© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Éléonore de Bourbon-Condé, Princess of Orange Credit – Wikipedia

January 20, 1612 – Death of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Margrave of Moravia, at Prague Castle in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic; buried at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague
Rudolf never married. In 1568, as part of the Habsburg marriage policy, sixteen-year-old Rudolf had been betrothed to his first cousin, two-year-old Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, the daughter of Rudolf’s maternal uncle King Felipe II of Spain. Isabella Clara Eugenia had to wait for more than twenty years before Rudolf declared that he had no intention of marrying anybody. In 1572, Rudolf’s father Maximilian II passed the crown of Hungary to his son, and in 1575, Rudolf was also granted the crown of Bohemia and the Habsburg hereditary territories. Rudolf was elected King of the Romans in 1575, ensuring that he would succeed his father as Holy Roman Emperor. Rudolf is considered an ineffective ruler whose mistakes directly led to the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648), one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history.
Unofficial Royalty: Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Margrave of Moravia, in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria

January 20, 1619 – Death of Éléonore de Bourbon-Condé, Princess of Orange, wife of Filips Willem, Prince of Orange, in Muret-le-Château, France; buried at the Eglise Saint-Thomas de Cantorbery in Vallery, France, the traditional burial place of the Princes of Condé and their descendants
Éléonore was the daughter of Henri I, Prince de Condé. The House of Condé was a French princely house and a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon. In 1606, 19-year-old Éléonore married 51-year-old Filips Willem, Prince of Orange, son of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange and his first wife Anna van Egmont. The marriage had been arranged by Louise de Coligny, the fourth wife and widow of Willem I (the Silent). Louise was the daughter of a French nobleman, admiral, and Huguenot leader Gaspard II de Coligny who had been killed during the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 when thousands of Huguenots were murdered. Éléonore and Filips Willem had a happy marriage despite their age difference and the absence of children. Filips Willem died in 1618, at the age of 63 after a botched medical procedure. Éléonore survived her husband by barely a year, dying at the age of 31.
Unofficial Royalty: Éléonore de Bourbon-Condé, Princess of Orange

January 20, 1666 – Death of Anne of Austria, Queen of France, wife of King Louis XIII of France, at the Convent of Val-de-Grâce in Paris, France; buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France
Anne was the eldest daughter of King Felipe III of Spain and married King Louis XIII of France in 1615. After several stillbirths and nearly 23 years of marriage, Anne gave birth to two healthy sons: the future King Louis XIV of France and Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. King Louis XIII died in 1643, leaving his five-year-old son as the new King Louis XIV. In his will, the late King had sought to limit any power that Queen Anne might have had, including becoming Regent. He instructed that a regency council be established instead. However, just days after his death, Queen Anne was able to convene the Parliament of Paris and had that part of his will overturned. Anne was named sole Regent for her young son. Queen Anne appointed Cardinal Mazarin as her chief minister and relied on him to maintain the government. Anne retained much of her power even after her son came of age in 1651. She oversaw his marriage to her own niece, Maria Teresa of Spain in 1660, and the following year, after Mazarin’s death, Queen Anne stepped aside and retired to the Covent of Val-de-Grâce in Paris, France. Five years later, on January 20, 1666, she died there of breast cancer.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne of Austria, Queen of France

January 20, 1716 – Birth of King Carlos III of Spain at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain
Full name: Carlos Sebastián
Carlos III, King of Spain was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Carlo I (1731 – 1735), King of Naples, as Carlo VII (1735 – 1759), and King of Sicily, as Carlo V (1734 – 1759). In 1738, Carlos’ mother Elisabeth Farnese arranged a marriage for him to fourteen-year-old Maria Amalia of Saxony. Carlos III and Maria Amalia had thirteen children but only seven survived childhood. In in 1759, Carlos’ childless elder surviving half-brother Fernando VI, King of Spain died and Carlos succeeded him as King of Spain. When Carlos became King of Spain, he was 43 years old and had ruled Naples and Sicily for twenty-five years, so he had far more experience than his predecessors. Carlos III was responsible for some Spain’s national symbols. In 1770, he declared the Marcha Granadera to be used during official ceremonies. Since that time, it has been Spain’s national anthem except under the Second Republic ( 1931 – 1939 ). Carlos III also chose the colors and design of the Spanish flag as we see it today.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carlos III of Spain

January 20, 1745 – Death of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, also Karl I, Prince-Elector of Bavaria, at the Munich Residenz in Munich, then in the Electorate of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria; buried at the Theatinerkirche in Munich
Karl reigned as Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor from 1742 – 1745 and as Karl I, Prince-Elector of Bavaria from 1726 – 1745. He was a member of the House of Wittelsbach and his reign as Holy Roman Emperor marked the end of three centuries of the House of Habsburg’s rule as Holy Roman Emperors. In 1726, Karl married Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and niece of Emperor Karl VI. The couple had seven children but only four survived to adulthood. After Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI died in 1740, Karl claimed the Archduchy of Austria and briefly gained hold of the Bohemian throne. In 1742, he was elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He ruled until his death three years later.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria

January 20, 1753 – Death of Anna Maria of Liechtenstein, Princess of Liechtenstein, wife of first cousin Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria; buried in a crypt at the Pauline Church in Vienna, Austria, where her mother had been buried. The crypt no longer exists and the tombs were not preserved.
The daughter of Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein, in 1717 Anna Maria first married her cousin Count Johann Ernst of Thun-Hohenstein, from her mother’s family but he died six months later, on March 20, 1717, Johann Ernst died at the age of twenty-three. In 1718, Anna Maria married her first cousin Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein. The couple five children who all died in childhood. Anna Maria predeceased her husband dying on January 20, 1753, in Vienna, Austria, aged 53.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna Maria of Liechtenstein, Princess of Liechtenstein

January 20, 1819 – Death of King Carlos IV of Spain, in exile, at the Palazzo Barberini in Rome, Italy; buried at San Lorenzo de El Escorial in Spain
In 1788, Carlos succeeded his father King Carlos III of Spain as King Carlos IV of Spain. Carlos IV would rather hunt than deal with government affairs and the running of the government was left mostly to his wife Maria Luisa of Parma and Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. It is probable that de Godoy had a long-term relationship with Maria Luisa and that he was the father of her youngest son. In 1808, after riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII. Less than two months later, Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon I, Emperor of the French where he forced them both to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. Carlos IV, his wife Maria Luisa, and some of their children were held captive. Napoleon kept Carlos and Maria Luisa’s son Fernando VII under guard in France for more than five years until the 1813 Treaty of Valençay provided for the restoration of Fernando VII as King of Spain. After the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, King Fernando VII refused to allow his parents to return to Spain. Carlos IV and Maria Luisa settled in Rome at the Palazzo Barberini where they both died in 1819.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carlos IV of Spain

January 20, 1848 – Death of King Christian VIII of Denmark at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Christian VIII was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Christian’s father was the only child of King Frederik V of Denmark and his second wife Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In 1806, Christian married his first cousin Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They had one surviving son, Christian’s successor, the future King Frederik VII. Charlotte Frederica had an affair, was banished, divorced, and never saw her son again. In 1816, Christian married again to Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg but their marriage remained childless. Christian VIII became King of Denmark in 1839 upon the death of his half-nephew King Frederik VI who had two daughters but no sons to succeed him. On January 20, 1848, 61-year-old King Christian VIII died of blood poisoning after a blood-letting.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian VIII of Denmark

January 20, 1855 – Death of Archduchess Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia, first wife of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia (the future King of Italy), at the Royal Palace of Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy; buried at the Royal Basilica of Superga in Turin
At the time of her marriage in 1842, Adeleheid’s husband Vittorio Emanuele was heir to the Sardinian throne and held the title Duke of Savoy. In 1849, she became Queen of Sardinia following her father-in-law’s abdication and her husband’s accession to the throne. However, she died before her husband became King of Italy. Adelheid and Vittorio Emanuele had eight children. Just days after giving birth to her last child, Adelheid fell ill after attending the funeral of her mother-in-law and died four days later at the age of 32.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduchess Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia

January 20, 1865 – Birth of Friedrich, the last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Friedrich Adolf Hermann
Friedrich was the only son of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Helena of Nassau. Friedrich had six sisters, through his sister Emma, he was the uncle of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and through his sister Helena, he was the uncle of Charles Edward, the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Upon the death of his father in 1893, Friedrich became the last reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1895, Friedrich married Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe and they had four children. Friedrich abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and the Arolsen Forest. Both Friedrich and his wife Bathildis lived through World War II. While neither Friedrich nor Bathildis joined the Nazi Party, their eldest son Josias did and after World War II, Josias was a convicted Nazi war criminal for crimes in connection to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, died on May 26, 1946, at the age of 81 in Arolsen, Germany.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

January 20, 1878 – Birth of Princess Anastasia of Greece and Denmark, first wife of Prince Christopher of Greece, born Nonie May Stewart, in Zanesville, Ohio
Nancy had married two wealthy men who both died, leaving her a very wealthy widow. While visiting Biarritz, France in 1914, Nancy met Prince Christopher, the youngest child of King George I of Greece. The two quickly fell in love and decided to marry. Their engagement was first announced in 1914, but it would be six years before they actually married. There was much reservation within the Greek royal family over the bride being an American and already married twice. Finally, the couple was married on February 1, 1920, and several days after the marriage, Nancy converted to Greek Orthodoxy and took the name Anastasia. Not long after her marriage, Anastasia was diagnosed with the cancer that caused her death in 1923.
Unofficial Royalty: Nancy Stewart Worthington Leeds, Princess Anastasia of Greece and Denmark

January 20, 1891 – Death of Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands in San Francisco, California; buried in the Royal Mausoleum at Mauna ʻAla in Honolulu, Kingdom of Hawaii, now in the state of Hawaii, remains transferred to the underground Kalākaua Crypt on the grounds of the mausoleum

Unofficial Royalty: Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands

January 20, 1896 – Death of Prince Henry of Battenberg, husband of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, at sea from malaria caught in Africa during the Ashanti War; buried at St. Mildred’s Church in Whippingham, Isle of Wight, England
Henry was the fourth of the five children of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia Hauke. As his parents’ marriage was morganatic, Henry and his siblings took their titles from their mother, who had been created Countess of Battenberg and was later elevated to Princess of Battenberg in 1858. Henry and Beatrice met at the wedding of Henry’s brother Louis of Battenberg and Beatrice’s cousin Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Queen Victoria had expectations that Beatrice would never marry and remain her personal assistant and secretary. However, during the wedding celebrations, Henry and Beatrice fell in love. When Beatrice told her mother of her desire to marry Henry, Queen Victoria did not speak to Beatrice for seven months. Eventually, the Queen realized that Beatrice would not back down and decided to allow the marriage with several conditions: Henry must renounce his career, nationality, and home and agree to live with Beatrice and the Queen. Henry and Beatrice married in 1885 and had four children. The Spanish royal family descends through their daughter Victoria Eugenia.  In November 1895, Henry persuaded Queen Victoria to allow him to go to West Africa to fight in the Anglo-Ashanti Wars. Henry arrived in Africa on Christmas Day 1895. By January 10, 1896, Henry was sick with malaria and it was decided to send him back to England. Henry died aboard the ship HMS Blonde off the coast of Sierra Leone on January 20, 1896, at the age of 37.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Henry of Battenberg

January 20, 1936 – Death of King George V of the United Kingdom at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
George was the second son of the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and his wife Alexandra of Denmark. At the time of his birth, George was third in the line of succession after his father and his brother Prince Albert Victor (Eddy) and was not expected to become king. However, that all changed when George’s brother Eddy died of pneumonia in 1892. In 1893, George married Eddy’s fiancée Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, and eventually, they became the beloved King George V and Queen Mary. In his final years, King George had a number of problems exacerbated by his habit of smoking including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pleurisy. On January 15, 1936, King George V went to bed at Sandringham House complaining of a cold, gradually becoming weaker, and drifting in and out of consciousness. On January 20, when the king was close to death, his doctors issued a bulletin with words that became famous: “The King’s life is moving peacefully towards its close.” As the king lay dying of bronchitis, Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn, Physician-in-Ordinary to King George V, gave him a lethal injection of cocaine and morphine, thereby hastening the king’s death to ensure that the announcement of the death would appear first in the morning edition of The Times and not in some lesser publication in the afternoon.
Unofficial Royalty: King George V of the United Kingdom

January 20, 1965 – Birth of Sophie, The Duchess of Edinburgh, born Sophie Rhys-Jones at Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, England
Full name: Sophie Helen
In 1993, Prince Edward renewed a casual acquaintance with Sophie Rhys-Jones at a Real Tennis Challenge, hosted by the prince. Sophie was the public relations executive handling the event. After a long courtship, their engagement was announced on January 6, 1999, and the couple married later that year. Sophie and Edward have two children, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (born 2003), and James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex (born 2007). Sophie carries out a full schedule of engagements in the United Kingdom and overseas in support of her brother-in-law KIng Charles III and the charities and organizations with which she is involved. She is particularly interested in working with organizations that help children and young people with sensory, learning, and communications disabilities
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie, Countess of Wessex

January 20, 1973 – Birth of Queen Mathilde of Belgium, born Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz in Uccle, Belgium
Full name: Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine
Mathilde attended the Institut Libre Marie Haps in Brussels, Belgium where she studied speech therapy and graduated magna cum laude. Mathilde then began to study psychology at the Université Catholique de Louvain and had her own speech therapy practice in Brussels from 1995 until her marriage in 1999. She continued her studies after her marriage and received a Master’s degree in psychology in 2002. Mathilde met Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant and the heir to the Belgian throne in 1996 playing tennis. Unbelievably, their romance went undetected by the press and their engagement was a surprise. The couple married in 1999 and had four children. Their eldest child Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant will become the first female monarch of Belgian due to changes in the succession law in 1991. On July 21, 2013, the annual Belgian National Day, Belgium got its first native-born queen. King Albert II of the Belgians abdicated in favor of his son Philippe, and Mathilde became Queen Consort of the Belgians. Belgium’s previous queen consorts were French, Austrian, German, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Mathilde of the Belgians

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.

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

January 19, 1526 – Death of Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, wife of Christian II, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, in Ghent, County of Flanders, now in Belgium; buried first at St Peter Abbey in Ghent, then in Saint Canute’s Cathedral in Odense, Denmark
The daughter of Philip, Duke of Burgundy and Juana I, Queen of Castile and Aragon, Isabella was born an Archduchess of Austria and an Infanta of Castile and Aragon. Isabella’s brother was the powerful Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor who was also King of Spain. Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England, was her maternal aunt, and Catherine and Henry VIII’s only surviving child, Queen Mary I of England was her first cousin. In 1514, Isabella married Christian II, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden who was deposed in 1523 causing them to live the rest of their lives in exile. In 1524, Isabella, Christian, and their children settled in Lier, Spanish Netherlands, now in Belgium. Isabella’s aunt Margaret of Austria, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, provided them with a home and financial support. Even with the support, they had a difficult time, with many worries, and a lack of money. In late 1525, Isabella became seriously ill and she died on January 19, 1526, at the age of 24.
Unofficial Royalty: Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden

January 19, 1544 – Birth of François II, King of France and King Consort of Scotland, at the Château de Fontainebleau in France
The eldest of the ten children of Henri II, King of France and Catherine de’ Medici, 14-year-old François married 15-year-old Mary Queen of Scots in 1558.  It was a marriage that could have given the future kings of France the throne of Scotland and also a claim to the throne of England through Mary’s great-grandfather King Henry VII of England. A little more than a year after the wedding, a great tragedy occurred in France. King Henri II died from injuries he received in a joust during a tournament. François succeeded his father but after only a 17-month reign, François II, King of France, aged 16, died in great pain, possibly from mastoiditis, meningitis, or otitis which turned into an abscess.
Unofficial Royalty: King François II of France, King Consort of Scotland

January 19, 1720 – Death of Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress, 3rd wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria; buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna
Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg was the third of the three wives and also the second cousin of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor who was also King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, King of Croatia, Duke of Teschen, King of the Romans, Archduke of Further Austria, and Prince of Transylvania. Leopold I had no male heir from his first tow wives. Eleanore Magdalene’s mother had 23 pregnancies and 17 live births and the family gained the reputation as a fertile family. Because of this reputation, 36-year-old Leopold chose his 21-year-old second cousin Eleonore Magdalene to be his third wife. Leopold made a good choice because his third wife Eleonore Magdalene had ten children with five surviving childhood including two Holy Roman Emperors. Eleonore Magdalene died on January 19, 1720, aged sixty-five, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Following her wishes, Eleonora Magdalene was buried wearing the robe of a nun, in a very simple wooden coffin that bore the inscription “Eleonore Magdalene Theresa, poor sinner”.
Unofficial Royalty: Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress

January 19, 1757 – Birth of Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, wife of Franz Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, at Ebersdorf Castle in Saalburg-Ebersdorf, County of  Reuss-Ebersdorf, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Augusta Caroline Sophie
Augusta was the grandmother of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In 1777, she married Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The couple had nine children including Prince Albert’s father and Franz Friedrich Anton’s successor Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria’s mother Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Victoria and Albert’s uncle Leopold, the future first King of the Belgians. Augusta may have been the first person to suggest a marriage between two of her grandchildren. In 1821, in a letter to her daughter Victoria, Duchess of Kent, she suggested the possibility of marriage between Victoria and Albert who were only two years old at the time. Augusta did not live long enough to see her grandchildren Victoria and Albert married. She died at the age of 74, five months after the election of her son Leopold as King of the Belgians.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

January 19, 1925 – Death of Maria Sophie in Bavaria, Queen of the Two Sicilies in Munich, Bavaria, Germany;  initially buried at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans in Rome, Italy, in 1984, her remains were transferred to the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy
Maria Sophie was a younger sister of the more well-known Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria (Sisi) who married Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria, and was assassinated in 1898. Marie Sophie’s husband lost his throne during the unification of Italy. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861, ending the reign of Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies. After the loss of the throne of the Two Sicilies, Francesco and Maria Sophia lived in Rome as guests of Pope Pius IX. In 1870, the annexation of the Papal States to Italy, including Rome, forced Francesco and Maria Sophie to find refuge over the years in Austria, France, and Bavaria. In 1894, Maria Sophia’s husband died. After her husband’s death, Maria Sophie lived for a time in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. She also spent time in Paris, France where she lived in a house that her husband had purchased. After World War I, Maria Sophia returned to her birthplace of Bavaria, Germany, living in Munich. It is there that she died on January 19, 1925, at the age of 83.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Sophie of Bavaria, Queen of the Two Sicilies

January 19, 1927 – Death of Charlotte of Belgium, Empress Carlota of Mexico, wife of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, at the Castle of Bouchout in Meise, Belgium; buried at the Royal Crypt in the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Charlotte was a first cousin of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  Her father was their Uncle Leopold, the first King of the Belgians.  In 1857, Charlotte married Archduke Maximilian of Austria, brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Four years later, Charlotte’s husband accepted the offer of becoming Emperor of Mexico. The liberal forces led by Benito Juárez, the former president who had been deposed by the French, refused to recognize his rule. There was continuous warfare between the French troops and the forces of Juárez who wanted a republic. Maximilian was condemned to death by a court of war and on June 19, 1867, he was executed by a firing squad. After her return to Belgium, Charlotte developed mental illness and was declared insane. Charlotte spent the rest of her life at Bouchout Castle in Meise, Belgium where her brother King Leopold II oversaw her care. Over the years, her mental illness seemed to lessen and Charlotte developed a passion for collecting objects that had belonged to her husband. She died from pneumonia at the age of 86.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte of Belgium, Empress Carlota of Mexico

January 19, 1937 – Birth of Princess Birgitta of Sweden, Princess of Hohenzollern, at the Haga Palace in Solna, Sweden
Full name: Birgitta Ingeborg Alice
Birgitta is the daughter of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and the second of the four elder sisters of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. In 1961, she married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern and they had three children. Because she married a man of princely status, Birgitta retained her royal style and title as Princess of Sweden and is the only one of her sisters to remain an official member of the Swedish Royal House. Birgitta and her husband separated in 1990 but remained married.  Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern died, aged 83, in  2016, following a brief illness.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Birgitta of Sweden

January 19, 1943 – Birth of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, at Ottawa Civic Hospital in Ottawa, Canada
Full name: Margriet Francisca
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands is the third of the four daughters of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She is a younger sister of the former Queen Beatrix and an aunt of the current King Willem-Alexander. In 1967, she married Pieter van Vollenhoven and they had four sons. It was decided at the time of their marriage that any children would hold the title of Prince/Princess of Orange-Nassau, with the surname van Vollenhoven, and the style of Highness. Princess Margriet holds a prominent role in the Dutch Royal Family. Unlike her sisters Irene and Christina, she retained her place in the Dutch Royal House. In addition to many official duties, she often represents the royal family at royal events around the world and is usually in attendance at formal events, such as incoming state visits.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Margriet of the Netherlands

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.

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Anna Pavlovna of Russia, Queen of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

January 18, 1625 – Death of Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova, Tsaritsa of All Russia, first wife of Michael I, Tsar of All Russia; first buried at the Ascension Convent, a Russian Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin, in 1929 moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin
Princess Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova was the only child of Prince Vladimir Timofeevich Dolgorukov, a military commander for three tsars, and was appointed Viceroy of Kazan by Michael I. Michael’s mother, born Xenia Ivanovna Shestova, but now a nun known as Marfa, chose Maria Vladimirovna to be her son’s second wife. Michael and Maria Vladimirovna were married on September 19, 1624, witnessed by many nobles and their wives. Celebrations continued the next day, but the new Tsaritsa became ill and was not present. It is unclear exactly what happened but five months later, on January 17, 1625, Maria Vladimirovna died. There were rumors at the time that she had been poisoned by the enemies of the Dolgorukov family. Chronicles of the time called her death a divine punishment for the fate of Michael’s first wife Maria Ivanovna Khlopova and her family. Other contemporary writers said Maria Vladimirovna died giving birth to a stillborn baby.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova, Tsaritsa of All Russia

January 18, 1795 – Birth of Anna Pavlovna of Russia, Queen of the Netherlands, wife of King Willem II of the Netherlands, at Gatchina Palace near Saint Petersburg, Russia
Anna Pavlovna was the daughter of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and his second wife, Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. In 1816, Anna Pavlovna married the future King Willem II of the Netherlands, then Prince of Orange. Anna and Willem had five children. Although she took an interest in Dutch history and learned to speak the language quite well, Anna was very homesick for her family and for Russia. Anna became Queen of the Netherlands in October 1840 after her father-in-law’s abdication.  Anna never really connected with the Dutch public and was not a popular queen. She founded several orphanages in the Netherlands and did not meddle in politics.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna Pavlovna of Russia, Queen of the Netherlands

January 18, 1808 – Birth of Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark and Norway, Princess Frederik of Denmark, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, daughter of King Frederik VI of Denmark, first wife of the future King Frederik VII of Denmark, in Kiel, Duchy of Holstein, now Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Vilhelmine Marie’s first marriage to the future King Frederik VII of Denmark was unhappy and the couple divorced. She made a second marriage to Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, elder brother of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the future King Christian IX of Denmark who would succeed King Frederik VII, Vilhelmine Marie’s thrice-married but childless first husband. Vilhelmine Marie’s second marriage was a happy one but it was childless. In 1864, after the Second Schleswig War, which Denmark lost, Karl’s duchy was annexed by Prussia and Karl lost his ducal title. Vilhelmine Marie and Karl were able to live at the family ancestral home Schloss Glücksburg and Karl died there in 1878. Vilhelmine Marie’s charitable work made her popular in Glücksburg. Eventually, she became more and more isolated as her hearing loss made it difficult to communicate. Vilhelmine Marie survived her husband Karl for thirteen years, dying on May 30, 1891, at the age of 83
Unofficial Royalty: Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark, Princess Frederik of Denmark, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

January 18, 1872 – Death of Caroline Amalie of Hesse-Homburg, Princess of Reuss-Greiz, Regent of Reuss-Greiz, second wife of Heinrich XX, 4th Prince Reuss-Greiz, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried at the Stadtkirche St. Marien, now in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany
45-year-old Heinrich XX, 4th Prince Reuss of Greiz needed an heir. His first wife had died childless and so he married 20-year-old Caroline Amalie and the couple had five children. Heinrich XX died in 1859, Heinrich XXIII, his thirteen-year-old son, succeeded him as the 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz. Caroline Amalie was Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz from 1859 until 1867. Carolina Amalie survived her husband by thirteen years, dying on January 18, 1872, aged 52.
Unofficial Royalty: Caroline Amalie of Hesse-Homburg, Princess of Reuss of Greiz

January 18, 1890 – Death of Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, former King Amadeo I of Spain in Turin, Italy; buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin, Italy
Born the son of King Vittorio Emanuele II (King of Piedmont-Sardinia and later first King of Italy), Amedeo briefly reigned as the only King of Spain from the House of Savoy. After the exile of Queen Isabella II of Spain, the Spanish Cortes (Parliament) elected Amedeo the new King of Spain.  In 1867, Amedeo married Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, daughter of Italian noble Carlo Emmanuele dal Pozzo, 5th Prince of Cisterna. Upon her father’s death in 1864, Maria Vittoria inherited her father’s titles in her own right. Amedeo and Maria Vittoria had three children. Their descendants through their eldest son have been claimants to the disputed headship of the House of Savoy along with descendants of Amedeo’s brother King Umberto I of Italy. After an attempt to assassinate him, Amedeo abdicated the Spanish throne and returned to Turin where he assumed the title Duke of Aosta. In 1876, Amedeo’s wife Maria Vittoria died from tuberculosis. In 1888, Amedeo married again. His second wife was Princess Maria Letizia Bonaparte, his niece, the daughter of his sister Marie Clotilde and Prince Napoléon Joseph Bonaparte. Amedeo and Maria Letizia had one son. Amedeo was married to his second wife for less than two years, dying from pneumonia at the age of 44.
Unofficial Royalty: King Amadeo I of Spain, Duke of Aosta

January 18, 1908 – Birth of Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Västerbotten, wife of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and mother of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, at Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Thuringia, Germany
Full name: Sibylla Calma Marie Alice Bathildis Feodora
Sibylla was a great-grandchild of Queen Victoria through her father Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the posthumous son of Queen Victoria’s youngest son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. In 1932, she married Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten. Prince Gustaf Adolf was the eldest son of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden) and was therefore second in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. Sibylla and Gustaf Adolf had four daughters and one son including the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf. Tragically, Prince Gustaf Adolf was killed in a commercial airplane crash in 1947, seven months after the birth of his son Carl Gustaf, at the Kastrup Airport in Kastrup, Denmark near Copenhagen. After her stepmother-in-law Queen Louise died in 1965, Sibylla was the senior royal princess and acted in a supporting role for her father-in-law King Gustaf VI Adolf. Unfortunately, Sibylla did not live long enough to see her son Carl Gustaf become king. She died of colon cancer at the age of 64, less than a year before her son would become king.
Unofficial Royalty: Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Västerbotten

January 18, 1919 – Death of Prince John of the United Kingdom, son of King George V of the United Kingdom, at Wood Farm in Wolferton in Norfolk, England; buried at Sandringham Church in Norfolk, England
For the first four years of his life, John appeared healthy, but at the age of four he suffered his first epileptic seizure, and his condition gradually worsened. Besides epilepsy, it is quite possible that John also had a mild form of autism. A household was set up for John at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate and John lived there under the care of his nanny Charlotte Bill who was called Lala, and several other staff members. A young girl named Winifred Thomas, who suffered from asthma and had been sent to the country to live with her aunt and uncle, was John’s companion. Winifred visited John nearly every day and the two went on walks and took care of the garden. Later in life, Winifred recounted John’s excitement at watching zeppelins passing over Sandringham in 1916 and his pleasure in meeting ‘a real, live soldier’, her father Sergeant Frederick Thomas who visited that same year. She also remembered his mother Queen Mary as a loving and interested parent who spent a lot of time with her son. John’s grandmother Queen Alexandra also visited him often.  On the morning of January 18, 1919, John had a very severe seizure and died peacefully in his sleep at 5:30 that afternoon, most likely from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy or SUDEP.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince John of the United Kingdom

January 18, 1974 – Birth of Princess Claire of Belgium, wife of Prince Laurent of Belgium, born Claire Louise Coombs in Bath, England
Claire’s family moved to Belgium when she was three years old. Claire and Prince Laurent first met in 2000 at the home of a mutual friend. In 2003, they were married at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels. By Royal Decree issued by King Albert II, Claire was elevated to Princess of Belgium in her own right. Claire and Laurent have a daughter and twin sons. Unlike her two sisters-in-law, Queen Mathilde and Princess Astrid, Princess Claire has no official role. However, she is often in attendance at official events and state functions with her husband.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Claire of Belgium

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.

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

King Olav V of Norway; Credit; Wikipedia

January 17, 1719 – Death of Sophie Amalie Moth, mistress of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway, at her estate Jomfruens Egede in Fakse on the island of Zealand in Denmark; first buried at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1734, Sophia Amalie and her eldest son by King Christian V, Christian Gyldenløve, were reinterred at Saint Peter’s Church in Copenhagen, Denmark
Sophie Amalie was recognized as Christian V’s official mistress and was created Countess of Samsøe. Christian V and Sophie Amalie had six children who were all publicly acknowledged. Following the practice of his grandfather and father, Christian also gave his illegitimate children the surname Gyldenløve which means Golden Love. All the children also had Christian or Christiane among their names in honor of their royal father. The current Danish noble family of the Danneskiold-Samsøe descends from the eldest son of Sophie Amalie and King Christian V. Sophie Amalie and her children were financially secure because of the funds received from King Christian V and the crown treasury. King Christian V was an active participant in the children’s upbringing, education, and marriage negotiations. After the death of King Christian V in 1699, Sophie Amalie left the Danish court and retired to Jomfruens Egede, an estate she had purchased in 1674 in Fakse on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. Twenty years later, Sophie Amalie died on January 17, 1719, aged 64.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie Amalie Moth, Mistress of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway

January 17, 1755 – Birth of Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg in Riesenberg, Kingdom of Prussia now Prabuty, Poland
Full name: Peter Friedrich Ludwig
In 1781, Peter married Friederike of Württemberg, and they had two sons. In 1785, Peter’s uncle, Friedrich August I, Duke of Oldenburg, died and was succeeded by his son Wilhelm. However, Wilhelm was mentally incapacitated, and Peter was appointed Regent. Peter established a new government for the Grand Duchy, introduced general conscription, and established the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment. Upon his cousin’s death in 1823, Peter became the reigning Grand Duke of Oldenburg. Just short of six years after assuming the throne, Peter suffered a stroke and died
Unofficial Royalty: Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

January 17, 1764 – Birth of Maria Carolina of Savoy, Electoral Princess of Saxony, 1st wife of the future Anton, King of Saxony, at the Royal Palace of Turin in the Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy
Full name: Maria Carolina Antonietta Adelaide
The daughter of Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy and Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain, Maria Carolina was the first wife of the future Anton, King of Saxony.  She married Anton on October 24, 1781. Around December 14, 1782, Maria Carolina became ill with smallpox, and died on December 28, 1782, at the age of 18.
Unofficial Royalty; Maria Carolina of Savoy, Electoral Princess of Saxony

January 17, 1779 – Birth of Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily, Queen of Sardinia, wife of Carlo Felice, King  of Sardinia, at Caserta Palace in the Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy
Maria Cristina was the daughter of Ferdinando IV, King of Naples and Sicily (later Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies) and Maria Carolina of Austria. Her maternal grandmother was Maria Theresa, the sovereign ruler of the Habsburg territories from 1740 until her death in 1780, and was the only female to hold the position. In 1807, Maria Cristina married the future Carlo Felice, King of Sardina but their marriage was childless. In 1821, Carlo Felice’s brother Vittorio Emanuele I was not willing to grant a liberal constitution so he abdicated the throne of Sardinia in favor of Carlo Felice who reigned until his death in 1831. Maria Cristina survived her husband by eighteen years, dying on March 11, 1849, aged 70.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily, Queen of Sardinia

Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll was born Elizabeth FitzClarence, the sixth of the ten children and the third of the five daughters of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, on January 17, 1801, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

January 17, 1861 – Death of Lola Montez, mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, in Brooklyn, New York; buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York
Lola Montez was a dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. She was born Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert on February 17, 1821, in Ireland. Starting in 1842, using the stage name Maria de los Dolores Porrys y Montez, also known as Lola Montez, she pretended to be a Spanish dancer from Seville, Spain. She also accepted favors from wealthy men in return for sex and was widely regarded as a courtesan. Lola became famous for her Spider Dance, which involved her shaking imaginary tarantulas out of her clothes and stamping on them. She then raised her skirt so high that the audience could see that she wore no underwear. In 1846, 25-year-old Lola became the mistress of the 60-year-old King Ludwig I of Bavaria. At the start of the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, Lola was forced to flee, living in Austria, Switzerland, France, and London, working as an entertainer and lecturer. In 1851, Lola went to the United States where she was surprisingly successful. In 1852, on Broadway, she played herself in a theater revue, Lola Montez in Bavaria. She toured the east coast until 1853 when she went to San Francisco where her performances created a sensation. By 1860, Lola was exhibiting the third-stage effects of syphilis. She died on January 17, 1861, aged 39, in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City.
Unofficial Royalty: Lola Montez, mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria

January 17, 1870 – Birth of Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma, Princess of Bulgaria, first wife Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria, in Rome, Italy
Full name: Maria Luisa Pia Teresa Anna Ferdinanda Francesca Antonietta Margherita Giuseppina Caroline Bianca Lucia Apollonia
Maria Luisa was the eldest child of Robert I, Duke of Parma and his first wife Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1893, she married the reigning Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria. They had four children including Boris III, Tsar of Bulgaria. Maria Luisa’s marriage, which had been strictly for political and dynastic reasons, was not a happy one. Having given birth to three children, and expecting a fourth within five years had taken a toll on her already frail health. 29-year-old Maria Luisa developed pneumonia while pregnant with her youngest child, and died on January 31, 1899, just a day after giving birth.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma, Princess of Bulgaria

January 17, 1882 – Birth of Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, Princess Nicholas of Greece, daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and wife of Prince Nicholas of Greece, in St. Petersburg, Russia
Elena was the only daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Through her father, she was the granddaughter of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, niece of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, and first cousin of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. In 1902, Elena married her second cousin Prince Nicholas of Greece, the son of King George I of Greece and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. The couple had three daughters including Princess Marina of Greece who married Prince George, Duke of Kent. Because of the political situation in Greece, members of the Greek royal family, including Elena and her husband, were often in exile. The Greek monarchy was restored in 1935, and the following year, Elena and Nicholas returned to Greece. Having suffered from declining health for several years, Prince Nicholas died in 1938. Elena remained in Greece throughout World War II. Along with her sister-in-law, Princess Andreas of Greece (the former Princess Alice of Battenberg), Elena worked with the Red Cross during World War II to organize shelters and nurses in the poor neighborhoods of Athens. Elena lived out the rest of her life in Greece, enjoying a close relationship with King Paul and Queen Friederike, and a particularly close bond with the future King Constantine II.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, Princess Nicholas of Greece

January 17, 1905 – Death of Caroline Reuss of Greiz, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, first wife of Wilhelm Ernst, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the Weimarer Fürstengruft in the Historical Cemetery of Weimar in Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, now in Thuringia, Germany
In 1903, Caroline married Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. The wedding was attended by the groom’s second cousin, Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia and his wife Augusta Viktoria, as well as his first cousin, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Hendrik. Caroline was against the arranged marriage, and it was only through the insistence of Wilhelm II and his wife Augusta Viktoria that she went through with the ceremony. The couple had no children, and their marriage lasted less than two years. Caroline died on January 17, 1905, at just 20 years old. Officially, the cause of death was pneumonia, but there were many rumors that she died by suicide.
Unofficial Royalty: Caroline Reuss of Greiz, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

January 17, 1908 – Death of Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Salzburg, Austria; buried in the Tuscan Vault at Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
Ferdinando was the son of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his second wife Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1856, Ferdinando married Princess Anna of Saxony, daughter of Johann, King of Saxony. Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. However, a year later, Anna miscarried a daughter due to typhoid fever and died four days later. In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement. Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. Ferdinando was unable to return to Florence to claim his throne, and an elected Tuscan National Assembly formally deposed him. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy and in 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy. Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. In 1868, Ferdinando married Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma and the couple had ten children. Ferdinando died at the age of 72.
Unofficial Royalty: Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany

January 17, 1991 – Death of King Olav V of Norway at the Royal Lodge (Kongsseteren) in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway; buried at the Akershus Fortress in Oslo, Norway
The son of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of the United Kingdom, he assumed the name Olav when his father became King Haakon VII of Norway in 1905. He was the paternal grandson of King Frederik VIII of Denmark and Princess Louise of Sweden, and the maternal grandson of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Princess Alexandra of Denmark.  An avid skier and sailor, Olav represented Norway in the 1928 Olympic Games, winning a Gold Medal in the sailing competition, and remained active in sailing his whole life. In 1929, Olav married his first cousin Princess Märtha of Sweden. They had three children including the current King of Norway, Harald V. In April 1954, Crown Princess Märtha died of cancer, having been ill for some time. Three years later, Olav became King of Norway, following the death of his father. Olav, already much loved by the Norwegian people, became even more popular during his reign. He was often found among his people – driving around town, stopping in shops, taking the train to the ski slopes unaccompanied – gaining him the nickname “The People’s King”. King Olav V died of a heart attack on January 17, 1991, at the age of 88.
Unofficial Royalty: King Olav V of Norway

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.

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught; Credit – Wikipedia

January 16, 1245 – Birth of Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster and Leicester, son of King Henry III of England, at the Palace of Westminster in London, England
Edmund was named after his father’s favorite saint, Edmund the Martyr, King of East Anglia who was killed in 869 by Vikings on the orders of Ivar the Boneless and his brother Ubba. A couple of 14th-century chroniclers misinterpreted “Crouchback” as meaning Edmund had a physical deformity, but it is probable that “Crouchback” refers to his participation in the Ninth Crusades when he would have worn a cross on his back. Edmund first married Aveline de Forz, Countess of Aumale and Lady of Holderness in 1269, but she died childless five years later. In 1276, Edmund married Blanche of Artois, widow of King Henri I of Navarre, and they had three sons. Edmund was a loyal supporter of his brother King Edward I of England who succeeded to the throne in 1272. In 1271, Edmund had accompanied his elder brother Edward on the Ninth Crusade to Palestine. In 1277, Edmund was appointed commander of Wales. In 1282, Edmund ambushed and executed Llewellyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd, the last native and sovereign Prince of Wales. This lead to the final defeat and annexation of Wales in 1283.
Unofficial Royalty: Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster and Leicester

January 16, 1362 – Birth of Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, 9th Earl of Oxford, favorite of King Richard II of England
In 1376, Robert married Philippa de Coucy, daughter of Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy and Isabella of England, the eldest daughter of King Edward III of England. Robert was often at court in his role as Lord Great Chamberlain and as the husband of King Richard II’s first cousin. He quickly became a favorite of the young king and a member of the Privy Council. Robert became very unpopular with the other nobles and his close relationship with Richard II was one of the causes for the emergence of organized opposition to Richard called the Lords Appellant. In 1387, the Lords Appellant launched an armed rebellion against King Richard II and defeated an army under Robert de Vere at the Battle of Radcot Bridge on the River Thames, outside Oxford. Robert fled to France and was attainted, found guilty of treason, lost his titles and land, and sentenced to death in absentia. In 1392, in Louvain, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium, 30-year-old Robert de Vere died in exile and poverty from the wounds received while hunting a wild boar.
Unofficial Royalty: Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, 9th Earl of Oxford

January 16, 1831 – Birth of Alexander, Prince of Lippe in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Full name: Karl Alexander
As the fifth of the six sons of Leopold III, Prince of Lippe, Alexander was not expected to succeed to the throne. He served as a captain in the army of the Kingdom of Hanover, and in 1851, when he was 20-year-old, he had a fall from his horse. Over the subsequent years, he developed the first signs of a mental disorder. In 1870, due to the worsening of his mental disorder, Alexander was legally declared incapacitated. The following year, it became necessary to place Alexander in the St. Gilgenberg Sanatorium, a private sanatorium for men with nervous and mental disorders, near Bayreuth, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, where he spent the remainder of his life. When Alexander’s father Leopold II died in 1851, he was succeeded by his eldest son as Leopold III. The childless Leopold III died in 1875 and he was succeeded by his next brother Woldemar who was also childless. During Woldemar’s reign, Alexander became Woldemar’s only surviving brother, the last of the line of the House of Lippe, and therefore his heir. When Woldemar died in 1895, his incapacitated brother Alexander succeeded him as Prince of Lippe, with a regency. There was a huge disagreement about who should be regent and who should be Alexander’s successor, so huge that Wilhelm II, German Emperor became involved. (Read more about it in Alexander’s article.)
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander, Prince of Lippe

January 16, 1836 – Birth of Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Full name: Francesco d’Assisi Maria Leopoldo
Francesco II was the last King of the Two Sicilies. In 1859, he married Maria Sophie of Bavaria. The couple had one daughter. Three months after his marriage Francesco’s father died and he became King of the Two Sicilies. During the reign of Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861. After losing his throne, Francesco lived in Rome but in 1870, the annexation of the Papal States to Italy, including Rome, forced Francesco and Maria Sophie to find refuge in Austria, France, and Bavaria. Maria Sophie purchased Garatshausen Castle on Lake Starnberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria from her brother Ludwig, and the castle became their home.
Unofficial Royalty: Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies

Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll, born Elizabeth FitzClarence in the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, Greater London. Elizabeth survived her husband by a little less than ten years, dying on January 16, 1856, aged 54, in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was buried with her husband at St. Mary’s Church in Wimbledon.

January 16, 1928 – Death of Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen at Schloss Altenstein in Bad Liebenstein, Germany where he was buried
Bernhard III was the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, a scholar, a Field Marshal in the Prussian army, and the husband of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Charlotte of Prussia. He was interested in the Greek language and was the author and translator of several works. Between 1873 and 1894, he made numerous study trips to Greece and Asia Minor, where he visited archaeological sites and had worked with well-known archaeologists. In 1878,  Bernhard married Princess Charlotte of Prussia, the eldest daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal, and the sister of Wilhelm II, German Emperor. Bernhard and Charlotte had one child. After his abdication in 1918 at the end of World War I, Bernhard lived his remaining years at Schloss Altenstein in Bad Liebenstein, now in Germany. His wife Charlotte died in 1919. Bernhard survived her by nine years, dying at the age of 76,
Unofficial Royalty: Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

January 16, 1935 – Death of Alicia of Parma, Titular Grand Duchess of Tuscany, wife of Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany at Schloss Schwertburg in Schwertburg, Austria; first buried in Schwertburg, and in 2007, her remains were reburied in the cemetery of the parish church in St. Gilgen, near Salzburg, Austria.
Alicia was the daughter of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France, who was a granddaughter of King Charles X of France. Alicia’s father was assassinated in 1854 and her six-year-old brother Roberto became Duke of Parma. Roberto lost his throne in 1859 during the Italian unification movement. In 1868, Alicia became the second wife of the former Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ferdinando lost his throne due to the Italian unification and was in exile like Alicia’s family. Alicia and Ferdinando had ten children. Ferdinando and Alicia lived at the Villa Tuscany in Lindau, Austria during the summer, and during the winter they lived in a wing of the Salzburg Residenz, formerly the residence of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. Both residences were provided by Ferdinando’s second cousin Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria. Alice’s husband Ferdinando Ferdinando died in 1908, at the age of 72. Alicia survived him by twenty-seven years, dying on January 16, 1935, aged 85.
Unofficial Royalty: Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

January 16, 1942 – Death of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria, at Bagshot Park in Surrey, England; buried at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore in Windsor, England
Arthur had a 40-year military career and participated in many missions in various parts of the British Empire. In 1879, Arthur married Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia and the couple had three children. Through their daughter Margaret, who married the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, Arthur and Louise Margaret are the ancestors of the Danish and Swedish royal families. Two of their great-grandchildren are current monarchs: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. In 1911, in order to strengthen the links between the British monarchy and Canada, Arthur was appointed the first Governor-General of Canada who was a member of the Royal Family. After his time in Canada, Arthur returned to the British Army and served for the rest of World War I. Louise Margaret, who had been ill during their stay in Canada, died of influenza and bronchitis in 1917, at the age of 56. Arthur withdrew from public life in 1928 and died on January 16, 1942, at his home Bagshot Park in Surrey, England at the age of 91. His sister Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll also died at the age of 91, making both Arthur and Louise the longest-lived of Victoria and Albert’s children.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught

January 16, 1957 – Death of Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, husband of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Alice of Albany, at Kensington Palace in London, England; buried at the Royal Burial Grounds at Frogmore in Windsor, England
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 1924-1930, Alge was 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

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.