September 1: Today in Royal History

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Alexandra of Edinburgh, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

September 1, 1651 – Birth of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, Tsaritsa of All Russia, second wife of Alexei, Tsar of All Russia and the mother of  Peter I “the Great”, Emperor of All Russia, in Moscow, Russia
Natalya was brought up in the Moscow home of her distant relative, the Western-influenced statesman, diplomat, and reformer Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev. Mateev even married a Western woman, Eudoxie Hamilton from Scotland. Because of Mateev’s influence, Natalya Kirillovna’s upbringing was freer and more Western than that of other Russian women of that time period. Natalya’s upbringing certainly had an influence on her son Peter the Great who was greatly influenced by Western advisers and implemented major reforms to modernize Russia.
Unofficial Royalty: Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, Tsaritsa of All Russia

September 1, 1711 – Birth of Willem IV, Prince of Orange born in Leeuwarden, Friesland, Dutch Republic, now in the Netherlands
Full name: Willem Karel Hendrik Friso
Six weeks before Willem’s birth, his 23-year-old father Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange drowned when the ferry he was traveling on across a wide river capsized. From the day of his birth, Willem was Prince of Orange. He also succeeded to his father’s elective offices as Stadtholder of Friesland and as Stadtholder of Groningen under the regency of his mother Marie Luise until he reached his majority in 1731. Willem married Anne, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of King George II and the couple had three children.
Unofficial Royalty: Willem IV, Prince of Orange

September 1, 1715 – Death of King Louis XIV of France at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France; buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France
King Louis XIV was the longest-reigning French monarch, reigning from 1643 until his death in 1715, 72 years and 100 days. Louis XIV outlived most of his immediate legitimate family. His last surviving legitimate son Louis, Le Grand Dauphin died in 1711. Barely a year later, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petite Dauphin, the eldest of the Dauphin’s three sons and then heir to Louis XIV, followed his father in death. Burgundy’s elder surviving son Louis, Duke of Brittany joined them a few weeks later. Thus, on his deathbed, Louis XIV’s heir was his five-year-old great-grandson, Louis, Duke of Anjou, Burgundy’s younger son, who succeeded his great-grandfather as King Louis XV.
Unofficial Royalty: King Louis XIV of France

September 1, 1821 – Birth of Leopold III, Prince of Lippe in Detmold in the Principality of Lippe, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Full name: Paul Friedrich Emil Leopold
Leopold III had eight younger siblings. It appears that Leopold and his brother Woldemar were the only ones who married and neither had any children. This would eventually create a succession crisis. After the death of Leopold’s brother Alexander and the extinction of the Lippe-Detmold line, the throne of the Principality of Lippe went to Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld who would be the last Prince of Lippe.
Unofficial Royalty: Leopold III, Prince of Lippe

September 1, 1878 – Birth of Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg,  granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at Edinburgh Palace in Coburg, Grand Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Alexandra Louise Olga Victoria
Alexandra was the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. In 1896, Alexandra married Prince Ernst of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.  Alexandra and Ernst were second cousins – their grandmothers, Queen Victoria and Princess Feodora of Leiningen were half-sisters.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

September 1, 1922 – Death of Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Duchess of Albany, wife of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, at Hinterris, Tyrol, Austria; buried near the Chapel at Hinterriss
In 1882, Helena married Queen Victoria’s hemophiliac son Prince Leopold. The couple had one child and Helena was pregnant with their second child when Leopold slipped and fell on a staircase, injuring his knee and his head. He died apparently of a cerebral hemorrhage, the injuries having been exacerbated by his hemophilia. Helena continued to live with her children at Claremont House near Esher in Surrey, England, which Queen Victoria had bought for Leopold upon his marriage. Helena devoted the rest of her life to her children, grandchildren, and charitable work. She died of a heart attack at the age of 61 in Hinterriss, Austria where she was visiting her son.  At her request, Helena was buried in the beautiful countryside of Hinteriss.
Unofficial Royalty: Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Duchess of Albany

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