© Unofficial Royalty 2024
Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily, Queen of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia
March 11, 1278 – Birth of Mary of Woodstock, daughter of King Edward I of England at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire, England
Mary became a nun. She entered Amesbury Priory, a Benedictine monastery in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. Amesbury Priory, in 1285. She lived in comfort in private quarters at Amesbury Priory. In the early 1280s, Mary’s grandmother Eleanor of Provence had begun building a suite of rooms at the priory where she would live with her two granddaughters (Mary’s first cousin Eleanor of Brittany was also a nun) in a style befitting royalty. Eleanor of Provence arrived at Amesbury Priory in 1286 and she lived there until she died in 1291, when she was buried at the priory. Despite living in a style that befitted a princess, Mary followed the daily routine of a nun, communal prayer throughout the day and night, private religious reflection, and silence during the day. Mary died on May 29, 1332, aged 54, and was buried in Amesbury Priory church near her grandmother Eleanor of Provence but all the graves and tombs have been lost.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary of Woodstock
March 11, 1849 – Death of Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily, Queen of Sardinia, wife of Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia, in Savona, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy; buried with her husband at Hautecombe Abbey, now in Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille, France
Maria Cristina was the daughter of Ferdinando IV, King of Naples and Sicily (later Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies) and Maria Carolina of Austria. Her maternal grandmother was Maria Theresa, the sovereign ruler of the Habsburg territories from 1740 until her death in 1780, and was the only female to hold the position. In 1807, Maria Cristina married the future Carlo Felice, King of Sardina but their marriage was childless. In 1821, Carlo Felice’s brother Vittorio Emanuele I was not willing to grant a liberal constitution so he abdicated the throne of Sardinia in favor of Carlo Felice who reigned until his death in 1831. Maria Cristina survived her husband by eighteen years, dying on March 11, 1849, aged 70.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily, Queen of Sardinia
March 11, 1899 – Birth of King Frederik IX of Denmark at Sorgenfri Palace in Lyngby-Taarbæk, Denmark
Full name: Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg
With Frederik’s birth, there were four generations of Danish kings alive: the current monarch and Frederik’s great-grandfather King Christian IX, his grandfather the future King Frederik VIII, his father the future King Christian X, and baby Frederik. In 1935, Frederik married Princess Ingrid of Sweden, daughter of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The couple had three daughters including Frederik’s successor Queen Margrethe II. In 1947, Frederik succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father King Christian X. During Frederik’s reign the 1953 Danish Act of Succession was adopted which allowed for female succession in the event that the monarch had no sons. A 2009 succession law now allows for the succession of the firstborn child regardless of gender. Frederik had a great love for music and was a talented pianist and conductor. Several recordings of orchestral music originally heard on Danish radio conducted by King Frederik have been released on CDs. In January 1972, shortly after Frederik had given his New Year speech, he became ill with flu-like symptoms. On January 3, 1972, he had a cardiac arrest and was rushed to Copenhagen Municipal Hospital. The king improved for a time but took a turn for the worse on January 11, and on January 14, 1972, King Frederik IX died at the age of 72
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik IX of Denmark
March 11, 1922 – Death of Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, wife of Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, at Villa Fantasia in Èze, near Cannes, France; buried in the Helena Pavlovna Mausoleum on the grounds of Ludwigslust Palace in Ludwigslust, Germany
Anastasia was the only daughter of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia son of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. She had six brothers, and three were murdered by the Bolsheviks. Her brother Sergei was among the five other Romanovs murdered by the Bolsheviks along with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna on July 18, 1918. Two of her brothers, Nicholas and George, were among the four Grand Dukes murdered by the Bolsheviks on January 28, 1919. In 1879, Anastasia married the future Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They had three children including Alexandrine who married King Christian X of Denmark. After her husband died in 1897, she preferred to stay at the hunting lodge in Gelbensande in Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Cannes, France, and traveled often to St. Petersburg, Paris, and London. In 1902, Anastasia had an illegitimate son with her personal secretary, Vladimir Alexandrovitch Paltov. Anastasia, aged 61, died in Èze, France on March 11, 1922, after suffering a stroke.
Unofficial Royalty: Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
March 11, 1953 – Death of Zizi Lambrino, mistress and morganatic 1st wife of King Carol II of Romania, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Zizi Lambrino was the first wife of the future King Carol II of Romania. The couple married in 1918, but the Romanian government deemed the marriage unconstitutional and it was annulled. On August 8, 1920, in Bucharest, Zizi gave birth to the couple’s only child – a son named Mircea Gregor Carol Lambrino. As Zizi and Carol’s marriage had been legally annulled, the child was considered illegitimate and was given his mother’s surname. Soon after the birth, the future Carol ended his relationship with Zizi, choosing instead to remain in line for the Romanian throne. Zizi and her son were forced to leave the country and were financially supported by the Romanian government. Zizi Lambrino died in near poverty on March 11, 1953, aged 55, just three weeks before the death of her former husband Carol II.
Unofficial Royalty: Zizi Lambrino, mistress and morganatic 1st wife of King Carol II of Romania
This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.