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Louise de la Vallière with her children by King Louis XIV of France; Credit – Wikipedia
August 6, 1644 – Birth of Louise de la Vallière, Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours, mistress of King Louis XIV of France, born Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc at the Hôtel de la Crouzille in Tours, France
Louise de la Vallière was the mistress of King Louis XIV of France from 1661 until 1667. She later became a nun, Sister Louise de la Miséricorde (Sister Louise of Mercy), and lived the last 36 years of her life in a convent.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise de la Vallière, mistress of King Louis XIV of France
August 6, 1666 – Birth of Maria Sofia of Neuberg, second wife of King Pedro II of Portugal, at Schloss Benrath outside Düsseldorf in the Electorate of Palatine-Neuberg, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Full name: Maria Sophia Elisabeth
Portugal had a succession crisis. Isabel Luísa of Braganza, Princess of Beira, the only child and heir presumptive of Pedro II, King of Portugal, was not married. Because of her sickly nature and the Law of the Cortes of Lamego that prevented the marriage of an heiress to a foreign prince, all marriage possibilities failed. 39-year-old Pedro knew he had to marry again to provide for the succession. 21-year-old Marie Sophia was chosen as Pedro’s second wife because of her family’s reputation for producing fertile women. Pedro II and Maria Sophia had eight children so Maria Sophia did her duty by providing heirs. However, only their eldest surviving child João V, King of Portugal married and had children although some of their sons had illegitimate children. On August 4, 1699, two days before her thirty-third birthday, Maria Sophia died at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal from erysipelas, a bacterial infection of the skin that can spread to other areas of the body through the bloodstream.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Sofia of Neuberg, Queen of Portugal
August 6, 1697 – Birth of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, also Karl I, Prince-Elector of Bavaria, in Brussels, then in the Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium
Unofficial Royalty: Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria
August 6, 1746 – Death of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway at Hørsholm Palace in Denmark; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
Christian became King of Denmark and Norway upon the death of his father Frederik IV, King of Denmark and Norway in 1730. Christian VI is known as a religious ruler and remained devoted to Pietism. His court was considered dull. Only religious music was played and dancing was not allowed. Christian was a shy person, anxious about responsibility and decisions, and uncomfortable about carrying out his ceremonial obligations as the king. He never traveled except for one trip to Norway in 1733.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian VI of Denmark
August 6, 1775 – Birth of Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême (Legitimist pretender as King Louis XIX of France), son of King Charles X of France, at the Palace of Versailles
Louis-Antoine was the last Dauphin of France and was technically King of France for less than twenty minutes on August 2, 1830, 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. He married his first cousin Marie-Thérèse of France, the only surviving child of the executed Louis XVI, King of France and Marie Antoinette.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême
August 6, 1820 – Death of Frederica, Duchess of York, born Frederica of Prussia, wife of Frederick, Duke of York, at Oatlands Park in Weybridge, Surrey, England, buried at Weybridge Churchyard in Surrey, England
Fredrica was the only child of King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia and his first wife and first cousin, Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Her marriage to Prince Frederick, Duke of York was unsuccessful. Frederick was unfaithful and the couple was unable to have children. In 1794, the couple separated and Frederica lived out her life at Oatlands Park in Weybridge, Surrey, England. Frederick and Frederica remained on good terms and the couple never caused any scandal. Frederica had suffered from tuberculosis for some time and died at the age of 53 at her home Oatlands Park. Frederick was present at her death and shortly before she died, Frederica begged him to allow her to be buried in Weybridge instead of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Unofficial Royalty: Frederica of Prussia, Duchess of York
August 6, 1844 – Birth of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Full name: Alfred Ernest Albert
Alfred’s father Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and elder brother, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom had both renounced their rights of succession to the throne of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, leaving Alfred as heir to childless his uncle Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The transition to his new position was not easy. The people were mostly against the idea of a British prince being their Duke even though his father was born a Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. However, Alfred managed to build up the people’s confidence in him and soon became quite popular.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
August 6, 1845 – Birth of John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, husband of Princess Louise of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Stafford House in London, England
Full name: John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland
The marriage of Lorne, as he was called after the courtesy title he used while his father was alive, and Louise was met with protests by some of Louise’s siblings as well as the Prussian court. Queen Victoria saw the marriage as an opportunity to “infuse new and healthy blood” into the Royal Family. However, the marriage was childless. In 1878, Lorne was appointed Governor-General of Canada, where he served for five years. Along with his wife, they traveled extensively throughout Canada, bringing a royal touch to the country.
Unofficial Royalty: John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll
August 6, 1915 – Birth of Queen Geraldine of the Albanians, wife of King Zog I of the Albanians, born Countess Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Apponyi in Budapest, Hungary
Full name: Geraldine Margit Virginia Olga Maria
Queen Geraldine was born Countess Geraldine Margit Virginia Olga Maria Apponyi de Nagy-Appony. Her father Count Gyula Apponyi de Nagy-Appony was from a prominent family of Hungary’s high upper nobility. Her mother, Gladys Steuart, was the daughter of an American diplomat who had served as Consul in Belgium. Geraldine first met her future husband, King Zog I of the Albanians, in 1937. Having seen a photo of her, the King asked one of his sisters to invite Geraldine to a New Year’s Ball where they were introduced. Quickly smitten, the King proposed within days and Geraldine accepted. The couple married in 1938 in a civil ceremony at the Royal Palace in Tirana, Albania. Despite their religious differences – the King was a Muslim while Geraldine was Catholic – the marriage was blessed by all of the religious leaders, including the Pope who had initially refused.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Geraldine of the Albanians
August 6, 1926 – Birth of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse was head of the House of Hesse, and pretender to the former Grand Ducal throne of Hesse and by Rhine from 1980 until his death in 2013, at the Castle of Racconigi in Racconigi, Italy
Full name: Moritz Friedrich Karl Emanuel Humbert
Moritz was the eldest child of Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse and Princess Mafalda of Savoy. In 1960, Moritz was adopted by his distant relative – Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine. Ludwig had no children and would be the last member of the House of Hesse and by Rhine. This adoption ensured that the former grand ducal family’s estates and assets would remain in the Hesse family upon his death. In June 1964, Moritz married Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. The couple had four children before divorcing in 1974. Moritz died in Frankfurt, Germany on May 23, 2013.
Unofficial Royalty: Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse
August 6, 1975 – Death 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 of Spain), at El Botánico Palace in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain; buried at the Convent of the Capuchin Fathers in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain
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. A granddaughter of both Queen Victoria and Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, Beatrice was the youngest daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. Alfonso and Beatrice married in 1909. The civil ceremony was followed by both a Catholic and a Protestant ceremony, as the bride chose not to convert to Catholicism. She did later convert in 1913. In the following years, the Spanish monarchy was overthrown and the country was thrown into Civil War. The couple’s second son Alonso was killed in action and the family lost their properties. Initially exiled to England, they eventually returned to Spain in 1937, and settled at a new estate, El Botánico, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where they would live for the rest of their lives.
Unofficial Royalty: Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Galliera
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