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King Carl XIII of Sweden//King Karl II of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia
February 5, 1704 – Birth of Anna Christine of Palatine Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont, first wife of Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia, at the Palace of Sulzbach-Rosenberg in the Palatinate of Sulzbach, now in Bavaria, Germany
Anna Christine of Sulzbach was the first of the three wives of Carlo Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, the heir apparent to the Kingdom of Sardina, and, after Anna Christine’s death, Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. They married in 1722 and had one son who died in early childhood. On March 12, 1723, a few days after giving birth to her son, Anna Christine, aged nineteen, died of childbirth complications.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna Christine of Palatine Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont
February 5, 1818 – Death of King Carl XIII of Sweden/King Karl II of Norway at the Royal Palace of Stockholm; buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Carl was not destined to be king, but at the age of 60, he became King of Sweden and reigned for nine years. He would be the last Swedish monarch of the House of Holstein-Gottorp. On March 16, 1792, Carl’s elder brother King Gustav III was shot by Jacob Johan Anckarström during a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm. Thirteen days later, King Gustav III died of his wounds at the age of 46. His 13-year-old son succeeded him as King Gustav IV Adolf. Due to some questionable, and then some failed military decisions, Gustav IV Adolf was imprisoned in 1809. Carl agreed to form a provisional government and the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, approved the coup. Gustav Adolf abdicated, thinking if he did so, his son would become king. However, the Riksdag proclaimed that all Gustav Adolf’s family members had forfeited their rights to the throne. After accepting a new liberal constitution, Prince Carl was proclaimed King Carl XIII of Sweden. King Gustav IV Adolf and his family were sent into exile. Carl and his wife Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte, whom he had married in 1774, had two children – one stillborn and one who lived only six days. The Swedes had the idea to offer the position of Crown Prince to one of Napoleon’s Marshals. Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, who had been appointed Marshal of France in 1804, was well-liked in Sweden, particularly because of his considerate treatment of Swedish prisoners during the recent war with Denmark. In 1810, the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates elected Bernadotte as Crown Prince. He arrived in Stockholm in November 1810 and was formally adopted by King Carl XIII, taking the name Carl Johan. Upon the death of Carl XIII in 1818 at the age of 69, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte ascended the throne as King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden. Thus began the Bernadotte dynasty in Sweden, which continues today.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carl XIII of Sweden/King Karl II of Norway
February 5, 1884 – Death of Maria Ana of Portugal, Princess Georg of Saxony, wife of the future King Georg of Saxony, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now Saxony, Germany; buried in the Wettin Crypt at the Dresden Cathedral
Maria Ana was the daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1859, she married Prince Georg of Saxony, who was at the time second in the line to the Saxony throne, behind his older brother Albert. The couple had eight children but despite their large family, the marriage proved to be an unhappy one. Georg made little effort to support his wife in her new country and failed to live up to her expectations. Very pious and preferring private life to that of the court, Maria Ana’s primary focus was raising her family, and supporting several religious and social organizations. Maria Ana died at the age of 41 after several months of caring for her youngest son who had been in very ill health for some time. Eighteen years after Maria Ana’s death, her husband Georg became King of Saxony, reigning for just two years.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Ana of Portugal, Princess Georg of Saxony
February 5, 1972 – Birth of Queen Mary of Denmark, wife of King Frederik X of Denmark, born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
In September 2000, during the Olympic Games in Sydney, Mary met Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark on an evening out with some mutual friends. The two quickly began a relationship, with Frederik making several private trips to Australia before Mary eventually relocated to Denmark. Their engagement was announced in October 2003, after Queen Margrethe had given her formal consent to the marriage. Frederik and Mary married on May 14, 2004, at the Copenhagen Cathedral. The couple has four children.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Mary of Denmark
February 5, 2016 – Birth of Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, Crown Prince of Bhutan, son of Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of Bhutan, at the Lingkana Palace in Thimphu, Bhutan
Crown Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, Druk Gyalsey (Dragon Prince) of Bhutan is the elder of the two sons of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan and Jetsun Pema, Queen of Bhutan. Jigme Namgyel is the heir apparent to the throne of Bhutan.
Unofficial Royalty: Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, Crown Prince of Bhutan
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