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Mathilde Karoline of Bavaria, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine; Credit – Wikipedia
May 25, 1690 – Birth of Johann Josef Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein in Vienna, Austria
Johann Josef Adam succeeded his father Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein in 1721. He married four times. His first two wives died at a young age without any surviving children. His fourth wife survived him but their children died in infancy. With his third wife, Countess Maria Anna Katharina of Oettingen-Spielberg, Johann Josef Adam had two surviving children including his successor. Eventually, Josef Johann Adam retired from active politics to devote himself to the administration of his vast estates and the Principality of Liechtenstein which had been devastated by the debts left by his father. Despite pressure from within Liechtenstein, Josef Johann Adam refused to establish a more liberal government and continued with the absolutism of his father’s reign.
Unofficial Royalty: Johann Josef Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein
May 25, 1786 – Death of King Pedro III of Portugal, husband and uncle of Queen Maria I of Portugal, co-reigned alongside her until his death, at the Queluz Royal Palace in Queluz, Portugal; buried at the Pantheon of the Royal House of Braganza in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal.
Pedro III, King of Portugal was co-monarch with his wife and niece Maria I, Queen of Portugal. However, the regal authority was vested entirely in Maria, the rightful heir to the throne. Since female succession to the throne of Portugal had never happened before, Maria’s father King José I of Portugal decided that she would marry his younger brother Pedro, the first male in the line of succession. Despite the 17-year age gap, the couple had a happy marriage and had six children.
Unofficial Royalty: Pedro III, King of Portugal
May 25, 1846 – Birth of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Helena Augusta Victoria
Helena took a very active role in royal duties and engagements when this was not nearly as common as it is today. In addition, she was very involved in charity work, particularly in the area of nursing. Helena served as president of the Royal British Nurses Association and was one of the founding members of the British Red Cross. She was also the founding president of the Royal School of Needlework. Helena and her husband Christian of Schleswig-Holstein celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1916, the first in the family since King George III and Queen Charlotte in 1811.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Helena of the United Kingdom
May 25, 1843 – Birth of Anna of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 2nd wife of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in Bessungen, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Maria Anna Wilhelmine Elisabeth Mathilde
Anna was the sister of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine who married Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. Sadly, just a week after giving birth to her only child, 21-year-old Anna died of puerperal fever (childbed fever).
Unofficial Royalty: Anna of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
May 25, 1862 – Death of Mathilde Karoline of Bavaria, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, first wife of Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and by Rhine, in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany; buried at St. Ludwig’s Catholic Church in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in the German state of Hesse
The eldest daughter of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Mathilde Karoline married the future Ludwig III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine but the couple had no children. Mathilde Karoline died of cancer at the age of 48 in 1862. Because she had remained Catholic after her marriage – the Grand Ducal family was Lutheran – she is buried at St. Ludwig’s Catholic Church in Darmstadt.
Unofficial Royalty: Mathilde Karoline of Bavaria, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine
May 25, 1865 – Birth of King Friedrich August III of Saxony in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
Full name: Friedrich August Johann Ludwig Karl Gustav Gregor Philipp
Friedrich August began his military career at age 12, entering the Saxony Army as a second lieutenant, and serving with various regiments over the next 27 years before his accession to the throne in 1904. In 1891, he married Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany, and they had seven children. However, the marriage was not happy. The marriage quickly broke down, as Luise was unwilling to conform to the strict protocols of the Saxony court, and Friedrich August failed to stand up for her or support her. She began an affair with their children’s tutor and caused quite a scandal. Friedrich August’s father threatened to have her interned at a mental asylum in 1902, which led to Luise fleeing the country while pregnant with their youngest child. The marriage ended in divorce, by royal decree of King Georg in 1903. Friedrich August III was the last King of Saxony, abdicating on November 13, 1918, at the end of World War I. Friedrich August retired to Sibyllenort Castle in Lower Silesia (now Poland) where he would live the rest of his life. He died there on February 18, 1932, after suffering a stroke.
Unofficial Royalty: King Friedrich August III of Saxony
May 25, 1878 – Death of Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, Queen Victoria’s Mistress of the Robes 1868 – 1870, in London, England; buried in the Argyll Mausoleum at the Kilmun Parish Church in Kilmun, Scotland
Born Elizabeth Leveson-Gower, daughter of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland, she married George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll. Their eldest son John Campbell 9th Duke of Argyll married Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll
May 25, 1966 – Birth of Princess Laurentian of the Netherlands, wife of Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, born Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst in Leiden, the Netherlands
Laurentien is the wife of Prince Constantijn, the youngest son of former Queen Beatrix, and the younger brother of King Willem-Alexander. She married Prince Constantijn in 2001 and the couple has three children. Laurentian is very involved in the fight against illiteracy in the Netherlands. In 2004, she founded the Stichting Lezen & Schrijven (Reading & Writing Foundation), to prevent and reduce functional illiteracy in the Netherlands and worldwide.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Laurentian of the Netherlands
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