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Princess Maria of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia
March 3, 1542 – Death of Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, illegitimate son of King Edward IV of England, at the Tower of London in London, England; buried at the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London
March 3, 1778 – Birth of Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of Ernst August, King of Hanover, Duke of Cumberland at the Altes Palais in Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Friederike Luise Caroline Sophie Alexandrine
In 1815, Frederica married her first cousin Prince Ernest Augustus of the United Kingdom, Duke of Cumberland, the son of King George III of the United Kingdom. Upon the death of Frederica’s husband’s brother King William IV of the United Kingdom, his niece succeeded to the throne as Queen Victoria. However, because the Kingdom of Hanover did not allow for female succession, Frederica’s husband succeeded him as King Ernst August I of Hanover, and she became Queen of Hanover. Frederica was only Queen of Hanover for a little less than three years. In April 1841, she fell ill and died two months later.
Unofficial Royalty: Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Hanover, Duchess of Cumberland
March 3, 1862 – Death of Augusta Reuss of Köstritz, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Schwerin, first wife of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; buried in the Schwerin Cathedral
In 1849, Auguste married Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II, and the couple had six children including Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Marie who married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia. Three years after giving birth to her youngest child, Auguste, aged 39, died on March 3, 1862. The cause of Auguste’s death is unclear. At that time, there were mentions of “heart disease associated with a bronchial ailment” and “fever.” It is quite possible that she died from tuberculosis which was widespread at the time.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta Reuss of Köstritz, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
March 3, 1876 – Birth of Princess Maria of Greece, daughter of King George I of Greece, at the Royal Palace in Athens, Greece
In 1900, Maria married a maternal cousin Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia, the son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia and the grandson of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. The couple had two daughters. The marriage was never particularly happy. Maria was not in love with her husband, despite his apparent devotion to her. She soon found excuses to leave Russia and spent more time in Greece and elsewhere in Europe. When World War I began, Maria was living in Harrogate, England with her two daughters and chose to remain there and not return to Russia. Her husband, like many in the Russian Imperial Family, was murdered by the Bolsheviks with three other Grand Dukes of Russia in January 1919, leaving Maria a widow. In 1920, Maria was able to return to Greece when her brother King Constantine I was brought back to power. She traveled aboard a Greek destroyer commanded by Admiral Pericles Ioannidis, and a romance developed. The couple married two years later in 1922. Maria, aged 64, died of a heart attack in 1940.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Maria of Greece, Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia
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