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Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

August 17, 1153 – Death of Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne, son of King Stephen of England, at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England; buried at Faversham Abbey in Kent, England
Eustace was the second but first surviving son of King Stephen and Matilda of Boulogne.  He became the ruler of his mother’s country in 1147 at the age of 21.  Eustace married Constance, the only daughter of King Louis VI of France.  He had a very unpleasant personality and more or less imprisoned his wife in Canterbury Castle.  He died childless “of fever” or “in a fit of madness” and was buried at Faversham Abbey.  At Eustace’s death, young Henry Fitzempress came to England to claim his rights to the English throne through his mother Empress Matilda (or Maud), the only surviving child of Henry I.  Stephen, who was Empress Matilda’s first cousin and Henry reached an agreement with the Treaty of Wallingford which allowed Stephen to rule until his death when the throne would pass to Henry who ruled as Henry II.
Unofficial Royalty: Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne

August 17, 1153 – Birth of William IX, Count of Poitiers, son of King Henry II of England, in Normandy, France
William was the first child of Henry and Eleanor of Aquitaine and ironically was born on the day Eustace of Boulogne, King Stephen’s son and heir died. (See Eustace’s entry above for more information.) William died when he was three.
Unofficial Royalty: William  IX, Count of Poitiers

August 17, 1473 – Birth of Richard, Duke of York, son of King Edward IV of England, at the Dominican Friary in Shrewsbury, England
Sometimes called Richard of Shrewsbury after his place of birth, Richard, Duke of York and his elder brother briefly King Edward V of England have been immortalized as the two “Princes in the Tower” who mysteriously disappeared. Richard was the sixth of the ten children and the second of the three sons of King Edward IV of England, the first King of England from the House of York, and Elizabeth Woodville.
Unofficial Royalty: Richard, Duke of York

 August 17, 1786 – Death of Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia, at the Palace of Sanssouci in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany; originally buried at the Garrison Church in Potsdam, re-buried at the Palace of Sanssouci
King Friedrich II of Prussia, best known as Frederick the Great, was the son of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, daughter of King George I of Great Britain. In 1733, Friedrich married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, but they spent most of their lives separated, seeing each other only a handful of times after he became King. They had no children, and upon becoming King in 1740, Friedrich named his brother Augustus as Crown Prince. Augustus predeceased Friedrich so his son succeeded as King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Aside from his promotion of the arts, Friedrich proved himself a skilled military commander and is attributed with great advancements in his kingdom. Friedrich II died quietly in his study at the Palace of Sanssouci at the age of 74.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia

August 17, 1786 – Birth of Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld, Duchess of Kent, wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent; mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Marie Luise Viktoria
In November of 1817, the death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, necessitated the marriages of the unmarried sons of King George III to provide an heir to the throne.  Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (fourth son of King George III) married the 32-year-old widow Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Edward had never married but had lived for 28 years with his mistress Julie de Montgenêt de Saint-Laurent. In September 1818, Edward and Victoria set out for Leiningen, where the Duchess of Kent’s young son from her first marriage was the Sovereign Prince. However, when the Duchess became pregnant, they were determined to return to England so the possible heir to the throne would be born there. They took up residence in an apartment at Kensington Palace and it was there that their only child, the future Queen Victoria, was born on May 24, 1819.
Unofficial Royalty: Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld, Duchess of Kent

August 17, 1887 – Birth of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, at the Castle of Persenbeug in Persenbeug-Gottsdorf, Austria
Full name: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Maria
In 1911, Karl married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. The couple had eight children. Their oldest child Otto, who was Crown Prince during his father’s short reign, was the longest surviving of their children and died on July 4, 2011, at the age of 98. In 1889, after the suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, the next heir was Karl’s grandfather Archduke Karl Ludwig, but within a few days, he renounced his claim in favor of his son Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir until his assassination on June 28, 1914, an event that was one of the causes of World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been allowed to make a morganatic marriage with the condition that the children of the marriage would not have succession rights. Upon Franz Ferdinand’s death, Karl became the heir. He succeeded to the throne upon the death of Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1916 and was the last Emperor of Austria. Karl spent the rest of his life in exile, dying in 1922. On October 3, 2004, Pope John Paul II beatified Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, and he is known as Blessed Karl of Austria. Beatification is the third of four steps toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. On January 31, 2008, the Roman Catholic Church, after a 16-month investigation, formally recognized a second miracle attributed to Karl I which is required for his canonization as a saint. However, no word on his canonization has been forthcoming.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl I, Emperor of Austria

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Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

August 16, 1573 – Birth of Anna of Austria, first wife of King Sigismund III Vasa of Sweden and Poland, in Graz, Austria
In May 1592, Anna married Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland. Anna and Sigmund had five children but only one, Ladislaus Vasa, who succeeded his father as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, survived childhood. On November 17, 1592, Sigismund’s father Johan III, King of Sweden, Grand Duke of Lithuania died and Sigismund was granted permission by the Polish legislature to claim his inheritance as the rightful King of Sweden. In 1594, Anna accompanied her husband to Sweden, where she and her husband were crowned King and Queen of Sweden. In 1598, Anna died due to birth complications during the birth of her sixth child, who also died.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna of Austria, Queen of Sweden, Queen of Poland

August 16, 1662 – Birth of Prince Hans-Adam I of Liechtenstein in Brno, Margraviate of Moravia, now in the Czech Republic
Full name: Johann Adam Andreas
Twenty-two-year-old Hans-Adam became Prince of Liechtenstein upon the death of his father Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein on April 5, 1684. Karl Eusebius left his son a rich inheritance and an extensive collection of artworks that were multiplied by his son and other descendants. The current Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II, is the richest European monarch. In 1681, Hans-Adam married Princess Erdmuthe Maria Theresia of Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg. Hans-Adam and Erdmuthe had eleven children but all their sons predeceased Hans-Adam. Because Hans-Adam had no sons, he had chosen his distant cousin Prince Joseph Wenzel, the great-grandnephew of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein, even though he was not next in line. The actual heir was his uncle Anton Florian but he was not very popular with the family.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Hans-Adam I of Liechtenstein

August 16, 1682 – Birth of Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petite Dauphin, son of Louis, Le Grande Dauphin and grandson of King Louis XIV of France, at the Palace of Versailles in  Versailles, France
Louis, Duke of Burgundy was the eldest of the three sons of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria. At the time of his birth, Louis’ grandfather Louis XIV was King of France and his father was the heir apparent to the French throne. After Louis’ birth, his father was called Le Grand Dauphin and his son Louis, who was second in the line of succession, was called Le Petit Dauphin. However, King Louis XIV outlived both his son and his grandson and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson King Louis XV when he died in 1715.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petite Dauphin

August 16, 1763 – Birth of Frederick, Duke of York, son of King George III of the United Kingdom, at St. James Palace in London, England
Full name: Frederick Augustus
Prince Frederick, Duke of York was the second son of King George III but his marriage produced no children. Frederick had a career in the army and attained the rank of general. A well-known nursery rhyme is supposedly about Frederick’s defeat at the Battle of Tourcoing during the Flanders Campaign.

The grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again.
And when they were up, they were up.
And when they were down, they were down.
And when they were only halfway up,
They were neither up nor down

Unofficial Royalty: Frederick, Duke of York

August 16, 1906 – Birth of Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein at Schloss Frauenthal in Steiermark, Austria   
Full name: Franz Josef Maria Aloys Alfred Karl Johannes Heinrich Michael Georg Ignaz Benediktus Gerhardus Majella
Franz Josef was named after Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, his mother’s paternal uncle and his godfather. In 1938, Franz Joseph succeeded his childless great-uncle Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Franz Josef was the first sovereign prince to live full-time in the principality and made his home at Vaduz Castle. He is the father of the current Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein

August 16, 2019 – Death of Princess Christina of the Netherlands, daughter of Queen Julianna of the Netherlands, at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands
Princess Christina was the youngest of four daughters of the future Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. Her mother had contracted German measles while pregnant with Christina, resulting in her being born nearly blind. Fortunately, she was able to gain some sight and was able to live a relatively normal life. In June 2018 it was announced that Princess Christina was suffering from bone cancer. Princess Christina died at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands on August 16, 2019, at the age of 72 from bone cancer. Princess Christina’s remains were taken to Fagel’s Garden Pavilion on the grounds of Noordeinde Palace, where close friends and family paid their last respects. The cremation was held in private.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Christina of the Netherlands

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Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French; Credit – Wikipedia

August 15, 1316 – Birth of John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, son of King Edward II of England, at Eltham Palace in London, England
In 1327, when John was eleven years old, his father King Edward II was forced to give up his crown in favor of his son 14-year-old son King Edward III, with his mother Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer, 3rd Baron Mortimer, 1st Earl of March acting as regents. King Edward II died in Berkeley Castle on September 21, 1327, probably murdered on the orders of Isabella and Mortimer. John was the heir to the English throne until 1330, when his nephew Edward, Prince of Wales, the first child of King Edward III, was born.  King Edward III began marriage negotiations for his brother several times but none of the negotiations led to a betrothal. John had a brilliant military career, similar to the later military career of his nephew Edward, Prince of Wales, known as The Black Prince, who predeceased his father, and whose career ended just as suddenly. John of Eltham, 1st Earl of Cornwall died on September 13, 1336, in Perth, Scotland at the age of 20. The cause of his death is uncertain. There are references to John dying from a fever and dying in a skirmish with the Scots.
Unofficial Royalty: John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall

August 15, 1369 – Death of Philippa of Hainault, Queen of England, wife of King Edward III of England, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Philippa married King Edward III of England in 1348. The couple had thirteen children including her eldest child, Edward the Black Prince, who was born days before her sixteenth birthday. The sons of Edward and Philippa married into the English nobility and it was their descendants who later battled for the throne in the Wars of the Roses. Like other medieval consorts, Philippa often accompanied her husband on military campaigns.  She was known for her kind nature and successfully pleaded for the lives of six burghers who had surrendered their city of Calais to King Edward III. Philippa died of a “dropsical malady” (edema) that had bothered her for about two years. She was 55 years old and had outlived seven of her children. According to the chronicler Jean Froissart, Philippa died holding the hands of her husband and her youngest child Thomas who was fourteen years old.
Unofficial Royalty: Philippa of Hainault, Queen of England

August 15, 1769 – Birth of Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Corsica, France
Napoléon joined the French army and quickly advanced. During the latter part of the French Revolution, he rose to prominence and by the age of 30 was the First Consul of France. Napoléon was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815. In the early part of the 19th century, Napoléon’s quest for power led to wars throughout a large part of Europe. In 1814, Paris was captured by the coalition fighting against Napoléon and his marshals decided to mutiny. He had no choice but to abdicate. The Treaty of Fontainebleau exiled Napoléon to the Mediterranean island of Elba, off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. Napoléon escaped from Elba on February 26, 1815, and arrived in France two days later. He attempted to regain power, but he was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, by a coalition of forces from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Nassau, Brunswick, and Prussia.
Unofficial Royalty: Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French

August 15, 1824 – Birth of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Baden in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Ludwig was the eldest surviving son of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and Sofia of Sweden.  As Ludwig got older, signs of mental illness began to show, and in March 1852, he was diagnosed as having a non-curable mental disorder. The following month, Ludwig’s father died and he succeeded as Grand Duke of Baden. However, because of his illness, his brother Friedrich served as Regent during Ludwig’s brief four-year reign.
Unofficial Royalty: Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Baden

August 15, 1860 – Death of Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia, at her estate in Elfenau, near Bern, Switzerland; buried at her estate in Elfenau
Julianne was an aunt to both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She made an unsuccessful marriage to Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia, the second son of the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. Juliane managed to leave Russia and upon arriving back home in Coburg, she refused to ever return to Russia. She soon began to negotiate for a divorce. However, the Russian court would not allow a formal end to the marriage. Although still technically married, Juliane had several affairs, two of which resulted in the birth of children. In 1814, after refusing an offer of reconciliation from her husband, Juliane purchased an estate in Bern, Switzerland along the banks of the Aare River. She named the property Elfenau and it would become her home for the rest of her life.
Unofficial Royalty:  Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna

August 15, 1950 – Birth of Princess Anne, Princess Royal at Clarence House in London, England
Full name: Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise
From a young age, Princess Anne was passionate about riding and she soon became an excellent equestrienne. In 1971, Anne won the European Eventing Championship and was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.  For more than five years Anne competed with the British eventing team, winning a silver medal in both individual and team disciplines in the 1975 European Eventing Championship. In the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, Anne competed as a member of the British equestrian team.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne, Princess Royal

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Prince Heinrich of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

August 14, 1473 – Birth of Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury, daughter of  George, Duke of Clarence (third son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York) and niece of King Edward IV and King Richard III, at Farleigh Hungerford Castle in Somerset, England
Margaret was one of the few surviving members of the Plantagenet dynasty after the Wars of the Roses. She was the mother of Reginald Pole, Cardinal, Papal Legate, and last Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Queen Mary I.  After the rise of the Tudors, the remaining members of the House of York were systematically dealt with through marriage, imprisonment, and eventually, execution. Accused of conducting treasonable correspondence with her son Cardinal Pole, Margaret was executed during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury

August 14, 1479 – Birth of Catherine of York, Countess of Devon, daughter of King Edward IV of England, at Eltham Palace in London, England
In 1495, sixteen-year-old Catherine married twenty-year-old William Courtenay, son and heir of Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, a strong supporter of the then-current monarch, King Henry VII, and they had three children. After her marriage, Catherine remained close to her eldest sister Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VII. She attended the wedding of her eldest nephew Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon in November 1501, and the betrothal of her eldest niece Margaret Tudor to James IV, King of Scots in January 1502. After the death of her husband in 1511, Catherine took a vow of celibacy and was rarely at court. One of her few appearances at court was in 1516 for the christening of her great-niece, Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s daughter, the future Queen Mary I of England, at which Catherine was the godmother. Catherine of York died on November 15, 1527, at Tiverton Castle in Tiverton, Devon, England, aged 48.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine of York, Countess of Devon

August 14, 1687 – Birth of Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange in Dessau, Principality of Anhalt-Dessau, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
At the time of Johan Willem Friso’s birth, his first cousin once removed Willem III was Prince of Orange and Stadtholder (Governor) of five of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic. Willem III had married his English first cousin Mary Stuart, the elder surviving child of King James II of England. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688 which deposed King James II, Willem and Mary jointly ruled England as King William III and Queen Mary II, but the couple had no children.  After Willem’s death,  Johan Willem Friso claimed succession in the five provinces of the Dutch Republic that William (Willem) III had held as well as to the title Prince of Orange. However, the five provinces over which Willem III had ruled as Stadtholder all suspended the office of Stadtholder after his death. A dispute arose between Johan Willem Friso and Friedrich I, King in Prussia, also a grandson of Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange, over the Principality of Orange,  located in France. Friedrich I eventually inherited the land and ceded the land to France in 1713. However, the title Prince of Orange continued to be used in the Dutch Republic. In July, Johan Willem Friso went to The Hague to meet with King Friedrich I of Prussia about their succession dispute. To cross the Hollands Diep, a wide river in the Netherlands, Johan Willem Friso and his carriage traveled on a ferry. The captain had trouble with the sails and suddenly a great gust of wind filled the sails, the ferry capsized and Johan Willem Friso drowned at the age of 23 on July 14, 1711. His body was found floating in the river eight days later.
Unofficial Royalty: Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange

August 14, 1688 – Birth of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
For the first few years of his life, Friedrich Wilhelm was raised in Hanover, at the court of his grandmother, the Electress Sophia of Hanover, along with his cousins – his future wife, Sophie Dorothea of Hanover,  whom he married in 1706, and her brother, the future King George II of Great Britain. Friedrich Wilhelm came to the Prussian throne upon his father’s death in 1713. Unlike his father who viewed the treasury as his own money and lived a lavish lifestyle, Friedrich Wilhelm chose to go the opposite direction. He sold many of his father’s possessions and lived an austere life. While his father was focused more on his personal enjoyment, Friedrich Wilhelm focused on strengthening Prussia, particularly the economy and the military.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia

August 14, 1720 – Birth of Friedrich II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, husband of Princess Mary of Great Britain (daughter of King George II of Great Britain), in Kassel in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, now in Hesse, Germany
Friedrich II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel became famous during the American Revolution as a supplier of thousands of Hessian soldiers who fought on behalf of the British. Friedrich and his wife Mary are ancestors of the current British royal family through their fourth son Prince Friedrich. Prince Friedrich’s daughter Augusta was the grandmother of Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, better known as Queen Mary, the wife of King George V of the United Kingdom. Through their third son Prince Karl, Friedrich and Mary are great-grandparents of King Christian IX of Denmark. Through King Christian IX, Friedrich and Mary are ancestors of six of the ten current European royal families.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel

August 14, 1754 – Death of Maria Anna of Austria, Queen of Portugal, wife of King João V of Portugal, in Lisbon, Portugal; initially interred at the Monastery of São João Nepomuceno (Saint John Nepomuk), which she founded, her heart was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria, the burial place of her birth family, the Habsburgs. In 1855, her remains were transferred to the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal, where her husband João V had been interred.
Maria Anna, the daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, was the wife and first cousin of João V, King of Portugal. Maria Anna and João V had six children including two kings of Portugal. Soon after her marriage, Maria Anna realized that beauty and luxury were valued at the Portuguese court much more than learning and knowledge, which were the traits valued at the Austrian court. João had many mistresses and several illegitimate children and although he was well educated and religious, he occupied himself with whatever pleased him at the moment.  Maria Anna died four years after the death of her husband.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Anna of Austria, Queen of Portugal

August 14, 1862 – Birth of Prince Heinrich of Prussia, son of Friedrich III, German Emperor, at Neues Palais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Albert Wilhelm Heinrich
Prince Heinrich was the son of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor, and Queen Victoria’s grandson. He married his first cousin Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, Irene was a hemophilia carrier having inherited the gene from her mother Princess Alice who had inherited it from her mother Queen Victoria. Nine of Queen Victoria’s descendants were afflicted with hemophilia and two of them were Heinrich and Irene’s sons. At the age of 15, Heinrich started his career in the  German Imperial Navy.  In 1909, he was promoted to Grand Admiral (Großadmiral), the highest rank in the German Imperial Navy. At the beginning of World War I, Heinrich was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet. He was charged with preventing the Russian Navy from attacking the German coast and was successful. At the end of World War I, and with the abdication of his brother Wilhelm as German Emperor and King of Prussia, Heinrich left the navy. After the dissolution of the German monarchies, Heinrich and his family lived at Hemmelmark, an estate in Eckernförde in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where he died at the age of 66, on April 20, 1929.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Heinrich of Prussia

August 14, 1876 – Birth of King Alexander I of Serbia in Belgrade, Serbia
King Alexander I of Serbia was the last ruler of Serbia from the House of Obrenović. His reign ended with his and his wife’s brutal assassinations in 1903. He was the only surviving child of King Milan I of Serbia and his wife Natalija Keschko. In 1889, King Milan unexpectedly abdicated in favor of his twelve-year-old son who became King Alexander I of Serbia. In 1893, 17-year-old King Alexander proclaimed himself of age and dismissed the regency council to take royal authority for himself. The following year, King Alexander abolished the 1889 liberal constitution and restored the former conservative 1869 constitution. The political situation continued to worsen until the army had enough. The military organized a conspiracy, the May Coup, to replace King Alexander I of the House of Obrenović with Prince Peter Karađorđević of the rival House of Karađorđević.  This resulted in the assassination of Alexander and his wife.
Unofficial Royalty: King Alexander I of Serbia

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