Death of King Henry II of England at Chateau Chinon, in Chinon, County of Anjou, now in France; buried at Fontevrault Abbey near Chinon
By the time Henry II turned age 56 in 1189, he was prematurely aged. Two sons were left: Richard, the second son, the favorite of Henry II’s wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the heir since his elder brother’s death, and John, the youngest child and Henry’s favorite. King Philippe II of France successfully played upon Richard’s fears that Henry would make John King, and a final rebellion broke out in 1189. Decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from a bleeding ulcer, Henry retreated to his favorite residence, the Château de Chinon in Anjou. There he was told that John had publicly sided with Richard in the rebellion, and this broke his heart. Only his illegitimate son Geoffrey, Archbishop of York was at his father’s deathbed and it moved Henry to observe that his illegitimate son had proved more loyal than his legitimate sons. King Henry II of England died at the Château de Chinon on July 6, 1189, at the age of 56, and was succeeded by his son Richard. The late historical fiction author Sharon Kay Penman‘s excellently researched and highly recommended Plantagenet Series deals with Henry II and his family.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry II of England

July 6, 1553 – Death of King Edward VI of England at Greenwich Palace in London, England, buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
In January 1553, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI became ill with a fever and cough that gradually worsened. It is liekly that he had tuberculosis. By May 1553, the royal doctors had no hope that the king would recover. After great suffering, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI died on July 6, 1553, at Greenwich Palace. He had a Protestant funeral conducted by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and was buried in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey on August 8, 1553.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward VI of England

July 6, 1598 – Birth of Kirsten Munk, morganatic second wife of King Christian IV of Denmark, in Nørlund, Denmark
After the death of his wife  Anna Katharina of Brandenburg, 39-year-old Christian IV became attracted to 18-year-old Kirsten. Kirsten’s astute mother did not want her daughter to become Christian’s mistress and instead negotiated a morganatic marriage between Christian and her daughter due to Kirsten’s status as a noble. Kirsten received properties in her name and was assured of a widow’s pension. Christian and Kirsten were married on December 31, 1615, and Kirsten was not the Queen due to the morganatic marriage and was given the title Countess of Schleswig-Holstein. Despite Christian IV having affairs, he had a close relationship with Kristen who was described as intelligent and independent, and accompanied the king on his travels.
Unofficial Royalty: Kirsten Munk, Countess of Schleswig-Holstein

July 6, 1724 – Birth of Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein in Wischau, Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic
Full name: Johann Nepomuk Karl Borromäus Josef Franz de Paula
In 1732, eight-year-old Johann Nepomuk Karl became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein upon the death of his 42-year-old 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 business of government. However, when Johann Nepomuk Karl reached the age of 21 and took over the government, it appeared 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

July 6, 1789 – Birth of Maria Isabella of Spain, Queen of the Two Sicilies at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain, second wife of Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies
The daughter of Carlos IV, King of Spain, 13-year-old Maria Isabella married her 25-year-old cousin Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. Maria Isabella had a four-year-old stepdaughter from her husband’s first marriage. As a 15-year-old, Maria Isabella gave birth to her first child, followed by eleven more children over the next twenty-three years. Unusual for the time, all twelve survived childhood.  Maria Isabella was only 41 years old when her husband died in 1830 and despite being overweight, she was still attractive and had relationships with younger handsome servants. Maria Isabella wanted to marry again and her son Ferdinando II provided her with a list of acceptable young nobles as potential husbands. In 1839, 50-year-old Maria Isabella married 34-year-old Count Francesco del Balzo but he was not allowed to be at court with Maria Isabella. The couple withdrew from court and moved to the Royal Palace of Capodimonte in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Isabella of Spain, Queen of the Two Sicilies

July 6, 1796 – Birth of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia at Gatchina Palace near St. Petersburg, Russia
Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia was the third of the four sons and the ninth of the ten children of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. Because he had two, much older brothers, he was not expected to become Emperor. Nicholas’ eldest brother Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia had no surviving children and the second brother Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich was the heir to the throne. Grand Duke Constantine morganatically married Joanna Grudzińska. However, for Alexander I to approve the marriage, Constantine was required to forfeit his rights to the Russian throne in favor of his younger brother Nicholas.
Unofficial Royalty: Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia

July 6, 1829 – Birth of Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein at Augustenborg Palace in Augustenborg, Denmark
Full name: Frederik Christian August
In 1864, following the Second Schleswig War, the Duchy of Holstein and the Duchy of Schleswig became occupied territories of the German Confederation, and two years later, following the Austro-Prussian War, part of the new Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein. However, Prussia recognized Friedrich as the mediatized duke of these two duchies, with the rank and all the titles.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein

July 6, 1832 – Birth of Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico, born Archduke Maximilian of Austria, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph Maria
Maximilian was born an Austrian Archduke and was the brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. In 1861, Maximilian accepted the offer of becoming Emperor of Mexico. However, the liberal forces led by Benito Juárez, the former president deposed by the French, refused to recognize his rule. There was continuous warfare between the French troops and the forces of Juárez who wanted a republic. Maximilian was condemned to death by a court of war and was executed by a firing squad.
Unofficial Royalty: Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico

July 6, 1865 – Death of Sofia of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Baden, daughter of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and wife of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden, at Karlsruhe Palace Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; first buried in the Karlsruhe Stadtkirche, after World War II, her remains were moved to the Grand Ducal Chapel in the Pheasant Garden in Karlsruhe
As the wife of the  Grand Duke of Baden, Sofia was very conscious of her duty. She worked diligently, supporting her husband Leopold, and becoming involved in charitable organizations that helped those in need. Sofia maintained a strong interest in science and art, but it was politics that seemed to be her biggest interest. A prolific writer, she maintained extensive correspondence with relatives and friends throughout Europe and never hesitated to share her thoughts and opinions when it came to any sort of political situation whether in her own country or elsewhere.
Unofficial Royalty: Sofia of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Baden

July 6, 1868 – Birth of Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at Marlborough House in London, England
Full name: Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary
Victoria’s mother Alexandra was extremely possessive, demanded complete devotion from her children, and insisted that they call her Motherdear. Victoria’s sisters Louise and Maud escaped into marriage, leaving her at home as her mother’s constant companion. She had several suitors including Prince Adolphus of Teck, Sir Arthur Davidson, one of her father’s equerries, and Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery. Lord Rosebery was a former Prime Minister who had been widowed, and both he and Victoria would have liked to have married. However, Victoria’s mother actively discouraged her from marrying anyone. Instead, she remained a companion to her mother Queen Alexandra, and lived with her mother until 1925, when Queen Alexandra died. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, Toria’s first cousin, described her as little more than “a glorified maid.”
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom

July 6, 1893 – Wedding of Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V of the United Kingdom) and Princess Mary of Teck, at the Chapel Royal, St. James Palace in London, England
After the death of Mary’s first fiancé Prince Albert Victor, the eldest son of the future King Edward VII and the brother of Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V), Mary and George spent much time together. As time passed and their common grief eased, there was hope that a marriage might take place between them. George proposed to Mary beside a pond in the garden of his sister Louise’s home, East Sheen Lodge, on April 29, 1893. The engagement was announced on May 3, 1893, with the blessing of Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of King George V of the United Kingdom and Princess Mary of Teck

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.