compiled by Susan Flantzer

This does not purport to be a complete list. All images are from Wikipedia unless otherwise indicated.

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Georg Wilhelm, Hereditary Prince of Hanover

• Born: October 28, 1880 at Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden, Austrian Empire, now in Austria
• Parents: Ernst August, Crown Prince of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and Princess Thyra of Denmark
• Died: May 20, 1912, aged 31, in Nackel, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
• Buried: Mausoleum at Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden, Austrian Empire, now in Austria
• Wikipedia: Georg Wilhelm, Hereditary Prince of Hanover (in German)

Georg Wilhelm was the eldest child of his parents. He was an enthusiastic fan of automobile racing and took part in races several times. Georg Wilhelm was killed in a car accident after skidding on a newly laid road surface and hitting a tree while driving to the funeral of his uncle King Frederik VIII of Denmark. His valet was also killed in the accident.

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Princess Astrid of Sweden, Queen of the Belgians

• Born: November 17, 1905 at Arvfurstens Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
• Parents: Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark
• Married: King Leopold III of the Belgians in 1926
• Died: August 29, 1935, aged 29, in Küssnacht am Rigi, Schwyz, Switzerland
• Buried: Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium
• Unofficial Royalty: Astrid of Sweden, Queen of the Belgians

In August 1935, Astrid’s family was on holiday in Switzerland. On August 29, 1935, having sent their three children ahead, Leopold and Astrid decided to take one last outing before returning to Belgium. On a drive in the mountains near Lake Lucerne, with King Leopold at the wheel, and Astrid beside him, the king was distracted by something Astrid pointed out to him and lost control of the car. The convertible went off the road and down a steep slope, crashing into a tree. Both of them were thrown from the car, but Leopold was not seriously injured. Astrid, however, was thrown into another tree and died from her injuries. Later, a chapel and memorial were built in her honor in Küssnacht am Rigi, at the scene of the accident.

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King Ghazi bin Faisal of Iraq

• Born: March 21, 1912 in Mecca, Emirate of Mecca, Ottoman Empire, now in Saudi Arabia
• Parents: King Faisal I of Iraq and Huzaima bint Nasser
• Married: Princess Aliya bint Ali of Hejaz in 1934
• Died: April 4, 1939, aged 27 in Baghdad, Iraq
• Buried: Royal Mausoleum in Al-Adhamiyah, Baghdad, Iraq
• Wikipedia: King Ghazi bin Faisal of Iraq

Ghazi died in a mysterious crash while driving a sports car. Some believe he was killed on the orders of Prime Minister Nuri as-Said because of his plans for the unification of Iraq with Kuwait.

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Princess Grace of Monaco

• Born: Grace Patrica Kelly on November 12, 1929 at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
• Parents: John B. Kelly Sr. and Margaret Katherine Majer
• Married: Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1956
• Died: September 14, 1982, aged 52, at Monaco Hospital (later named the Princess Grace Hospital Centre) in La Colle, Monaco
• Buried: Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate (St. Nicholas Cathedral) in Monaco-Ville, Monaco
• Unofficial Royalty: Princess Grace of Monaco

On September 13, 1982, while returning home from a family home in Roc Agel, France, Grace suffered a stroke while driving. She lost control of the car which veered off the road, overturned and plunged down a 120-foot high mountainside road. Grace survived the crash but died from her injuries the following night. Her youngest daughter Princess Stéphanie was a passenger and suffered a concussion and a hairline fracture of a cervical vertebra.

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King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho

• Born: May 2, 1938 in Morija, Basutoland in now Lesotho
• Parents: Simon Seeiso Griffith, Paramount Chief of Basutoland and ‘Mabereng
• Married: Princess Tabitha ‘Masentle Lerotholi Mojela (later known as Queen ‘Mamohato of Lesotho) in 1962
• Died: January 15, 1996, aged 57 in the Maloti Mountains in Lesotho
• Buried: Thaba Bosiu, a plateau in Lesotho, the stronghold of King Moshoeshoe I (reigned 1822 – 1870) and once the capital of Lesotho, King Moshoeshoe I was buried there
• Wikipedia: King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho

Moshoeshoe’s car plunged off a mountain road during the early hours of January 15, 1996. The accident also killed his chauffeur.

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Diana, Princess of Wales

• Born: The Honorable Diana Frances Spencer (later Lady Diana Spencer) on July 1, 1961 at
• Park House, Sandringham, in Norfolk, England
• Parents: John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer and The Honourable Frances Roche
• Married: Prince Charles Prince of Wales in 1981, divorced 1996
• Died: August 31, 1997, aged 36 at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, France
• Buried: Althorp, the Spencer family home in Northamptonshire, England
• Unofficial Royalty: Diana, Princess of Wales

At 4 AM (Paris time) on Sunday, August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died in Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, France after being involved in a car crash that instantly killed her companion Dodi Fayed and the driver of the car Henri Paul. Diana’s car was being chased by photographers on motorbikes at high speeds when the crash happened in the Ponte l’Alma Tunnel in Paris, France. Investigation of the accident also brought to light that the driver of the car was more than three times over the French alcohol limit.

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Duke Friedrich of Württemberg

• Born: June 1, 1961 in Friedrichshafen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• Parents: Carl, Duke of Württemberg and Diane of Orléans
• Married: Princess Marie of Wied in 1993
• Died: May 9, 2018 on the road between Ebenweiler and Fronreute in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• Wikipedia: Duke Friedrich of Württemberg

Friedrich was the heir to the headship of the House of Württemberg, no longer a reigning house. While overtaking the car in front of him, he collided with an oncoming vehicle and died of his injuries at the scene of the accident.

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