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Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck; Credit – Wikipedia
October 26, 899 – Death of Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons; initially buried at the Old Minster in Winchester, England, in 903, Alfred’s remains were moved to the New Minster, in 1110, his remains were moved to Hyde Abbey in Winchester which was destroyed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex and later styled himself King of the Anglo-Saxons. Alfred and Cnut, King of England, Denmark, Norway, and parts of Sweden are the only British monarchs to be given the epithet “the Great”. Alfred spent several years fighting Viking invasions. In 878, he won a decisive victory in the Battle of Edington and made an agreement with the Vikings, creating what was known as the Danelaw in the north of England. During Alfred’s reign major administrative and military reforms were introduced, creating lasting change in England. Alfred had long suffered from a mysterious illness with periodic painful attacks. Alfred’s contemporary biographer, the Welsh monk Asser, gave a detailed description of his symptoms and modern doctors suspect that he had either Crohn’s disease or hemorrhoidal disease. However, Alfred’s grandson King Eadred also suffered from ill health all his life. He had symptoms similar to the symptoms Alfred had. A genetic disease such as porphyria, which King George III may have had, is also a possibility. Alfred died at around the age of 50 from unknown causes.
Unofficial Royalty: Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, King of the Anglo-Saxons
October 26, 1580 – Death of Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain, fourth wife of King Felipe II Spain, in Badajoz, Spain; buried at the Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real in El Escorial, Spain
Anna was the daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria and Maria of Spain. In 1570, she married her uncle King Felipe II of Spain, becoming his fourth wife. They had five children including Felipe III, King of Spain who succeeded his father. Anna died from influenza at the age of 30, on October 26, 1580, eight months after giving birth to her youngest child.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain
October 26, 1717 – Death of Catherine Sedley Colyear, Countess of Dorchester, Countess of Portmore, mistress of King James II of England, in Bath, England; initially buried in Bath, in 1729 her remains were reinterred in the new Portmore vault at St. James’ Church in Weybridge, Surrey, England
Catherine was appointed a maid of honor to Maria Beatrice of Modena, Duchess of York, the second wife of James, Duke of York, the future King James II of England. She caught the eye of James and became his mistress. Catherine and James had three children. In 1685, when James became king, Catherine was created Countess of Dorchester and Baroness of Darlington in her own right for life. After James was deposed and fled to France in 1688, Catherine remained in England. She married Sir David Colyear and they had two sons. In 1714, at the coronation of King George I, Catherine met Charles II’s mistress Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, and William III’s mistress Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney, and exclaimed “God! Who would have thought that we three whores should meet here.” When Catherine died, aged 59, her life peerage became extinct.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, mistress of King James II of England
October 26, 1802 – Birth of King Miguel I of Portugal at the Queluz National Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: Miguel Maria do Patrocínio João Carlos Francisco de Assis Xavier de Paula Pedro de Alcântara António Rafael Gabriel Joaquim José Gonzaga Evaristo
Miguel was the son of King João VI of Portugal who reigned until he died in 1826. At that time, João VI’s elder son succeeded to the throne as King Pedro IV. Pedro was king for only two months, abdicating in favor of his daughter Queen Maria II of Portugal. Maria Antonia’s father Miguel served as regent for his niece Maria II. As regent, Miguel claimed the Portuguese throne in his own right. This led to a difficult political situation, during which many people were killed, imprisoned, persecuted, or sent into exile, finally culminating in the Portuguese Liberal Wars. Ultimately, Miguel was deposed in 1834 and lived the last thirty-two years of his life in exile.
Unofficial Royalty: King Miguel I of Portugal
October 26, 1862 – Death of Marie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg, wife of Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, at the Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen, Duchy of Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in the Altenburg cemetery, in the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, now in Thuringia, Germany, in 1974, all the remains were removed from the mausoleum and reburied elsewhere in the cemetery
Marie Luise was the wife of Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg. The couple had three children. While Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg, Marie Luise did much charity work. Through her Marie Foundation, she founded a woman’s association, several schools, and the Lutheran missionary society in Altenburg. Marie Luise died at the age of 59.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg
October 26, 1897 – Death of Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck, in London, England; buried in the Royal Vault at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
The daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, Mary Adelaide was a male-line grandchild of King George III of the United Kingdom, a first cousin of Queen Victoria, and the mother of Mary of Teck, wife of King George V. Through her daughter Queen Mary, Mary Adelaide is the great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II and an ancestor of the members of the House of Windsor. Mary Adelaide married Prince Francis of Teck and the couple had three sons and one daughter. She devoted her life to charity, serving as the first royal patron of Barnardo’s, a charity still in existence, founded by Thomas Barnardo in 1866 to care for vulnerable children and young people. Barnardo’s has a long history of royal patrons and presidents including Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary (Mary Adelaide’s daughter), Queen Elizabeth II, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Queen Camilla. Mary Adelaide died at the age of 63 from heart failure, two hours after an emergency operation.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck
October 26, 1944 – Death of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, last surviving child of Queen Victoria, at Bantridge Park in Balcombe, Sussex, England; buried at St. Mildred’s Church in Whippingham, Isle of Wight, England
The youngest of the nine children of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, by the time she was three years old, Beatrice was an aunt twice over. Only four and a half when her father died, Beatrice had lost one of her principal role models. Because of her mother’s prolonged grief and mourning, Beatrice’s life would forever be shaped by her father’s death. She became a great solace to her mother, and as the years progressed Queen Victoria hoped that Beatrice would always be her constant companion. Beatrice finally got her mother’s permission to marry Prince Henry of Battenberg after promising Henry would renounce his military career, nationality, and home and agree to live with Beatrice and the Queen. Beatrice and Henry had three sons and one daughter. Through their daughter, they are ancestors of the Spanish royal family. Beatrice was a hemophilia carrier. Her son Leopold was a hemophiliac and her daughter Victoria Eugenie was a carrier. Beatrice’s youngest Maurice was killed in action during World War II. Beatrice, rather infamously, edited her mother’s journals, deleting two-thirds of the original content. As she aged, Beatrice became very infirm with arthritis and needed to use a wheelchair. She died at the age of 87, the last surviving child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Her funeral was held at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Queen Elizabeth, the wife of King George VI, Beatrice’s great-nephew, led Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain, Beatrice’s daughter, to the open vault in the choir where they both curtsied. Behind them in the choir stalls stood a young woman dressed in black, 18-year-old Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
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