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Feodora of Leiningen, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; Credit – Wikipedia
September 23, 1158 – Birth of Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, son of King Henry II of England
Geoffrey’s father King Henry II of England was determined to expand and maintain his French territory. Through political action, military action, and marriage, Henry obtained the Duchy of Brittany. Henry II had now provided his three surviving sons with territories of their own: Henry would become King of England and have control of Anjou, Maine, and Normandy; Richard would inherit Aquitaine and Poitiers from his mother and Geoffrey would become Duke of Brittany. Henry II’s youngest son John would be born later in 1166 and would have no land, hence his nickname John Lackland. However, things did not work out the way Henry II had envisioned.
Unofficial Royalty: Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany
September 23, 1535 – Death of Katarina of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden, first wife of King Gustav Vasa I of Sweden, in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden
In 1531, Katarina married King Gustav Vasa I of Sweden, and two years later, she fulfilled her most important duty as queen consort when she gave birth to a son, the future Erik XIV, King of Sweden. In September 1535, during a ball given in honor of her brother-in-law, Christian III, King of Denmark and Norway, who was visiting Sweden, the pregnant Katharina fell while dancing with Christian III. The fall confined her to bed and led to complications, and she died the day before her twenty-second birthday along with her unborn child.
Unofficial Royalty: Katarina of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden
September 23, 1555 – Birth of Louise de Coligny, Princess of Orange, fourth wife of Willem I, Prince of Orange (the Silent), at Châtillon-sur-Loing, France
In 1583, Willem I, Prince of Orange married his fourth wife French Huguenot Louise de Coligny, daughter of Gaspard II de Coligny. Louise’s father was a French nobleman and admiral but is best remembered as a leader of the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants). Both Louise’s father and her first husband Charles de Teligny were killed during the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 when thousands of Huguenots were murdered. Willem and Louise had one son Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange whose son Willem II, Prince of Orange was the father of Willem III, Prince of Orange who was later King William III of England. On July 10, 1584, a little more than six months after the birth of her son, Louise was widowed for the second time when Willem I, Prince of Orange was assassinated.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise de Coligny, Princess of Orange
September 23, 1598 – Birth of Eleonora Gonzaga of Mantua, Holy Roman Empress, second wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Inner Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, in Mantua, Duchy of Mantua, now in Lombardy, Italy
After being widowed for six years, 44-year-old Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor arranged to marry Eleanora, his 24-year-old first cousin once removed. Despite their twenty-year age difference, Eleonora and Ferdinand II had a happy marriage. Eleonora and Ferdinand had no children, but Eleonora had a close relationship with her stepchildren from Feredinand’s first marriage. After Ferdinand died in 1537, Eleonora lived in Graz Castle near her husband’s mausoleum but then she settled in Vienna, living mostly at the Discalced Carmelites Monastery she had founded in 1622. Eleonora spent part of her time in the palaces outside Vienna, especially Schönbrunn Palace. Eleonora, Dowager Holy Roman Empress died, aged fifty-six, in Vienna on June 27, 1655. She was buried in Vienna at the Discalced Carmelites Monastery she had founded. In 1782, Eleonora’s remains were reinterred in the Ducal Crypt at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria.
Unofficial Royalty: Eleonora Gonzaga of Mantua, Holy Roman Empress, 2nd wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
September 23, 1713 – Birth of King Fernando VI of Spain at the Real Alcázar de Madrid in Madrid, Spain
In 1729, Fernando married Barbara of Portugal, daughter of João V, King of Portugal. The couple had no children. Fernando succeeded his father Felipe V, King of Spain in 1746, and reigned for thirteen years. His wife Barbara died in 1758 and her death broke Fernando’s heart. During the last year of his reign, probably at least partially caused by his wife’s death, Fernando VI rapidly lost his mental capacity and was held at the Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón, near Madrid, where he died less than a year after Barbara’s death, on August 10, 1759, at the age of 45.
Unofficial Royalty: King Fernando VI of Spain
September 23, 1759 – Birth of Marie Clotilde of France, Queen of Sardinia, wife of Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia, at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France
Full name: Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Xavière
Marie Clotilde was the daughter of Louis, Dauphin of France who predeceased his father Louis XV, King of France. Three of Marie Clotilde’s brothers were Kings of France: the ill-fated Louis XVI, and two kings of the Bourbon Restoration: Louis XVIII and Charles X. For political reasons, her brother Louis XVI arranged for her to marry the future Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia. Their marriage was childless. Marie Clotilde died from typhoid fever on March 7, 1802, aged 42. Pope Pius VII, who had personally known Marie Clotilde, declared her The Venerable Marie Clotilde of France in 1808. In the Catholic Church, after a deceased Catholic has been declared a Servant of God by a bishop and proposed for beatification by the Pope, they may next be declared Venerable (“heroic in virtue”) during the investigation and process leading to possible canonization as a saint.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie Clotilde of France, Queen of Sardinia
September 23, 1781- Birth of Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia, in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany
Juliane was an aunt to both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In 1796, Julianne married Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia. Konstantin was the second son of the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, and younger brother of the future Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia. Konstantin was forced into marrying and had no real interest in Juliane. Both were still teenagers, had little in common, and Konstantin was focused solely on his military career. He was also known to be quite violent toward her. In 1799, Juliane left Russia under the auspices of medical treatment but was soon forced to return. In 1801, her mother came to Russia to accompany Juliane to Coburg to recover from ill health. Upon arriving back home in Coburg, she refused to ever return to Russia and soon began to negotiate for a divorce. However, the Russian court would not allow a formal end to the marriage.
Unofficial Royalty: Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna
September 23, 1818 – Birth of Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford, Queen Victoria’s Mistress of the Robes 1880–1883 and Acting Mistress of the Robes 1886
Born Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West, she was the daughter of George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr. She married Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford
September 23, 1864 – Birth of Draga Mašin, Queen of Serbia, wife of King Alexander I of Serbia, born Draga Lunjevica in Gornji Milanovac, Serbia
Draga Mašin was the wife of King Alexander I of Serbia, the last ruler of Serbia from the House of Obrenović. Alexander’s reign ended with his and Draga’s brutal assassinations. Draga and Alexander met while she was serving as a lady-in-waiting to Draga’s mother. Draga was twelve years older than Alexander but despite the age difference, the two fell in love. In Belgrade, everyone knew about the affair of Alexander and Draga. Draga appeared at every important court function and was praised for her tact, elegance, beauty, wit, and restraint. However, everyone also thought that it was just an affair. On July 8, 1900, 24-year-old King Alexander suddenly announced his engagement to 36-year-old Draga, and the couple married later that year. Their marriage and their lives ended in 1903 when Alexander and Draga were brutally shot, mutilated, and thrown out a palace window.
Unofficial Royalty: Draga Mašin, Queen of Serbia
September 23, 1872 – Death of Feodora of Leiningen, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg at the Villa Hohenlohe in Baden-Baden, Principality of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried in the Main Cemetery in Baden-Baden, Principality of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Feodora was the elder maternal half-sister of Queen Victoria. In 1828, Feodora married Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg at Kensington Palace in London, and the couple had six children. Victoria and Feodora wrote to each other religiously. Victoria and her mother visited Feodora and Feodora visited Victoria and their mother in England. Whenever she came, Victoria paid Feodora £300 for her expenses. Feodora came to England when Victoria needed her the most, in the summer of 1861 following the death of their mother and then in December 1861 following Prince Albert’s death. After getting a telegram informing her of Feodora’s death following a serious illness, Victoria wrote in her journal: “Can I write it? My own darling, only sister, my dear excellent, noble Feodora is no more!… I stand so alone now, no near & dear one nearer my own age, or older, to whom I could look up to, left! All, all gone! How good & wise, beloved Feodora was, so devoted to me, so truly pious & religious. She is gone to that world she was so fit for & entered it, just sleeping away. What a blessed end! but what a loss to those who are left! She was my last near relative on an equality with me, the last link with my childhood & youth.”
Unofficial Royalty: Feodora of Leiningen, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
September 23, 1914 – Birth of Omar Ali Saifuddien III, Sultan of Brunei in Brunei Town, Brunei
When Omar’s brother Ahmad Tajuddin, Sultan of Brunei died in 1950 without any male heirs, Omar succeeded to the throne of Brunei. On October 4, 1967, Omar voluntarily abdicated in favor of his eldest son Hassanal Bolkiah but he still wielded most of the power in Brunei for a number of years. At the coronation of his son, Omar placed the crown upon Hassanal Bolkiah’s head. Omar became his son’s personal adviser and guided him in carrying out the duties as the Sultan in preparation for the time Brunei would eventually become an independent and sovereign country.
Unofficial Royalty: Omar Ali Saifuddien III, Sultan of Brunei
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