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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling; Credit – Wikipedia
June 19, 1282 – Death in childbirth of Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon, wife of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, granddaughter of King John of England, in Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd, Wales; buried at the Franciscan Friary of Llanfaes, Anglesey, Wales
Eleanor’s parents were Simon de Montfort and Eleanor of England, King John’s daughter. Her husband was the last Prince of an independent Wales and was killed in battle trying to save Wales in December 1281. The baby girl born the day her mother died was named Gwenllian of Wales and her uncle Prince Dafydd ap Gruffudd became her guardian after her parents died. In June 1283, Edward captured Dafydd ap Gruffudd I’s armies and hanged, drawn, and quartered him. Dafydd ap Gruffudd’s two sons were imprisoned in Bristol Castle for the rest of their lives and his daughter and niece Gwenllian were confined in convents.
Unofficial Royalty: Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon
June 19, 1312 – Execution of Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall, favorite of King Edward II of England, at Blacklow Hill near Warwick, Warwickshire, England; buried at King’s Langley Priory in King’s Langley England
Piers Gaveston had made a good impression on King Edward I of England and was assigned to the household of his son, the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward II. However, Piers soon became involved in conflicts between King Edward I and his son. The situation got so bad that King Edward I banished Piers. After King Edward I’s death, his son King Edward II recalled Piers. Piers’ exclusive access to King Edward II annoyed members of the nobility, and Edward II was forced to send him into exile. Edward II negotiated a deal with the nobles and Piers returned after a year in exile. However, his behavior became even more offensive and Piers was exiled for a third time and would be declared an outlaw if he returned to England. However, Piers returned to England, was hunted down, and executed by a group of nobles.
Unofficial Royalty: Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall
June 19, 1566 – Birth of James VI, King of Scots (later also King James I of England), son of Mary, Queen of Scots, at Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland
Full name: Charles James
When James was 11 months old, Protestant rebels arrested his Catholic mother Mary, Queen of Scots, and forced her to abdicate in favor of her son James who reigned as James VI, King of Scots. James’ parents, Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, were both grandchildren of Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England and sister of King Henry VIII of England, and therefore, James had a claim on the English throne. Since none of the children of Henry VIII had children, James was the senior heir of Henry VII through his eldest daughter Margaret Tudor. In 1589, James married Anne of Denmark. They had had seven children, but only three survived childhood including King Charles I of England and Elizabeth whose daughter Sophia of Hanover became heiress presumptive to the British throne under the Act of Settlement 1701. Sophia’s son was King George I of Great Britain. On her deathbed, Queen Elizabeth I gave her assent that James should succeed her. In March 1625, James became ill with a recurring fever and then suffered a stroke. He died on March 27, 1625, aged 58.
Unofficial Royalty: King James I of England
June 19, 1854 – Death of Heinrich LXII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Gera in Gera, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried at the Bergkirche St. Marien now in Schleiz, Thuringia, Germany
Upon his father’s death in 1818, Heinrich LXII became the 2nd Prince Reuss of Gera. He was an enthusiastic ruler and immediately set out to improve the education system of his principality. Heinrich LXII also did much to beautify Reuss-Gera, especially along the roads leading to Schleiz. In 1837, Schleiz Castle was badly damaged in a fire and Heinrich LXII oversaw the renovations. However, in 1945, Schleiz Castle was destroyed by American bombing during World War II. The ruins were removed in 1950, leaving only the two damaged towers.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich LXII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Gera
June 19, 1860 – Birth of Anna Nahowski, mistress of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, born Anna Nowak in Vienna, Austria
Franz Joseph and Anna’s relationship lasted for fourteen years, overlapping Franz Joseph’s long-standing private relationship with actress Katharina Schratt. It is probable that Franz Joseph was the father of at least one of Anna’s three children. After the suicide of Franz Joseph’s only son Crown Prince Rudolf, Franz Joseph broke off all contact with Anna. She was informed that she could determine her severance payment for the fourteen years in the service of the emperor. She asked for 200,000 guldens (millions of dollars today) and in return, she had to sign the following statement: “I hereby confirm that I received 200,000 guldens as a gift from His Majesty the Emperor today. I also swear that I will remain silent at all times about the relationship with His Majesty.” Anna never spoke publicly about her affair during her life. She did keep a diary which was released in 1976 after the death of her daughter Helene. The diary revealed the true nature of the relationship between Anna and Franz Joseph.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna Nahowski
June 19, 1867 – Execution of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico by firing squad in Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro, Mexico; buried at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
Maximilian was born an Austrian Archduke and was the brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. In 1861, Maximilian accepted the offer of becoming Emperor of Mexico. However, the liberal forces led by Benito Juárez, the former president deposed by the French, refused to recognize his rule. There was continuous warfare between the French troops and the forces of Juárez who wanted a republic. Maximilian was condemned to death by a court of war and was executed by a firing squad.
Unofficial Royalty: Execution of Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico
Unofficial Royalty: Archduke Maximilian of Austria, Emperor of Mexico
June 19, 1896 – Birth of Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, wife of the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, Duke of Windsor, at Square Cottage at Monterey Inn, a resort hotel in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania
Born: Bessiewallis Warfield
Bessiewallis Warfield was the only child of Teackle Wallis Warfield and Alice Montague. Teackle’s family had money, but it was “new money,” and the family was looked down upon by the older, established families. Teackle was sickly, had been ill with tuberculosis since he was 18 years old, and had a poor-paying job as a county auctioneer. Wallis’ mother was Alice Montague from a Southern “Old Family”. The Montague family could not fathom Alice’s decision to marry Teackle. Only three people attended their wedding: Alice’s sister Bessie and two of Teackle’s friends. Five months after Wallis’ birth, her father died at the age of 27. Wallis and her mother were dependent upon the charity of relatives until her mother remarried. Wallis uncle Solomon Warfield paid for her to attend the most expensive girls’ school in Maryland and she made friends with several girls from wealthy families.
Unofficial Royalty: Wallis, Duchess of Windsor
June 19, 1902 – Death of King Albert of Saxony at Sibyllenort Castle in Sibyllenort, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Lower Silesia, Poland; buried in the Wettin Crypt at the Dresden Cathedral in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
When Albert’s father died in 1873, he succeeded him as King of Saxony. For the most part, his reign was quiet and uneventful, as he focused primarily on military affairs and did not involve himself much in politics. Perhaps his greatest contribution was the establishment of the Albertstadt, a suburb in Dresden. In the late 1890s, he was appointed to serve as an arbitrator in the dispute over succession in the Principality of Lippe. Albert’s marriage was childless and he was succeeded by his younger brother Georg.
Unofficial Royalty: King Albert of Saxony
June 19, 1976 – Wedding of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Silvia Sommerlath at the Storkyrkan in Stockholm, Sweden
Silvia Sommerlath worked at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich as a senior hostess and interpreter. As part of her job duties, Silvia was assigned as hostess and guide to several high-profile attendees at the Games. One of Silvia’s assigned guests was King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Carl Gustaf asked Silvia for a date on the day they met, and the couple had dinner just a few hours later. Carl Gustaf noted several years afterward that he and Silvia simply “clicked” upon their first meeting and had done so ever since that day.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath
June 19, 1999 – Wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie Rhys Jones at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
On January 6, 1999, Prince Edward held a press conference to announce he and Sophie Rhys-Jones were engaged to be married. It was the culmination of a long courtship, beginning in 1993 when the two renewed a casual acquaintance at a Real Tennis Challenge, hosted by the Prince. Ms. Rhys-Jones, the public relations executive handling the event, was reportedly “charmed” by the youngest of the Queen’s sons, and he with her.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie Rhys Jones
June 19, 2010 – Wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling at the Storkyrkan in Stockholm, Sweden
Crown Princess Victoria first met Daniel Westling in 2001 when he became her personal trainer at the gym he owned in Stockholm. It was at a friend’s birthday party in 2002 when photographers caught a kiss between the two, fueling the interest in the Princess’ personal life. Despite some public opinion against Daniel as a potential spouse for the princess due to his ‘common’ background, Victoria made it clear that one’s background was not the deciding factor in marriage, but rather the happiness shared by the couple. Speculation increased in July 2008 when Daniel moved to a rental apartment in a wing of Drottningholm Palace. Many believed this was to allow him to be ‘groomed’ for the role of consort to the Crown Princess. The engagement of Crown Princess Victoria to Mr. Daniel Westling was announced by the Royal Palace on February 24, 2009.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling
June 19, 2018 – Death of Princess Elisabeth of Denmark, the first cousin of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, at Sorgenfri Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Lyngby Church in Copenhagen, Denmark
Elisabeth was the granddaughter of King Christian X of Denmark and the first cousin of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Not receiving an appanage from the State, she took a job with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1956. Several times she was posted abroad – twice at the Danish Embassy in Washington DC and once at the Danish United Nations Mission in Geneva, Switzerland. She retired in 2001 after 45 years of employment. Elisabeth never married, perhaps to retain her position within the Danish Royal Family. Until her death, she was the last person in the line of succession to the Danish throne. Elisabeth had a long-term relationship with videographer Claus Hermansen until he died in 1997.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Elisabeth of Denmark
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