Sir John de Southeray, Illegitimate Son of King Edward III of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

King Edward III of England, father of Sir John de Southeray; Credit – Wikipedia

Sir John de Southeray (circa 1364 – 1383) was the eldest of the three illegitimate children of King Edward III of England and his mistress Alice Perrers. Alice’s family surname was Salisbury and they worked as goldsmiths. Janyn Perrers, who would become Alice’s first husband, became an apprentice to the Salisbury family in 1342. It appears that around 1359, Janyn Perrers did some work for the royal court because in a royal writ he is described as “our beloved Janyn Perrers, our jeweler”. There is a possibility that he met King Edward III in his capacity as a goldsmith and jeweler and that Alice may have accompanied him.

Shortly after her husband died in 1361 or 1362, Alice became a lady-in-waiting to Philippa of Hainault, the wife of King Edward III. Even if Alice had not previously met King Edward III, they certainly became acquainted while she served as a lady-in-waiting. Alice, who was about 24 years old, gave birth to the first of her three children by Edward III in 1364, when the king was 56 years old.

King Edward III and Alice’s eldest child John had two younger sisters:

  • Jane (circa 1365 – ?), married Richard Northland
  • Joan (circa 1366 – circa 1431), married Robert Skerne, a lawyer and Member of Parliament

John had fourteen royal half-siblings from the marriage of his father King Edward III to Philippa of Hainault:

In January 1377, the nearly thirteen-year-old John married seventeen-year-old Maud de Percy, the daughter of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy. The marriage was childless and in 1380, Maud obtained an annulment, claiming to have been married to John without her consent. Later in 1377, on April 23, St. George’s Day, John was knighted by his father King Edward III at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, along with John’s ten-year-old nephews, the future King Richard II, and the future King Henry IV, who would usurp the throne from his cousin King Richard II in 1399. On June 17, 1377, four days before his death, King Edward III gave his illegitimate son John his own coat of arms. Upon the death of King Edward III, John’s nephew Richard, the son of the deceased Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince, succeeded his grandfather as King Richard II.

From 1381 to 1382, Sir John de Southeray took part in the Fernandine Wars, a series of three wars between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile. He accompanied the English military expedition in support of Castile, commanded by his half-brother Edmund of Langley, 1St Duke of York. During the unsuccessful Castilian campaign, John led a contingent of English soldiers. After his troops went unpaid, John incited them to mutiny. Unlike his troops, John was never punished for his actions. John’s death date is uncertain. It is assumed he died in 1383, aged about nineteen. The last mention of Sir John de Southeray in contemporary chronicles is in 1383, when he asked a man named Ralph Basing to pay him a debt.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022). Alice Perrers, Mistress of Edward III, King of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/alice-perrers-mistress-of-edward-iii-king-of-england/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King Edward III of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-iii-of-england/
  • John de Southeray. geni_family_tree. (2022). https://www.geni.com/people/John-de-Southeray/6000000003650779410
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). John de Southeray. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Southeray
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). John de Southeray. Wikipedia (French). https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Southeray

April 20: Today in Royal History

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Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia, Credit – Wikipedia

April 20, 1690 – Death of Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, Dauphine of France at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France; buried at the Basilica of St. Denis in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, France
Maria Anna Victoria was the wife of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the eldest son and heir of King Louis XIV of France. Married in 1680, Maria Anna Victoria and Louis, Dauphin of France had three sons including Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin, second in the line of succession after his father, and Philippe, Duke of Anjou, later King Felipe V of Spain. The births of her three sons and at least six miscarriages caused Maria Anna Victoria’s health to deteriorate. Maria Anna Victoria died aged twenty-nine. An autopsy revealed several internal disorders that completely vindicated her complaints of chronic and severe illness. It is also probable that Maria Anna Victoria had tuberculosis. King Louis XIV outlived both his son Louis, Dauphin of France and his grandson Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin. When he died in 1715, King Louis XIV was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson King Louis XV of France, the son of Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, Dauphine of France

April 20, 1808 – Birth of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, in Paris, France
Born: Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, later Napoleon III of the French, was the son of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland (younger brother of Emperor Napoleon I) and Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of Emperor Napoleon I’s first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais and her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais who was beheaded during the French Revolution.  Elected to the presidency of the French Second Republic in 1848, Louis-Napoléon seized power by force in 1851, when he could not constitutionally be reelected, and later proclaimed himself Emperor of the French. After being turned down by Princess Carola of Vasa (daughter of the deposed Swedish King Gustaf IV Adolf), and Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (a niece of Queen Victoria), Napoleon III married Eugénie de Montijo, Countess of Teba and Marquise of Ardales in 1853. The couple had one son, Napoléon, Prince Imperial who died unmarried in 1879 while fighting in the Anglo-Zulu War. In July 1870, France entered the Franco-Prussian War. Without significant allied support, and with unprepared and limited forces, the French army was quickly defeated. Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan and quickly surrendered. As word reached Paris, the Third Republic was declared on September 4, 1870, ending, for the last time, the French monarchy. Louis-Napoléon and his family went into exile in England. After falling ill in the summer of 1872, and undergoing two operations, he died at the age of 64.
Unofficial Royalty: Napoleon III, Emperor of France

April 20, 1836 – Death of Prince Johann I Josef of Liechtenstein in Vienna, Austria; buried at Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Brno, now in the Czech Republic
Because he had an elder brother and was not expected to succeed to the throne of Liechtenstein, Johann Josef chose a military career in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire, of which Liechtenstein was a constituent state. In 1792, Johann Josef married Landgravine Josefa of Fürstenberg-Weitra, and the couple had fourteen children. Upon the death of his childless brother Alois I, Prince of Liechtenstein in 1805, Johan Josef became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. As Prince of Liechtenstein, Johann Josef carried out progressive reforms, and in 1818, however, he approved a new constitution that limited the power of the monarch. He established modern practices in agriculture and forestry and reorganized the government administration to meet modern needs. On April 20, 1836, Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein, aged 75, died at Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna, Austria.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Johann I Josef of Liechtenstein

April 20, 1839 – Birth of King Carol I of Romania at Sigmaringen Castle  in Sigmaringen, Principality of Hohenzollern, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg
Born: Prince Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
Born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, he was elected by the Romanian government to become the new Ruling Prince in 1866 after Ruling Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza was forced to abdicate. He took on the more Romanian spelling of his name – Carol. In 1881, the Romanian parliament declared Romania a Kingdom, and he became King Carol I. He married  Princess Elisabeth of Wied and they had one daughter who died in childhood from scarlet fever. After a reign of 48 years, Carol I died at the age of 75 and was succeeded by his nephew, King Ferdinand I, the second son of his elder brother Leopold.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carol I of Romania

April 20, 1884 – Birth of Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at Eastwell Park in Kent, England
Full name: Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria
Beatrice was the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia. She married Infante Alfonso d’Orleans-Bourbon of Spain, the first cousin of Alfonso XIII, King of Spain who had married Beatrice’s first cousin Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. After the Spanish monarchy was overthrown, the country was thrown into the Spanish Civil War. Beatrice’s second son Alonso was killed in action during the Spanish Civil War, and the family lost their properties. Initially exiled to England, Beatrice and Alfonso eventually returned to Spain in 1937 and settled at a new estate El Botánico in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where they would live for the rest of their lives.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Galliera

April 20, 1929 – Death of Prince Heinrich of Prussia, son of Friedrich III, German Emperor, grandson of Queen Victoria, at Herrenhaus Hemmelmark in Eckernförde, Germany;  buried at Herrenhaus Hemmelmark
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

April 20, 1947 – Death of King Christian X of Denmark at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Christian X was related to many European royals through his paternal aunts and uncles. Among his first cousins were Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, King Constantine I of Greece, King George V of the United Kingdom, and Maud of Wales, Queen of Norway who married his brother Carl who became King Haakon VII of Norway. In 1898, Christian married Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The couple had two sons including Frederik IX, King of Denmark. In 1940, during World War II, Germany occupied Denmark. Unlike King Haakon VII of Norway (Christian’s brother, born Prince Carl of Denmark) and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, both of whom went into exile during the German occupation of their countries, King Christian remained in Denmark. He is remembered for his daily horse ride without a guard through the streets of Copenhagen during the Nazi occupation of Denmark, a symbol of Danish sovereignty. After a fall from his horse in October 1942, Christian was more or less an invalid for the rest of his life. King Christian X died at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen on April 20, 1947, aged 76.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian X of Denmark

April 20, 1960 – Death of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia, daughter of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, at Wilderness House, a grace and favor house, on the grounds of Hampton Court Palace in England; buried at the Cimetière de Roquebrune-Cap-Martin in France
Xenia was the daughter of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and the sister of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. In 1894, Xenia married Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, known as Sandro, the son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia who was a son of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia, and they had one daughter and six sons. Xenia was one of the fortunate Romanovs who survived the Russian Revolution. She left Russia for good aboard the British battleship HMS Marlborough with her mother Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Dagmar of Denmark), her five youngest sons, her daughter Irina and Irinia’s husband Prince Felix Yusupov. Xenia settled in England where she was granted management letters for the properties of her brother Nicholas in England which gave her an income of 500 pounds sterling per year. By 1925, Xenia’s financial situation was desperate and her first cousin King George V allowed her the use of Frogmore Cottage, a grace and favor house, in Windsor Great Park. In March 1937, King George VI, Xenia’s first cousin once removed, granted her the use of Wilderness House, a grace and favor house, on the grounds of Hampton Court Palace where she died on April 20, 1960, at the age of 85.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

April 19: Today in Royal History

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Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands;  Credit – Wikipedia

April 19, 1390 – Death of Robert II, King of Scots at Dundonald Castle in Ayshire, Scotland; buried at Scone Abbey in Scone, Scotland
The first monarch of the House of Stewart, Robert II, King of Scots was the only child of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland and Marjorie Bruce, the daughter of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots. Fortunately, Robert II’s reign was more peaceful than previous reigns. Hostilities with England were renewed in 1378 and continued intermittently for the rest of Robert II’s reign. In 1384, when Robert II became senile, he left the administration of the kingdom to his eldest son John, Earl of Carrick, who succeeded him as Robert III, King of Scots.
Unofficial Royalty: Robert II, King of Scots

April 19, 1658 – Death of Kirsten Munk, Countess of Schleswig-Holstein, morganatic second wife of King Christian IV of Denmark, at Boller Castle in Horsens, Denmark; buried at Saint Canute’s Cathedral in Odense, Denmark
When widower King Christian IV became attracted to 18-year-old Kirsten, her astute mother did not want her daughter to become Christian’s mistress, and instead negotiated a morganatic marriage between Christian and her daughter due to Kirsten’s status as a noble. Kirsten received properties in her name and was assured of a widow’s pension. Christian IV and Kirsten’s ten children were styled Count and Countess of Schleswig-Holstein and did not have succession rights. On April 19, 1658, Kirsten died at Boller Castle, her estate near Horsens on Jutland in Denmark at the age of 60. Her remains were brought to the city of Odense, now in Denmark but then occupied by Kirsten’s son-in-law Count Corfitz Ulfeldt and the Swedish army. There Kirsten was given a splendid funeral at St. Canute’s Cathedral where she was also buried.
Unofficial Royalty: Kirsten Munk, Countess of Schleswig-Holstein

April 19, 1680 – Death of Maria Hedwig of Hesse-Darmstadt, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, first wife of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in Ichtershausen Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; first buried in the crypt of the city church in Meiningen, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, before being moved to the castle church at Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen
In 1671, Marie Hedwig married Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. The couple had seven children. In 1680, Marie Hedwigs’s husband Bernhard and his six brothers, who collectively governed the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, concluded a treaty of separation, with each brother getting a portion of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha Altenburg and becoming a Duke. One of the seven new duchies was the Duchy of Saxe-Meinigen and Bernhard became the first Duke of Saxe-Meinigen. However, the principality’s coat of arms featured a black hen, which was seen at the time as a symbol of magic and witchcraft. Marie Hedwig made it clear that she would not move to the “land of the black hen”. Nine weeks before the planned move, Marie Hedwig died after giving birth to her youngest child just a few weeks earlier.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Hedwig of Hesse-Darmstadt, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

April 19, 1689 – Death of Queen Christina of Sweden in Rome, Italy; buried at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy
Christina, Queen of Sweden was the only surviving child of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and became Queen of Sweden at the age of six upon his death in battle. Christina caused a scandal when she decided not to marry, and then when she abdicated her throne and subsequently converted to Roman Catholicism. She left Sweden and lived most of the rest of her life in Rome where she played a prominent role in the city’s cultural life. Christina is one of three women interred in the crypt at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Christina of Sweden

April 19, 1733 – Death of Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney, mistress of King William III of England, at her London, England home in Albemarle Street; buried at Taplow Court, in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England
Born Elizabeth Villiers, she was the first cousin of another royal mistress, Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, born Barbara Villiers, a mistress of King Charles II of England.  Within a year of the death from smallpox of Queen Mary II, his wife and first cousin, William III ended his relationship with Elizabeth Villiers, motivated by the wishes of his wife expressed before her death. He arranged for Elizabeth to marry one of his regimental commanders and thereafter ignored her. Both Elizabeth and her husband went from serving the Stuart monarchs to serving the Hanoverian monarchs.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney, mistress of King William III of England

April 19, 1793 – Birth of Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Karl Leopold Joseph Franz Marcellin
Ferdinand was developmentally delayed and suffered from epilepsy, hydrocephalus, neurological problems, and a speech impediment. His epilepsy caused him to have as many as twenty seizures per day, and this severely restricted his ability to rule with any effectiveness.  Ferdinand abdicated the throne in favor of his nephew Franz Joseph during the Revolutions of 1848.
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria

April 19, 1822 – Death of Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov, lover of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, at Rundāle Palace in Rundāle, Russian Empire, now in Latvia; buried in the Zubov family crypt at the Coastal Monastery of Saint Sergius in Strelna near St. Petersburg, Russia
Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov was the last lover of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia. There was a thirty-eight-year age difference between Platon and Catherine. He was also one of the conspirators in the assassination of Catherine II’s son and successor Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, and was one of the fourteen people present at Paul’s murder.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov, lover of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia

April 19, 1876 – Birth of Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands, born Prince Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, husband of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, in Schwerin, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Full name: Heinrich Wladimir Albrecht Ernst
Heinrich was the youngest of the four children of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his third wife Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Among his half-siblings were Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, father of Alexandrine, Queen of Denmark and Cecile, last Crown Princess of Prussia, and Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Maria Pavlovna of Russia) who married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia. Their son Kirill became a pretender to the Russian throne after the assassination of his cousin Nicholas II of Russia.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Prince of the Netherlands

April 19, 1902 – Death of Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince of Reuss of Greiz, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, now in Thuringia, Germany; first buried in the Waldhaus Mausoleum in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, 1969 remains cremated and buried at the Neue Friedhof (New Cemetery) in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany; 1997 remains moved to Stadtkirche St. Marien in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany
When Heinrich XXII was thirteen-years-old, his father Heinrich XX, 4th Prince of Reuss of Greiz died. He then succeeded his father as the 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz. Heinrich XXII’s mother Caroline Amalie was Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz from 1859 until 1867. In 1872, Heinrich XXII married Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, and they had one son and five daughters including Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz, the second wife of the former German Emperor and King of Prussia, Wilhelm II. Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince of Reuss of Greiz died from heart disease on April 19, 1902, aged 56, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz. Heinrich XXII’s disabled son Heinrich XXIV succeeded him nominally as the 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz. However, two regents from the House of Reuss-Gera (also called the Younger Line) successively ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz for the disabled Heinrich XXIV: Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera from 1901 – 1913, and then his son Heinrich XXVII, 5th and last Prince Reuss of Gera from 1913 – 1918, when the monarchy was abolished in 1918 at the end of World War I.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince of Reuss of Greiz

April 19, 1956 – Wedding of Prince Rainier III of Monaco and Grace Kelly at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco
Grace Kelly was a well-known film actress before her marriage and she won an Academy Award for Best Actress for The Country Girl which also starred Bing Crosby and William Holden. Since much of Grace and Rainier’s lives were in the public eye, a private courtship was something of a task, especially considering the distance between the United States and Monaco. After meeting the Prince in Monaco during the Cannes Film Festival in May 1955, Grace corresponded with Rainier until he made a trip to the United States in December of that year. He asked Grace to marry him over the Christmas holiday, and on January 5, 1956, their engagement was announced in a press conference held at her family’s home in Philadelphia.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Rainier III of Monaco and Grace Kelly

April 19, 1968 – Birth of King Mswati III of Eswatini at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital in Manzini, then in Swaziland
Born: Prince Makhosetive Dlamini
King Mswati is one of many sons fathered by King Sobhuza II, who married 70 wives who gave him 210 children between 1920 and 1970.  King Sobhuza II died in 1982, at the age of 83, having reigned for 82 years. Kings cannot appoint their successors, nor is there a line of succession. A traditional council called the Liqoqo decides which of the wives shall be “Great Wife” and “Indlovukati” (She-Elephant / Queen Mother) after the death of a king. The “Great Wife” must be of good character and cannot be one of the first two wives (known as ritual wives) chosen for the king by the national councilors. The son of this “Great Wife” will automatically become the next king. 14-year-old Mswati was selected to be the next king.
Unofficial Royalty: King Mswati III of Eswatini

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

April 18: Today in Royal History

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Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart, daughter of the deposed King James II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

April 18, 1712 – Death of Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart, daughter of the deposed King James II of England, at the Château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France; buried at the Chapel of Saint Edmund in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue St. Jacques in Paris, France
Louisa and her brother James Francis Edward both fell ill with smallpox.  Her brother recovered, but Louisa’s condition became steadily worse, resulting in her death. Louisa was buried with her father at the Chapel of Saint Edmund in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue  St. Jacques in Paris, France.  In 1793, the Chapel of Saint Edmund and all the English Benedictine buildings were destroyed by a mob along with the remains of King James II and his daughter Louisa Maria Teresa.  Some of their remains were discovered after the French Revolution and reburied in 1824 at the Parish Church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in France
Unofficial Royalty: Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart

April 18, 1713 – Death of Dorothea Maria of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, first wife of Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the Castle Church at Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen
Dorothea Maria’s marriage to her first cousin Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen was a happy one, and both she and her husband shared the same interests in music and the arts. The couple had five children. She devoted much of her time to charitable works including supporting the orphanage in Meiningen. Because of a condition referred to as facial fluxes, probably a nervous condition, she spent much of her time living in the countryside. Sadly, Dorothea Maria died at the age of 39.
Unofficial Royalty: Dorothea Maria of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

April 18, 1824 – Birth of Woldemar, Prince of Lippe in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Full name: Günther Friedrich Woldemar
In 1858, Woldemar married Princess Sophie of Baden but their marriage was childless. He succeeded his childless elder brother Leopold III, Prince of Lippe upon his death in 1875. Apart from his grandmother Princess Pauline, who served as Regent for eighteen years for her son Leopold II until he reached his majority, no other Prince of Lippe dealt with government affairs as successfully as Woldemar did. Woldemar and his elder brother Leopold were the only ones of eight siblings who married and neither had any children. Woldemar died in 1895, aged 70. His only surviving brother Alexander suffered from mental illness and had been declared incapacitated and therefore, was incapable of governing. A regency was necessary during the reign of Alexander. This created a succession crisis. After the death of Woldemar’s successor and brother Alexander and the extinction of the Lippe-Detmold line, the throne of the Principality of Lippe went to Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld who would be the last Prince of Lippe.
Unofficial Royalty: Woldemar, Prince of Lippe

April 18, 1861 – Birth of Eduard, Duke of Anhalt in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Full name: Eduard Georg Wilhelm
Eduard, Duke of Anhalt ruled for less than five months, just before World War I and the German Empire ended.  He was succeeded by his son Joachim Ernst. As Joachim Ernst was not yet of age, Eduard’s brother Aribert served as Regent. With the German Empire crumbling at the end of World War I, Aribert, who had served as Regent for only two months, abdicated on Joachim Ernst’s behalf on November 12, 1918.
Unofficial Royalty: Eduard, Duke of Anhalt

April 18, 1865 – Birth of Johanna Loisinger, morganatic wife of Prince Alexander of Battenberg, former Prince of Bulgaria, in Preßburg, Hungary, now Bratislava, Slovakia
Full name: Johanna Maria Louise
Johanna was an opera singer who sang soprano operatic roles in Prague and Opava (now in the Czech Republic), in Linz, Austria, and at the court theater in Darmstadt in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (now in Hesse, Germany).  She was one of the best-known singers of Mozart’s music of her time.  After her husband’s death, Johanna and her children moved to Vienna, Austria where she was active in Viennese musical life and was involved in building the Academy Mozarteum in Mozart’s birthplace, Salzburg, Austria. Johanna served as president of the Vienna Mozart Society, the Vienna Concert Association, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
Unofficial Royalty: Johanna Loisinger, Countess von Hartenau

April 18, 1890 – Birth of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, daughter of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia and Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, at her father’s palace on the English Embankment in St. Petersburg, Russia
A first cousin of both Nicholas II, the last Emperor of All Russia and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Maria Pavlovna made an unsuccessful marriage to Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland, son of King Gustav V of Sweden. She left her husband and son and returned to Russia which caused a great scandal in Sweden. The marriage was officially dissolved and Maria’s son Lennart remained in his father’s custody, was raised primarily by his paternal grandmother Queen Victoria of Sweden, and rarely saw his mother during his childhood.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (the Younger) of Russia

April 18, 1905 – Birth of Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at the Royal Palace in Athens, Greece
One of the four elder sisters of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1931, Margarita married Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and the couple had five children. Although Margarita and her sisters were not invited to their brother Philip’s wedding in 1947 due to the strong anti-German sentiment so soon after World War II, she and Philip remained close. In 1950, she was named as one of the godparents of Philip’s daughter Princess Anne. In 1953, Margarita, her surviving sisters, and their mother were prominent guests at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

April 18, 1917 – Birth of Princess Frederica of Hanover, wife of King Paul I of Greece, in Blankenburg am Harz in the Duchy of Brunswick, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Full name: Frederica Louise Thyra Victoria Margaret Sophie Olga Cecily Isabelle Christina
Frederica’s father Prince Ernst August of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick was the senior male-line descendant of King George III of the United Kingdom via his son Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland. Her mother Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia was the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Frederica is the maternal grandmother of Felipe VI, the current King of Spain.
Unofficial Royalty: Frederica of Hanover, Queen of Greece

April 18, 1969 – Birth of Sayako Kuroda, born Princess Nori of Japan, daughter of Emperor Akihito of Japan, at the Aoyama Detached Palace in Tokyo, Japan
At the time of her marriage in 2005, she left the Imperial Family and took the surname of her husband as required by Imperial Household Law.
Unofficial Royalty: Sayako Kuroda, formerly Princess Nori of Japan

April 18, 2007 – Birth of Prince Lerotholi Seeiso of Lesotho, heir apparent and son of King Letsie III of Lesotho, in Maseru, Lesotho
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Lerotholi Seeiso of Lesotho

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

April 17: Today in Royal History

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Francisco, Duke of Cadiz, King Consort of Queen Isabella II of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

April 17, 1662 – Birth of Erdmuthe of Dietrichstein, Princess of Liechtenstein, wife of her first cousin Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, probably either in Vienna, then in the Duchy of Austria, now in Austria or in Nikolsburg, then in the Principality of Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg, now the city of Mikulov in the Czech Republic
Full name: Erdmuthe Maria Theresia
In 1681, nineteen-year-old Erdmuthe married her nineteen-year-old first cousin Hans-Adam, heir to the Principality of Liechtenstein. The couple had eleven children but all their sons predeceased Hans-Adam. Hans-Adam died in 1712, at the age of 49. After the death of her husband, Erdmuthe spent most of her time in Vienna and in Judenau-Baumgarten, which was owned by the House of Liechtenstein and where Erdmuthe founded a hospital. She devoted herself to philanthropic activities, including providing shelters for the poor. Erdmuthe survived her husband by twenty-five years, dying on March 16, 1737, in Vienna, Austria at the age of 84.
Unofficial Royalty: Erdmuthe of Dietrichstein, Princess of Liechtenstein

April 17, 1711 – Death of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, King of Croatia, and King of Hungary, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria; buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna
Joseph ruled over the hereditary Habsburg lands and was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1705. Joseph’s reign lasted just six years. During the smallpox epidemic of 1711, which killed Louis, Le Grand Dauphin of France, the only surviving child and heir of King Louis XIV of France, and three siblings of the future Holy Roman Emperor Franz I, Joseph also became ill with smallpox. He died, aged thirty-two, on April 17, 1711, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.
Unofficial Royalty: Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, King of Croatia, and King of Hungary, in Vienna, Austria

April 17, 1818 – Death of Heinrich XLII, 1st Prince Reuss of Gera in Schleiz, Principality of Reuss-Gera; buried in the Princely Crypt at the Bergkirche St. Marien now in Schleiz, Thuringia, Germany
In 1779, Heinrich XLII married Princess Caroline of Hohenlohe-Kirchberg in Kirchberg an der Jagst. The couple had eight children but only three survived to adulthood. When Heinrich XLII’s father died in 1784, he became Count Reuss of Schleiz. In 1802, when Heinrich XXX, Count Reuss of Gera died without an heir, Heinrich XLII also became Count Reuss of Gera. In 1806, Heinrich XLII received the title of Prince from Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, and his two counties were raised to the Principality of Reuss-Gera or Reuss Younger Line and Heinrich XLII was then titled 1st Prince Reuss of Gera. Heinrich XLII, 1st Prince of Reuss of Gera died on April 17, 1818, aged 66.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XLII, 1st Prince Reuss of Gera

April 17, 1838 – Birth of Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Anhalt, wife of Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt, in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Antoinette Charlotte Marie Josephine Karoline Frida
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

April 17, 1902 – Death of Francisco, Duke of Cadiz, King Consort of Queen Isabella II of Spain; at the Château of Épinay-sur-Seine in France; buried at the Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real in El Escorial, Spain
In 1846, at the age of 24, Francisco married his double first cousin, the sixteen-year-old Queen Isabella II of Spain. Francisco and Isabella’s marriage was not happy and there were persistent rumors that few, if any, of her children, were fathered by her husband. Nevertheless, Francisco claimed all the children as his.  Only five of the nine reached adulthood.  His wife Isabella had officially abdicated in 1870 and after the First Spanish Republic collapsed, their son Alfonso XII became king. Francisco accompanied his deposed wife into exile in 1868 but they soon separated. However, Francisco and Isabella formed a friendly relationship after their separation. Francisco died on April 17, 1902, in Épinay-sur-Seine, France.
Unofficial Royalty: Francisco, Duke of Cadiz, King Consort of Spain

April 17, 1940 – Death of Katharina Schratt, the confidante of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria; buried at Hietzing Cemetery in Vienna, Austria, adjacent to Schönbrunn Palace
In December 1873, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and his wife Empress Elisabeth attended a gala performance of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew at the Stadttheater in Vienna, Austria. No one could have foreseen that Katharina Schratt, the actress playing the female lead role, whom Franz Joseph saw for the first time that evening, would become an important person in his life. Katharina had a long-standing private relationship with Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, however, the exact nature of their relationship is unclear. Some believe that Katharina and Franz Joseph were lovers. Others believe that their relationship was platonic and that Franz Joseph, whose wife was emotionally distant from him and fled from him as well as her duties at court by frequent traveling, needed someone to support him emotionally. Franz Joseph also had to deal with the violent deaths of relatives. Certainly, Katharina’s emotional support helped Franz Joseph to deal with all these tragedies. Katharina always maintained the strictest discretion regarding her relationship with Franz Joseph. Katharina Schratt died on April 17, 1940, at the age of 86.
Unofficial Royalty: Katharina Schratt, Confidante of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria

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April 16: Today in Royal History

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Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

April 16, 1687 – Death of George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, favorite of King Charles II of England, in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and his brother Lord Francis Villiers were brought up in the household of King Charles I with Charles I’s sons, the future King Charles II and the future King James II. George and his brother Francis actively supported and fought with the Royalists during the English Civil War. After the death of his brother in a battle near Kingston upon Thames, George Villiers fled England and took refuge like many other royalists in the Netherlands. After the restoration of King Charles II, George held several positions including Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Minister of State, and Master of the Horse. His endeavor to influence English politics was stymied by the Lord Chancellor Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, and in 1667, George took an active part in the overthrow of Hyde. He then played an important role in the group of five royal advisors that called itself the CABAL, formed from the letters of its members’ names. George was one of the Restoration rakes which included John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, Sir Charles Sedley, and Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset. Following the example of King Charles II, they distinguished themselves in drinking, sex, and witty conversation. George died on April 16, 1687, aged 59, from complications of a cold that he caught while participating in a fox hunt.
Unofficial Royalty: George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, favorite of King Charles II of England

April 16, 1693 – Birth of Anna Sophie Reventlow, mistress, bigamous wife, and then legal wife of King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway, at Clausholm Castle in Jutland, Denmark
After having two previous mistresses, making a bigamous marriage to one and wanting to make a bigamous marriage to the other, Frederik IV fell in love with 19-year-old Anna Sophie after meeting her at a masked ball. He abducted Anna Sophie from her parents’ home and bigamously married her as Frederik’s wife Queen Louise was still alive. After Queen Louise’s death, Frederik IV and Anna Sophie 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 as Queen of Denmark and Norway.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna Sophie Reventlow, Queen of Denmark

April 16, 1865 – Death of Anna of Hesse and by the Rhine, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 2nd wife of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; buried in Schwerin Cathedral
The sister of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine who married Queen Victoria’s daughter Alice, Anna married Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1864. She died at the age of 21 from puerperal fever (childbed fever), a week after giving birth to a daughter who died in her teens.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

April 16, 1883 – Death of Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma in Nice, France; buried at the Chapel of the Villa Borbone, now in Viareggio, Italy
Carlo Ludovico was born in Spain because, in 1796, the Duchy of Parma was occupied by French troops. After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the Duchy of Parma was not returned to the Bourbon-Parma family. Instead, the Congress of Vienna gave it to Napoleon’s second wife Marie-Louise of Austria. In 1820, Carlo Ludovico married Maria Teresa of Savoy, one of the twin daughters of King Vittorio Emanuele I of Sardinia. In 1847, at the death of Napoleon’s second wife Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma, Carlo Ludovico succeeded her as the reigning Duke of Parma according to the stipulations of the Congress of Vienna. However, the reign of Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma was short. He was very unpopular with the citizens of Parma, and within a few months, he was ousted by a revolution. Carlo Ludovico regained control of Parma with the help of Austrian troops but finally abdicated in favor of his son Carlo III, Duke of Parma in 1849. After his abdication, Carlo Ludovico lived at Weistropp Castle, a castle he had purchased in Klipphausen, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. He also spent time in Paris, France, and Nice, France where he died on April 16, 1883, at the age of 83.
Unofficial Royalty: Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma

April 16, 1940 – Birth of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark at Frederik VIII’s Palace at the Amalienborg palace complex in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark succeeded her father King Frederik IX in 1972. In 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, known as Prince Henrik after his marriage. Margrethe and Henrik had two sons. Prince Henrik died on February 13, 2018, at the age of 83. On January 14, 2022, Queen Margrethe II marked fifty years on the Danish throne. She is the second longest-reigning Danish monarch after King Christian IV who reigned for 59 years, 330 days, from April 4, 1588 until February 28, 1648. Queen Margrethe abdicated in favor of her elder son King Frederik X of Denmark on January 14, 2024, the 52nd anniversary of her accession.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

April 16, 1942 – Death of Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, in Schwäbisch-Hall, Baden-Württemburg, Germany; buried in the family cemetery at Schloss Langenburg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Alexandra was the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. She married Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Alexandra and Ernst were second cousins – their grandmothers, Queen Victoria and Princess Feodora of Leiningen – were half-sisters. The couple had five children. In 1913, her father-in-law died, and she and her husband became the Prince and Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, taking up residence as Schloss Langenburg. After her mother’s death in 1920, Alexandra inherited Palais Edinburg in Coburg, and, along with her sisters and leased Schloss Rosenau from the state until the late 1930s. In 1937, Alexandra joined her husband, and some of her children, as a member of the Nazi Party. Alexandra died on April 16, 1942, aged 64.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

April 16, 1955 – Birth of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg at Betzdorf Castle in Betzdorf, Luxembourg
Full name: Henri Albert Gabriel Felix Marie Guillaume
Henri is the current Grand Duke of Luxembourg having succeeded his father Grand Duke Jean upon his abdication in 2000. In 1981, Henri married María Teresa Mestre y Batista-Falla and the couple had five children.
Unofficial Royalty: Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

April 16, 1992 – Birth of Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, born at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Full name: Sébastien Henri Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg
Sébastien is the youngest of the five children of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. He often participates in official events and functions in Luxembourg, such as National Day, held in June each year. He also serves as patron of the Luxembourg Federation of Swimming and Lifesaving.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg

April 16, 2008 – Birth of Princess Eléonore of Belgium, daughter of Philippe, King of the Belgians, born at Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht, Belgium
Full name: Eléonore Fabiola Victoria Anne Marie
Eléonore of Belgium is the youngest of four children of King Philippe King of the Belgians.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Eléonore of Belgium

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Kapiʻolani, Queen Consort of the Hawaiian Islands

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

The Hawaiian Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, were originally divided into several independent chiefdoms. The Kingdom of Hawaii was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great of the independent island of Hawaii, conquered the independent islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, and unified them under one government and ruled as Kamehameha I, King of the Hawaiian Islands. In 1810, the whole Hawaiian archipelago became unified when Kauai and Niihau voluntarily joined the Kingdom of Hawaii. Two major dynastic families ruled the kingdom: the House of Kamehameha and the House of Kalākaua.

In 1778, British explorer James Cook visited the islands. This led to increased trade and the introduction of new technologies and ideas. In the mid-19th century, American influence in Hawaii dramatically increased when American merchants, missionaries, and settlers arrived on the islands. Protestant missionaries converted most of the native people to Christianity. Merchants set up sugar plantations and the United States Navy established a base at Pearl Harbor. The newcomers brought diseases that were new to the indigenous people including influenza, measles, smallpox, syphilis, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. At the time of James Cook’s arrival in 1778, the indigenous Hawaiian population is estimated to have been between 250,000 and 800,000. By 1890, the indigenous Hawaiian population had declined to less than 40,000.

In 1893, a group of local businessmen and politicians composed of six non-native Hawaiian Kingdom subjects, five American nationals, one British national, and one German national overthrew Queen Liliuokalani, her cabinet, and her marshal, and took over the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii. This led to the 1898 annexation of Hawaii as a United States territory. On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States.

In 1993, one hundred years after the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown, the United States Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Apology Resolution which “acknowledges that the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred with the active participation of agents and citizens of the United States and further acknowledges that the Native Hawaiian people never directly relinquished to the United States their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people over their national lands, either through the Kingdom of Hawaii or through a plebiscite or referendum”. As a result, the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, a grassroots political and cultural campaign to reestablish an autonomous or independent nation or kingdom in Hawaii, was established along with ongoing efforts to redress the indigenous Hawaiian population.

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Kapiʻolani, Queen Consort of the Hawaiian Islands; Credit – Wikipedia

Kapiʻolani, Queen Consort of the Hawaiian Islands was the wife of Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands, who reigned from 1874 to 1891. Kapiʻolani Napelakapuokakaʻe was born on December 31, 1834, in Hilo on the island of Hawaii, then in the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands, now in the state of Hawaii. She was the eldest of the three daughters of High Chief Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole of Hilo and High Chiefess Kinoiki Kekaulike of Kauaʻi, the daughter of King Kaumualiʻi, the last king of an independent Kauaʻi. Kapiʻolani’s Christian name was Esther but unlike other Christian Hawaiian royals, she and her two sisters never used their Christian names. When Kapiʻolani was sixteen, she was sent to the royal court in Honolulu on the island of Oahu and was under the guardianship of King Kamehameha III. Kapiʻolani learned to understand a few English words and phrases but she never learned to speak English fluently and required a Hawaiian translator when communicating with English speakers.

Kapiʻolani had two younger sisters:

Kapiʻolani in 1852, the year she married Bennett Nāmākēhā; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 7, 1852, 17-year-old Kapiʻolani married 53-year-old High Chief Bennett Nāmākēhā, as his third wife. Bennett was a member of the House of Nobles and the uncle of Queen Emma, the wife of King Kamehameha IV. The marriage was childless but Kapiʻolani and Bennett were appointed the caretakers of Prince Albert Edward Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa a Kamehameha, the only child of Emma and King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. Kapiʻolani also served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Emma. Sadly, the young prince died in 1862, when he was four years old. Two years earlier, Kapiʻolani’s husband Bennett died on December 27, 1860, aged sixty-one.

David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua, (King Kalākaua); Credit – Wikipedia

On December 19, 1863, Kapiʻolani married David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua, the future King Kalākaua, who was only two years older than Kapiʻolani. Their marriage was childless. David’s family was aliʻi nui, Hawaiian nobility, and was distantly related to the reigning House of Kamehameha, sharing common descent from Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku, King of the island of Hawaii and the great-grandfather of Kamehameha I, the first King of the Kingdom of Hawaii. David’s father Caesar Kapaʻakea was a Hawaiian chief who served in the House of Nobles from 1845 until he died in 1866 and on the King’s Privy Council from 1846 – 1866. David’s mother Analea Keohokālole, who was of a higher rank than her husband, was a Hawaiian chiefess and a member of the House of Nobles from 1841 to 1847, and on the King’s Privy Council from 1846 to 1847. David was declared eligible to be in the line of succession by the royal decree of King Kamehameha III. He served in the House of Nobles, and the Privy Council of State and held many other court and government posts during the reigns of King Kamehameha IV, King Kamehameha V, and King Lunalilo.

On February 3, 1874, Lunalilo, King of the Hawaiian Islands (born William Charles Lunalilo) died from tuberculosis without naming an heir. As King Lunalilo had wanted to make Hawaii more democratic, it is thought that he wished to have the people choose their next ruler. The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the people’s representatives, would choose the next monarch from the eligible royal family members. Queen Emma, the widow of King Kamehameha IV, claimed that King Lunalilo had wanted her to succeed him, but he died before a formal proclamation could be made. She decided to run in the election against David who had lost to King Lunalilo in a similar election in 1873. While the Hawaiian people supported Emma, it was the legislature that elected the new monarch. They favored David who won the election 39 – 6. David reigned as King Kalākaua and became the first of two monarchs of the Kingdom of Hawaiian Islands from the House of Kalākaua, who were also the last two monarchs of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

The Sisters of St. Francis and some of the residents of the home Kapiʻolani had built for the children of couples with leprosy; Credit – WIkipedia

As Queen, Kapiʻolani worked to improve the health of the Hawaiian people. She founded the Kapiʻolani Maternity Home in Honolulu, where Hawaiian mothers and their newborn babies could receive care. The Kapiʻolani Maternity Home is still in existence as the Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children, part of Hawaii Pacific Health’s network of hospitals. Kapiʻolani frequently visited Kakaʻako Branch Hospital on Oʻahu, which served as a receiving station for leprosy patients from all over the islands, and befriended the Roman Catholic Sisters of Saint Francis who staffed the hospital. On July 21, 1884, Kapiʻolani, along with her sister-in-law and her husband Princess Liliuokalani and John Owen Dominis, visited the Kalaupapa Leper Settlement on Molokaʻi where the now famous Belgian priest Father Damien (now Saint Damien of Molokai) spent sixteen years caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of those in the leper colony before he contracted leprosy. One of the concerns brought to the attention of Queen Kapiʻolani was the welfare of non-leprous children living on the island born to couples with leprosy. Kapiʻolani promised to build a home for these children. After the royal visit, the patients’ living conditions improved significantly.

Princess Liliuokalani (left) and Queen Kapiʻolani (right) at the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria; Credit – Wikipedia

In April 1887, Queen Kapiʻolani, along with her sister-in-law Princess Liliuokalani and her husband John Owen Dominis, were part of the delegation from the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands sent to attend the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in London. Kapiʻolani and Liliuokalani were granted an audience with Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace. They attended the special Jubilee service at Westminster Abbey and were seated with other foreign royal guests.

Queen Kapiʻolani kneeling at the coffin of her husband David (King Kalākaua); Credit – Wikipedia

On November 25, 1890, Kapiʻolani’s husband David set sail for California aboard the USS Charleston. The purpose of the trip was uncertain but there were reports that the trip was for his ill health. David arrived in San Francisco, California on December 5, 1890. He suffered a minor stroke in Santa Barbara, California, and was rushed back to San Francisco. Two days before his death, he lapsed into a coma. Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands, born David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua died in San Francisco, California on January 20, 1891, aged 54. He had been under the care of US Navy doctors who listed the cause of his death as nephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys.

After the death of her husband and the accession of her sister-in-law Liliuokalani to the throne, Kapiʻolani retired from public life and rarely attended formal social events. Queen Liliuokalani ruled for two years before she was overthrown. In 1893, a group of local businessmen and politicians composed of six non-native Hawaiian Kingdom subjects, five American nationals, one British national, and one German national overthrew Queen Liliuokalani, her cabinet, and her marshal, and took over the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii. This led to the 1898 annexation of Hawaii as a United States territory.

Tomb of Queen Kapiʻolani and her husband David (King Kalākaua); Credit – Wikipedia

Kapiʻolani lived out the remainder of her life at her private residence Pualeilani in Waikīkī, Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, where the Hyatt Regency Waikiki now stands. During the last two years of her life, Kapiʻolani suffered three strokes. She died, aged sixty-four, at her home on June 24, 1899. After a funeral at the Kawaiahaʻo Church in Honolulu officiated by the Anglican Bishop Alfred Willis, Kapiʻolani was buried in the Royal Mausoleum at Mauna ʻAla. Due to overcrowding, in 1907, the Territory of Hawaii allocated $20,000 for the construction of a separate underground vault for the Kalākaua family. Kapiʻolani’s coffin and the coffins of the Kalākaua family were transferred to the new underground Kalākaua Crypt in a ceremony on June 24, 1910, officiated by her sister-in-law, the former Queen Liliuokalani.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2024). Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/kalakaua-king-of-the-hawaiian-islands/
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Hawaiian Kingdom. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Kingdom
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Kalākaua. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kal%C4%81kaua
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2024a, January 6). Kapiʻolani. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapi%CA%BBolani
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Royal Mausoleum (Mauna ʻAla). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Mausoleum_(Mauna_%CA%BBAla)

April 15: Today in Royal History

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King Henry IV of England; Credit – Wikipedia

April 15, 1367 – Birth of King Henry IV of England at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, England
King Henry IV of England, who usurped the throne from his first cousin King Richard II of England, and became the first Lancaster king, was the eldest surviving son of John of Gaunt (third surviving son of King Edward III of England) and his first wife Blanche of Lancaster. In 1380, Henry married heiress Mary de Bohun. Henry and Mary had six children but Mary died giving birth to their last child at the age of 25. In 1403, Henry married Joan of Navarre. They had no children but Joan got along well with her stepchildren. During much of King Henry IV’s 13-year reign, he was occupied with war. While in prayer at the shrine of Edward the Confessor at Westminster Abbey, Henry suffered a fatal attack, possibly a stroke.  He was carried to the Jerusalem Chamber, a room in the house of the abbot, where he died at age 45. Henry was not buried at Westminster Abbey but instead requested that he be buried at Canterbury Cathedral, presumably because of an affinity towards St. Thomas Becket whose shrine was there.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry IV of England

April 15, 1646 – Birth of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway at Duborg Castle in Flensburg, Duchy of Schleswig, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein
In 1667, Christian married Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel and the couple had seven children. Upon his father’s death in 1670, Christian succeeded him as Christian V, King of Denmark and Norway. Christian’s major disappointment was his unsuccessful attempt in the Scanian War to regain Skåne, Halland, and Blekinge, which had been annexed by Sweden during his father’s reign. Christian introduced the 1683 Danish Code (Danske Lov), the first law code for all of Denmark. He also introduced a similar 1687 Norwegian Code (Norske Lov) to replace Christian IV’s 1604 Norwegian Code in Norway. During Christian’s reign, colonies were established in Africa and the Caribbean as part of the Danish triangle trade. The city of Charlotte Amalie, on the island of St. Thomas, is the capital and the largest city of the United States Virgin Islands and was named after Christian V’s wife. Christian suffered severe injuries in a hunting accident on October 19, 1698, and never recovered, dying on August 25, 1699, aged 53.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian V of Denmark and Norway

April 15, 1684 – Birth of Catherine I, Empress of All Russia, in Jakobstadt, Semigallia, Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, now Jēkabpils, Latvia.
Born Marta Helena Skowrońska, Catherine was the daughter of Samuil Skowroński, an ethnic Polish Roman Catholic peasant. She was the second wife of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia. Catherine and Peter had Catherine and Peter had twelve children, all of whom died in childhood except Anna, who died in childbirth at age 20, and Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia. Catherine became Empress in her own right after Peter’s death in 1725. During her short reign, Catherine was happy to leave the job of governing to her advisers. She was interested only in issues regarding the navy as Peter’s love for the sea had also touched her. Catherine’s health was adversely affected by living a difficult life, giving birth to twelve children, venereal disease that she contracted from Peter, and her heavy drinking after Peter’s death. 43-year-old Catherine died of tuberculosis in 1727.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine I, Empress of All Russia

April 15, 1719 – Death of Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, mistress and morganatic second wife of King Louis XIV of France, at Saint-Cyr-l’École, France; buried in the chapel at Maison royale de Saint-Louis in St-Cyrr-l’École, France
Françoise was first a mistress of King Louis XIV and became his morganatic second wife after the death of his first wife. She founded the Maison Royale de Saint-Louis, endowed by Louis XIV in Saint-Cyr, France. The Maison Royale was designed to be a school for girls from poorer noble families, much as Françoise had been in her childhood. Following Louis XIV’s death, Françoise retired to Saint-Cyr where she died and was buried in the school’s chapel.
Unofficial Royalty: Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon

April 15, 1729 – Death of Countess Maria Anna Katharina of Oettingen-Spielberg, the third of the four wives of Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein; buried at the Parish Church of St. Nicholas at Glogów, in Silesia, now in Poland. The church was destroyed in 1945 and the tomb was not preserved.
On August 3, 1716, in Vienna, Maria Anna married Josef Johann Adam. Josef Johann Adam and Maria Anna had five children including Josef Johann Adam’s successor Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein. Maria Anna died on April 15, 1729, at the age of 35.
Unofficial Royalty: The Four Wives of Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein

April 15, 1764 – Death of Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Madame de Pompadour, mistress and confidante of King Louis XV of France, in her apartments at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France; buried at the chapel of the Capuchin convent in Paris, France
Madame de Pompadour was the official mistress of King Louis XV of France from 1745 until 1750 and continued to serve as one of the King’s closest confidantes until her death.
Unofficial Royalty: Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Madame de Pompadour

April 15, 1776 – Death of Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia in childbirth, first wife of the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, in St. Petersburg, Russia; buried in the Annunciation Church at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg, Russia
The daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, in 1773, Wilhelmine married Grand Duke Paul Petrovich (the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia), the son and heir of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia. After her marriage, she was known as Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna. After two-plus years of marriage, Natalia became pregnant. Sadly, she died at the age of 20 after six days of agonizing labor. Her child, a son, also died.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia

April 15, 1883 – Death of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; buried in Schwerin Cathedral
At the age of 21, Friedrich Franz succeeded his father Paul Friedrich as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He married three times: to Princess Auguste of Reuss-Köstritz (six children), Princess Anna of Hesse and by Rhine (one daughter), and Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (four children including Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin who married Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands). During his reign, which lasted over 40 years, Friedrich Franz II oversaw numerous reforms in the Grand Duchy, including the improvement of the national hospital system, reform of the judicial system, and the state church. Against the interests of his own relatives in neighboring Mecklenburg-Strelitz, he issued a liberal constitution in 1849. While the constitution was repealed the following year, his efforts made him immensely popular amongst his people. Friedrich Franz II died in 1883 at the age of 61.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

April 15, 1953 – Death of Luise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg, former wife of the future Eduard, Duke of Anhalt, in Altenburg, Germany; buried in the Saxe-Altenburg Ducal Cemetery in Trockenborn-Wolfersdorf, Germany
In 1895, Luise Charlotte married the future Eduard, Duke of Anhalt and they had six children. Luise Charlotte and Eduard divorced on January 26, 1918, a few months before her husband became Duke of Anhalt. She spent her remaining years in Altenburg, Germany
Unofficial Royalty: Luise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg

April 15, 1960 – Birth of King Philippe of the Belgians, at Château de Belvédère in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Philippe Léopold Louis Marie
Philippe ascended to the Belgian throne on July 21, 2013, upon the abdication of his father King Albert II. On December 4, 1999, Philippe married Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz and the couple had four children. Philippe’s eldest child Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant will become the first female monarch of Belgian due to changes in the succession law in 1991.
Unofficial Royalty: King Philippe of the Belgians

April 15, 1969 – Death of Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain (Ena), born Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, wife of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, at Lausanne, Switzerland; originally buried at the Church of Sacré Coeur in Lausanne, France, reinterred in the Royal Vault in the Escorial near Madrid, Spain
Known as Queen Ena of Spain, she was the daughter of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom and Prince Henry of Battenberg. The current Spanish Royal Family are her descendants. In 1906, Ena married King Alfonso XIII of Spain. The couple had seven children and Ena passed on hemophilia to two of her sons. She threw herself into her new role as Queen and began working with charities that supported the poor, promoted education, and took a particular interest in nursing and hospital care. Following the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, the family went into exile and Ena and Alfonso soon went their separate ways. In February 1968, Ena returned to Spain for the first time since going into exile in 1931 to serve as godmother to her new great-grandson, the future King Felipe VI of Spain. After she returned to her home in Switzerland, and soon her health began to fail. Ena died, aged 87, at her home in Lausanne, Switzerland, surrounded by her family.
Unofficial Royalty: Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain

April 15, 1974 – Death of Princess Irene of Greece, Duchess of Aosta, daughter of King Constantine I of Greece, at her home in Fiesole, Italy; buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin, Italy
Irene was the daughter of King Constantine I of Greece and Princess Sophie of Prussia, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Irene and her sister Katherine served as bridesmaids for their cousin Princess Marina of Greece when she married Prince George, Duke of Kent in 1934.  In 1939, Irene married Prince Aimone of Savoy, 4th Duke of Aosta, and the couple had one son. After the fall of the Italian monarchy in 1946, Irene and her son escaped to Switzerland while Aimone fled to Argentina. The couple was effectively separated after this time, having spent little time together during the preceding years. Aimone died in Buenos Aires in 1948. Irene lived at Villa Domenico in Fiesole, Italy, near her sister Helen, who lived in Villa Sparta. Irene died in 1974, after a long illness, at her home in Fiesole, Italy.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Irene of Greece, Duchess of Aosta

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April 14: Today in Royal History

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Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom; Credit – Wikipedia

April 14, 1578 – Birth of King King Felipe III of Spain at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid in Madrid, Spain
Felipe III was the son of King Felipe II of Spain and his fourth wife and niece Anna of Austria. Felipe III had four siblings who all died in childhood. Felipe III’s elder half-brother Carlos, Prince of Asturias, who died ten years before Felipe III’s birth, had poor health, was deformed, and was mentally disabled. Many of his physical and mental disabilities may have stemmed from the inbreeding common in the Spanish House of Habsburg. Twenty-year-old Felipe III succeeded his father Felipe II in 1598. Besides being King of Spain, Felipe III was also King of Portugal, King of Sardinia, King of Naples, King of Sicily, and Duke of Milan.
Unofficial Royalty: King Felipe III of Spain

April 14, 1578 – Death of James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, after ten years of imprisonment in Dragsholm Castle in Denmark;  allegedly buried at Fårevejle Church in Denmark
Bothwell was one of those accused of murdering Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Mary, Queen of Scots’ second husband. Darnley’s relatives demanded vengeance and charges were brought against Bothwell. On the day of the trial, Bothwell rode magnificently through Edinburgh to the trial flanked by nobles and members of the Hepburn family. The trial lasted for seven hours. Bothwell was acquitted and it was widely rumored that he would marry Mary. Mary and Bothwell were married on May 15, 1567. The marriage angered many Scottish nobles who raised an army against Mary and Bothwell. After the downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots, Bothwell was forced to flee Scotland for Norway where he was detained because he did not have the proper papers. His detainment turned into imprisonment because of an alleged jilted Danish bride years ago. King Frederik II of Denmark and Norway kept Bothwell as a political pawn. After realizing that Mary would never again be Queen of Scots and that Bothwell was politically insignificant, King Frederik II transferred him to Dragsholm Castle where he was kept in appalling conditions. A pillar to which he was chained for the last ten years of his life can still be seen, with a circular groove on the floor around it. A body, allegedly said to be Bothwell’s, was buried at Fårevejle Church, nearby the castle. Bothwell’s ghost is said to haunt the castle, riding through the courtyard with a horse and carriage.
Unofficial Royalty: James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell

April 14, 1711 – Death of Louis of France, Le Grand Dauphin, eldest son and heir of King Louis XIV of France, at the Château de Meudon in France; buried at the Basilica of St. Denis near Paris, France
Louis of France was the only child of King Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Spain to survive childhood but he predeceased his father and never became king. He caught smallpox, apparently from a priest who was distributing Holy Communion after he had visited a smallpox victim. As Louis had always been healthy and robust, his illness shocked the people of Paris, the French court, and the royal family. His son Louis, who had been styled Le Petit Dauphin, became the heir to the throne but in less than a year, he too was dead from measles.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis of France, Le Grand Dauphin

April 14, 1765 – Birth of Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, Duchess of Zweibrücken, first wife of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria, in Darmstadt, Landgraviate of Hesse- Darmstadt, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Marie Auguste Wilhelmine
Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt was the first wife of the future Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria. 31-year-old Augusta Wilhelmine weakened from five pregnancies and the travails of war died from pulmonary tuberculosis. Although she died before her husband became King of Bavaria, she was the mother of his successor King Ludwig I of Bavaria.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, Duchess of Zweibrücken

April 14, 1818 – Birth of Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, Queen of Hanover, wife of King George V of Hanover, in Hildburghausen, Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen, now in the German state of Thuringia
Full name: Alexandrine Marie Wilhelmine Katharine Charlotte Theresia Henriette Luise Pauline Elisabeth Friederike Georgine
Marie was the eldest daughter of the six daughters of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Amalie of Württemberg. In 1843, she married the future and last King of Hanover, George V, and they had three children. George succeeded his father in 1851 but reigned for only 15 years, being exiled from Hanover as a result of his support for Austria in the Austro-Prussian War. In 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia. George never abdicated from the throne of Hanover and he and Marie lived in exile at Gmunden, Austria. After George’s death, Marie continued living in the Villa Thun in Gmunden which became known as the Queen’s Villa and is still owned by the House of Hanover. Through her son Ernst Augustus, Marie is the ancestor of former King Constantine I of Greece, his sister Queen Sofia of Spain, Sofia’s son King Felipe VI of Spain, and Prince Ernst Augustus of Hanover (third husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco).
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, Queen of Hanover

April 14, 1857 – Birth of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Beatrice Mary Victoria
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 that 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

April 14, 1867 – Birth of Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein, grandson of Queen Victoria, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Full name: Christian Victor Albert Ludwig Ernst Anton
Christian was the son of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1888, Christian joined the British Army reaching the rank of Major. In 1899, Christian began duty in the Boer War fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics. At the age of 33, Christian died of enteric fever during the Boer War in South Africa, having fallen ill with malaria. Although preparations were made to return his body to the United Kingdom, he was buried in a soldier’s grave in Pretoria, now in South Africa, at the wishes of his grandmother Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein

April 14, 1874 – Birth of Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, husband of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Alice of Albany, at Kensington Palace in London, England
Full name: Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George
Born Prince Alexander of Teck, and called Alge, his mother was Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a male-line granddaughter of King George III and a first cousin of Queen Victoria.  His sister was Queen Mary, wife of King George V. In 1904, Alge married Princess Alice of Albany, the daughter of Queen Victoria’s hemophiliac son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. Alice and Alge had two surviving children, a son Rupert and a daughter May. In 1928, 20-year-old Rupert died from an injury received in a car accident which he probably would have recovered from had he not been a hemophiliac. Upon the orders of King George V, during World War I, Alge and other royal family members relinquished the use of all German titles and dignities. Alge became Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone. From 1924 to 1930, Alge was the Governor-General of South Africa and he was the Governor-General of Canada from 1940-1946. In 1946, Alge retired and he and Alice took a grace and favor apartment at Kensington Palace in London. Alge died on January 16, 1957, at Kensington Palace at the age of 82. His wife Alice survived him by 24 years, dying on January 3, 1981, one month short of her 98th birthday, the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone

April 14, 1906 – Birth of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, then in the Emirate of Nejd and Hasa, now the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
King of Saudi Arabia from 1964-1975, King Faisal was shot and killed by his nephew Prince Faisal bin Musaid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at a majlis, an event where the king opens up his residence to the citizens to enter and petition the king.  A sharia court found Prince Faisal bin Musaid guilty of King Faisal’s murder and he was publicly beheaded hours later.
Unofficial Royalty: King Faisal of Saudi Arabia
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia (1975)

April 14, 1940 – Birth of Princess Marie of Liechtenstein, wife of Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, born Countess Marie Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau in Prague, Czechoslovakia, now in the Czech Republic
Full name: Marie Aglaë Bonaventura Theresia
In 1967, Marie married her second cousin, once removed, Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein and they had four children. In November 1989, Hans-Adam succeeded his father as the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. Princess Marie was involved in many organizations within Liechtenstein, with her focus being on education, culture, and the arts. After suffering a stroke three days earlier, Princess Marie died at a hospital in Grabs, Switzerland on August 21, 2021, at the age of 81.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marie of Liechtenstein

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Royal Birthdays & Anniversaries: April 14 – April 20

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Below is a select list of birthdays and wedding anniversaries for current monarchies. It does not purport to be a complete list. Please see the Current Monarchies Index in the heading above for more information on current monarchies.

Philippe, King of the Belgians; © SPF Chancellerie du Premier Ministre – Direction générale Communication externe

64th birthday of Philippe, King of the Belgians; born at Château de Belvédère in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium on April 15, 1960
Full name: Philippe Léopold Louis Marie
Unofficial Royalty: Philippe, King of the Belgians

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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

84th birthday of former Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; born at Frederik VIII’s Palace at the Amalienborg palace complex in Copenhagen, Denmark on April 16, 1940
Full name: Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

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Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

69th birthday of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; born at Betzdorf Castle in Betzdorf, Luxembourg on April 16, 1955
Full name: Henri Albert Gabriel Felix Marie Guillaume
Unofficial Royalty: Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

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Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg: Credit – © Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue

32nd birthday of Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; born at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg on April 16, 1992
Full name: Sébastien Henri Marie Guillaume
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg

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Princess Eléonore of Belgium with her mother Queen Mathilde

16th birthday of Princess Eléonore of Belgium, daughter of King Philippe of the Belgians; born at the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht, Belgium on April 16, 2008
Full name: Eléonore Fabiola Victoria Anne Marie
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Eléonore of Belgium

Sayako Kuroda at a ceremony at the Ise Shrine; Credit – https://imperialfamilyjapan.wordpress.com

55th birthday of Sayako Kuroda, daughter of Emperor Akihito of Japan; born Princess Sayako of Japan in Tokyo, Japan on April 18, 1969
At the time of Princess Sayako’s marriage in 2005, she left the Imperial Family and took the surname of her husband as required by Imperial Household Law.
Unofficial Royalty: Sayako Kuroda

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Prince Lerotholi Seeiso of Lesotho; Credit – https://africanroyalfamilies.blogspot.com/

17th birthday of Prince Lerotholi Seeiso of Lesotho, son and heir apparent of King Letsie III of Lesotho, in Maseru, Lesotho on April 18, 2007
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Lerotholi Seeiso of Lesotho

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King Mswati of Swaziland; Credit – Wikipedia

56th birthday of King Mswati III of Swaziland; born at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital in Manzini, Swaziland on April 19, 1968
Unofficial Royalty: King Mswati III of Swaziland

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