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Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox; Credit – Wikipedia

March 7, 1226 – Death of William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, illegitimate son of King Henry II of England and his mistress Ida de Tosny, at his home, Salisbury Castle in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England; buried at Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
In 1196, William married a great heiress, Ela of Salisbury, 3rd Countess of Salisbury. Earlier in 1196, Ela’s father died and she succeeded him as 3rd Countess of Salisbury in her own right. After the marriage, William became the 3rd Earl of Salisbury by Jure uxoris, by right of his wife. William participated in military campaigns of his half-brothers King Richard I of England and King John of England. During King John’s troubles with the English nobles, William was one of the few nobles who was loyal to John. In 1225, returning to England from Gascony (now in France), William was shipwrecked off the coast of Brittany (now in France). He spent several months in a monastery on the French island of Île de Ré. Shortly after returning to England, William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, aged about fifty.
Unofficial Royalty: William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, Illegitimate Son of King Henry II of England

March 7, 1578 – Death of Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, daughter of Margaret Tudor and mother of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, in Hackney, London, England; buried in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Lady Margaret Douglas was the only child of Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots and the second of her third husbands, Scottish noble Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. She was third in the line of succession to the English throne at the time of her birth. Her elder son was Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley who married his first cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, the daughter and successor of Lady Margaret’s half-brother James V, King of Scots. Darnley and Mary’s son James VI, King of Scots succeeded as King James I of England upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Margaret and her family suffered the dangerous misfortune of being a threat to the English throne. All British monarchs from King James I onward, and many European royals are the descendants of Lady Margaret Douglas.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox

March 7, 1802 – Death of Marie Clotilde of France, Queen of Sardinia in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy; buried at the Church of Santa Caterina a Chiaia in Naples
Marie Clotilde was the daughter of Louis, Dauphin of France who predeceased his father Louis XV, King of France. Three of Marie Clotilde’s brothers were Kings of France: the ill-fated Louis XVI, and two kings of the Bourbon Restoration: Louis XVIII and Charles X. For political reasons, her brother Louis XVI arranged for her to marry the future Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia. Their marriage was childless. Marie Clotilde died from typhoid fever on March 7, 1802, aged 42. Pope Pius VII, who had personally known Marie Clotilde, declared her The Venerable Marie Clotilde of France in 1808. In the Catholic Church, after a deceased Catholic has been declared a Servant of God by a bishop and proposed for beatification by the Pope, they may next be declared Venerable (“heroic in virtue”) during the investigation and process leading to possible canonization as a saint.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie Clotilde of France, Queen of Sardinia

March 7, 1842 – Death of Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; buried in Schwerin Cathedral
In 1822, Paul Friedrich married Alexandrine of Prussia, the daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and the couple had six children. Paul Friedrich became Grand Duke upon his grandfather’s death on February 1, 1837. He moved the official Grand Ducal residence from Ludwigslust to Schwerin and worked to improve the Grand Duchy’s judicial system and the infrastructure. Using his experience with the Prussian military, the Grand Duke modernized the Mecklenburg-Schwerin military, basing many of his reforms on the Prussian forces. As his reign continued, he became more reclusive, often shunning his family and spending time quietly with his mistress. Paul Friedrich died on March 7, 1842, aged 41. Several weeks earlier, he had contracted a cold while helping to battle a great fire in Schwerin and never recovered.
Unofficial Royalty: Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

March 7, 1930 – Birth of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, husband of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom (divorced 1978), in London, England
Full name: Antony Charles Robert
Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon was a gifted artist and photographer. In 1960, he married Princess Margaret, King George VI’s younger daughter and Queen Elizabeth II’s sister. The couple had two children. The marriage, while happy at the beginning, quickly turned sour. Both were rumored to have had affairs, and often battled publicly. After the couple’s divorce in 1978, Lord Snowdon remained close to the British Royal Family. Lord Snowdon married Lucy Mary Lindsay-Hogg (née Davies) and they had one daughter. This marriage would also end in divorce after it was revealed that Snowdon had fathered a son with another woman. At Princess Margaret’s funeral in 2002, he was among the leading mourners, alongside the couple’s two children, Queen Elizabeth II, and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. When Lord Snowdow died at the age of 86, his son David succeeded him as 2nd Earl of Snowdon.  His former sister-in-law Queen Elizabeth II and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, their sons Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, and their grandson Prince William attended the memorial service for Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon on April 7, 2017, at the Church of St Margaret in Westminster, London, England on the grounds of Westminster Abbey.
Unofficial Royalty: Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon

March 7, 1965 – Death of Queen Louise of Sweden, second wife of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, born Princess Louise of Battenberg, from 1917 Lady Louise Mountbatten, at Saint Göran Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga, Sweden
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. 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, when his father died, Louise’s husband became King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and she became queen. During the 1950s, Louise’s health began to suffer and she developed cardiac issues. Soon after she attended the Nobel Prize banquet in December 1964, her last public appearance, her health deteriorated. On March 4, 1965, Louise had a six-hour surgery to correct a severe circulatory disorder in the right leg as a result of changes in her aorta. Although the surgery went well, complications developed and the 75-year-old Louise died three days later.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Louise of Sweden (Lady Louise Mountbatten)

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John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; Credit – Wikipedia

March 6, 1052 – Death of Emma of Normandy, Queen of England, Norway, and Denmark at St. Mary’s Abbey in Winchester, England; first buried at the Old Minster in Winchester, England, in 1093 Emma’s remains were moved to Winchester Cathedral when the Old Minster was demolished
The eldest daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy, Emma was successively the wife of Æthelred II the Unready of England and Cnut the Great, King of Denmark, Norway, and England. She was the mother of English kings Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor.  In 1042, Emma’s son Edward the Confessor became King of England upon the death of his half-brother Harthacnut. Emma was present at Edward’s coronation on Easter, April 3, 1043, at the Old Minster in Winchester, England. Emma died on March 6, 1052, and was buried at the Old Minster in Winchester beside her second husband Cnut and their son Harthacnut. When the Old Minster was demolished in 1093, Emma’s remains were moved to Winchester Cathedral. They were among the remains in the labeled mortuary chests that rest on top of the choir screen. During the English Civil War, Winchester Cathedral was ransacked and the remains were scattered. The remains were returned to the mortuary chests but were mixed up. In 2012, an examination of the remains in the chests began. The examination included DNA testing, reassembly of the skeletons, and analysis to determine the sex, age, and other characteristics of the remains. In May 2019, it was announced that Emma’s remains were found in several chests.
Unofficial Royalty: Emma of Normandy, Queen of England, Norway, and Denmark

March 6, 1340 – Birth of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of King Edward III of England, at the Abbey of St. Bavon in Ghent, County of Flanders, now in Belgium
A younger son of King Edward III of England, John of Gaunt was a military leader and statesman and the father of King Henry IV of England. Due to his royal birth and marriages, he was one of the richest men of his time and was very influential during the reigns of his father King Edward III and his nephew King Richard II. As Duke of Lancaster, he was the founder of the House of Lancaster, whose members would become Kings of England after his death. All British monarchs since King Henry IV are descended from John of Gaunt, and most European monarchies are also descended from John. The Houses of Lancaster, York, and Tudor were all descended from John of Gaunt’s children.
Unofficial Royalty: John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster

March 6, 1725 – Birth of Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart, 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, at the Palazzo Muti in Rome, Italy
Full name: Henry Benedict Thomas Edward Maria Clement Francis Xavier
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: Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

March 6, 1823 – Birth of King Karl I of Württemberg in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Karl Friedrich Alexander
In 1846, Karl married Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, the daughter of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. The marriage appeared to be happy, although possibly it was never consummated. By most accounts, Karl was homosexual and enjoyed very close relationships with several men through the years. Karl and Olga adopted Olga’s niece, Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna. Karl became King of  Württemberg upon his father’s death in 1864. He was far more liberal than his father, and this was reflected in his actions. He restored the freedom of the press and universal suffrage. Although he sided with Austria during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, he soon entered into a treaty with Prussia, and would later fight alongside them in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
Unofficial Royalty: King Karl I of Württemberg

March 6, 1876 – Death of Louise Rasmussen, Countess Danner, former mistress and morganatic third wife of King Frederik VII of Denmark, in Genoa, Italy; buried at Jægerspris Castle in Jægerspris, Denmark
Louise, a dancer with the Danish Royal Ballet, became acquainted with the son of King Christian VIII, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, who had already divorced two wives. Louise and Frederik had a relationship during the 1840s. In 1848, Frederik’s father died and he succeeded to the Danish throne as King Frederik VII. Upon becoming king, Frederik wished to marry Louise but the government was not in favor of the marriage. In 1849, King Frederik VII signed a new constitution, changing the monarchy from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. The signing of the new constitution made Frederik so popular that the government permitted him to morganatically marry Louise Rasmussen. Louise was not queen consort and was officially styled as Countess Danner. The marriage appears to have been happy, but had much opposition and Louise was treated poorly in social circles. Frederik and Louise did not have any children. Frederik died in 1863 and Louise survived him by eleven years, dying in Genoa, Italy on March 6, 1874, at the age of 58. While King Frederik VII was buried at Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial place of the Danish Royal Family, Louise was not accorded a resting place near her husband. She was buried in a burial mound in the castle garden of her home Jægerspris Castle.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise Rasmussen, Countess Danner

March 6, 1896 – Birth of King Norodom Suramarit of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, then in the French Protectorate of Cambodia
Norodom Suramarit was the son of half-siblings, Prince Norodom Sutharot of Cambodia (1872–1945) and Princess Norodom Phangangam of Cambodia (1874–1944), both children of King Norodom Prohmbarirak of Cambodia but by different mothers. Norodom Suramarit, the father of King Norodom Sihanouk, reigned as King of Cambodia from 1955 -1960. His son King Norodom Sihanouk had been chosen over him to be king in 1941 but abdicated in 1955 so he could directly participate in politics. The reign of King Suramarit was peaceful due to the powerful political leadership and strict neutral policy of his son Prime Minister Norodom Sihanouk. King Norodom Suramarit, aged 64, died in 1960 after a long illness.
Unofficial Royalty: King Norodom Suramarit of Cambodia

March 6, 1903 – Birth of Empress Kōjun of Japan, wife of Emperor Shōwa of Japan, born Princess Nagako Kuni at her family’s home in Tokyo, Japan
Born Princess Nagako Kuni, she was the eldest daughter of Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni, a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army and a member from one of the branch houses of the imperial dynasty entitled to provide a successor to the throne of Japan by adoption. In 1924, she married the future Emperor Hirohito of Japan, now known by his posthumous name Emperor Shōwa. The couple had five daughters and two sons, including Emperor Akihito. In 1926, when Hirohito’s father Emperor Taishō died of a heart attack at the age of 47, Hirohito began his 62-year-reign as Emperor of Japan and Nagako became Empress of Japan. Empress Nagako performed her duties according to tradition. After her husband died in 1989, Nagako assumed the title of Empress Dowager and she remained in seclusion for the rest of her life due to her ill health. In 1995, she became the longest-living Dowager Empress of Japan, breaking the record of Empress Kanshi, who died in 1102. On June 16, 2000, at her home, the Fukiage Ōmiya Palace in Tokyo, Japan, Dowager Empress Nagako died at the age of 97. She is now known by her posthumous name Empress Kōjun.
Unofficial Royalty: Empress Kōjun of Japan

March 6, 1939 – Birth of Infanta Margarita of Spain, Duchess of Soria, daughter of Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona, sister of King Juan Carlos of Spain, in Rome, Italy
Full name: Margarita María de la Victoria Esperanza Jacoba Felicidad Perpetua y Todos los Santos
Margarita is the third of the four children of Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona (son of King Alfonso III of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg)  and Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Margarita has been blind since her birth. In 1972, Margarita married Carlos Zurita y Delgado, a medical doctor, and renounced her succession rights. The couple had two children. In 1989, Margarita and her husband created the Fundación Cultural Duques de Soria (The Duke and Duchess of Soria Cultural Foundation) based in the former Convent of Mercy in Soria, Spain. Margarita is also the honorary president of the Spanish delegation of UNICEF, the Fundación ONCE, the Spanish Heart Foundation, and the Spanish Federation of Hemophilia.
Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Margarita of Spain, Duchess of Soria

March 6, 1954 – Death of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, grandson of Queen Victoria, in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany; buried in the family cemetery in the forest of Schloss Callenberg in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany
Charles Edward’s father Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany died three months before he was born. Prince Leopold inherited hemophilia from his mother Queen Victoria. He died at age 30 from a fall that caused a cerebral hemorrhage. The hemophilia exacerbated by his injuries. At his birth, Charles Edward inherited his father’s title Duke of Albany. In 1900, he became Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha upon the death of his uncle Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Edinburgh. In 1905, Charles Edward married Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. The couple had five children, including Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha who married Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, and is the mother of  Carl XVI Gustaf, the current King of Sweden. At the end of World War I, Charles Edward was deposed and signed a declaration relinquishing his rights to the throne. In 1933, he joined the Nazi Party. After the end of World War II, Charles Edward was placed under house arrest because of his Nazi sympathies. Several times Charles Edward faced trial for his alleged Nazi activities. In 1949, a denazification appeals court classified Charles Edward as a Nazi Follower, Category IV. He was heavily fined and almost bankrupted. Some of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha properties that were now in East Germany were seized. The family was left with Schloss Callenberg in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany and Schloss Greinburg an der Donau in Grein, Austria. Charles Edward spent the last years of his life in seclusion. He died of cancer at the age of 69 in his apartment on Elsässer Straße (Street) in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany.
Unofficial Royalty: Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

March 6, 1964 – Death of King Paul I of Greece at Tatoi Palace near Athens, Greece; buried at the Tatoi Royal Cemetery
A Greek great-grandson of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Paul was born on December 14, 1901, 11 months after Queen Victoria’s death and on the 40th anniversary of Prince Albert’s death. The future King Paul I of Greece was the son of King Constantine I of Greece and Princess Sophie of Prussia, the daughter of Queen Victoria’s eldest child Victoria, Princess Royal. Paul married Princess Frederica of Hanover, who was also a great-grandchild of Queen Victoria through Victoria, Princess Royal. They were the parents of Queen Sofia of Spain, the wife of King Juan Carlos of Spain, and Constantine II, the last King of Greece. In 1946, Paul ascended the Greek throne following the sudden death of his brother King George II.  After a state visit to the United Kingdom in July 1963, King Paul fell ill. He was later diagnosed with stomach cancer and died on March 6, 1964.
Unofficial Royalty: King Paul of Greece

March 6, 1999 – Death of Sheikh Isa II bin Salman Al Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain at the al-Sakhir Palace in Sakhir, Bahrain; buried at the Al-Rifa’a Cemetery in Bahrain
Isa became Hakim of Bahrain upon the death of his father in 1961. In 1971, Bahrain declared its independence from the United Kingdom and signed a new treaty of friendship with the United Kingdom. Isa changed the title of the ruler of Bahrain to the Emir of Bahrain and appointed his brother Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa as the first Prime Minister of the newly sovereign country, the Emirate of Bahrain. Despite dissolving Parliament in 1975, and taking on absolute power, during his 38 years as Emir, Isa transformed Bahrain into a modern nation and it became an important financial center in the Persian Gulf area. On March 6, 1999, 65-year-old Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa died of a heart attack just minutes after concluding a meeting with the United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen.
Unofficial Royalty: Sheikh Isa II bin Salman Al Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain

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King Henry II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

March 5, 1133 – Birth of King Henry II of England in Le Mans, the capital of the County of Maine, now in France
Henry II was the eldest of the three sons of Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine, and Empress Matilda, the only surviving, legitimate child of King Henry I of England and Duke of Normandy. On Christmas Day 1126, King Henry I of England had gathered his nobles at Westminster where they swore to recognize Matilda and any future legitimate heir she might have as his successors. However, when Henry I died in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois quickly crossed from Boulogne (France) to England, seized power in England, and was crowned King Stephen of England on December 22, 1135. Empress Matilda did not give up her claim to England and Normandy, leading to the long civil war known as The Anarchy between 1135 and 1153. Eventually, Stephen and Matilda’s son Henry agreed upon a negotiated peace, the Treaty of Winchester, in which Stephen recognized Henry as his heir. Stephen died in 1154, and Henry ascended the throne as King Henry II, the first Angevin King of England.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry II of England

March 5, 1723 – Birth of Princess Mary of Great Britain, daughter of King George II of Great Britain, at Leicester House in London, England
In 1740, Mary married Friedrich II, the future Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. As Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, Friedrich became famous during the American Revolution as a supplier of thousands of Hessian soldiers who fought on behalf of the British. Mary and Friedrich had four sons and are the ancestors of six of the ten current European monarchs. The marriage was unhappy, and Friedrich reportedly abused Mary. The couple separated in 1754 on Friedrich’s conversion to Roman Catholicism. Mary’s father-in-law supported her as she did not wish to return to Great Britain because she believed it was her duty to remain in the place that God had placed her and ensure her sons would be brought up Protestant. In 1756, Mary moved to Denmark, to take care of the children of her sister Louisa of Great Britain (wife of King Frederik V above), who died in 1751. She took her children with her, who were raised at the Danish court, and married to Danish princesses. Her husband succeeded his father as Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in 1760. Mary was technically Landgravine consort for the last twelve years of her life, despite her estrangement from her husband. Mary died on January 14, 1772, in Hanau, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, now in Hesse, Germany, at the age of 48.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mary of Great Britain, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel

March 5, 1942 – Death of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia, son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia and Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, at the Schatzalp Sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland; initially buried at Waldfriedhof in Davos, Switzerland, his remains were transferred to the Mainau Palace Church, on Mainau Island in Lake Constance, Germany, on the estate of his nephew Count Lennart Bernadotte of Wisborg
Dmitri was one of the conspirators in the murder of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. He was exiled to Persia (now Iran), a move that most likely saved his life during the Russian Revolution. Dmitri’s half-brother Prince Vladimir Paley, his father Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Dmitri’s aunt by marriage and his former guardian, were murdered by the Bolsheviks. In addition, amazingly, Dmitri was a first cousin of both Nicholas II, the last Emperor of All Russia and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Dmitri participated in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm in the Equestrian Individual and Team Jumping events, placing ninth in Individual Jumping and fifth in Team Jumping. In 1926, Dmitri married the rich American heiress Audrey Emery. The couple had one son and divorced in 1937. It is believed that Dmitri’s ill health was caused by tuberculosis which he probably contracted around 1929. In 1939, Dmitri entered Schatzalp Sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland and he died there on March 5, 1942, at the age of 50. Because the sanatorium’s medical records were destroyed when the sanatorium was converted into a hotel in the 1950s, there is no definite cause for Dmitri’s death. Both tuberculosis and uremia have been cited.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia

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David II, King of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

March 4, 1238 – Death of Joan of England, Queen of Scots, wife of Alexander II, King of Scots, daughter of King John of England, at Havering-atte-Bower in Essex, England; buried at Tarrant Crawford Abbey in Dorset, England
Joan was the eldest of the three daughters and the third of the five children of King John of England and Isabella of Angoulême.  Joan’s father died when she was six years old, leaving his eldest son King Henry III, a nine-year-old, to inherit his throne. Five years later, marriage negotiations were occurring for Joan. Twelve years older than Joan, Alexander II, King of Scots was the only son of William I, King of Scots (the Lion), and became King of Scots in 1214 when he was sixteen. On June 21, 1221, at York Minster in York, England, eleven-year-old Joan married 23-year-old Alexander. Alexander’s court was dominated by his mother Dowager Queen Ermengarde, so Joan’s position was not strong. Joan and Alexander never had any children, which left Alexander without an heir, a major issue for any king. An annulment of the marriage was risky as it could provoke a war with England. While visiting England, Joan became ill and died in the arms of her brothers King Henry III and Richard, Earl of Cornwall on March 4, 1238, at the age of 27.
Unofficial Royalty: Joan of England, Queen of Scots

March 4, 1324 – Birth of David II, King of Scots at Dunfermline Palace in Fife, Scotland
The second and last monarch of the House of Bruce, David II, King of Scots is one of the longest-reigning monarchs of Scotland, having reigned for 41 years, 260 days. He was the only surviving son of Robert I, King of Scots (also known as Robert the Bruce) and his second wife Elizabeth de Brugh. In 1328, four-year-old David married seven-year-old Joan of the Tower, the youngest daughter of King Edward II of England and Isabella of France. David’s mother died in 1327 and upon the death of his father on June 7, 1329, five-year-old David succeeded to the Scottish throne. Joan died in 1362, at the age of 41, without giving her husband an heir. David married his mistress Margaret Drummond in 1364. He divorced her in 1370 on the grounds of infertility. However, Margaret successfully petitioned Pope Urban V to reverse the divorce because it seemed likely that David was infertile as his 34-year marriage to his first wife produced no issue. In the later years of his reign, David continued to pursue peace with England and worked to make Scotland a stronger kingdom with a more prosperous economy. David, aged 46, died unexpectedly in 1371. Because both his marriages were childless, David was succeeded by his nephew, the son of his half-sister Marjorie Bruce, who became Robert II, King of Scots, the first monarch of the House of Stewart.
Unofficial Royalty: David II, King of Scots

March 4, 1665 – Birth of Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, lover of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover, wife of the future King George I of Great Britain, in Stade, then part of the Swedish province of Bremen-Verden-Wildeshausen, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
The marriage of first cousins Sophia Dorothea of Celle and George, Electoral Prince of Hanover, the future King George I of Great Britain, was happy at first, but soon both George and Sophia Dorothea found affection elsewhere. George fell in love with one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting, Melusine von der Schulenburg, and Sophia Dorothea fell in love with her childhood friend Philip Christoph von Königsmarck. In 1694, Sophia Dorothea’s affair was revealed to her father-in-law and uncle Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. On the morning of July 2, 1694, after a meeting with Sophia Dorothea, 29-year-old Philip Christoph von Königsmarck disappeared from the Leineschloss in Hanover and was never seen again. It was widely believed he was secretly murdered that same day. Officially, Philip Christoph von Königsmarck is still a missing person.
Unofficial Royalty: Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Lover of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover

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Princess Maria of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

March 3, 1542 – Death of Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, illegitimate son of King Edward IV of England, at the Tower of London in London, England; buried at the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London
Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle was born sometime between 1461 and 1475 in Calais, then an English possession in France. He was the illegitimate son of King Edward IV of England and probably Elizabeth Lucy, also known as Elizabeth Wayte. Arthur grew up at the court of his father King Edward IV who died in 1483. When Arthur’s nephew King Henry VIII succeeded his father as King Henry VIII in 1509, Arthur became an Esquire of the Body, the personal attendant to the King. After the birth in 1537 of his only son, the future King Edward VI, King Henry VIII focused on obtaining for his son a clear path to the succession to the throne in any way he could. One way was to eliminate Plantagenet relatives who could claim the throne. On May 19, 1540, Arthur was suddenly arrested for his alleged part in the Botolph Plot, a conspiracy to hand over Calais, a territory in northern France ruled by England, to France. The plot was probably a ruse concocted by Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII’s chief minister. On May 19, 1540, Arthur was “accused of secret intelligence with Cardinal Reginald Pole” and “certain practices to deliver the town of Calais to Pole,” and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Arthur was confined in the Tower of England for two years until his innocence was proven, or perhaps until King Henry VIII had second thoughts about the so-called conspiracy. The night after hearing the news that he would be released, Arthur died from a heart attack.
Unofficial Royalty: Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, Illegitimate Son of King Edward IV of England

March 3, 1778 – Birth of Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of Ernst August, King of Hanover, Duke of Cumberland at the Altes Palais in Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Friederike Luise Caroline Sophie Alexandrine
In 1815, Frederica married her first cousin Prince Ernest Augustus of the United Kingdom, Duke of Cumberland, the son of King George III of the United Kingdom. Upon the death of Frederica’s husband’s brother King William IV of the United Kingdom, his niece succeeded to the throne as Queen Victoria. However, because the Kingdom of Hanover did not allow for female succession, Frederica’s husband succeeded him as King Ernst August I of Hanover, and she became Queen of Hanover. Frederica was only Queen of Hanover for a little less than three years. In April 1841, she fell ill and died two months later.
Unofficial Royalty: Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Hanover, Duchess of Cumberland

March 3, 1862 – Death of Augusta Reuss of Köstritz, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Schwerin, first wife of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; buried in the Schwerin Cathedral
In 1849, Auguste married Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II, and the couple had six children including Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Marie who married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia. Three years after giving birth to her youngest child, Auguste, aged 39, died on March 3, 1862. The cause of Auguste’s death is unclear. At that time, there were mentions of “heart disease associated with a bronchial ailment” and “fever.” It is quite possible that she died from tuberculosis, widespread at the time.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta Reuss of Köstritz, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

March 3, 1876 – Birth of Princess Maria of Greece, daughter of King George I of Greece, at the Royal Palace in Athens, Greece
In 1900, Maria married a maternal cousin Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia, the son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia and the grandson of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. The couple had two daughters. The marriage was never happy. Maria was not in love with her husband, despite his apparent devotion to her. She soon found excuses to leave Russia and spent more time in Greece and elsewhere in Europe. When World War I began, Maria was living in Harrogate, England with her two daughters and chose to remain there and not return to Russia. Her husband, like many in the Russian Imperial Family, was murdered by the Bolsheviks with three other Grand Dukes of Russia in January 1919, leaving Maria a widow. In 1920, Maria was able to return to Greece when her brother King Constantine I was brought back to power. She traveled aboard a Greek destroyer commanded by Admiral Pericles Ioannidis, and a romance developed. The couple married two years later in 1922. Maria, aged 64, died of a heart attack in 1940.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Maria of Greece, Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia

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Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

March 2, 1316 – Birth of Robert II, King of Scots at Paisley Abbey in Renfrewshire, Scotland
The first monarch of the House of Stewart, Robert II, King of Scots was the only child of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland and Marjorie Bruce, the daughter of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots. Fortunately, Robert II’s reign was more peaceful than previous reigns. Hostilities with England were renewed in 1378 and continued intermittently for the rest of Robert II’s reign. In 1384, when Robert II became senile, he left the kingdom’s administration to his eldest son John, Earl of Carrick, who succeeded him as Robert III, King of Scots.
Unofficial Royalty: Robert II, King of Scots

March 2, 1619 – Death of Anne of Denmark, Queen of England, wife of King James I of England, at Hampton Court Palace in Richmond, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
In 1589, Anne married James VI, King of Scots, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1603, James succeeded to the English throne upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England as King James I of England. Anne and James had seven children but only three survived childhood: Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales who died of typhoid fever, aged 18; Elizabeth who married Frederick V, Elector Palatine whose daughter Sophia of Hanover became heiress presumptive to the British throne under the Act of Settlement 1701 (Sophia’s son was King George I) and King Charles I of England who was beheaded during the English Civil War. When Anne’s son Henry Frederick died, it was a great tragedy for Anne and the entire nation. Anne could not bear to have Henry’s death mentioned and people were advised not to give her condolences. After her son’s death, Anne’s health began to deteriorate and she withdrew from social activities. By 1617, Anne’s condition became debilitating. Her surviving son Charles was often with her and was at her bedside when Anne died at the age of 44 from dropsy (edema).
Unofficial Royalty: Anne of Denmark, Queen of England

March 2, 1681 – Death of Isabel Stuart, daughter of King James II of England and his second wife Maria Beatrice of Modena, at St. James’s Palace in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England in the vault of her great-great-grandmother Mary, Queen of Scots
For most of her short life, Isabel was her parents’ only child and was fourth in line to the throne behind her father and her elder half-sisters Mary and Anne from her father’s first marriage. She moved down a place in the line of succession when her brother Charles Stuart, Duke of Cambridge was born in 1677. However, he lived for only one month, dying from smallpox. In 1678, Isabel was joined by another sister, Elizabeth, who was also short-lived. Isabel died on March 2, 1681, five months before her fifth birthday, at St. James’s Palace in London while her parents were still in Scotland. Her father regretted that he “could not have the satisfaction of seeing and assisting her in her sickness.”
Unofficial Royalty: Isabel Stuart

March 2, 1835 – Death of Franz I, Emperor of Austria in Vienna, Austria; buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria
Franz was the son of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor) and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. Franz’s paternal grandparents were the formidable and powerful Empress Maria Theresa, who was in her own right Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, and Queen of Bohemia, and Francis Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Duke of Lorraine. Even though her husband was the nominal Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Theresa wielded the real power. Franz married four times but only his second wife Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily had children – a total of twelve children, before dying in childbirth. Upon his father’s death in 1794, Franz became Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor. During the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th-century, Holy Roman Emperor Franz II feared that Napoleon could take over the personal, hereditary Habsburg lands within the Holy Roman Empire, so in 1804 he proclaimed himself Emperor Franz I of Austria. As it turned out, Franz’s move was a wise one because the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806.
Unofficial Royalty: Franz I, Emperor of Austria

March 2, 1843 – Birth of Maria Clotilde of Savoy, Princess Napoleon, daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy, at the Royal Palace of Turin in Savoy, now part of Italy
Full name: Ludovica Teresa Maria Clotilde
Maria Clotilde married Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte, son of Jérôme Bonaparte, the brother of Emperor Napoleon I, and Princess Catherine of Württemberg. Maria Clotilde was fifteen and Napoléon-Jérôme was 37. Maria Clotilde was not impressed by her portly, anti-clerical liberal fiancé. Her innocence, piety, and sense of duty clashed with Napoléon-Jérôme’s love of wine, women, and food. Several years after the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870, Maria Clotilde and her husband quietly separated and she returned to Turin, Italy with her daughter. Maria Clotilde continued her life of devotion and charity after returning to Italy. She spent her final years at the traditional summer residence of the Savoy family, the Castle of Moncalieri in Montcalieri, a town located just outside of Turin.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Clotilde of Savoy, Princess Napoleon

March 2, 1854 – Death of Sir John Conroy, 1st Baronet of Llanbrynmair, Equerry to Queen Victoria’s father The Duke of Kent and Comptroller and Private Secretary to Queen Victoria’s mother The Duchess of Kent, at his home Arborfield Hall, near Reading, Berkshire, England
Conroy was a confidant and political agent to Victoria’s mother The Duchess of Kent. Together, they designed the Kensington System, an elaborate and strict system of rules for the upbringing of young Victoria, designed to make her dependent upon them in the hope of allowing them one day to wield power through her. Princess Victoria grew to hate Conroy, thanks to the oppressive system, and he was also unpopular among the rest of the British royal family. When Victoria became Queen, she immediately dismissed Conroy from her household but she could not dismiss him from her mother’s household. However, she sent both her mother and Conroy off to a distant wing of the palace and cut off personal contact with them. After Conroy’s death, the Duchess of Kent finally agreed to have her financial accounts audited and acknowledged that significant funds were missing. She admitted that Conroy had swindled her and at the same time hurt her relationship with her daughter for his own benefit.
Unofficial Royalty: Sir John Conroy, 1st Baronet of Llanbrynmair, Comptroller and Private Secretary to Queen Victoria’s mother The Duchess of Kent

March 2, 1855 – Death of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia in Taganrog, Russia; buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in 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 give his approval to the marriage, Constantine was required to forfeit his rights to the Russian throne in favor of his younger brother Nicholas. Nicholas married Charlotte of Prussia (Alexandra Feodorovna), had ten children including Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia.  In 1855, Nicholas caught a chill, refused medical treatment, and developed pneumonia. Knowing he was dying, Nicholas retained his composure and said goodbye to his children and grandchildren. He blessed them and reminded them that they should remain friendly with each other. In the early afternoon of March 2, 1855, Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia died at the age of 58 at the Winter Palace.
Unofficial Royalty: Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia

March 2, 1916 – Death of Elisabeth of Wied, Queen of Romania, wife of King Carol I of Romania; buried beside her husband at the Cathedral of the Curtea de Argeş Monastery in Romania
In 1869, Elisabeth married Prince Carol I, born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who had been elected Ruling Prince of the United Principalities of Romania. They had one daughter,  Maria, born in September 1870. Maria died of scarlet fever in 1874, and Elisabeth never fully recovered from the loss of her only child. In 1881, the Romanian parliament declared Romania a Kingdom, and Elisabeth’s husband became King Carol I. A  patron of the arts, Elisabeth often hosted writers, composers, and musicians, and helped promote their works. Her true passion was writing. Under the pseudonym Carmen Sylva, she wrote hundreds of poems, plays, novels, short stories, and essays, and thanks to her fluency in several languages, published numerous translations of other works.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth of Wied, Queen of Romania

March 2, 2016 – Birth of Prince Oscar of Sweden, Duke of Skåne, son of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, at Karolinska Hospital in Solna, Sweden
Full name: Oscar Carl Olof
Prince Oscar’s elder sister Princess Estelle is second in the line of succession to the Swedish throne after her mother Crown Princess Victoria. In 1979, the Riksdag, the Swedish legislature, introduced an Act of Succession that changed the succession to absolute primogeniture, meaning that the monarch’s eldest child, regardless of gender, is first in the line of succession. This Act of Succession became law on January 1, 1980. The previous 1810 Act of Succession allowed only males to inherit the throne. Even after the birth of her brother Prince Oscar, Princess Estelle retains her place in the line of succession as the eldest child of Crown Princess Victoria who is the eldest child and the heir of King Carl XVI Gustaf.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Oscar of Sweden

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Caroline of Ansbach, Queen of Great Britain; Credit – Wikipedia

March 1, 1683 – Birth of Caroline of Ansbach, Queen of Great Britain, wife of King George II of Great Britain, at the Residenz Ansbach in Ansbach, Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline
In 1705, Caroline married George, Electoral Prince of Hanover, the future King George II of Great Britain. The couple had eight children and through their children’s marriages, George and Caroline are the ancestors of many European royal families including the British, Danish, Dutch, Greek, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish Royal Families. Caroline’s father-in-law succeeded to the British throne as King George I in 1714 upon the death of Queen Anne and Caroline’s husband became heir to the throne. In 1727, King George I died and his son succeeded him as King George II. Queen Caroline played a greater role in governmental affairs than any queen consort since the Middle Ages. In 1724, during the birth of her youngest child, Caroline sustained an umbilical hernia. She ignored the condition until it became acute in November 1737. Then she was bled, purged, and operated on, without anesthetic, but there was no improvement in her condition. Gangrene set in and she died at the age of 54.
Unofficial Royalty: Caroline of Ansbach, Queen of Great Britain

March 1, 1790 – Birth of Heinrich XIX, 3rd Prince Reuss of Greiz in Offenbach, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, now in Hesse, Germany
In 1817, Heinrich XIX succeeded his father as the 3rd Prince Reuss of Greiz. He married Princess Gasparine of Rohan-Rochefort and they had two daughters. When Heinrich XIX died in 1836 at the age of 46, his brother Heinrich XX became the 4th  Prince of Reuss of Greiz because he had no sons.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XIX, 3rd Prince Reuss of Greiz

March 1, 1792 – Death of  Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, also Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in Vienna, Austria; buried at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
Leopold was the ninth of the sixteen children and the third but the second surviving of the five sons of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in her own right. When Leopold’s father became Grand Duke of Tuscany, it was decided that the second son would inherit that title and territory. However, Karl Joseph, the second son, died from smallpox at the age of fifteen, and Leopold, the third son, became the surviving son and the heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In 1764, Leopold married Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain, daughter of Carlos III, King of Spain. The couple had sixteen children. Just days after Leopold’s wedding, his father suddenly died and Leopold became Grand Duke of Tuscany. Leopold was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1790 when his childless brother Joseph died. At that time, he abdicated the throne of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinand. After only seventeen months as Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II died suddenly on March 1, 1792, aged 44, in Vienna, Austria
Unofficial Royalty: Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany

March 1, 1865 – Death of Anna Pavlovna of Russia, Queen of the Netherlands, wife of King Willem III of the Netherlands, in The Hague, the Netherlands; buried at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
Anna Pavlovna was the daughter of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and his second wife, Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. In 1816, Anna Pavlovna married the future King Willem II of the Netherlands, then Prince of Orange. Anna and Willem had five children. Although Anna was interested in Dutch history and learned to speak Dutch, she was very homesick for her family and Russia. Anna became Queen of the Netherlands in October 1840 after her father-in-law’s abdication. She never connected with the Dutch public and was not a popular queen. She founded several orphanages in the Netherlands and did not meddle in politics. Anna’s husband Willem II died in 1849 and was succeeded by his son Willem III. Anna had disliked court life for years and during her son’s reign, she left it completely. Although she discussed returning to her native Russia, Anna stayed in the Netherlands. She died on March 1, 1865, at the age of 70.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna Pavlovna of Russia, Queen of the Netherlands

March 1, 1936 – Death of Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Grand Duchess of Russia, in Amorbach, Germany; first buried in the Ducal Mausoleum at the Glockenburg Cemetery in Coburg, Germany, in March 1995, her remains were moved to the Grand Ducal Burial Vault at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia
Victoria Melita was the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia. She married her first cousin Grand Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, but they divorced after seven years of marriage. After the divorce, she married her Romanov first cousin Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich. The couple had three children. Victoria Melita and Kirill escaped Russia soon after the abdication of their first cousin Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. They lived out their lives at Villa Edinburg, which later became known as the Kirill Palace, in Coburg, now in Bavaria, Germany, and at a villa in Saint-Briac, France. In February 1936, while attending the christening of her fifth grandchild, Victoria Melita suffered a stroke, and she died on March 1, 1936, at the age of 59.
Unofficial Royalty: Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Grand Duchess of Russia

March 1, 1955 – Birth of Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, second husband of Anne, Princess Royal, in Camberwell, London, England
Full name: Timothy James Hamilton
Timothy served on several Royal Navy ships as a navigating officer and then as a commander. From 1986-1989, he had his first staff appointment as Equerry to Queen Elizabeth II. An equerry must be a senior officer in the British Armed Services. Timothy also served in various posts in the Ministry of Defence. He retired from the Royal Navy in 2010 with the rank Vice Admiral. As the Queen’s Equerry, a combination secretary and personal attendant, for three years, Timothy learned the ways of the Royal Family. He often ate with the family, accompanied them on outings, cruised with them on the royal yacht, and made the formal introductions when important guests came to visit. Anne’s marriage to Mark Phillips was in trouble and Timothy caught her eye. However, it was not until 1989, when four of Timothy’s love letters were stolen from Anne’s briefcase at Buckingham Palace that the romance came to light. In the same year, Anne separated from her first husband, but the courtship with Timothy remained discreet. The couple was seldom seen together until Anne’s divorce became final in April 1992. Timothy and Anne married on December 12, 1992, at Crathie Kirk in Ballater, Scotland near Balmoral Castle, in a Church of Scotland ceremony.
Unofficial Royalty: Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Anne and Timothy Laurence

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King Ludwig I of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia

February 29, 1868 – Death of King Ludwig I of Bavaria in Nice, France; buried at St. Boniface’s Abbey in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
In 1810, Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The wedding took place in a large outdoor space in Munich called the Theresienwiese. Named for his bride, Theresienwiese is the site for the annual Oktoberfest, held to commemorate the wedding. Ludwig became King of Bavaria upon his father’s death in 1825. However, in 1848, Ludwig’s reign came to an abrupt end. Facing protests and demonstrations by students and the middle classes, the King had ordered the university closed. Shortly after, crowds raided the armory on their way to storm the Munich Residenz. Ludwig’s brother Karl appeased the protesters, but the damage was done. The King’s family and advisors turned against him, forcing him to sign the March Proclamation, giving substantial concessions toward a constitutional monarchy. Unwilling to rule this way, King Ludwig I abdicated on March 20, 1848.  Ludwig spent the rest of his life in Bavaria, devoting his time to supporting and fostering the arts. He published several books of poems and translated several plays. On February 29, 1868, Ludwig died in Nice, France, aged 81, having survived his wife and five of his children.
Unofficial Royalty: King Ludwig I of Bavaria
Unofficial Royalty: Oktoberfest’s Royal Connection

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Mary, Princess Royal and Henry Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles (later 6th Earl of Harewood); Credit – Wikipedia

February 28, 1155 – Birth of Henry the Young King, son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, at Bermondsey Abbey in London, England
Henry’s elder brother died in 1156 at the age of two, leaving Henry as the eldest child of King Henry II. In 1160, five-year-old Henry was married to two-year-old Marguerite of France, the daughter of King Louis VII of France (who happened to be the first husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine) and his second wife Constance of Castile. The reason for the early marriage was political. Marguerite’s dowry included the disputed territory of the Vexin and King Henry II wanted to possess it. Marguerite and Henry had one son, who survived for only three days. When Henry was 15, his father adopted the French practice of ensuring the succession by declaring his heir the junior king and he was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Despite his rank of junior king, King Henry II refused to grant Henry land or allow him to participate in the government. With his mother and his brothers Richard (the future King Richard I of England) and Geoffrey, he nearly overthrew King Henry II in 1173. In 1182–83, Henry had a falling out with his brother Richard when Richard refused to pay homage to him on the orders of King Henry II. As he was preparing to fight Richard, Henry became ill with dysentery (also called the bloody flux), the scourge of armies for centuries, and died at the age of 28.
Unofficial Royalty: Henry the Young King

February 28, 1648 – Death of King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Having reigned for 59 years, Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark and one of the most beloved. In 1588, Christian IV succeeded to the throne at the age of eleven. He married Anna Katharina of Brandenburg in 1597 and the couple had six children. Christian had affairs and illegitimate children. After his wife’s death, he married 18-year-old Kirsten Munk, from a wealthy, untitled noble Danish family in 1615.  Kirsten was not the Queen due to the morganatic marriage and was given the title Countess of Schleswig-Holstein. Their ten children married into the Danish nobility, were styled Count and Countess of Schleswig-Holstein, and did not have succession rights. Christian IV and Kirsten’s stormy marriage ended in divorce in 1630, amid mutual allegations of infidelity and much bitterness. During his long reign, Christian IV, repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempted by military means to make the Kingdom of Denmark and Norway into a great power, especially during the Thirty Years War. However, his legacy would be his building projects and his cipher C 4 can be seen on many buildings in Denmark. Sensing he did not have a long time to live, Christian IV requested to be brought to his beloved Copenhagen. On February 21, 1648, he was carried in a litter from Frederiksborg Palace to Copenhagen. He died a week later, on February 28, 1648, at Rosenborg Castle, at the age of 70.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway

February 28, 1690 – Birth of Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, son of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia and his first wife Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina, at Preobrazhensky, Russia
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

February 28, 1823 – Birth of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin at Ludwigslust Palace in Ludwigslust, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
At the age of 21, Friedrich Franz succeeded his father Paul Friedrich as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He married three times: to Princess Auguste of Reuss-Köstritz (six children), Princess Anna of Hesse and by Rhine (one daughter), and Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (four children including Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin who married Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands). During his reign, which lasted over 40 years, Friedrich Franz II oversaw numerous reforms in the Grand Duchy, including improving the national hospital system, reforming the judicial system and the state church. Against the interests of his relatives in neighboring Mecklenburg-Strelitz, he issued a liberal constitution in 1849. While the constitution was repealed the following year, his efforts made him immensely popular amongst his people. Friedrich Franz II died in 1883 at the age of 61.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

February 28, 1912 – Birth of Prince Bertil of Sweden, Duke of Halland, son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
Full name: Bertil Gustaf Oskar Carl Eugén
Bertil was the son of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Margaret of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, who died before her husband became King of Sweden. Bertil served as an active naval officer. While serving as a naval attaché at the Swedish Embassy in London, Bertil met Welsh-born Lilian Craig (born May Lillian Davies) who was married to Scottish actor Ivan Craig. Bertil and Lilian soon became a couple, but their relationship remained a secret from the public for a long time. Craig was serving in World War II and when he returned home in 1945, the couple had an amicable divorce. At that time Bertil was third in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. By the time his father came to the throne in 1950, Bertil was now second in the line of succession. His elder brother Gustaf Adolf had been killed in a plane crash in 1947, leaving an infant son, Carl Gustaf, the future King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, the heir to the throne. With the likelihood of Bertil being called to serve as Regent for his young nephew, he and Lilian chose not to marry so that he could retain his position in the Royal Family. Bertil’s father died in 1973, and Bertil’s nephew became King Carl XVI Gustaf. The rules, as well as the times, were beginning to change. In 1976, King Carl Gustaf married a commoner, Sylvia Sommerlath, and soon after, he granted his formal permission for Bertil and Lilian to marry. The couple married on December 7, 1976, at the Drottningholm Palace Chapel in the presence of the king and the queen. Bertil and Lilian had no children. Prince Bertil, aged 84, died after several years of declining health. Princess Lilian survived her husband for sixteen years, dying in 2013, at the age of 97.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland

February 28, 1922 – Wedding of Mary, Princess Royal, daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom, and Henry Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles (later 6th Earl of Harewood) at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Mary’s eldest brother, The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII), knew Henry from World War I and greatly admired him. After meeting at the Grand National, an annual horse race, and a house party in 1921, Mary and Henry were continuously seen together, despite their fifteen-year age difference. They both loved horse riding and frequently attended hunts together. When Henry was invited to Balmoral and Sandringham, it was noted that there could be an engagement announcement soon. On November 20, 1921, Henry proposed to Mary at York Cottage, where he was staying while at Sandringham. The wedding of Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles was the first time a child of a monarch had married at Westminster Abbey since 1290 when Margaret of England, daughter of King Edward I, married John II, Duke of Brabant.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Mary, Princess Royal and Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood

February 28, 1941 – Death of King Alfonso XIII of Spain in exile at the Grand Hotel in Rome, Italy; buried first at the Church of Santa Maria di Monserrato in Rome, Italy; reburied in 1980 at the Monastery of San Lorenzo El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain
Alfonso is noteworthy because he became the King of Spain at birth. His father died while his mother was pregnant. In 1906, Alfonso married Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (Ena), the daughter of Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria’s youngest child.  He had decided to marry Ena despite the risk that she was a hemophilia carrier. Ena’s brother Leopold suffered from the disease. Alfonso and Ena’s marriage was strained from the birth of their first son Alfonso. Shortly after his birth, it was discovered that he was suffering from hemophilia. Of their children, only their oldest and youngest sons had the disease. Despite knowing the possible risk before they married, Alfonso blamed Ena for bringing the disease into the royal family and distanced himself from her. He had several mistresses and fathered at least 6 illegitimate children. In 1931, elections were held, resulting in the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. Alfonso and his family fled Spain, settling in France and then Italy. Soon after going into exile, Alfonso and Ena went their separate ways. He remained in Rome, while Ena settled in Switzerland. On January 15, 1941, feeling that his life was coming to an end, Alfonso formally abdicated in favor of his third son Juan, Count of Barcelona (the father of the future King Juan Carlos I of Spain). His two older sons had both renounced their claims to the throne in the early 1930s. Just weeks later, on February 28, 1941, King Alfonso XIII died at the Grand Hotel in Rome, Italy at the age of 54.
Unofficial Royalty: King Alfonso XIII of Spain

February 28, 1991 – Death of Prince Wenzel of Liechtenstein, son of Prince Franz Joseph II, brother of Prince Hans-Adam II, in Vaduz, Liechtenstein; buried in the Princely Crypt at St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein
The brother of Hans-Adam II, the current Prince of Liechtenstein, Wenzel was the youngest of the five children of Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein. He studied to become a doctor and worked in a hospital as an intern. On February 28, 1991, Wenzel, aged 28, died under unclear circumstances. The Princely Family of Liechtenstein kept silent and remains silent about the cause of death.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Wenzel of Liechtenstein

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Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland; Credit – Wikipedia

February 27, 1666 – Death of Luisa de Guzmán, Queen of Portugal, wife of King João IV of Portugal, in Lisbon, Portugal; buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
From a noble Spanish family, Luisa de Guzmán was the wife of João IV, the first King of Portugal from the Portuguese House of Braganza, and the mother of Catherine of Braganza, the wife of King Charles II of England.
Unofficial Royalty: Luisa de Guzmán, Queen of Portugal

February 27, 1752 – Birth of Heinrich XLII, 1st Prince Reuss of Gera in Löhma, County of Reuss-Schleiz, now in Thuringia, Germany
In 1779, Heinrich XLII married Princess Caroline of Hohenlohe-Kirchberg in Kirchberg an der Jagst. The couple had eight children but only three survived to adulthood. When Heinrich XLII’s father died in 1784, he became Count Reuss of Schleiz. In 1802, when Heinrich XXX, Count Reuss of Gera died without an heir, Heinrich XLII also became Count Reuss of Gera. In 1806, Heinrich XLII received the title of Prince from Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, and his two counties were raised to the Principality of Reuss-Gera or Reuss Younger Line and Heinrich XLII was then titled 1st Prince Reuss of Gera. Heinrich XLII, 1st Prince of Reuss of Gera died on April 17, 1818, aged 66.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XLII, 1st Prince Reuss of Gera

February 27, 1853 – Death of August I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in St. Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg
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 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

February 27, 1861 – Birth of Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, son of King Oscar II of Sweden, at Arvfurstens Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
Full name: Oscar Carl Wilhelm
In 1897, Carl married Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, a daughter of King Frederik VIII of Denmark. Carl and Ingeborg were the parents of Queen Astrid of Belgium and Crown Princess Märtha of Norway. They are the ancestors of the Belgian, Norwegian, and Luxembourg royal families. Both Carl and Ingeborg lived long lives. Carl died on October 24, 1951, at the age of 90. Ingeborg survived him by seven years, dying in 1958 at age 79.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland

February 27, 1998 – Death of The Honourable Gerald David Lascelles, younger son of Mary, Princess Royal and first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, in Bergerac, France; buried at All Saint’s Church in Harewood, West Yorkshire, England where his parents and brother are also buried.
Gerald was the younger son of Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood and Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom. Gerald married twice. He first married actress Angela Dowding in 1952. The couple had one son and divorced in 1978. Their marriage collapsed when Gerald left Angela to live with another former actress, Elizabeth Collingwood, whom he had known for 20 years and with whom he already had a son. Gerald was a race car driver, a director of the Silverstone Circuit, a car race track in Northamptonshire, England, and served as president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club from 1964 to 1991. He died on February 27, 1998, in Bergerac, France at the age of 73.
Unofficial Royalty: The Honourable Gerald Lascelles

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