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Emperor Meiji of Japan; Credit – Wikipedia
November 3, 1456 – Death of Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, father of King Henry VII of England, died of the plague in captivity at Carmarthen Castle in Wales; initially buried in the Grey Friars Church in Carmarthen, Wales; during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the reign of his grandson King Henry VIII, Edmund Tudor remains were moved to St. David’s Cathedral in Pembrokeshire
Edmund Tudor was the father of Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch of England, and the ancestor of the British royal family and most other European royal families. He was the son of Owen ap Maredudd ap Tudor, better known as Owen Tudor, and Catherine of Valois, Dowager Queen of England, the widow of King Henry V of England. In 1455, Edmund married Lady Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of King Edward III of England through her father. The Wars of the Roses, the fight for the English throne between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, had just started and Edmund, a Lancastrian, was taken prisoner by the Yorkists less than a year later. He died of the plague in captivity at Carmarthen Castle in Wales on November 3, 1456, leaving a 13-year-old widow who was seven months pregnant with their child, the future King Henry VII.
Unofficial Royalty: Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond
November 3, 1777 – Birth of Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom, daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Sophia Matilda
Known for giving birth to an illegitimate son, Sophia was one of the three daughters of King George III who never married. Sophia’s childhood was very sheltered and she spent most of her time with her parents and sisters. The living conditions of King George’s daughters came to be known as “the Nunnery.” Limited in exposure to eligible men, Sophia and several of her sisters became involved with courtiers and equerries. Major-General Thomas Garth, an equerry to King George III, was 56 years old, 33 years older than Sophia, and had a large purple birthmark that disfigured his face. Sophia and Garth were allegedly lovers during the winter of 1799 at Windsor Castle, resulting in a pregnancy. In the summer of 1800, Sophia went to the seaside town of Weymouth, a holiday destination for the royal family, pretending to be suffering from dropsy. Apparently, on August 5, 1800, Sophia gave birth to a son in Weymouth. The child was adopted by a local couple. Eventually, Major-General Garth adopted the boy, renamed him Thomas Garth (Tommy), had him educated at Harrow School, made him his heir, and helped him in an army career in the 15th The King’s Hussars, his old regiment.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom
November 3, 1852 – Birth of Emperor Meiji of Japan at the Gosho, the palace compound, in Kyoto, Japan
Birth name: Mutsuhito
Meiji’s father Emperor Kōmei died suddenly in 1867 at the age of 36 and 14-year-old Meiji became Emperor. Since 1185, a shogun, a military dictator, had been the de facto ruler of Japan, although the shoguns were appointed by the Emperor. In 1868, the last shogun lost power, and in the name and with the support of the young emperor, a new, more Western-oriented upper class initiated the modernization of Japan known as the Meiji Restoration. Under Emperor Meiji’s reign, Japan started to become an industrial and naval power. The old feudal system was abolished and public state schools were introduced along with the Gregorian calendar. In 1890, the Emperor made the greatest contribution to the modernization of Japan with the enactment of a constitution.
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Meiji of Japan
November 3, 1901 – Birth of Leopold III, King of the Belgians at the Palace of the Marquis d’Assche in Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Léopold Philippe Charles Albert Meinrad Hubertus Marie Miguel
Leopold III became king in 1934 after his father Albert I, King of the Belgians fell to his death while mountain climbing. In 1926, Leopold married Princess Astrid of Sweden and the couple had three children. Sadly, in August 1935, Astrid was killed in a car accident while the family was on vacation in Switzerland. In September 1941, Leopold married Lilian Baels. Following the marriage, Lilian was given the title Princess de Réthy and was not styled as Queen. It was also decided that any children would be Prince/Princess of Belgium but without any rights of succession. Leopold and Lilian had three children. At the beginning of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasion in May 1940, he surrendered his country, earning him much hostility, both in Belgium and around the world. Leopold and his family were held under house arrest before being liberated by the Americans in 1945. Leopold was banned for several years from returning to Belgium, where his brother Prince Charles had been declared regent. Leopold’s eventual return to Belgium in 1950 nearly caused a civil war, and under pressure from the government, he abdicated in favor of his son Prince Baudouin in July 1951.
Unofficial Royalty: Leopold III, King of the Belgians
November 3, 1923 – Wedding of King Gustaf Adolf VI of Sweden and Lady Louise Mountbatten at the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace in London, England
Gustaf Adolf was previously married to Princess Margaret of Connaught from 1905 until her death in 1920. In June 1923, Lady Louise’s great-aunt, Princess Helena (the third daughter of Queen Victoria), passed away in London. Among those attending the funeral was Gustaf Adolf. He and Louise were drawn to each other immediately, and despite her vow that she would never marry a king or a widower, fate had other plans. Their engagement was announced on July 1, 1923, by both the Swedish and British courts.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of King Gustaf Adolf VI of Sweden and Lady Louise Mountbatten
November 3, 1961 – Birth of David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, son of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom, at Clarence House in London, England
Full name: David Albert Charles
From 1980-1982, David studied the craft of woodworking at Parnham College in Beaminster, Dorset, England. He has had a career as a furniture designer and maker and set up his own company LINLEY in 1985. David does not have an official role, but he does take part in Royal Family events, such as Trooping the Colors. In 2002, while his grandmother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was lying in state at Westminster Hall, David, along with his first cousins The Prince of Wales, The Duke of York, and The Earl of Wessex, stood guard around their grandmother’s coffin.
Unofficial Royalty: David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon
November 3, 1970 – Death of King Peter II of Yugoslavia in Denver, Colorado; originally buried at St. Sava Monastery Church in Libertyville, Illinois, reburied in 2013 at the Royal Family Mausoleum in Oplenac, Serbia
After the assassination of his father King Alexander I in 1934, 11-year-old Peter ascended the throne of Yugoslavia. In 1941, Yugoslavia was occupied by Nazi forces, and the government was forced to surrender. King Peter went into exile with the government. After settling in London, Peter married Princess Alexandra of Greece, the daughter of King Alexander I of Greece, and the couple had one son. In 1944, a Communist government was established in Yugoslavia. The following year, the monarchy was officially abolished. After World War II, Peter and Alexandra left London, living in France and Switzerland before settling in the United States in 1949. The marriage suffered from the strain of Peter’s numerous affairs and the constant struggle to find sources of income. Eventually, they went their separate ways. Peter settled permanently in the United States while Alexandra took her son and moved to Venice with her mother. Suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, King Peter II died at the age of 47, following a failed liver transplant. Per his wishes, he was interred at the Saint Sava Monastery Church in Libertyville, Illinois. To date, he is the only European monarch to be buried in the United States. He was reburied in 2013 at the Royal Family Mausoleum in Oplenac, Serbia.
Unofficial Royalty: King Peter II of Yugoslavia
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