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Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia
September 28, 1663 – Birth of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
In 1679, Henry married Isabella Bennet, daughter and heiress of Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington and Elisabeth of Nassau, a granddaughter of Maurits of Nassau, Prince of Orange, and a great-granddaughter of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange. When her father died, Isabella became the 2nd Countess of Arlington in her own right. Henry and Isabella had one son Charles FitzRoy, who succeeded his parents as 2nd Duke of Grafton and 3rd Earl of Arlington. Henry was raised as a sailor and was well-suited to military life. He was appointed Colonel of the Grenadier Guards in 1681 and served as Vice-Admiral of England from 1682 to 1689. On October 9, 1690, in Cork, Ireland, 27-year-old Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton died from wounds received two weeks earlier at the Siege of Cork, during the Williamite War in Ireland when supporters of the former King James II attempted to retake the English throne from King William III and Queen Mary II.
Unofficial Royalty: Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton
September 28, 1765 – Birth of Princess Wilhelmine Luise of Nassau-Weilburg, Princess Reuss of Greiz, wife of Heinrich XIII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Greiz, in The Hague, then in the Dutch Republic, now in The Netherlands
The daughter of Karl Christian, Duke of Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau, twenty-year-old Wilhelmine Luise married thirty-eight-year-old Heinrich XIII, the heir to the throne of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz in 1786. Wilhelmine Luise and Heinrich XIII had four sons. When his father died in 1800, Heinrich XIII succeeded as Prince Reuss of Greiz. Heinrich XIII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Greiz died on January 29, 1817, aged 69. Wilhelmine Luise survived her husband by twenty years, dying on October 10, 1837, aged 72.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelmine Luise of Nassau-Weilburg, Princess Reuss of Greiz
September 28, 1828 – Birth of Antoinette de Mérode-Westerloo, Princess of Monaco, wife of Prince Charles III of Monaco, in Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Antoinette Ghislaine
Antoinette was the daughter of daughters of Werner Jean-Baptiste Merode, Count of Merode, a Belgian politician from a Belgian noble family, and Countess Victoire de Spangen Uyterness. In 1846, on her 18th birthday, Antoinette married the 27-year-old future Charles III, Prince of Monaco, then the Hereditary Prince of Monaco and Marquis of Baux. Charles and Antoinette had one child, Albert I, Prince of Monaco. Charles began to lose his eyesight during his early reign. He depended greatly on his wife Antoinette as his condition continued to worsen. In 1862, Antoinette was diagnosed with cancer, and she died on February 10, 1864, at the age of 35.
Unofficial Royalty: Antoinette de Mérode-Westerloo, Princess of Monaco
September 28, 1863 – Birth of King Carlos I of Portugal at the Ajuda Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: Carlos Fernando Luís Maria Victor Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis José Simão
In 1886, Carlos married Princess Amélie of Orléans, the daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, a pretender to the French throne, and the couple had two sons. Carlos became King of Portugal upon his father’s death in 1889. In June 1892, Portugal faced the first of two bankruptcies which further strengthened the Republican movement that placed the blame for the bankruptcy solely on the monarchy. As the King’s reign continued, the political landscape became more volatile. In 1906, Carlos appointed João Franco as Prime Minister, despite the misgivings of many of his family and advisers. Franco asked Carlos to dissolve parliament, causing a huge campaign in Portugal claiming that the country was now a dictatorship. Public support for King Carlos quickly diminished, particularly as he strongly supported Franco. It would lead to his tragic death. On February 1, 1908, King Carlos I and his elder son Luís Filipe, Prince Royal were shot and killed by two gunmen while riding in an open carriage in Lisbon, Portugal.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carlos I of Portugal
September 28, 1865 – Birth of Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal, wife of King Carlos I of Portugal, in Twickenham, United Kingdom
Full name: Marie Amélie Louise Hélène
Amélie was born in Twickenham, London, England where her family had been living in exile since the French monarchy of the House of Orléans had fallen in 1848. In 1886, Amélie married the future King Carlos of Portugal and they had two sons. As Queen, Amélie took great interest in the well-being of the Portuguese people, establishing hospitals, sanatoriums, pharmacies, kitchens, and nurseries. She founded the Royal Institute of Aid to the Shipwrecked in 1892. the National Coach Museum in 1905, the Pasteur Institute in Portugal, and the National Assistance for Tuberculosis in 1899. However, along with her philanthropic efforts, she was also greatly criticized for her lavish spending, particularly in the midst of Portugal’s two bankruptcies. Amélie was in the open carriage when her husband King Carlos and son Luís Filipe, Prince Royal were shot and killed by two gunmen. Amazingly, Queen Amélie was unharmed, and her younger son Prince Manuel only suffered a gunshot to his arm.
Unofficial Royalty: Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal
September 28, 1891- Death of Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess Reuss of Greiz, wife of Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz, due to childbirth complications, in Schleiz, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Thuringia, Germany; first buried in the Waldhaus Mausoleum in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, 1969 remains cremated and buried at the Neue Friedhof (New Cemetery) in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany; 1997, remains moved to Stadtkirche St. Marien in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany
In 1872, Ida married Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz and they had one son and five daughters. Heinrich XXII built Jagdschloss Ida-Waldhaus, a hunting lodge in the forest near Greiz named after his beloved wife Ida. Heinrich XXII loved the tranquility of that forest so much that he decided to be buried there. He commissioned the building of the Waldhaus Mausoleum, a Gothic-style chapel with a crypt. Sadly, Ida died, aged 39, from complications that occurred during the birth of her sixth child, a daughter, named Ida after her. When Ida’s husband Heinrich XXII died in 1902 and when their son Heinrich XXIV died in 1927, they were also buried in the Waldhaus Mausoleum. In 1969, the Waldhaus Mausoleum had fallen into disrepair and the remains of Heinrich XXII, Ida, and their son Heinrich XXIV were cremated and placed in urns. Their remains have been reinterred twice since then.
Unofficial Royalty: Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess Reuss of Greiz
September 28, 1893 – Birth of Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, husband of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, at Schwarzau Castle, in Schwarzau am Steinfeld, Austria
Full name: Félix Marie Vincent
Felix was the son of Robert I, Duke of Parma and his second wife, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, and a brother of Zita who married Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria. In 1919, Felix married his first cousin Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and the couple had six children. Felix spent his married life supporting his wife and helping to bring more prominence to the small Grand Duchy. In 1964, Charlotte decided to abdicate, and their son Jean became the new Grand Duke. Felix and Charlotte spent their remaining years at Fischbach Castle, devoted to their grandchildren and extended family.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma
September 28, 1907 – Death of Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden at his summer residence at the island of Mainau, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried in the Grand Ducal Chapel in the Pheasant Garden in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
In 1856, Friedrich married Princess Luise of Prussia, the daughter of the future King Wilhelm I of Prussia, and had three children. Through their daughter Victoria who married King Gustav V of Sweden, Friedrich and Luise are ancestors of the current Swedish royal family. Friedrich’s father died in 1852 and was succeeded by Friedrich’s elder brother, Ludwig II. However, Ludwig was deemed mentally ill, and Friedrich was appointed regent during his reign. When Ludwig died in 1858, Friedrich succeeded him as Grand Duke Friedrich II. Friedrich sided with Prussia in the wars against Austria and France and represented Baden at the Palace of Versailles when his father-in-law was created German Emperor in 1871.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden
September 28, 1947 – Death of Princess Elsa of Liechtenstein, born Elisabeth von Gutmann, wife of Prince Franz I of Liechtenstein, in Vitznau, Switzerland; originally buried in the Chapel of Our Lady at Dux in Schaan, Liechtenstein, her remains were moved to Vaduz Cathedral in Liechtenstein when the Princely Crypt there was completed
Elsa’s father was a Jewish businessman, the founder of the largest coal company in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Elsa was raised in the Jewish religion but in January 1899, she converted to Roman Catholicism in preparation for her marriage to the Hungarian Baron Géza Erős of Bethlenfalva who died in 1908. In 1914, Elsa met Prince Franz of Liechtenstein at a gala for the Relief Fund for Soldiers. The couple wanted to marry but Franz’s brother Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein refused to give his consent to the marriage. Elsa and Franz secretly married Elsa in 1919, and that same year, Pope Benedict XV received the couple at the Vatican. Johann II died in 1929, and as he was unmarried with no children, his brother succeeded to the throne as Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein. The couple created the Franz and Elsa Foundation for Liechtenstein Children in 1930, which helped impoverished Liechtenstein children receive an education. The foundation is still in existence today.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Elsa of Liechtenstein
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