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Friedrich August I, King of Saxony; Credit – Wikipedia

December 23, 1230 – Death of Berengaria of Navarre, Queen of England, wife of King Richard I of England, at L’Epau Abbey in Le Mans, County of Maine, now in France; buried at L’Epau Abbey
Berengaria of Navarre was the only English queen never to set foot in the country. Her husband King Richard I of England spent about only six months of his ten-year reign in England. There is evidence that she may have visited England in the years following his death when she was Queen Dowager. In 1191, King Richard I of England married Berengaria of Navarre at the Chapel of St George in Limassol, Cyprus, and then his fleet, along with Berengaria and Richard’s recently widowed sister Joan, Queen of Sicily, traveled to the Holy Land where Richard participated in the Crusades. Berengaria and Richard’s marriage was childless. In 1199, Richard died from gangrene after being hit by an arrow during a castle siege in France. After Richard’s death, Berengaria received the revenues of the tin mines in Devon and Cornwall in England, and the city of Le Mans, the capital of the County of Maine, was settled on her as dower, the means of support for a widow. In 1228, Berengaria founded the Cistercian Abbey of L’Epau near Le Mans, retired there, and died there at the age of 67.
Unofficial Royalty: Berengaria of Navarre, Queen of England

December 23, 1544 – Birth of Anna of Saxony, Princess of Orange, second wife of Willem I, Prince of Orange (the Silent) in Dresden, Duchy of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
Three years after the death of his first wife, Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange married Anna of Saxony. The marriage was not happy and Anna and Willem often lived apart. In early 1571, Anna realized she was pregnant. She was accused of adultery, later admitted adultery, and was forced to agree to a divorce. In 1572, Anna was sent to her family in Saxony where they imprisoned her as an adulteress. The windows of her room were walled up and fitted with additional iron bars. A square hole was made in the door through which food and drink were given to her. An iron gate was installed on the outside of the door prohibiting any attempt to escape. Anna died shortly before her 33rd birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna of Saxony, Princess of Orange

December 23, 1750 – Birth of Friedrich August I, King of Saxony, in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
Full name: Friedrich August Josef Maria Anton Johann Nepomuk Alois Xavier
Friedrich August I was the first King of Saxony, reigning from 1806 to 1827. His family had been rulers of the Electorate of Saxony of the House of Wettin and had held the title of Elector for several centuries. In 1769, Friedrich August married Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. The couple had one daughter. As Elector, Friedrich August was not involved in the establishment of Napoleon’s Confederation of the Rhine, which brought about the end of the Holy Roman Empire. Staying out of politics, he was drawn in when Napoleon advanced into German territory, siding with Prussia. The Saxon forces suffered significant losses and Friedrich August soon surrendered. He was forced to join the Confederation of the Rhine and had to cede territory to the Kingdom of Westphalia. However, the trade-off was Saxony’s elevation to a kingdom. So on December 20, 1806, Friedrich August became King Friedrich August I of Saxony. As he had no male heirs, upon his death in 1827, Friedrich August was succeeded by his younger brother Anton.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich August I, King of Saxony

December 23, 1777 – Birth of Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia in Saint 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 but 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 completely destroyed and it 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.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia

December 23, 1864 – Birth of Princess Zorka of Montenegro, first wife of the future King Peter I of Serbia, in Cetinje, Montenegro
Zorka was the daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and the sister of Milicia and Anastasia, who married Russian Grand Dukes and are best known for having introduced Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, to Grigori Rasputin in 1905. In 1883, Zorka married Peter Karađorđević, son and heir of the former Prince of Serbia, Alexander, who had abdicated in 1858. Zorka and Peter had five children including the future King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. On March 16, 1890, 25-year-old Princess Zorka died while giving birth to her youngest child Andrew who also died. Thirteen years after her death, her husband would return the Karađorđević dynasty to the Serbian throne as King Peter I.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Zorka of Montenegro

December 23, 1865 – Birth of Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg in Vienna, Austria
Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg was heir presumptive to the throne of Württemberg for just a year before the monarchy was abolished in 1918. Three years later, upon the death of his distant cousin, King Wilhelm II, he became Head of the House of Württemberg and pretender to the former throne.
Unofficial Royalty: Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg

December 23, 1910 – Birth of Maria de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Countess of Barcelona, mother of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, in Madrid, Spain
Full name: María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luisa Carolina Victoria y Todos los Santos
The daughter of Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and his second wife Princess Louise of Orléans. Maria Mercedes had a very impressive royal lineage. On her father’s side, she was descended from multiple branches of the Bourbon-Two Sicilies family who ruled in Italy until the late 19th century. On her mother’s side, Maria Mercedes was descended from both recent Spanish and French royalty. In 1935, she married Juan, Count of Barcelona, the heir to the defunct Spanish throne. They had three children including the future King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Maria Mercedes’ adult life was dominated by the actions of Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator. It was Franco who kept the family from living in Spain and was constantly at odds with Maria Mercedes’ husband. In 1969, Franco ultimately decided that the Spanish monarchy should be restored following his death. As suspected, Franco passed over Juan, Count of Barcelona as his successor in favor of Juan Carlos. In 1976, Maria Mercedes and her husband finally returned to live in Spain.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria de las Mercedes of the Two Sicilies, Countess of Barcelona

December 23, 1933 – Birth of Emperor Emeritus Akihito of Japan at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan
The eldest son of Emperor Hirohito and Princess Nagako of Kuni, Akihito was the heir-apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne from birth. In 1959, Akihito married Michiko Shōda. It was the first time a commoner married into the Imperial Family. There was much speculation that Akihito’s mother strongly opposed the marriage and that after the marriage she treated her commoner daughter-in-law harshly. Akihito and Michiko had two sons and one daughter. In 1989, upon the death of his father, Akihito became Emperor of Japan. Akihito abdicated in 2019 in favor of his son Naruhito. After Akihito abdicated, he was entitled Jōkō, an abbreviation of Daijō Tennō (Emperor Emeritus).
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Emeritus Akihito of Japan

December 23, 1943 – Birth of Queen Silvia of Sweden, wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, born Silvia Renate Sommerlath in Heidelberg, Germany
Silvia studied to be an interpreter and then worked at the Argentinean Consulate in Munich, Germany. She is fluent in six languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, and Portuguese. Silvia put her language skills to use when she worked as a hostess trainer between 1971 and 1973 for the Organizing Committee of the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. She then became Deputy Head of Protocol of the Organizing Committee for the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. It was at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, that Silvia met Carl Gustaf, then Crown Prince of Sweden. While the couple was courting, Carl Gustaf’s grandfather  King Gustaf VI Adolf died in 1973, and Carl Gustaf became King of Sweden. Silvia and Carl Gustaf married in 1976 and are the parents of three children, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip, and Princess Madeleine.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Silvia of Sweden

December 23, 1975 – Birth of Prince Ali of Jordan, son of King Hussein of Jordan and his third wife Queen Alia, in Amman, Jordan
Prince Ali is the brother of Princess Haya of Jordan and the half-brother of King Abdullah II of Jordan. He has served in the Jordanian Special Forces and attended Princeton University in New Jersey, graduating in 1999. In 2004, he married Rym Brahimi, a former CNN journalist and the couple has two children. Prince Ali is President of the Jordan Football Association and has also served as Vice President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan

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