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King Gustav V of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia
June 16, 1332 – Birth of Isabella of England, Countess of Bedford, daughter of King Edward III of England, at Woodstock Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England
Isabella married the French nobleman Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy. Her father Edward III granted him the titles Earl of Albemarle and Earl of Bedford. Isabella and Enguerrand had two daughters. Throughout her married life, Isabella never felt quite at home at the Château de Coucy in Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique, Lordship of Coucy, now in France. Whenever Enguerrand had to be away for extended periods, she would return to England. Isabella was at her father’s deathbed in 1377. Because her elder brother Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince had died in 1376, his ten-year-old son succeeded as King Richard II. After the coronation of Richard II, Enguerrand decided to cut all ties to England and only serve the French king, effectively ending his marriage with Isabella. Enguerrand returned to France, never to see Isabella again. Isabella remained in England with her younger daughter Philippa while her older daughter Marie continued to live in France. Isabella died either in April 1379 or sometime between June 17 and October 5, 1382, aged 47 or 50. She was buried in Christ Church Greyfriars in London, England.
Unofficial Royalty: Isabella of England, Countess of Bedford
June 16, 1644 – Birth of Princess Henrietta-Anne of England, daughter of King Charles I of England, at Bedford House in Exeter, England
Henrietta-Anne married her first cousin Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the only sibling of Louis XIV, King of France. She is an ancestor of the royal families of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Spain. When the line of Henriette-Anne’s brother King James II of England died out, the Jacobite claims to the British throne descended from her daughter Anne d’Orléans, Queen of Sardinia. The Orléanist pretenders to the French throne and the Savoy pretenders to the Italian throne descend from Henrietta-Anne.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Henrietta-Anne of England, Duchess of Orléans
June 16, 1712 – Death of Prince Hans-Adam I of Liechtenstein in Vienna, Austria; buried at Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Brno, Moravia, now Vranov, Czech Republic
Twenty-two-year-old Hans-Adam became Prince of Liechtenstein upon the death of his father Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein on April 5, 1684. Karl Eusebius left his son a rich inheritance and an extensive collection of artworks that were multiplied by his son and other descendants. The current Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II, is the richest European monarch. In 1681, Hans-Adam married Princess Erdmuthe Maria Theresia of Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg. Hans-Adam and Erdmuthe had eleven children but all their sons predeceased Hans-Adam. Because Hans-Adam had no sons, he had chosen his distant cousin Prince Joseph Wenzel, the great-grandnephew of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein, even though he was not next in line. The actual heir was his uncle Anton Florian but he was not very popular with the family.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Hans-Adam I of Liechtenstein
June 16, 1742 – Death of Louise-Élisabeth of Orléans, Queen of Spain, wife of King Luis I of Spain, at the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, France; buried at the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, France
Louise-Élisabeth was the daughter of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans and Françoise Marie de Bourbon, the legitimized daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan. In 1721, eleven-year-old Louise Élisabeth married the future King Luis I of Spain. The marriage was not successful and resulted in no children due to the young age of Louise Élisabeth and because she became increasingly known for her erratic and impulsive behavior. In 1724, King Luis I died from smallpox. Louise Élisabeth, a widow at the age of fourteen. Because the marriage of Luis I and Louise Élisabeth had not been consummated, Louise Élisabeth was to be sent back to France. She lived at the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris, away from the court of King Louis XV, her first cousin once removed. Louise Élisabeth died seventeen years later, on June 16, 1742, lonely and forgotten. She was buried in the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris but her tomb was desecrated and destroyed during the French Revolution.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise-Élisabeth of Orléans, Queen of Spain
June 16, 1848 – Death of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany; buried in the Altes Mausoleum in the Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt
Ludwig became Grand Duke upon his father’s death in March 1830 and continued his father’s policies. Soon after his accession, he demanded that the state assume all of his personal debts. This led to a growing dislike for Ludwig amongst the Hessian people. He also stood strongly against calls for a more liberal government that was sweeping through Europe. Following the beginning of the March Revolution, Grand Duke Ludwig II abdicated on March 5, 1848, in favor of his eldest son.
Unofficial Royalty: Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
June 16, 1858 – Birth of King Gustaf V of Sweden at Drottningholm Palace in Drottningholm, Sweden
Full name: Oscar Gustaf Adolf
In 1881, Gustaf married Princess Viktoria of Baden, the daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden and Princess Luise of Prussia. As Viktoria was a great-granddaughter of King Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden, the marriage joined the current Bernadotte dynasty with the former ruling House of Holstein-Gottorp. The couple had three sons. Gustaf V’s reign saw the rise of parliamentary rule and the establishment of a government that basically stripped the monarchy of its power, although this would not formally change until the 1974 Constitution. In 1948, King Gustaf celebrated his 90th birthday, but soon his health began to decline. Already spending the spring months on the French Riviera, he began to have the Crown Prince represent him at official functions. He made his last official appearance at a Cabinet meeting held on October 27, 1950. Two days later, as a result of complications from influenza, King Gustaf V died at Drottningholm Palace.
Unofficial Royalty: King Gustav V of Sweden
June 16, 1929 – Birth of Sabah IV bin Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait in Kuwait City, Kuwait
Sabah was a respected regional and international mediator due in part to his leadership in the Gulf Cooperation Council and his forty years of service as Foreign Minister and Prime Minister. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter called Sabah a “global humanitarian leader”, saying, “His support of disaster relief, peace efforts, and advancing public health are an inspiration. Other world leaders can learn from the wise example set by my friend, His Highness the Emir.” Sabah IV died on September 29, 2020, at the age of 91, due to long-term health issues. His 83-year-old half-brother Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed was named by the cabinet as his successor.
Unofficial Royalty: Sabah IV bin Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait
June 16, 1937 – Birth of Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski, former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria in Sofia, Bulgaria
In 1943, Simeon’s father Tsar Boris III died and six-year-old Simeon became Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria. A Council of Regency was established, led by his uncle Prince Kyril. The following year, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria, and the regents were deposed and replaced. They would all be killed a year later. The monarchy was overthrown in 1946 and the family was forced to leave the country. Following the fall of the Communist regime, Simeon was finally able to return to Bulgaria. In 1996, fifty years after he had been forced out of the country, Simeon returned to Bulgaria. He was the prime minister of Bulgaria from 2001-2005. He uses the name Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha).
Unofficial Royalty: Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria
June 16, 2000 – Death of Empress Kōjun (Nagako) of Japan, wife of Emperor Shōwa of Japan, at the Fukiage Ōmiya Palace in Tokyo, Japan; buried at the Musashi Imperial Mausoleum in Tokyo, Japan
Born Princess Nagako Kuni, she was the eldest daughter of Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni, a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army and a member of one of the branch houses of the imperial dynasty entitled to provide a successor to the throne of Japan by adoption. In 1924, she married the future Emperor Hirohito of Japan, now known by his posthumous name Emperor Shōwa. The couple had five daughters and two sons including Emperor Akihito. In 1926, when Hirohito’s father Emperor Taishō died of a heart attack at the age of 47, Hirohito began his 62-year reign as Emperor of Japan and Nagako became Empress of Japan. Empress Nagako performed her duties according to tradition. After her husband’s death in 1989, Nagako assumed the title of Empress Dowager and she remained in seclusion for the rest of her life due to her ill health. In 1995, she became the longest-living Dowager Empress of Japan, breaking the record of Empress Kanshi, who died in 1102. On June 16, 2000, at her home, the Fukiage Ōmiya Palace in Tokyo, Japan, Dowager Empress Nagako died at the age of 97. She is now known by her posthumous name Empress Kōjun.
Unofficial Royalty: Empress Kōjun of Japan
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