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Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover; Credit – Wikipedia
November 13, 1312 – Birth of King Edward III of England at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
King Edward III of England is considered one of the important English rulers of the Middle Ages. After the disastrous reign of his father King Edward II, Edward made his kingdom into one of the most organized military powers in Europe. In 1328, Edward III married Philippa of Hainault. The couple had fourteen children. Their sons married into the English nobility, and their descendants later battled for the throne in the Wars of the Roses. Edward’s main preoccupation during his 50-year reign was his claim to the French throne which started the Hundred Years War. The hero of these battles was Edward III’s eldest son and heir, Edward, Prince of Wales, who has come to be known as the Black Prince. The Black Prince died at the age of 45, probably of dysentery, in 1376, a year before his father died, and his son succeeded his grandfather as King Richard II.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward III of England
November 13, 1717 – Birth of Prince George William of Great Britain, son of King George II of Great Britain, at St. James’ Palace in London, England
Little Prince George William lived from November 13, 1717 – February 17, 1718, three months and four days, but an event in his short life caused a huge family argument. The principals in the argument were George William’s grandfather King George I of Great Britain and his father The Prince of Wales, the future King George II of Great Britain. It was the beginning of the battles between fathers and sons that would plague the House of Hanover.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince George William of Great Britain
November 13, 1726 – Death of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the divorced wife of King George I of Great Britain, after 32 years of imprisonment at Castle of Ahlden in Principality of Celle now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried at Stadtkirche St. Marien in Celle
The marriage between first cousins Sophia Dorothea and George, the future King George I of Great Britain, was happy at first, but soon they both found affection elsewhere. George fell in love with one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting, Melusine von der Schulenburg. Sophia Dorothea fell in love with a Swedish Count, Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, an officer in the Hanoverian army. Despite warnings, from her mother and friends, Sophia Dorothea and her lover wrote letters to each other, met secretly, and planned to escape Hanover together. On the morning of July 2, 1694, after a meeting with Sophia Dorothea, von Königsmarck disappeared from Leineschloss Castle in Hanover and was never seen again. It was widely believed that George ordered von Königsmarck’s death. A tribunal of judges and Lutheran Church officials declared the marriage of George and Sophia Dorothea dissolved on the grounds of Sophia Dorothea’s desertion. Because she was considered the guilty party, Sophia Dorothea was not allowed to remarry, would never again see her children, and would be kept in captivity at the Castle of Ahlden for the last 32 years of her life. Sophia Dorothea suffered a stroke in August 1726 and never again left her bed. She refused medical attention and food and died at the age of 60. King George I would not allow mourning at the British court and was furious when he learned that his daughter, who had married King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, had ordered court mourning in Prussia.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia Dorothea of Celle
November 13, 1801 – Birth of Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Queen of Prussia, wife of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Elisabeth Ludovika was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Princess Caroline of Baden. She was the twin sister of Amalie Auguste below. In 1823, Elisabeth Ludovika married the future King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, after four years of negotiations regarding religion. Friedrich Wilhelm was required to be Lutheran, while Elisabeth Ludovika was Catholic. Eventually, it was agreed that she could retain her religion with the expectation that she would eventually convert. She did convert, but not until 1830. Other than a stillborn child born early in their marriage, the couple had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Queen of Prussia
November 13, 1801 – Birth of Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, Queen of Saxony, wife of King Johann of Saxony, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Amalie Auguste was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Princess Caroline of Baden. She was the twin sister of Elisabeth Ludovika above. In 1822, Amalie Auguste married the future King Johann of Saxony. Their marriage was a happy one, and the couple had nine children including two Kings of Saxony. Amalie Auguste’s husband became the heir presumptive to the Saxony throne in 1836, when King Anton died and was succeeded by Johann’s elder brother, King Friedrich August II. Amalie Auguste and her husband were close with the King and his wife Maria Anna, who was Amalie Auguste’s younger sister, and the two women worked together to support numerous charities and institutions.
Unofficial Royalty: Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, Queen of Saxony
November 13, 1810 – Death of Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, wife of King Louis XVIII of France, in exile at Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire, England; first buried at in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey in London, England, a year later reinterred at the Cathedral of Cagliari in Sardinia, Italy
Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy was the wife of King Louis XVIII of France, although he did not become King until after her death, during the Bourbon Restoration. The couple married in 1771 but had no children. In June 1795, Marie Joséphine’s husband became the titular King of France following the death of the only surviving son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. However, as the French monarchy had been abolished years earlier, the two remained in exile as Count and Countess of Provence. They continued living in different parts of Europe before moving to England in 1808, taking up residence at Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire, England. Marie Joséphine died at Hartwell House at the age of 57.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, Countess of Provence
November 13, 1848 – Birth of Albert I, Prince of Monaco in Paris, France
Full name: Albert Honoré Charles
Albert was the only child of Prince Charles III of Monaco and Antoinette de Merode. He made an unsuccessful marriage to Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie Amélie of Baden. The couple had one child, the future Prince Louis II of Monaco. Their marriage was annulled by the Catholic Church. In 1889, upon the death of his father, Albert became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. The following month, he married the Dowager Duchess de Richelieu, born Marie Alice Heine in New Orleans, Louisiana. The marriage was childless. Besides being the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Albert I left an interesting legacy. He was a pioneer of oceanography and founded the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. His interest in the origins of man caused him to found the Institute for Human Paleontology in Paris, which conducted many archeological digs. Because of his quest for world peace, the prince founded the International Institute for Peace, a predecessor of the League of Nations and the United Nations.
Unofficial Royalty: Albert I, Prince of Monaco
November 13, 1856 – Death of Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen at Waldleiningen Castle in Mörschenhardt, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried in Amorbach Abbey until 1866, when his remains were moved to Waldleiningen Castle
Karl was the maternal half-brother of Queen Victoria. At the age of ten, Karl became Prince of Leiningen upon his father’s death in 1814. However, in 1806, the Principality of Leiningen had been mediatized – annexed to another state(s), while allowing certain rights to its former sovereign. The Principality of Leiningen ceased to exist and was divided between the Grand Duchy of Baden, the Kingdom of Bavaria, and the Grand Duchy of Hesse. The family retained Amorbach Abbey in Amorbach, which remains the family seat of the Princes of Leiningen. Karl suffered a severe apoplectic attack in 1855 which greatly affected his health. A second attack the following year proved fatal. Karl died at the age of 52 with his sister Feodora of Leiningen, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg by his bedside.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen
November 13, 1907 – Birth of Giovanna of Italy, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria, wife of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria, in Rome, Italy
Full name: Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria
Giovanna was the daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and Princess Elena of Montenegro. In 1930, she married Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria. The couple had two children including Tsar Simeon III who succeeded his father and later as Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha), served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005 and as party leader until 2009. After the Soviet invasion and the abolition of the monarchy in the 1940s, the family lived in exile. In 1993, following the fall of the communist regime, Giovanna made a memorable visit to Bulgaria, on the 50th anniversary of her husband’s death.
Unofficial Royalty: Giovanna of Italy, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria
November 13, 1929 – Death of Princess Viktoria of Prussia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at the Hospital of St. Francis in Bonn, Germany; buried at Schloss Friedrichshof, Kronberg im Taunus, Germany
Princess Viktoria, known in the family as Moretta, was the daughter of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia. In 1890, she married Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe. Moretta suffered a miscarriage early in the marriage and the couple never had children. After Adolf’s death, she made a controversial marriage to Alexander Zoubkov, a Russian refugee described as a “dancer”, who was 35 years younger and carelessly spent her money. Moretta was forced to sell the contents of Palais Schaumburg, her home in Bonn, Germany, but the sale did not net much money and she moved into a single furnished room in the Bonn suburb of Mehlem. In 1929, Moretta announced that she was divorcing her second husband but she died of pneumonia a few days later at the age of 63.
Unofficial Royalty: Viktoria of Prussia, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, Mrs. Zoubkoff
November 13, 1943 – Birth of Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, second wife of Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia, pretender to the Serbian throne, born Katherine Clairy Batis in Athens, Greece
Katherine is the second wife of Alexander, Crown Prince of Serbia, the last heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the current pretender to the throne of Serbia. She was previously married to Jack Andrews and has two children from that marriage. Katherine and Alexander have no children but Katherine is the stepmother to Alexander’s three sons from his first marriage to Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans Bragança. Katherine spends much time working with charitable organizations.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia
November 13, 1989 – Death of Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein at a hospital in Grabs, Switzerland; buried in the Princely Crypt at St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Franz Josef was named after Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria who was his mother’s paternal uncle and his godfather. In 1938, Franz Joseph succeeded his childless great-uncle Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Franz Josef was the first sovereign prince to live full-time in the principality and made his home at Vaduz Castle. In 1943, Franz Joseph married Countess Georgina von Wilczek. The couple had five children including the current Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II. In 1984, Franz Josef II handed over most of his powers to his son Hans-Adam. His wife Princess Gina died on October 18, 1989, at the age of 68 after a long battle with cancer. She had once said. “My husband and I have become one. Everyone believes we are not able to exist without the other.” Only 26 days after the death of his wife, Prince Franz Josef II died at the age of 83.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein
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