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King Otto of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia
July 26, 1678 – Birth of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, King of Croatia, and King of Hungary, in Vienna, Austria
Joseph ruled over the hereditary Habsburg lands and was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1705. In 1699, Joseph married Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Joseph and Wilhelmine Amalie had three children but their only son died from hydrocephalus before his first birthday.
Joseph’s reign lasted just six years. During the smallpox epidemic in 1711, which killed Louis, Le Grand Dauphin of France, the only surviving child and heir of King Louis XIV of France, and three siblings of the future Holy Roman Emperor Franz I, Joseph also became ill with smallpox. He died, aged thirty-two, on April 17, 1711, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.
Unofficial Royalty: Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
July 26, 1756 – Birth of Maria Fitzherbert, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, born Maria Anne Smythe at Tong Castle in Shropshire, England
Maria Fitzherbert was the mistress of The Prince of Wales (later King George IV of the United Kingdom) from 1784 until 1794 and again from 1798 until 1807. The couple married secretly in 1785, however, the marriage was not considered legal as it had not received the approval of the Sovereign as required under the Royal Marriages Act.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Fitzherbert, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom
July 26, 1767 – Death of Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, mistress of King George II of Great Britain, at Marble Hill House in Twickenham, London, England; buried at Berkeley Castle in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England
In 1714, Henrietta and her husband Charles Howard, the future 9th Earl of Suffolk traveled to Hanover hoping to get into the circle of the future King George I and secure themselves a better financial future. Their venture was successful, and following George’s accession to the British throne, the couple returned to England, and both received positions within the Royal Household. Charles was appointed Groom of the Bedchamber to the new King, and Henrietta was appointed a Woman of the Bedchamber to the new Princess of Wales, Caroline of Ansbach. Through this role, Henrietta met and became the mistress of the Prince of Wales, the future King George II, and maintained a relationship with him until 1734.
Unofficial Royalty: Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk
July 26, 1865 – Birth of Marie of Baden, Duchess of Anhalt, wife of Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt, in Baden-Baden, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Marie Luise Amelie Josephine
In 1889, Marie married the future Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt. Her husband became the reigning Duke of Anhalt upon his father’s death in 1904. Although the couple did not have any children, their marriage was a happy one. Marie quickly became involved in charity after her marriage, supporting organizations that promoted education and care for the underprivileged. In 1892, along with her mother-in-law, she helped found the Anhalt Deaconess Institution, which educated women in caring for the sick and the poor.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Baden, Duchess of Anhalt
July 26, 1867 – Death of former King Otto of Greece, born Prince Otto of Bavaria, at Neue Residenz in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried at Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
In 1832, the Convention of London established Greece as a kingdom, and the Great Powers appointed Prince Otto of Bavaria the new kingdom’s first king. However, while away from Athens in 1862, a coup led to the formation of a provisional government, and Otto was deposed. Under the advice of the Great Powers, Otto accepted the situation, and he again boarded a British warship and returned to Bavaria. He would continue to wear his Greek uniforms and secretly gave most of his fortune to support the Greek troops in the Cretan Rebellion of 1866. He spent his exile living at the New Palace in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. At his specific request, he was buried in his Greek uniform.
Unofficial Royalty: King Otto of Greece
July 26, 1938 – Death of Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at Easton Lodge in Little Easton, Essex, England; buried at the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Warwick, Warwickshire, England
Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, was the mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom from 1889 until 1898, while he was The Prince of Wales. A renowned social hostess, she later put much of her time, effort, and money into helping those less fortunate. Interestingly, Daisy was descended from King Charles II of England in several different ways, through his mistresses Nell Gwyn, Barbara Palmer, and Louise de Kéroualle.
Unofficial Royalty: Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom
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