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Victoria Mary of Teck, Queen of the United Kingdom; Credit – Wikipedia
May 26, 946 – Assassination of Edmund I, King of the English in Pucklechurch, South Gloucestershire, England; buried at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, England
Edmund I, King of the English was stabbed to death at a royal hunting lodge in Pucklechurch, north of Bath, England while celebrating the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury. Recent research indicates that Edmund may have been the victim of political assassination.
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Edmund I, King of the English
Unofficial Royalty: Edmund I, King of the English
May 26, 1583 – Death of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, favorite of James VI, King of Scots (later also King James I of England), in Paris, France
Esmé Stewart was a French nobleman of Scottish ancestry who moved to Scotland to try to acquire the title Earl of Lennox because the current Earl of Lennox Robert Stewart, Esmé’s uncle, was in his 50s and childless. Esmé first came to Scotland in 1579, the homeland of his family, and was introduced to his first cousin once removed, thirteen-year-old James VI, King of Scots. Esmé, having been raised in France and being a member of the Stewart family, fascinated James, and Esmé quickly became a favorite.
Unofficial Royalty: Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, favorite of King James I of England
May 26, 1768 – Birth of Luise Karoline Geyer von Geyersberg, Countess of Hochberg, morganatic second wife of Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Baden; born in Karlsruhe, Margraviate of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Luise Karoline was the second, and morganatic, wife of the future Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Baden. Luise Karoline and Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Baden had five children. At the time of the marriage, Karl Friedrich created Luise Karoline Baroness of Hochberg, and their children were not included in the line of succession. In 1817, Karl Friedrich and Luise Karoline’s children were elevated to Prince/Princess of Baden, and in the following year, the Baden Congress formally confirmed their succession rights.
Unofficial Royalty: Luise Karoline Geyer von Geyersberg, Countess of Hochberg
May 26, 1796 – Birth of Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Alois Maria Josef Johann Baptista Joachim Philipp Nerius
In 1831, Alois married Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, and the couple had eleven children including two sovereign Princes of Liechtenstein. Upon the death of his father Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein in 1836, Alois became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1837, Alois went to the United Kingdom on a diplomatic mission and attended the coronation of Queen Victoria. Like his father and grandfather, Alois continued to modernize his estates and reorganize their administration. Prince Alois II was the first reigning prince to visit the Principality of Liechtenstein, as we know it today, but he did not live there.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein
May 26, 1822 – Birth of Auguste Reuss of Köstritz, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1st wife of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in Klipphausen, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
Full name: Auguste Mathilde Wilhelmine
In 1849, Auguste married Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II, and the couple had six children including Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Marie who married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia. Three years after giving birth to her youngest child, Auguste, aged 39, died on March 3, 1862. The cause of Auguste’s death is unclear. At that time, there were mentions of “heart disease associated with a bronchial ailment” and “fever.” It is quite possible that she died from tuberculosis which was widespread at the time.
Unofficial Royalty: Auguste Reuss of Köstritz, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
May 26, 1826 – Birth of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia, Duchess of Nassau, first wife of Adolphe, Duke of Nassau, the future Grand Duke Adolphe I of Luxembourg, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia
Elizabeth died at age 18 in childbirth along with her baby daughter. Her husband had an Orthodox church built for her remains in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse. The church was built on a hill that was visible from Adolphe’s residence so he could always see where Elizabeth’s remains were buried.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia, Duchess of Nassau
May 26, 1867 – Birth of Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, Queen of the United Kingdom, wife of King George V of the United Kingdom, at Kensington Palace in London, England
Full name: Victoria Mary Augusta Louisa Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes
Mary was a great-granddaughter of King George III and a first cousin once removed of Queen Victoria. She was first engaged to Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence (known as Prince Eddy), the oldest son and eldest child of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. After his death from pneumonia, Mary married his brother, the future King George V. Mary and George had five sons and one daughter. Queen Mary lived long enough to see her granddaughter Elizabeth become Queen of the United Kingdom, but died on March 24, 1953, at age 85 of lung cancer (although her illness was referred to as “gastric problems”) just ten weeks before the coronation. Before her death, Queen Mary had insisted that the coronation go ahead as scheduled.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary of Teck, Queen of the United Kingdom
May 26, 1934 – Death of Prince Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta, Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and pretender to the former throne, in Cannes, France; buried in the Cimetière du Grand Jas in Cannes, France
Prince Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta, was a younger half-brother of King Francesco II, the last reigning King of the Two Sicilies. Upon Francesco’s death in 1894, Alfonso became Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and pretender to the former throne.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta
May 26, 1946 – Death of Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont in Arolsen, Hesse, Germany
Friedrich was the last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, abdicating on November 13, 1918. He was the only son of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Helena of Nassau. Friedrich had six sisters, through his sister Emma, he was the uncle of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and through his sister Helena, he was the uncle of Charles Edward, the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Upon the death of his father in 1893, Friedrich became the last reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1895, Friedrich married Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe and they had four children. Friedrich abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and the Arolsen Forest. Both Friedrich and his wife Bathildis lived through World War II. While neither Friedrich nor Bathildis joined the Nazi Party, their eldest son Josias did and after World War II, Josias was a convicted Nazi war criminal for crimes in connection to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, died on May 26, 1946, at the age of 81 in Arolsen, Germany.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
May 26, 1962 – Birth of Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, Consort and 2nd wife of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, born Yuvadhida Polpraserth in Bangkok, Thailand
Unofficial Royalty: Sujarinee Vivacharawongse
May 26, 1968 – Birth of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark at the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Frederik André Henrik Christian
Frederik is the elder son and heir of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. At the time of his birth, his mother was heiress-presumptive to her father, King Frederik IX. In 2004, Frederik married Australian Mary Donaldson, four years after meeting her at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The couple has four children. Fredrik undertakes many official duties on behalf of his mother, both in Denmark and around the world. He is the patron of numerous organizations and charities, with many focusing on sports and health, as well as scientific research.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
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