© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

November 24, 1273 – Birth of Alfonso, Earl of Chester, son of King Edward I of England, at Bordeaux, France
Alfonso was the third son and ninth child of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile and was named for his mother’s half-brother King Alfonso X of Castile and León.  His two elder brothers had died so Alfonso was the heir apparent to the throne. Alfonso died at age 11 at Windsor Castle and was buried at Westminster Abbey near the shrine of Edward the Confessor. Had he survived his father, England would have had a King Alfonso.
Unofficial Royalty: Alfonso, Earl of Chester

November 24, 1326 – Execution of Hugh de Despenser the Younger, favorite of King Edward II of England, in Hereford, England; partially buried at the  family’s Gloucestershire estate and at Hulton Abbey in Abbey Hulton, Staffordshire, England
Hugh Despenser the Elder became King Edward II’s chief administrator, marking the beginning of the Despensers’ increased prominence at court. His son Hugh Despenser the Younger became royal chamberlain in 1318. He then maneuvered himself into the affections of King Edward II and displaced his current favorite Roger d’Amory. Hugh Despenser the Younger made many enemies among the nobility of England. After the overthrow of King Edward II, Hugh Despenser the Younger was charged with high treason and hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Unofficial Royalty: Hugh de Despenser the Younger, favorite of King Edward II of England

November 24, 1715 – Death of Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen of Sweden, wife of King Karl X of Sweden, in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden
In 1654, the day after her eighteenth birthday, Hedwig Eleonora married King Karl X Gustav of Sweden. The couple had one son Karl XI, King of Sweden who became king at the age of four after his father died from influenza and pneumonia. Karl X Gustav left specific instructions in his will for the regency of his son. Hedwig Eleonora was to be Regent of Sweden and her son’s guardian until he reached his majority. After the death of her husband, Hedwig Eleonora was the dowager queen for 55 years. She remained visible in Swedish politics and society until her death. Hedwig Eleonora survived her husband by fifty-five years and her son by eighteen years, dying at the age of 79.
Unofficial Royalty: Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen of Sweden

November 24, 1724 – Birth of Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, wife of King Carlos III of Spain, at Dresden Castle, in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony
Full name: Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga
Maria Amalia of Saxony was the wife of King Carlos III of Spain who also was King Carlo VII of Naples from 1735 – 1759 and King Carlo V of Sicily from 1734 – 1759. The couple had thirteen children but only seven survived childhood. Maria Amalia’s husband became King of Spain after the death of his childless half-brother Fernando VI, King of Spain in 1759. Maria Amalia had lived in her husband’s Italian kingdoms for twenty-one years and did not like Spain. On September 27, 1760, a year after arriving in Spain, 35-year-old Maria Amalia died from tuberculosis.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain

November 24, 1724 – Death of Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the Church at Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen
In 1706, Ernst Ludwig succeeded his father Bernhard I, as Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. He married twice but only his first marriage to his first cousin Dorothea Maria of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg produced children – five children including two sons who became Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Ernst Ludwig’s attempts at political reform were ineffective, and he ended up putting his focus back into the arts, composing numerous hymns, and expanding his collection of musical compositions. Several years before his death, he wrote the lyrics for the hymns at his own funeral, with the music composed by Johann Ludwig Bach. Ernst Ludwig died at the age of 52.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

November 24, 1741 – Death of Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden at Wrangel Palace in Riddarholmen, Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden in her own right, succeeded her unmarried brother Karl XII, King of Sweden in 1718 and reigned for two years before abdicating in favor of her husband Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel who reigned as Fredrik I, King of Sweden. Ulrika and her husband had no children. After Ulrika abdicated, although she had an interest in affairs of state, she withdrew from all visible participation in them, occupying herself with reading, charity, and her many friends. Ulrika Eleonora died from smallpox at the age of 53. Her husband Fredrik I, King of Sweden survived her by ten years.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden

November 24, 1745 – Birth of Maria Luisa of Spain, daughter of Carlos III, King of Spain, wife of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor at the Palace of Portici, Naples in the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, now in Italy
In 1764, Maria Luisa married the future Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor/Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany who was the son of Empress Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, and Queen of Bohemia, and Francis Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Duke of Lorraine. Maria Luisa and Leopold had sixteen children. Leopold was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1790 after the death of his childless brother Joseph. Maria Luisa became Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary, and Queen of Bohemia. Because his elder brother Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor had no children, Leopold became the founder of the main line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Luisa of Spain, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

November 24, 1785 – Death of Friederike of Württemberg, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp, wife of the future Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, in Vienna, Austria; initially buried in the chapel at Eutin Castle in Schleswig-Holstein, in 1790 her remains were moved to the newly built Ducal Mausoleum in Saint Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
At just 15 years old, Friederike married Prince Peter of Holstein-Gottorp (later Duke Peter I of Oldenburg) on June 6, 1781. The marriage was promoted by her sister Sophie, who was married to the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, and was intended to help strengthen the relationship between Württemberg and Russia. Friederike and Peter had two surviving children. Several weeks after having given birth to a stillborn son, Friederike died at the age of 20.
Unofficial Royalty: Friederike of Württemberg, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp

November 24, 1825 – Birth of Countess Julia Hauke, Princess of Battenberg, morganatic wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, in Warsaw, Poland
Full Name: Julia Teresa Salomea
Julia Hauke was the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, the founder of the Battenberg/Mountbatten branch of the Grand Ducal family of Hesse and by Rhine. As her marriage was morganatic, Julia did not become a Princess of Hesse and by Rhine. Instead, her brother-in-law, Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and by Rhine, created her Countess of Battenberg, with the style Illustrious Highness. Her children took their titles from her, becoming Counts and Countesses of Battenberg. Seven years later, the Grand Duke elevated Julia and her children to the rank of Prince/Princess, with the style Serene Highness. However, they remained ineligible for the Grand Ducal throne. Julia and Alexander’s son Henry married Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Beatrice and through this marriage, they are ancestors of the Spanish royal family. Their son Louis married Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Louis and Victoria were the grandparents of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the future monarchs of the United Kingdom will be their descendants.
Unofficial Royalty: Countess Julia Hauke, Princess of Battenberg

November 24, 1848 – Death of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (Lord Melbourne), Queen Victoria’s first Prime Minister, at Brocket Hall, his country home near Hatfield in Hertfordshire, England; buried at St. Etheldreda Church in Old Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England
In June 1837, King William IV died and was succeeded by his 18-year-old niece Queen Victoria. Victoria never knew her father Prince Edward, Duke of Kent as he died when she was eight months old. Lord Melbourne was her first Prime Minister. In Queen Victoria, Melbourne had the child, the companion, and the affection he craved. In Melbourne, Queen Victoria had the father figure she never had. Their close relationship was founded in Melbourne’s responsibility for tutoring the young queen in the world of politics and instructing her in her role but the relationship was much deeper. Queen Victoria came to regard Lord Melbourne as a mentor and personal friend and he was given a private apartment at Windsor Castle. He resigned as Prime Minister in August 1841 after a series of parliamentary defeats. Melbourne and Queen Victoria said a private goodbye on the terrace at Windsor Castle. Victoria cried and Melbourne told her, “For four years I have seen you daily and liked it better each day.” In October 1842, Melbourne suffered a stroke which considerably weakened him. He lived out his life at Brocket Hall, his country home near Hatfield in Hertfordshire, England where he died at the age of 69.
Unofficial Royalty: William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne

November 24, 1916 – Death of Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau, second wife of Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg, in Königstein im Taunus, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Hesse, Germany; buried with her husband at the burial chapel of Schloss Weilburg, the former residence of the House of Nassau and Dukes of Nassau-Weilburg, in Weilburg, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Hesse
Through their mothers who were sisters, Adelheid-Marie was the first cousin of King Frederick VIII of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, King George I of Greece, Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, Crown Thyra Princess of Hanover, and Prince Valdemar of Denmark. Adelheid-Marie married the future Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg in 1851. The couple had two surviving children including Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Adelheid-Marie died at the age of 82.
Unofficial Royalty: Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

November 24, 1960 – Death of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, daughter of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, in Toronto, Canada; buried at York Cemetery in Toronto, Canada
Olga, the sister of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, was in an unsuccessful marriage with Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg. At a military review, Olga saw a tall, handsome man in the uniform of the Blue Cuirassier Guards, Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky from a minor noble family, and their eyes met. Olga’s brother Grand Duke Michael arranged for Nikolai and his sister Olga to meet. After years of turmoil with Olga begging for a divorce and then asking her brother Nicholas II for permission to marry Nikolai, the couple was finally married in 1916. Olga and Nikolai had two sons. Olga, Nikolai, and their two sons managed to leave Russia after the Russian Revolution. After living in Denmark, the family moved to Ontario, Canada where Nikolai died in 1958. After her husband’s death, Olga became increasingly infirm. Unable to care for herself, Olga stayed in the Toronto apartment of Russian émigré friends, Konstantin and Sinaida Martemianoff.  On November 21, 1960, Olga slipped into a coma and the last Grand Duchess of Russia died on November 24, 1960, at the age of 78. Olga was buried next to her husband Nikolai at York Cemetery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia

November 24, 2001 – Death of Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, Princess of Hesse, Princess of Hanover, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in a nursing home in Munich, Germany; buried in the cemetery in Schliersee, Germany
Sophie married twice, both descendants of Queen Victoria as she was. Her first husband was Prince Christoph of Hesse, the son of Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse and Princess Margarete of Prussia, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Prince Christoph was killed in a plane crash during World War II. Her second husband was Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover, the son of Ernst August III, Duke of Brunswick, a descendant of King George III through his son Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland, and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor who was a grandson of Queen Victoria.  Sophie visited her brother Prince Philip often. In 1964, she was named one of the godparents of Philip’s youngest son Prince Edward. In 1994, Sophie and Philip traveled to Jerusalem, where their mother, born Princess Alice of Battenberg, was posthumously honored as Righteous Among the Nations for her efforts to help Jewish families during World War II. In the summer of 2001, with her health failing, Sophie moved to a nursing home in Munich, where she died at the age of 87.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, Princess of Hesse, Princess of Hanover

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King Willem III of the Netherlands, Credit – Wikipedia

November 23, 955 – Death of Eadred, King of the English in Frome, Somerset, England; initially buried at the Old Minster in Winchester, England, his remains are now in Winchester Cathedral
Eadred was the son of Edward the Elder, King of the Anglo-Saxons and a grandson of Alfred the Great. In 946, Eadred’s elder brother King Edmund I was murdered while celebrating the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury at a royal hunting lodge in Pucklechurch, north of Bath, England. Because Edmund’s two sons were very young, he was succeeded by his 23-year-old brother Eadred. Eadred suffered from ill health all his life. He had symptoms similar to the symptoms Alfred the Great, his grandfather also had. Alfred’s contemporary biographer, the Welsh monk Asser, gave a detailed description of his symptoms and modern doctors suspect that he had Crohn’s disease. However, a genetic disease such as porphyria, which Alfred’s descendant King George III may have had, is also possible. Eadred’s ill health is often given as the reason he never married. Towards the end of his life, Eadred’s health deteriorated drastically. He had physical difficulties eating and suffered from some kind of physical disability, possibly paralysis. He delegated most of his royal powers to Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury and other counselors. Eadred died at the age of 32.
Unofficial Royalty: Eadred, King of the English

November 23, 1503 – Death of Margaret of York, third wife of Charles I, Duke of Burgundy and sister of King Edward IV of England and King Richard III of England, at Mechelen Palace, in Mechelen, then in the County of Flanders, part of the Burgundian State, now in Belgium; buried in the Church of the Cordeliers, the church of the Grey Friars in Mechelen, Margaret’s tomb was destroyed at the end of the 16th century
Margaret was the daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, the leader of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses until he died in battle, and Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England, and the sister of two Kings of England, Edward IV and Richard III. In 1468, she married Charles I (the Bold), Duke of Burgundy but the couple had no children. Charles was killed at the Battle of Nancy in 1477. Margaret remained an influential matriarch in the family and devoted the last years of her life to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of her husband. Margaret survived her husband Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy by twenty-six years, dying on November 23, 1503, at the age of 57.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy

November 23, 1511 – Death of Anne of York, Lady Howard, daughter of King Edward IV of England; buried at Church of St. Michael the Archangel, in Framlingham, Suffolk, England
Anne married Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey (later 3rd Duke of Norfolk) and they had four children but none survived childhood.  Anne’s husband was the uncle of Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard. After Anne’s death, her widower married Anne Stafford, daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne of York, Lady Howard

November 23, 1709 – Death of  William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, favorite of King William III of England, at Bulstrode Park in Gerrard’s Cross, Buckinghamshire, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Bentinck and his first wife Anne Villiers are ancestors of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom through her mother’s family, specifically through her maternal grandmother, born Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. In 1664, fifteen-year-old Bentinck came to the court of fourteen-year-old Willem III, Prince of Orange, the future King William III of England as a page. In 1672, Bentinck became Willem III’s chamberlain. Along with his role at the court where he was an important advisor for Willem III, Bentinck also had a military career. Bentinck played a key role in the planning and execution of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which resulted in the deposing of Willem’s uncle and father-in-law King James II of England and Willem and his wife and first cousin becoming King William III and Queen Mary II of England. Bentinck went to England with William and Mary and was generously rewarded for his service with titles and estates. He remained William III’s closest advisor until William III’s death.  When William III’s wife Mary II died from smallpox, it was Bentinck who carried the nearly insensible William from the room. When William III was on his deathbed, he beckoned Bentinck to his bedside. Bentinck bent down and put his ear to William’s mouth but could only distinguish a few words of William’s incoherent speech. William then took Bentinck’s hand and placed it against his heart. Then William’s head fell back, he closed his eyes, took two or three breaths, and died.
Unofficial Royalty: William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, favorite of King William III of England

November 23, 1729 – Death of Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, favorite of Peter I, Emperor of All Russia, in banishment in Beryozovo, Siberia, Russia
Alexander Danilovich Menshikov was a Russian statesman, a military leader, and a boyhood friend and favorite of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia. In 1697, Peter I traveled incognito to Western Europe on an 18-month tour called the Grand Embassy and Alexander accompanied him. A number of times, in his various positions and situations, Alexander abused his power even though he was well aware of the principles on which Peter I’s reforms were conducted and was Peter I’s right hand in all his endeavors. Alexander’s corrupt practices frequently brought him to the verge of ruin. After Peter I’s death and the two-year reign of Peter’s wife Catherine I, Peter I’s 11-year-old grandson Peter II came to the throne. Alexander Menshikov took the young emperor into his home and had full control over all his actions. The old nobility, represented by the Dolgorukovs and the Galitzines, united to overthrow Alexander. He was deprived of all his dignities, offices, and wealth, expelled from St. Petersburg, and banished to Siberia with his wife and children. During a smallpox epidemic in Siberia, Alexander died at the age of 56.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, favorite of Peter I, Emperor of All Russia

November 23, 1886 – Birth of Prince Alexander of Battenberg, later Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke, grandson of Queen Victoria, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Full name: Alexander Albert Victor
Alexander was the son of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom and Prince Henry of Battenberg.  When World War I started in August of 1914, Alexander’s regiment was under deployment orders, as was the 60th Rifles, the regiment of his brothers Leopold and Maurice. A little more than two months after the war started, Maurice was killed in action. During World War I, his surname was changed to Mountbatten and he was created 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke. In 1917, he married Lady Irene Denison, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Londesbrough and they had one daughter. After World War I, Alexander began a business career and started work as a clerk in the offices of the bank Lazard Brothers. Alexander also worked for the Metropolitan Housing Corporation which controlled many housing estates for artisans, and Alexander eventually took full charge of the social work connected with the estates. Later he became a director of Lever Brothers and several other companies.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke

November 23, 1886 – Death of Marguerite Bellanger, mistress of Emperor Napoleon III, in Villeneuve-sous-Dammartin, France; buried at Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris, France
Using the stage name Marguerite Bellanger, she had a brief career on the Paris stage before she was noticed by Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. She was the mistress of Napoleon III from 1863 until 1870 when he was deposed and exiled. In February 1864, Marguerite gave birth to a son Charles Jules Auguste François Marie Leboeuf, who was in all likelihood, the Emperor’s son. With the Emperor’s exile in 1870, his affair with Marguerite ended. In 1872, she married William Kulbach, Baronet, a Captain in the British Army and the couple lived in England and France.
Unofficial Royalty: Marguerite Bellanger, mistress of Emperor Napoleon III

November 23, 1890 – Death of King Willem III of the Netherlands at Het Loo, near Apeldoorn, the Netherlands; buried at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, The Netherlands
In 1839, Willem married his first cousin Sophie of Württemberg. Willem and Sophie had three sons, but they all predeceased their father. When his father died in 1849, Willem succeeded as King of the Netherlands. After Sophie died in 1877, Willem was eager to marry again to ensure the future of the House of Orange. In 1879, 61-year-old Willem married 20-year-old Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Emma had a positive influence on Willem and the marriage was extremely happy. The last decade of Willem’s life was definitely the best years of his reign. Willem and Emma had one daughter, Wilhelmina, who succeeded her father. In 1888, King Willem III’s health began to decline. When it became apparent that Willem could no longer reign, Emma was sworn in as Regent. On November 23, 1890, 73-year-old King Willem III died and ten-year-old Wilhelmina became Queen. Emma took over as Regent for her daughter until Wilhelmina’s eighteenth birthday in 1898.
Unofficial Royalty: King Willem III of the Netherlands

November 23, 1965 – Death of Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of the Belgians, wife of King Albert I of the Belgians, at Stuyvenberg Castle in Laeken, in Brussels, Belgium; buried at the Royal Crypt in the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Elisabeth was the daughter of Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria (a grandson of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria), and his second wife, Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal (a daughter of King Miguel I of Portugal). She was named after her father’s sister Empress Elisabeth “Sisi” of Austria. In 1900, Elisabeth married the future Albert I, King of the Belgians, and had three children. In 1909, Albert and Elisabeth became King and Queen of the Belgians, following the death of Albert’s uncle, King Leopold II. Elisabeth took on a much more public role than her predecessors, getting involved with many charities and organizations, particularly those in the arts and social welfare.  In 1934, Elisabeth’s husband was killed in a mountain climbing accident and was succeeded by their elder son King Leopold III. Elisabeth withdrew from public life, so as not to hinder the efforts of her daughter-in-law, now Queen Astrid. However, in August 1935, Astrid was killed in an automobile accident. Elisabeth returned to public life, doing her best to support her son and his young family, and resuming her position as the first lady of the land. Elisabeth died at the age of 89.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of the Belgians

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Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

November 22, 1392 – Death of Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, 9th Earl of Oxford, favorite of King Richard II of England, in or near Louvain, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium, from injuries sustained during a boar hunt; buried at Colne Priory, the burial site of the Earls of Oxford, in Earls Colne, Essex, England
In 1376, Robert married Philippa de Coucy, daughter of Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy and Isabella of England, the eldest daughter of King Edward III of England. Robert was often at court in his role as Lord Great Chamberlain and as the husband of King Richard II’s first cousin. He quickly became a favorite of the young king and a member of the Privy Council. Robert became very unpopular with the other nobles and his close relationship with Richard II was one of the causes for the emergence of organized opposition to Richard called the Lords Appellant. In 1387, the Lords Appellant launched an armed rebellion against King Richard II and defeated an army under Robert de Vere at the Battle of Radcot Bridge on the River Thames, outside Oxford. Robert fled to France and was attainted, found guilty of treason, lost his titles and land, and sentenced to death in absentia. In 1392, in Louvain, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium, 30-year-old Robert de Vere died in exile and poverty from the wounds received while hunting a wild boar.
Unofficial Royalty: Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, 9th Earl of Oxford, favorite of King Richard II of England

November 22, 1515 – Birth of Marie of Guise, Queen of Scots, second wife of James V, King of Scots, mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, at Bar-le-Duc, Lorraine, France
In 1534, Marie married Louis II d’Orléans, Duke of Longueville in Paris. The marriage was a happy one, but sadly, a short one. Louis died in 1537, leaving Marie a pregnant widow. The couple had two children, but neither survived to adulthood. In 1537, Madeleine of Valois, daughter of King François I of France married James V, King of Scots but Madeleine died six months after the marriage. Madeleine’s father, King François I of France, suggested that Marie marry his widowed son-in-law. Marie and James V married in 1538 and had two sons and a daughter, the future Mary, Queen of Scots, but both sons died in early childhood. Six days after the birth of his daughter Mary, James V died at the age of 30. After Mary’s coronation, Marie was appointed as the principal member of the Council of Regency. In 1548, five-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots set sail for France where she would be raised with her future husband. She would not return to Scotland for thirteen years. Mary’s mother Marie remained in Scotland as the principal member of the Council of Regency.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Guise, Queen of Scots

November 22, 1602 – Birth of Elisabeth of France, Queen of Spain and Portugal, daughter of King Henri IV of France, first wife of King Felipe IV of Spain (also Felipe III of Portugal), at the Palace of Fontainebleau in France
In 1610, when Elisabeth was eight years old, her father King Henri IV of France was assassinated. Five years later, Elisabeth married the future King Felipe IV of Spain. Elisabeth and Felipe had eight children but only their youngest child, Maria Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain who married King Louis XIV of France, survived childhood. Besides having so many children die young, Elisabeth had three miscarriages. Her husband probably transmitted a venereal disease to Elisabeth that he had contracted with one of his mistresses. This would explain the miscarriages and the many dead infants. Throughout her marriage, Elisabeth suffered in silence over the deaths of her children and her miscarriages. The fact that her husband’s mistresses gave him children made her feel even worse.  Weakened by her multiple pregnancies and miscarriages, Elisabeth died at the age of forty-one, after miscarrying a son.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth of France, Queen of Spain and Portugal

November 22, 1727 – Birth of Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio at the Ducal Palace in Modena, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy
Ercole III d’Este was the last reigning duke from the House of Este that reigned in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio from 1452 – 1796. In 1741, Ercole married Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara, now in Italy. The marriage was made at the insistence of Ercole’s father who wanted the Duchy of Massa and Carrara because of its access to the sea. The marriage was not a happy one, the couple had one surviving daughter and eventually separated. Ercole III was considered an enlightened monarch who continued the reforms started by his father. He improved the infrastructure of his duchy, building bridges and roads. The arts and sciences flourished in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio during Ercole III’s reign. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. He was forced to flee to Venice where he died in 1803.
Unofficial Royalty: Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio

November 22, 1728 – Birth of Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Originally, Margrave of Baden, Karl Friedrich was the first Grand Duke of Baden. In 1805, he fought on the side of the French, gaining territories from the Austrian Empire. In 1806, he joined the Confederation of the Rhine, and upon the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Karl Friedrich declared himself sovereign, as Grand Duke of the newly created Grand Duchy of Baden. He continued supporting the French, gaining more territory from the Kingdom of Württemberg in the Peace of Vienna in 1809. Through his efforts, Karl Friedrich had quadrupled the size of the Grand Duchy of Baden by the end of his reign.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden

November 22, 1748 – Death of Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, second wife of Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, at Schloss Glücksburg in Römhild, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany, buried in the Castle Church at Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany
Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg was the second wife of Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, her third husband whom she married in 1714.  Their marriage was childless. She had previously married her first cousin, Friedrich Casimir Kettler, Duke of Courland (one surviving son), and Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (no children). She died at the age of 74.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

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Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress, Queen of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

November 21, 1689 – Birth of Jacques I, Prince of Monaco Torigni-sur-Vire, Normandy, France
Full name: Jacques François Léonor
Born Jacques François Leonor Goyon de Matignon to a wealthy French noble family, Jacques was the husband of Louise-Hippolyte, Sovereign Princess of Monaco. He was briefly the Sovereign Prince of Monaco.
Unofficial Royalty: Jacques I, Prince of Monaco

November 21, 1761 – Birth of Dorothea Jordan, mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom and mother of his ten illegitimate children, near Waterford, Ireland
Actress Dorothea Jordan had a 21-year affair with the future King William IV of the United Kingdom. Dorothea and William had ten children together, all of whom were given the surname FitzClarence They married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include many notable people. Upon the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, William and the other unmarried sons of King George III were pressured to marry to provide heirs to the throne. William ended his relationship with Dorothea and made a childless marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meinigen. He made sure Dorothea would continue to receive an allowance.  Dorothea had one condition to continue receiving her allowance from William: she could not return to the theater.  When she did return to the theater to help pay the debts of her daughter and son-in-law, her allowance was canceled. Greatly in debt, she sold her house and moved to France to escape her creditors and settled in Saint-Cloud, just outside of Paris where she died virtually penniless.
Unofficial Royalty: Dorothea Jordan

November 21, 1840 – Birth of Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress, Queen of Prussia, Queen Victoria’s eldest child, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Victoria Adelaide Mary
In 1858, Vicky, as she was known, married the future Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia, known as Fritz. The couple had eight children including Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia. Prince Albert and Queen Victoria ardently hoped that this marriage would make the ties between London and Berlin closer, and lead to a unified and liberal Germany. However, Vicky and Fritz were politically isolated and their liberal and Anglophile views clashed with the authoritarian ideas of the Minister-President of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck. Despite their efforts to educate their eldest son Wilhelm about the benefits of democracy, he favored his German tutors’ views of autocratic rule and became alienated from his parents. The year 1888 is called “The Year of Three Emperors” in German history. Fritz’s father Wilhelm I died on March 9, 1888, and Fritz succeeded him as Friedrich III. However, Fritz was already gravely ill with cancer of the larynx and lived only three months more, dying at the age of 56. After her husband’s death, Vicky lived at Schloss Friedrichshof, a castle she built in memory of her husband near Kronberg, close to Frankfurt, Germany.
Unofficial Royalty: Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress, Queen of Prussia

November 21, 1860 – Death of Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe at Bückeburg Castle in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony; buried in the Princely Mausoleum at St. Martini Church in Stadthagen, Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony
In 1787, two months after his second birthday, Georg Wilhelm became the reigning Count of Schaumberg-Lippe upon the death of his 64-year-old father. In 1807, after joining the Confederation of the Rhine, sixteen German states joined together in a confederation formed by Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, the County of Schaumberg-Lippe was raised to the Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe and Georg Wilhelm became its first reigning prince. In 1816, Georg Wilhelm married Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont and the couple had nine children. During the Revolutions of 1848, when there were demands for more participation in government and democracy, Georg Wilhelm gave in to some liberal demands but then changed to a more reactionary course in 1849 by abolishing the new constitution without restoring the old one. George Wilhelm died at the age of 75.
Unofficial Royalty: Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe

November 21, 1868 – Birth of Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg, first husband of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, at Oldenburg Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia
Peter was the only child of Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg and Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg. Alexander Petrovich’s grandfather had married Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna, daughter of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, and their children and grandchildren were raised in Russia. Despite his German title, Alexander Petrovich, like his father, had grown up entirely in Russia, served in the Russian military, and was considered part of the Russian Imperial Family. Peter and Olga’s marriage, arranged by their mothers, was a marriage in name only. Two years after their marriage, Olga met Nikolai Kulikovsky, an army officer her own age. Over the years, Olga continued to ask her brother Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia for permission to marry Nikolai. In 1916, Nicholas II had a change of heart and he officially annulled her marriage to Peter, and Olga and Nikolai were married. After the October Revolution in 1917, Peter, his father, and his mother emigrated to France, where he lived in Paris and on a farm near Bayonne, France. In 1922, Peter married Olga Vladimirovna Ratkova-Rognova. Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg died at the age of 55.
Unofficial Royalty: Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg

November 21, 1895 – Death of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, at Osborne Cottage in the Isle of Wight, England; buried in the churchyard at St. Mildred’s Church in Whippingham, Isle of Wight, England
Henry served as Queen Victoria’s Private Secretary from 1870 – 1895. In 1857, Henry was appointed Equerry to Prince Albert, beginning his service in the Royal Household until just months before his death in 1895. In 1870, Henry was appointed Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, following the death of his wife’s grandfather Sir Charles Grey. After suffering a stroke several months earlier, Henry formally retired from his position on May 9, 1895, and died six months later.
Unofficial Royalty: Sir Henry Ponsonby

November 21, 1916 – Death of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria; buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
Franz Joseph is one of Europe’s longest-reigning monarchs. In 1848, Emperor Ferdinand of Austria abdicated the throne in favor of his 18-year-old nephew. Franz Joseph was now Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Croatia, and King of Bohemia. Franz Joseph married Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria (Sisi) in 1854. The couple had four children. In 1889, Franz Joseph’s only son Rudolf died in a suicide pact with his mistress. Just nine years, later, Franz Joseph’s wife was assassinated.  In 1914, Franz Joseph’s heir, his nephew Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were victims of an assassination that was one of the causes of World War I. Upon Franz Ferdinand’s death, Archduke Karl, who would be the last Emperor of Austria, became the heir. Karl’s father was Archduke Otto Franz, the second son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, Emperor Franz Joseph’s younger brother. Franz Joseph died in the middle of World War I, at the age of 86.
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria

November 21, 1928 – Death of Heinrich XXVII, the 5th Prince Reuss of Gera at Schloss Osterstein in Gera, Germany; buried in the family cemetery in the park of Schloss Ebersdorf in Saalburg-Ebersdorf in Thuringia, Germany
Heinrich XXVII was the last reigning Prince Reuss of Gera, abdicating after the German defeat in World War I, on November 11, 1918. In 1884, Heinrich XXVII married Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the daughter of Hermann, 6th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Leopoldine of Baden. Elise’s paternal grandmother was Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Heinrich XXVII and Elise had five children. After Heinrich XXVII abdicated, the new government of Reuss-Gera made an agreement with Heinrich XXVII that granted him some castles and land. Heinrich died at the age of 70.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich XXVII, the 5th Prince Reuss of Gera

November 21, 2002 – Death of Prince Takamado of Japan at the Keio University Hospital in Tokyo, Japan; buried at the Toshimagaoka Imperial Cemetery in Tokyo, Japan
Takamado was the youngest of the five children of Prince Mikasa of Japan. Takamado’s father Prince Mikasa was the youngest son of Emperor Taishō and the youngest brother of Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa). Takamado worked from 1981 until he died in 2002 as the administrator of the Japan Foundation which promotes Japanese arts, culture, and language exchange around the world. In 1984, he married Hisako Tottori, the daughter of a Japanese industrialist. The couple had three daughters. On November 21, 2002, while playing squash with the Canadian ambassador Robert Wright at the Canadian Embassy, Takamado collapsed due to ventricular fibrillation. He was immediately taken to Keio University Hospital but was already in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest. He was resuscitated but his condition then worsened and soon there was no hope that he would survive. With the consent of his wife, Takamado was removed from life support and died at the age of 47.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Takamado of Japan

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Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom; Credit – Wikipedia

November 20, 1559 – Death of Lady Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, daughter of Mary Tudor, Queen of France, Duchess of Suffolk and niece of King Henry VIII, at her residence Charterhouse in London; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Frances was the daughter of Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. She married Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset and they were the parents of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey. After the executions of her husband Henry, her daughter Jane and Jane’s husband Lord Guildford Dudley, Frances’ life was in ruins. Because her husband was a traitor, all his possessions reverted to the Crown. Frances managed to plead with her first cousin Queen Mary I to show mercy. Mary agreed that some of the Duke of Suffolk’s property could remain with the family. Frances married her Master of the Horse Adrian Stokes in 1555. They had two stillborn children and a daughter who died in infancy. Frances, aged 42, died with her daughters Catherine and Mary at her side. The cost of her funeral was paid by her first cousin Queen Elizabeth I. With her daughter Catherine acting as chief mourner, Frances was buried at Westminster Abbey. Four years later, her widower Adrian Stokes had a beautiful tomb and effigy placed over her grave.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk

November 20, 1727 – Birth of Maria Josefa von Harrach-Rohrau, Princess of Liechtenstein, wife of her first cousin Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein, in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria
In 1744, seventeen-year-old Maria Josefa married her first cousin, twenty-year-old Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein, the son of her maternal uncle Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein. Maria Josefa and Johann Nepomuk Karl had three children but only one daughter survived childhood. After four years of marriage,  Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein died at the age of 24. In 1752, Maria Josefa made a second marriage to Prince Joseph Maria von Lobkowicz, a Field Marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army. The couple had four children. Maria Josefa predeceased her second husband and survived her first husband by forty years, dying at the age of 61 on February 15, 1788.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Josefa von Harrach-Rohrau, Princess of Liechtenstein

November 20, 1737 – Death of Caroline of Ansbach, Queen of Great Britain, wife of King George II of Great Britain, at St. James Palace in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
In 1705, Caroline married George, Electoral Prince of Hanover, the future King George II of Great Britain. The couple had eight children and through their children’s marriages, George and Caroline are the ancestors of many European royal families including the British, Danish, Dutch, Greek, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish Royal Families. Caroline’s father-in-law succeeded to the British throne as King George I in 1714 upon the death of Queen Anne and Caroline’s husband became heir to the throne. In 1727, King George I died and his son succeeded him as King George II. Queen Caroline played a greater role in governmental affairs than any queen consort since the Middle Ages. In 1724, during the birth of her youngest child, Caroline sustained an umbilical hernia. She ignored the condition until it became acute in November 1737. Then she was bled, purged, and operated on, without anesthetic, but there was no improvement in her condition. Gangrene set in and she died at the age of 54.
Unofficial Royalty: Caroline of Ansbach, Queen of Great Britain

November 20, 1851 – Birth of Margherita of Savoy, Queen of Italy, wife of King Umberto I of Italy, at Palazzo Chiablese in Turin, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, now in Italy
Full name: Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna
In 1868, Margherita married the future King Umberto I of Italy. They had one child, the future King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy. Margherita became Queen of Italy when her husband ascended to the throne following his father’s death in 1878. Immensely popular with the Italian people, Margherita was active with many cultural organizations, promoting the arts, and working with the Red Cross. In 1900, Margherita’s husband was assassinated. The throne passed to the couple’s son, Vittorio Emanuele III, and Margherita settled into her new role as Queen Mother. She devoted herself to her charity work and the advancement of the arts in Italy.
Unofficial Royalty: Margherita of Savoy, Queen of Italy

November 20, 1875 – Death of Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Reggio, in Vienna, Austria; buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria
Francesco V was the last Duke of Modena and Reggio. He was also the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland from 1840 – 1875. In 1842, Francesco married Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria. The couple had one daughter who died in infancy. Francesco became Duke of Modena and Reggio when his father died in 1846. King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, led the drive toward a unified Italian kingdom. During the Second Italian War of Independence, Francesco V and his wife were forced to permanently flee the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. In 1860, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Thereafter, Francesco and his wife mostly lived at the Palais Modena in Vienna, Austria, where his second cousin once removed Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria reigned over the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Francesco died at the age of 56. Francesco was the Jacobite pretender to the British throne from September 15, 1840 – November 20, 1875.
Unofficial Royalty: Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Reggio
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

November 20, 1908 – Birth of Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, Head of the House of Hesse from 1937 – 1968, son of Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his second wife Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Ludwig Hermann Alexander Chlodwig
In 1938, Ludwig married The Honorable Margaret Geddes, daughter of British diplomat Auckland Campbell Geddes,1st Baron Geddes. Sadly, his mother, brother, sister-in-law, and his two nephews died in a plane crash on the way to the wedding. (See Unofficial Royalty: November 16, 1937 – Deaths of the Grand Ducal Family of Hesse and by Rhine) Ludwig and his wife did not have any children. After World War II, Ludwig and his wife devoted themselves to rebuilding Darmstadt. They worked to restore museums, hospitals, and charitable institutions. Ludwig was a godparent of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who was Ludwig’s first cousin once removed.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine

November 20, 1912 – Birth of Crown Prince Otto of Austria, last Crown Prince of Austria, later known as Otto von Habsburg, son of Emperor Karl I of Austria, the last Emperor of Austria, at Wartholz Castle in Reichenau an der Rax, Austria
Full name: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius
The last Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia and later in his long life, a member of the European Parliament, Otto von Habsburg was the eldest and the longest surviving of the eight children of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma. After World War I and the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the family lived in exile. Otto’s mother made him learn the main languages of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – German, Hungarian, and Croatian – in case the empire was ever restored. In addition, Otto also spoke English, Spanish, French, and Latin fluently. While living in Belgium, Otto attended the Catholic University of Leuven and in 1935, he received a doctorate in social and political sciences. In 1951, Otto married Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen and the couple had seven children. Otto was an early supporter of a unified Europe and was president of the International Pan-European Union from 1973 to 2004. He served from 1979 until 1999 as a Member of the European Parliament for the conservative party, Christian Social Union in Bavaria, and eventually became the senior member of the European Parliament.
Unofficial Royalty: Otto von Habsburg

November 20, 1925 – Death of Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, born Alexandra of Denmark, wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
The daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, Alexandra, known as Alix, married the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (Bertie) in 1863. The couple had six children including King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Maud of Norway. In 1901, Alix’s husband succeeded to the British throne upon the death of his mother Queen Victoria. Alix and her husband had begun the idea of the royal family’s public appearances as we now know them during Queen Victoria’s withdrawal after her husband’s death, and they continued this during Bertie’s reign. During his marriage, Bertie had several mistresses. Apparently, Alix knew about many of them and accepted them. When Bertie died in 1910, Alix quipped, “Now at least I know where he is.” Toward the end of her life, Alix became almost completely deaf and suffered from mild senile dementia. She died of a heart attack at her beloved Sandringham House, just eleven days short of her 81st birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom

November 20, 1938 – Death of Queen Maud of Norway, born Princess Maud of Wales, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, wife of King Haakon VII of Norway, in London, England; buried at the Royal Mausoleum in Akershus Fortress, Norway
In 1896, Maud married her first cousin Prince Carl of Denmark, the son of Maud’s maternal uncle King Frederik VIII of Denmark. Maud and Carl had one child, Prince Alexander of Denmark, later King Olav V of Norway. In 1905, upon the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway, the Norwegian government began searching for candidates to become King of Norway. Because of his descent from prior Norwegian monarchs, as well as his wife’s British connections, Carl was the overwhelming favorite. In 1905, Carl officially became King of Norway. He took the name Haakon VII and his son two-year-old son was renamed Olav and became Crown Prince of Norway. Maud never gave up her love for her native country and visited often. However, she fulfilled her duties as Queen of Norway. Maud became active in women’s rights and the welfare of unmarried women. In October 1938, Maud came to England for a visit. While staying at a London hotel, Maud became ill and was taken to a nursing home where abdominal surgery was performed. She survived the surgery, but died six days before her 69th birthday, from heart failure.
Unofficial Royalty: Maud of Wales, Queen of Norway

November 20, 1947 – Wedding of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Lt. Philip Mountbatten, born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Always looking to make connections for his family, Philip’s maternal uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten (the future 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma), arranged for his nephew to be the escort of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret when the Royal Family toured Dartmouth Naval College in July 1939, where Philip was a cadet. 13-year-old Elizabeth fell in love with Philip and the two began exchanging letters. Philip and Elizabeth saw each other during World War II whenever possible, but it was not until the war was over that the courtship started in earnest. By the summer of 1946, the press was beginning to speculate about an engagement. Philip proposed at Balmoral and Elizabeth said yes without consulting her parents. Although George VI approved of Philip, he resented that the “Royal Firm” of “Us Four” would be no more. The Royal Family was due to visit the Union of South Africa in early 1947 and the king did not want the engagement announced until their return. On June 8, 1947, the engagement was announced.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Lt. Philip Mountbatten

November 20, 1992 – Fire seriously damages Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
On November 20, 1992, at 11:33 AM, a fire began in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle when a painter left a spotlight too close to the curtains. The location of the fire was shown on a map of the castle by an indicator light and the chief officer of the castle’s fire brigade immediately sounded the public fire alarm. The fire was initially in the Brunswick Tower, but soon many other indicator bulbs lit up, as the fire spread to neighboring rooms, including the State Apartments which are the rooms the public is allowed to visit.
Unofficial Royalty: Private Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Unofficial Royalty: Fired seriously damages Windsor Castle

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King Charles I of England, Credit – Wikipedia

Today’s Royal Events

• National Day of Monaco (November 19)

November 19, 1600 – Birth of King Charles I of England at Dunfermline Palace in Fife, Scotland
Charles was the second son and fourth of the seven children of James VI, King of Scots (later also King James I of England) and Anne of Denmark. He was not expected to be King as he had an elder brother Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. However, Henry Frederick died unmarried at the age of 18 from typhoid fever. On March 27, 1625, King James I died and Charles succeeded him. Three months later Charles married Henrietta Maria of France, daughter of King Henri IV of France. The couple had nine children but only three survived childhood. Charles had the same issues with Parliament as his father had, clashing with its members over financial, political, and religious issues. On January 4, 1642, a point of no return was reached. On that day, Charles committed the unprecedented act of entering the House of Commons with an armed guard and demanding the arrest of five Members of Parliament. This eventually led to the English Civil War, the execution of Charles II, and England being a republic (Commonwealth of England) for 11 years until the monarchy was restored and Charles I’s eldest son Charles II became king in 1660.
Unofficial Royalty: King Charles I of England

November 19, 1726 – Birth of Franz Josef I, Prince of Liechtenstein in Milan, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, now in Italy
Full name: Franz de Paula Josef Johann Nepomuk Andreas
The nephew of Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, Franz Josef I reigned as Prince of Liechtenstein from 1772 – 1781. In 1750, Franz Josef married Countess Leopoldine von Sternberg, the daughter of Count Franz Philipp of Sternberg and Countess Leopoldine of Starhemberg. Franz Josef and Leopoldine had eight children including two sovereign Princes of Liechtenstein.  Before becoming Prince of Liechtenstein, Franz Josef participated in several diplomatic missions on behalf of the Holy Roman Empire.
Unofficial Royalty: Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein

November 19, 1754 – Birth of Karl Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in the Free City of Frankfurt, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: August Friedrich Karl Wilhelm
When he was eight years old, Karl Wilhelm succeeded his father as Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Because of his age, his mother served as Regent and was instrumental in bringing the duchy back from financial and economic disaster. Karl Wilhelm married Princess Luise of Stolberg-Gedern but the couple had no children. Karl Wilhelm died at the age of 27 and was succeeded by his brother Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

November 19, 1962 – Birth of Prince Wenzel of Liechtenstein, son of Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein, in Zurich, Switzerland
Full Name: Franz Joseph Wenzeslaus (Wenzel) Georg Maria
The brother of Hans-Adam II, the current Prince of Liechtenstein, Wenzel was the youngest of the five children of Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein. He studied to become a doctor and worked in a hospital as an intern. On February 28, 1991, Wenzel, aged 28, died under unclear circumstances. The Princely Family of Liechtenstein remains silent about the cause of death.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Wenzel of Liechtenstein

November 19, 1983 – Birth of Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, husband of Princess Beatrice of York, at Portland Hospital in London, England
Full name: Edoardo Alessandro
Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, a multi-millionaire property tycoon and the son of Alessandro (Alex) Mapelli Mozzi, a former British Olympian in Alpine Skiing, married Princess Beatrice of York at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, on the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, on July 17, 2020. The couple has one child Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi was born on Saturday, September 18, 2021. On October 1, 2024, it was announced that Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are expecting their second child early in the new year.
Unofficial Royalty: Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

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Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

November 18, 1630 –  Birth of Eleonora Gonzaga of Mantua, the third of the three wives of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, in Mantua, Duchy of Mantua, now in Lombardy, Italy
Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria, the second wife and first cousin of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, died in childbirth in 1649. Ferdinand III’s stepmother, the Dowager Holy Roman Empress, also named Eleonora Gonzaga, was the second wife of his father Ferdinand II and Eleonora’s great aunt. It was Dowager Holy Roman Empress Eleonora who arranged the marriage between her stepson Ferdinand III and grand niece and goddaughter Eleonora. Twenty-year-old Eleonora and forty-two-year-old Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor were married in 1651 and had four children but only two daughters survived childhood. After the death of her husband, Eleonora did all she could to ensure that her seventeen-year-old surviving stepson would be elected Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. Eleonora was highly respected by Leopold who consulted with her on many political and personal issues. Eleonora survived her husband by twenty-nine years, dying on December 6, 1686, in Vienna, Austria, at the age of fifty-six.
Unofficial Royalty: Eleonora Gonzaga of Mantua, Holy Roman Empress, 3rd wife of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor

November 18, 1661 – Birth of Elisabeth Henriëtte of Hesse-Kassel, Hereditary Princess of Prussia, first wife of the future King Friedrich I of Prussia, in Kassel, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, now in Hesse, Germany
Elisabeth Henriette and Friedrich were first cousins and had known each other for most of their lives. Elisabeth Henriette’s mother encouraged and promoted the marriage, and it proved to be a love match. The couple had one daughter. Elisabeth Henriette, aged 22, contracted smallpox and died just weeks before her fourth wedding anniversary.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Henriëtte of Hesse-Kassel, Hereditary Princess of Prussia

November 18, 1774 – Birth of Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands, wife of King Willem I of the Netherlands, in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Friederike Luise Wilhelmine
Wilhelmine was the daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia and Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1791, she married her first cousin Prince Willem of Orange-Nassau, later King Willem I of the Netherlands, and the couple had four children. Wilhelmine was not successful in her role as Queen. While she contributed generously to charities, the Dutch people thought her cold and distant because she only came in contact with family and her court ladies.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands

November 18, 1851 – Death of King Ernest Augustus I of Hanover, son of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Schloss Herrenhausen, Kingdom of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried at the Chapel of Schloss Herrenhausen
In 1815, Ernest married his first cousin Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and the couple had one surviving son. Ernest became king of Hanover upon the death of his brother William IV.  Hanover had the Salic Law which forbids female succession.  So while Victoria succeeded her uncle William on the British throne, she could not succeed to the Hanover throne.  William’s next brother, Ernest did. Ernest Augustus died at the age of 80, after a short illness. Of his fifteen siblings, only Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester survived him. 30,000 people passed by his coffin as he lay in state in the throne room of Schloss Herrenhausen.
Unofficial Royalty: King Ernest Augustus I of Hanover

November 18, 1861 – Death of Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria 1842–1855, at Government House in Calcutta, India where her husband was serving as Viceroy of India; buried in a small garden on the grounds of Government House
Born The Honorable Charlotte Stuart, daughter of Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay, she married Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning

November 18, 1940 – Birth of Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman in Salalah, Oman
Qaboos was Sultan of Oman from 1970 until his death in 2020.  He staged a coup that overthrew his father Said bin Taimur. Qaboos immediately began efforts to modernize and develop the country, even changing the name to The Sultanate of Oman. In March 1976, he married his first cousin, Nawwal bint Tariq Al-Said. The couple had no children, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1979.
Unofficial Royalty: Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman

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© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Queen Mary I of England; Credit – Wikipedia

November 17, 1558 – Death of Queen Mary I of England at St. James Palace in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Mary was the only child of King Henry VIII of England and his first wife Catherine of Aragon to survive infancy. Upon the death of her half-brother King Edward VI of England in 1553, John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and Lord Protector of the Realm arranged for his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey, a great-granddaughter of King Henry VII of England, to be proclaimed Queen of England instead of Mary. Mary quickly assembled a force and deposed Jane, who was ultimately beheaded. Mary was 37 and needed to marry to produce an heir to supplant her Protestant sister, the future Queen Elizabeth I of England. In 1554, Mary married the future King Philip II of Spain but the couple had no children. Throughout her reign, Mary was steadfast in her determination to restore the Roman Catholic religion to England. Edward VI’s religious laws were abolished during the first Parliament of her reign. During Mary’s reign, nearly 300 Protestants were burned at the stake for heresy.  Mary had become weak and ill in May 1558, possibly from ovarian cysts or uterine cancer. In November 1558, Mary fell ill during an influenza outbreak and died at the age of 42. Mary had wanted to be buried with her mother at Peterborough Cathedral but was buried in Westminster Abbey in a vault she would eventually share with her Protestant sister Elizabeth.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Mary I of England

November 17, 1592 – Death of King Johan III of Sweden at Stockholm Castle in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden
Johan was the eldest of the ten children of King Gustav I Vasa of Sweden and his second wife Margareta Leijonhufvud. In 1569, he became King of Sweden after a rebellion against his mentally ill half-brother King Eric XIV of Sweden.  Johan married Katarina Jagellonica of Poland and the couple had three children. During his reign, Johan III carried out extensive building projects. He participated personally in the planning of various buildings and provided his own architectural drawings. In 1570, Johan III ended the Nordic Seven Years War with Denmark and Sweden, a war his half-brother Erik had started. During the following years, Johan successfully fought Russia in the Livonian War and made a peace treaty with Russia. After the death of his first wife, Johan married Gunilla Bielke and they had one son. After a reign of twenty-three years, Johan died at the age of 54.
Unofficial Royalty: King Johan III of Sweden

November 17, 1729 – Birth of Maria Antonia of Spain, Queen of Sardinia, wife of Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia, at the Royal Alcázar in Seville, Spain
Maria Antonia was the daughter of Felipe V, King of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. Her father was born Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou at the Palace of Versailles in France and was the grandson of King Louis XIV of France. In 1700, King Carlos II of Spain died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Philippe’s father Louis, Le Grand Dauphin had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain because his mother Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain had been the half-sister of Carlos II. However, neither Philippe’s father nor his elder brother Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petite Dauphin could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, Carlos II, King of Spain, in his will, named 16-year-old Philippe of Anjou, Duke of Anjou as his successor.  In 1750, Maria Antonia married the future Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia and the couple had twelve children. Upon the death of her father-in-law Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia in 1773, Maria Antonia’s husband succeeded him as Vittorio Amedeo III.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Antonia of Spain, Queen of Sardinia

November 17, 1755 – Birth of King Louis XVIII of France at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France
Full name: Louis Stanislas Xavier
King Louis XVIII of France was born in 1755, during the reign of his grandfather King Louis XV of France. He was the son of Louis, Dauphin of France, and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony, and the brother of King Louis XVI of France who was beheaded during the French Revolution.  In 1771, Louis married Princess Maria Giuseppina of Savoy, the daughter of the future King Vittorio Amadeo III of Sardinia and Infanta Maria Antonia of Spain. The marriage was far from loving, with Louis finding his bride ugly and repulsive. The couple had no children. During the French Revolution, Louis escaped France. In April 1814, following Napoleon’s overthrow, the French Senate restored the Bourbons to the French throne and Louis XVIII officially became King of France.
Unofficial Royalty: King Louis XVIII of France

November 17, 1769 – Birth of Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen, wife of the future Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, in Hanover, Electorate of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Charlotte Georgine Luise Friederike
Charlotte was the eldest child of Carl II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her paternal aunt was Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of King George III of the United Kingdom. In 1785, Charlotte married Friedrich, then the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The marriage was unhappy from the beginning, and Friedrich mostly ignored his wife who was far more intelligent than he was. Despite this, the couple had twelve children. Despite her husband’s disinterest, Charlotte became much loved by the people of Saxe-Hildburghausen. She gave generously to causes and charities that helped the poor and funded numerous programs that provided education and training to the less fortunate.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen

November 17, 1796 – Death of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia; buried at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia
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, and 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. Catherine died from a stroke at the age of 67 after a reign of 34 years.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia

November 17, 1818 – Death of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of the United Kingdom, wife of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Kew Palace in Surrey, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
In 1761, Charlotte married George III, then King of Great Britain, later King of the United Kingdom. George and Charlotte’s marriage was a very happy one and George remained faithful to Charlotte. Between 1762 and 1783, Charlotte gave birth to fifteen children, all of whom survived childbirth. Only two of the children, who died from smallpox, did not survive childhood. The only disruption in the family’s domestic lives was George’s attacks of illness. We now know that he probably suffered from porphyria and his attacks severely worried Charlotte. Charlotte is the second longest-serving consort in British history. Only her descendant, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, served as a consort longer. Queen Charlotte died at the age of 74, at Kew Palace seated in a small armchair holding the hand of her eldest son, the future King George IV.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of the United Kingdom

November 17, 1845 – Birth of Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, wife of Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, and mother of King Albert I of the Belgians, at Schloss Sigmaringen in the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen now in Sigmaringen, Germany
Full name: Marie Luise Alexandrine Karoline
Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was one-half of the couple who secured the future of the Belgian royal dynasty. Marie was the daughter of Sovereign Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and the sister of the future King Carol I of Romania. In 1867, Marie married Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, the second surviving son of Leopold I of the Belgians. In 1869, ten-year-old Leopold, Duke of Brabant, the only son and heir of Philippe’s brother King Leopold II, fell into a pond, caught pneumonia, and died. Hoping for a crown prince because only males could inherit the throne, Leopold II and his wife had another child, but the child was a girl. Marie and Philippe’s elder son Baudouin was second in line to the throne until he died in 1891 from influenza. Then Marie and Philippe’s younger son Albert became second in line to the throne. Marie lived long enough to see her son Albert succeed his uncle King Leopold II as King Albert I in 1909.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Countess of Flanders

November 17, 1887 – Birth of Ernst August III of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick in Penzig, Austria
Full name: Ernst August Christian Georg
The son of Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover and Princess Thyra of Denmark, Ernst August was the last reigning Duke of Brunswick, abdicating on November 8, 1918. He was also the pretender to the throne of Hanover. In 1913, Ernst August married Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia. The wedding was one of the last large gatherings of European royalty before World War I began the following year, attended by 1,200 guests. The couple had five children. After his abdication in 1918, Ernst August and his family were able to remain in Hanover. He lived his remaining years at his various properties, including Cumberland Castle in Gmunden, Austria, Marienburg Castle in Hanover, Germany, and Blankenburg Castle in Harz, Germany.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst August III of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick

November 17, 1905 – Birth of Astrid of Sweden, Queen of the Belgians, first wife of Leopold III, King of the Belgians, at the Hereditary Prince’s Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
Full name: Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra
Astrid was the daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Through both of her parents, she was closely related to the Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian royal families. Her father was the son of King Oscar II of Sweden and the brother of King Gustav V of Sweden. Her mother was the daughter of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, and sister to King Christian X of Denmark and King Haakon VII of Norway. In 1926, Astrid married the future Leopold III, King of the Belgians. They were the parents of the two Belgian kings, Baudouin and Albert II, and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg.  In 1934, Astrid’s husband became King of the Belgians upon the death of his father. Astrid threw herself into her royal duties while continuing to raise her young family. Sadly, just a year later, Astrid was killed in a car crash.
Unofficial Royalty: Astrid of Sweden, Queen of the Belgians

November 17, 1905 – Death of Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, son of King Leopold I and father of King Albert I of the Belgians, at the Palace of the Count of Flanders in Brussels, Belgium; buried at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken near Brussels, Belgium
Philippe was a younger son of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, and the ancestor of the current Belgian royal family as his son succeeded to the Belgian throne as King Albert I. In 1867, Philippe married Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and they had five children. It was Philippe and Marie who secured the future of the Belgian dynasty. Philippe was the heir presumptive to the Belgian throne until he died in 1905. Philippe’s elder son Baudouin was second in line to the throne until he died in 1891 from influenza. Then Philippe’s younger son Albert became second in line to the throne. Eventually, Albert succeeded his uncle, King Leopold II, upon his death in 1909 as King Albert I. Philippe led a comfortable life in the intimacy of his Brussels palace surrounded by his objets d’art, his superb horses, and especially his precious library of 30,000 books. He died at the age of 68.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders

November 17, 1905 – Death of Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg at his summer home Schloss Hohenburg in Lenggries, Kingdom of Bavaria, now Bavaria, Germany; buried at the burial chapel of Schloss Weilburg, the former residence of the House of Nassau and Dukes of Nassau-Weilburg, now in the German state of Hesse
Adolph was the son of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau whom he succeeded in 1839. Adolph’s first wife Grand Duchess Elisabeth Mikhailovna of Russia died in childbirth along with her child. Adolph married again to Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau. They had five children, but only two lived to adulthood including his successor Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 1890, Adolphe became Grand Duke upon the accession of Queen Wilhelmina to the Dutch throne. The three previous kings of the Netherlands had also been Grand Dukes of Luxembourg. However, because Luxembourg did not allow female succession, Wilhelmina could not succeed to the throne of Luxembourg. 73-year-old Adolphe was a Protestant in a Catholic country and knew little about Luxembourg, so he left the governing to his prime minister. Adolph died at the age of 88.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg

November 17, 1945 – Death of Friedrich Franz IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin at Glücksburg Castle in Germany, the home of his youngest daughter and her husband; buried in the New Cemetery in Glücksburg, Germany
Friedrich Franz became Grand Duke upon his father’s death in April 1897. Because he was still a minor, his uncle Duke Johann Albrecht, served as regent until Friedrich Franz came of age in 1901. Once he had taken control of his government, the young Grand Duke attempted to reform the Mecklenburg constitution. However, his efforts failed when the government of Mecklenburg-Strelitz refused to agree to his ideas. In 1904, he married Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland and they had five children. Friedrich Franz was the last Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, abdicating on November 14, 1918. Forced to leave Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  Friedrich Franz and his family traveled to Denmark at the invitation of his sister, Queen Alexandrine where they lived for a year, before being permitted to return to Mecklenburg, Germany, and recovering several of the family’s properties. At the end of World War II, with the advance of the Soviet Union’s Red Army, Friedrich Franz, his wife, and son Christian Ludwig, fled to Glücksburg Castle, in Glücksburg, Germany, the home of his youngest daughter and her husband, intending to return to Denmark. However, he became ill, and while under house arrest at Glücksburg  Castle, died at the age of 63.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich Franz IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

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Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, granddaughter of Queen Victoria; Credit – Wikipedia

November 16, 1093 – Death of Saint Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Scots, wife of Malcolm III, King of Scots, at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland; first buried at Dunfermline Abbey, Scotland. During the Scottish Reformation in 1560, Dunfermline Abbey was sacked and fell into disrepair.  Margaret’s remains, along with those of her husband, were transferred to a chapel in Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid, Spain by King Philip II of Spain but the location of the remains is now unknown.
Despite being called Saint Margaret of Scotland, Margaret was born an Anglo-Saxon princess around 1045 in Hungary.  Her father was Edward the Exile (also called Edward Ætheling), the son of King Edmund Ironside (King Edmund II). Margaret and her family returned to England in 1057. Following the death of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, her brother Edgar Ætheling was elected King of England but never crowned. After she and her family fled north, Margaret married Malcolm III, King of Scots by the end of 1070. The couple had eight children including three Kings of Scots and Edith who married King Henry I of England and is the ancestor of the British and other European royal families. In her private life, Margaret exhibited great piety. She had certain times of the day for prayer and reading the Bible. She ate sparingly and slept little to have time for prayers. In 1093, Margaret’s husband Malcolm and her eldest son Edward were killed at the Battle of Alnwick. Margaret was already ill when her husband and eldest son went off to battle. She died just three days after her husband and son’s death. Margaret was canonized as a saint in 1250 by Pope Innocent IV.
Unofficial Royalty: Saint Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Scots

November 16, 1272 – Death of King Henry III of England at the Palace of Westminster in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
King Henry III became king on October 18, 1216, at the age of nine, and reigned 56 years, 29 days, until he died in 1272. Only King George III, Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth II have reigned longer. He was the first child of King John and his second wife Isabella, Countess of Angoulême, and named after King John’s father, King Henry II. In 1236,  Henry III married Eleanor of Provence and the couple had five children. The English barons became displeased with Henry III’s demands for extra funds, Henry’s methods of government, and widespread famine. This displeasure ultimately resulted in a civil war, the Second Barons’ War (1264–1267). Ultimately, authority was restored to King Henry III and severe retribution was exacted on the rebellious barons. Henry III’s most important legacy is Westminster Abbey. In 1042, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St. Peter’s Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church, the first Westminster Abbey. Construction of the second and present church was begun in 1245 by Henry III who selected the site for his burial. In 1269, Henry oversaw a grand ceremony to rebury Edward the Confessor in a magnificent new shrine, helping to carry the body to its new resting place. When Henry III died in 1272 at the age of 69, he was buried in the original coffin of Edward the Confessor. Eventually, a grander tomb was built for Henry, and in 1290, his remains were moved to their current location in Westminster Abbey in Edward the Confessor’s Chapel, in a tomb directly north of Edward the Confessor’s shrine.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry III of England

November 16, 1632 – Death of King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden at the Battle of Lützen, near Lützen, Electorate of Saxony, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Also known as Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden, he was officially given the name Gustavus Adolphus the Great by the Riksdag of the Estates, the legislature, in 1634, two years after he died in battle. Gustavus Adolphus is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and made Sweden a great power that would make it one of Europe’s largest and leading nations during the early modern period. In 1620, Gustavus Adolphus married Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. Although Gustavus Adolphus was successful in many endeavors, he was not successful in providing a male heir. His only surviving child was a daughter Christina, who succeeded her father. At the age of 37, Gustavus Adolphus died in the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years War.
Unofficial Royalty: King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden

November 16, 1673 – Birth of Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, favorite of Peter I, Emperor of All Russia, in Moscow, Russia
Alexander Danilovich Menshikov was a Russian statesman, military leader, boyhood friend, and a favorite of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia. In 1697, Peter I traveled incognito to Western Europe on an 18-month tour called the Grand Embassy and Alexander accompanied him. In the Netherlands, Peter I and Alexander studied shipbuilding, and those skills were later used to build the Russian Navy. They traveled to Manchester, England to learn the techniques of city-building which would later be used to found the city of St. Petersburg. Several times, in his various positions and situations, Alexander Menshikov abused his power even though he was well aware of the principles on which Peter I’s reforms were conducted and was Peter I’s right hand in all his endeavors. Alexander’s corrupt practices frequently brought him to the verge of ruin.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, favorite of Peter I, Emperor of All Russia

November 16, 1725 – Birth of Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont, wife of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, in Ribeauvillé, France
In 1741, Christiane Henriette married her first cousin, Karl August, the reigning Prince of Waldek-Pyrmont. The couple had seven children including two reigning Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Through Christiane Henriette, her children were the first cousins of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and King Ludwig I of Bavaria. When Karl August died in 1763, he was succeeded by his son Friedrich Karl August. Christiane Henriette served as Regent of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont until Friedrich Karl August reached his majority. Christiane Henriette survived her husband by fifty-three years, dying on February 11, 1816, aged 90.
Unofficial Royalty: Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont

November 16, 1797 – Death of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia at the Marble Palace in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany; buried at Berlin Cathedral in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Friedrich Wilhelm became King of Prussia in 1786, upon the death of his uncle, King Friedrich II, better known as Frederick the Great. He moved the Prussian court – for many years based in Potsdam – back to Berlin, and overturned many of his uncle’s policies. Friedrich Wilhlem’s patronage of the arts and work toward improving trade and transportation made him popular with the Prussian people. However, that popularity soon faded, when he began to impose consumption taxes on items such as sugar, flour, and beer. He also depleted the country’s treasury by overspending during military ventures and his personal building projects. Having been in ill health for some time, Friedrich Wilhelm II retreated to the Marble Palace in October 1797, where he limited his court to just a few close confidants, including his official mistress, Countess von Lichtenau. By early November, his health was rapidly declining, and he handed over his responsibilities to his son and heir. King Friedrich Wilhelm II died at the Marble Palace in Potsdam at the age of 53.
Unofficial Royalty: King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia

November 16, 1831 – Death of Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, wife of Franz Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried in a mausoleum in the Coburg Court Garden
Augusta was the grandmother of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In 1777, she married Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The couple had nine children including Prince Albert’s father and Franz Friedrich Anton’s successor Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria’s mother Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Victoria and Albert’s uncle Leopold, the future first King of the Belgians. Augusta may have been the first person to suggest a marriage between two of her grandchildren. In 1821, in a letter to her daughter Victoria, Duchess of Kent, she suggested the possibility of marriage between Victoria and Albert who were only two years old at the time. Augusta did not live long enough to see her grandchildren Victoria and Albert married. She died at the age of 74, five months after the election of her son Leopold as King of the Belgians.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

November 16, 1836 – Birth of Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands, born David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua, in the grass hut compound of his maternal grandfather at the base of Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Kingdom of Hawaii now in the state of Hawaii
Known for his patronage and the restoration of many Hawaiian cultural traditions, Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands from 1874 – 1891 was the first of the two monarchs of the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands from the House of Kalākaua. In 1863, Kalākaua married Kapiʻolani Napelakapuokakaʻe, the daughter of High Chief Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole of Hilo and High Chiefess Kinoiki Kekaulike of Kauaʻi, the daughter of King Kaumualiʻi, the last king of an independent Kauaʻi. Sadly, their marriage was childless. During David’s reign, the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875, a free trade agreement between the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands and the United States greatly benefitted Hawaii. The treaty gave free access to the United States market for sugar and other products grown in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Unofficial Royalty: Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands

November 16, 1852 – Birth of Friedrich August II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg in Oldenburg, Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Friedrich August was the last Grand Duke of Oldenburg, abdicating on November 11, 1918. In 1878, he married Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, and the couple had one surviving daughter. After his first wife died in 1895, Friedrich August, needing a male heir and a mother for his surviving daughter, married Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They had five children. Friedrich August became Grand Duke of Oldenburg upon his father’s death in 1900. After his abdication, Friedrich August retired to Schloss Rastede where he took up farming. Claiming an “extremely precarious” financial situation, he petitioned the Oldenburg government for an annual allowance the year after his abdication.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich August II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

November 16, 1878 – Death of Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at Neues Palais, Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany; buried at Mausoleum of Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt
Princess Marie, known as May, was the youngest child of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.  At the beginning of November 1878, diphtheria began to make its rounds in the Grand Ducal Family. Princess Marie fell ill on November 12, 1878, and sadly was the only one of the children not to recover, dying at the age of four. May’s death devastated her brother Ernst Ludwig. It was their mother Alice’s efforts to console him, with a hug and kiss, which led to her contracting the illness and passing away less than a month later.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine

November 16, 1907 – Death of Roberto I, Duke of Parma in Viareggio, Italy; buried at the Chapel of the Villa Borbone in Viareggio, Italy
Roberto I was the last Duke of Parma. As a not-quite-six-year-old, he succeeded his assassinated father and then lost his throne five years later due to the Italian unification movement. Despite losing his throne, Roberto and his family had considerable wealth. They traveled in a private train of more than a dozen cars and had several residences. Roberto is known for having 24 children, 12 from each of his two marriages. Among his children are Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma who married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar), Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma who married Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma who married Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg.
Unofficial Royalty: Roberto I, Duke of Parma

November 16, 1937 – Deaths of the Hesse and by Rhine Grand Ducal Family in an airplane crash near Ostend, Belgium; buried at Rosenhohe in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany
On November 16, 1937, Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus; his mother Eleonore, Dowager Grand Duchess; his wife Hereditary Grand Duchess Cecilie (the former Cecilie of Greece, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh), and their sons Ludwig and Alexander boarded a flight for London to attend the wedding of Georg Donatus’s brother Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine and The Honorable Margaret Geddes. Tragically, they all died in an airplane crash near Ostend, Belgium.
Unofficial Royalty: Deaths of the Grand Ducal Family of Hesse and by Rhine
Unofficial Royalty: Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
Unofficial Royalty: Cecilie of Greece, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine
Unofficial Royalty: Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

November 16, 1939 – Death of Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Titular Duke of Parma at the Villa Borbone in Viareggio, Kingdom of Italy; buried in the chapel at the Villa Borbone in Viareggio, Italy
Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma was the titular Duke of Parma from 1907 until he died in 1939. As he was mentally disabled, his younger brother Elia served as regent.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Titular Duke of Parma

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© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Today’s Royal Events

• Unofficial Royalty: Belgium – King’s Day (November 15)

November 15, 1498 – Birth of Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France, wife of King Manuel I of Portugal and second wife of King François I of France, in Leuven, Spanish Netherlands, now in Belgium
Eleanor was the eldest of the six children of Philip (the Handsome), Duke of Burgundy and Joanna, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon. Her two brothers were Kings and Holy Roman Emperors and Eleanor and her three sisters were all Queen Consorts  In 1518, 19-year-old Eleanor became Queen of Portugal when she married 49-year-old Manuel I.  The couple had one surviving daughter. After Manuel’s death from the plague in 1521, Eleanor remained unmarried for nine years. To seal a treaty between the Holy Roman Empire and France, François I, King of France, a widower for several years, agreed to marry Eleanor, the sister of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Eleanor and François were married in 1530. Eleanor was ignored by François I who preferred his mistresses. Eleanor and François had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France

November 15, 1527 – Death of Catherine of York, Countess of Devon, daughter of King Edward IV of England, wife of William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, at Tiverton Castle in Devon, England; buried at Tiverton Church in Devon, England
In 1495, sixteen-year-old Catherine married twenty-year-old William Courtenay, son and heir of Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, a strong supporter of the then-current monarch, King Henry VII, and they had three children. After her marriage, Catherine remained close to her eldest sister Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VII. She attended the wedding of her eldest nephew Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon in November 1501, and the betrothal of her eldest niece Margaret Tudor to James IV, King of Scots in January 1502. After the death of her husband in 1511, Catherine took a vow of celibacy and was rarely at court. One of her few appearances at court was in 1516 for the christening of her great-niece, Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s daughter, the future Queen Mary I of England, at which Catherine was the godmother. Catherine of York died on November 15, 1527, at Tiverton Castle in Tiverton, Devon, England, aged 48.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine of York, Countess of Devon

November 15, 1799 – Birth of Maria Anna of Saxony, first wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony
Full name: Maria Anna Carolina Josepha Vincentia Xaveria Nepomucena Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Johanna Antonia Elisabeth Cunigunde Gertrud Leopoldina
In 1817, Maria Anna married the future Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The couple had three daughters. Maria Anna and her husband were the founding patrons of L’Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata, the first female boarding school in Florence to educate aristocratic and noble young ladies. The school is still in existence. Maria Anna’s inability to produce a male heir caused depression which coupled with her chronic ill health, made her developing tuberculosis more severe.  On March 24, 1832, 32-year-old Maria Anna died.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Anna of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

November 15, 1801 – Death of Maria Clementina of Austria, Duchess of Calabria, first wife of the future Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies, in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples
Maria Clementina was one of the sixteen children of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor) and Maria Luisa of Spain. In 1797, Maria Clementina married the future Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. The couple had a son and a daughter but only their daughter survived. Maria Clementina and Francesco had a loving and happy but short marriage. She died from tuberculosis, at the age of 24, before Francesco became King of the Two Sicilies. Her infant son had died four months earlier.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Clementina of Austria, Duchess of Calabria

November 15, 1828 – Death of Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler, Queen of Saxony, wife of King Friedrich August I of Saxony, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany; buried at Dresden Cathedral
1769, Amalie married Friedrich August III, Elector of Saxony. Amalie and her husband had one surviving daughter. In 1806, Amalie became the first Queen of Saxony when the Electorate of Saxony was elevated to a Kingdom, and her husband assumed the throne as King Friedrich August I. Amalie’s husband died in May 1827 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Anton. Amalie survived her husband by a year and a half, dying at the age of 73.
Unofficial Royalty: Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler, Queen of Saxony

November 15, 1853 – Death of Queen Maria II of Portugal in childbirth at Necessidades Palace in Lisbon, Portugal; buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
In 1835, Maria II married Auguste de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg but he died two months later. A year later, she married Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a first cousin of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple had eleven children. Maria II faced problems in giving birth with prolonged and extremely difficult labors. By the time she was 25-years-old, Maria was obese and the births became even more complicated. The combination of many successive pregnancies, her obesity which eventually caused her heart problems, and the prolonged, difficult labors led doctors to warn Maria about the serious risks she would face in future pregnancies. Maria replied, “If I die, I die at my post.”  Maria II at the age of 34 after giving birth to a stillborn son.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Maria II of Portugal

November 15, 1863 – Death of King Frederik VII of Denmark in Glücksburg, Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
In 1828, Frederik married Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark, the younger of the two daughters of the reigning King of Denmark, Frederik VI. The marriage was childless and unhappy, mostly due to Frederik’s affairs and drinking. The couple separated in 1834 and divorced in 1837. Frederik married again in 1841 to Caroline Mariane of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Once again, the marriage was childless and unhappy. In 1844, Caroline Mariane visited her parents and refused to return to Denmark. The couple divorced in 1846. In 1848, Frederik succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father. Two years later, he married his third wife Louise Rasmussen, a ballerina and stage actress. Frederik began a relationship with Louise during the 1840s. As this was a morganatic marriage, Louise was not Queen of Denmark. Instead, she was given the title Countess Danner. Frederik and Louise did not have any children.  King Frederik VII of Denmark died from erysipelas, a bacterial skin infection, at the age of 55.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik VII of Denmark

November 15, 1889 – Birth of King Manuel II of Portugal at Belém Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis Eugénio
King Manuel II of Portugal was the last Portuguese monarch, reigning just two and a half years before Portugal was declared a republic. On February 1, 1908, the royal family was attacked by assassins while riding in a carriage en route to the palace. Manuel was shot only in the arm, but his father King Carlos I of Portugal was shot in the head, dying instantly, and his elder brother Luís Filipe, Prince Royal was also mortally injured and died several minutes later. At just 18 years old, Manuel became the last King of Portugal.
Unofficial Royalty: King Manuel II of Portugal

November 15, 1895 – Birth of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, daughter of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, at Tsarskoe Selo, Russia
Olga was the eldest of the five daughters and the eldest of the six children of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Alix of Hesse and by Rhine. Because Olga reached her teens before World War I, there was talk about marriage for her. The most serious talk was for a marriage between Olga and Prince Carol of Romania (the future King Carol II), the son of King Ferdinand I of Romania and Queen Marie, born a British princess and a first cousin of Olga’s mother. During a visit in 1914 to Romania, Olga did not like Carol, while Carol’s mother Queen Marie was unimpressed with Olga. Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) and Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia (the future King Alexander I of Yugoslavia) were also mentioned as potential husbands. Olga wanted to marry a Russian and remain in her own country. When World War I started, any marriage talk was postponed.
Unofficial Royalty: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, Grand Duchesses of Russia

November 15, 1956 – Death of Elisabetha of Romania, Queen of Greece, wife of King George II of Greece, in Cannes, France; buried at the Hedinger Church in Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Elisabeth was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria through her mother Princess Marie of Edinburgh. In 1921, she married the future King George II of Greece. George and Elisabeth had no children, and would eventually divorce in 1935. After her divorce, Elisabeth petitioned to have her Romanian citizenship restored (she had relinquished it upon her marriage), and through very shrewd investments the booming Romanian economy, managed to become financially well-off. She devoted much of her time to charity, working with many organizations to help children and those who were ill. At her own expense, Elisabetha established a hospital and children’s home in Bucharest, Romania. After her nephew King Mihai was forced to abdicate in 1947, the Romanian royal family left Romania. After staying briefly in Sigmaringen, Germany, and in Zurich, Elisabeth eventually settled in Cannes, France where she leased an apartment and later taught piano lessons. She died in Cannes at the age of 62.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabetha of Romania, Queen of Greece

November 15, 1977 – Death of Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois, daughter of Prince Louis II of Monaco and his mistress Marie Juliette Louvet, in Paris, France; buried at the Chapelle de la Paix (Chapel of Peace) in Monaco
Charlotte began life as Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet, the illegitimate daughter of the future Prince Louis II of Monaco and Marie Juliette Louvet. Her parents had met the previous year in Paris, where Marie worked as a hostess in a nightclub. Because Louis was unmarried and without an heir, the Monegasque throne was likely to pass to his first cousin once removed Wilhelm, the Duke of Urach, a German nobleman who was the son of his father’s aunt Princess Florestine of Monaco. In 1918, a law was passed allowing for the adoption of an heir with succession rights. In 1919, Louis legally adopted Charlotte, giving her the Grimaldi surname. Her grandfather Prince Albert I created her HSH Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois. Upon Louis’ accession in 1922, Charlotte became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco. In 1920, Charlotte married Count Pierre de Polignac, and the couple had two children including the future Prince Rainer III. By 1925, Charlotte and Pierre were living separate lives and formally divorced in 1933. Charlotte knew the very Catholic Monaco would never fully accept her. In 1944, Charlotte renounced her succession rights to the Monegasque throne in 1944 in favor of her son Rainier. She died in 1977 at the age of 79.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois

November 15, 1977 – Birth of Peter Phillips, son of Anne, Princess Royal and her first husband Mark Philipps, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, England
Full name: Peter Mark Andrew
Peter is the eldest of the eight grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. In 2008, he married Canadian Autumn Kelly. The couple had two daughters, the first two great-grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II, and both have dual citizenship, making them the first Canadians in the line of succession to the British throne. On February 11, 2020, Peter and Autumn Phillips announced their intention to divorce. They had separated in 2019. The divorce of Peter and Autumn Phillips became final on June 14, 2021.
Unofficial Royalty: Peter Phillips

November 15, 2024 – Death of Yuriko, Princess Mikasa of Japan, wife of Prince Mikasa of Japan, at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, Japan
Princess Mikasa was the wife of the late Prince Mikasa, the youngest son of Emperor Taishō, the brother of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), and the uncle of Emperor Akihito. Prince and Princess Mikasa had three sons and two daughters. All three sons predeceased their parents. Princess Mikasa’s husband died in 2016, at the age of 100, a little more than a month before his 101st birthday. At the time of his death, he was the world’s oldest royal and the longest-lived member of the Japanese Imperial Family. Five days before Prince Mikasa’s death, he and his wife celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in his hospital room. Princess Mikasa survived her husband by eight years, dying of old age, on November 15, 2024, at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, Japan aged 101.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mikasa of Japan

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