© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

November 14, 1567 – Birth of Maurits, Prince of Orange at Castle Dillenburg, the ancestral seat of the Orange branch of the House of Nassau now in Hesse, Germany 
Maurits was the only surviving son and the fourth of the five children of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange and his second wife Anna of Saxony. In 1618, Maurits succeeded his childless half-brother Filip Willem. Maurits never married but he did have a number of illegitimate children.
Unofficial Royalty: Maurits, Prince of Orange

November 14, 1650 – Birth of Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England, at Binnenhof Palace in The Hague, the Dutch Republic now in the Netherlands
William was the only child of Willem II, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and Mary, Princess Royal, who was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England. William’s father died at age 24 of smallpox eight days before William’s birth, so from birth, William was the sovereign Prince of Orange. In 1677, William married his first cousin Mary, the elder surviving daughter of James, Duke of York, later King James II of England/James VII of Scotland. William followed Mary and her sister Anne in the line of succession to the English throne. In 1688, Mary’s father King James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution and Mary and her husband William became joint sovereigns as King William III and Queen Mary II. The couple had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: King William III of England, Prince of Orange

November 14, 1687 – Death of Nell Gwyn, mistress of King Charles II of England, in London, England; buried at the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, England
Nell was an orange girl in the theater, selling fruit and sweetmeats within the theater. She later became an actress. The affair between Nell and King Charles II began in April 1668 when Nell was attending a performance at Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theater. Charles II was in the next box and was more interested in flirting with Nell than watching the play. Charles II invited Nell and her escort to supper, along with his brother the Duke of York. Charles and Nell had one surviving son, Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans. The descendants of Nell and King Charles II have continued the line of the Dukes of St. Albans through the centuries. Nell remained one of Charles II’s mistresses until his death in 1685. On his deathbed, Charles remembered Nell when he told his brother James to look after his mistresses: “Let not poor Nelly starve.” King James II eventually paid most of Nell’s debts and gave her an annual pension of £1,500. In March 1687, Nell suffered a stroke, probably due to the effects of syphilis, that left her paralyzed on one side. Two months later, a second stroke left her confined to her bed. After suffering a third stroke, Nell died at the age of 37. Her funeral took place in a packed St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London, where she was also buried, with many more mourners lining the streets outside the church.
Unofficial Royalty: Nell Gwyn, mistress of King Charles II of England

November 14, 1734 – Death of Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, mistress of King Charles II of England, in Paris, France; buried at the Church of the Carmelite Convent in Paris, France
Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and King Charles II of England are the ancestors of Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom, Diana, Princess of Wales,  and Sarah, Duchess of York. In 1669, her parents arranged for her to be placed in the household of Henriette-Anne, Duchess of Orléans, at the Palace of Versailles, hoping Louise would catch the eye of King Louis XIV of France and become a royal mistress. In January 1670, Louise accompanied Henriette-Anne on a diplomatic mission to her brother King Charles II at Dover Castle in England. King Louis XIV was hoping Louise would catch the eye of his first cousin King Charles II and then there would be a French mistress at the English court. When the diplomatic mission was completed, Henriette-Anne offered her brother his choice of a piece of jewelry from her jewelry box which Louise handed to her. Placing his hand on Louise’s hand, Charles is reputed to have said: “This is the only jewel I want!” Louise and Charles II had one child, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox.  Louise managed to hold on to the title of official mistress until the end of King Charles II’s life in 1685. The generous pension that Charles II had given her was rescinded in 1688 following the Glorious Revolution that deposed King James II and placed his daughter Queen Mary II and his nephew and Mary’s husband King William III upon the throne. Louise returned to France where King Louis XIV of France and King Louis XV  provided Louise with a pension and protected her against her creditors. Louise died in Paris, France, aged 85.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, mistress of King Charles II of England

November 14, 1812 – Birth of Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies, first wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, in Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia, now in Italy
Full name: Maria Cristina Carlotta Giuseppa Gaetana Efisia
Maria Cristina was the daughter of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. In 1832, she married Ferdinando II, King of Two Sicilies. Maria Cristina was shy, modest, reserved, and a very devout Catholic. During the short time that she was Queen of the Two Sicilies, Maria Cristina managed to prevent the carrying out of all death sentences. She was called “the Holy Queen” for her deep religious devotion. She endured her nearly constant illnesses with patience and piety and was popular with the people for her charity, modesty, and humility. On January 21, 1836, five days after giving birth to her only child, the future Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies, 23-year-old Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications. In 1859, a cause for the canonization of Maria Cristina as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church was opened. In 1872, Maria Cristina was declared to be a Servant of God and in 1937, she was declared a Venerable Servant of God. In 2013, Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle due to her intercession and approved Maria Cristina’s beatification. She is known in the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy and is one step away from canonization as a saint. On January 25, 2014, the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy, the burial site of Maria Cristina, was the site of her beatification ceremony. Several thousand people attended the ceremony including the two branches of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
Unofficial Royalty: Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies

November 14, 1847 – Birth of Princess Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Yurievskaya, morganatic second wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, in Moscow, Russia
Princess Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Catherine Dolgorukov in English, was first the mistress and then the second and morganatic wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. In 1880, six weeks after the death of his wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna from tuberculosis, Alexander II made a morganatic marriage with Catherine. This marriage caused a scandal in the Imperial Family and violated Russian Orthodox rules regarding the waiting period for remarriage following the death of a spouse. Alexander granted his new wife the title of Princess Yurievskaya and legitimized their four children who were then styled Prince/Princess. On March 13, 1881, Emperor Alexander was assassinated when a bomb was thrown into his carriage. Shortly after Alexander’s funeral, Catherine left Russia forever. She moved to France and, in 1888, settled in Nice on the French Riviera. where she died on February 15, 1922, at the age of 74, forgotten and ignored, her obituary only three lines long.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine Dolgorukov, Princess Yurievskaya

November 14, 1854 – Birth of Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe, Queen Victoria’s Acting Mistress of the Robes 1883–1885 and 1892–1895 and Lady of the Bedchamber 1897–1901, on Lower Brook Street in Mayfair, London, England
Born Lady Anne Spencer-Churchill, daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, she married James Innes-Ker, 7th Duke of Roxburghe.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe

November 14, 1866 – Death of the former King Miguel I of Portugal in exile in Bronnbach, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg; buried first in the Engelberg Monastery in Grossheubach, Kingdom of Bavaria; reburied in 1967 in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
Miguel was the son of King João VI of Portugal who reigned until his death in 1826. At that time, João VI’s elder son succeeded to the throne as King Pedro IV. Pedro was king for only two months, abdicating in favor of his daughter Queen Maria II of Portugal. Maria Antonia’s father Miguel served as regent for his niece Maria II. As regent, Miguel claimed the Portuguese throne in his own right. This led to a difficult political situation, during which many people were killed, imprisoned, persecuted, or sent into exile, finally culminating in the Portuguese Liberal Wars. Ultimately, Miguel was deposed in 1834 and lived the last thirty-two years of his life in exile. In 1851, Miguel married Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, and the couple had six daughters and a son. Through the marriages of their many children and grandchildren, Miguel and his wife Adelaide are the ancestors of the current monarchs of Luxembourg, Belgium, and Liechtenstein, as well as pretenders to the thrones of Portugal, Austria, Bavaria, and Italy. Miguel died while hunting at the age of 64.
Unofficial Royalty: King Miguel II of Portugal

November 14, 1893 – Birth of Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg
Full name: Georg Philipp Albrecht Carl Maria Joseph Ludwig Lubertus Stanislaus Leopold
Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg was Head of the House of Württemberg, and pretender to the former throne, from 1939 until his death in 1975.
Unofficial Royalty: Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg

November 14, 1923 – Death of Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover at Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden, Austria; buried in the mausoleum at Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden, Austria
The only son of King Georg V of Hanover, Ernst August was the last Crown Prince of Hanover, as well as the last to hold the British Dukedoms of Cumberland and Teviotdale. Ernst August became Crown Prince of Hanover upon his father’s accession in November 1851. However, in 1866, Hanover was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia. The family went into exile in Austria but spent much of their time in Paris. In 1878, Ernst August married Princess Thyra of Denmark, the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and the couple had six children. Upon his father’s death in June 1878, Ernst August inherited his titles, becoming the 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, and Earl of Armagh in the United Kingdom, as well as head of the House of Hanover. He was also made a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, his father’s first cousin. However, Ernst August was removed from the roll of the Order of the Garter in 1915, and in 1917 was stripped of his title of Prince of the United Kingdom. As a result of the Titles Deprivation Act, in 1919 he was stripped of his British peerages for bearing arms against Great Britain during World War I. The titles – Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale – remain in abeyance, and his direct descendants could petition to have them restored. To date, no such petition has been made.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover

November 14, 1935 – Birth of King Hussein I of Jordan in Amman, Jordan
King Hussein of Jordan was one of the most important figures in the Middle Eastern region. His efforts for peace in the region earned him the respect of millions around the world, regardless of religious or political beliefs. His father, King Talal, suffered from mental illness and was forced to abdicate in 1952 after a reign of only one year. The 16-year-old Hussein became King of Jordan with a regency council established until he reached the age of 18. King Hussein had four marriages and a total of eleven children. After a battle with lymphatic cancer, King Hussein died in 1999 and was succeeded by his son King Abdullah II.
Unofficial Royalty: King Hussein I of Jordan

November 14, 1948 – Birth of King Charles III of the United Kingdom, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Charles Philip Arthur George
Upon the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, Charles succeeded to the throne as King Charles III of the United Kingdom. King Charles III is the first British monarch to be descended from two children of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. All monarchs after Queen Victoria have been descendants of her eldest son and heir King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Through his father, Charles is also a descendant of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the second daughter and third child of Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: King Charles III of the United Kingdom

November 14, 1973 – Wedding of Princess Anne of the United Kingdom and Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey in London, England
It was through their mutual love of horses that Mark Phillips met Princess Anne. The couple first met at the equestrian events during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City where Mark was a reserve member of the British equestrian team. The couple became engaged in April 1973  at the Badminton Horse Trials, the major equestrian event in the United Kingdom, in which both Anne and Mark competed. Buckingham Palace announced their engagement on May 29, 1973.  The couple had one son and one daughter. Princess Anne and Mark Phillips separated in 1989 and their divorce was finalized in 1992. Both Anne and Mark remarried.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Anne of the United Kingdom and Captain Mark Phillips

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.