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Sophia Dorothea of Celle with her two children, the future King George II and Sophia Dorothea, the future wife of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, Credit – Wikipedia
September 15, 1666 – Birth of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover, wife of George, Electoral Prince of Hanover (later King George I of Great Britain), at Celle Castle in the Principality of Lüneburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
The marriage between first cousins Sophia Dorothea and George, the future King George I of Great Britain, was happy at first, but soon they both found affection elsewhere. George fell in love with one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting, Melusine von der Schulenburg. Sophia Dorothea fell in love with a Swedish Count, Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, an officer in the Hanoverian army. Despite warnings, from her mother and friends, Sophia Dorothea and her lover wrote letters to each other, met secretly, and planned to escape Hanover together. On the morning of July 2, 1694, after a meeting with Sophia Dorothea, von Königsmarck disappeared from Leineschloss Castle in Hanover and was never seen again. It was widely believed that George ordered von Königsmarck’s death. On December 28, 1694, a tribunal of judges and Lutheran Church officials declared the marriage of George and Sophia Dorothea dissolved on the grounds of Sophia Dorothea’s desertion. Because she was considered the guilty party, Sophia Dorothea was not allowed to remarry, would never again see her children, and would be kept in captivity at the Castle of Ahlden for the last 32 years of her life.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electress Princess of Hanover
September 15, 1800 – Birth of Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin at Ludwigslust Palace in Ludwigslust, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
In 1822, Paul Friedrich married Alexandrine of Prussia, the daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and the couple had six children. Paul Friedrich became Grand Duke upon his grandfather’s death on February 1, 1837. He moved the official Grand Ducal residence from Ludwigslust to Schwerin and worked to improve the judicial system and the infrastructure of the Grand Duchy. Using his experience with the Prussian military, the Grand Duke made efforts to modernize the Mecklenburg-Schwerin military, basing many of his reforms on the Prussian forces. As his reign continued, he became more reclusive, often shunning his family and spending time quietly with his mistress. Paul Friedrich died on March 7, 1842, aged 41. Several weeks earlier, he had contracted a cold while helping to battle a great fire in Schwerin and never recovered.
Unofficial Royalty: Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
September 15, 1837 – Birth of King Pedro V of Portugal at the Palace of Necessidades in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: Pedro de Alcântara Maria Fernando Miguel Rafael Gonzaga Xavier João António Leopoldo Víctor Francisco de Assis Júlio Amélio
Pedro became King of Portugal in 1853 after his mother Queen Maria II of Portugal died in childbirth delivering her eleventh child who also died. As he was just sixteen, his father served as Regent until Pedro reached his majority two years later. Pedro quickly removed the Prime Minister and appointed more left-leaning politicians, ending years of unrest within the Portuguese government. In 1858, Pedro married Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen who died two years later from diphtheria. King Pedro V died of typhoid fever in late 1861, along with two of his brothers. As he had no children from his brief marriage, Pedro was succeeded by his younger brother Luís.
Unofficial Royalty: King Pedro V of Portugal
September 15, 1840 – Death of Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Savoy and Reggio, wife of Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio; buried at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena, Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy
Maria Beatrice was the eldest of the seven children of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy. In 1812, 20-year-old Maria Beatrice married her 33-year-old maternal uncle Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and had four children. Like Maria Beatrice’s family, her husband Francesco had also been exiled since 1796 from the Duchy of Modena and Reggio due to the occupation of Napoleon’s French forces. After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the couple was able to return to Modena. As the senior surviving descendant of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans, daughter of King Charles I of England and sister of James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots, Maria Beatrice became the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland after the death of her father Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia in 1824. During the last years of her life, Maria Beatrice preferred to live at the Castello del Catajo in Battaglia Terme near Padua, then in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, now in Italy, a summer home that had been purchased by Francesco IV in 1803. It was there that Maria Beatrice died from heart failure on September 15, 1840, at the age of 47.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Savoy and Reggio
September 15, 1864 – Birth of Prince Sigismund of Prussia, grandson of Queen Victoria, at Neues Palais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Franz Friedrich Sigismund
Sigismund was the son of Victoria, Princess Royal and the future Friedrich III, German Emperor. On June 4, 1866, Vicky’s husband Fritz left for the front of the Austro-Prussian War. Even before his father left, Sigismund had been fretful and it was thought to be caused by teething. However, the day after Fritz left, Sigismund was unable to eat or sleep. Twenty-four hours later, he could no longer stand. Because all the doctors normally used by the family had left with the army, Vicky was forced to consult doctors unknown to her who gave her the terrible news that her son had meningitis. At that time, there was no successful treatment for meningitis, and death usually occurred. Sigismund’s convulsions grew increasingly worse until he died in agony on June 18, 1866, only 21 months old. He was the first of Queen Victoria’s grandchildren to die.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Sigismund of Prussia
September 15, 1904 – Birth of King Umberto II of Italy at the Castle of Racconigi in Piedmont, Italy
Full name: Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria
King Umberto II was the last monarch of Italy, reigning for just 34 days. In 1930, Umberto married Princess Marie-José of Belgium, the daughter of King Albert I of the Belgians and the couple had four children. At the end of World War II, Italy held a referendum to decide on the continuation of the monarchy, Umberto’s father King Vittorio Emanuele III formally abdicated on May 9, 1946, hoping to help ensure a positive result in the vote and Umberto took the throne as King Umberto II. The referendum was held on June 2, 1946, with the majority voting to become a Republic. Umberto had promised to accept and support the result and encouraged the Italian people to support the new government. On June 12, 1946, King Umberto II of Italy was formally deposed and left Italy. He settled in Cascais, Portugal, where he would live for the remainder of his life. His wife Queen Marie-José also left and settled near Geneva, Switzerland. The couple led separate lives but remained married.
Unofficial Royalty: King Umberto II of Italy
September 15, 1972 – Birth of Queen Letizia of Spain, wife of King Felipe VI of Spain, born Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
Letizia is the current Queen Consort of Spain. Before her marriage to Felipe, Prince of Asturias, the heir to the Spanish throne, she had a very successful career as a journalist. The couple married in 2004, at the Santa María la Real de La Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, Spain. It was the first royal wedding held in Madrid since the wedding of Felipe’s great-grandparents King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg in 1906. Letizia and Felipe had two daughters. Her husband became King of Spain upon the abdication of his father King Juan Carlos in 2014.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Letizia of Spain
September 15, 1973 – Death of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden at Helsingborg Hospital in Helsingborg, Sweden; buried at the Royal Burial Grounds in Haga, Sweden
In 1905, Gustav Adolf married Princess Margaret of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The couple had five children. In 1920, Margaret was eight months pregnant with her sixth child when she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection set in, killing Margaret and her unborn child. In 1923, Gustav Adolf married Lady Louise Mountbatten (born Princess Louise of Battenberg). The couple had a stillborn daughter in 1925, and after that, they had no more children. Another tragedy hit in 1947 Gustav Adolf when his eldest son Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten was killed in an airplane crash. In 1950, Gustav Adolf became King of Sweden at age 67 upon the death of his father King Gustaf V. In the summer of 1973, King Gustaf VI Adolf fell ill from bleeding ulcers and had surgery. After the surgery, he developed pneumonia, cardiac issues, and kidney failure, and King Gustaf VI Adolf died, just short of his 91st birthday. He was succeeded by his 27-year-old grandson King Carl XVI Gustaf. The new king was the son of King Gustaf Adolf VI’s deceased eldest son Prince Gustaf Adolf who was not even a year old when his father had been killed.
Unofficial Royalty: King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden
September 15, 1973 – Birth of Prince Daniel of Sweden, husband of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, born Olof Daniel Westling at Örebro University Hospital in Örebro, Sweden
Daniel is the husband of Crown Princess Victoria, the heir apparent to the Swedish throne. Daniel started his own company in 1997 and worked as a consultant in the fitness industry. He then went on to run his own gym where he met Victoria and became her personal trainer. The couple married in 2010. Victoria and Daniel have a daughter and a son. Their daughter Estelle is second in line to the Swedish throne after her mother and remained in that position after the birth of her brother Oscar.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland
September 15, 1984 – Birth of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, England
Full name: Henry Charles Albert David
In May 2005, Harry entered Royal Military Academy Sandhurst where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales. He completed his training in April 2006 and was commissioned as a Cornet (second lieutenant) in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army. Harry’s highest rank in the army was Captain and like his brother William, he used Wales as his surname with his military rank. Harry trained to fly Apache helicopters and served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. In 2018, Harry married American actress Meghan Markle. In 2020, it was announced that Harry and Meghan would step back as senior royals, and in 2021, it was further announced that they will no longer have any of their royal patronages or honorary military roles. Harry and Meghan live in California in the United States and have a son and a daughter.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
September 15, 2014 – Death of Prince Nicholas Romanov in Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy; interred in the crypt of the Counts della Gherardesoc, the burial site of his wife’s family, at the Basilica of Saint Francis in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy
Prince Nicholas Romanov, a great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia, was one of the disputed pretenders to the Headship of the Russian Imperial Family from 1992 – 2014.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Nicholas Romanov
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