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King George I of Great Britain; Credit – Wikipedia
May 28, 1656 – Birth of Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein in Wilfersdorf, Austria
In 1679, Anton Florian married Countess Eleonore Barbara von Thun-Hohenstein and the couple had eleven children including Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1712, Anton Florian’s nephew Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, died without a male heir. Anton Florian was the heir according to primogeniture however he was not very popular with the family, and so Hans-Adam I had named his second cousin once removed Josef Wenzel as his heir. In 1718, after negotiations, Anton Florian became Prince of Liechtenstein and Josef Wenzel concentrated on his military career.
Unofficial Royalty: Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein
May 28, 1660 – Birth of King George I of Great Britain at Leineschloss in Osnabruck, Electorate of Hanover, now in Lower, Saxony, Germany
Full name: Georg Ludwig
Georg Ludwig was the eldest of the seven children of Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of the Palatinate (commonly referred to as Electress Sophia of Hanover). Sophia’s mother was Elizabeth Stuart, the second child and eldest daughter of King James VI of Scotland/King James I of England. At the time of his birth, it was expected that Georg Ludwig would only succeed to his father’s titles. However, his destiny changed when the British House of Stuart failed to provide a legitimate Protestant heir.
Unofficial Royalty: King George I of Great Britain
May 28, 1767 – Death of Maria Josepha of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empress. the second of the two wives of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria; buried at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria
Maria Josepha of Bavaria was the second of the two wives of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor who also was the ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands. Joseph never loved Maria Josepha, and the marriage was probably never consummated. Joseph avoided sharing a bedroom and even had their shared balcony in Schönbrunn Palace partitioned off so he would not have to see Maria Josepha. A severe smallpox epidemic broke out in 1767, and Maria Josepha came down with the disease. Although Joseph, who had survived smallpox at an earlier time, had nursed his first wife as she was dying from smallpox, he did not visit Maria Josepha while she was ill. Maria Josepha, aged 28, died from smallpox at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Josepha of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empress
May 28, 1832 – Birth of Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany
In 1858, Heinrich XIV married Duchess Agnes of Württemberg and had one son and one daughter. Upon the death of his father Heinrich LXVII, 3rd Prince Reuss of Gera on July 11, 1867, Heinrich XIV became the 4th Prince Reuss of Gera. After Agnes’ death in 1886. Heinrich XIV made a morgantic marriage to Friederike Graetz with whom he had one son. In 1902, Heinrich XIV became the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. Heinrich XXIV, 6th and last Prince Reuss of Greiz, succeeded his father in 1902 but was unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Heinrich XIV was the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz until his death. Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera died on March 29, 1913, aged 80.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera
May 28, 1872 – Death of Sophie Friederike of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria, wife of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria, in Vienna, Austria; buried at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
The daughter of the first King of Bavaria, Maximilian I Joseph, Sophie was the mother of two emperors: Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, the grandmother of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination sparked World War I, and the great-grandmother of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria. Sophie never recovered from the 1867 execution of her son Maximilian and she withdrew from public life. In May 1872, ill with pneumonia, she took to her bed, fell into a coma, and died at age 67.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie Friederike of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria
May 28, 1940 – Death of Prince Friedrich Karl, Landgrave of Hesse, husband of Princess Margaret of Prussia, in Kassel, Germany; buried at the family cemetery of the House of Hesse at the Schloss Kronberg (formerly Schloss Friedrichshof) in Taunus, Hesse, Germany
Known as Fischy, he married Princess Margaret of Prussia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia, and Victoria, Princess Royal. They had six sons including two sets of twins. Two of their sons were killed in action during World War I and one was killed in action during World War II.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Friedrich Karl, Landgrave of Hesse
May 28, 1944 – Death of Maria Josepha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria, mother of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, at Wildenwart Castle in Chiemgau, Bavaria, Germany; buried in the New Vault of the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria
Maria Josepha, the daughter of King Georg of Saxony, married her second cousin Archduke Otto Franz of Austria. Maria Josepha’s father-in-law Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria was the younger brother of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the executed Emperor of Mexico. Her new husband Otto Franz was the brother of the ill-fated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination in 1914 was one of the causes of World War I. Maria Josepha and Otto Franz had two sons including Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria. After World War I, when Karl tried twice to regain his throne, Karl and his family were exiled to the Portuguese island of Madeira, Maria Josepha settled in Bavaria, Germany. Because of Allied bombings during World War II, Maria Josepha moved to the safety of Wildenwart Castle in Chiemgau, Bavaria, Germany, a castle that belonged to the former Bavarian royal family. Maria Josepha died at Wildenwart Castle on May 28, 1944, at the age of 76, and was buried in the New Vault of the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, beside her husband.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Josepha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria
May 28, 1972 – Death of The Duke of Windsor, former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, at Villa Windsor in Bois de Boulogne, Paris, France; buried at Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore in Windsor, England
In late 1971, the Duke of Windsor was diagnosed with throat cancer. On May 18, 1972, Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh, and The Prince of Wales visited the Duke at his Paris home while on a state visit to France. The Duke was too ill to come downstairs to tea, but the Queen spent 15 minutes talking alone with her Uncle David in his sitting room after the Duchess of Windsor hosted tea in the downstairs drawing room. Ten days later, a statement from Buckingham Palace said: “It is announced with deep regret that His Royal Highness, the Duke of Windsor, has died at his home in Paris at 2:25 A.M., Sunday, May 28, 1972.” The Duke of Windsor died a month before his 78th birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
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