October 20: Today in Royal History

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Empress Emerita Michiko of Japan as a child; Credit – Wikipedia

October 20, 1740 – Death of Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor at the Palais Augarten in Vienna, Austria; buried at the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna

Unofficial Royalty: Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor (article coming soon)

October 20, 1789 – Birth of Heinrich LXVII, 3rd Prince Reuss of Gera in Schleiz, then in the County of Reuss-Schleiz, later in the Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Thuringia, Germany
In 1820, Heinrich LXVII married Princess Adelheid Reuss of Ebersdorf. They had eight children but only two survived childhood. Upon the death of his unmarried brother Heinrich LXII, 2nd Prince Reuss of Gera in 1854, Heinrich LXVII became the 3rd Prince Reuss of Gera. His reign was reactionary to the failed German Revolutions of 1848 which had demonstrated discontent with the traditional, autocratic political structure of the thirty-nine independent states of the German Confederation. Heinrich LXII’s government implemented a reactionary amendment to the constitution that limited the power of the legislature.
Unofficial Royalty: Heinrich LXVII, 3rd Prince Reuss of Gera

October 20, 1934 – Birth of Empress Emerita Michiko of Japan, wife of Emperor Emeritus  Akihito of Japan, born Michiko Shôda at the University of Tokyo Hospital in Tokyo, Japan
Michiko first met her future husband, then Crown Prince Akihito, son of Emperor Hirohito, on a tennis court in August 1957. They were married in a traditional Shinto ceremony in 1959, the first time a commoner married into the Imperial Family. The couple had two sons and one daughter. There was much speculation that Akihito’s mother strongly opposed the marriage and that after the marriage she treated her commoner daughter-in-law harshly. Michiko suffered from several nervous breakdowns because of the pressure of the media and the attitude of her mother-in-law, which resulted in making her lose her voice for seven months in the 1960s and again in the fall of 1993. While her husband was Emperor of Japan, Empress Michiko was been ever-present at the Emperor’s side, whether it be visiting the various regions of the country, or hosting visitors at the Imperial Palace. On April 30, 2019, Emperor Akihito abdicated and was succeeded by his elder son Naruhito. When her husband abdicated Michiko’s title became Jōkōgō, Empress Emerita.
Unofficial Royalty: Empress Emerita Michiko of Japan

October 20, 2012 – Wedding of Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Stephanie de Lannoy; at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
On April 26, 2012, Guillaume and Stéphanie’s engagement was announced by the Marshal of the Grand Ducal Court. They had dated for several years, although they had managed to keep it very quiet until a few months earlier. In November 2011, Guillaume mentioned publicly that he was in a relationship, and months of speculation began. The couple first met in 2004, when they were introduced by mutual friends in Germany. However, it would be five years later when they met again and soon began dating. Guillaume proposed about three weeks before the engagement was announced.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy

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