© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Helen of Greece, Queen Mother of Romania Credit – Wikipedia

May 2, 1729 – Birth of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, born Princess Sophie  of Anhalt-Zerbst, in Stettin, Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia, now Szczecin, Poland
Never destined at birth to be a monarch or even married to a monarch, Princess Sophie Auguste Friederike of Anhalt-Zerbst achieved both. She married Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich (born Carl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp), the grandson of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia, and the successor of his unmarried aunt Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia as Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. A conspiracy to overthrow Peter was planned and centered around the five Orlov brothers. After a reign of five months, Peter III was deposed, died under circumstances that remain unclear, and his wife became Catherine II, Empress of All Russia, now known as Catherine the Great. During Catherine’s reign, Russia grew larger and stronger and was recognized as one of the great powers of Europe.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia

May 2, 1816 – Wedding of Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, later Leopold I, King of the Belgians, at Carlton House in London, England
In 1814, the handsome Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld (after 1826, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) visited London and met Charlotte. It was love at first sight. The newlywed couple settled at Claremont House which the British nation had purchased by an Act of Parliament as a wedding gift for Charlotte and Leopold. Charlotte was second in the line of succession to the British throne and would have succeeded her father, the future George IV, as Queen but on November 6, 1817, a great tragedy struck the British Royal Family.  After a labor of over 50 hours, Charlotte delivered a stillborn son. Several hours later, twenty-one-year-old Princess Charlotte, the only child of George, Prince of Wales and King George III’s only legitimate grandchild, died of postpartum hemorrhage.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Wales
Unofficial Royalty: Leopold I, King of the Belgians

May 2, 1896 – Birth of Princess Helen of Greece, Queen Mother of Romania, wife of King Carol II of Romania, in Athens, Greece
Helen’s marriage to Carol was unsuccessful and the couple divorced. She was the Queen Mother of Romania during the reign of her son King Michael. Helen was noted for her humanitarian efforts to save Romanian Jews during World War II, which led to her being named Righteous Among the Nations by Israel.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Helen of Greece, Queen Mother of Romania

May 2, 1914 – Death of John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, husband of Princess Louise of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria, at Kent House in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England; buried at St. Munn’s Parish Church in Kilmun, Scotland
In 1878, Lorne, as he was called, was appointed Governor-General of Canada, where he served for five years. Lorne and his wife Princess Louise traveled extensively throughout Canada, bringing a royal touch to the country. From 1892 until his death, he was the Governor and Constable of Windsor Castle, appointed by his mother-in-law Queen Victoria. Although more of a title than an actual job, Lorne took the position very seriously. He wrote an extensive history of the castle – The Governor’s Guide to Windsor Castle.
Unofficial Royalty: John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll

May 2, 1938 – Birth of King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho in Morija, Basutoland, now in Lesotho
Moshoeshoe II was Paramount Chief of Basutoland (the former name of Lesotho) from 1960 – 1965 and King of Lesotho from 1965 – 1990. The Kingdom of Lesotho is a country completely within the borders of South Africa. In December 1990, he was deposed and his elder son became king, reigning as King Letsie III. Letsie III was embarrassed at being king while his father was still alive, and tried to persuade the government to reinstate his father as king. In August 1994 he enacted a new coup d’état with the army. Having obtained power, Letsie promised to return power to the previous government on the condition that Moshoeshoe II would return to being King of Lesotho. Moshoeshoe II’s second reign was brief. In the Maloti Mountains in Lesotho, Moshoeshoe’s car plunged off a mountain road during the early hours of January 15, 1996, killing him and his chauffeur.
Unofficial Royalty: King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho

May 2, 2015 – Birth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, daughter of Prince William, The Prince of Wales, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, England
Full name: Charlotte Elizabeth Diana
Regardless of the gender of any younger siblings, Princess Charlotte will retain her place in the line of succession to the British throne until her older brother has children. The Succession to The Crown Act 2013, which formally went into effect on March 26, 2015, put in place absolute primogeniture, which means that for those born after October 28, 2011, the eldest child becomes the heir to his or her parent, regardless of gender. With the birth of her younger brother Prince Louis in 2018, Charlotte became the first British princess not to be overtaken in the line of succession by her younger brother.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Wales

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.

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Isabel of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

May 1, 1118 – Death of Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England, first wife of King Henry I of England, at the Palace of Westminster in London, England; probably buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
In 1100, Matilda, the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and his second wife Saint Margaret of Scotland, married King Henry I of England. Matilda and Henry had four children, but only two survived childhood. Matilda accompanied her husband in his travels throughout England and Normandy. She was a patron of music and poetry and commissioned a biography of her mother, The Life of Saint Margaret, attributed to Turgot of Durham. Influenced by her abbey upbringing and her mother Saint Margaret of Scotland, Matilda was pious and generous to the poor. She died when she was about the age of 38 on May 1, 1118, at the Palace of Westminster in London. Matilda’s place of her burial is uncertain. One tradition says that she was buried at Winchester Cathedral in the old monastery and that around 1158 Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester had her remains placed in a mortuary chest that is now lost. Another tradition says Matilda was buried in Westminster Abbey at the entrance of the chapter house and then later reburied to the south of Edward the Confessor’s shrine by King Henry III.
Unofficial Royalty: Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England

May 1, 1539 – Death of Isabel of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Spain wife of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor/Carlos I, King of Spain and mother of King Felipe II of Spain, in Toledo, Spain; originally buried in the Royal Chapel of Granada in Spain, later her remains were moved to buried to the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain
Isabella, Infanta of Portugal was the wife of her first cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor who was also King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among many other titles. Charles and Isabella had five children but only three survived to adulthood. Their son Felipe would become King of Spain (1555 – 1598), King of Portugal (1581 – 1598), King of Naples and Sicily (1554 – 1598), Duke of Milan (1540 – 1598), Lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands (1555 – 1598) and jure uxoris (by right of his wife) King of England and Ireland during his marriage to his second wife Queen Mary I of England from 1554 until Mary’s death in 1558. Isabella and Charles’ happy marriage lasted for thirteen years. In 1539, during the third month of Isabella’s seventh pregnancy, she developed a fever causing her to miscarry. The fever caused her condition to worsen and Isabella died two weeks later in Toledo, Spain, on May 1, 1539, aged thirty-five.
Unofficial Royalty: Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Spain, Holy Roman Empress

May 1, 1850 – Birth of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Arthur William Patrick Albert
Prince Arthur’s first two names were given in honor of his two godfathers: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Commander of the Coalition Army that defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and a former Prime Minister (the prince was born on the Duke’s 81st birthday) and Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (later Wilhelm I, German Emperor, King of Prussia). Patrick was chosen to show his parents’ gratitude for the hospitality of the Irish people during their visit the previous year, and Albert, as his father Prince Albert wrote, “…Victoria’s love has always insisted on my name to finish up with.” Arthur was very much like his father in looks and was obedient, conscientious, and disciplined. He was Victoria’s favorite son: “This child is dear, dearer than any of the others put together, [after Albert] the dearest and most precious object to me on earth.” In 1879, Arthur married Princess Luise Margarete of Prussia, and the couple had three children. In 1911, in order to strengthen the links between the British monarchy and Canada, Arthur was appointed the first Governor-General of Canada who was a member of the Royal Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught

May 1, 1869 – Birth of Prince Friedrich Karl, Landgrave of Hesse, husband of Princess Margarete of Prussia, at his family’s estate Gut Panker in Plön, Holstein, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Full name: Friedrich Karl Ludwig Konstantin
Known as Fischy, he married Princess Margarete of Prussia, who was a daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. They had six sons including two sets of twins. Two of their sons were killed in action during World War I and one was killed in action during World War II.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Friedrich Karl, Landgrave of Hesse

May 1, 1920 – Death of Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, born Princess Margaret of Connaught, wife of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Royal Burial Ground in Haga, Sweden
Margaret was the daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. In 1905, Margaret married the future King Gustaf VI Adolf, then Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Skåne. The couple had four sons and one daughter, and the Danish and Swedish Royal Families are the descendants of Margaret and Gustaf Adolf. Margaret was eager to learn the Swedish language and history, endearing her to the Swedish public. During World War I in neutral Sweden, Margaret organized supply drives and acted as a go-between for her relatives whose Allied and Axis countries were divided by the war. In 1907, when Gustaf Adolf’s grandfather King Oscar II died and his father became King Gustaf V, Gustaf Adolf and Margaret became the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden. Margaret was eight months pregnant with her sixth child in 1920 when she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection set in, killing Margaret, at the age of 38, and her unborn child on May 1, 1920, her father’s 70th birthday. Her family along with the Swedish and British public mourned her death greatly.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden

May 1, 1963 – Birth of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, at Betzdorf Castle in Betzdorf,  Luxembourg
Full name: Guillaume Marie Louis Christian
Guillaume is the youngest of the five children of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. In 1994, he married Sibilla Weiller, a distant cousin. Sibilla is a descendant of Queen Victoria via her youngest child Princess Beatrice. She is a granddaughter of Infanta Beatriz of Spain and a second cousin of King Felipe VI of Spain. Guillaume and his wife have four children. Guillaume and his wife live in Luxembourg and are often attend the major events in the Grand Duchy, as well as most family functions.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg

May 1, 1964 – Birth of Lady Sarah Chatto, daughter of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom, born Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones at Kensington Palace in London, England
Full name: Sarah Frances Elizabeth
Sarah attended Bedales School where she developed an interest in art. This interest led her to attend the Camberwell College of Arts followed by coursework in Printed Textiles at Middlesex Polytechnic, before completing her studies at Royal Academy Schools where she won the Winsor & Newton Prize for emerging artists in painting and drawing in 1988 and the Creswick Landscape Prize in 1990.  Sarah continues to pursue her career as a painter and her work can be seen on the website of the gallery that represents her in the article linked below. In 1994, Sarah married Daniel Chatto, and the couple had two sons. Sarah and her family typically attend all the family functions and often spend the holidays with the Royal Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Sarah Chatto

May 1, 2019 – Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan as the 126th Emperor of Japan after the abdication of his father Emperor Akihito
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Akihito of Japan
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Naruhito of Japan
Unofficial Royalty: Ceremonies: Abdication of Emperor Akihito and Accession and Enthronement of Emperor Naruhito

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Queen Mary II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

April 30, 1553 – Birth of Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, Queen of France, wife of King Henri III of France, in Nomeny, France
Shortly after her marriage to King Henri III, Louise suffered a miscarriage with complications and she never had children. However, Louise and Henri did not give up on the idea of ​​having children.  They went on many pilgrimages and took thermal cures in the hope of having an heir. Despite Henri’s affairs, Louise and Henri both loved each other and Louise did an admirable job with her duties as Queen of France. Their marriage lasted fourteen years until King Henri III was assassinated. After the assassination, Louise became permanently depressed, always dressed in white, the traditional mourning color of French queens, and was nicknamed the “White Queen.” The walls of her bed-chamber were all black and the décor were all symbols of mourning. On January 29, 1601, Louise died at the Château de Moulins at the age of 47.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, Queen of France

April 30, 1587 – Birth of Éléonore de Bourbon-Condé, Princess of Orange, wife of Filips Willem, Prince of Orange, in St-Jean-d’Angély, Saintonge, France
Éléonore was the elder of the two children of Henri I, Prince de Condé and his second wife Charlotte Catherine de La Tremoille. The House of Condé was a French princely house and a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon. The title of Prince of Condé was originally assumed around 1557 by Éléonore’s grandfather Louis de Bourbon,  a prominent Huguenot (French Protestant) leader and general, and first cousin of King Henri IV of France. The title was held by his male-line descendants. In 1606, 19-year-old Éléonore married 51-year-old Filips Willem, Prince of Orange, son of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange and his first wife Anna van Egmont. Éléonore and Filips Willem had a happy marriage despite their age difference and the absence of children.
Unofficial Royalty: Éléonore de Bourbon-Condé, Princess of Orange

April 30, 1632 – Death of King Sigismund III Vasa of Sweden at Warsaw, Poland; buried at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland
Sigismund was the son of Johan III, King of Sweden and his first wife Katarina Jagellonica of Poland. He was not only King of Sweden but also King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania through his mother. Sigismund, who was Catholic, was deposed in 1599 as King of Sweden by his Protestant uncle who reigned as King Karl IX of Sweden and lived the remainder of his life in Poland.
Unofficial Royalty: King Sigismund III Vasa of Sweden

April 30, 1662 – Birth of Queen Mary II of England at St. James’ Palace in London, England
Mary was the elder of the two surviving children (the other was Queen Anne) of King James II of England and his first wife Anne Hyde.  Mary married her first cousin Willem III, Prince of Orange who followed Mary and her sister Anne in the line of succession to the English throne. In 1688, Mary’s father King James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution and Mary and her husband William became joint sovereigns as King William III and Queen Mary II.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Mary II of England

April 30, 1837 – Death of Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the Ducal Crypt Chapel in the Meiningen municipal cemetery until 1977 when her remains were removed from the chapel, cremated and buried elsewhere in the cemetery
Luise Eleonore and her husband were the parents of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the wife of King William IV of the United Kingdom. When her husband died and their three-year-old son became the reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, Luise Eleonore became Regent and is credited with steering the duchy through some very difficult times.
Unofficial Royalty: Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

April 30, 1857 – Death of Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Gloucester House in Piccadilly, London, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Princess Mary was one of three of the six daughters of King George III who eventually married.  At the age of 48, she married her paternal first cousin, Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the son of King George III’s brother, Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh. Mary was a great favorite with all the members of the royal family, particularly with her niece Queen Victoria. She died at age 81, the longest-lived and the last survivor of her parents’ fifteen children. Mary also has the distinction of being the only child of King George III to be photographed, – a photo with her niece Queen Victoria and two of Victoria’s children, Princess Alice and the Prince of Wales (future Edward VII) – which can be seen in the article linked below.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester

April 30, 1881- Birth of Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Dorothea Maria Henriette Auguste Louise
Through her mother, Dorothea was a granddaughter of King Leopold II of the Belgians. Dorothea and her husband had no children of their own, but they adopted Princess Marie Luise and Prince Johann Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the children of Prince Albrecht of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his first wife, Countess Ortrud of Ysenburg and Büdingen.
Unofficial Royalty: Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein

April 30, 1882 – Death of Marie of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Princess of Württemberg,  first wife of King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, at Ludwigsburg Palace in Ludwigsburg, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried at the Old Cemetery on the grounds of Ludwigsburg Palace
Marie was the sister of Emma who married King Willem III of the Netherlands and Helena who married Queen Victoria’s son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.  On April 24, 1882, Marie gave birth to her third child, a stillborn daughter, and suffered serious complications. She died six days later.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Princess of Württemberg

April 30, 1909 – Birth of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands
April 30, 1980 – Abdication of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands; her daughter Beatrix becomes queen
Full name: Juliana Emma Louise Wilhelmina
Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Hendrik of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.  After a reign of nearly 58 years, Queen Wilhelmina abdicated in favor of her daughter and Juliana became Queen of the Netherlands. Juliana was a much more relaxed monarch than her mother had been and this lessened the distance between the royal family and the Dutch people. She often appeared in public dressed like any ordinary Dutch woman, and preferred to be addressed as “Mevrouw” (Dutch for “Mrs.”) rather than her formal “Majesty”. Juliana’s love of bicycling for exercise gave rise to the royal family’s nickname, “the cycling family.”
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Juliana of the Netherlands

April 30, 1946 – Birth of King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden at Haga Palace in Solna, Sweden
Full name: Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus
Carl Gustaf is a descendant of Queen Victoria through both of his parents.  His paternal grandmother was Princess Margaret of Connaught, daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.  His maternal grandfather was Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the posthumous son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria’s youngest son.  On April 26, 2018, King Carl  XVI Gustaf became the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history surpassing King Magnus IV who reigned for 44 years and 222 days from July 8, 1319 – to February 15, 1364.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden

April 30, 1991 – Death of Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco, wife of Prince Louis II of Monaco; buried at the Cimetiere de Passy in Paris, France
Ghislaine was an actress, working at the famed Comédie-Française in Paris, before meeting Prince Louis II. She had been married twice before. Members of the royal family questioned her motives, and viewed her as an opportunist and golddigger. Prince Louis died less than three years after their marriage later and was succeeded by his grandson, Prince Rainier III. In his will, Louis had left half of his estate to Ghislaine, but Rainier and his sister Antoinette contested this, and the will was overturned.  Ghislaine lived the rest of her life in Paris but developed a close relationship with Prince Rainier III’s wife Princess Grace.
Unofficial Royalty: Ghislaine Marie Francoise Dommanget, Princess of Monaco

April 30, 2013 – Abdication of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands; her son Willem-Alexander becomes King
Following in the footsteps of her mother Queen Juliana and grandmother Queen Wilhelmina, Queen Beatrix also abdicated in favor of her heir. Her official title after her abdication is Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

April 30, 2019 – Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicates in favor of his son Naruhito
In 2016, Emperor Akihito gave a televised speech emphasizing his advanced age and declining health that was interpreted as a desire to abdicate.  In 2017, the National Diet, the Japanese legislature, passed a bill allowing Akihito to abdicate. On December 1, 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that Emperor Akihito would abdicate on April 30, 2019, in favor of his elder son Crown Prince Naruhito. The last abdication occurred 200 years ago when Emperor Kōkaku abdicated in 1817.
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Akihito of Japan
Unofficial Royalty: Ceremonies: Abdication of Emperor Akihito and Accession and Enthronement of Emperor Naruhito

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.

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

April 29, 1763 – Birth of Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg in Hildburghausen, Duchy of  Saxe-Hildburghausen, now in Thuringia, Germany
Originally Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Friedrich became Duke of Saxe-Altenburg in 1826. After Friedrich IV, the last Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died in 1825 without heirs, the Ernestine duchies were reorganized. Gotha passed to Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (becoming the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), and Altenburg passed to Friedrich. In exchange, the two Dukes ceded Saalfeld and Hildburghausen, respectively, to Bernard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. In 1785, Friedrich married Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The marriage was happy at first, but soon Friedrich realized that his wife was far more intelligent than he was, and began to ignore her. Despite this, the couple had 12 children.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg

April 29, 1818 – Birth of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia
Alexander II is known as “The Liberator” for emancipating the Russian serfs and was one of five of the twenty Romanov rulers (Ivan VI, Peter III, Paul I, Alexander II, and Nicholas II) to die a violent death. He was assassinated by a bomb on March 13, 1881, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Alexander II was the most reforming emperor since Peter the Great.  Besides his emancipation of the serfs, Alexander II reorganized the judicial system, established local self-government called Zemstvo, instituted universal military service in which sons of the rich and the poor were required to serve, ended some of the privileges of the nobility, and promoted higher education in the universities.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Emperor Alexander II of Russia

April 29, 1831- Birth of Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in  Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Full name: Leopold Friedrich Franz Nikolaus
Before he became Duke of Anhalt, Friedrich had a military career. He served on the staff of his brother-in-law, Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, during the Second Schleswig War and also served during the Franco-Prussian War, taking part in the Siege of Toul and battles at Beaumont and Sedan. In January 1871, he was present at the Palace of Versailles for the proclamation of King Wilhelm I of Prussia as the German Emperor. In 1854, Friedrich married Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. The couple had six children including two reigning Dukes of Anhalt.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt

April 29, 1868 – Birth of Alice Keppel, mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, in Woolwich Dockyard, Kent, England
Alice Keppel was the mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom from 1898 until his death in 1910. Through her daughter Sonia, she is the great-grandmother of Queen Camilla, the wife of King Charles III.
Unofficial Royalty: Alice Keppel, mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom

April 29, 1901 – Birth of Emperor Shōwa of Japan (Hirohito) at the Aoyama Palace in Tokyo, Japan
Emperor of Japan for 62 years, Hirohito, now known in Japan by his posthumous name Emperor Shōwa, was born during the reign of his grandfather Emperor Meiji.  After World War II, some believed that Hirohito was chiefly responsible for Japan’s role in the war and others said that he was just a powerless puppet under the influence of Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō who was eventually executed for war crimes. The view promoted by both the Japanese Imperial Palace and the American occupation forces immediately after World War II portrayed Emperor Hirohito as a powerless figurehead behaving strictly according to protocol. However, since he died in 1989, a debate began to surface over the extent of his involvement and his culpability in World War II. In 1924, Hirohito married Princess Nagako Kuni. They had two sons and seven daughters including Hirohito’s successor Emperor Akihito. Hirohito was very interested in marine biology and the Imperial Palace contained a laboratory where he worked. He published several scientific papers on the subject and was considered one of the most respected jellyfish experts in the world.
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Shōwa of Japan

April 29, 1911 – Death of Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried in the Mausoleum in the park of Schloss Bückeburg
In 1882,  Georg married Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg. The couple had nine children including Adolf II, the last Prince of Schaumberg-Lippe. Four years before Georg’s death, on the occasion of his 25th wedding anniversary, Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia presented Schaumberg Castle, the Schaumberg-Lippe ancestral home, in Rinteln, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, to Georg and his wife Maria Anna. The castle had become the property of the Prussian royal family when the Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe sided with the Austrians, the losers in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War. The gift was also meant to be in recognition of Georg’s support of Prussia in the dispute over the succession to the Principality of Lippe’s throne.
Unofficial Royalty: Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe

April 29, 1944 – Birth of Princess Benedikte of Denmark, daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark, sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, at the Frederick VIII Palace in Amalienborg complex in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Benedikte Astrid Ingeborg Ingrid
Princess Benedikte remains an active member of the Danish Royal House. She is the patron of several organizations in Denmark and appears at most State and official functions, as well as representing the Danish crown at various events.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Benedikte of Denmark

April 29, 2005 – Birth of Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand, son of King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, at the Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand
Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand is the heir presumptive to the throne of Thailand. His status is uncertain because of his parents’ divorce.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand

April 29, 2007 – Birth of Infanta Sofia of Spain, daughter of King Felipe VI of Spain, at the Ruber International Clinic in Madrid, Spain
Full name: Sofía de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz
Sofia is the younger of the two daughters of King Felipe VI of Spain and his wife Queen Letizia (born Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano). She was named after her paternal grandmother Queen Sofía of Spain (born Princess Sophia of Greece) and awas given the additional name of de Todos los Santos (of All the Saints), a Bourbon tradition.
Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Sofia of Spain

April 29, 2011 – Wedding of Prince William, The Prince of Wales and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London, England
In 2001, Prince William and Catherine Middleton first met while they were both students at the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. During their first year, they both lived at St. Salvator’s Hall, a residence hall at the university. For their final two years, they shared housing in the town. They started dating in 2003 and remained together for eight years except for a brief separation in 2007. The couple became engaged in October 2010 while on a private vacation in Kenya. The official engagement announcement came from Clarence House on November 16, 2010: “The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton.”
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince William, The Prince of Wales and Catherine Middleton

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.

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

King Edward IV of England; Credit – Wikipedia

April 28, 1442 – Birth of King Edward IV of England in Rouen, France
The first Yorkist King of England, Edward was the son of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England.  Edward’s father could claim descent from Edward III’s second and fourth surviving sons, Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence and Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York. He was the Yorkist leader during the Wars of the Roses until his death in battle when his son Edward became the leader of the Yorkist faction. His decisive victory over the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton on March 29, 1461, cemented his status as King of England. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 29, 1461. In 1464, King Edward IV married the widowed Elizabeth Woodville and they had ten children. Had King Edward IV lived longer, perhaps he would have become one of England’s most powerful kings. He died a few weeks before his 41st birthday. His cause of death is not known for certain. Pneumonia, typhoid, malaria, poison, and an unhealthy lifestyle are some possibilities. King Edward IV was buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle close by his rival King Henry VI.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward IV of England

April 28, 1676 – Birth of King Fredrik I of Sweden, born Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel at Kassel, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, now in Hesse, Germany
Fredrik I was King of Sweden from 1720 until his death in 1751. However, he was also Prince Consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720 and Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730 until his death. In 1700, Fredrik married his first cousin Luise Dorothea of Brandenburg but she was sickly and died childless in 1705. In 1715, Fredrik married Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden but their marriage was childless. After the death of her brother Karl XII, King of Sweden in 1718, Ulrika Eleonora succeeded him.  Ulrika Eleonora wrote a letter to the Riksdag in 1720, informing its members of her desire to abdicate in favor of her husband on the condition that she should succeed him if he should die before her. Her husband acceded to the Swedish throne as Fredrik I, King of Sweden and Ulrika Eleonora became Queen Consort. Fredrik I reigned for 31 years and survived his wife by ten years. After suffering several strokes, he died on March 25, 1751, aged 74,
Unofficial Royalty: King Fredrik I of Sweden

April 28, 1772 – Execution of Johann Friedrich Struensee, favorite of King Christian VII of Denmark and lover of his wife Queen Caroline Matilda, in Copenhagen, Denmark
Because he was known for a new kind of therapy for mental illness, Struensee was called to treat King Christian VII of Denmark. Struensee could handle Christian’s instability, a great relief to the king’s advisers. Because of Christian VII’s confidence in him, Struensee gained political power and he also became the lover of Christian’s ill-treated wife Caroline Matilda of Wales (the sister of King George III) whose marriage was less than satisfactory. Eventually, Queen Dowager Juliana Maria, Christian’s stepmother, maneuvered a coup that brought about the fall of Struensee and discredited Caroline Matilda.
Unofficial Royalty: Johann Friedrich Struensee, favorite of King Christian VII and lover of Queen Caroline Matilda

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.