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King Henry I of England, Credit – Wikipedia

December 1, 1135 – Death of King Henry I of England at St. Denis-le-Fermont, France; buried at Reading Abbey in Berkshire, England
Henry I was the fourth and the youngest son of William the Conqueror (King William I). In 1100, Henry married Edith of Scotland (renamed Matilda upon her marriage), the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland (born an Anglo-Saxon princess). Through her mother, Matilda merged the bloodline of the Anglo-Saxon kings with Henry’s Norman bloodline. Henry and Matilda had two surviving children. In 1120, William Ætheling, Henry’s only legitimate son, was returning to England from Normandy when his ship, the White Ship, hit a submerged rock, capsized, and sank. William Ætheling and many others drowned. King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children, 25 or so illegitimate children. However, the tragedy of the White Ship left him with only one legitimate child, his daughter Matilda. Henry died around the age of 67. He had fallen ill after eating a number of lampreys against his doctor’s advice. It is possible the cause of death was ptomaine poisoning. Upon hearing of Henry’s death, Stephen of Blois, one of Henry’s nephews, quickly crossed the English Channel from France, seized power, and was crowned King of England. This started the terrible civil war between Stephen and Henry’s daughter Matilda known as The Anarchy. England did not see peace for eighteen years until Matilda’s son acceded to the throne as King Henry II of England in 1153.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry I of England

December 1, 1241 – Death of Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress, daughter of King John of England, at Foggia, Kingdom of Sicily, now in Italy; buried at the Cathedral of Andria in Andria, Kingdom of Sicily, now in Italy
In 1235, 21-year-old Isabella married the twice-widowed 40-year-old Friedrich II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Sicily. There is controversy over how many children Isabella and Friedrich had, but they had at least four children. Isabella rarely appeared in public and had no political influence. She lived in seclusion mostly at the castle in Noventa Padovana, near Venice and Padua in present-day Italy. Isabella died at the age of 27 after giving birth to her last child.
Unofficial Royalty: Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress

December 1, 1463 – Death of Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scots, wife of  James II, King of Scots, at Ravenscraig Castle in Scotland;  buried in Trinity College Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland; in 1848, Mary’s remains were moved to Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh
Mary was educated in the court of her great-uncle Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and his third wife Isabella of Portugal, a granddaughter of John of Gaunt, son of King Edward III of England. Isabella, well educated by her parents King João I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, was known for her intelligence, patronage of the arts, and political influence on her husband and son. Isabella greatly influenced Mary and helped arrange Mary’s marriage to James II, King of Scots in 1449. Mary and James II had seven children. In 1460, Mary’s husband 29-year-old James II was accidentally killed when a cannon nearby where he was standing exploded. Mary became the regent for her nine-year-old son King James III. Mary of Guelders survived her husband by only three years, dying at the age of thirty.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scots

December 1, 1825 – Death of Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia at Taganrog, Russia; buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russia
In 1793, fifteen-year-old Alexander married fourteen-year-old Louise of Baden who took the Russian name Elizabeth Alexeievna. Two daughters were born during the marriage and both died in early childhood. It is possible that the daughters were not Alexander’s. Both Alexander and his wife had affairs and their marriage was one in name only. Alexander became Emperor of All Russia in 1801 upon the assassination of his father Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. The most important event during Alexander’s reign was the Napoleonic Wars, a series of major conflicts (1803 – 1815) pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against various coalitions of European powers. In 1812, Napoleon’s army invaded Russia. The French forces eventually were repelled by the brutal Russian winter and retreated to the borders of Russia, pursued by the Russian army. The French Army was almost destroyed. Napoleon’s ill-fated Russian invasion was the motivation for composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, written in 1882 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s invading army. Toward the end of his life, Alexander somewhat reconciled with his wife. By 1825, Elizabeth Alexeievna’s health was suffering due to lung problems and the doctors recommended getting away from the harsh climate of St. Petersburg. Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna relocated to the city of Taganrog, Russia by the Sea of Azov. Alexander had a cold, which developed into typhus. He died at the age of 47. Elizabeth Alexeievna survived him by five months.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia

December 1, 1844 – Birth of Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom, wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Alexandra Carolina Marie Charlotte Louise
The daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, Alexandra, known as Alix, married the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (Bertie) in 1863. The couple had six children including King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Maud of Norway. In 1901, Alix’s husband succeeded to the British throne upon the death of his mother Queen Victoria. Alix and her husband began the idea of the royal family’s public appearances as we now know them during Queen Victoria’s withdrawal after her husband’s death, and they continued this during Bertie’s reign. During his marriage, Bertie had several mistresses. Alix knew about many of them and accepted them. When Bertie died in 1910, Alix quipped, “Now at least I know where he is.”
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom

December 1, 2001 – Birth of Princess Aiko of Japan, the only child of Emperor Naruhito of Japan, at the Hospital of the Imperial Household in Tokyo, Japan
Princess Aiko is the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. She graduated from Gakushūin Primary School in March 2014, and the following month, she entered the Gakushūin Girls Junior High School. In 2017, Aiko entered the Gakushuin Girls High School, graduating in March 2020. In April 2020, Princess Aiko began her studies at Gakushuin University where she majored in Japanese language and literature, graduating in March 2024. Despite being the child of the Emperor, Princess Aiko is not in the line of succession to the throne, as The Imperial Household Law of 1947 limits succession to males in a male line only. After Aiko’s birth, there was much discussion about changing the succession laws. In 2005, the Prime Minister vowed to submit a bill to the government to change The Imperial Household Law, based on recommendations from an independent, government-appointed panel. However, the birth of a male cousin, Prince Hisahito, son of Crown Prince Akoshino, in 2006, ended the efforts, and the proposal was dropped. In practicality, with the current succession laws, the Imperial Family now has only one person who can provide any heirs, a boy born in 2006 who will not marry for years. In November 2020, it was recommended that the discussion regarding succession be shelved until Prince Hisahito becomes an adult and has children.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Aiko of Japan
Unofficial Royalty: Japanese Succession Crisis

December 1, 2004 – Death of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, born Count Bernhard of Biesterfeld, raised to Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, father of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, husband of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, at the University of Utrecht Medical Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands; buried at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
Bernhard was the elder son of Prince Bernhard of Lippe (younger brother of Leopold IV, the reigning Prince of Lippe) and his wife Armgard von Cramm. Bernhard and Armgard’s marriage was considered morganatic, Bernhard was styled Graf von Biesterfeld (Count of Biesterfeld) at birth. In 1916, Bernhard’s uncle, Leopold IV, the reigning Prince of Lippe, created Armgard Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld with the style Serene Highness and this title and style was also extended to her two sons. In 1937, Bernhard married  Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, the only child, and heir of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. Bernhard and Juliana had four daughters including Juliana’s successor Queen Beatrix. In 2004, eight months after Juliana’s death, it was announced that Prince Bernhard had lung cancer. An additional announcement was made two weeks later stating that he also had a malignant tumor in the intestines. Bernhard died soon afterward at the age of 93.
Unofficial Royalty: Bernhard von Lippe-Biesterfeld

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