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Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom; Credit – Wikipedia
November 20, 1559 – Death of Lady Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, daughter of Mary Tudor, Queen of France, Duchess of Suffolk and niece of King Henry VIII, at her residence Charterhouse in London; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Frances was the daughter of Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. She married Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset and they were the parents of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey. After the executions of her husband Henry, her daughter Jane and Jane’s husband Lord Guildford Dudley, Frances’ life was in ruins. Because her husband was a traitor, all his possessions reverted to the Crown. Frances managed to plead with her first cousin Queen Mary I to show mercy. Mary agreed that some of the Duke of Suffolk’s property could remain with the family. Frances married her Master of the Horse Adrian Stokes in 1555. They had two stillborn children and a daughter who died in infancy. Frances, aged 42, died with her daughters Catherine and Mary at her side. The cost of her funeral was paid by her first cousin Queen Elizabeth I. With her daughter Catherine acting as chief mourner, Frances was buried at Westminster Abbey. Four years later, her widower Adrian Stokes had a beautiful tomb and effigy placed over her grave.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk
November 20, 1727 – Birth of Maria Josefa von Harrach-Rohrau, Princess of Liechtenstein, wife of her first cousin Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein, in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria
In 1744, seventeen-year-old Maria Josefa married her first cousin, twenty-year-old Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein, the son of her maternal uncle Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein. Maria Josefa and Johann Nepomuk Karl had three children but only one daughter survived childhood. After four years of marriage, Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein died at the age of 24. In 1752, Maria Josefa made a second marriage to Prince Joseph Maria von Lobkowicz, a Field Marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army. The couple had four children. Maria Josefa predeceased her second husband and survived her first husband by forty years, dying at the age of 61 on February 15, 1788.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Josefa von Harrach-Rohrau, Princess of Liechtenstein
November 20, 1737 – Death of Caroline of Ansbach, Queen of Great Britain, wife of King George II of Great Britain, at St. James Palace in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
In 1705, Caroline married George, Electoral Prince of Hanover, the future King George II of Great Britain. The couple had eight children and through their children’s marriages, George and Caroline are the ancestors of many European royal families including the British, Danish, Dutch, Greek, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish Royal Families. Caroline’s father-in-law succeeded to the British throne as King George I in 1714 upon the death of Queen Anne and Caroline’s husband became heir to the throne. In 1727, King George I died and his son succeeded him as King George II. Queen Caroline played a greater role in governmental affairs than any queen consort since the Middle Ages. In 1724, during the birth of her youngest child, Caroline sustained an umbilical hernia. She ignored the condition until it became acute in November 1737. Then she was bled, purged, and operated on, without anesthetic, but there was no improvement in her condition. Gangrene set in and she died at the age of 54.
Unofficial Royalty: Caroline of Ansbach, Queen of Great Britain
November 20, 1851 – Birth of Margherita of Savoy, Queen of Italy, wife of King Umberto I of Italy, at Palazzo Chiablese in Turin, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, now in Italy
Full name: Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna
In 1868, Margherita married the future King Umberto I of Italy. They had one child, the future King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy. Margherita became Queen of Italy when her husband ascended to the throne following his father’s death in 1878. Immensely popular with the Italian people, Margherita was active with many cultural organizations, promoting the arts, and working with the Red Cross. In 1900, Margherita’s husband was assassinated. The throne passed to the couple’s son, Vittorio Emanuele III, and Margherita settled into her new role as Queen Mother. She devoted herself to her charity work and the advancement of the arts in Italy.
Unofficial Royalty: Margherita of Savoy, Queen of Italy
November 20, 1875 – Death of Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Reggio, in Vienna, Austria; buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
Francesco V was the last Duke of Modena and Reggio. He was also the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland from 1840 – 1875. In 1842, Francesco married Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria. The couple had one daughter who died in infancy. Francesco became Duke of Modena and Reggio when his father died in 1846. King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, led the drive toward a unified Italian kingdom. During the Second Italian War of Independence, Francesco V and his wife were forced to permanently flee the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. In 1860, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Thereafter, Francesco and his wife mostly lived at the Palais Modena in Vienna, Austria, where his second cousin once removed Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria reigned over the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Francesco died at the age of 56. Francesco was the Jacobite pretender to the British throne from September 15, 1840 – November 20, 1875.
Unofficial Royalty: Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Reggio
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne
November 20, 1908 – Birth of Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, Head of the House of Hesse from 1937 – 1968, son of Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his second wife Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Ludwig Hermann Alexander Chlodwig
In 1938, Ludwig married The Honorable Margaret Geddes, daughter of British diplomat Auckland Campbell Geddes,1st Baron Geddes. Sadly, his mother, brother, sister-in-law, and his two nephews died in a plane crash on the way to the wedding. (See Unofficial Royalty: November 16, 1937 – Deaths of the Grand Ducal Family of Hesse and by Rhine) Ludwig and his wife did not have any children. After World War II, Ludwig and his wife devoted themselves to rebuilding Darmstadt. They worked to restore museums, hospitals, and charitable institutions. Ludwig was a godparent of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who was Ludwig’s first cousin once removed.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine
November 20, 1912 – Birth of Crown Prince Otto of Austria, last Crown Prince of Austria, later known as Otto von Habsburg, son of Emperor Karl I of Austria, the last Emperor of Austria, at Wartholz Castle in Reichenau an der Rax, Austria
Full name: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius
The last Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia and later in his long life, a member of the European Parliament, Otto von Habsburg was the eldest and the longest surviving of the eight children of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma. After World War I and the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the family lived in exile. Otto’s mother made him learn the main languages of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – German, Hungarian, and Croatian – in case the empire was ever restored. In addition, Otto also spoke English, Spanish, French, and Latin fluently. While living in Belgium, Otto attended the Catholic University of Leuven and in 1935, he received a doctorate in social and political sciences. In 1951, Otto married Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen and the couple had seven children. Otto was an early supporter of a unified Europe and was president of the International Pan-European Union from 1973 to 2004. He served from 1979 until 1999 as a Member of the European Parliament for the conservative party, Christian Social Union in Bavaria, and eventually became the senior member of the European Parliament.
Unofficial Royalty: Otto von Habsburg
November 20, 1925 – Death of Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, born Alexandra of Denmark, wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
The daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, Alexandra, known as Alix, married the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (Bertie) in 1863. The couple had six children including King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Maud of Norway. In 1901, Alix’s husband succeeded to the British throne upon the death of his mother Queen Victoria. Alix and her husband had begun the idea of the royal family’s public appearances as we now know them during Queen Victoria’s withdrawal after her husband’s death, and they continued this during Bertie’s reign. During his marriage, Bertie had several mistresses. Apparently, Alix knew about many of them and accepted them. When Bertie died in 1910, Alix quipped, “Now at least I know where he is.” Toward the end of her life, Alix became almost completely deaf and suffered from mild senile dementia. She died of a heart attack at her beloved Sandringham House, just eleven days short of her 81st birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom
November 20, 1938 – Death of Queen Maud of Norway, born Princess Maud of Wales, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, wife of King Haakon VII of Norway, in London, England; buried at the Royal Mausoleum in Akershus Fortress, Norway
In 1896, Maud married her first cousin Prince Carl of Denmark, the son of Maud’s maternal uncle King Frederik VIII of Denmark. Maud and Carl had one child, Prince Alexander of Denmark, later King Olav V of Norway. In 1905, upon the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway, the Norwegian government began searching for candidates to become King of Norway. Because of his descent from prior Norwegian monarchs, as well as his wife’s British connections, Carl was the overwhelming favorite. In 1905, Carl officially became King of Norway. He took the name Haakon VII and his son two-year-old son was renamed Olav and became Crown Prince of Norway. Maud never gave up her love for her native country and visited often. However, she fulfilled her duties as Queen of Norway. Maud became active in women’s rights and the welfare of unmarried women. In October 1938, Maud came to England for a visit. While staying at a London hotel, Maud became ill and was taken to a nursing home where abdominal surgery was performed. She survived the surgery, but died six days before her 69th birthday, from heart failure.
Unofficial Royalty: Maud of Wales, Queen of Norway
November 20, 1947 – Wedding of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Lt. Philip Mountbatten, born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Always looking to make connections for his family, Philip’s maternal uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten (the future 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma), arranged for his nephew to be the escort of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret when the Royal Family toured Dartmouth Naval College in July 1939, where Philip was a cadet. 13-year-old Elizabeth fell in love with Philip and the two began exchanging letters. Philip and Elizabeth saw each other during World War II whenever possible, but it was not until the war was over that the courtship started in earnest. By the summer of 1946, the press was beginning to speculate about an engagement. Philip proposed at Balmoral and Elizabeth said yes without consulting her parents. Although George VI approved of Philip, he resented that the “Royal Firm” of “Us Four” would be no more. The Royal Family was due to visit the Union of South Africa in early 1947 and the king did not want the engagement announced until their return. On June 8, 1947, the engagement was announced.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Lt. Philip Mountbatten
November 20, 1992 – Fire seriously damages Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
On November 20, 1992, at 11:33 AM, a fire began in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle when a painter left a spotlight too close to the curtains. The location of the fire was shown on a map of the castle by an indicator light and the chief officer of the castle’s fire brigade immediately sounded the public fire alarm. The fire was initially in the Brunswick Tower, but soon many other indicator bulbs lit up, as the fire spread to neighboring rooms, including the State Apartments which are the rooms the public is allowed to visit.
Unofficial Royalty: Private Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Unofficial Royalty: Fired seriously damages Windsor Castle
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