November 12: Today in Royal History

© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Princess Grace of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

November 12, 1035 – Death of Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark and Norway at Shaftesbury, Dorset, England; initially buried at the Old Minster in Winchester, England, remains now in Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, England
One of only two British monarchs to be given the epithet “the Great” (the other was Alfred the Great), Cnut was King of England, Denmark, and Norway, and together his dominions were called the North Sea Empire. He was the elder son of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and Norway, and also King of England. Cnut the Great died when he was about 40 years old. He was buried at the Old Minster in Winchester, England. When the Old Minster was demolished in 1093, Canute’s remains were moved to Winchester Cathedral. They are among the remains in the mortuary chests that rest on top of the choir screen.
Unofficial Royalty: Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark and Norway

November 12, 1858 – Death of Prince Alois II of Liechtenstein at Lednice Castle in Eisgrub, Moravia, Kingdom of Bohemia, now Lednice, Czech Republic; buried at the Liechtenstein Crypt in Vranov near Brno, now in the Czech Republic
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.  He died, aged 62, died on November 12, 1858, at Lednice Castle in Eisgrub, Moravia, Kingdom of Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire, now Lednice, Czech Republic.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Alois II of Liechtenstein

November 12, 1886 – Birth of Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Galliera, son of Infante Antonio of Spain, Duke of Galliera (a grandson of King Ferdinand VII of Spain) and Infanta Eulalia of Spain (a daughter of Queen Isabella II), in Madrid, Spain
Full name: Alfonso María Francisco Antonio Diego
Alfonso was the husband of Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1906, at the wedding of his first cousin King Alfonso XIII of Spain to Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Alfonso met the bride’s first cousin, Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple married in 1909 and had three sons.
Unofficial Royalty: Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Galliera

November 12, 1929 – Birth of Grace Patricia Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco, wife of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Grace was the daughter of John B. Kelly Sr., an American Olympic gold medalist in rowing, and Margaret Majer, the first coach of women’s teams at the University of Pennsylvania. Grace had a career as an actress and won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1954, for her role in The Country Girl. In 1955, Grace attended the Cannes Film Festival and was introduced to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. A relationship soon developed, and in December 1955, Rainier visited Grace and her family in Philadelphia. The couple’s engagement was announced in January 1956. They married on April 18, 1956, in Monaco and had three children including the current Prince of Monaco, Albert II. On September 13, 1982, while driving back to Monaco from the family’s home in France, Princess Grace suffered a stroke. The car veered off the road, and both Grace and her daughter Princess Stephanie were severely injured. Grace never regained consciousness, having suffered major internal injuries, and died on September 14, 1982.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Grace of Monaco

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.