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Sophia of the Palatinate, Electress of Hanover; Credit – Wikipedia

October 14, 1066 – Death of King Harold II of England (Harold Godwinson) at the Battle of Hastings; buried at Waltham Abbey in Essex, England
Harold Godwinson was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. His father Godwin, Earl of Wessex was one of the most powerful earls in England. The Anglo-Saxons had a king’s council called the Witan and one of the Witan’s jobs was to elect the king. After the death of King Edward the Confessor on January 5, 1066, the Witan selected Harold Godwinson to succeed Edward as King Harold I. When William II, Duke of Normandy heard that Harold Godwinson had been crowned King of England, he began careful preparations for an invasion of England. The army of William II, Duke of Normandy army met the army of King Harold of England about six miles northwest of Hastings, England on October 14, 1066. Harold appears to have tried to surprise William but Norman scouts found his army and reported its arrival to William, who marched from Hastings to the battlefield to confront Harold. Early efforts of the Normans to break the English battle lines had little effect. In response, the Normans adopted the tactic of pretending to flee in panic and then turning on their pursuers. Harold’s death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army. Two of Harold’s brothers, Gyrth and Leofwine, were also killed at the Battle of Hastings.
Unofficial Royalty: Harold II Godwinson, King of England

October 14, 1217 – Death of Isabella, 3rd Countess of Gloucester, first wife of King John of England (married before John was king, marriage was annulled); buried at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England
John and Isabella were betrothed as children. Isabella’s father William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester was a first cousin of John’s father King Henry II as his father was the illegitimate son of King Henry I, Robert Fitzroy, 1st Earl of Gloucester and King Henry II’s mother Empress Matilda was the legitimate daughter of King Henry I. In 1183, when her father died without a male heir, Isabella became the Countess of Gloucester in her own right.  In 1189, John and Isabella of Gloucester were married. Isabella and John were ill-matched and the marriage had produced no children. Isabella had not been acknowledged as Queen when John became King of England in 1199  and the marriage was easily annulled using the grounds of consanguinity, a very close relationship.
Unofficial Royalty: Isabella, 3rd Countess of Gloucester

October 14, 1630 – Birth of Princess Sophia of the Palatinate, Electress of Hanover, at Wassenaer Court, The Hague, Dutch Republic now in the Netherlands
In 1701, the British succession was settled upon Sophia and her Protestant heirs by the Act of Settlement.  Her mother Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of King James I of England.  Sophia died six weeks before Queen Anne of England.  Had she survived Anne, Sophia would have been queen.  Instead, her son ascended the throne as King George I.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia of the Palatinate, Electress of Hanover

October 14, 1631 – Death of Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark and Norway, wife of King Frederik II of Denmark, at the Palace of Nykøbing Slot on the island of Falster, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
In 1572, Sophie married King Frederik  II of Denmark and Norway and they had seven children. Sophie was the mother of Anne of Denmark, wife of King James I of England/VI of Scotland, and the great-grandmother of Sophia of Hanover and King James II of England, both of whom have dates on October 14. Sophie was interested in books, visited the Danish pioneering astronomer Tycho Brahe, collected folk songs, and encouraged historian Anders Sørensen Vedel to publish his Hundredvisebogen, a collection of a hundred Danish folk songs he had gathered that became the foundation of Danish literary tradition. As a widow, Sophie managed her estates on the Danish islands of Falster and Lolland so well that her son King Christian IV borrowed money from her on several occasions for his wars. She also engaged in trade and money-lending with Danish nobles. At the time of her death, she was the richest woman in Europe.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark

October 14, 1633 – Birth of King James II of England at St. James’s Palace in London, England
James II succeeded his brother King Charles II of England who had no legitimate children. James II was now set on a course of restoring Catholicism to England. England might have tolerated King James II knowing that his heirs were the Protestant daughters of his first wife Anne Hyde, Mary and Anne. However, on June 10, 1688, Queen Mary Beatrice, who had no surviving children, gave birth to a Catholic son, James Francis Edward.  James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His elder daughter Mary was declared Queen Mary II and she was to rule jointly with her husband and first cousin William, who would be King William III. At that time, William, the only child of King James II’s elder sister Mary, was third in the line of succession after his wife and first cousin Mary and her sister Anne. James fled to France where his first cousin King Louis XIV offered him a palace and a pension.
Unofficial Royalty: King James II of England

October 14, 1784 – Birth of King Ferdinand VII of Spain at El Escorial in Madrid, Spain
Full name: Fernando Maria Francisco de Paula Domingo Vicente Ferrer Antonio Jose Joaquin Pascual Diego Juan Nepomuceno Januario Francisco Javier Rafael Miguel Gabriel Calixto Cayetano Faus
Ferdinand’s father King Carlos IV of Spain was forced to abdicate in 1808 by Napoleon who then placed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. In 1813, the throne was restored to the House of Bourbon with Ferdinand VII as the King of Spain. In search of an heir, Ferdinand married four times, was widowed three times and finally had two daughters with his fourth wife. His elder daughter succeeded him as Queen Isabella II of Spain.
Unofficial Royalty: King Ferdinand VII of Spain

October 14, 1803 – Death of Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio in Treviso, Austrian-Hungarian Empire, now in Italy; buried at the Church of San Vincenzo now in Modena, Italy
Ercole III d’Este was the last reigning duke from the House of Este that reigned in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio from 1452 – 1796. In 1741, Ercole married Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara, now in Italy. The marriage was made at the insistence of Ercole’s father who wanted the Duchy of Massa and Carrara because of its access to the sea. The marriage was not a happy one, the couple had one surviving daughter and eventually separated. Ercole III was considered an enlightened monarch who continued the reforms started by his father. He improved the infrastructure of his duchy, building bridges and roads. The arts and sciences flourished in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio during Ercole III’s reign. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. He was forced to flee to Venice where he died in 1803.
Unofficial Royalty: Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio

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King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia

October 13, 1162 – Birth of Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile, daughter of King Henry II of England, at Domfront Castle in the Duchy of Normandy, now in France
In 1177, Eleanor married King Alfonso VIII of Castile and they had twelve children. Eleanor was particularly interested in supporting religious institutions. In 1179, she had a shrine built at Toledo Cathedral in honor of St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury who had been murdered at Canterbury Cathedral by four of her father’s knights. In 1187, Eleanor and Alfonso founded the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, a monastery of Cistercian nuns located near the city of Burgos now in Spain. The monastery became the burial place of the Castilian royal family.
Unofficial Royalty: Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile

October 13, 1453 – Birth of Edward, Prince of Wales, son of King Henry VI of England, at the Palace of Westminster in London, England
Edward of Westminster was one of the seven Princes of Wales who never became King. He was killed in 1471, aged 18, at the Battle of Tewkesbury, the final decisive Yorkist victory in the Wars of the Roses.
Unofficial Royalty: Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales

October 13, 1499 – Birth of Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France, daughter of King Louis XII of France and first wife of King François I of France, at Romorantin-Lanthenay in France
Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany was the first wife of François I, King of France and the daughter of King Louis XII of France and second wife Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Louis XII had no sons and François, Count of Angoulême (the future King François I of France) became the heir presumptive to the French throne and remained the heir throughout Louis XII’s reign due to his lack of sons. In 1514, François and Claude were married and they had seven children. When Louis XII died in 1515, he was succeeded by his son-in-law François. Queen Claude, Duchess of Brittany, aged 24, died in 1524. It is suspected that Claude had tuberculosis and contracted syphilis from her husband and certainly seven pregnancies in eight years weakened her health.
Unofficial Royalty: Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France

October 13, 1613 – Birth of Luisa de Guzmán, Queen of Portugal, wife of King João IV of Portugal, in Sanlúcar, Spain
Full name: Luísa Maria Francisca
From a noble Spanish family, Luisa de Guzmán was the wife of João IV, the first King of Portugal from the Portuguese House of Braganza. She was also the mother of Catherine of Braganza, the wife of Charles II, King of England and King of Scots.
Unofficial Royalty: Luisa de Guzmán, Queen of Portugal

October 13, 1764 – Birth of Luise of Stolberg-Goldern, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of Karl Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in Gedern, Principality of Stolberg-Gedern, now in Hesse, Germany
Luise was briefly Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen. In 1780, she married Karl Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. They had no children, and just two years later, Karl Wilhelm died. In 1787, she married Eugen of Württemberg and they had five children. Luise died in 1834, having survived both of her husbands and two of her children.
Unofficial Royalty: Luise of Stolberg-Goldern, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

October 13, 1825 – Death of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria at Nymphenburg Palace, near Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria; buried at the Theatinerkirche in Munich
Maximilian succeeded his brother Karl as Duke of Zweibrücken in 1795 and became Elector of Bavaria, Duke of Berg, and Count Palatine of the Rhine in 1799. In 1806, his electorate was created a kingdom because of his loyal service to Napoleon.  Maximilian married twice. With his first wife Auguste of Hesse-Darmstadt, whom he married in 1785, he had five children. Auguste died in 1796, and the next year Maximilian married Caroline of Baden. They had seven children including two sets of twin daughters.
Unofficial Royalty: King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria

October 13, 1835 – Birth of Duchess Agnes of Württemberg, Princess Reuss of Gera, wife of Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera, at Schloss Carlsruhe in Carlsruhe, Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, now Pokój, Poland
In 1858, Agnes married the future Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera, Agnes, as Princess of Reuss-Gera, founded numerous organizations and institutes that bore her name, such as the Agnes School, a training institute for female servants in Gera, the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Gera. She was also an author and used Angelica Hohenstein as her pen name.
Unofficial Royalty: Duchess Agnes of Württemberg, Princess Reuss of Gera

October 13, 1853 – Birth of Lillie Langtry, actress and mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton on the Island of Jersey, Channel Islands, a British Crown Dependency
Lillie Langtry was the mistress of the future King Edward VII (while he was Prince of Wales) from 1877-1880. A married socialite at the time, she later embarked on a career in the theatre, with the encouragement and support of the Prince. She also took several other lovers, including Prince Louis of Battenberg, the Prince of Wales’s future nephew-by-marriage, who possibly fathered her only child. Lillie remained in close contact with The Prince of Wales, and was a guest at his coronation, sitting alongside Sarah Bernhardt and Lady Randolph Churchill. She was also a guest at his funeral in 1910. Lillie, aged 75, died of pneumonia in Monaco in the early morning of February 12, 1929. Per her wishes, she was buried along with her parents at St. Saviour’s Church in Jersey.
Unofficial Royalty: Lillie Langtry, actress and mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom

October 13, 1900 – Birth of Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco, wife of Prince Louis II of Monaco, in Reims, France
Full name: Ghislaine Marie Francoise
Ghislaine was an actress, working at the famed Comédie-Française in Paris, before meeting Prince Louis II. She had been married twice before. Members of the royal family questioned her motives and viewed her as an opportunist and golddigger. Less than three years after the marriage, Prince Louis died. He was succeeded by his grandson Prince Rainier III.  In his will, Louis left half of his estate to Ghislaine. However, the will was contested by Rainier and his sister Antoinette and was overturned.  Ghislaine lived the rest of her life in Paris but developed a close relationship with Prince Rainier III’s wife Princess Grace.
Unofficial Royalty: Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco

October 13, 1908 – Death of Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Anhalt, wife of Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt, in Berchtesgaden, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried in the Dessau Mausoleum Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; in 1958, her remains were moved by the Communist East German government to an unmarked grave in the Ziebigk Cemetery in Dessau; in 2019, Antoinettes’s remains were moved a second time and reinterred in the Marienkirche in Dessau
In 1854, Antoinette married the future Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt and they had six children. At the age of 70, four years after the death of her husband, Antoinette, The Dowager Duchess of Anhalt died.
Unofficial Royalty: Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Anhalt

October 13, 1927 – Death of Heinrich XXIV, 6th and last reigning Prince Reuss of Greiz in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany; first buried in the Waldhaus Mausoleum in Greiz, in 1969  his remains were cremated and buried at the Neue Friedhof (New Cemetery) in Greiz; in 1997, his remains were moved to Stadtkirche St. Marien in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany
As a result of a childhood accident, Heinrich XXIV had physical and mental disabilities that prevented him from marrying and ruling the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. Two regents from the House of Reuss-Gera successively ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XXIV, 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz

October 13, 1928 – Death of Dagmar of Denmark, Maria Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia, at her home at Hvidøre, near Copenhagen, Denmark; first buried in the crypt of the Christian IX Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial place of the Danish royal family in Roskilde, Denmark, in 2006, she was interred next to her husband Emperor Alexander III in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia
Dagmar, known as Minnie in the family, was the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark,  the sister of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, and King George I of Greece. In 1864, Minnie became engaged to Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia, the eldest son and heir of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. However, Nicholas died from meningitis in 1865, at the age of 21. Minnie married Nicholas’ brother, the new heir to the throne, the future Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia. The couple had six children, including Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia.
Unofficial Royalty: Dagmar of Denmark, Maria Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia

October 13, 2016 – Death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, Rama IX, at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand; his ashes were interred at the Royal Cemetery at Wat Ratchabophit, Thailand
In 1946, King Bhumibol became king at the age of 18. King Bhumibol’s brother King Ananda Mahidol was found shot dead in his bedroom in the Boromphiman Throne Hall at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, four days before he was scheduled to return to Switzerland to finish his doctoral degree in law at the University of Lausanne. The circumstances of King Ananda Mahidol’s death have never been fully explained. In 1950, Bhumibol married Sirikit Kitiyakara, the daughter of the Thai ambassador to France. The couple had three daughters and one son. King Bhumibol Adulyadej died at the age of 88, following several years of illness.  At the time of his death, he was the world’s longest-reigning current monarch, having reigned for 70 years and 126 days.
Unofficial Royalty: King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand

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Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

October 12, 1537 – Birth of King Edward VI of England at Hampton Court Palace in Richmond upon Thames, England
Twenty-six years into his reign, King Henry VIII of England was still without a male heir. He married his third wife Jane Seymour eleven days after Anne Boleyn’s execution, and Jane was pregnant before her first wedding anniversary, which would prove to be her only wedding anniversary. As was tradition, Jane went into confinement a month before the baby’s due date. At 2 AM, on October 12, 1537, the long-awaited male heir was born. Jane’s labor had been long, two days and three nights. Three days later, the baby was christened Edward after Edward the Confessor whose feast day is October 13. His half-sisters 21-year-old Mary and four-year-old Elizabeth attended the ceremony along with his mother who was carried on a litter. Henry’s joy soon turned into grief. On October 17, 1537, Jane’s condition deteriorated and she was given the last rites. She died on October 24, 1537, most likely from puerperal fever or childbed fever, a bacterial infection. Edward succeeded his father at age nine but died from tuberculosis six years later.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward VI of England

October 12, 1576 – Death of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria in the Imperial City of Regensburg, now in the German state of Bavaria; buried in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic
Maximilian married his first cousin Infanta Maria of Spain, the daughter of his uncle Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was also King Carlos I of Spain and Isabella of Portugal. The couple had fifteen children including two Holy Roman Emperors and two Queen Consorts (France and Spain).  Upon the death of his father Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, who was also King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia and Archduke of Austria, Maximilian succeeded as ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Holy Roman Emperor. During his reign, Maximilian had to deal with the ongoing Ottoman-Habsburg wars, conflicts with his Spanish Habsburg cousins, and the effects of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg officially ended the religious struggle between Lutherans and Catholics, and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing the rulers of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their state.
Unofficial Royalty: Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria

October 12, 1730 – Death of King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway; at Odense Palace in Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Denmark
Frederik is known for the two bigamous marriages he made with his mistresses. Despite this, he was a fairly successful ruler. He selected his advisors carefully and held audiences in which ordinary people could speak to him and present letters with complaints or requests. Frederik was not very familiar with the Danish language, which he only used on state occasions. He usually spoke and wrote in German and French. Frederik IV was interested in Italian architecture and traveled to Italy several times and he had two palaces built in the Italian Baroque style. Frederiksberg Palace, located in Frederiksberg, close to Copenhagen, was built 1699 – 1735. Fredensborg Palace built 1720 – 1726, is located on Lake Esrum in Fredensborg on the island of Zealand in Denmark. Toward the end of his life, Frederik IV suffered from edema, then called dropsy. He died the day after his 59th birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway

October 12, 1798 – Birth of King Pedro IV of Portugal/Emperor Pedro I of Brazil at Queluz Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: Pedro de Alcântara Francisco António João Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim José Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim
As Emperor Pedro I, he was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. As King Pedro IV, he reigned briefly over Portugal. On April 7, 1831, after a political crisis that ended with the resignation of his ministers and in the middle of an economic crisis, Pedro abdicated the throne of Brazil in favor of his six-year-old son who reigned as Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Pedro returned to Portugal where he died at the age of 35, from tuberculosis at his birthplace.
Unofficial Royalty: Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil/Pedro IV, King of Portugal

October 12, 1810 – The origin of Oktoberfest was the wedding of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
In 1809, Therese was included on a list of prospective brides for Napoleon I, Emperor of the French who was looking to marry into one of the old royal houses of Europe. However, the future King Ludwig I of Bavaria would become her husband.  The couple met in December 1809 when Ludwig visited Hildburghausen, and the couple became engaged on February 12, 1810. After prolonged negotiations, primarily due to Therese’s unwillingness to convert to Catholicism, she and her family traveled to Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, for the marriage. Therese and Ludwig married on October 12, 1810, and celebrations were held for several days at the Theresienwiese in Munich, a large outdoor space named in her honor. The Bavarian royal family invited the citizens of Munich to attend the festivities. Theresienwiese is the site of Oktoberfest, held each year to commemorate the wedding.
Unofficial Royalty: King Ludwig I of Bavaria
Unofficial Royalty: Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Queen of Bavaria
Unofficial Royalty: Oktoberfest’s Royal Connection

October 12, 1837 – Death of Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands, wife of King Willem I of the Netherlands, at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands; buried at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
In 1791, Wilhelmine married her first cousin Prince Willem of Orange-Nassau, later King Willem I of the Netherlands, and the couple had four children. Wilhelmine was not successful in her role as Queen. While she still contributed generously to charities, her subjects thought her cold and distant as she only came in contact with family and her court ladies. In the now modern-day Belgium areas, Wilhelmine was ridiculed for her old-fashioned German style of dress.  Wilhelmine’s health worsened in 1820 and by 1829, she rarely appeared in public. After a trip in the spring of 1837 to a grandson’s christening in Berlin, Wilhelmine was beyond exhaustion. She spent the summer at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. On October 4, 1837, Wilhelmine and her husband traveled to Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. The trip greatly weakened Wilhelmine and her condition worsened. Queen Wilhelmine died eight days later, at the age of 63, with her family at her bedside.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands

October 12, 1876 – Birth of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia at Tsarskoye Selo, near St. Petersburg, Russia
Kirill was the son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia) and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In 1905, he married his first cousin Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Because Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia did not consent to the marriage, Kirill was stripped of his military appointments and his funding. The couple was banished from Russia and settled in France. By 1908, Kirill was third in line to the Imperial throne, following several deaths within the family. Nicholas II relented and allowed Kirill to return to Russia, restoring his military positions and his funding. (See below. Kirill died on his 62nd birthday.)
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia

October 12, 1894 – Birth of Elisabeth of Romania, Queen of Greece, wife of King George II of Greece, daughter of King Ferdinand I of Romania, at Peleş Castle in Sinaia, Romania
Full name: Elisabeta Charlotte Josephine Alexandra Victoria
Elisabeth was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria through her mother Princess Marie of Edinburgh. In 1921, she married the future King George II of Greece. George and Elisabeth had no children, and would eventually divorce in 1935. After her divorce, Elisabeth petitioned to have her Romanian citizenship restored which she had relinquished upon her marriage. Through wise investments and the booming Romanian economy, Elisabeth became financially well-off. She devoted much of her time to charity, working with many organizations to help children and those who were ill. At her own expense, she established a hospital and children’s home in Bucharest, Romania.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth of Romania, Queen of Greece

October 12, 1938 – Death of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia in Neuilly, France; first buried  in the Ducal Mausoleum at the Glockenburg Cemetery in Coburg, Germany, in 1995 his remains were moved to the Grand Ducal Mausoleum at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia
Following the abdication of Nicholas II in 1917, Kirill and his family left Russia. They settled first in Finland, before moving on to Munich, Germany, and then Zurich, Switzerland. They settled permanently in Saint-Briac, France, in the mid-1920s. In addition, they had inherited property in Coburg from Victoria Melita’s mother. Bolstered by a group of supporters, and the laws of the former Imperial Family (under which Kirill was the rightful heir to the throne), on August 31, 1924, Kirill declared himself Emperor of All the Russias. His son Vladimir Kirillovich and then Vladimir’s daughter Maria Vladimirovna both took on the claim.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia

October 12, 2018 – Wedding of Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Eugenie and Jack were introduced by mutual friends in Verbier, Switzerland. Eugenie was on holiday and Jack was working there at the time. After seven years together, Jack proposed to Eugenie while on holiday in Nicaragua at the end of 2017.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank

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Louise-Marie of Orleans, Queen of the Belgians; Credit – Wikipedia

October 11, 1159 – Death of William of Blois, Count of Boulogne, son of King Stephen of England, in the County of Toulouse, now in France; buried at the Abbey of Montmorel in the Duchy of Normandy, now in France.
William was the youngest of the five children and the third but the second surviving of the three sons of Stephen I, King of England (born Stephen of Blois) and Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne in her own right. Circa 1148 – 1149, William married Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey in her own right but the couple had no children. William’s mother Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne in her own right died in 1152, and her eldest son succeeded her as Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne. When Eustace suddenly died in 1153, William became Count of Boulogne. In 1159 William accompanied King Henry II of England on an unsuccessful invasion of the County of Toulouse, now in France. William died October 11, 1159, aged circa twenty-two, from an illness on the return trip to England, while still in the County of Toulouse.
Unofficial Royalty: William of Blois, Count of Boulogne

October 11, 1671 – Birth of King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
In 1695, Frederik married Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. They had four sons and one daughter. Sadly, three sons died in infancy. Frederik had two bigamous marriages to his mistresses. The adultery and bigamy of Frederik IV and the effect it had upon Queen Louise deeply affected and disturbed their son Crown Prince Christian, the future Christian VI. Christian distanced himself from his father and he came to detest his father’s bigamous wives. After the death of Queen Louise in 1721, Frederik and Anna Sophie Reventlow were married in a second formal wedding conducted with great ceremony. Although the marriage was still scandalous, it was not declared morganatic and Anna Sophie was crowned Queen. Anna Sophie and Frederick IV had six children. Three were born before the legal marriage in 1721 but none survived. This was seen by many as divine punishment for their bigamy. The three children born after the 1721 marriage were styled as Prince/Princess of Denmark but none survived infancy.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway

October 11, 1721 – Death of Prince Anton Florian of Liechtenstein in Vienna, Austria; buried at the Liechtenstein Crypt in Vranov near Brno, Czech Republic
In 1679, Anton Florian married Countess Eleonore Barbara von Thun-Hohenstein and the couple had eleven children including Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1712, Anton Florian’s nephew Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, died without a male heir. Anton Florian was the heir according to primogeniture. Still, he was not very popular with the family, and  Hans-Adam I had named his second cousin once removed Josef Wenzel as his heir. In 1718, after negotiations, Anton Florian became Prince of Liechtenstein and Josef Wenzel concentrated on his military career.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Anton Florian of Liechtenstein

October 11, 1739 – Birth of Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin, lover of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, in the village of Chizhovo near Smolensk, Russia
Grigory and Catherine had known each other since 1762 but their sexual relationship began in the spring of 1774 when Grigory was 34 and Catherine was 44. Grigory and Catherine worked out a new relationship that preserved their affection toward each other and their political collaborations but allowed each of them to choose other sexual partners. That relationship lasted until Grigoryi died. He is considered Catherine’s great love. Trivia: The term “Potemkin Village” derives from Grigory Potemkin. It has come to mean, especially in a political context, any hollow or false construct, physical or figurative, meant to hide an undesirable or potentially damaging situation. The term comes from stories of a fake portable village built solely to impress Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, by Grigory Potemkin, during her journey to Crimea in 1787.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin, lover of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia

October 11, 1753 – Birth of Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark, son of King Frederick V of Denmark and his second wife, Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
After the death of his father King Frederik V, Frederik’s half-brother from his father’s first marriage King Christian VII succeeded to the throne.  Christian VII had many symptoms of mental illness. Frederik and his mother Juliana Maria were instrumental in a coup that would bring about the fall of Christian VII’s physician Johann Friedrich Struensee and discredit Christian’s wife Caroline Matilda of Wales who was having an affair with Struensee. They arranged for King Christian VII to sign an arrest warrant for Struensee after they had already arrested him. Struensee was executed and Caroline Matilda was exiled. After the fall of Struensee, Juliana Maria and her son Frederik took charge of the Council of State. Christian VII was only nominally king from 1772 onward.
Unofficial Royalty: Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark

October 11, 1850 – Death of Louise-Marie of Orleans, Queen of the Belgians, wife of King Leopold I of the Belgians, at Ostend, Belgium; buried at the Royal Crypt in the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Louise-Marie was the eldest daughter and second child of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French and Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies. Among her ancestors are the Kings of France, Spain, Poland, Sicily and Naples, and Holy Roman Emperors. Marie Antoinette, Queen of France was her mother’s aunt. In 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, uncle of both Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert, became the first King of the Belgians. Leopold had to marry again to provide for the Belgian succession and his choice was Louise-Marie. The couple had four children. In August 1850, during a memorial service for Louise-Marie’s father, it was noticed that Louise-Marie had difficulty walking and needed support from her husband to prevent her from falling. A month later, suffering from tuberculosis and feeling increasingly weak, she moved to Ostend, Belgium on the sea. Surrounded by her mother, her husband, and her children, Louise-Marie died at the age of 38.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise-Marie of Orleans, Queen of the Belgians

October 11, 1861 – Death of Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, at the family estate Bifrons in Patrixbourne, Kent, England; buried at St. Mary’s Church in Patrixbourne, Kent, England
Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham was the last mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, from 1820 until the King died in 1830. George IV was so devoted to her that he bequeathed her his plate and jewels, although she refused them when he died. He also provided housing at Windsor Castle and at the Brighton Pavilion for Elizabeth and her family and ensured they traveled with him when he moved from one residence to another. She was given full use of the King’s horses and carriages, and most of the large dinners held at her London townhouse were prepared in the kitchens of St. James’s Palace. To George IV, nothing was ‘off limits’ for his beloved Elizabeth. However, it would all end when George IV died at Windsor Castle in 1839. By the following day, Elizabeth had packed her belongings and left Windsor for her brother’s home before traveling to Paris, reportedly expelled from the country by the new King William IV. Elizabeth remained in Paris until the death of William IV in 1837. She returned to the family’s Bifrons estate in the village of Patrixbourne, near Canterbury, where she lived the remainder of her life.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom

October 11, 1916 – Death of King Otto I of Bavaria at Schloss Fürstenried in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried at St. Michael’s Church in Munich
Like his brother King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Otto was also mentally ill. After Ludwig and his doctor were found dead in a lake, Otto became King of Bavaria. However, because of his incapacity, Otto probably never understood that he had become king. His uncle Prince Luitpold who had been Regent of Bavaria during Ludwig II’s reign remained Regent during Otto’s reign. Otto remained in isolation at Fürstenried Palace for the rest of his life. When Prince Luitpold died in 1912, he was succeeded by his son Ludwig as Regent. The following year, Ludwig had the Bavarian constitution amended to allow King Otto to be formally deposed. In 1913, Otto was formally deposed and replaced by his cousin who took the throne as King Ludwig III. Otto died three years later, aged 68, as the result of a bowel obstruction.
Unofficial Royalty: King Otto I of Bavaria

October 11, 1927 – Birth of Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, wife of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Josephine-Charlotte Ingeborg Elisabeth Marie-José Marguerite Astrid
Joséphine-Charlotte was the eldest child and only daughter of Leopold III, King of the Belgians and Princess Astrid of Sweden. Her two younger brothers Baudouin and Albert II were both Kings of the Belgians. In 1953, Joséphine-Charlotte married Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, the eldest child of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma. The couple had five children including Henri, the current Grand Duke of Luxembourg.  In 1964, Grand Duchess Charlotte abdicated, and Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte became the new Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
Unofficial Royalty: Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

October 11, 1954 – Birth of Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Sultan of Oman, in Muscat,  then in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, now in the Sultanate of Oman
On January 11, 2020, the day after the death of Haitham’s first cousin Sultan Qaboos of Oman, Haitham was named Sultan of Oman after a sealed letter from Qaboos was opened identifying whom he wished to take his place. On the same day, Haitham was sworn in as the Sultan of Oman during an emergency session of the Council of Oman at the Al-Bustan Palace in Muscat, Oman.
Unofficial Royalty: Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Sultan of Oman

October 11, 1963 – Birth of Prince Feisal bin Al Hussein of Jordan, son of King Hussein I of Jordan and his second wife Princess Muna Al Hussein (the former Antoinette Gardiner), in Amman, Jordan
Prince Feisal is the younger brother of King Abdullah II of Jordan. In addition to his military duties with the Jordanian Air Force, Feisal has been President of the Jordan Olympic Committee since 2003, Founder and Chairman of Generations for Peace since 2007, and a Member of the International Olympic Committee since 2010.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Feisal bin Al Hussein

October 11, 1969 – Birth of Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, at Utrecht University Hospital in Utrecht, the Netherlands
Full name: Constantijn Christof Frederick Aschwin
Constantijn is the youngest of the three sons of the former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. His eldest brother King Willem-Alexander is the current King of the Netherlands. Constantijn married Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst in 2001 and had two daughters and one son. He does not undertake many official duties for the Dutch monarchy. However, as a member of the Dutch Royal House, he and his wife are typically in attendance at major events, such as King’s Day and the annual Opening of Parliament.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands

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