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King Olav V of Norway; Credit; Wikipedia

January 17, 1719 – Death of Sophie Amalie Moth, mistress of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway, at her estate Jomfruens Egede in Fakse on the island of Zealand in Denmark; first buried at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1734, Sophia Amalie and her eldest son by King Christian V, Christian Gyldenløve, were reinterred at Saint Peter’s Church in Copenhagen, Denmark
Sophie Amalie was recognized as Christian V’s official mistress and was created Countess of Samsøe. Christian V and Sophie Amalie had six children, all publicly acknowledged. Following the practice of his grandfather and father, Christian also gave his illegitimate children the surname Gyldenløve which means Golden Love. All the children also had Christian or Christiane among their names in honor of their royal father. The current Danish noble family of the Danneskiold-Samsøe descends from the eldest son of Sophie Amalie and King Christian V. Sophie Amalie and her children were financially secure because of the funds received from King Christian V and the crown treasury. King Christian V was an active participant in the children’s upbringing, education, and marriage negotiations. After the death of King Christian V in 1699, Sophie Amalie left the Danish court and retired to Jomfruens Egede, an estate she had purchased in 1674 in Fakse on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. Twenty years later, Sophie Amalie died on January 17, 1719, aged 64.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie Amalie Moth, Mistress of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway

January 17, 1755 – Birth of Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg in Riesenberg, Kingdom of Prussia now Prabuty, Poland
Full name: Peter Friedrich Ludwig
In 1781, Peter married Friederike of Württemberg, and they had two sons. In 1785, Peter’s uncle, Friedrich August I, Duke of Oldenburg, died and was succeeded by his son Wilhelm. However, Wilhelm was mentally incapacitated, and Peter was appointed Regent. Peter established a new government for the Grand Duchy, introduced general conscription, and established the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment. Upon his cousin’s death in 1823, Peter became the reigning Grand Duke of Oldenburg. Just short of six years after assuming the throne, Peter suffered a stroke and died
Unofficial Royalty: Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

January 17, 1764 – Birth of Maria Carolina of Savoy, Electoral Princess of Saxony, 1st wife of the future Anton, King of Saxony, at the Royal Palace of Turin in the Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy
Full name: Maria Carolina Antonietta Adelaide
The daughter of Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy and Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain, Maria Carolina was the first wife of the future Anton, King of Saxony.  She married Anton on October 24, 1781. Around December 14, 1782, Maria Carolina became ill with smallpox, and died on December 28, 1782, at the age of 18.
Unofficial Royalty; Maria Carolina of Savoy, Electoral Princess of Saxony

January 17, 1779 – Birth of Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily, Queen of Sardinia, wife of Carlo Felice, King  of Sardinia, at Caserta Palace in the Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy
Maria Cristina was the daughter of Ferdinando IV, King of Naples and Sicily (later Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies) and Maria Carolina of Austria. Her maternal grandmother was Maria Theresa, the sovereign ruler of the Habsburg territories from 1740 until she died in 1780, and was the only female to hold the position. In 1807, Maria Cristina married the future Carlo Felice, King of Sardina but their marriage was childless. In 1821, Carlo Felice’s brother Vittorio Emanuele I was not willing to grant a liberal constitution so he abdicated the throne of Sardinia in favor of Carlo Felice who reigned until he died in 1831. Maria Cristina survived her husband by eighteen years, dying on March 11, 1849, aged 70.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily, Queen of Sardinia

January 17, 1801 – Birth of Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll, born Elizabeth FitzClarence, an illegitimate daughter of future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
On December 4, 1820, nineteen-year-old Elizabeth married another nineteen-year-old, William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll. Elizabeth and William had four children including Lady Ida Hay, one of Queen Victoria’s bridesmaids. Their grandson Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife married Princess Louise, Princess Royal, daughter of King Edward VII. Elizabeth died on January 16, 1856, aged 54, in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was buried with her husband at St. Mary’s Church in Wimbledon, London, England.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll, born Elizabeth FitzClarence

January 17, 1861 – Death of Lola Montez, mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, in Brooklyn, New York; buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York
Lola Montez was a dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. She was born Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert on February 17, 1821, in Ireland. Starting in 1842, using the stage name Maria de los Dolores Porrys y Montez, also known as Lola Montez, she pretended to be a Spanish dancer from Seville, Spain. She also accepted favors from wealthy men in return for sex and was widely regarded as a courtesan. Lola became famous for her Spider Dance, which involved her shaking imaginary tarantulas out of her clothes and stamping on them. She then raised her skirt so high that the audience could see that she wore no underwear. In 1846, 25-year-old Lola became the mistress of the 60-year-old King Ludwig I of Bavaria. At the start of the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, Lola was forced to flee, living in Austria, Switzerland, France, and London, working as an entertainer and lecturer. In 1851, Lola went to the United States where she was surprisingly successful. In 1852, on Broadway, she played herself in a theater revue, Lola Montez in Bavaria. She toured the east coast until 1853 when she went to San Francisco where her performances created a sensation. By 1860, Lola was exhibiting the third-stage effects of syphilis. She died on January 17, 1861, aged 39, in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City.
Unofficial Royalty: Lola Montez, mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria

January 17, 1870 – Birth of Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma, Princess of Bulgaria, first wife Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria, in Rome, Italy
Full name: Maria Luisa Pia Teresa Anna Ferdinanda Francesca Antonietta Margherita Giuseppina Caroline Bianca Lucia Apollonia
Maria Luisa was the eldest child of Robert I, Duke of Parma and his first wife Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1893, she married the reigning Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria. They had four children including Boris III, Tsar of Bulgaria. Maria Luisa’s marriage, which had been strictly for political and dynastic reasons, was not a happy one. Having given birth to three children, and expecting a fourth within five years had taken a toll on her already frail health. 29-year-old Maria Luisa developed pneumonia while pregnant with her youngest child, and died on January 31, 1899, just a day after giving birth.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma, Princess of Bulgaria

January 17, 1882 – Birth of Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, Princess Nicholas of Greece, daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and wife of Prince Nicholas of Greece, in St. Petersburg, Russia
Elena was the only daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Through her father, she was the granddaughter of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, niece of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, and first cousin of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. In 1902, Elena married her second cousin Prince Nicholas of Greece, the son of King George I of Greece and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. The couple had three daughters including Princess Marina of Greece who married Prince George, Duke of Kent. Because of the political situation in Greece, members of the Greek royal family, including Elena and her husband, were often in exile. The Greek monarchy was restored in 1935, and the following year, Elena and Nicholas returned to Greece. Having suffered from declining health for several years, Prince Nicholas died in 1938. Elena remained in Greece throughout World War II. Along with her sister-in-law, Princess Andreas of Greece (the former Princess Alice of Battenberg), Elena worked with the Red Cross during World War II to organize shelters and nurses in the poor neighborhoods of Athens. Elena lived out the rest of her life in Greece, enjoying a close relationship with King Paul and Queen Friederike, and a particularly close bond with the future King Constantine II.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, Princess Nicholas of Greece

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

January 17, 1908 – Death of Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Salzburg, Austria; buried in the Tuscan Vault at Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
Ferdinando was the son of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his second wife Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1856, Ferdinando married Princess Anna of Saxony, daughter of Johann, King of Saxony. Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. However, a year later, Anna miscarried a daughter due to typhoid fever and died four days later. In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement. Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. Ferdinando was unable to return to Florence to claim his throne, and an elected Tuscan National Assembly formally deposed him. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy and in 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy. Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. In 1868, Ferdinando married Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma and the couple had ten children. Ferdinando died at the age of 72.
Unofficial Royalty: Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany

January 17, 1991 – Death of King Olav V of Norway at the Royal Lodge (Kongsseteren) in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway; buried at the Akershus Fortress in Oslo, Norway
The son of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of the United Kingdom, he assumed the name Olav when his father became King Haakon VII of Norway in 1905. He was the paternal grandson of King Frederik VIII of Denmark and Princess Louise of Sweden, and the maternal grandson of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Princess Alexandra of Denmark.  An avid skier and sailor, Olav represented Norway in the 1928 Olympic Games, winning a Gold Medal in the sailing competition, and remained active in sailing his whole life. In 1929, Olav married his first cousin Princess Märtha of Sweden. They had three children including the current King of Norway, Harald V. In April 1954, Crown Princess Märtha died of cancer, having been ill for some time. Three years later, Olav became King of Norway, following the death of his father. Olav, already much loved by the Norwegian people, became even more popular during his reign. He was often found among his people – driving around town, stopping in shops, taking the train to the ski slopes unaccompanied – gaining him the nickname “The People’s King”. King Olav V died of a heart attack on January 17, 1991, at the age of 88.
Unofficial Royalty: King Olav V of Norway

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Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught; Credit – Wikipedia

January 16, 1245 – Birth of Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster and Leicester, son of King Henry III of England, at the Palace of Westminster in London, England
Edmund was named after his father’s favorite saint, Edmund the Martyr, King of East Anglia who was killed in 869 by Vikings on the orders of Ivar the Boneless and his brother Ubba. A couple of 14th-century chroniclers misinterpreted “Crouchback” as meaning Edmund had a physical deformity, but it is probable that “Crouchback” refers to his participation in the Ninth Crusades when he would have worn a cross on his back. Edmund first married Aveline de Forz, Countess of Aumale and Lady of Holderness in 1269, but she died childless five years later. In 1276, Edmund married Blanche of Artois, widow of King Henri I of Navarre, and they had three sons. Edmund was a loyal supporter of his brother King Edward I of England who succeeded to the throne in 1272. In 1271, Edmund accompanied his elder brother Edward I on the Ninth Crusade to Palestine. In 1277, Edmund was appointed commander of Wales. In 1282, Edmund ambushed and executed Llewellyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd, the last native and sovereign Prince of Wales. This led to the final defeat and annexation of Wales in 1283.
Unofficial Royalty: Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster and Leicester

January 16, 1362 – Birth of Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, 9th Earl of Oxford, favorite of King Richard II of England
In 1376, Robert married Philippa de Coucy, daughter of Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy and Isabella of England, the eldest daughter of King Edward III of England. Robert was often at court in his role as Lord Great Chamberlain and as the husband of King Richard II’s first cousin. He quickly became a favorite of the young king and a member of the Privy Council. Robert became very unpopular with the other nobles and his close relationship with Richard II was one of the causes for the emergence of organized opposition to Richard called the Lords Appellant. In 1387, the Lords Appellant launched an armed rebellion against King Richard II and defeated an army under Robert de Vere at the Battle of Radcot Bridge on the River Thames, outside Oxford. Robert fled to France and was attainted, found guilty of treason, lost his titles and land, and sentenced to death in absentia. In 1392, in Louvain, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium, 30-year-old Robert de Vere died in exile and poverty from the wounds received while hunting a wild boar.
Unofficial Royalty: Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, 9th Earl of Oxford

January 16, 1831 – Birth of Alexander, Prince of Lippe in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Full name: Karl Alexander
As the fifth of the six sons of Leopold III, Prince of Lippe, Alexander was not expected to succeed to the throne. He served as a captain in the army of the Kingdom of Hanover, and in 1851, when he was 20-year-old, he fell from his horse. Over the subsequent years, he developed the first signs of a mental disorder. In 1870, due to the worsening of his mental disorder, Alexander was legally declared incapacitated. The following year, it became necessary to place Alexander in the St. Gilgenberg Sanatorium, a private sanatorium for men with nervous and mental disorders, near Bayreuth, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, where he spent the remainder of his life. When Alexander’s father Leopold II died in 1851, he was succeeded by his eldest son as Leopold III. The childless Leopold III died in 1875 and he was succeeded by his next brother Woldemar who was also childless. During Woldemar’s reign, Alexander became Woldemar’s only surviving brother, the last of the line of the House of Lippe, and therefore his heir. When Woldemar died in 1895, his incapacitated brother Alexander succeeded him as Prince of Lippe, with a regency. There was a huge disagreement about who should be regent and who should be Alexander’s successor, so huge that Wilhelm II, German Emperor became involved. (Read more about it in Alexander’s article.)
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander, Prince of Lippe

January 16, 1836 – Birth of Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Full name: Francesco d’Assisi Maria Leopoldo
Francesco II was the last King of the Two Sicilies. In 1859, he married Maria Sophie of Bavaria. The couple had one daughter. Three months after his marriage Francesco’s father died and he became King of the Two Sicilies. During the reign of Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861. After losing his throne, Francesco lived in Rome. 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. Maria Sophie purchased Garatshausen Castle on Lake Starnberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria from her brother Ludwig, and the castle became their home.
Unofficial Royalty: Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies

January 16, 1856 – Death of Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll, born Elizabeth FitzClarence, an illegitimate daughter of future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, in Edinburgh Scotland; buried in the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, Greater London, England
On December 4, 1820, nineteen-year-old Elizabeth married another nineteen-year-old, William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll. Elizabeth and William had four children including Lady Ida Hay, one of Queen Victoria’s bridesmaids. Their grandson Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife married Princess Louise, Princess Royal, daughter of King Edward VII.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll, born Elizabeth FitzClarence

January 16, 1928 – Death of Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen at Schloss Altenstein in Bad Liebenstein, Germany where he was buried
Bernhard III was the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, a scholar, a Field Marshal in the Prussian army, and the husband of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Charlotte of Prussia. He was interested in the Greek language and was the author and translator of several works. Between 1873 and 1894, he made numerous study trips to Greece and Asia Minor, where he visited archaeological sites and worked with well-known archaeologists. In 1878,  Bernhard married Princess Charlotte of Prussia, the eldest daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal, and the sister of Wilhelm II, German Emperor. Bernhard and Charlotte had one child. After his abdication in 1918 at the end of World War I, Bernhard lived his remaining years at Schloss Altenstein in Bad Liebenstein, now in Germany. His wife Charlotte died in 1919. Bernhard survived her by nine years, dying at the age of 76,
Unofficial Royalty: Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

January 16, 1935 – Death of Alicia of Parma, Titular Grand Duchess of Tuscany, wife of Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany at Schloss Schwertburg in Schwertburg, Austria; first buried in Schwertburg, and in 2007, her remains were reburied in the cemetery of the parish church in St. Gilgen, near Salzburg, Austria.
Alicia was the daughter of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France, a granddaughter of King Charles X of France. Alicia’s father was assassinated in 1854 and her six-year-old brother Roberto became Duke of Parma. Roberto lost his throne in 1859 during the Italian unification movement. In 1868, Alicia became the second wife of the former Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ferdinando lost his throne due to the Italian unification and was in exile like Alicia’s family. Alicia and Ferdinando had ten children. Ferdinando and Alicia lived at the Villa Tuscany in Lindau, Austria during the summer, and during the winter they lived in a wing of the Salzburg Residenz, formerly the residence of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. Both residences were provided by Ferdinando’s second cousin Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria. Alice’s husband Ferdinando Ferdinando died in 1908, at the age of 72. Alicia survived him by twenty-seven years, dying on January 16, 1935, aged 85.
Unofficial Royalty: Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

January 16, 1942 – Death of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria, at Bagshot Park in Surrey, England; buried at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore in Windsor, England
Arthur had a 40-year military career and participated in many missions in various parts of the British Empire. In 1879, Arthur married Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia and the couple had three children. Through their daughter Margaret, who married the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, Arthur and Louise Margaret are the ancestors of the Danish and Swedish royal families. Two of their great-grandchildren are current monarchs: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. In 1911, to strengthen the links between the British monarchy and Canada, Arthur was appointed the first Governor-General of Canada who was a member of the Royal Family. After his time in Canada, Arthur returned to the British Army and served for the rest of World War I. Louise Margaret, who had been ill during their stay in Canada, died of influenza and bronchitis in 1917, at the age of 56. Arthur withdrew from public life in 1928 and died on January 16, 1942, at his home Bagshot Park in Surrey, England at the age of 91. His sister Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll also died at the age of 91, making both Arthur and Louise the longest-lived of Victoria and Albert’s children.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught

January 16, 1957 – Death of Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, husband of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Alice of Albany, at Kensington Palace in London, England; buried at the Royal Burial Grounds at Frogmore in Windsor, England
Born Prince Alexander of Teck, and called Alge, his mother was Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a male-line granddaughter of King George III and a first cousin of Queen Victoria.  His sister was Queen Mary, wife of King George V. In 1904, Alge married Princess Alice of Albany, the daughter of Queen Victoria’s hemophiliac son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. Alice and Alge had two surviving children, a son Rupert and a daughter May. In 1928, 20-year-old Rupert died from an injury received in a car accident which he probably would have recovered from had he not been a hemophiliac. Upon the orders of King George V, during World War I, Alge and other royal family members relinquished the use of all German titles and dignities. Alge became Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone. From 1924-1930, Alge was Governor-General of South Africa and was Governor-General of Canada from 1940-1946. In 1946, Alge retired and he and Alice took a grace and favor apartment at Kensington Palace in London. Alge died on January 16, 1957, at Kensington Palace at the age of 82. His wife Alice survived him by 24 years, dying on January 3, 1981, one month short of her 98th birthday, the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone

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Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

January 15, 1776 – Birth of Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, great-grandson of King George II, nephew and son-in-law of King George III, and husband of Princess Mary of the United Kingdom, at Palazzo Teodoli in Via del Corso, Rome, Italy
William Frederick was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and like his father, Prince William Henry, 1st Duke of Gloucester (brother of King George III), had a career in the British Army, attaining the rank of Field Marshal in 1816. He was an advocate for the abolition of slavery, served as President of the African Institution, and was Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. In 1816, 40-year-old William Frederick married his 40-year-old first cousin Princess Mary, the daughter of King George III.  Mary and William’s marriage was childless. The couple lived at Gloucester House in Piccadilly, London and Bagshot Park, now the home of Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest child Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh. William Frederick died at the age of 58 after being ill with a fever for fifteen days.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester

January 15, 1781 – Death of Mariana Victoria of Spain, wife of King José I of Portugal at Barraca Real of Ajuda, Portugal; first buried at the Church of São Francisco de Paula in Lisbon, Portugal, her remains were later transferred to the Pantheon of the House of Braganza in Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
The daughter of Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain, and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Mariana Victoria married the future José, I. King of Portugal in 1729. The couple had four daughters including Maria I, Queen of Portugal. After King José suffered a series of strokes, Mariana Victoria was created Regent of Portugal in 1776, and remained Regent until José’s death. José I, King of Portugal died in 1777. Mariana Victoria had a significant influence on her daughter Maria I, Queen of Portugal, who often asked her mother’s advice on matters of state.
Unofficial Royalty: Mariana Victoria of Spain, Queen of Portugal

January 15, 1875 – Birth of King Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, then in the Emirate of Nejd and Hasa, now the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz was an Arab tribal leader who founded the Kingdom of  Saudi Arabia. He was King of Saudi Arabia from 1932 until he died in 1953. He had ruled parts of the kingdom since 1902, having previously been Emir, Sultan, and King of Nejd, and King of Hejaz. Abdulaziz had a polygamous household comprising of several wives at a time and numerous concubines. It is thought he had a total of 22-24 wives. He was the father of almost a hundred children, including 45 sons of whom 36 survived to adulthood. The six Kings of Saudi Arabia who followed King Abdulaziz were all his sons including Salman, the current King of Saudi Arabia. At the age of 78, Abdulaziz died in his sleep from a heart attack with his son Prince Faisal, a future King of Saudi Arabia, at his bedside.
Unofficial Royalty: King Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) of Saudi Arabia

January 15, 1882 – Birth of Princess Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden, daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and first wife of the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, at Bagshot Park in Surrey, England
Full name: Margaret Victoria Augusta Charlotte Norah
Margaret was the daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. In 1905, Margaret married the future King Gustaf VI Adolf, then Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Skåne. The couple had four sons and one daughter, and the Danish and Swedish Royal Families are the descendants of Margaret and Gustaf Adolf. Margaret was eager to learn the Swedish language and history, endearing her to the Swedish public. During World War I in neutral Sweden, Margaret organized supply drives and acted as a go-between for her relatives whose Allied and Axis countries were divided by the war. In 1907, when Gustaf Adolf’s grandfather King Oscar II died and his father succeeded as King Gustaf V, Gustaf Adolf and Margaret became the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden. Margaret was eight months pregnant with her sixth child in 1920 when she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection set in, killing Margaret, at the age of 38, and her unborn child on May 1, 1920, her father’s 70th birthday. Her family along with the Swedish and British public mourned her death greatly.
Unofficial Royalty:  Princess Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden

January 15, 1902 – Birth of King Saud of Saudi Arabia at the home of his paternal grandfather Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud, Emir of Nejd in Kuwait City, Kuwait
Upon the death of his father King Abdulaziz in 1953, Saud became the second King of Saudi Arabia and reorganized the government. Saud sought to maintain friendly relations with the United States, while also supporting other Arab countries in their conflicts against Israel. Saud’s inability to deal with the Saudi national debt brought him into a power struggle with his half-brother Crown Prince Faisal. This resulted in the forced abdication of Saud by senior members of the royal family and Faisal becoming King of Saudi Arabia. Saud lived the rest of his life in exile.
Unofficial Royalty: King Saud of Saudi Arabia

January 15, 1945 – Birth of Princess Michael of Kent, wife of Prince Michael of Kent, born Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz in Carlsbad, then in the German-controlled Sudetenland, now known as Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. 
Full name: Marie-Christine Agnes Hedwig Ida
After her first marriage to English banker Thomas Troubridge ended in divorce and an annulment from the Roman Catholic Church, Marie-Christine married Prince Michael of Kent, a grandson of King George V and a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Because his wife was Roman Catholic, Prince Michael forfeited his place in the line of succession under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701. When the Succession to The Crown Act 2013 went into effect, eliminating the exclusion of anyone who marries a Roman Catholic, Prince Michael was returned to his place in the line of succession. Marie-Christine and Michael had two children who were raised in the Church of England. Neither Princess Michael nor her husband have official royal duties or receive public funds. However, they occasionally represent Queen Elizabeth II at events abroad. Princess Michael works as a writer, historian, lecturer, interior designer, and art consultant.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Michael of Kent

January 15, 1996 – Death of King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho in the Maloti Mountains, Lesotho; buried on Thaba Bosiu, a plateau in Lesotho, the stronghold of King Moshoeshoe I (reigned 1822 – 1870) and once the capital of Lesotho
Moshoeshoe II was Paramount Chief of Basutoland (the former name of Lesotho) from 1960 – 1965 and King of Lesotho from 1965 – 1990. The Kingdom of Lesotho is a country completely within the borders of South Africa. In December 1990, he was deposed and his elder son became king, reigning as King Letsie III. Letsie III was embarrassed at being king while his father was still alive, and tried to persuade the government to reinstate his father as king. In August 1994 he enacted a new coup d’état with the army. Having obtained power, Letsie promised to return power to the previous government on the condition that Moshoeshoe II would return to being King of Lesotho. Moshoeshoe II’s second reign was brief. In the Maloti Mountains in Lesotho, Moshoeshoe’s car plunged off a mountain road during the early hours of January 15, 1996, killing him and his chauffeur. Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral ceremony. The procession stretched for miles along the road from the king’s favorite farm in Matsieng to Thaba Bosiu, the birthplace of the Basotho nation and the burial place of its kings.
Unofficial Royalty: King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho

January 15, 2006 – Death of Jaber III al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, 3rd Emir of Kuwait in Kuwait City, Kuwait; buried at Sulaibikhat Cemetery in Sulaibikhat, Al Asimah, Kuwait
Jaber III Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah reigned as the 13th Ruler and 3rd Emir of Kuwait from 1977 – 2006. He was Emir of Kuwait during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and the subsequent Persian Gulf War. Unlike many other rulers in the Middle East, Emir Jaber stood out for his modest style. He declined to put his image on the nation’s currency and lived in what Kuwaitis considered a relatively simple home. The Kuwaiti people often referred to him as Baba Jaber or Father Jaber. Jaber suffered from some health problems in his last years, and he traveled outside Kuwait to receive treatment a number of times, including in September 2001, when he suffered a stroke and went to the United Kingdom for treatment. On January 15, 2006, Jaber III Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 3rd Emir of Kuwait, aged 79, died from a cerebral hemorrhage at Dasman Palace in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Unofficial Royalty: Jaber III al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, 3rd Emir of Kuwait

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Princess Mary of Great Britain, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel; Credit – Wikipedia

 January 14, 1766 – Death of King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Frederik had a very sensual nature and loved wine and women. He spent so much time visiting Copenhagen’s pubs and brothels that his father King Christian VI considered disinheriting him from the throne. When he married Louisa of Great Britain in 1743, the Danish government hoped (incorrectly) that marriage would put an end to his affairs and drunkenness. Frederik and Louisa had five children. When Frederik became king, he did take part in the government by attending council meetings. However, he was afflicted with alcoholism, and most of his reign was dominated by his very able ministers. In 1752, a year after Louisa died due to complications from a miscarriage. Frederik married Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and the couple had one son. In 1760, Frederik broke his leg in a drunken accident, which affected his health for the rest of his life. He died on January 14, 1766, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark at the age of 42.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway

January 14, 1767 – Birth of Maria Theresia of Austria, Queen of Saxony, wife of King Anton of Saxony, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy
Full name: Maria Theresia Josepha Charlotte Johanna
Maria Theresia was the eldest child of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor) and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. In 1787, she married the future King Anton of Saxony. The couple had four children, none of whom lived past infancy. In 1827, Maria Theresia and her husband became King and Queen of Saxony. Sadly, her tenure as Queen was short-lived. Just six months after her husband’s accession, Queen Maria Theresia died at the age of 60.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresia of Austria, Queen of Saxony

January 14, 1772 – Death of Princess Mary of Great Britain, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel, daughter of King George II of Great Britain, at Hanau, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, now in Hesse, Germany; buried at the Reformed Church in Hanau
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 they are the ancestors of six of the ten current European monarchs. The marriage was unhappy, and Friedrich reportedly abused Mary to spousal abuse. The couple separated in 1754 on Friedrich’s conversion to Roman Catholicism. Her father-in-law supported Mary 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 that she would 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 had died in 1751. She took her children with her, and they were raised at the Danish court and her sons were married to Danish princesses. Her husband succeeded his father as Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in 1760, and so 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

January 14, 1823 – Birth of Carlo III, Duke of Parma at the Villa delle Pianore near Lucca in the Duchy of Lucca, now in Italy
Full name: Ferdinando Carlo Vittorio Giuseppe Maria Baldassarre
Carlo’s father was in financial difficulty and he decided to marry his son to a princess with a large dowry. The chosen bride was Louise Marie Therese of France, the granddaughter of King Charles X of France. Carlo and Louise Therese Marie were married in 1847 and had four children.  Carlo became Duke of Parma upon the abdication in 1849 of his very unpopular father Carlo II Ludovico. Carlo III, Duke of Parma reigned for only five years and was assassinated for his authoritarian policies. His six-year-old son Roberto became Duke of Parma with his mother as regent but had a short reign. In 1859, the Duchy of Parma was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia as 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: Carlo III, Duke of Parma

January 14, 1831 – Birth of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in Hesse, Germany
In 1845, Georg Viktor’s father died and his mother Emma served as Regent of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont until he reached his majority in 1852. In 1853, Georg Victor married Helena of Nassau. Helena proved to be very successful in finding suitable marriages for their children by making contacts with various European royal houses. Because of her efforts, the relatively poor House of Waldeck-Pyrmont was linked to the richer ruling dynasties of Würtemberg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Their daughter Emma married King Willem III of the Netherlands and their daughter Helena married Queen Victoria’s son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. Georg Viktor and his wife Helena are the ancestors of the Dutch royal family through their daughter Emma and the Swedish royal family through their daughter Helena. Three years after Georg Viktor’s wife Helena died in 1888, he married Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. They had one son, Prince Wolrad, who was killed in action during World War I. A year after the birth of his son Wolrad, Georg Viktor, aged 62, died from pneumonia on May 12, 1893.
Unofficial Royalty: Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

January 14, 1850 – Birth of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia
Alexei is most well-known for his coast-to-coast official visit to the United States in 1871 where one of the highlights was buffalo hunting with Buffalo Bill Cody, General George Armstrong Custer, and General Philip Sheridan. Being the fourth of six sons, Alexei had a career in the Russian Imperial Navy. He was ultimately promoted to Admiral-General, Chief of the Fleet and Naval Department, and Chairman of the Admiralty Board. At the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, when the Russian naval fleet was defeated, Alexei was dismissed from all naval posts.  He then spent most of the time in Paris, France in a house he had bought in 1897. There he welcomed writers, painters, actors, and actresses. He loved living in Paris and was a familiar figure in restaurants and theaters. He died of pneumonia on November 27, 1908, in Paris at the age of 58.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia

January 14, 1880 – Death of Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein in Wiesbaden, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Hesse, Germany; buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Przemków, Poland
In 1864, following the Second Schleswig War, the Duchy of Holstein and the Duchy of Schleswig became occupied territories of the German Confederation. Two years later, following the Austro-Prussian War, it became part of the new Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein. However, Prussia recognized Friedrich as the mediatized duke of these two duchies, with the rank and all the titles. In 1856, Friedrich married Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. She was the daughter of Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Feodora of Leiningen (the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom). Together they had seven children. At just 50 years old, Friedrich VIII died in Wiesbaden, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Hesse, Germany on January 14, 1880.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein

January 14, 1892 – Death of Prince Albert Victor (Eddy), eldest son of the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England; buried in the Albert Memorial Chapel at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Eddy, as he was known, was second in line of succession to the British throne after his father, the future King Edward VII. Eddy was inattentive and lazy and never excelled in his studies. Perhaps this was due to his premature birth which can be associated with learning disabilities. Eddy’s family decided that finding a suitable wife might help correct his attitude and behavior. In December 1891, Eddy became engaged to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, known as May, the daughter of Queen Victoria’s first cousin Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. The wedding was set for February 27, 1892. Amid the wedding preparations, Eddy developed a high fever on January 7, 1892. His sister Victoria and other household members had been ill with influenza, which Eddy also developed. Two days later, his lungs became inflamed and pneumonia was diagnosed. In the early morning of January 14, 1892, a chaplain was summoned to Eddy’s bedroom. There, surrounded by his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, his brother George, his sisters Louise, Victoria, and Maud, his fiancée May, and her mother the Duchess of Teck, Eddy died at 9:35 a.m. Eddy’s funeral was held at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor and he was buried in the Albert Memorial Chapel in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England. May’s wedding bouquet of orange blossoms lay on his coffin. May eventually married Eddy’s brother George and they became the beloved King George V and Queen Mary.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence

January 14, 1939 – Death of Prince Valdemar of Denmark, son of King Christian IX of Denmark, at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried in Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Valdemar was the youngest of the six children of King Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. He was the brother of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, King George I of Greece, and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia. In 1885, Valdemar married Princess Marie of Orléans. Valdemar and Marie had four sons and one daughter. Three of their sons made unequal marriages and relinquished their position within the Danish Royal Family upon marrying without official consent from the monarch. Valdemar had a lifelong naval career which frequently caused him to be away from home. When his wife Marie died in 1909, after a long illness, Valdemar was on a long naval voyage. Valdemar survived Marie by 30 years, dying on January 14, 1939, at the age of 80.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Valdemar of Denmark

January 14, 1972 – Death of King Frederik IX of Denmark at Copenhagen Municipal Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried outside Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
In 1935, Frederik married Princess Ingrid of Sweden, daughter of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The couple had three daughters including Frederik’s successor Queen Margrethe II. In 1947, Frederik succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father King Christian X. During Frederik’s reign the 1953 Danish Act of Succession was adopted, allowing for female succession if the monarch had no sons. A 2009 succession law now allows for the succession of the firstborn child regardless of gender. Frederik had a great love for music and was a talented pianist and conductor. Several recordings of orchestral music originally heard on Danish radio conducted by King Frederik have been released on CDs. In January 1972, shortly after Frederik had given his New Year speech, he became ill with flu-like symptoms. On January 3, 1972, he had a cardiac arrest and was rushed to Copenhagen Municipal Hospital. The king improved for a time but took a turn for the worse on January 11, and on January 14, 1972, King Frederik IX died at the age of 72.  Unlike other Danish monarchs, buried inside Roskilde Cathedral, Frederik wanted to be buried outside the cathedral in sight of the sea. Frederik had a career in the Royal Danish Navy where he had several senior commands and attained the rank of Rear Admiral.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik IX of Denmark

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Sophie of Prussia, Queen of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

January 13, 1735 – Death of Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, Queen of Sardinia, second wife of Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia, at the Royal Palace of Turin in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin
Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg was the second of the three wives, all of whom died young, of Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. Polyxena and Carlo Emanuele III had six children including her husband’s successor Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia. She was active in charity work, founding a home for young mothers in Turin. Polyxena worked with Italian architect Filippo Juvarra, the architect of the great Basilica of Superga in Turin, to remodel and renovate several buildings. In 1733, Polyxena gave birth to her last child Prince Carlo of Savoy, Duke of Chablais, who lived a little over five months. She fell seriously ill in June 1734 and died on January 13, 1735, aged 28.
Unofficial Royalty: Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, Queen of Sardinia

January 13, 1797 – Death of Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern, Queen of Prussia, wife of King Friedrich II of Prussia; at the Stadtschloss in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany; buried at the Berlin Cathedral
In 1733, Elisabeth Christine married Crown Prince Friedrich of Prussia. The marriage had been arranged between the groom’s father, King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia, and the bride’s uncle, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. They had no children and lived separate lives until their deaths. In 1740, Elisabeth’s father-in-law died and her husband succeeded him. Despite their separation, the new King understood the importance of court life and ensured that Elisabeth Christine had a prominent and official role. While Friedrich II rarely attended any court functions, Elisabeth Christine was always there, even often representing him at his own birthday celebrations. Beloved by the people of Prussia, Elisabeth Christine became a symbol of strength during the Seven Years’ War. Further endearing herself to the Prussian people was her charity work. She donated the majority of her allowance to charitable causes each year. Widowed in 1786, the Dowager Queen continued to have a very prominent role at court and was often consulted on matters of etiquette and court life. Eleven years after the death of her husband, Elisabeth Christine died at the age of 82.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern, Queen of Prussia

January 13, 1883 – Birth of Prince Arthur of Connaught, grandson of Queen Victoria, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Full name: Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert
Prince Arthur was the son of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Marguerite of Prussia. Like his father, Arthur had a military career. He was on active duty during the Second Boer War. During World War I, Prince Arthur served as aide-de-camp to General Sir John French and General Sir Douglas Haig. He was Governor-General of South Africa from 1920 – 1923. Prince Arthur married his first cousin once removed Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife, the elder daughter of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife and a grandchild of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. The couple had two daughters. In 1938, Prince Arthur died of stomach cancer at the age of 55. As Prince Arthur predeceased his father The Duke of Connaught, Arthur’s son Alastair became heir to the dukedom.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Arthur of Connaught

January 13, 1897 – Death of Arcadie Claret, mistress of Leopold I, King of the Belgians in Monheim am Rhein, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of in North Rhine-Westphalia
Arcadie Claret was the mistress of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, the uncle of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, from around 1842 until the King died in 1865. Because their relationship became publicly known and widely discussed in the press, Leopold arranged a marriage between Arcadie and Ferdinand Meyer, his Master of the Stable and friend. This marriage of convenience provided some relief from the intense speculation about Arcadie and her relationship with Leopold. Arcadie and Leopold had two sons although both were registered as husband’s children and given the surname Meyer. Following King Leopold’s death in December 1865, Arcadie no longer found herself no longer welcome within the royal family. Within days of his death, she and her sons left Brussels and settled at her castle in Monheim. Arcadie lived a quiet and private life in Monheim for the next 31 years before dying there on January 13, 1897, at the age of 71.
Unofficial Royalty: Arcadie Claret, Mistress of Leopold I, King of the Belgians

January 13, 1905 – Death of Alexander, Prince of Lippe at the St Gilgenberg Sanatorium near Bayreuth, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried in the family mausoleum in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
As the fifth of the six sons of Leopold III, Prince of Lippe, Alexander was not expected to succeed to the throne. He served as a captain in the army of the Kingdom of Hanover, and in 1851, when he was 20 years old, he had a fall from his horse. Over the subsequent years, he developed the first signs of a mental disorder. In 1870, due to the worsening of his mental disorder, Alexander was legally declared incapacitated. The following year, it became necessary to place Alexander in the St. Gilgenberg Sanatorium, a private sanatorium for men with nervous and mental disorders, near Bayreuth, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, where he spent the remainder of his life. When Alexander’s father Leopold II died in 1851, he was succeeded by his eldest son as Leopold III. The childless Leopold III died in 1875 and was succeeded by his next brother Woldemar who was also childless. During Woldemar’s reign, Alexander became Woldemar’s only surviving brother, the last of the line of the House of Lippe, and therefore his heir. When Woldemar died in 1895, his incapacitated brother Alexander succeeded him as Prince of Lippe, with a regency. There was a huge disagreement about who should be regent and who should be Alexander’s successor, so huge that Wilhelm II, German Emperor became involved. (Read more about it in Alexander’s article.) Alexander probably knew nothing about the dispute. He remained at the St. Gilgenberg Sanatorium but was able to attend concerts and plays. He spent his time playing chess, copying pictures from illustrated newspapers, listening to music, and playing chess. However, Alexander did know his rank and position and insisted on the proper etiquette. He died at the sanatorium at the age of 73.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander, Prince of Lippe

January 13, 1932 – Death of Sophie of Prussia, Queen of Greece, wife of King Constantine I of Greece, at Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany; first buried in the Greek Orthodox Church in Florence, Italy, in 1936, after the restoration of the Greek monarchy, her remains were buried in the mausoleum at the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace in Greece
Sophie was the daughter of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1889, she married the future King Constantine I of Greece, and they had six children and all three of their sons became King of Greece. The Greek, Romanian, Serbian, and Spanish Royal Families descend from their marriage. In 1913, Constantine’s father King George I of Greece was assassinated and he acceded to the Greek throne as King Constantine I. Due to much political turmoil, Constantine was forced to abdicate in 1917, restored to the throne in 1920, and then forced to abdicate a second time. Sophie and Constantine lived the rest of their lives in exile. Constantine died in 1923 in Palermo, Italy from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 54. Sophie spent her last years at her villa in Florence, Italy. She died at the age of 61, on January 13, 1932, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where she had been undergoing treatment for cancer.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie of Prussia, Queen of Greece

January 13, 2017 – Death of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, former husband of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom, in Kensington, London, England; buried at St. Baglan’s Church in Llanfaglan, Wales
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 the sister of Queen Elizabeth II. 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 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. along with 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

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Anne, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

January 12, 1519 – Death of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria at the Castle of Wels in Wels, Upper Austria, now in Austria; buried at St. George’s Cathedral in Wiener Neustadt Castle in Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria, now in Austria. As per his will, his heart was placed in the tomb of his first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, County of Flanders, now in Belgium.
Maximilian I reigned as King of the Romans, the de facto leader of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 – 1508, Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 – 1519, and ruled his family lands as Archduke of Austria from 1493 – 1519. Maximilian married Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right, the only child of Charles I the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and the couple had three children. It was through the marriage of Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip to Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon that the Habsburg lands would be joined with the Spanish lands. Philip and Juana’s son Carlos, best known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms. After Mary died in a horseriding accident, Maximilan married two more times but neither marriage produced children. Maximilian suffered a stroke on December 15, 1518, that left him bedridden. However, Maximilian continued to read documents and receive foreign envoys. On January 12, 1519, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria died, aged 59 at the Castle of Wels in Wels, Upper Austria.
Unofficial Royalty: Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria

January 12, 1751 – Birth of Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies at the Royal Palace in the Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy
In 1759, upon the death of his childless half-brother King Ferdinand VI of Spain, Ferdinando’s father King Carlos IV of Naples and Sicily succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain. Because of treaties, Carlos could not be the sovereign of all three kingdoms. His eldest son Felipe was excluded from the succession because of intellectual disability and his second son Carlos was the heir apparent to the Spanish throne. That left the third son Ferdinando to become King of Naples and King of Sicily. In 1768, Ferdinando married Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. The couple had 17 children but only seven survived childhood. Four of their five surviving daughters married sovereigns. Ferdinando’s wife Maria Carolina was better educated and more qualified to reign. As part of the marriage contract, Maria Carolina was to have a place on the council of state after the birth of her first son. From 1777 on, Maria Carolina was the de facto ruler of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. Ferdinando was deposed twice: once by the revolutionary Parthenopean Republic for six months in 1799 and again by Napoleon in 1805, before being restored in 1816. In 1820, after riots in Sicily, Ferdinando Ferdinando was forced to sign a constitution and appoint his son Francesco as regent of Sicily. This only lasted until 1821, when Austrian troops friendly to Ferdinando occupied Naples.
Unofficial Royalty: Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies

January 12, 1759 – Death of Anne, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange, daughter of King George II of Great Britain and wife of Willem IV, Prince of Orange, at The Hague, the Netherlands; buried at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
In 1734, Anne married Willem IV, Prince of Orange and they had two surviving children. The Dutch Royal Family is descended from Anne. When Willem IV died at age 40 from a stroke in 1751, he was succeeded by his three-year-old son as Willem V, Prince of Orange with Anne serving as Regent. As Regent, Anne was given all the powers normally given a hereditary Stadtholder of the Netherlands, with the exception of the military duties of the office, which was entrusted to Ludwig Ernst of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Anne acted as Regent until her death from dropsy in 1759, at age 49.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange

January 12, 1810 – Birth of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies in Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily, now in Italy
Full name: Ferdinando Carlo Maria
Twenty-year-old Ferdinando II succeeded to the throne of the Two Sicilies upon the death of his father Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies in 1830. In 1832, Ferdinando married Maria Cristina of Savoy, the daughter of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia. In 1836, five days after giving birth to her only child, 23-year-old Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications. Maria Cristina had been called “the Holy Queen” for her deep religious devotion. She patiently endured her illnesses with her piety and was popular with the people for her charity, modesty, and humility. In 2014, at the Basilica of Santa Chiara where she is buried, Maria Cristina was beatified and is known as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy, one step away from canonization as a saint. In 1837, Ferdinando married Maria Theresa of Austria and they had twelve children. The Revolutions of 1848 reached the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and Ferdinando II was forced to grant a constitution to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The goodwill created by the constitution did not last long. Between 1849 and 1851, Ferdinando returned to repressive policies causing many who opposed him to go into exile. An estimated 2,000 suspected revolutionaries or dissidents were jailed. Because of this, in 1856, Ferdinando was the victim of an assassination attempt.
Unofficial Royalty: Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies

January 12, 1855 – Death of Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of Sardinia, wife of Carlo Alberto I, King of Sardinia in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin
Maria Theresa was the daughter of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his first wife Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily. In 1817, she married the future Carlo Alberto I, King of Sardinia. They had three children including Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later King of Italy, who became the first king of a united Italy. Maria Theresa’s husband became King of Sardinia in 1831. In 1848, Carlo Alberto attempted to rid the Italian peninsula of Austrian-ruled and supported states resulting in the First Italian War of Independence, part of the Italian Unification. After the Austrian forces defeated his forces, Carlo Alberto immediately abdicated in favor of his son Vittorio Emanuele and went into exile in Portugal. However, he became seriously ill during the trip and died soon after reaching his destination. After the death of her husband, Maria Theresa no longer appeared in public. However, she was a great influence on her son Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia. Her son became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. However, Maria Theresa did not live long enough to see her son become King of a united Italy. On January 12, 1855, in Turin, Maria Theresa died at the age of 53.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of Sardinia

January 12, 1974 – Death of Lady Patricia Ramsay, born Princess Patricia of Connaught, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at her home Ribsden Holt in Windlesham, Surrey, England; buried at the Royal Burial Grounds at Frogmore in Windsor, England
Princess Patricia, known as Patsy in the family, was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia.  Upon marrying Sir Alexander Ramsay, she voluntarily relinquished the style of Royal Highness and the title of Princess of Great Britain and Ireland and assumed the style of Lady Patricia Ramsay. Lady Patricia and her husband had one son. She remained a member of the British Royal Family, remained in the line of succession, and attended all major royal events including weddings, funerals, and coronations. At the age of 91, Alexander Ramsay died and fourteen months later, Lady Patricia died at the age of 87.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Patricia of Connaught, Lady Patricia Ramsay

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King Constantine I of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

January 11, 1716 – Death of Marfa Matveyevna Apraksina, Tsaritsa of All Russia, second wife of Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia, in St. Petersburg, Russia; buried in the entrance of Peter and Paul Cathedral at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, the fourth Romanov buried at the not yet finished cathedral
In 1681, Feodor III’s first wife Agaphia Semenovna Grushevskaya died of puerperal fever (childbed fever) three days after giving birth to her only child, a son, who also died. Feodor III was so grief-stricken that he was unable to attend his wife’s funeral. At the beginning of 1682, Ivan Yazykov, a friend of Feodor III, suggested that the tsar marry Marfa, expecting his situation at court to improve. Feodor married Marfa on February 24, 1682. However, the marriage lasted a little more than two months. Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia died on May 7, 1682, at the age of 20. Marfa never remarried but remained a widow for the rest of her life. She lived in Moscow, and then in St. Petersburg in her own palace. With her skillful behavior, Marfa created a position for herself at the court of Peter the Great, her husband’s younger half-brother. She died at the age of 52 and was buried at the entrance of Peter and Paul Cathedral at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, the fourth Romanov buried at the not yet finished cathedral.
Unofficial Royalty: Marfa Matveyevna Apraksina, Tsaritsa of All Russia

January 11, 1901 – Birth of Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt at Ballenstedt Castle in Ballenstedt, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Full name: Joachim Ernst Wilhelm Karl Albrecht Leopold Friedrich Moritz Erdmann
Joachim Ernst was the last Duke of Anhalt. He came to the throne in September 1918 when he was 17-years-old. As he was underage, his father’s brother Prince Aribert of Anhalt served as Regent. With the German Empire crumbling at the end of World War I, Aribert abdicated on Joachim Ernst’s behalf on November 12, 1918. Joachim Ernst married twice. In 1927, he married actress Elisabeth Strickrodt. They divorced in 1929. In the same year, he married Edda-Charlotte von Stephani-Marwitz, and they had five children. Joachim Ernst spent his post-abdication life at Ballenstedt Castle, where he raised his family and became a trained agricultural and forestry farmer. Always at odds with the Nazis, he was arrested in 1944 and imprisoned at the Dachau Concentration Camp for three months. He was arrested again in September 1945 – this time by the Soviets – and was sent to the NKVD Special Camp No. 2 at the former Buchenwald Concentration Camp where he died on February 18, 1947, and his remains were thrown into a mass grave.
Unofficial Royalty: Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt

January 11, 1923 – Death of King Constantine I of Greece in exile in Palermo, Sicily; first buried in the crypt of the Russian Church of Florence in Italy, reburied at the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace near Athens, Greece in 1936
In 1889, Constantine married a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Princess Sophie of Prussia, daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal. The couple had six children including three kings of Greece. In 1913, Constantine’s father King George I of Greece was assassinated and he acceded to the Greek throne as King Constantine I. Due to much political turmoil, Constantine was forced to abdicate in 1917, restored to the throne in 1920, and then forced to abdicate a second time. He lived the rest of his life in exile and died at the age of 54 from a brain hemorrhage.
Unofficial Royalty: King Constantine I of Greece

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Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

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

January 10, 1701 – Birth of Margarete Gertrud von der Schulenburg in the Electorate of Hanover, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, the illegitimate daughter of the future King George I of Great Britain and his mistress Melusine von der Schulenburg
Margarete Gertrud von der Schulenburg was the youngest of the three daughters of the future King George I of Great Britain and his mistress Melusine von der Schulenburg, from an old Brandenburg noble family. In 1714, when her father succeeded to the British throne as King George I, Melusine and her daughters accompanied George to England. They lived with King George I in the royal palaces and Melusine acted as his hostess. Margarete Gertrud married Albrecht Wolfgang, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe and the couple had two sons. Twenty-five-year-old Margarete Gertrud died from tuberculosis in Mannheim, then in the Electorate of the Palatinate, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, on April 8, 1726.
Unofficial Royalty: Margarete Gertrud von der Schulenburg, Countess of Schaumburg-Lippe

January 10, 1741- Birth of Princess Elizabeth Caroline of Wales at Norfolk House, 31 St James’s Square in London, England
Elizabeth Caroline was one of the nine children of Frederick, Prince of Wales, son of King George II of Great Britain, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. In 1751, when Elizabeth Caroline was ten years old, her father died, leaving a pregnant widow with eight children. Elizabeth Caroline’s thirteen-year-old eldest brother George was now the heir to the throne and was created Prince of Wales by his grandfather King George II. George succeeded his grandfather as King George III. According to Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, an English writer, art historian, and Whig politician, Elizabeth Caroline was extremely delicate and backward. On September 4, 1759, Princess Elizabeth Caroline, aged 18, had died at Kew Palace in London.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Elizabeth Caroline of Wales

January 10, 1821 – Birth of Caroline Mariane of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Crown Princess of Denmark, the second wife of the future King Frederik VII of Denmark, in Neustrelitz, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Full name: Caroline Charlotte Marianne
Caroline Mariane was the daughter of Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Marie of Hesse-Kassel. Her 1841 marriage to the future King Frederik VII of Denmark was very unhappy. In 1844, Caroline Mariane visited her parents and refused to return to Denmark. The couple divorced in 1846. She retained her Danish titles after her divorce, never remarried, and lived quietly in Neustrelitz where her parents built the Carolinenpalais for her.
Unofficial Royalty: Caroline Mariane of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Crown Princess of Denmark

January 10, 1824 – Death of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy at the Castle of Moncalieri in Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin
Vittorio Emanuele I reigned as King of Sardinia from the abdication of his elder brother Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia in 1802 until his own abdication in 1821 in favor of his younger brother Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia. After his abdication as King of Sardinia, Vittorio Emanuele remained Duke of Savoy until his death. In 1789, Vittorio Emanuele married Maria Theresa of Austria-Este and they had six daughters and a son who died in childhood. As the senior surviving descendant of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans, daughter of King Charles I of England and sister of James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots, Vittorio Emanuele became the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland after the death of his brother Carlo Emanuele in 1819.  Vittorio Emanuele died at his home in the Duchy of Savoy at the age of 64.
Unofficial Royalty: Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

January 10, 1840 – Death of Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg, daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom and wife of Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, at her home in the Free City of Frankfurt, now in Hesse, Germany; buried at the Mausoleum of the Landgraves in Homburg, Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, now in Hesse, Germany
Elizabeth was one of three of the six daughters of King George III who would eventually marry, all of them much later than was the norm for the time. In 1818, 48-year-old Elizabeth read a letter from 48-year-old Friedrich, then Hereditary Prince of Hesse-Homburg, to her mother asking to marry Elizabeth and she finally saw the way to exit “the Nunnery,” the term used to describe the sheltered existence of George III’s daughters. Friedrich had a military career and while he was in the military, he showed no inclination to marry. In 1814, he met Elizabeth at a ball held at the British court. Elizabeth and Friedrich were married in 1818. When Friedrich died in 1829, Elizabeth wrote, “No woman was ever more happy than I was for eleven years and they will often be lived over again in the memory of the heart.” When Elizabeth died in 1840 at the age of 69, deep court mourning was temporarily suspended for several days in the United Kingdom the following month for the wedding festivities of her niece Queen Victoria. Elizabeth’s great-niece, Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress wanted to erect a monument in her honor but unfortunately did not live to see it done. However, Wilhelm II, German Emperor did fulfill his mother’s wish and, on August 11, 1908, unveiled the monument in the presence of his uncle King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg

January 10, 2005 – Death of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, born Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, wife of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, at Fischbach Castle in Fischbach, Luxembourg; buried at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Joséphine-Charlotte was the eldest child and only daughter of Leopold III, King of the Belgians and Princess Astrid of Sweden. Her two younger brothers Baudouin and Albert II were both Kings of the Belgians. In 1953, Joséphine-Charlotte married Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, the eldest child of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma. The couple had five children including Henri, the current Grand Duke of Luxembourg.  In 1964, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg abdicated, and Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte became the new Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. In 2003, it was reported that  Joséphine-Charlotte had been diagnosed with lung cancer and the planned ceremonies and celebrations for the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary were canceled. Two years later, 77-year-old Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte died at Fischbach Castle, surrounded by her family.
Unofficial Royalty: Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

January 10, 2020 – Death of Sultan Qaboos of Oman at the Al Alam Palace in Muscat, Oman; buried at the Royal Cemetery in Muscat
Qaboos was the only son of Said bin Taimur, Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and his second wife, Princess Mazoon bint Ahmed Ali al-Maashani. In 1970, Qaboos staged a coup that overthrew his father as Sultan. His father was exiled to the United Kingdom, where he lived at the Dorchester Hotel in London until he died in 1972. Sultan Qaboos immediately began efforts to modernize and develop the country. In 1976, he married his first cousin, Nawwal bint Tariq Al-Said but the couple had no children, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1979. Qaboos had been under treatment for colon cancer since at least 2014 and had spent much time in Germany undergoing treatment. In December 2019, he traveled to Belgium for medical treatment. Qaboos bin Said Al Said, Sultan of Oman died at the age of 79.
Unofficial Royalty: Qaboos bin Said Al Said, Sultan of Oman

January 10, 2023 – Death of former King Constantine II of Greece at Hygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece; buried at the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace, the former summer palace of the Greek royal family, near Athens, Greece
Constantine was the King of Greece from 1964 until the monarchy was abolished in 1973. Both his parents, King Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover, were descendants of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter Victoria, Princess Royal and her husband Friedrich III, German Emperor.  Constantine was one of the royal Olympian medal winners, winning a Gold Medal in Sailing in the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics.
Unofficial Royalty: King Constantine II of Greece
Unofficial Royalty: Funeral of King Constantine II of Greece

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Napoleon III, Emperor of the French; Credit – Wikipedia

January 9, 1500 – Birth of Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henri II of France, at the Château de Saint-Vallier in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France
Diane de Poitiers was the royal mistress of King Henri II of France from around 1534 until Henri died in 1559. It was through her presence at court as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France (mother of Henri II) that she became known to the young Prince Henri. Eighteen years older than Henri, she made quite an impression on him. Despite his marriage to Catherine de’ Medici, Diane’s second cousin, Henri was smitten with Diane. For the next 25 years, Diane de Poitiers would be Henri’s closest companion, and many felt she was the most powerful woman in France at the time. Her influence on Henri was without match, and he relied heavily on her advice in all official decisions. Such was her position that when foreign royals and leaders would send gifts to Catherine de Medici, they would also send gifts for Diane. Diane’s influence and power would completely halt in 1559 after King Henri II died from injuries received in a jousting tournament. The widowed Catherine de’ Medici quickly removed Diane from the existence she had enjoyed for so many years.
Unofficial Royalty: Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henri II of France

January 9, 1514 – Death of Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France, wife of King Charles VIII of France and second wife of King Louis XII of France, at the Royal Château de Blois in Blois, France; buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris
Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right, is the only woman to have been Queen Consort of France twice. She was the wife of King Charles VIII and the second of the three wives of King Louis XII. Anne was the daughter of François II, Duke of Brittany. When her father in 1488, Anne became the Duchess of Brittany in her own right. In 1491, Anne married King Charles VIII of France. Anne and Charles had seven children but none survived. King Charles VIII died unexpectedly from a head injury in 1498. Because he had no surviving children, Louis, Duke of Orléans succeeded him as King Louis XII of France. Anne returned to Brittany and began taking steps to ensure the independence of her duchy. Louis XII did not want this to happen and he had his 24-year childless marriage to Charles VIII’s sister Jeanne of France annulled and married Anne of Brittany in 1499. They had four stillborn sons and three miscarriages but they did have two daughters who survived to adulthood. After Anne’s death, the 52-year-old King Louis XII, still seeking a son to succeed him, married 18-year-old Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England, but Louis XII died three months after the marriage.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France

January 9, 1819 – Death of Queen Catherina of Württemberg, second wife of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg, born Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna of Russia, in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany;  buried at the Württemberg Mausoleum in Rotenberg, Stuttgart
Catherina was the daughter of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and the sister of Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia, and Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. She had a short marriage and two sons with her first cousin Duke Georg of Oldenburg, who died from typhoid fever. She then married the future King Wilhelm I of Württemberg in 1816 and they had two daughters. Despite having a happy marriage, Wilhelm continued his relationships with numerous mistresses, including the Italian Blanche de la Flèche. When Catharina was made aware of this, she drove to Scharnhausen Castle on January 3, 1819, where she found Wilhelm and his mistress together. She quickly returned to Stuttgart and just six days later, 30-year-old Catharina died of complications from pneumonia
Unofficial Royalty: Ekaterina Pavlovna of Russia, Queen of Württemberg

January 9, 1854 – Birth of Lady Randolph Churchill, mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, born Jennie Jerome in Brooklyn, New York (mother of Sir Winston Churchill)
Jennie Jerome was an American socialite who was the mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, among others. Through her first marriage to Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill, a younger son of John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, she was the mother of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The Spencer-Churchills opposed the marriage, but after a dowry offer of $250,000 (several million dollars today), they quickly agreed to the marriage. Jennie is also reported to have had affairs with King Milan I of Serbia, Prince Karl Kinsky, and Herbert von Bismarck. She married two more times after the death of her first husband.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Randolph Churchill, mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom

January 9, 1873 – Death of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor Napoleon III of the French, in exile at Camden Place (now Chislehurst Golf Club) in Chislehurst, England; buried at Saint Michael’s Abbey in Farnborough, Hampshire, England
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, later Napoleon III of the French, was the son of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland (younger brother of Emperor Napoleon I) and Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of Emperor Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais and her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais who was beheaded during the French Revolution.  Elected to the presidency of the French Second Republic in 1848, Louis-Napoléon seized power by force in 1851, when he could not constitutionally be reelected, and later proclaimed himself Emperor of the French. After being turned down by Princess Carola of Vasa (daughter of the deposed Swedish King Gustaf IV Adolf), and Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (a niece of Queen Victoria), Napoleon III married Eugénie de Montijo, Countess of Teba and Marquise of Ardales in 1853. The couple had one son, Napoléon, Prince Imperial who died unmarried in 1879 while fighting in the Anglo-Zulu War. In July 1870, France entered the Franco-Prussian War. Without significant allied support and with unprepared and limited forces, the French army was quickly defeated. Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan and surrendered. As word reached Paris, the Third Republic was declared on September 4, 1870, ending the French monarchy for the last time. Louis-Napoléon and his family went into exile in England. After falling ill in the summer of 1872, and undergoing two operations, he died at the age of 64.
Unofficial Royalty: Napoleon III, Emperor of the French

January 9, 1907 – Death of Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, Queen of Hanover, wife of King George V of Hanover, in Gmunden, Austria; buried in the Crypt at Cumberland Palace in Gmunden, Austria
Marie was the eldest daughter of the six daughters of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Amalie of Württemberg. In 1843, she married the future and last King of Hanover, George V, and they had three children. George succeeded his father in 1851 but reigned for only 15 years, being exiled from Hanover because of his support for Austria in the Austro-Prussian War. In 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia. George never abdicated from the throne of Hanover and he and Marie lived in exile at Gmunden, Austria. After George’s death, Marie continued living in the Villa Thun in Gmunden, which became known as the Queen’s Villa, and is still owned by the House of Hanover. Through her son Ernst Augustus, Marie is the ancestor of former King Constantine I of Greece, his sister Queen Sofia of Spain, Sofia’s son King Felipe VI of Spain, and Prince Ernst Augustus of Hanover (third husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco).
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, Queen of Hanover

January 9, 1982 – Birth of The Princess of Wales, wife of Prince William, The Prince of Wales, born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, England
Catherine is the eldest of three children of Michael Middleton and Carole Goldsmith. In 2001 she enrolled at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she Catherine met Prince William, second in the line of succession to the British throne. First as friends, and later flat-mates, a couple of years later, their relationship became romantic. After graduating in 2005, Catherine worked for her family’s business Party Pieces, and launched her own brand within the company in 2008, called First Birthdays. In addition, she worked as a part-time buyer for Jigsaw Junior, a London-based clothing company. Following intense media scrutiny and speculation, and a brief and very public breakup, Catherine and William became engaged while on holiday in Kenya in October 2010. The engagement was formally announced on November 16, 2010. On April 29, 2011, the couple married at Westminster Abbey. Catherine and William have two sons and one daughter.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine, The Princess of Wales

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Prince Albert Victor of Wales, Duke of Clarence; Credit – Wikipedia

January 8, 1864 – Birth of Prince Albert Victor of Wales (Eddy), son of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at Frogmore House in Windsor, England
Full name: Albert Victor Christian Edward
Albert Victor was named after his paternal grandparents Queen Victoria and her late husband Prince Albert but he was always known as Eddy in the family and later as Prince Eddy in the press. Eddy, who was inattentive and lazy, never excelled in his studies. Perhaps this was due to his premature birth which can be associated with learning disabilities. Prince Eddy’s apathetic attitude and his lack of interest in anything serious caused great anxiety to his family especially since in the line of succession, he would inherit the throne after his father. In 1891, Eddy became engaged to Princess Mary Victoria of Teck (known as May), and the wedding was set for February 27, 1892. However, on January 14, 1892, 28-year-old Eddy died from influenza. In 1893, Eddy’s brother married May and eventually became the beloved King George V and Queen Mary.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence

January 8, 1873 – Birth of Elena of Montenegro, Queen of Italy, wife of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy, in Cetinje, Montenegro
Full name: Jelena Petrović Njegoš
Elena was the daughter of King Nikola I of Montenegro. Among her eleven siblings were Militza and Anastasia (Stana) who married Russian Grand Dukes and were instrumental in introducing Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin to Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and his family. In 1896, Elena married the future King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy. The couple had two children including Vittorio Emanuele III’s brief successor King Umberto II of Italy and Giovanna who married Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria. Elena’s husband abdicated on May 9, 1946, hoping that a new King, his son Umberto II, would bring support for continuing the monarchy in an upcoming referendum. However, his son would only reign for several weeks before Italy became a Republic in an overwhelming vote. After the abdication, Vittorio Emanuele and Elena went into exile, settling in Alexandria, Egypt.
Unofficial Royalty: Elena of Montenegro, Queen of Italy

January 8, 1878 – Death of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy at the Quirinal Palace in Rome Italy; buried in the Pantheon in Rome, Italy
Vittoria Emanuele was the eldest son of Carlo Alberto, 7th Prince of Carignano, the future King of Sardinia. In 1842, he married Archduchess Adelheid of Austria and the couple had eight children. Vittorio Emanuele also had a longtime relationship with Rose Vercellana with whom he had two children. Vittorio Emanuele and Rosa eventually married. Following a massive defeat by the Austrian forces, Vittorio Emanuele’s father abdicated in 1849, and he became King of Sardinia as Vittorio Emanuele II. He became a driving force behind the Risorgimento, the Italian unification movement. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy. He focused on building up the new kingdom, both financially and culturally, further cementing his legacy as Father of the Fatherland (Padre Della Patria), a title given to him by the Italian people. He died at the age of 57.
Unofficial Royalty: King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy

January 8, 1987 – Birth of Princess Sirivannavari of Thailand, daughter of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, born Chao Busyanambejra Mahidol in Bangkok, Thailand
Princess Sirivannavari is the only daughter and the youngest of the five children of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand and Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, as she is now known, an actress and a consort, and the second of the king’s four wives. In 1996, Sujarinee fled to the United Kingdom with her five children. Vajiralongkorn, then the Crown Prince, accused her of adultery and managed to retrieve his daughter Sirivannavari and bring her back to Thailand. Sujarinee and her four sons were stripped of their royal titles and her marriage to the Crown Prince was dissolved. King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, Sirivannavari’s paternal grandfather, gave her the name Sirivannavari and the style and title Her Royal Highness Princess of Thailand. Sirivannavari studied fashion and textile design at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, and became a fashion designer.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Sirivannavari of Thailand

January 8, 2011 – Birth of Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine of Denmark, twin son and daughter of King Frederik X of Denmark, at the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full Names: Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander and Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda
Vincent was born 26 minutes before his twin sister Josephine making him third in the line of succession to the Danish throne after his elder brother Prince Christian, and his elder sister Princess Isabella. Denmark changed its succession law in 2008 to absolute primogeniture where the succession passes to the eldest child of the sovereign regardless of gender. Males and females have equal succession rights. This means King Frederik’s second-born child Isabella is ahead of her younger brother Vincent in the line of succession.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Vincent of Denmark
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Josephine of Denmark

January 8, 2020 – Death of Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz at the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid, Spain
Infanta Pilar was the daughter of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona (son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, granddaughter of Queen Victoria) and Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and the elder sister of King Juan Carlos I of Spain. In 1967, Pilar married Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada and the couple had five children. Pilar was President of the International Equestrian Federation from 1994 – 2005. She was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1996 to 2006 and was then an Honorary member. She was also a member of the executive board of the Spanish Olympic Committee. Pilar had been ill with colon cancer, had surgery in February 2019, and had undergone chemotherapy. She died at the age of 83.
Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz

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