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Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; Photo Credit – Wikipedia
August 4, 1338 – Death of Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, son of King Edward I of England, at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk, England; buried at the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England which was left in ruins during King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries
In 1316, Thomas was given the office of Lord Marshal of England. The title of “marshal” at one time designated the head of household security for the King of England. The office became hereditary under John FitzGilbert the Marshal and his second son William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, served four kings (Henry II, Richard I, John, and Henry III) in this office and became one of the most powerful men in Europe. The office of hereditary Marshal (currently Earl Marshal) evolved into a Great Officer of State. In 1672, the office of Marshal of England and the title of Earl Marshal of England were made hereditary in the Howard family and since then the offices have been held by the Duke of Norfolk. Today, the Earl Marshal’s role is chiefly involved in organizing major state ceremonies such as coronations, state funerals, and the opening of parliament. Thomas was an ancestor of two of the wives of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
Unofficial Royalty: Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk
August 4, 1699 – Death of Maria Sofia of Neuberg, Queen of Portugal, wife of King Pedro II of Portugal, in Lisbon, Portugal; buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
Maria Sophia of Neuburg, the second wife of Pedro II, King of Portugal. He married her because Portugal had a succession crisis. Isabel Luísa of Braganza, Princess of Beira, the only child and heir presumptive of Pedro II, King of Portugal, was not married. Marie Sophia’s family had a reputation for producing fertile women. Pedro II and Maria Sophia had eight children so Maria Sophia did her duty by providing heirs. On August 4, 1699, two days before her thirty-third birthday, Maria Sophia died at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal from erysipelas, a bacterial infection of the skin that can spread to other areas of the body through the bloodstream.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Sofia of Neuberg, Queen of Portugal
August 4, 1900 – Birth of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, wife of King George VI of the United Kingdom and mother of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, born The Honourable Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Full name: Elizabeth Angela Marguerite
On August 4, 1900, The Honorable Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was born, the youngest daughter and ninth child of the ten children of Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis (later the 14th and 1st Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne) and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. The exact place of her birth is unknown. She was alleged to have been born in her parents’ home in London, but her birth was registered at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, near her family’s English country house, St Paul’s Walden Bury, which was also given as her birthplace in the census the following year.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
August 4, 1906 – Birth of Queen Marie-Jose of Italy, wife of King Umberto II of Italy, born Princess Marie-Jose of Belgium in Ostend, Belgium
Full name: Marie-Jose Charlotte Sophie Amélie Henriette Gabrielle
Marie José was the youngest child and only daughter of Albert I, King of the Belgians and Elisabeth in Bavaria. She married Crown Prince Umberto of Italy, Prince of Piedmont, the son of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy. After World War II, King Victor Emmanuel III abdicated on May 9, 1946. Marie José and her husband became the new King and Queen of Italy, however, their reign was short-lived. A referendum was held on June 2, 1946, with the majority voting to abolish the monarchy. Accepting the will of the people, Umberto and Marie José left Italy on June 13, 1946, and were barred under the terms of the new constitution from returning to Italian soil. They settled in Portugal, but soon separated, with Marie José and her children then living in Switzerland.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie-Jose of Belgium, Queen of Italy
August 4, 1981 – Birth of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, born Rachel Meghan Markle in Los Angeles, California
Before her marriage, Meghan was an actress, appearing on Suits, an American legal drama television series, playing Rachel Zane, a senior paralegal with dreams of going to law school. Prince Harry and Meghan were married on May 19, 2018, at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. The couple had one son and one daughter.
Unofficial Royalty: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
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