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King Ludwig III of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia
October 18, 1541 – Death of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, daughter of King Henry VII of England, wife of King James IV of Scotland, Archibald Douglas, and Henry Stewart, and sister of King Henry VIII of England, at Methven Castle, Perthshire, Scotland; buried at the Carthusian Abbey of St John in Perth, Scotland
Margaret was the daughter of King Henry VII of England, the first Tudor monarch, and Elizabeth of York, the eldest child of King Edward IV of England. She married three times to James IV, King of Scots (had one surviving child James V, King of Scots, the father of Mary, Queen of Scots), Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (had one child Lady Margaret Douglas, the mother of Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley who married his first cousin Mary, Queen of Scots), and Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven (no children). After suffering a stroke, Margaret died at Methven Castle on October 18, 1541, at the age of 51. When the Tudor line died out with the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1603, it was Margaret’s great-grandson James VI, King of Scots who succeeded to the English throne as King James I. Margaret is the ancestor of many past and present European royals.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots
October 18, 1744 – Death of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, favorite of Queen Anne of Great Britain, at Marlborough House in London, England; buried in the chapel at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England
Sarah Churchill is considered one of the most influential women in British history due to her friendship and the influence she had with Queen Anne of Great Britain. Queen Anne named Sarah Mistress of the Robes, the highest office in the royal court that could be held by a woman, Groom of the Stole, Keeper of the Privy Purse, and Ranger of Windsor Great Park. She was the first of only two women ever to be Keeper of the Privy Purse and the only woman ever to be Ranger of Windsor Great Park. Sarah exerted great influence on Queen Anne and had control over most of Anne’s existence, from her finances to the people admitted to the royal presence. However, the relationship between Sarah and Anne became increasingly strained, especially when Abigail Hill, Sarah’s first cousin, was in a position to replace her as Queen Anne’s favorite. By 1711, Sarah had lost all he positions and she and her husband John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough fell out of favor. In disgrace, Sarah and John left England and traveled in Europe for several years. Queen Anne died on August 1, 1714, the same day Sarah and John returned to England. The new King George I had a personal friendship with Sarah and John who had visited him frequently during their exile in Europe. John was restored to his old office, Captain-General of the Army. Sarah survived her husband by twenty-two years, dying, aged 84, at Marlborough House in London, England.
Unofficial Royalty: Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, favorite of Queen Anne of Great Britain
October 18, 1831 – Birth of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia, husband of Princess Victoria, Princess Royal, at Neues Palais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl
Friedrich was the only son of Wilhelm I, German Emperor, King of Prussia and his wife Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. In 1858, he married Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. They had eight children including Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia. Prince Albert and Queen Victoria hoped that this marriage would make the ties between London and Berlin closer, and lead to a unified and liberal Germany. However, Vicky and Fritz were politically isolated and their liberal and Anglophile views clashed with the authoritarian ideas of the Minister-President of Prussia and later Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. Despite their efforts to educate their eldest son Wilhelm about the benefits of democracy, he favored his German tutors’ views of autocratic rule and became alienated from his parents. The year 1888 is called “The Year of Three Emperors” in German history. Fritz’s father Wilhelm I died on March 9, 1888, and Fritz succeeded him as Friedrich III. However, Fritz was already gravely ill with cancer of the larynx and could no longer speak, but despite this, he did his best to fulfill his obligations as Emperor. In May 1888, Fritz lamented, “I cannot die … What would happen to Germany?” Fritz reigned for only 99 days, dying at the age of 56 on June 15, 1888, and was succeeded by his son Wilhelm.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia
October 18, 1884 – Death of Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick at Sibyllenort Castle in Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia now in Szczodre, Poland; buried in the crypt at Brunswick Cathedral in Brunswick, Duchy of Brunswick, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Wilhelm was the second Duke of Brunswick, reigning from 1830 until 1884. Under Wilhelm’s regency, the Duchy of Brunswick was granted a new constitution that extended significant fundamental rights to the people. He quickly became much more popular than his brother had ever been. He let his government do much of the ruling, leaving his ministers to handle most of the government business, and spending much of his time at his estates. Wilhelm never married but he had a number of illegitimate children.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick
October 18, 1921 – Death of King Ludwig III of Bavaria at Nádasdy Castle in Sárvár, Hungary; buried at the Frauenkirche in Munich, Bavaria, Germany
In 1868, King Ludwig III married Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este and the couple had thirteen children. In 1886, his father became Prince Regent after King Ludwig II was declared mentally incompetent. Just days later, Ludwig II died mysteriously and was succeeded by his brother King Otto. However, Otto was also mentally ill, and the regency continued. Upon his father’s death in 1912, Ludwig III succeeded him as Prince Regent for his cousin King Otto. Less than a year later, the Bavarian Parliament passed legislation allowing the Regent to assume the throne himself, provided that the regency was for reasons of incapacity, had lasted more than ten years, and there was no prospect of the Sovereign being able to reign. With overwhelming support from the parliament, Ludwig deposed his cousin and assumed the Bavarian throne as King Ludwig III. On November 13, 1918, he would be the first monarch in the German Empire to be deposed, ending 738 years of rule by the Wittelsbach dynasty.
Unofficial Royalty: Ludwig III, King of Bavaria
October 18, 1978 – Birth of Mike Tindall, husband of Zara Phillips, daughter of Anne, Princess Royal, born in Otley, West Yorkshire, England
Full name: Michael James
A former professional rugby player, Mike Tindall met Zara Phillips, daughter of The Princess Royal and the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, in Australia in 2003, during the Rugby World Cup. Buckingham Palace announced the engagement in December 2010, and they were married on July 30, 2011, at the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. Mike and Zara have two daughters and one son.
Unofficial Royalty: Mike Tindall
October 18, 1989 – Death of Princess Gina of Liechtenstein, born Countess Georgina von Wilczek, wife of Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein, in a hospital in Grabs, Switzerland; buried in the Princely Crypt at St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein
In 1942, Gina became engaged to Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein and they were married the following year at St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. It was the first royal wedding in Liechtenstein’s history that took place in the principality. Gina and Franz Josef had five children including the present Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II. During World War II, Princess Gina, like her mother, had concerns for prisoners of war. In 1945, she founded the Liechtenstein Red Cross and was president from 1945 to 1984. Princess Gina died six days before her 68th birthday after a long battle with cancer. Her husband Franz Josef died 26 days later.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Gina of Liechtenstein
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