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Anne Boleyn, Queen of England; Credit – Wikipedia
May 19, 1536 – Execution of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII of England, at the Tower of London in London, England; buried at St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London
Henry VIII wanted a male heir. After giving birth to a daughter and then miscarrying a male, Anne’s fate was sealed. Henry was determined to be rid of her, and her fall and execution were engineered by Thomas Cromwell, Henry’s chief minister. Many historians believe that the case charging Anne with adultery with her brother George Boleyn and four other men (Francis Weston, Henry Norris, William Brereton, and Mark Smeaton) was completely fabricated. Anne was found guilty of adultery, incest, and high treason.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne Boleyn, Queen of England
May 19, 1568 – Birth of Leonora Dori Galigaï, favorite of Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France, in Florence, then in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy
Leonora Dori Galigai and later, her husband Concino Concini, were favorites of Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France, the second wife of Henri IV, King of France. Neither Leonora nor Concino had a happy ending. In 1588, Ferdinando I de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany appointed twenty-year-old Leonora to be the maid to his thirteen-year-old niece Marie de’ Medici. In late 1600, when Marie traveled to France to become the second wife of Henri IV, King of France, Leonora was included in her retinue as lady-in-waiting and wardrobe attendant. In 1610, when King Henri IV was assassinated and his wife Queen Marie was appointed Regent for their eldest son, the eight-year-old King Louis XIII of France. Leonora exploited her friendship with Queen Marie, encouraging the rapid rise of her husband’s career. In April 1617, Concino organized an unsuccessful coup d’état, resulting in the execution of Leonora and Concino.
Unofficial Royalty: Leonora Dori Galigaï, favorite of Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France
May 19, 1744 – Birth of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of the United Kingdom, wife of King George III of the United Kingdom, in Mirow, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Full name: Charlotte Sophia
George and Charlotte’s marriage was a very happy one and George remained faithful to Charlotte. Between 1762 – 1783, Charlotte gave birth to 15 children, all of who survived childbirth. Only two of the children, who died from smallpox, did not survive childhood. The only disruption in the family’s domestic lives was George’s attacks of illness. We now know that he probably suffered from porphyria and his attacks severely worried Charlotte. Charlotte is the second longest-serving consort in British history. Only her descendant, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, served longer as a consort.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of the United Kingdom
May 19, 1797 – Birth of Maria Isabel of Portugal, Queen of Spain, second of the four wives of King Ferdinand VII of Spain at the Palace of Queluz in Portugal
Full name: Maria Isabel Francisca
Maria Isabel married her maternal uncle Ferdinand VII of Spain, who was 13 years older than her. Ferdinand’s first wife had died childless ten years earlier. The marriage was made with the aim of strengthening relations between Spain and Portugal, and of course, with the goal of providing heirs to the throne. Maria Isabel gave birth to a daughter who only lived for five months. There were terrible complications when 21-year-old Maria Isabel went into labor with her second child, a daughter who was in breech position and died in utero. Maria Isabel had lost consciousness and appeared to have stopped breathing, so the doctors believed she had died. When they began to cut her open to remove the dead child, she let out a cry of pain, fainted, and bled to death.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Isabel of Portugal, Queen of Spain
May 19, 1896 – Death of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria; buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria
Karl Ludwig was the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria
May 19, 2018 – Wedding of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s personal relationship started in June 2016 when they were introduced by a mutual friend. The engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was announced on November 27, 2017. Meghan was the second American and the first person of mixed-race heritage to marry into the British royal family. The couple has one son and one daughter.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle
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