© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Élisabeth of France, Queen of Spain and Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

October 6, 1644 – Death of Élisabeth of France, Queen of Spain and Portugal, daughter of King Henri IV of France, first wife of King Felipe IV of Spain, at the Royal Alcázar in Madrid, Spain; buried at the Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real in El Escorial, Spain
In 1615, Elisabeth married the future King Felipe IV of Spain. Elisabeth and Felipe had eight children but only their youngest child, Maria Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain who married King Louis XIV of France, survived childhood. Besides having so many children die young, Elisabeth had three miscarriages. Her husband probably transmitted to her a venereal disease he contracted from one of his mistresses. This would explain the miscarriages and the many dead infants. Weakened by her multiple pregnancies and miscarriages, Elisabeth died at the age of forty-one, after miscarrying a son.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth of France, Queen of Spain and Portugal

October 6, 1773 – Birth of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, at the Palais-Royal in Paris, France
At the onset of the French Revolution, Louis Philippe fled the country to avoid likely execution, which would be the fate of his father, and other members of the French royal family. In 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French was overthrown, and the Bourbons returned to the French throne. Louis Philippe returned to France and was welcomed into the French court during the reign of his cousins King Louis XVIII and King Charles X. In August 1830, King Charles X abdicated, naming his grandson, Henri, Duke of Bordeaux, as his successor. However, the Chamber of Deputies instead proclaimed Louis Philippe as the new monarch of France. An economic crisis of 1847, led to the French Revolution of 1848. Louis Philippe abdicated in favor of his grandson, Philippe, Count of Paris. Afraid that he may be imprisoned and executed, he quickly left Paris, and using a disguise, made his way to England. Two days later, the Second Republic was declared, ending the monarchy in France once again. In England, Louis Philippe and his wife took up residence at Claremont, a country house in Surrey, England, where they would live for the rest of their lives.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis-Philippe I, King of the French

October 6, 1779 – Birth of Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio at the Royal Palace of Milan in Milan, Duchy of Milan, now in Italy
Full name: Francesco Giuseppe Carlo Ambrogio Stanislao
Francesco was the son of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio and Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. Francesco’s paternal grandfather Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio had been deposed by Napoleon Bonaparte. Francesco regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon. In 1812, 1812, 33-year-old Francesco married his 20-year-old niece Maria Beatrice of Savoy and they had four children. While Francesco’s grandfather Ercole III reigned the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as an enlightened monarch, Francesco’s reign was more autocratic.
Unofficial Royalty: Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio

October 6, 1808 – Birth of King Frederik VII of Denmark at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Frederik Carl Christian
When Frederik was not even a year old, his mother Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was accused of adultery, divorced, and banished from the Danish court. Frederik never saw her again. In 1828, Frederik married Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark, the younger of the two daughters of the reigning King of Denmark, Frederik VI. The marriage was childless and unhappy, mostly due to Frederik’s affairs and drinking. The couple separated in 1834 and divorced in 1837. Frederik married again in 1841 to Caroline Mariane of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Once again, the marriage was childless and unhappy. In 1844, Caroline Mariane went to visit her parents and refused to return to Denmark. The couple divorced in 1846. In 1848, Frederik succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father. Two years later, he married his third wife Louise Rasmussen, a ballerina and stage actress. Frederik began a relationship with Louise during the 1840s. As this was a morganatic marriage, Louise was not Queen of Denmark. Instead, she was given the title Countess Danner. Frederik and Louise did not have any children.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik VII of Denmark

October 6, 1819 – Death of Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia at the Palazzo Colonna in Rome, Papal States, now in Italy; buried at the Church of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale in Rome
Carlo Emanuele IV abdicated the throne of Sardinia, was the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland, although he never claimed the title, and ended his life as a novice in the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). Carlo Emanuele IV married Marie Clotilde of France, the sister of King Louis XVI of France, but they had no children. Carlo Emanuele IV succeeded to the throne of Sardinia upon the death of his father Vittorio Amedeo III in 1796. In 1798, the French occupied Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, and forced Carlo Emanuele to give up all his territories on the Italian mainland. He withdrew to the island of Sardinia in 1799. When Marie Clotilde died from typhoid fever in 1802, Carlo Emanuele was so upset by her death that he decided to abdicate. He left the throne of Sardinia to his brother who reigned as Vittorio Emanuele I. Carlo Emanuele settled in Rome and the nearby town of Frascati, both now in Italy. In 1815, he took simple vows in the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). He was never ordained as a priest but lived as a novice until his death at the age of 68.
Unofficial Royalty: Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

October 6, 1828 – Death of Charlotte, Princess Royal, Queen of Württemberg, daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom and wife of King Frederick I of Württemberg, at Ludwigsburg Palace in Ludwigsburg, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried in the Royal Crypt in the Castle Chapel at Ludwigsburg Palace in Ludwigsburg
The living conditions of King George III’s six daughters came to be known as “the Nunnery.” None of the daughters were allowed to marry at the age when most princesses would marry. Charlotte was one of the three who eventually did marry. At the age of 31, Charlotte married 49-year-old Friedrich, Hereditary Prince of Württemberg, the future King of Württemberg, a widower with three children. After Charlotte delivered a stillborn daughter, the marriage remained childless. Her husband Friedrich died of pneumonia in 1816. In 1827, Charlotte returned to England for the first time since her wedding in 1797, for the treatment of pulmonary edema, called dropsy at that time. Soon after her return to Württemberg, Charlotte fell ill. On October 5, 1828, Charlotte asked that her stepson King Wilhelm I of Württemberg, and his family come to her bedside. The next day, Charlotte died peacefully in the arms of her stepson surrounded by his family, her friends, and her faithful servants.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte, Princess Royal, Queen of Württemberg

October 6, 1891 – Death of King Karl I of Württemberg in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; in the crypt beneath the Schlosskirche at the Old Castle (Altes Schloss) in Stuttgart
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 but 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

October 16, 1969 – Death of Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, Margravine of Baden, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in Büdingen in Hesse, Germany; buried in the Baden family cemetery in Salem, Germany
Raised primarily in Greece, Theodora and her family had to leave Greece several times due to the political unrest and repeated overthrow of the monarchy. They spent several years living in Switzerland and later settled outside of Paris. In 1931, Theodora married Berthold, Margrave of Baden, the son of Maximilian, Margrave of Baden and Princess Marie Luise of Hanover. The couple was second cousins through their mutual descent from King Christian IX of Denmark and they had three children. In her later years, Princess Theodora spent time with her children and grandchildren and occasionally visited England to see her brother Philip and his family. She died at the age of 63, just five weeks before the death of her mother, born Princess Alice of Battenberg.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, Margravine of Baden

October 6, 2002 – Death of Prince Claus of the Netherlands, born Klaus-Georg von Amsberg, husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, at the AMC University Hospital in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; buried at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
On New Year’s Eve in 1962, Claus met Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, the heir to the Dutch throne, at a party. The couple met again at the wedding eve party of Princess Tatjana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse, in 1964. Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg acted as a go-between for the couple and did much to strengthen their relationship. Claus and Beatrix were married on March 10, 1966, at the Westerkerk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands . The couple had three sons. Claus suffered from various health issues. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991. Claus underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer in 1998, but the radiation for the cancer caused urinary tract problems. In 2001, a kidney was removed and he had problems with the other kidney. Respiratory infections kept him in the hospital during the spring of 2002, shortly after the wedding of his eldest son Willem-Alexander. Two months before his death, he had a coronary angioplasty. Claus died at the age of 76  from Parkinson’s disease and pneumonia.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Claus of the Netherlands

October 6, 2012 – Death of Albert, Margrave of Meissen, disputed Head of the House of Saxony and pretender to the former throne of the Kingdom of Saxony, in Munich, Germany; buried at the Old Catholic Cemetery in Dresden, Saxony, Germany
Full name: Albert Joseph Maria Franz-Xaver, Prince of Saxony
Albert, Margrave of Meissen was briefly one of the disputed Heads of the House of Saxony and pretender to the former throne of the Kingdom of Saxony.
Unofficial Royalty: Albert, Margrave of Meissen

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Prince Henry of Battenberg; Credit – Wikipedia

October 5, 1658 – Birth of Maria Beatrice of Modena, Queen of England, second wife of King James II of England, at Ducal Palace in Modena, Duchy of Modena, now in Italy
Full name: Maria Beatrice Eleanor Anna Margherita Isabella
Maria Beatrice had a strict religious upbringing and wanted to be a nun, but those plans changed when she was suggested as a second wife for England’s James, Duke of York, the younger brother of King Charles II. Her priest told her the marriage would be an offering to the Roman Catholic Church because she would play a role in converting England to Catholicism. Fifteen-year-old Maria Beatrice was married by proxy to the forty-year-old Duke of York on September 30, 1673, in Modena. Maria Beatrice arrived in England on November 21, 1673, and first saw her husband two days later at their in-person wedding ceremony. Maria Beatrice had twelve pregnancies and gave birth to seven live children, five of whom died young. The birth in 1688 of a Catholic heir to the British throne, James Francis Edward, was a contributing factor to the “Glorious Revolution”, the revolution which deposed King James II and replaced him with his daughter from his first marriage Mary II and her husband and first cousin William III. James and Maria Beatrice were forced to flee to France where King Louis XIV, James’ first cousin, gave them refuge and where they spent the rest of their lives.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Beatrice of Modena, Queen of England

October 5, 1640 – Birth of Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan, better known as Madame de Montespan, mistress of King Louis XIV of France, at the Château of Lussac-les-Châteaux in France
A prominent figure in the French court, Madame de Montespan soon set out to become the primary mistress of King Louis XIV, replacing his current mistress, Louise de La Vallière. Before long, she developed an intimate relationship with the King and replaced Louise. By 1669, she had become his primary mistress and had given birth to her first child with the King. They would have seven children together.
Unofficial Royalty: Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan

October 5, 1840 – Birth of Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein at Schloss Eisgrub, today called Schloss Lednice, in the Austrian Empire, now in the Czech Republic
Full name: Johann Maria Franz Placidus
Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein is one of the world’s longest-reigning monarchs, reigning for 70 years, 91 days. He led a solitary life. He was unsocial, did not participate in social events, and never married. Some considered him pathologically shy. However, Johann did enact many initiatives in Liechtenstein including compulsory education until the age of 14, the first constitution in 1862, and another constitution in 1921, still in effect. Johann was an art connoisseur and added works to the princely collections but also donated artwork to museums.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein

October 5, 1858 – Birth of Prince Henry of Battenberg, husband of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, in Milan, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, now in Italy
Full name: Heinrich Moritz
Henry was the fourth of the five children of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia Hauke. As his parents’ marriage was morganatic, Henry and his siblings took their titles from their mother, who had been created Countess of Battenberg and was later elevated to Princess of Battenberg in 1858. Henry and Beatrice met at the wedding of Henry’s brother Louis of Battenberg and Beatrice’s cousin Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Queen Victoria expected that Beatrice would never marry and remain her personal assistant and secretary. However, during the wedding celebrations, Henry and Beatrice fell in love. When Beatrice told her mother of her desire to marry Henry, Queen Victoria did not speak to Beatrice for seven months. Eventually, the Queen realized that Beatrice would not back down and decided to allow the marriage with several conditions: Henry must renounce his career, nationality, and home and agree to live with Beatrice and the Queen. Henry and Beatrice are ancestors of the Spanish royal family.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Henry of Battenberg

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King Karl IX of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

October 4, 1550 – Birth of King Karl IX of Sweden at Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm, Sweden, on the site of the Royal Palace of Stockholm
Karl was the youngest of the ten children and the fifth of the five sons and was not expected to become King of Sweden. However, he came to the throne by championing the Protestant cause during the tense times when the Catholic and Protestant religions were pitted against each other. These religious conflicts caused the Swedish dynastic squabble that deposed Karl’s Catholic nephew Sigismund III and brought Karl to rule as king of Sweden.
Unofficial Royalty: King Karl IX of Sweden

October 4, 1585 – Birth of Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress, wife of Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Archduke of Further Austria, King of Hungary and Croatia, in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria
On December 4, 1611, Anna and Matthias were married at the Augustinian Church in Vienna, Austria. Although Matthias was 54 years old, he hoped to have children with his 26-year-old wife but their marriage was childless. However, Anna and Matthias left the future Habsburgs a burial site. They founded the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria, where the Imperial Crypt, the traditional burial site of the Habsburgs, is located. Anna had come up with the idea of a Capuchin monastery and burial place for her and her husband and wanted to build it near Hofburg Palace in Vienna. In her will, Anna left funds to provide for the church’s construction. Construction began on November 10, 1618. Sadly, a month later, on December 15, 1618, Anna died and Matthias died three months later, on March 20, 1619. Because the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church had not yet been completed, Matthias and Anna were temporarily buried at the Poor Clares Convent of St. Maria, Queen of the Angels in Vienna.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress

October 4, 1841 – Birth of Maria Sophie in Bavaria, Queen of the Two Sicilies, wife of Francesco II, the last King of the Two Sicilies, at Possenhofen Castle in Possenhofen, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria
Full name: Marie Sophie Amalie
Maria Sophie was a younger sister of the more well-known Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria (Sisi) who married Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria, and was assassinated in 1898. Marie Sophie’s husband lost his throne during the unification of Italy. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861, ending the reign of Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies. After losing the throne of the Two Sicilies, Francesco and Maria Sophia lived in Rome as guests of Pope Pius IX. In 1870, the annexation of the Papal States to Italy, including Rome, forced Francesco and Maria Sophie to find refuge in Austria, France, and Bavaria.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Sophie of Bavaria, Queen of the Two Sicilies

October 4, 2005 – Birth of Prince Emmanuel of Belgium, son of King Philippe of the Belgians, at Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht, Belgium
Full name: Emmanuel Leopold Guillaume François Marie
Emmanuel is the third of the four children and the younger of the two sons of King Philippe of the Belgians and his wife Queen Mathilde (née Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz). He is the third in the line of succession to the Belgian throne after his sister Elisabeth and his brother Gabriel.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Emmanuel of Belgium

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Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg with her husband Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Credit – Wikipedia

October 3, 1283 – Execution of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales
The campaign of King Edward I of England in Wales (1276 – 1284) resulted in England completely taking over Wales. The campaign ended with the deaths of the last two native Princes of Wales: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd who was ambushed and killed in 1282 and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the first prominent person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered, in 1283. On October 3, 1283, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury, England attached to a horse, then hanged alive, revived, then disemboweled and his entrails burned before him. He was then beheaded and his body was cut into four quarters. Dafydd’s four quarters were sent to different parts of England: the right arm to York, the left arm to Bristol, the right leg to Northampton, and the left leg to Hereford. His head was placed on a pole in the Tower of London near the head of his brother Llywelyn.
Unofficial Royalty: Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales

October 3, 1390 – Birth of Humphrey, 1st Duke of Gloucester, son of King Henry IV of England
Humphrey received an excellent education and it is thought he was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He had a great love of learning, was a collector of books and manuscripts, and commissioned translations of classical works from Greek into Latin. When Humphrey died, he donated his collection of 281 manuscripts to the University of Oxford. The university built Duke Humfrey’s Library as a second story to the Divinity School to house his collection in 1450-80. Duke Humfrey’s Library still exists and it is the oldest reading room in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.
Unofficial Royalty: Humphrey, 1st Duke of Gloucester

October 3, 1568 – Death of Élisabeth de Valois, daughter of King Henri II of France, third wife of King Philip II of Spain, died at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez in Madrid, Spain; buried at the Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real in El Escorial, Spain
Elisabeth was supposed to marry 14-year-old Carlos, Prince of Asturias, the only child and the heir apparent of King Philip II of Spain but Carlos died. Instead, Elisabeth became the third of the four wives of Philip II. Despite the 18-year-age gap, Elisabeth was also quite pleased with her husband. She considered her main duty to give birth to sons but she was unable to do so. She had five pregnancies but had only two surviving daughters. In May 1568, Elisabeth’s health suffered. A new pregnancy caused severe vomiting and dizziness which the doctors tried to relieve by bleeding which would have further weakened her and not helped her as the doctors then believed. On October 3, 1568, Elisabeth went into premature labor which turned out to be very complicated and so all of the doctors of the royal court were called. Elisabeth begged Philip to look after their two daughters and to help her brother Henri III to reign in France. Elisabeth also told him that she had known that she would not live a long life and had prayed constantly for her soul. She asked Philip to pray for her soul and immediately he fell to his knees. After much suffering, Elisabeth gave birth to a daughter of five months of gestation. The daughter was baptized Juana but only lived for ninety minutes. An hour later, 23-year-old Elisabeth died. It was said that Philip II was only seen crying once in his life, during the funeral of his wife Elisabeth.
Unofficial Royalty: Élisabeth de Valois, Queen of Spain

October 3, 1611 – Death of Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal, wife of Felipe III, King of Spain, at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain; buried at the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial
The daughter of Karl II, Archduke of Austria-Styria and his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria, Margaret married Felipe III, King of Spain in 1599. Felipe and Margaret, both children of parents who were an uncle and niece, were first cousins once removed and also second cousins, adding to more inbreeding in the House of Habsburg.  Margaret and Felipe III had eight children, including King Felipe III’s successor King Felipe IV and Ana María Mauricia (better known as Queen Anne of France) who married King Louis XIII of France. They were the parents of King Louis XIV of France. In 1611, Margaret died at the age of twenty-six from childbirth complications eleven days after giving birth to her eighth child Alonso who lived for only one year.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal

October 3, 1784 – Birth of Baroness Louise Lehzen, governess, adviser, and companion to Queen Victoria, in Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover, now in the German state of Lower Saxony
Full name: Johanna Clara Louise Lehzen
From 1824 – 1842, Baroness Louise Lehzen was the governess, and then adviser and companion to Queen Victoria who called her Lehzen.
Unofficial Royalty: Baroness Louise Lehzen

October 3, 1797 – Birth of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany 
Upon his father’s death on June 18, 1824, Leopoldo became Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.
Unofficial Royalty: Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany

October 3, 1860 – Birth of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, at the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg, Russia
The paternal uncle of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, Paul was only eight years older than his nephew Nicholas and the two had a close relationship. Paul was one of the four Grand Dukes executed by a firing squad at the Peter and Paul Fortress on January 28, 1919. His son from his first marriage, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, was one of the conspirators involved in the murder of Grigori Rasputin. Paul’s son from his second morganatic marriage, Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, was one of the five Romanovs executed on July 18, 1918, with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia

October 3, 1891 – Birth of Prince Maurice of Battenberg, son of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom and grandson of Queen Victoria, at Balmoral Castle, Scotland
Full name: Maurice Victor Donald
In 1910, Maurice joined the 60th King’s Royal Rifles. Eight days after the United Kingdom entered World War I, on August 12, 1914, Maurice left for the front. On October 27, 1914,  Maurice was leading an attack on the German frontline at Zonnebeke near Ypres in the Belgian province of West Flanders when he was mortally wounded by shrapnel. The platoon sergeant tried to offer help to the wounded prince, but Maurice, aged 23, died before his men could bring him to a safer place. Upon hearing the news, King George V, Prince Maurice’s first cousin, and Queen Mary drove to Kensington Palace to console Princess Beatrice. Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, offered to bring Prince Maurice’s body back to England, but Princess Beatrice replied, “No, let him lie with his comrades.” Prince Maurice was buried in the Ypres Town Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Ypres, Belgium.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Maurice of Battenberg

October 3, 1898 – Birth of Zizi Lambrino, mistress and morganatic 1st wife of King Carol II of Romania, born Ioana Maria Valentina Lambrino in Roman, Romania
Zizi Lambrino was the first wife of the future King Carol II of Romania. The couple married in 1918, but the Romanian government deemed the marriage unconstitutional and it was annulled. On August 8, 1920, in Bucharest, Zizi gave birth to the couple’s only child – a son named Mircea Gregor Carol Lambrino. As Zizi and Carol’s marriage had been legally annulled, the child was considered illegitimate and was given his mother’s surname. Soon after the birth, the future King ended his relationship with Zizi, choosing instead to remain in line for the Romanian throne. Zizi and her son were forced to leave the country and were financially supported by the Romanian government.
Unofficial Royalty: Zizi Lambrino, mistress and morganatic 1st wife of King Carol II of Romania

October 3, 1941 – Birth of Infante Alfonso of Spain, son of Infante Juan, Duke of Barcelona and brother of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, in Rome, Italy
Full name: Alfonso Cristino Teresa Ángelo Francisco de Asís y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón Dos-Sicilias
Alfonso was the younger brother of King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Fourteen-year-old Infante Alfonso was killed by a gun on March 29, 1956, while in a bedroom with his elder brother, the future King Juan Carlos I of Spain. What happened in that bedroom, who pulled the trigger, and whether or not it was an accident are still unclear.
Unofficial Royalty; Infante Alfonso of Spain

October 3, 1970 – Death of Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, wife of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, at Schloss Greinburg in Grein, Austria; buried in the family cemetery in the forest of Schloss Callenberg in Coburg, Germany
In 1905, Viktoria Adelheid married Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the only son of Queen Victoria’s youngest son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont. The couple had five children including Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the mother of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. After World War I, Charles Edward abdicated from the throne of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. During the period between the two World Wars, Charles Edward became active in the Nazi Party. After World War II, in 1949, a denazification appeals court classified Charles Edward as a Nazi Follower, Category IV. He was heavily fined and almost bankrupted. After World War II, some of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha properties 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. After her husband died in 1954, Viktoria Adelheid spent time traveling, often with her sister-in-law, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.
Unofficial Royalty: Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

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King Richard III of England, Credit – Wikipedia

October 2, 1452 – Birth of King Richard III of England at Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire, England
Richard was the twelfth of the thirteen children of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England. Richard’s father was the Yorkist leader during the Wars of the Roses until he died in battle. Richard was King of England from 1483 until he died in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death occurred at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses.
Unofficial Royalty: King Richard III of England

October 2, 1798 – Birth of Carlo Alberto I, King of Sardinia at the Palazzo Carignano in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy
Carlo Alberto, the senior male member of the House of Savoy-Carignano, a cadet branch of the House of Savoy, became King of Sardinia upon the death of Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia when the male line of the House of Savoy became extinct. In 1848, Carlo Alberto attempted to rid the Italian peninsula of Austria-ruled and supported states resulting in the First Italian War of Independence, part of the Italian Unification. After the Austrian forces defeated his forces at the Battle of Novara, Carlo Alberto immediately abdicated in favor of his son Vittorio Emanuele.  He died the following year. His son Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia became a driving force behind the Italian unification and was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Unofficial Royalty: Carlo Alberto I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy

October 2, 1841 – Death of Honoré V, Prince of Monaco in Paris, France; buried at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco
Honoré V was the elder of the two sons of Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco and Louise d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye in her own right.  In 1819, he succeeded his father as Prince of Monaco. Honoré V never married. With his mistress Félicité de Gamaches, Honoré V had one son Louis Gabriel Oscar Grimaldi, called Oscar, born in 1814. After a reign of twenty-two years, Honoré V, Prince of Monaco died on October 2, 1841, in Paris, France, aged 63, and was succeeded by his brother Florestan.
Unofficial Royalty: Honoré V, Prince of Monaco

October 2, 1921- Death of King Wilhelm II of Württemberg at Schloss Bebenhausen  in Bebenhausen, Germany; buried at the Old Cemetery in Ludwigsburg, Germany
Wilhelm became King of Württemberg in 1891, upon the death of his childless uncle King Karl. Wilhelm’s two marriages were also childless. He was much loved by his people, and respected for his more down-to-earth nature. He was often seen unaccompanied walking his dogs in the streets of Stuttgart and greeting all those he met along the way. Wilhelm was the last King of Württemberg, abdicating on November 30, 1918, after the fall of the German Empire. Wilhelm negotiated with the new government to receive an annual income and retain Schloss Bebenhausen in Bebenhausen, Germany where he and his wife lived for the remainder of their lives. On October 2, 1921, 73-year-old Wilhelm died.
Unofficial Royalty: King Wilhelm II of Württemberg

October 2, 2007 – Death of The Lady Katherine Brandram in London, England; born Princess Katherine of Greece, daughter of King Constantine I of Greece, buried at the Royal Cemetery, Tatoi Palace, Greece
Because of the ups and downs of the Greek monarchy, Katherine spent much of her early life in exile. While in the United Kingdom, she met Major Richard Campbell Andrew Brandram, an officer in the British Royal Artillery. The couple married on April 21, 1947, in two ceremonies, Church of England and Greek Orthodox, in the ballroom of the Royal Palace in Athens, Greece. King George VI of the United Kingdom issued a decree on August 25, 1947, granting Katherine the “style, title, place and pre-eminence as the daughter of a Duke”, and she became styled as Lady Katherine Brandram. The couple settled in England and had one son. Katherine retained close ties to her Greek and British relatives and often joined them for family functions such as christenings and memorial services. One of her last public appearances was at a Service of Thanksgiving at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England for the Duke of Edinburgh’s 80th birthday in 2001. Katherine was 94 when she died.  She was buried with her husband in the Royal Cemetery at the Tatoi Palace in Greece. From 2002 until her death, she was the last surviving great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Katherine of Greece, The Lady Katherine Brandram

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Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, Credit – Wikipedia

October 1, 959 – Death of Eadwig, King of the English at Gloucester, England, buried in Winchester Cathedral in Winchester, England
Fifteen-year-old Eadwig became king in 955 upon the death of his uncle Eadred. During his short reign, he had many disputes with nobles and men of the church, including Dunstan, a future Archbishop of Canterbury and saint, who was then Abbot of Glastonbury. Eadwig died at the age of nineteen in Gloucester in what some consider suspicious but unknown circumstances. He was buried in the New Minster in Winchester but nothing is known about the later fate of his remains. As Eadwig did not have children, his brother Edgar succeeded him and reunified England.
Unofficial Royalty: King Eadwig of the English

October 1, 1207 – Birth of King Henry III of England at Winchester Castle in Winchester, England
King Henry III became king on October 18, 1216, at the age of nine, and reigned 56 years, 29 days, until he died in 1272. Only King George III, Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth II reigned longer. He was the first child of King John and his second wife Isabella, Countess of Angoulême, and named after King John’s father, King Henry II.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry III of England

October 1, 1361 – Death of Margaret of Windsor, daughter of King Edward III of England, buried at Abingdon Abbey in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England
In 1359, 11-year-old Margaret married 12-year-old John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. After their marriage, Margaret and her husband John remained at the royal court. Sadly, 15-year-old Margaret, Countess of Pembroke died unexpectedly, sometime after October 1, 1361, the last date there is a record that she was living. John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke was in royal service for the rest of his short life, mostly as a military commander. He died in 1375 at the age of 27.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret of Windsor, Countess of Pembroke

October 1, 1685 – Birth of Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Carolus Franciscus Josephus Wenceslaus Balthasar Johannes Antonius Ignatius
In 1708, Karl married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. They had one son who died in infancy and three daughters, with one dying in childhood. Karl’s brother Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I died during the smallpox epidemic of 1711. Joseph had no sons so Karl automatically succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor. On October 20, 1740, Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor died after a ten-day illness. His daughter Maria Theresa succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands as the Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, Queen of Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria in her own right, the only female to hold those sovereign positions.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor

October 1, 1754 – Birth of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia at the Summer Palace of Empress Elizabeth in St. Petersburg, Russia
Paul was the son of Grand Duchess Catherine Alexeievna (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, later Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia), and was recognized by Catherine’s husband, Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich (born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp, later Peter III, Emperor of All Russia, as his son although he may be was Sergei Vasilievich Saltykov. His first wife Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt (Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna) died in childbirth with her only child. Paul’s second wife was Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg (Maria Feodorovna) with whom he had ten children. Paul became Emperor of All Russia upon the death of his mother Catherine II (the Great) in 1796. Paul agreed with the practices of autocracy and did not tolerate freedom of thought or resistance against autocracy. Because he overly taxed the nobility and limited their rights, the Russian nobles, by increasing numbers, were against him. Paul’s reign was becoming increasingly despotic. Eventually, the nobility reached their breaking point. On the night of March 23, 1801, at the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, Russia, a group of conspirators charged into the bedroom of 46-year-old Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, forced him to abdicate, and then strangled and trampled him to death.
Unofficial Royalty: Paul I, Emperor of All Russia
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia

October 1, 1794 – Birth of Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Leopold Friedrich became heir-apparent to the Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau upon his father’s death in 1814 and became the reigning Duke of Anhalt-Dessau upon his grandfather’s death in 1817. In 1847, Leopold Friedrich inherited the Duchy of Anhalt-Köthen upon the death of a distant cousin. After nearly six years as the reigning Duke of two separate duchies, they were united in 1853 as the Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau-Köthen. Ten years later, he also inherited the Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg from another distant cousin. Now, with all of the Anhalt duchies back under one ruler, they were united as the Duchy of Anhalt in 1863.
Unofficial Royalty: Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt

October 1, 1833 – Birth of Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Princess of Lippe, wife of Leopold III, Prince of Lippe, in Rudolstadt, then in the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia
Elisabeth married Leopold III, Prince of Lippe in 1852 but their marriage was childless. Elisabeth used all the means at her disposal for charitable causes. She published a booklet with Bible verses for every day of the year and designed wall decorations with Bible verses. The booklet and wall decorations were mass-produced and the proceeds went to Elisabeth’s charitable causes. Devoted to children, Elisabeth founded a school, the Elisabeth-Anstalt in the town of Blomberg. She also promoted the establishment and maintenance of the Augustineum Secondary School a school and teacher training center in Otjimbingwe, then in a settlement of the Herero people, now in the country of Namibia. After Leopold’s death in 1875, Elisabeth moved into her widow’s residence at the New Palais in Detmold and continued her charitable work. In autumn of 1896, Elisabeth became ill with pneumonia, and died on November 27, 1896, at the age of sixty-three.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Princess of Lippe

October 1, 1919 – Death of Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, at Baden-Baden, Germany; buried at Schloss Altenstein, the summer residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Bad Liebenstein in the German state of Thuringia.
Charlotte was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and the daughter of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor.  She married her second cousin Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and they had one daughter Feodora, the first great-grandchild of Queen Victoria. Charlotte was a chain smoker and had suffered ill health her entire life, and died at the age of 59.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

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Princess Charlotte of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

September 30, 1658 – Birth of Elisabeth Eleonore of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, second wife of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, in Wolfenbüttel, Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
In 1675, Elisabeth Eleonore married Johann Georg of Mecklenburg-Mirow. The marriage was short-lived as Johann Georg died just five months later. In 1681, Elisabeth Eleonore married Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, who had been widowed the previous year. Elisabeth Eleonore and Bernhard had five children. The Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen was completed in 1692 and named for Elisabeth Eleonore who lived there with her husband, and their children for the duration of Bernhard’s reign. Following her husband’s death in 1706, Elisabeth Eleonore was drawn into the family battles over who would reign over the duchy. The in-fighting within the family took its toll on Elisabeth Eleonore, and she retired from public life. She died on March 15, 1729, at the age of 70.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Eleonore of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

September 30, 1796 – Birth of Friederike of Prussia, Duchess of Anhalt-Dessau, wife of Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt, in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Friederike Luise Wilhelmine Amalie
In 1818, Friederike married Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau. The Prussian court had arranged the marriage, and they had been formally engaged since May 1816. Friederike and Leopold had four children. Friederike also became Duchess of Anhalt-Köthen in 1847 when her husband inherited that duchy. Three years after Friederike’s death, the Dessau and Köthen duchies were joined as one, the Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau-Köthen, and in 1863, was merged with the last remaining Anhalt duchy, the Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg, becoming the unified Duchy of Anhalt, with her husband becoming the first reigning Duke.
Unofficial Royalty: Friederike of Prussia, Duchess of Anhalt

September 30, 1811 – Birth of Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, German Empress and Queen of Prussia, wife of Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia, in Weimar, Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Augusta Marie Luise Katharina
In 1828, Augusta married the future Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia. The couple had two children including Wilhelm’s (brief) successor Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia who married Victoria, Princess Royal, Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter. In 1861, Wilhelm became King of Prussia. Augusta was much more interested in politics than many of her predecessors and did not hesitate to voice her opinion. She despised Otto von Bismarck, statesman, diplomat, and the mastermind behind the unification of Germany in 1871, and the feeling was mutual. In 1871, Wilhelm was named the first German Emperor (Kaiser), with Augusta as his Empress (Kaiserin). Augusta founded the National Women’s Association and numerous hospitals and schools throughout Prussia to help those in need.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, German Empress, Queen of Prussia

September 30, 1898 – Birth of Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois, daughter of Prince Louis II of Monaco and his mistress Marie Juliette Louvet, mother of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, in Constantine, French Algeria, now in Algeria
Birth name: Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet
Charlotte began life as Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet, the illegitimate daughter of the future Prince Louis II of Monaco and Marie Juliette Louvet. Her parents had met the previous year in Paris, where Marie worked as a hostess in a nightclub. Because Louis was unmarried and without an heir, the Monegasque throne was likely to pass to his first cousin once removed Wilhelm, the Duke of Urach, a German nobleman, the son of his father’s aunt Princess Florestine of Monaco. In 1918, a law was passed allowing for the adoption of an heir with succession rights. In 1919, Louis legally adopted Charlotte, giving her the Grimaldi surname. Her grandfather Prince Albert I created her HSH Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois. Upon Louis’ accession in 1922, Charlotte became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco. In 1920, Charlotte married Count Pierre de Polignac, and the couple had two children including the future Prince Rainer III. By 1925, Charlotte and Pierre lived separate lives and formally divorced in 1933. Born illegitimate and now divorced, Charlotte knew the very Catholic Monaco would never fully accept her.  Charlotte renounced her rights to the Monegasque throne in 1944 in favor of her son Rainier. She died in 1977 at the age of 79.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois

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Charlotte, Princess Royal, Queen of Württemberg; Credit – Wikipedia

September 29, 1240 – Birth of Margaret of England, daughter of King Henry III of England, and wife of Alexander III, King of Scots, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
The betrothal of Margaret and the future Alexander III, King of Scots was part of a peace negotiation arranged by their fathers. Four years after the betrothal, Alexander became King of Scots at the age of seven. In 1251, at York Minster in York, England, 11-year-old Margaret became Queen of Scots when she married 10-year-old King Alexander III. The wedding celebrations were festive and attended by many people including 1,000 English and 600 Scottish knights. The couple had three children but the death of their only surviving son caused a succession issue.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret of England, Queen of Scots

September 29, 1328 – Birth of Joan of Kent, 4th Countess of Kent, Princess of Wales at Woodstock Palace near Oxford in Oxfordshire, England
Joan’s father was Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, the younger of the two sons of King Edward I of England and his second wife, Margaret of France, and was, therefore, a half-brother of King Edward II. Joan and her first husband Thomas Holland are the ancestors of many prominent figures in the Wars of the Roses, including Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (father of King Edward IV and King Richard III), Henry Tudor (later King Henry VII) and his wife Elizabeth of York (daughter of King Edward IV), Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker) and his daughter Anne Neville (wife of King Richard III). They were also ancestors of Catherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII. After the death of her first husband, Joan married Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince), her first cousin once removed and the son and heir of King Edward III of England, and became the very first Princess of Wales. Her husband predeceased his father Edward III and their son succeeded his grandfather as King Richard II.
Unofficial Royalty: Joan of Kent, 4th Countess of Kent, Princess of Wales

September 29, 1388 – Birth of Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, son of King Henry IV of England, either in London, England, or at Kenilworth Castle in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England
During the reign of his father King Henry IV, Thomas was second in the line of succession after his elder brother, the future King Henry V. During his brother’s reign, Thomas was the heir presumptive to the throne until he died in 1421 at the Battle of Baugé in Anjou, France. In 1411, Thomas married Margaret Holland, the daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent and Alice FitzAlan but the couple had no children. Thomas accompanied his brother King Henry V on his campaigns in France during the Hundred Years’ War. He commanded the English army at the Siege of Rouen in 1418 which ended in Rouen’s capture by the English.
Unofficial Royalty: Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence

September 29, 1560 – Death of King Gustav Vasa I of Sweden at Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden
Gustav Vasa I, the first king of the House of Vasa, is considered the founding father of the modern Swedish state. He ranks among Sweden’s greatest monarchs and some argue that he was the most significant ruler in Swedish history. He ended foreign domination in Sweden, centralized and reorganized the government, cut religious ties to Rome, established the Church of Sweden, and founded Sweden’s hereditary monarchy. In the late 1550s, Gustav I’s health declined. He died, aged 64, at Tre Kronor Castle (Three Crowns Castle) which stood on the site of the present Stockholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. The official cause of death was cholera but it may have been dysentery or typhoid.
Unofficial Royalty: King Gustav Vasa I of Sweden

September 29, 1766 – Birth of Charlotte, Princess Royal, Queen of Württemberg, daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom, second wife of Friedrich I, King of Württemberg, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Charlotte Augusta Matilda
The living conditions of King George III’s six daughters came to be known as “the Nunnery.” None of the daughters were allowed to marry at the age when most princesses would marry. Charlotte was one of the three who eventually did marry. At the age of 31, Charlotte married 49-year-old Friedrich, Hereditary Prince of Württemberg, the future King of Württemberg.  He was a widower with three children. His first wife was Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, niece of King George III, and some issues with this marriage concerned King George III. Only after persistent requests and pleadings from Russian and Brunswick royals and British officials did the king consent to the marriage. After Charlotte delivered a stillborn daughter, the marriage remained childless.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte, Princess Royal, Queen of Württemberg

September 29, 1827 – Birth of Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont, wife of Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse
In 1844, Hermine married her first cousin, the future Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, and the couple had eight children. Upon the death of his father in 1860, Hermine’s husband Adolf became the reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. While Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, Hermine was a supporter of the Schaumburg Costume, the traditional form of clothing for Schaumburg women noted by a red skirt, usually worn at festivals. Before he died in 1893, Adolf arranged for the building of the Palais Bückeburg, also known as the Hermine Palais, which would serve as Hermine’s home while Princess Dowager.
Unofficial Royalty: Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Princess of Schaumberg-Lippe

September 29, 1833 – Death of King Ferdinand VII of Spain in Madrid, Spain; buried at the Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real in El Escorial, Spain
Ferdinand married four times, was a widower three times, and had only two surviving daughters from his fourth marriage to his niece Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. As Ferdinand had no sons, he persuaded the Spanish legislature to set aside the Salic Law, which allowed only male succession. María Isabel Luisa, Ferdinand’s elder daughter by his fourth wife was Princess of Asturias, the title of the heir to the Spanish throne, from birth. In Spain, even if there is no heir apparent, the title can be (but is not necessarily) given to the heir presumptive – a daughter, sibling, or matrilineal descendant of the monarch. King Ferdinand VII died on September 29, 1833, and his daughter, not quite three years old, succeeded to the throne as Queen Isabella II. This precipitated a series of wars known as the Carlist Wars in which Ferdinand’s brother Carlos, and later his descendants, fought over the succession. Even today, there are Carlist claimants to the Spanish throne.
Unofficial Royalty: King Ferdinand VII of Spain

September 29, 1834 – Death of Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg at the Hummelshain Hunting Lodge in Hummerlshain, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in the Altenburg Cemetery in Altenburg, Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, now in Thuringia, Germany, in 1974, having fallen into disrepair, the tombs were removed from the mausoleum. The coffins were sold, and the remains were buried in an unmarked grave elsewhere in the cemetery.
Friedrich was born as the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen and became Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen upon his father’s death in 1780. Friedrich then became Duke of Saxe-Altenburg in 1826. After Friedrich IV, the last Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died in 1825 without heirs, the Ernestine duchies were reorganized. Gotha passed to Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (becoming the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), and Altenburg passed to Friedrich. In exchange, the two Dukes ceded Saalfeld and Hildburghausen, respectively, to Bernard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Leaving Hildburghausen after living there for 63 years was very difficult for Friedrich, but he moved to Altenburg in November 1826. Keeping his promise to the people of his new duchy, Friedrich enacted a constitution in April 1831, worked to improve the infrastructure, streamline the government, and reinforce trade with the other German states.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg

September 29, 1853 – Birth of Princess Thyra of Denmark, Crown Princess of Hanover, daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Thyra Amalia Caroline Charlotte Anna
Thyra was the sister of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, King George I of Greece, and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia. She married Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover. Although she never officially became a queen like her sisters, Thyra was the titular queen consort of Hanover as her husband had never renounced his rights to the throne. She also counts among her descendants the late King Constantine II of Greece, his sister Queen Sofia of Spain, and Queen Sofia’s son King Felipe VI of Spain, and future Spanish monarchs.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Thyra of Denmark, Crown Princess of Hanover

September 29, 1882 – Birth of Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, wife of Friedrich Franz IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, Austria
Full name: Alexandra Luise Marie Olga Elisabeth Therese Vera
Alexandra was the daughter of Ernst August, Crown Prince of Hanover and Princess Thyra of Denmark. In 1904, she married Friedrich Franz IV, the last Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Because of the death of her daughter Olga at just six weeks old, Alexandra worked to improve medical care for children in the Grand Duchy. She established the Olga Foundation, which raised money for education and training for nurses and midwives. Following her husband’s abdication on November 14, 1918, the family was forced to leave the Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They traveled to Denmark at the invitation of Queen Alexandrine, Friedrich Franz’s sister, and stayed for a year. The following year, they were permitted to return to Mecklenburg and recovered several of their properties.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

September 29, 1882 – Death of Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Parma, first wife of Roberto I, Duke of Parma, in childbirth in Biarritz, France; buried at the Chapel of the Villa Borbone in Viareggio, Italy
Maria Pia was the daughter of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Theresa of Austria. She was the first wife of Roberto I, Duke of Parma from 1854 – 1859 and titular Duke of Parma from 1859 until he died in 1907. As a not-quite-six-year-old, Roberto succeeded his father who was assassinated and then lost his throne five years later due to the Italian unification movement. Maria Pia and Roberto had twelve children. Six of the children were mentally disabled, two died in infancy, and one was stillborn. Their eldest child Marie Louise married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar). The dangerous practice of close pregnancies and births – twelve children in thirteen years of marriage – made Maria Pia weak and sickly. At the age of 33, Maria Pia died of puerperal fever (childbed fever), a week after giving birth to her last child, a stillborn son.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Parma

September 29, 1898 – Death of Queen Louise of Denmark, born Louise of Hesse-Kassel, wife of King Christian IX of Denmark, at Bernstorff Castle in Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Louise was as much the “Grandmother of Europe” as Queen Victoria was. Louise had 39 grandchildren and her grandsons included Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, King Constantine I of Greece, King George V of the United Kingdom, King Christian X of Denmark, and King Haakon VII of Norway. Louise is the ancestor of six of the ten current European monarchs (King Philippe of Belgium, King Frederik X of Denmark, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, King Harald V of Norway, King Felipe VI of Spain, King Charles III of the United Kingdom) and two former monarchs (the late King Michael of Romania and King Constantine II of Greece).
Unofficial Royalty: Louise of Hesse-Kassel, Queen of Denmark

September 29, 2020 – Death of Sabah IV bin Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, United States; buried at the Sulaibikhat Cemetery in Kuwait City, Kuwait
Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was Emir of Kuwait from 2006 – 2020. He was the Foreign Minister of Kuwait between 1963 and 2003. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and afterward, the Gulf War was fought. Sabah was involved in restoring the country after the Iraqi invasion. In 2003, Sabah became the Prime Minister of Kuwait. He was a respected regional and international mediator due in part to his leadership in the Gulf Cooperation Council and his forty years of service as Foreign Minister and Prime Minister. Sabah died at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, at the age of 91, due to long-term health issues.
Unofficial Royalty: Sabah IV bin Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait

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Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

September 28, 1663 – Birth of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
In 1679, Henry married Isabella Bennet, daughter and heiress of Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington and Elisabeth of Nassau, a granddaughter of Maurits of Nassau, Prince of Orange, and a great-granddaughter of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange. When her father died, Isabella became the 2nd Countess of Arlington in her own right. Henry and Isabella had one son Charles FitzRoy, who succeeded his parents as 2nd Duke of Grafton and 3rd Earl of Arlington. Henry was raised as a sailor and was well-suited to military life. He was appointed Colonel of the Grenadier Guards in 1681 and served as Vice-Admiral of England from 1682 to 1689. On October 9, 1690, in Cork, Ireland, 27-year-old Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton died from wounds received two weeks earlier at the Siege of Cork, during the Williamite War in Ireland when supporters of the former King James II attempted to retake the English throne from King William III and Queen Mary II.
Unofficial Royalty: Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton

September 28, 1765 – Birth of Princess Wilhelmine Luise of Nassau-Weilburg, Princess Reuss of Greiz, wife of Heinrich XIII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Greiz, in The Hague, then in the Dutch Republic, now in The Netherlands
The daughter of Karl Christian, Duke of Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau, twenty-year-old Wilhelmine Luise married thirty-eight-year-old Heinrich XIII, the heir to the throne of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz in 1786. Wilhelmine Luise and Heinrich XIII had four sons. When his father died in 1800, Heinrich XIII succeeded as Prince Reuss of Greiz. Heinrich XIII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Greiz died on January 29, 1817, aged 69. Wilhelmine Luise survived her husband by twenty years, dying on October 10, 1837, aged 72.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelmine Luise of Nassau-Weilburg, Princess Reuss of Greiz

September 28, 1828 – Birth of Antoinette de Mérode-Westerloo, Princess of Monaco, wife of Prince Charles III of Monaco, in Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Antoinette Ghislaine
Antoinette was the daughter of daughters of Werner Jean-Baptiste Merode, Count of Merode, a Belgian politician from a Belgian noble family, and Countess Victoire de Spangen Uyterness. In 1846, on her 18th birthday, Antoinette married the 27-year-old future Charles III, Prince of Monaco, then the Hereditary Prince of Monaco and Marquis of Baux. Charles and Antoinette had one child, Albert I, Prince of Monaco. Charles began to lose his eyesight during his early reign. He depended greatly on his wife Antoinette as his condition continued to worsen. In 1862, Antoinette was diagnosed with cancer, and she died on February 10, 1864, at the age of 35.
Unofficial Royalty: Antoinette de Mérode-Westerloo, Princess of Monaco

September 28, 1863 – Birth of King Carlos I of Portugal at the Ajuda Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: Carlos Fernando Luís Maria Victor Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis José Simão
In 1886, Carlos married Princess Amélie of Orléans, the daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, a pretender to the French throne, and the couple had two sons. Carlos became King of Portugal upon his father’s death in 1889. In June 1892, Portugal faced the first of two bankruptcies which further strengthened the Republican movement that placed the blame for the bankruptcy solely on the monarchy. As the King’s reign continued, the political landscape became more volatile. In 1906, Carlos appointed João Franco as Prime Minister, despite the misgivings of many of his family and advisers. Franco asked Carlos to dissolve parliament, causing a huge campaign in Portugal claiming that the country was now a dictatorship. Public support for King Carlos quickly diminished, particularly as he strongly supported Franco. It would lead to his tragic death. On February 1, 1908, King Carlos I and his elder son Luís Filipe, Prince Royal were shot and killed by two gunmen while riding in an open carriage in Lisbon, Portugal.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carlos I of Portugal

September 28, 1865 – Birth of Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal, wife of King Carlos I of Portugal, in Twickenham, United Kingdom
Full name: Marie Amélie Louise Hélène
Amélie was born in Twickenham, London, England where her family had been living in exile since the French monarchy of the House of Orléans had fallen in 1848. In 1886, Amélie married the future King Carlos of Portugal and they had two sons. As Queen, Amélie took great interest in the well-being of the Portuguese people, establishing hospitals, sanatoriums, pharmacies, kitchens, and nurseries. She founded the Royal Institute of Aid to the Shipwrecked in 1892. the National Coach Museum in 1905, the Pasteur Institute in Portugal, and the National Assistance for Tuberculosis in 1899. However, along with her philanthropic efforts, she was also greatly criticized for her lavish spending, particularly in the midst of Portugal’s two bankruptcies. Amélie was in the open carriage when her husband King Carlos and son Luís Filipe, Prince Royal were shot and killed by two gunmen. Amazingly, Queen Amélie was unharmed, and her younger son Prince Manuel only suffered a gunshot to his arm.
Unofficial Royalty: Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal

September 28, 1891- Death of Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess Reuss of Greiz, wife of  Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz, due to childbirth complications, in Schleiz, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Thuringia, Germany; first buried in the Waldhaus Mausoleum in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, 1969 remains cremated and buried at the Neue Friedhof (New Cemetery) in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany; 1997, remains moved to Stadtkirche St. Marien in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany
In 1872, Ida married Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz and they had one son and five daughters. Heinrich XXII built Jagdschloss Ida-Waldhaus, a hunting lodge in the forest near Greiz named after his beloved wife Ida. Heinrich XXII loved the tranquility of that forest so much that he decided to be buried there. He commissioned the building of the Waldhaus Mausoleum, a Gothic-style chapel with a crypt. Sadly, Ida died, aged 39, from complications that occurred during the birth of her sixth child, a daughter, named Ida after her.  When Ida’s husband Heinrich XXII died in 1902 and when their son Heinrich XXIV died in 1927, they were also buried in the Waldhaus Mausoleum. In 1969, the Waldhaus Mausoleum had fallen into disrepair and the remains of Heinrich XXII, Ida, and their son Heinrich XXIV were cremated and placed in urns. Their remains have been reinterred twice since then.
Unofficial Royalty: Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess Reuss of Greiz

September 28, 1893 – Birth of Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, husband of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, at Schwarzau Castle, in Schwarzau am Steinfeld, Austria
Full name: Félix Marie Vincent
Felix was the son of Robert I, Duke of Parma and his second wife, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, and a brother of Zita who married Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria. In 1919, Felix married his first cousin Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and the couple had six children. Felix spent his married life supporting his wife and helping to bring more prominence to the small Grand Duchy. In 1964, Charlotte decided to abdicate, and their son Jean became the new Grand Duke. Felix and Charlotte spent their remaining years at Fischbach Castle, devoted to their grandchildren and extended family.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma

September 28, 1907 – Death of Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden at his summer residence at the island of Mainau, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried in the Grand Ducal Chapel in the Pheasant Garden in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
In 1856, Friedrich married Princess Luise of Prussia, the daughter of the future King Wilhelm I of Prussia, and had three children. Through their daughter Victoria who married King Gustav V of Sweden, Friedrich and Luise are ancestors of the current Swedish royal family. Friedrich’s father died in 1852 and was succeeded by Friedrich’s elder brother, Ludwig II. However, Ludwig was deemed mentally ill, and Friedrich was appointed regent during his reign. When Ludwig died in 1858, Friedrich succeeded him as Grand Duke Friedrich II. Friedrich sided with Prussia in the wars against Austria and France and represented Baden at the Palace of Versailles when his father-in-law was created German Emperor in 1871.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden

September 28, 1947 – Death of Princess Elsa of Liechtenstein, born Elisabeth von Gutmann, wife of Prince Franz I of Liechtenstein, in Vitznau, Switzerland; originally buried in the Chapel of Our Lady at Dux in Schaan, Liechtenstein, her remains were moved to Vaduz Cathedral in Liechtenstein when the Princely Crypt there was completed
Elsa’s father was a Jewish businessman, the founder of the largest coal company in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Elsa was raised in the Jewish religion but in January 1899, she converted to Roman Catholicism in preparation for her marriage to the Hungarian Baron Géza Erős of Bethlenfalva who died in 1908. In 1914, Elsa met Prince Franz of Liechtenstein at a gala for the Relief Fund for Soldiers. The couple wanted to marry but Franz’s brother Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein refused to give his consent to the marriage. Elsa and Franz secretly married Elsa in 1919, and that same year, Pope Benedict XV received the couple at the Vatican. Johann II died in 1929, and as he was unmarried with no children, his brother succeeded to the throne as Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein. The couple created the Franz and Elsa Foundation for Liechtenstein Children in 1930, which helped impoverished Liechtenstein children receive an education. The foundation is still in existence today.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Elsa of Liechtenstein

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Sophia Alekseyevna, Regent of Russia, Credit – Wikipedia

September 27, 1601 – Birth of King Louis XIII of France at the Château de Fontainebleau in Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, France
Louis XIII became King of France at the age of eight upon the assassination of his father King Henri IV of France. His mother Marie de’ Medici was appointed Regent. In 1615, Louis married Anne of Austria. They had two sons King Louis XIV and Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. Although best associated with later generations of French monarchs, the Palace of Versailles originated with Louis XIII. Having gone on several hunting trips in the area, King Louis XIII ordered the construction of a hunting lodge in 1624. Several years later, he acquired the surrounding land and began to enlarge the building. Under his son’s reign, the small hunting lodge was transformed into a grand palace, and became the seat of the French monarchy.
Unofficial Royalty: King Louis XIII of France

September 27, 1657 – Birth of Tsarevna Sophia Alekseyevna, Regent of Russia, daughter of Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia, in Moscow, Russia
Sophia was the Regent of Russia for seven years during the early co-reign of her brother Ivan V and her half-brother Peter I (the Great). During her regency, Sophia continued the military reforms of her father Alexei I and brother Feodor III. However, Russian military defeats led to her downfall. With Peter’s reputation as a military leader, his coming of age, and his marriage, the possibility of Sophia’s dismissal as Regent seemed a very real possibility. Therefore, Sophia and her followers planned to assassinate Peter but he was told of the plot and escaped. Eventually, Sophia had no followers ready to take risks for her interests. She 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. During the Streltsy Uprising of 1698, the Streltsy secretly contacted Sophia and asked for her help. After Peter put down the rebellion, Sophia was forced to become a nun. She remained in the strictest seclusion with the other nuns allowed to see her only on Easter.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia Alekseyevna, Regent of Russia

September 27, 1760 – Death of Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, wife of King Carlos III of Spain at Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, Spain; buried at the Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real in El Escorial, Spain
Maria Amalia of Saxony was the wife of King Carlos III of Spain who also was King Carlo VII of Naples from 1735 – 1759 and King Carlo V of Sicily from 1734 – 1759. The couple had thirteen children but only seven survived childhood. Maria Amalia’s husband became King of Spain after the death of his childless half-brother Fernando VI, King of Spain in 1759. Maria Amalia had lived in her husband’s Italian kingdoms for twenty-one years and did not like Spain. On September 27, 1760, a year after arriving in Spain, 35-year-old Maria Amalia died from tuberculosis.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain

September 27, 1781 – Birth of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg in Lüben, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Lubin, Poland
Full name: Friedrich Wilhelm Karl
Before he became King of Württemberg, Wilhelm had married twice. His marriage to Princess Karoline Auguste of Bavaria resulted in divorce and no children. His first cousin Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna of Russia, daughter of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, was his second wife.  The couple had two children but Ekaterina died three years after the marriage. Wilhelm’s third wife was another first cousin Duchess Pauline of Württemberg who gave birth to three children including his heir. Wilhelm’s reign saw the economic boom of the 1830s, the expansion of roads and shipping routes, and a healthy and prosperous economy. But by the mid-1840s, several years of poor harvests had led to a rise in famine and calls for a more democratic government. Protests in 1848, and another revolution in France, led to Wilhelm conceding many of the demands being made – reinstating freedom of the press, and agreeing to form a liberal government.
Unofficial Royalty: King Wilhelm I of Württemberg

September 27, 1788 – Death of Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Princess of Württemberg, first wife of the future King Friedrich I of Württemberg, at Koluvere Manor, Kullamaa near Reval, Estonia; buried at the Church of Kullamaa in Lääne County, Estonia
Augusta was the daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, a sister of King George III. In 1780, Augusta married Prince Friedrich of Württemberg, later King Friedrich I of Württemberg. Despite an unhappy marriage, Augusta and Friedrich had four children. Augusta wanted to leave her husband as early as her first pregnancy.  In 1782, Friedrich impressed Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia while visiting Russia, and she made him Governor-General of Eastern Finland. Four years later, while they were visiting Catherine II in St. Petersburg, Augusta asked Catherine for protection from her husband. She claimed that Friedrich was abusive to her, and was having affairs with several men. Catherine took Augusta in and told Friedrich to leave the country. Augusta hoped to obtain a divorce, but her father would not permit it. So Catherine provided Augusta with a home at Koluvere Castle in Estonia, along with a custodian, Wilhelm von Pohlmann. Soon, Augusta and von Pohlmann began an affair and she became pregnant. On September 27, 1788, Augusta went into premature labor. Fearing that their affair would become known, von Pohlmann refused to call for a doctor and Augusta died of blood loss.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Princess Friedrich of Württemberg

September 27, 1820 – Birth of Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington, Queen Victoria’s Lady of the Bedchamber from 1843 until 1858, and then Mistress of the Robes from 1861 to 1868, and 1874 to 1880, at Yester House, in East Lothian, Scotland
Born Lady Elizabeth Hay, daughter of George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale, she married Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington

September 27, 1940 – Birth of Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, in Kuwait
After the death of Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 15th Ruler and 5th Emir of Kuwait on September 29, 2020, his successor Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 16th Ruler and 6th Emir of Kuwait nominated his half-brother Mishal as Crown Prince of Kuwait on October 7, 2020.  Upon the death of his half-brother Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 16th Ruler and 6th Emir of Kuwait on November 16, 2023, Mishal succeeded as Emir of Kuwait.
Unofficial Royalty: Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait

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