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Princess Louise of the United Kingdom, Duchess of Argyll; Credit – Wikipedia

December 3, 1764 – Birth of Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Princess Friedrich of Württemberg, first wife of the future King Friedrich I of Württemberg, in Brunswick, Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Augusta Caroline Friederike Luise
Augusta was the daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, a sister of King George III. In 1780, Augusta married Prince Friedrich of Württemberg, later King Friedrich I of Württemberg. Despite a very unhappy marriage, Augusta and Friedrich had four children. Augusta wanted to leave her husband as early as her first pregnancy.  In 1782, Friedrich had impressed Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia while visiting Russia, and she made him Governor-General of Eastern Finland. Four years later, while they were visiting Catherine II in St. Petersburg, Augusta asked Catherine for protection from her husband. She claimed that Friedrich was abusive to her, and was having affairs with several men. Catherine took Augusta in and told Friedrich to leave the country. Augusta hoped to obtain a divorce, but her father would not permit it. So Catherine provided Augusta with a home at Koluvere Castle in Estonia, along with a custodian, Wilhelm von Pohlmann. Soon, Augusta and von Pohlmann began an affair and she became pregnant. On September 27, 1788, Augusta went into premature labor. Fearing that their affair would become known, von Pohlmann refused to call for a doctor and Augusta died of blood loss.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

December 3, 1821 – Birth of Jane Loftus, Marchioness of Ely, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria
Born Jane Hope-Vere, the daughter of  James Hope-Vere and Lady Elizabeth Hay, a daughter of the 7th Marquess of Tweeddale. She married John Loftus, 3rd Marquess of Ely. She was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria from 1851 until 1889. She then served as an Extra Lady of the Bedchamber until she died in 1890.
Unofficial Royalty: Jane Loftus, Marchioness of Ely

December 3, 1838 – Birth of Luise of Prussia, Grand Duchess of Baden, wife of Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden, in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Luise Marie Elisabeth
Luise was the daughter of Wilhelm I, King of Prussia and Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. She had one older brother Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia. In 1856, Luise married the future Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden. The couple had three children including Friedrich II, Grand Duke of Baden and Victoria who married King Gustav V of Sweden. Luise became involved in charitable causes in Baden, particularly those that helped and promoted women. Luise’s husband died in 1907. At the end of World War I, Luise along with her daughter Queen Victoria of Sweden, who was visiting, fled to Zwingenberg Palace in Zwingenberg, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The new Baden government then granted Luise permission to stay at Langenstein Castle, owned by the Swedish Count Douglas, who was related to the Baden Grand Ducal family through marriage. The Baden government ordered that Luise and her family be protected, primarily because her daughter was Queen of Sweden, and they did not want to cause any diplomatic problems.  In 1919, Luise was given permission to return to Neues Schloss (New Castle) in Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany where she died at the age of 85.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise of Prussia, Grand Duchess of Baden

December 3, 1839 – Death of King Frederik VI of Denmark and Norway at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Frederik VI was the only son and the eldest of the two children of King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway and his and Caroline Matilda of Wales, sister of King George III of the United Kingdom. Frederik’s father King Christian VII suffered from mental illness. His ill-treated mother Caroline Matilda had an affair with physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. After the affair was discovered Struenss was executed and Caroline Matilda was imprisoned in a castle and never saw her children again. In 1790, Frederik married his cousin Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel. Frederik and Marie had eight children but unfortunately, six of them, including two boys, died in infancy. Only two daughters survived and both daughters had childless marriages. In 1808, 1808, Frederik became king upon the death of his father. After the French defeat in the Napoleonic Wars in 1814 and the loss of Norway, Frederik became more authoritarian and reactionary, giving up his former liberal ideas. He died at the age of 71.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik VI of Denmark and Norway

December 3, 1882 – Death of Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meinigen, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the Ducal Crypt Chapel in the Meiningen municipal cemetery until 1977, when his remains were removed from the chapel, cremated and buried elsewhere in the cemetery
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 3, 1935 – Death of Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at her home Coppins in Iver, Buckinghamshire, England; buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore in Windsor, England
Victoria’s mother Alexandra was extremely possessive, demanded complete devotion from her children, and insisted that they call her Motherdear. Victoria’s sisters Louise and Maud escaped into marriage, leaving her at home as her mother’s constant companion. She had several suitors including Prince Adolphus of Teck, Sir Arthur Davidson, one of her father’s equerries, and Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery. Lord Rosebery was a former Prime Minister who had been widowed, and both he and Victoria would have liked to have married. However, Victoria’s mother actively discouraged her from marrying anyone. Instead, she remained a companion to her mother, Queen Alexandra, whom she lived with until the Queen died in 1925. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, Victoria’s first cousin, described her as little more than “a glorified maid.”  When her mother died, Victoria was 57 and was able to live her own life at last. She purchased a country home, Coppins, in Iver, Buckinghamshire, England. Victoria became active in the village life of Iver and was the honorary president of the Iver Horticultural Society. Victoria’s last years were plagued with health issues and she suffered from neuralgia, migraines, indigestion, depression, colds, and influenza. Princess Victoria died at her home Coppins at the age of 67.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom

December 3, 1939 – Death of Princess Louise of the United Kingdom, Duchess of Argyll, daughter of Queen Victoria, at Kensington Palace in London, England; cremated and ashes buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore in Windsor, England
Louise developed a strong interest in the arts. Queen Victoria permitted her to enroll at The National Art Training School to pursue her interests and she became a very skilled painter and sculptress. She sculpted a statue of Queen Victoria which stands today on the grounds of Kensington Palace. In 1871, Louise married John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne and heir to the Dukedom of Argyll. Queen Victoria found this to be a wonderful match, infusing ‘new blood’ into the royal family. Others, including the Prince of Wales, found it appalling that the Princess should marry below her class. Louise and her husband had no children. From 1878 – 1883, Louise’s husband was the Governor-General of Canada and the couple resided at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Louise was widowed in 1914 when her husband passed away after a lengthy illness. She would survive him by more than 25 years. During this time, she remained an active member of the royal family, taking part in official events and maintaining contact with many of her patronages and charities. Louise spent her remaining years at Kensington Palace, where she died at the age of 91.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll

December 3, 1944 – Death of Prince Andreas (Andrew) of Greece, son of King George I of Greece and father of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at the Metropole Hotel in Monte Carlo, Monaco; first buried at the Russian Orthodox Church in Nice, France; in 1946, his remains were reinterred in the royal cemetery at Tatoi Palace in Greece
The father of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Andreas was the son of King George I of Greece (born a Prince of Denmark) and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. In 1903, he married Princess Alice of Battenberg, daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. The couple had four daughters and one son. Andreas’ life was often interrupted by the political turmoil in Greece. By the early 1930s, Andreas had less and less contact with his family. His wife suffered a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized, his four daughters had all married into former German royal families, and his son was attending school first in Germany and then in the United Kingdom. Somewhat at a loss, having been basically forced into a life of retirement, Andreas moved to the French Riviera. The onset of World War II brought an end to the little contact Andreas had with his wife and children. His wife had returned to Greece, his daughters were all behind German lines, and his son was fighting for the British forces. Prince Andreas died at the Metropole Hotel in Monte Carlo on December 3, 1944, at the age of 62.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Andreas of Greece

December 3, 2005 – Birth of Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway, son of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, at the Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo, Norway
Sverre Magnus is the youngest of the two children of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit (née Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby), and one of the five grandchildren of King Harald V of Norway. The prince is third in the line of succession to the Norwegian throne, behind his father and sister Princess Ingrid Alexandra.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway

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Maria Leopoldina of Austria, Empress of Brazil, Queen of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

December 2, 1767 – Birth of Leopold I, Prince of Lippe in Detmold, County of Lippe-Detmold, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Full name: Wilhelm Leopold
As a child, Leopold’s lack of strength of character, lack of interest, lack of concentration, and a tendency to mental disorders became apparent. In 1782, Leopold’s father died and the fourteen-year-old succeeded him. In 1790, Leopold’s mental disorders interfered with his role as reigning prince and he was deemed legally incapacitated and placed under guardianship. In 1795, the guardianship was conditionally lifted after Leopold’s condition improved. Leopold married Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg in 1796 and the couple had two sons. Because of Leopold’s tenuous mental condition, Pauline became his governmental adviser and colleague. Within the next few years, Leopold developed intestinal tuberculosis, and his mental disorders returned with memory loss. He died at the age of 34 and his five-year-old son Leopold II, Prince of Lippe succeeded him with his mother Pauline very capably acting as Regent of the Principality of Lippe.
Unofficial Royalty: Leopold I, Prince of Lippe

December 2, 1826 – Death of Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria, Empress of Brazil, Queen of Portugal, wife of Pedro I of Brazil/Pedro IV of Portugal, at São Cristóvão Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; first buried at the Church of the Ajuda Convent in Rio de Janeiro, reinterred in 1954 at the Monument to the Independence of Brazil in São Paulo, Brazil
Known as Leopoldina, she was the daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria and the second of his four wives, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. In 1817, she married Pedro, Crown Prince of Portugal and Prince of Brazil, son of King João VI of Portugal. At that time, Brazil was ruled as a kingdom united with Portugal. The couple had seven children. In 1821, Pedro became the Regent of Brazil. In August 1822, Pedro appointed Leopoldina Regent of Brazil while he was away on a trip. While Pedro was away, Leopoldina received news that Portugal intended to recall Pedro and relegate Brazil to the status of a colony. Leopoldina met with the Council of State and signed the Decree of Independence, declaring Brazil independent from Portugal. Pedro I was declared Emperor of Brazil and Leopoldina became Empress of Brazil. In 1826, 29-year-old Leopoldina died from puerperal fever (childbed fever) after a miscarriage.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Leopoldina of Austria, Empress of Brazil, Queen of Portugal

December 2, 1849 – Death of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen of the United Kingdom, wife of King William IV of the United Kingdom, at Bentley Priory in Stanmore, Middlesex, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England
After twenty-one-year-old Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of George, Prince of Wales, died delivering a stillborn son, the unmarried, aging sons of King George III began a frantic search for brides to provide for the succession. One of the sons was William, Duke of Clarence (the future King William IV). William had never married but had lived for 20 years with actress Dorothea Jordan. Soon after Princess Charlotte of Wales died, negotiations began for the marriage of William to Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, and the engagement was announced on April 19, 1818. William was 52 and Adelaide was 25. Adelaide loved children but was destined not to have one of her own. Sadly, Adelaide had babies who died in early infancy, a miscarriage, and two stillbirths. A child of William and Adelaide would have succeeded to the throne as William’s two elder brothers (George IV and Frederick, Duke of York) had no surviving children.  Adelaide wrote to her widowed sister-in-law the Duchess of Kent, “My children are dead, but your child lives, and she is mine too.” That child was the future Queen Victoria. In 1830, Adelaide’s husband William became king upon the death of his brother King George IV.  He reigned for only seven years and was succeeded by his niece Victoria. Adelaide survived William by 12 years, dying at the age of 57.
Unofficial Royalty: Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen of the United Kingdom

December 2, 1865 – Birth of Olga Valerianovna Karnovich, the second, morganatic wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, in St. Petersburg, Russia
Olga first married Major General Erich Augustinovich von Pistohlkors, an officer of the Imperial Guard and an aide to Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. As a friend of Pistohlkors, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich often spent evenings with him and his wife Olga. Paul appreciated Olga’s elegance and lively spirit and an affair began. Pistohlkors turned a blind eye to the affair. Olga gave birth in 1897 to a son then known as Vladimir von Pistohlkors because his mother was still married to Pistohlkors. Eventually, Olga divorced her husband and Paul asked for permission to marry Olga from his nephew Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia but Nicholas II denied permission. Paul made a morganatic marriage to Olga on October 10, 1902. Paul was banished from Russia, dismissed from his military commissions, and all his property was seized. Ten years later, Nicholas II relented and decided to pardon his only surviving paternal uncle. Grand Duke Paul’s titles and properties were returned and Nicholas II recognized Paul’s marriage to Olga. Olga and Paul had one son and two daughters. During the Russian Revolution, her son Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley was one of the five Romanovs executed on July 18, 1918, with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. On January 28, 1919, her husband Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich along with three other Grand Dukes were executed by a firing squad in the courtyard of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Unofficial Royalty: Olga Valerianovna Karnovich, Princess Paley

December 2, 1915 – Birth of Prince Mikasa of Japan, son of Emperor Taishō of Japan, at the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan
Prince Mikasa was the youngest of the four sons of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei, and the youngest brother of Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa). He studied archaeology, Middle Eastern studies, and Semitic languages at the University of Tokyo. From 1954 until he died in 2016, he directed the Japanese Society for Middle East Studies. He also held visiting and guest faculty appointments in Middle Eastern studies and archaeology at universities in Japan and abroad. In 1941, Prince Mikasa married Yuriko Takagi, daughter of Japanese noble Viscount Masanari, who was known as Princess Mikasa after her marriage. The couple had three sons and two daughters. All three sons predeceased their parents. Prince Mikasa died of heart failure on October 27, 2016, at the age of 100, a little more than a month before his 101st birthday. At the time of his death, he was the world’s oldest royal, the longest-lived member of the Japanese Imperial Family, and the last of the five Japanese princes in the line of succession. Today, there are only three princes in the line of succession. See The Japanese Succession Crisis. Prince Mikasa lived during the reigns of three emperors: his father Emperor Taishō, his brother Emperor Hirohito, and his nephew Emperor Akihito.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Mikasa of Japan

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King Henry I of England, Credit – Wikipedia

December 1, 1135 – Death of King Henry I of England at St. Denis-le-Fermont, France; buried at Reading Abbey in Berkshire, England
Henry I was the fourth and the youngest son of William the Conqueror (King William I). In 1100, Henry married Edith of Scotland (renamed Matilda upon her marriage), the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland (born an Anglo-Saxon princess). Through her mother, Matilda merged the bloodline of the Anglo-Saxon kings with Henry’s Norman bloodline. Henry and Matilda had two surviving children. In 1120, William Ætheling, Henry’s only legitimate son, was returning to England from Normandy when his ship, the White Ship, hit a submerged rock, capsized, and sank. William Ætheling and many others drowned. King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children, 25 or so illegitimate children. However, the tragedy of the White Ship left him with only one legitimate child, his daughter Matilda. Henry died around the age of 67. He had fallen ill after eating a number of lampreys against his doctor’s advice. It is possible the cause of death was ptomaine poisoning. Upon hearing of Henry’s death, Stephen of Blois, one of Henry’s nephews, quickly crossed the English Channel from France, seized power, and was crowned King of England. This started the terrible civil war between Stephen and Henry’s daughter Matilda known as The Anarchy. England did not see peace for eighteen years until Matilda’s son acceded to the throne as King Henry II of England in 1153.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry I of England

December 1, 1241 – Death of Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress, daughter of King John of England, at Foggia, Kingdom of Sicily, now in Italy; buried at the Cathedral of Andria in Andria, Kingdom of Sicily, now in Italy
In 1235, 21-year-old Isabella married the twice-widowed 40-year-old Friedrich II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Sicily. There is controversy over how many children Isabella and Friedrich had, but they had at least four children. Isabella rarely appeared in public and had no political influence. She lived in seclusion mostly at the castle in Noventa Padovana, near Venice and Padua in present-day Italy. Isabella died at the age of 27 after giving birth to her last child.
Unofficial Royalty: Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress

December 1, 1463 – Death of Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scots, wife of  James II, King of Scots, at Ravenscraig Castle in Scotland;  buried in Trinity College Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland; in 1848, Mary’s remains were moved to Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh
Mary was educated in the court of her great-uncle Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and his third wife Isabella of Portugal, a granddaughter of John of Gaunt, son of King Edward III of England. Isabella, well educated by her parents King João I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, was known for her intelligence, patronage of the arts, and political influence on her husband and son. Isabella greatly influenced Mary and helped arrange Mary’s marriage to James II, King of Scots in 1449. Mary and James II had seven children. In 1460, Mary’s husband 29-year-old James II was accidentally killed when a cannon nearby where he was standing exploded. Mary became the regent for her nine-year-old son King James III. Mary of Guelders survived her husband by only three years, dying at the age of thirty.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scots

December 1, 1825 – Death of Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia at Taganrog, Russia; buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russia
In 1793, fifteen-year-old Alexander married fourteen-year-old Louise of Baden who took the Russian name Elizabeth Alexeievna. Two daughters were born during the marriage and both died in early childhood. It is possible that the daughters were not Alexander’s. Both Alexander and his wife had affairs and their marriage was one in name only. Alexander became Emperor of All Russia in 1801 upon the assassination of his father Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. The most important event during Alexander’s reign was the Napoleonic Wars, a series of major conflicts (1803 – 1815) pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against various coalitions of European powers. In 1812, Napoleon’s army invaded Russia. The French forces eventually were repelled by the brutal Russian winter and retreated to the borders of Russia, pursued by the Russian army. The French Army was almost destroyed. Napoleon’s ill-fated Russian invasion was the motivation for composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, written in 1882 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s invading army. Toward the end of his life, Alexander somewhat reconciled with his wife. By 1825, Elizabeth Alexeievna’s health was suffering due to lung problems and the doctors recommended getting away from the harsh climate of St. Petersburg. Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna relocated to the city of Taganrog, Russia by the Sea of Azov. Alexander had a cold, which developed into typhus. He died at the age of 47. Elizabeth Alexeievna survived him by five months.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia

December 1, 1844 – Birth of Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom, wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Alexandra Carolina Marie Charlotte Louise
The daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, Alexandra, known as Alix, married the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (Bertie) in 1863. The couple had six children including King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Maud of Norway. In 1901, Alix’s husband succeeded to the British throne upon the death of his mother Queen Victoria. Alix and her husband began the idea of the royal family’s public appearances as we now know them during Queen Victoria’s withdrawal after her husband’s death, and they continued this during Bertie’s reign. During his marriage, Bertie had several mistresses. Alix knew about many of them and accepted them. When Bertie died in 1910, Alix quipped, “Now at least I know where he is.”
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom

December 1, 2001 – Birth of Princess Aiko of Japan, the only child of Emperor Naruhito of Japan, at the Hospital of the Imperial Household in Tokyo, Japan
Princess Aiko is the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. She graduated from Gakushūin Primary School in March 2014, and the following month, she entered the Gakushūin Girls Junior High School. In 2017, Aiko entered the Gakushuin Girls High School, graduating in March 2020. In April 2020, Princess Aiko began her studies at Gakushuin University where she majored in Japanese language and literature, graduating in March 2024. Despite being the child of the Emperor, Princess Aiko is not in the line of succession to the throne, as The Imperial Household Law of 1947 limits succession to males in a male line only. After Aiko’s birth, there was much discussion about changing the succession laws. In 2005, the Prime Minister vowed to submit a bill to the government to change The Imperial Household Law, based on recommendations from an independent, government-appointed panel. However, the birth of a male cousin, Prince Hisahito, son of Crown Prince Akoshino, in 2006, ended the efforts, and the proposal was dropped. In practicality, with the current succession laws, the Imperial Family now has only one person who can provide any heirs, a boy born in 2006 who will not marry for years. In November 2020, it was recommended that the discussion regarding succession be shelved until Prince Hisahito becomes an adult and has children.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Aiko of Japan
Unofficial Royalty: Japanese Succession Crisis

December 1, 2004 – Death of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, born Count Bernhard of Biesterfeld, raised to Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, father of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, husband of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, at the University of Utrecht Medical Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands; buried at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands
Bernhard was the elder son of Prince Bernhard of Lippe (younger brother of Leopold IV, the reigning Prince of Lippe) and his wife Armgard von Cramm. Bernhard and Armgard’s marriage was considered morganatic, Bernhard was styled Graf von Biesterfeld (Count of Biesterfeld) at birth. In 1916, Bernhard’s uncle, Leopold IV, the reigning Prince of Lippe, created Armgard Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld with the style Serene Highness and this title and style was also extended to her two sons. In 1937, Bernhard married  Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, the only child, and heir of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. Bernhard and Juliana had four daughters including Juliana’s successor Queen Beatrix. In 2004, eight months after Juliana’s death, it was announced that Prince Bernhard had lung cancer. An additional announcement was made two weeks later stating that he also had a malignant tumor in the intestines. Bernhard died soon afterward at the age of 93.
Unofficial Royalty: Bernhard von Lippe-Biesterfeld

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King Christian VI of Denmark, Credit – Wikipedia

November 30, 1016 – Death of King Edmund II (Ironside) of England; buried at Glastonbury Abbey in Glastonbury, Somerset, England
Edmund was the third of the six sons of Æthelred II (the Unready), King of the English. Edmund was not expected to become king as he had two elder brothers but they both predeceased their father. Edmund became king upon his father’s death on April 23, 1016. Edmund was now king but had to fight to keep the Kingdom of England. He earned the added name “Ironside” because of his bravery in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut the Great. The war between Edmund and Cnut ended in a decisive victory for Cnut at the Battle of Assandun on October 18, 1016. Because Edmund’s reputation as a warrior was great, Cnut agreed to divide England, with Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the rest of the country beyond the River Thames. However, Edmund died on November 30, 1016, and Cnut the Great became King of England.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edmund II of England

November 30, 1699 – Birth of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Christian married  Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach in 1721. The couple had one son and two daughters including Frederik V, King of Denmark and Norway. Christian became King of Denmark and Norway upon the death of his father Frederik IV, King of Denmark and Norway in 1730. Christian VI is known as a religious ruler and remained devoted to Pietism. His court was considered dull. Only religious music was played and dancing was not allowed. Christian was a shy person, anxious about responsibility and decisions, and uncomfortable about carrying out his ceremonial obligations as the king. He never traveled except for one trip to Norway in 1733. Christian died at the age of 46.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway

November 30, 1719 – Birth of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Princess of Wales, wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales and mother of King George III of Great Britain, in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, now in Thuringia, Germany
In 1736, at the age of 16, and still very young for her age, clutching a doll, and knowing no English, Augusta arrived in England for her marriage to Frederick, Prince of Wales, the son of King George II of Great Britain. Frederick and Augusta had nine children including King George III who succeeded his grandfather King George II, and Caroline Matilda, Queen Consort of Denmark whose marriage was a tragic story. In 1751, Augusta’s husband died at the age of 44. At the time of Frederick’s death, his 32-year-old widow was pregnant with her ninth child. Augusta spent her years as a widow raising her nine children and improving the gardens at Kew Palace, now a world-class botanical garden. Her eldest son George succeeded his grandfather as king in 1760. Augusta died of throat cancer in 1772, at the age of 52.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales

November 30, 1834 – Death of Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, great-grandson of King George II, nephew and son-in-law of King George III, and husband of Princess Mary of the United Kingdom, at Bagshot Park in Surrey, England; buried in the Gloucester Vault at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
William Frederick was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and like his father, Prince William Henry, 1st Duke of Gloucester (brother of King George III), had a career in the British Army, attaining the rank of Field Marshal in 1816. He was an advocate for the abolition of slavery, served as President of the African Institution, and was Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. In 1816, 40-year-old William Frederick married his 40-year-old first cousin Princess Mary, the daughter of King George III.  Mary and William’s marriage was childless. The couple lived at Gloucester House in Piccadilly, London, and Bagshot Park, now the home of Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest child Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. William Frederik died at the age of 58 after being ill with a fever for fifteen days.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester

November 30, 1863 – Death of Kamehameha IV, King of the Hawaiian Islands, in Honolulu on the island of Oahu in the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands, now in the state of Hawaii; first buried in the Royal Mausoleum, Mauna ʻAla in Honolulu, later moved to the Kamehameha Tomb, an underground vault, under the Kamehameha Dynasty Tomb on the grounds of the Royal Mausoleum
Birth name: Alexander Liholiho ‘Iolanian
Born Alexander Liholiho ‘Iolanian, he was adopted by his uncle King Kamehameha III who had no surviving sons. His uncle proclaimed Alexander as heir to the throne and raised him as the crown prince. From 1849 to 1852, Alexander traveled around the world with his brother Lot Kapuāiwa, the future King Kamehameha V, and their guardian Gerrit P. Judd, an American physician and missionary who had become a citizen of Hawaii and an advisor and translator to King Kamehameha III. On December 15, 1854, King Kamehameha III died and 20-year-old Alexander succeeded him as King Kamehameha IV. On June 19, 1856, Alexander married 20-year-old Emma Rooke. They had one son who died in 1862. Alexander blamed himself for the 1862 death of his son and withdrew from public life. His continuing grief and worsening asthma contributed to his death on November 30, 1863, in Honolulu, Oahu, Kingdom of Hawaii, at the age of twenty-nine.
Unofficial Royalty: Kamehameha IV, King of the Hawaiian Islands

November 30, 1934 – Birth of Albert, Margrave of Meissen, disputed Head of the House of Saxony and pretender to the former throne of the Kingdom of Saxony, in Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Albert Joseph Maria Franz-Xaver, Prince of Saxony
Albert, Margrave of Meissen was briefly one of the disputed Heads of the House of Saxony and pretender to the former throne of the Kingdom of Saxony.
Unofficial Royalty: Albert, Margrave of Meissen

November 30, 1965 – Birth of Crown Prince Akishino of Japan, son of Emperor Emeritus Akihito of Japan, brother of Emperor Naruhito of Japan, at the Imperial Household Agency Hospital, Tokyo Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan 
After his early education, Akishiono attended Gakushuin University in Tokyo, studying law and biology. He later studied at St John’s College, Oxford, England, and received a Ph.D. in ornithology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan in 1996. In June 1990, Akishino married Kiko Kawashima. The couple had two daughters and one son. As his elder brother Emperor Naruhito has no sons, Akishino became the heir presumptive to the Chrysanthemum Throne upon Naruhito’s accession in 2019. Crown Prince Akishino is followed in the line of succession only by his son Prince Hisahito and his elderly uncle Prince Hitachi. This situation causes a succession crisis. Unless Emperor Naruhito has a son (unlikely) or the laws of succession are changed, Prince Hisahito will likely inherit the throne, and the line of succession will then depend upon Hisahito marrying and producing sons.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Prince Akishino of Japan
Unofficial Royalty: Japanese Succession Crisis

November 30, 1967 – Death of Josias, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont at Schaumburg Castle, and was buried in the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden (link in German), the burial site of the Waldeck-Pyrmont family in Rhoden, now in the German state of Hesse
Josias, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont was the last heir apparent to the throne of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and Head of the Princely House of Waldeck and Pyrmont from 1946 until he died in 1967. Josias was the Adjutant and Staff Chief of Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, the Schutzstaffel, the primary agency of security, surveillance, and terror in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. Himmler was the main architect of The Holocaust. In 1947, Josias was convicted as a Nazi war criminal.
Unofficial Royalty: Josias, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

November 30, 2011 – Death of Crown Prince Leka I of Albania, pretender to the Albanian throne, at Mother Teresa Hospital in Tirana, Albania; first buried at Sharra Cemetery in Tirana, Albania, in November 2012 his remains were reinterred in the newly rebuilt Royal Mausoleum in Tirana, Albania
Leka was the only child of  King Zog I of the Albanians who reigned from 1928-1939. Just two days after Leka’s birth, Fascist forces invaded Albania, and the family quickly fled into exile. They settled briefly in France before moving to England where they lived through the end of World War II and eventually moved to Egypt in 1946. During that time, Leka attended the British Boys School and Victoria College in Egypt before graduating from Aiglon College in Switzerland in 1956. In 1975, Leka married Susan Cullen-Ward and the couple had one son who is styled Crown Prince Leka II. Leka I and his family were allowed to return to Albania in 2002. When Leka I died in 2011 at the age of 72,  the government declared a National Day of Mourning, and he was given a state funeral, with full military honors.
Unofficial Royalty:  Crown Leka I Prince of Albania

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Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in her own right; Credit – Wikipedia

November 29, 1338 – Birth of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, son of King Edward III of England, at Antwerp, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium
The third, but the second surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, Lionel of Antwerp, was one of the two people on whom the House of York would base its claim to the English throne during the Wars of the Roses. Lionel married the wealthy heiress Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster in her own right. Lionel and Elizabeth had one child, a daughter Philippa, who married Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March. It is through Philippa and Edmund’s eldest son Roger Mortimer that the House of York is derived. During the reign of the childless King Richard II, the only surviving child of Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince) who predeceased his father King Edward III, Lionel’s daughter Philippa was the heir presumptive to the English throne. After she died in 1382, her eldest son Roger was the heir presumptive. In 1400, King Richard II was deposed by his first cousin Henry of Bolingbroke (King Henry IV), the eldest son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, King Edward III’s third surviving son. Thus started the beginnings of the Wars of the Roses between the Lancasters and the Yorks.
Unofficial Royalty: Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence

November 29, 1489 – Birth of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, 2nd husband of Margaret Tudor  in Douglasdale, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V, King of Scots and Mary, Queen of Scots, was a leader of the Anglophile faction in Scotland in the early decades of the 16th century, seizing power several times. In his later years, Archibald was once again a Scottish patriot. Through their daughter Margaret Douglas, Archibald and Margaret Tudor are the grandparents of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, the first cousin and second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, the great-grandparents of James VI, King of Scots, later also James I, King of England, and the ancestors of the British royal family and most other European royal families.
Unofficial Royalty: Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus

November 29, 1780 – Death of Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, died at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria; buried at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
Maria Theresa was the sovereign ruler of the Habsburg territories from 1740 until she died in 1780 and was the only female to hold the position. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. By marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, and Holy Roman Empress. Maria Theresa’s only brother died several weeks before she was born and her two younger siblings were sisters.  Throughout his reign, her father Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI expected to have a male heir and never really prepared Maria Theresa for her future role as sovereign. Upon her father’s death, Maria Theresa became Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in her own right. She was unable to become the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female. Via a treaty, Maria Theresa arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor. Despite the snub, Maria Theresa wielded the real power. Maria Theresa and her husband had had sixteen children but eight of them died in childhood. Two of their sons were Holy Roman Emperors and their daughter Maria Antonia married King Louis XVI of France and became Queen Marie Antoinette. In 1767, Maria Theresa had smallpox and after that, her health deteriorated. She died surrounded by her surviving children at the age of 67 after a reign of 40 years.
Unofficial Royalty:  Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia

November 29, 1794 – Death of Sophia Friederike of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Princess of Denmark and Norway, at Sorgenfri Palace in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark, north of Copenhagen; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia Friederike of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Princess of Denmark and Norway
Sophia Friederike married Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark and Norway, the only child of King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway and his second wife Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. They were the parents of King Christian VIII of Denmark. Through their daughter Louise Charlotte, they are the ancestors of the Belgian, British, Danish, Luxembourg, Norwegian, and Spanish royal families and the former royal families of Greece and Romania.

November 29, 1918 – Birth of Prince Friedrich Josias  of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, at Callenberg Castle in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Friedrich Josias Carl Eduard Ernst Kyrill Harald
The Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1954 until he died in 1998, Friedrich Josias was born three weeks after his father Charles Edward was deposed as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Through his father, Friedrich Josias was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria. In 1942, Friedrich Josias married his first cousin Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth The couple divorced in 1946 but they had one son who succeeded his father as the Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. During World War II, Friedrich Josias was an adjutant to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel who was in charge of the German campaign in North Africa and on the staff of General Hermann von Hanneken, the supreme commander of the German forces in Denmark. In May 1945, Friedrich Josias was captured by British forces in Denmark and remained in captivity until he was released that autumn when he returned to Coburg. In 1948, Friedrich Josias married  Denyse Henriette de Muralt  The couple divorced in 1964 and had three children. He made a third marriage in 1964 to Katrin Bremme but they had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Friedrich Josias  of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

November 29, 1934 – Wedding of Prince George, Duke of Kent, son of King George V of the United Kingdom, and Princess Marina of Greece at Westminster Abbey in London, England
In September 1933, Marina traveled to London with her sister Olga and Olga’s husband Prince Paul of Yugoslavia. Both Marina and George attended a luncheon at Claridge’s Hotel. The two were second cousins as they were both great-grandchildren of King Christian IX of Denmark. They had met many times before but at the luncheon, they each paid more attention to the other. George’s eldest brother encouraged him to court Marina. The next summer, Marina’s mother and other members of the Greek royal family came to London, and George and Marina began a serious courtship. On the evening of August 20, 1934, after a game of backgammon, Marina’s family left her alone with George and he proposed. On August 28, 1934, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Prince George, Duke of Kent to Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark

November 29, 1939 – Death of Marie of Baden, Duchess of Anhalt died in Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried in the Dessau Mausoleum in Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, in 1958, all of the remains were removed from the mausoleum and buried in a mass grave in the Ziebigk Cemetery in Dessau
In 1889, Marie married the future Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt. Her husband became the reigning Duke of Anhalt upon his father’s death in 1904. Although the couple did not have any children, their marriage was a happy one. Marie quickly became involved in charity after her marriage, supporting organizations that promoted education and care for the underprivileged. In 1892, along with her mother-in-law, she helped found the Anhalt Deaconess Institution, which educated women in caring for the sick and the poor. During World War I, Marie continued working to establish better medical and care facilities for wounded soldiers. When her husband died in April 1918, the throne of Anhalt passed to his younger brother Eduard. After World War I, Marie returned to Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, where she died at the age of 74, having survived her husband by over 21 years.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Baden, Duchess of Anhalt

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