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Amalia of Oldenburg, wife of King Otto of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

December 21, 1657 – Birth of Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, mistress of King James II of England
Catherine’s father Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet of Ailesford, was among the close circle of King Charles II, brother of the future King James II, and this enabled his family to have access to the royal court. Catherine caught the eye of James and became his mistress before she was sixteen years old. Catherine and James had one daughter and two sons but both sons died in infancy. When James became King James II of England. Catherine’s yearly pension was doubled to £4,000 and she was created Countess of Dorchester and Baroness of Darlington in her own right for life. After James II lost his throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and fled to France, Catherine remained in England. Catherine’s pension stopped and the grants of Irish land James II had given her were called into question. However, she may have acted as a double agent for William III who gave her a pension. In 1696, Catherine married Sir David Colyear (1656 – 1730), Lieutenant-General of the Scots Brigade, and they had two sons.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, mistress of King James II of England

December 21, 1750 – Death of Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, wife of Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, in Vienna, Austria, on December 21, 1750; in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna
Elisabeth Christine was the eldest of the four children, all daughters, of Ludwig Rudolf, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In 1708, she married the future Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Elisabeth Christine and Karl had one son who died in infancy and three daughters, with one dying in childhood. including Maria Theresa of Austria, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia because she succeeded to her father’s Habsburg hereditary lands. In 1740, at the age of 55, Elisabeth Christine’s husband Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor died after a ten-day illness. His symptoms were typical of death cap mushroom poisoning but the definitive cause of Karl’s death remains unknown. Elisabeth Christine survived her husband by ten years, dying, aged 59, in Vienna, Austria, on December 21, 1750.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress

December 21, 1800 – Birth of Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, first wife of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, mother of Prince Albert, in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Luise Pauline Charlotte Friederike Auguste
The mother of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, Louise was the only child of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and his first wife Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Louise’s mother never recovered from childbirth and died eleven days after Louise was born at the age of 21. In 1817, Louise married the then Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha). The couple had two sons, Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Although the marriage was initially happy, the couple soon grew apart due to Ernst’s infidelities. In 1823, Louise had an affair with Gottfried von Bülow, the court chamberlain, and in 1824, she had an affair with Alexander von Hanstein, one of her husband’s equerries. Louise was forced to go into exile and permanently cut off from her children. She suffered greatly due to her separation from her two sons. Images of her sons and visitation rights were denied to her. Ernst and Louise were divorced in 1826. Louise’s lover, Freiherr (Baron) Alexander von Hanstein followed her into exile and the couple married in 1826. In 1831, Louise was diagnosed with incurable cervical cancer Louise and died at the age of 30.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

December 21, 1818 – Birth of Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece, wife of King Otto of Greece, in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Luise Pauline Charlotte Friederike Auguste
Amalia was the daughter of Duke Augustus of Oldenburg (later Grand Duke of Oldenburg) and his first wife Princess Adelheid of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. In 1836, Amalia married King Otto I of Greece but their marriage remained childless. King Otto had been born Prince Otto of Bavaria of the Wittelsbach dynasty, the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. In 1833, Otto had been appointed king of the newly created Kingdom of Greece. Amalia wisely realized that her style of dress should emulate the style of the Greek people. She created a “romantic folksy court dress” which became the Greek national costume. In 1862, a coup took place, and Otto was overthrown. Otto and Amalia left Greece for Bavaria aboard a British warship. They lived at the Neue Residenz in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria for the remainder of their lives.
Unofficial Royalty: Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece

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Prince George of the United Kingdom (Duke of Kent) on the right with his brother Prince John; Credit – Wikipedia

December 20, 1537 – Birth of King Johan III of Sweden at Stegeborg Castle in Söderköping, Sweden
Johan was the eldest of the ten children of King Gustav I Vasa of Sweden and his second wife Margareta Leijonhufvud. In 1569, he became King of Sweden after a rebellion against his mentally ill half-brother King Eric XIV of Sweden.  Johan married Katarina Jagellonica of Poland and the couple had three children. During his reign, Johan III carried out extensive building projects. He participated personally in the planning of various buildings and provided his own architectural drawings. In 1570, Johan III ended the Nordic Seven Years War with Denmark and Sweden, a war his half-brother Erik had started. During the following years, Johan successfully fought Russia in the Livonian War and made a peace treaty with Russia. After the death of his first wife, Johan married Gunilla Bielke and they had one son. After a reign of twenty-three years, Johan died at the age of 54.
Unofficial Royalty: King Johan III of Sweden

December 20, 1765 – Death of Louis, Dauphin of France, son of King Louis XV of France, at the Château de Fontainebleau in France; buried at the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, France
Louis, Dauphin of France was the elder son and heir apparent of his father Louis XV, King of France. Unfortunately, like several other Dauphins that preceded him, Louis died prematurely and never became King of France. After the death of his first wife Maria Teresa Rafaela, Infanta of Spain, Louis married Maria Josepha of Saxony. They had eight children including three Kings of France: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. Louis died of tuberculosis at the Château de Fontainebleau in France on December 20, 1765, at the age of 36.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis, Dauphin of France

December 20, 1784 – Birth of Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe in Bückeburg, County of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany
In 1787, two months after his second birthday, Georg Wilhelm became the reigning Count of Schaumberg-Lippe upon the death of his 64-year-old father. In 1807, after joining the Confederation of the Rhine, sixteen German states joined together in a confederation formed by Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, the County of Schaumberg-Lippe was raised to the Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe and Georg Wilhelm became its first reigning prince. In 1816, Georg Wilhelm married Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont and the couple had nine children. During the Revolutions of 1848, when there were demands for more participation in government and democracy, Georg Wilhelm gave in to some liberal demands but then changed to a more reactionary course in 1849 by abolishing the new constitution without restoring the old one. George Wilhelm died at the age of 75.
Unofficial Royalty: Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe

December 20, 1902 – Birth of Prince George, Duke of Kent, son of King George V of the United Kingdom, at York Cottage, Sandringham in Norfolk, England
Full name: George Edward Alexander Edmund
In 1934, George married Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark. They were both great-grandchildren of King Christian IX of Denmark and therefore, second cousins. This would be the last time a foreign princess married into the British Royal Family. George and Marina had three children, the first cousins of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom: Prince Edward who succeeded his father as Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Michael. Sadly, just six weeks after the birth of Prince Michael, Prince George was killed when his military plane crashed in Scotland.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince George, Duke of Kent

December 20, 1904 – Death of Alexandrine of Baden, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, wife of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, at Schloss Callenberg in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in the Glockenberg Cemetery in Coburg
Alexandrine was the eldest of the eight children of Leopold I, Grand Duke of Baden and Princess Sophie of Sweden. In 1842, she married the future Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the elder brother of Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert. Prior to the marriage, Ernst was suffering from a venereal disease as a result of his many affairs. He had been warned that continued promiscuity could leave him unable to father children. Ernst had at least three illegitimate children, but his marriage was childless, perhaps due to Ernst passing the venereal disease to Alexandrine causing her to become infertile. Alexandrine was loyal and devoted to her husband despite his infidelities, and believed that their lack of children was her fault. In 1844, Ernst’s father died and he became Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernst was not well-loved by his people, but Alexandrine was. She supported many charities including the Ernst Foundation for needy students. Alexandrine survived her husband by eleven years, dying at the age of 84.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandrine of Baden, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

December 20, 1963 – Birth of Infanta Elena of Spain, daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain, at Our Lady of Loreto Clinic in Madrid, Spain
Full name: Elena María Isabel Dominica de los Silos de Borbón y de Grecia
Infanta Elena is the eldest of the three children of King Juan Carlos of Spain. In 1995, Elena married Jaime de Marichalar y Sáenz de Tejada. The couple had two children before divorcing in 2010. During the reign of her father, Elena often represented the monarchy at functions both within Spain and abroad. However, since the accession of her brother King Felipe VI, she and her sister Infanta Cristina no longer take on any official duties.
Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Elena of Spain

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Louise of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

December 19, 1554 – Birth of Filips Willem, Prince of Orange in Buren, Guelders, now part of the Netherlands, then part of the Habsburg Netherlands
Filips Willem was the only son of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange and the first of his four wives Anna van Egmont. In 1568, Willem I, Filips Willem’s father, became the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs who held the land that we now know as the Netherlands and Belgium. That set off the Eighty Years’ War and resulted in the formal independence of the Dutch Republic in 1581. Angered by Willem I’s revolt, King Philip II of Spain arranged for 13-year-old Filips Willem to be kidnapped and taken to Spain, partly as a hostage, but also to be raised as a Catholic and a loyal subject to Spain. Filips Willem never saw his father again. In 1584, Balthasar Gérard, a subject and supporter of Philip II, assassinated Willem I. Filips Willem became Prince of Orange, however, he was not allowed to return to his homeland because he was not trusted and was considered an agent of Spain. In 1596, 28 years after he was kidnapped, Filips Willem returned to the Netherlands and lived at the Palace of Nassau in Brussels. At the request of the States-General (the legislature), he did not engage in political affairs.
Unofficial Royalty: Filips Willem, Prince of Orange

December 19, 1594 – Birth of King Gustavus II Adolphus the Great of Sweden  at Castle Tre Kronor in Stockholm, Sweden
Also known as Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden, he was officially given the name Gustavus Adolphus the Great by the Riksdag of the Estates, the legislature, in 1634, two years after his death in battle. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and made Sweden a great power that would result in it becoming one of Europe’s largest and leading nations during the early modern period. He became King of Sweden at the age of sixteen when his father Karl IX, King of Sweden died in 1611. In 1620, Gustavus Adoplphus married Maria Eleonora left Brandenburg. Their only surviving child was Christina who succeeded her father as reigning Queen of Sweden. The Thirty Years’ War was a conflict fought mostly within the Holy Roman Empire, mainly in present-day Germany, from 1618 to 1648. Although it started as a religious war (Protestant nations against Catholic nations), it developed into a territorial war. Before Gustavus Adolphus left to lead the Swedish army in the Thirty Years’ War, he secured his daughter Christina’s right to inherit the throne, in case he never returned and gave orders that Christina should receive an education normally given to only boys. Gustavus Adolphus died, aged 37, during the Battle of Lützen on November 16, 1632.
Unofficial Royalty: King Gustavus II Adolphus the Great of Sweden

December 19, 1683 – Birth of King Felipe V of Spain, the first Bourbon King of Spain, born as Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou; son of Louis of France, Le Grand Dauphin and grandson of King Louis XIV of France, at the Palace of Versailles in France
In 1700, Carlos II, King of Spain died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Philippe’s father Louis, Le Grand Dauphin had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain because his mother Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain had been the half-sister of Carlos II. However, neither Philippe’s father nor his elder brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, Carlos II, King of Spain, in his will, named 16-year-old Philippe of Anjou, Duke of Anjou as his successor. Felipe and his first wife Maria Luisa of Savoy had four sons but only two survived childhood, they both became Kings of Spain and they both had childless marriages. With his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Felipe had six children including King Carlos III. Felipe suffered from mental instability and as he grew older, his mental issues worsened and his wife Elisabeth became the de facto ruler of Spain. Only the singing of the Italian castrato opera singer Farinelli (born Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi) brought any peace to Felipe. Farinelli would sing eight or nine arias for the king and queen every night, usually with a trio of musicians.
Unofficial Royalty: King Felipe V of Spain

December 19, 1751 – Death of Princess Louise of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway, daughter of King George II of Great Britain, wife of King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway, at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
In 1743, 19-year-old Louisa married the future King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway, the son and heir of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway.  King Christian hoped that this marriage would cause the British government to support his or his son’s claim to the Swedish throne.  Furthermore, the Danish government hoped (incorrectly) that marriage would put a damper on Crown Prince Frederik’s affairs and drunkenness.  The couple had five children, got along reasonably well and although Frederik continued his affairs, Louisa pretended not to notice them. Louisa’s husband succeeded his father as King Frederik V in 1746, but sadly Louisa died only five years later at the age of 27. While pregnant with her sixth child, Louise died due to complications from a miscarriage, a day after her 27th birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Louise of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark

December 19, 1778 – Birth of Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France, daughter of King Louis XVI and wife of Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême (Legitimist pretender), at the Palace of Versailles in France
Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte was the only one in her family to survive imprisonment in the Temple, the remains of a medieval fortress in Paris, during the French Revolution. She married her first cousin Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, the son of her father’s younger brother, the future King Charles X of France. The couple had no children. After the end of the Bourbon Restoration in 1830, once again, Marie-Thérèse lived in exile, this time with the former King Charles X, her uncle and her father-in-law, and her husband Louis-Antoine. The exiles ultimately moved to the estate of Count Johann Baptist Coronini near Gorizia, which was in Austria but now in Italy. After the death of her husband, Marie-Thérèse moved to the Schloss Frohsdorf, just outside Vienna, Austria where she spent her days taking walks, reading, sewing, and praying. There she died from pneumonia at the age of 72.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France, Duchess of Angoulême

Lady Mary Fox was born Mary FitzClarence, the fourth of the ten children and the second of the five daughters of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, on December 19, 1798, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

December 19, 1814 – Birth of Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, second wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Palermo, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now Italy
Maria Antonia was the daughter of Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. In 1833, she became the second wife of her first cousin Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Saxony. They had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV. In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Tuscany permanently because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The family settled in the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ruled by Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives.  After her husband’s death in 1879, Maria Antonia mostly lived at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, a town on the Traunsee, a lake in Austria.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

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Queen Christina of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

December 18, 1075 – Death of Edith of Wessex, Queen Consort of Edward the Confessor, King of England, at St. Mary’s Abbey in Winchester, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Edith was the daughter of Godwin, Earl of Wessex one of the most powerful earls in England. In 1045, Edith married Edward the Confessor, King of England. The marriage was childless and Edward, who was about twenty years older than Edith, treated her with great respect and endowed her with valuable property all over England. It is possible that Edward had a series of strokes in 1065. He was too ill to attend the dedication of his greatest achievement Westminster Abbey and so Edith represented him. Edward the Confessor died several days later, on January 5, 1066. Edith’s brother Harold Godwinson was elected by The Witan to succeed Edward as King Harold II. Apparently, Edward the Confessor had named William II, Duke of Normandy his successor and so William invaded England.  He won the English crown by conquest at the Battle of Hastings in which Edith’s brothers Harold,  Gyrth, and Leofwine were killed. The new King William I of England treated Edith with great respect and although she lost some of her dower lands, she remained an important landowner. Edith died at around the age of 50, apparently from a disease that she had suffered from for some time.
Unofficial Royalty: Edith of Wessex, Queen of England

December 18, 1574 – Birth of Maria Anna of Bavaria, Archduchess of Inner Austria, 1st wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, in Munich, Duchy of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria
Maria Anna of Bavaria was the first wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. She died before her husband became King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and Holy Roman Emperor, so she held only the title Archduchess of Inner Austria. Maria Anna and Ferdinand had seven children but only four survived childhood. Maria Anna was ill for a long time before she died on March 8, 1616, at the age of forty-one, in Graz, Inner Austria, now in Austria.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Anna of Bavaria, Archduchess of Inner Austria

December 18, 1577 – Death of Anna of Saxony, the divorced second wife of Willem I, Prince of Orange, at the Palace of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, where she was imprisoned because of adultery; buried in the Meissen Cathedral in the Electorate of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany, in a nameless tomb near her ancestors
Three years after the death of his first wife, Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange married Anna of Saxony. The marriage was not happy and Anna and Willem often lived apart. In early 1571, Anna realized she was pregnant. She was accused of adultery, later admitted adultery, and was forced to agree to a divorce. In 1572, Anna was sent to her family in Saxony where they imprisoned her as an adulteress. The windows of her room were walled up and fitted with additional iron bars. A square hole was made in the door through which food and drink were given to her. An iron gate was installed on the outside of the door prohibiting any attempt to escape. Anna died shortly before her 33rd birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna of Saxony, Princess of Orange

December 18, 1626 – Birth of Queen Christina of Sweden at Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm, Sweden
Considered one of the most learned women of the 17th century, Queen Christina is remembered for refusing to marry, abdicating her throne, converting to Roman Catholicism, living the rest of her life in Rome, and being one of only three women to be interred in the crypt at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Christina is one of three women who have been reigning queens of Sweden. She was the only surviving child of Gustavus II Adolphus the Great, King of Sweden, and succeeded him upon his death when she was only six years old. Born a Lutheran, Christina wanted to convert to Roman Catholicism. Christina’s wish to convert to Roman Catholicism was not the only reason for her abdication. After reigning for twenty years and working at least ten hours a day, Christina had what may be interpreted as a nervous breakdown, or perhaps in more modern terms, she was burned out. She abdicated in 1654 in favor of her cousin Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden, and within a few days, 28-year-old Christina left Sweden. She eventually settled in Rome where she played a prominent role in Rome’s cultural life.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Christina of Sweden

December 18, 1724 – Birth of Louisa of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark, daughter of King George II of Great Britain and wife of King Frederik V of Denmark, at Leicester House in London, England
In 1743, 19-year-old Louisa married the future King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway, the son and heir of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway.  King Christian hoped that this marriage would cause the British government to support his or his son’s claim to the Swedish throne.  Furthermore, the Danish government hoped (incorrectly) that marriage would put a damper on Crown Prince Frederik’s affairs and drunkenness.  The couple had five children, got along reasonably well and although Frederik continued his affairs, Louisa pretended not to notice them. Louisa was popular with the Danish people and was interested in music, dance, and theater. The Danish people greatly appreciated Louisa’s efforts to learn and speak Danish and her insistence that her children learn Danish, a rarity in an almost German-language Danish court.
Unofficial Royalty: Louisa of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark

December 18, 1863 – Birth of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I, in Graz, Austria
Full name: Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria
Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Archduke Karl Ludwig’s elder brothers were Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and Maximilian, the executed Emperor of Mexico. Franz Ferdinand’s life changed when his first cousin Crown Prince Rudolf died by suicide in 1889. Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, had no sons, so the succession would pass to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Archduke Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Archduke Franz Ferdinand. When Karl Ludwig died in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir to his uncle’s throne. Franz Ferdinand fell in love with Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin. Because Sophie was not a member of a reigning or formerly reigning family, she could not marry a member of the Imperial Family. Emperor Franz Joseph finally agreed to the marriage with the stipulations that Franz Ferdinand would keep his place in the succession, Sophie could never be empress and their children would never have succession rights. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie married in 1900 and had three children.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Heir to the Throne of Austria-Hungary

December 18, 1941 – Birth of Prince William of Gloucester, son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England
Full name: William Henry Andrew Frederick
Prince William was the elder of the two sons of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V, and  Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott. William attended Magdalene College, Cambridge to read history, graduating with a BA degree in 1963, which was raised to an MA degree in 1968. Following Cambridge, he spent a year at Stanford University in California studying political science, American history, and business. He worked for Lazard, an investment bank, and in the British diplomatic service in Lagos, Nigeria as the third secretary at the British High Commission, and in Tokyo, Japan as the second secretary in the British Embassy. Prince William was a licensed pilot, owned several airplanes, and enjoyed competing in air shows. On August 28, 1972, William planned on competing at the Goodyear International Air Trophy races at Halfpenny Green, near Wolverhampton, England. Sadly, William was killed when his plane crashed during the competition.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince William of Gloucester

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Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

December 17, 1732 – Death of Prince Josef Johann Adam of Liechtenstein in Valtice, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic; buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic.
Josef Johann Adam became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein upon the death of his father Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein on October 11, 1721.  He married four times and had a total of eight children but only two children, including his successor Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein, survived childhood. Josef Johann Adam died, aged 42, on December 17, 1732.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Josef Johann Adam of Liechtenstein

December 17, 1734 – Birth of Maria I, Queen of Portugal at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: Maria Francisca Isabel Josefa Antonia Gertrudes Rita Joana
The first of the two Queen Regnants of Portugal, Maria was the eldest of the four children and the eldest of the four daughters of José I, King of Portugal. It was inevitable that Maria would become the reigning Queen of Portugal. However, since female succession to the throne of Portugal had never happened before, her father decided that Maria would marry his younger brother Infante Pedro of Portugal, the first male in the line of succession. In 1760, 25-year-old Maria married her 42-year-old paternal uncle Pedro. Maria and Pedro had six children. Maria is considered to have been a good ruler in the period before her mental instability, which was first noticed in 1786 when she had to be carried back to her apartments in a state of delirium. Her mental instability continued to worsen. The deaths of her husband Pedro in 1786, her eldest son and heir José in 1788, and her confessor Inácio de São Caetano, Archbishop of Salonica in 1788 may have caused major depressive disorder. Her second son João, now heir to the throne then served as prince regent.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria I, Queen of Portugal

December 17, 1800 – Birth of Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Bernhard Erich Freund
Bernhard was the only son of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and the younger brother of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen who married King William IV of the United Kingdom.  In 1803, three-year-old Bernhard became Duke of Saxe-Meiningen upon the death of his father. In 1825, Bernhard married Princess Marie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel and the couple had two children. Although he had earlier aligned himself with Prussia, in the mid-1860s, Bernhard instead sided with Austria during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Following Austria’s defeat, the Prussians forced Bernhard to abdicate on September 20, 1866, in favor of his son, Georg II. Now the former Duke, Bernhard took up residence at the Great Palace in Meiningen, previously built as a dower home for his mother. He died there at the age of 81.
Unofficial Royalty: Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

December 17, 1802 – Birth of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria in Vienna, Austria
Archduke Franz Karl was the son of Emperor Franz I of Austria, the father of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, the grandfather of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination led to World War I, and the great-grandfather of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria. In 1824, Franz Karl married 1824, Franz Karl married Princess Sophie of Bavaria, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and the couple had five children. Franz Karl had no ambitions of power and had never been interested in politics, the exact opposite of his wife Sophie. Sophie’s biggest ambition was to place her oldest son Franz Joseph on the Austrian throne. During the Revolutions of 1848, she persuaded her husband to give up his rights to the throne in favor of their son Franz Joseph, and on December 2, 1848, Franz Karl’s mentally incapacitated brother Emperor Ferdinand abdicated the throne in favor of his 18-year-old nephew Franz Joseph.
Full name: Franz Karl Joseph
Unofficial Royalty: Archduke Franz Karl of Austria

December 17, 1847 – Death of Marie Louise of Austria, Empress of France, second wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, at Parma, Duchy of Parma, now in Italy; buried at the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche in Vienna, Austria
Archduchess Maria Ludovica of Austria was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla in her own right. Because his wife Josephine had not provided him with an heir, French Emperor Napoleon was searching for a new bride who could bear him an heir and set his sights on the leading royal families of Europe. After Napoleon divorced his first wife, Maria Ludovica married him married in 1810, became Empress of the French and Queen of Italy, and took the French version of her name, Marie Louise. The couple did have one child, a son, who died at the age of 23. After Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and his exile to Saint Helena in 1815, Marie Louise had no further contact with him. Marie Louise married two more times and had three children with her second husband. As Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise supported many causes, with much of her efforts going toward improving medical care and treatment. She established a childbirth hospital and a training school for nurses, as well as a hospital for those with mental illness. In early December 1847, Maria Louise fell ill with pleurisy and her condition quickly worsened. She died at the age of 56.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie Louise of Austria, Empress of France

December 17, 1860 – Death of Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden, wife of King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden, at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in Sweden; buried at Riddarholm Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Désirée was the youngest of the nine children of François Clary, a wealthy French merchant. Through Désirée and her sister Julie, their parents are the ancestors of the royal families of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden. Désirée became engaged to Napoleon Bonaparte in April 1795, but Napoleon soon became involved with Joséphine de Beauharnais and the engagement ended in September 1795. In 1798, she married Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, a noted French general and future King of Sweden and Norway. They had one son, born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte, later King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway. In August 1810, Désirée’s husband was elected Crown Prince of Sweden and Norway to succeed the childless King Carl XIII of Sweden and Norway. Not wanting to leave Paris, Désirée did not initially accompany her husband to Sweden. When she eventually did go to Sweden, she did not like it at all and returned to Paris. In 1818, King Carl XIII of Sweden died, and Désirée’s husband ascended the thrones of Sweden and Norway as King Carl XIV Johan. However, Désirée, now known as Queen Desideria, would not return to Sweden until 1823. Although she planned to make just a temporary visit, Désirée would instead remain in Sweden for the rest of her life and died there at the age of 83.
Unofficial Royalty: Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden

December 17, 1887 – Birth of Hermine Reuss of Greiz, (titular) German Empress, Queen of Prussia, second wife of Wilhelm II, former German Emperor and King of Prussia, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, German Empire, now in Thuringia, Germany
Hermine was a widow with five children when one of Hermine’s sons sent birthday wishes to Wilhelm II, formerly German Emperor, living in exile at Huis Doorn in Doorn, the Netherlands, who then invited the boy and his mother to Doorn. Wilhelm found Hermine very attractive and greatly enjoyed her company. Having both been recently widowed, the two had much in common. Wilhelm was determined to marry Hermine despite objections from his children. 63-year-old Wilhelm and 34-year-old Hermine married on November 5, 1922, in Doorn. Although Wilhelm had abdicated, he continued to use his royal styles and titles and therefore Hermine was styled Her Imperial Majesty The German Empress, Queen of Prussia. Hermine returned to Germany after Wilhelm’s death in 1941. After World War II, Hermine was held under house arrest at Frankfurt an der Oder in the Soviet Zone of Germany. She died at Paulinenhof, a Soviet internment camp near Brandenburg, Germany. She was buried at the Temple of Antiquities in Potsdam, Germany where Wilhelm’s first wife, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, and several other family members are also buried.
Unofficial Royalty: Hermine Reuss of Greiz, German Empress, Queen of Prussia

December 17, 1890 – Birth of Prince Joachim of Prussia, son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Joachim Franz Humbert
In 1916, Joachim married Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt and the couple had one son. After World War I and the fall of the German Empire, Joachim and Marie-Auguste divorced. Prince Joachim struggled to accept his status as a commoner and became greatly depressed. On the evening of July 18, 1920, he shot himself with a revolver at Villa Leignitz in Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, Germany. He was found by his elder brother August Wilhelm and taken to the Saint Joseph Hospital in Potsdam, where he died the following day.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Joachim of Prussia

December 17, 1909 – Death of King Leopold II of the Belgians at Laeken, Belgium; buried at Royal Vault at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Leopold II was the second-born but first surviving child of King Leopold I of the Belgians. His father was formerly Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, uncle of both Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and so Leopold II was the first cousin of both Victoria and Albert. In 1853, he married Marie Henriette of Austria. They had three daughters and one son who died young. The marriage was not a happy one, and the couple lived mostly separate lives. After the death of their only son, Leopold and Marie Henriette tried to have another son, but the result was another daughter Clémentine. The couple completely separated after the birth of Clémentine. Leopold II was the second monarch of Belgium and is known for his exploitation of the Congo Free State for his personal gain and the horrendous atrocities committed against the native people. When Leopold II died at the age of 74, he was so unpopular with the Belgian people that his funeral procession was booed.
Unofficial Royalty: King Leopold II of the Belgians

December 17, 2007 – Birth of James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex, son of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, England
Full name: James Alexander Philip Theo
As the eldest son of a Duke, James uses his father’s subsidiary title, Earl of Wessex. Under the terms of King George V’s Letters Patent of 1917, as grandchildren of the sovereign in the male line, they are Prince and Princess of the United Kingdom, with the style of Royal Highness. However, at the time of Edward and Sophie’s marriage, a press release was issued from Buckingham Palace. Along with announcing Prince Edward’s new title as Earl of Wessex, it stated that Queen Elizabeth II, with the agreement of Edward and Sophie, had decided that any children born to them should not be given the style of Royal Highness, but instead be given courtesy titles as children of a peer. In 2023, when his father was granted the title Duke of Edinburgh, James began to use his father’s secondary title Earl of Wessex.
Unofficial Royalty: James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex

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