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Monthly Archives: June 2024
June 3: Today in Royal History
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

King George V of the United Kingdom; Credit – Wikipedia
June 3, 1822 – Birth of Archduchess Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia, first wife of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia (the future first King of Italy), at the Royal Palace of Milan in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, now in Italy
Full name: Adelheid Franziska Marie Rainera Elisabeth Clotilde
At the time of her marriage, Adeleheid’s husband Vittorio Emanuele was heir to the Sardinian throne and held the title Duke of Savoy. She became Queen of Sardinia following her father-in-law’s abdication and her husband’s accession to the throne. However, she died before her husband became King of Italy.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduchess Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia
June 3, 1843 – Birth of King Frederik VIII of Denmark at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Christian Frederik Wilhelm Carl
Frederik VIII and his wife Louise of Sweden are the ancestors of several royal families besides the Danish royal family. Their son Carl was elected King of Norway and reigned as King Haakon VII. Their daughter Ingeborg was the mother of Märtha who married her first cousin King Haakon VII of Norway. However, Märtha died before her husband became king. Ingeborg was also the mother of Astrid, the first wife of Leopold III, King of the Belgians. Astrid’s daughter Josephine-Charlotte married Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik VIII of Denmark
June 3, 1844 – Death of Louis-Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême (Legitimist pretender as King Louis XIX of France), son of King Charles X of France, in Görz, Austria; buried with his father in the church of the Franciscan monastery of Kostanjevica near Görz, now Nova Gorica, Slovenia
After the storming of the Bastille in 1789, King Louis XVI insisted that Charles-Philippe, his youngest brother and the father of Louis-Antoine, and his family leave France to be sure that one close relative would be free to act as a spokesman for the monarchy. Louis-Antoine was the last Dauphin of France and was technically King of France for less than twenty minutes, after his father abdicated and before he himself abdicated. After his father’s death, he was the Legitimist pretender to the French throne and is sometimes known as King Louis XIX. Louis-Antoine married his first cousin Marie-Thérèse of France, the only surviving child of the executed King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême
June 3, 1865 – Birth of King George V of the United Kingdom at Marlborough House in London, England
Full name: George Frederick Ernest Albert
During World War I, on July 17, 1917, King George V issued a proclamation changing the name of the British Royal Family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment. All George’s British relatives relinquished their German titles and styles and adopted British-sounding surnames. The king compensated his male relatives by creating them British peers. All this led George’s first cousin Wilhelm II, German Emperor to remark that he would attend a performance of Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg” at the earliest opportunity.
United Kingdom: King George V of the United Kingdom
June 3, 1869 – Birth of Prince Baudouin of Belgium at the Palais de la Régence in Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Baudouin Léopold Philippe Marie Charles Antoine Joseph Louis
Baudouin was the son of Philippe, Count of Flanders, the second son of Leopold I, King of the Belgians. He was considered the heir of his uncle Leopold II, King of the Belgians who had no living male heirs. In early 1891, Baudouin became ill with influenza that had made its way through most of the members of his family. He likely caught the illness from his sister Henriette, whom he insisted on visiting during her illness despite warnings from doctors. Although at first, he appeared to be weathering the illness better than his sister, Baudouin’s condition suddenly deteriorated on January 22, 1891. He died early the following morning at the age of 21. The country of Belgium was plunged into mourning for their promising prince. Parliament was adjourned, theaters and libraries were closed, and mourning was ordered until the beginning of the spring. His younger brother later became Albert I, King of the Belgians.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Baudouin of Belgium
June 3, 1877 – Death of Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands, first wife of King Willem III of the Netherlands, at Huis ten Bosch, in The Hague, The Netherlands; buried at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, The Netherlands
The marriage of Sophie and Willem was unsuccessful. Willem had numerous extramarital affairs and had numerous illegitimate children. Sophie thought him inferior to her and unfit to serve as king. She tried to divorce her husband, but because of national interests, this was impossible. In 1855, an agreement was made that Sophie would have her own quarters at Noordeinde Palace and that she would spend the summers at Huis ten Bosch Palace without her husband. In accordance with her wishes, Sophie was buried in her wedding dress because she considered that her life had ended on the day she married Willem.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands
June 3, 1880 – Death of Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, first wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia; buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia
Maria Alexandrovna had a close relationship with her brother Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, who had made a morganatic marriage with Countess Julia Hauke, one of his sister’s ladies-in-waiting. Their children were the start of the Battenberg (and later the Mountbatten) family. Maria’s frequent stays at her brother’s Hessian home Schloss Heiligenberg resulted in the subsequent marriage of Maria’s son Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, and also the marriage of Maria’s grandson Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia with Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, Maria Alexandrovna, Empress of All Russia
June 3, 1933 – Birth of Sheikh Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain in Al Jasra, Bahrain
Isa became Hakim of Bahrain upon the death of his father in 1961. In 1971, Bahrain declared its independence from the United Kingdom and signed a new treaty of friendship with the United Kingdom. Isa changed the title of the ruler of Bahrain to the Emir of Bahrain and appointed his brother Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa as the first Prime Minister of the newly sovereign country, the Emirate of Bahrain. Despite the fact he had dissolved Parliament in 1975 and took on absolute power, during Isa’s 38 years as Emir, Bahrain was transformed into a modern nation and became an important financial center in the Persian Gulf area. On March 6, 1999, 65-year-old Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain died of a heart attack just minutes after concluding a meeting with the United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen.
Unofficial Royalty: Sheikh Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain
June 3, 1937 – Wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson at the Château de Candé in Monts, France
The Duke of Windsor had wanted his brothers Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Prince George, Duke of Kent along with his close friend and second cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten (the future 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma) to attend the ceremony but his brother King George VI forbade members of the royal family from attending. Instead, the marriage was witnessed by a small group of faithful friends. Major Edward Dudley Metcalfe, known as Fruity Metcalfe, the Duke of Windsor’s close friend and former equerry, served as best man. Wallis Simpson was given away by her friend Herman Rogers. When the Church of England refused to sanction the wedding, Reverend Robert Anderson Jardine, the Vicar of St Paul’s Church in Darlington, England, offered to perform the ceremony. When Reverend Jardine returned home to Darlington, he soon became aware that he had performed an act that the Church of England could not accept. He was forced to resign his position and under pressure, he left England and settled in California.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson
June 3, 1978 – Birth of Queen Suthida of Thailand, fourth wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, born Suthida Tidjai in Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand
Queen Suthida is the fourth wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. A former flight attendant, Suthida met her future husband, then Crown Prince of Thailand, in 2013, joined the palace guard later that year, and was promoted to deputy commander of the Crown Prince’s bodyguard unit in 2014. Suthida was linked romantically to the Crown Prince following his divorce from his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee in 2014. On May 1, 2019, just days before his coronation, King Vajiralongkorn surprisingly married Suthida and appointed her Queen.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Suthida of Thailand
June 3, 1980 – Birth of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar in Doha, Qatar
As Crown Prince, Sheikh Tamim was instrumental in raising the international profile of Qatar, putting much of his focus on various sporting events. He is a member of the International Olympic Committee, as well as the chairman of the Qatar National Olympic Committee. He was a large part of the successful bid to bring the FIFA World Cup to Qatar in 2022. In 2013, his father Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar announced his abdication and the accession of Sheikh Tamim as the new Emir of Qatar.
Unofficial Royalty: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar
June 3, 1984 – Birth of Prince Félix of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
Full name: Félix Léopold Marie Guillaume
Félix is the second son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. In 2013, he married Claire Lademacher, and the couple had two children. The family lives in Lorgues, France, where Félix and Claire manage Château les Crostes, a winery owned by Claire and her father.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Félix of Luxembourg
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June 2: Today in Royal History
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Maria Teresa of Savoy, Countess of Artois; Credit – Wikipedia
June 2, 1805 – Death of Maria Teresa of Savoy, Countess of Artois, wife of the future King Charles X of France, in Graz, Austria, buried at the Imperial Mausoleum next to the Graz Cathedral
Maria Teresa was the daughter of King Vittorio Amadeo III of Sardinia and Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. In 1773, she married Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, a brother of King Louis XVI of France, and the couple had four children. In July 1789, just days after the storming of the Bastille and the start of the French Revolution, Marie Teresa and her family fled France, settling for some time in her native Savoy. They eventually moved to Graz, Austria, where Marie Thérèse died at the age of 33.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Teresa of Savoy, Countess of Artois
June 2, 1913 – Birth of Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona, son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and father of King Juan Carlos, at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso in Segovia, Spain
Full name: Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso
Juan was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria through his mother Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. In 1935, he married Princess Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The couple had four children including King Juan Carlos I of Spain. After both of his elder brothers renounced their rights of succession, Juan became heir apparent to the Spanish throne. After the Spanish monarchy was overthrown and the Second Spanish Republic was declared, the royal family went into exile. In 1947, Francisco Franco, who ruled over Spain from 1939 to 1975, as a dictator, declared that the monarchy would be restored after his death. It would be another 22 years before Franco named his successor. Feeling that Juan would be too liberal, he instead passed over him and chose Juan’s son, Juan Carlos, as heir to the Spanish throne. Despite never being King of Spain, Juan was buried with the honors of a king upon his death in 1993.
Unofficial Royalty: Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona
June 2, 1940 – Birth of King Constantine II of Greece at the Villa Psychiko in Psychiko, Greece
Constantine was the King of Greece from 1964 until the monarchy was abolished in 1973. Both his parents, King Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover, were descendants of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter Victoria, Princess Royal who married Friedrich III, German Emperor. In 1960, Constantine became one of the royal Olympian medal winners. In the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics, Constantine won a Gold Medal in Sailing. Constantine died at Hygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece on January 10, 2023, at the age of 82.
Unofficial Royalty: King Constantine II of Greece
June 2, 1953 – Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Westminster Abbey opened at 6:00 AM on Coronation Day to the approximately 8,000 invited guests including members of the Queen’s family and foreign royalty, the peers of the United Kingdom, heads of state, Members of Parliament from the Queen’s various legislatures, and other guests from the member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. Among the guests were three granddaughters of Queen Victoria. Westminster Abbey was closed for five months prior to the coronation so that the construction needed for 8,000 people to attend could be completed.
Unofficial Royalty: Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
June 2, 1976 – Birth of Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho, wife of King Letsie III of Lesotho, born Anna Karabo Mots’oeneng in Mapoteng, Lesotho
Born Anna Karabo Motšoeneng, Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho is the wife of King Letsie III of Lesotho. Anna and King Letsie III were married on February 18, 2000, at Setsoto Stadium in Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho The national sports stadium was filled to its capacity of 40,000 people, with thousands turned away. The marriage ceremony was conducted by Bernard Mohlalisi, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Maseru. King Letsie and Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso had three children.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho
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.
Royal Birthdays & Anniversaries: June 2 – June 8
© Unofficial Royalty 2024
Below is a select list of birthdays and wedding anniversaries for current monarchies. It does not purport to be a complete list. Please see the Current Monarchies Index in the heading above for more information on current monarchies.
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Princess Désirée of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia
86th birthday of Princess Désirée of Sweden, sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden; born at Haga Palace outside Stockholm, Sweden on June 2, 1938
Full name: Désirée Elisabeth Sibylla
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld
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Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso, Credit – Wikipedia
48th birthday of Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso, wife of King Letsie III of Lesotho; born Anna Karabo Mots’oeneng in Mapoteng in the Berea District, Lesotho on June 2, 1976
Unofficial Royalty: Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso
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Queen Suthida of Thailand; Credit – Wikipedia
46th birthday of Queen Suthida of Thailand, fourth wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, born Suthida Tidjai in Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand on June 3, 1978
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Suthida of Thailand
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Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar; Credit – Wikipedia
44th birthday of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar in Doha, Qatar on June 3, 1980
Unofficial Royalty: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar
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40th birthday of Prince Félix of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; born at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg on June 3, 1984
Full name: Félix Léopold Marie Guillaume
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Félix of Luxembourg

Princess Mikasa of Japan; Credit – Wikipedia
101st birthday of Princess Mikasa of Japan, widow of Prince Mikasa of Japan; born Yuriko Takagi in Tokyo, Japan on June 4, 1923
Prince Mikasa was the brother of the late Emperor Hirohito and uncle of Emperor Akihito.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mikasa of Japan (Yuriko Takagi)
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Jetsun Pema, Queen of Bhutan; By Ian Jones – Buckingham Palace reception, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=131634284
34th birthday of Jetsun Pema, Queen of Bhutan, wife of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan; born in Thimphu Hospital in Thimphu, Bhutan on June 4, 1990
Unofficial Royalty: Jetsun Pema, Queen of Bhutan
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Lilibet being held by her mother with her father and brother; Credit – Alexi Lubomirski/The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
June 4. 2021 – 3rd birthday of Princess Lilibet of Sussex, daughter of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Lilibet of Sussex

Princess Astrid of Belgium; Credit – Wikipedia
62nd birthday of Princess Astrid of Belgium, daughter of King Albert II of the Belgians; born at the Château de Belvédère in Laeken, Belgium on June 5, 1962
Full name: Astrid Joséphine-Charlotte Fabrizia Elisabeth Paola Maria
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Astrid of Belgium
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Princess Tatjana of Liechtenstein and Philipp von Lattorff, Credit – goddesssaintnoblewomannun.blogspot.com
25th wedding anniversary of Princess Tatjana of Liechtenstein and Philipp von Lattorff; married at the Cathedral of St. Florin in Vaduz, Liechtenstein on June 5, 1999
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Tatjana of Liechtenstein
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Albert II, King of the Belgians; Credit – Wikipedia
90th birthday of the former Albert II, King of the Belgians, born at Stuyvenberg Castle in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium on June 6, 1934
Unofficial Royalty: Albert II, King of the Belgians
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55th birthday of Prince Joachim of Denmark, son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; born in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 7, 1969
Full name: Joachim Holger Valdemar Christian
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Joachim of Denmark
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Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill; Credit: Ewa-Marie Rundquist, Swedish Royal Court
11th wedding anniversary of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill, married on June 8, 2013 in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill
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