© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Viktoria Luise of Prussia, Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick; Credit – Wikipedia

December 11, 1282 – Death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales at the Battle of Orewin Bridge near Builth Wells, Wales
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was the native Prince of Wales from 1258 until his death in 1282. Llywelyn was the son of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr and grandson of Llywelyn the Great (Llywelyn I), and he was one of the last native and independent princes of Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England and English rule in Wales that followed.
Unofficial Royalty: Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales (article coming soon)

December 11, 1718 – Death of King Karl XII of Sweden during a siege at Fredriksten Fortress in Halden, Norway; buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Karl XII became King of Sweden at the age of fifteen in 1697 upon the death of his father Karl XI, King of Sweden, and reigned for twenty-one years.  Karl never married. For almost all of his reign, Karl XII led Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700 – 1721). He acted as the general of the army and achieved significant success for several years. After losing a decisive battle in which he was wounded and lost one-third of his forces, Karl fled to the Ottoman Empire and remained there for five years. Upon his return to Sweden, he started an offensive military campaign and ultimately lost his life in battle. In 1718, Karl once again invaded Norway by laying siege to Fredriksten Fortress. On December 11, 1718, while in the trenches close to the perimeter of Fredriksten Fortress, 36-year-old Karl was hit in the head by a projectile that entered the left side of his skull and exited on the right side of his skull, instantly killing him. The invasion was abandoned and Karl’s body was returned to Sweden where he was buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm.
Unofficial Royalty: King Karl XII of Sweden

December 11, 1756 – Death of Archduchess Maria Amalie of Austria, wife of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor who was also Karl I, Elector of Bavaria, at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Electorate of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria; buried in the Theatinerkirche in Munich
The daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Amalie married Karl of Bavaria, the heir to the Electorate of Bavaria. They had seven children but only four survived to adulthood. While the War of the Austrian Succession was occurring, Karl, now Elector of Bavaria was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII in 1742, and his wife Maria Amalie was now Holy Roman Empress. Karl VII’s three-year reign as Holy Roman Emperor was greatly overshadowed by the War of Austrian Succession. After the death of her husband in 1745, Maria Amalie lived at the home her husband had given her, Fürstenried Palace, for the rest of her life. She died at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich on December 11, 1756, aged 55. Like her husband, she was buried in the Theatinerkirche in Munich.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Amalie of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, Electress of Bavaria

December 11, 1817 – Death of Countess Maria Walewska, mistress of Emperor Napoleon I of France, born Countess Maria Łączyńska, Countess d’Ornano via her second marriage, in Paris, France; her heart was interred in the Ornano family crypt at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France and her body was buried with her birth family in Kiernozia, Poland
Maria Walewska was a member of the Polish nobility, and from 1807 – 1810, was the mistress of the French Emperor Napoleon I, with whom she had one son. The end of her relationship with Napoleon was very amicable, and Napoleon ensured that Marie and their son were very well provided for financially. In 1812, Marie divorced her husband and received half of his estates, which in addition to the money provided by Napoleon, made Marie a very wealthy woman. In 1816, she married for a second time, to Philippe Antoine, Count d’Ornano, a prominent military leader and a second cousin of Napoleon. In January 1817, while on a visit to Poland, she was diagnosed with a kidney disease, which became worse during her pregnancy and resulted in the birth of a son. Marie’s health continued to deteriorate and she died at just 31 years old.
Unofficial Royalty: Countess Maria Walewska, Mistress of Emperor Napoleon I of France

December 11, 1826 – Death of Maria Leopoldina of Austria, Empress of Brazil, Queen of Portugal, first wife of Pedro I of Brazil/Pedro IV of Portugal, in childbirth at the Palacio de São Cristovão in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; buried first in the Ajuda Abbey in Rio de Janeiro, since 1954 in the Ipiranga monument in São Paulo, Brazil
Maria Leopoldina was the daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria and the second of his four wives, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. In 1817, Maria Leopoldina married Pedro, Crown Prince of Portugal and Prince of Brazil.  At that time, Brazil was ruled as a kingdom united with Portugal.  In 1807, the Portuguese royal family had moved to Brazil to escape the Napoleonic invasion and had remained in Brazil where Rio de Janeiro became the de facto capital of the Portuguese Empire. Maria Leopoldina and Pedro had seven children including Queen Maria II of Portugal. Pedro was quite uneducated and the intelligent and well-educated Leopoldina quickly gained influence over her husband. Pedro discussed all government affairs with her and usually followed her advice. In August 1822, Pedro appointed Leopoldina Regent while he went on a political trip. While Pedro was away, Leopoldina received news that Portugal was about to take action, and without waiting for Pedro’s return, met with the Council of State and signed the Decree of Independence, declaring Brazil independent from Portugal. Pedro I was declared Emperor of Brazil. 29-year-old Leopoldina died at the Palacio de São Cristovão on December 11, 1826, from puerperal fever (childbed fever) after a miscarriage.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Leopoldina of Austria, Empress of Brazil, Queen of Portugal

December 11, 1830 – Birth of Kamehameha V, King of the Hawaiian Islands in Honolulu on the island of Oahu in the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands, now in the state of Hawaii

Unofficial Royalty: Kamehameha V, King of the Hawaiian Islands

December 11, 1850 – Birth of Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, Hereditary Princess of Monaco, first wife of Prince Albert I of Monaco, daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton, at Hamilton Palace in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
Besides having an American mother, Prince Albert II of Monaco has a Scottish great-grandmother, and not on his mother’s side, but on his father’s side. Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton was the daughter of William Alexander Anthony Archibald Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie Amelie of Baden. French Emperor Napoléon III suggested a match between the future Prince Albert I of Monaco and Lady Mary Victoria. The couple married in 1869 but the marriage was unsuccessful. Mary Victoria did not like her husband and did not like Monaco and the Mediterranean, which was so unlike her native Scotland. 19-year-old, pregnant Mary Victoria left Monaco with her mother and headed to her mother’s family home in the Grand Duchy of Baden. It was in Baden that Mary Victoria gave birth to the future Prince Louis II of Monaco in 1870. Mary Victoria and Albert never reconciled. Their marriage was annulled by the Roman Catholic Church in 1880 and civilly dissolved the same year by Prince Charles III of Monaco. Their son Prince Louis was raised in Baden by his maternal grandmother and did not see his father until he was 11-years-old. Mary Victoria married a second time in 1880 to Count Tassilo Festetics de Tolna, a Hungarian noble, and the couple had four children. Mary Victoria’s second marriage was a happy one and lasted over 40 years until the death of her second husband.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, Hereditary Princess of Monaco

December 11, 1872 – Death of Kamehameha V, King of the Hawaiian Islands in Honolulu on the island of Oahu in the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands, now in the state of Hawaii

Unofficial Royalty: Kamehameha V, King of the Hawaiian Islands

December 11, 1898 – Death of Sir William Jenner, 1st Baronet, Queen Victoria’s Physician-in-Ordinary from 1861 – 1890, at his estate Greenwood in Durley, Hampshire, England
Jenner took an interest in pathology, particularly in typhus and typhoid fever. Through his work, Jenner confirmed in 1849 that typhus and typhoid fever were two distinct diseases with very different causes. His work on the subject earned him an international reputation and made a huge impact on public health. With the importance of Jenner’s pathology work, his career quickly progressed. He taught pathological anatomy at the University College of London and became a staff doctor at University College Hospital. In 1861, his fame reached Queen Victoria who appointed him her Physician-Extraordinary. Jenner was one of the doctors who treated Prince Albert during his final illness. Despite his failure to save Albert, Jenner made a favorable impression on Queen Victoria, who appointed him her Physician-In-Ordinary in 1862. Queen Victoria and Jenner became lifelong friends, and in 1868, she created Jenner a Baronet. In December 1878, Jenner went to Darmstadt to attend Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, Queen Victoria’s daughter who had become ill with diphtheria while nursing her family, also ill with the disease. Sadly, Alice died seventeen years to the day of her father’s death. In 1890, Jenner was forced to retire from his position as Physician-In-Ordinary due to ill health. He went to live at his estate, Greenwood in Durley, Hampshire, England, where he died at the age of 83.
Unofficial Royalty: Sir William Jenner, 1st Baronet

December 11, 1936 – Abdication of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom; his brother becomes King George VI of the United Kingdom
On December 11, 1936, King Edward VIII performed the last act of his reign, the royal assent to His Majesty’s Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, necessary because only Parliament can change the succession to the throne. On the evening of December 11, 1936, once again His Royal Highness Prince Edward, the former king gave his famous radio speech in which he said, “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.” On December 12, 1936, at the accession meeting of the Privy Council, the new King George VI announced he was going to give his brother the title Duke of Windsor with the style of Royal Highness. Letters Patent dated May 27, 1937 re-conferred the “title, style, or attribute of Royal Highness” upon the Duke of Windsor, but specifically stated that “his wife and descendants, if any, shall not hold said title or attribute”.
Unofficial Royalty: Duke of Windsor, former King Edward VIII

December 11, 1950 – Death of Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg in Langenburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried in the family cemetery at Schloss Langenburg in Langenburg
In 1896, Ernst married Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The couple was second cousins. Their grandmothers, Queen Victoria and Princess Feodora of Leiningen were half-sisters. Ernst and Alexandra had five children including Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg who married Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark, a sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In 1900, Ernst’s father-in-law Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha died, and the ducal throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha passed to Alexandra’s cousin, Charles Edward, Duke of Albany. Because Charles Edward was just 16 at the time, Ernst was appointed as Regent until the new Duke reached his majority in 1905. During World War I, Ernst served the German Empire as General Delegate to the Eastern Front and also served as a special envoy to Constantinople and the Balkans in 1915. In 1936, Ernst joined the Nazi Party. Following World War II, Ernst retired from official service and lived a quiet and more private life. Ernst died at the age of 87, having survived his wife by eight years.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

December 11, 1980 – Death of Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick, daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, in Hanover, Germany; buried in the Royal Mausoleum in the Berggarten at Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover, Germany
Viktoria Luise was the youngest child of the seven children and the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia. Through her father, she was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1913, Viktoria Luise married Ernst August III, Duke of Brunswick. Viktoria Luise and Ernst August had five children. Viktoria Luise’s husband was forced to abdicate on November 8, 1918, when the monarchies in Germany were abolished. The following year, he also lost his British title as a Prince of the United Kingdom under the Titles Deprivation Act. Viktoria Luise was widowed in 1953. After living many years in Brunswick, her health began to fail in the fall of 1980, and she moved to the Friederikestift, a hospital in Hanover, where she died at the age of 88.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick

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© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Leopold I, King of the Belgians, Credit – Wikipedia

December 10, 1756 – Birth of Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Schwerin, then in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
In 1775, Friedrich Franz married Princess Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and had six children. He also had numerous mistresses and fathered at least 15 illegitimate children. He maintained close contact with all of them, providing financial support and arranging for the best education possible for his sons. Friedrich Franz became the reigning Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1785, following the death of his childless uncle Friedrich II. After Napoleon’s defeat, Friedrich Franz was raised to Grand Duke in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna. The remaining years of his reign were focused on strengthening the education system in the Grand Duchy, as well as pushing for legal reforms and the abolishment of serfdom.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

December 10, 1825 – Birth of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, in Corfu, Greece, where his father was stationed with the British Army
In 1857, Henry was appointed Equerry to Prince Albert, beginning his service in the Royal Household which would continue until just months before his death in 1895. He was Queen Victoria’s Private Secretary from 1870-1895 as well as Keeper of the Privy Purse from 1878-1895.
Unofficial Royalty: Sir Henry Ponsonby

December 10, 1861 – Birth of Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, born Frances Evelyn Maynard at 27 Berkeley Square in London, England
Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, was the mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom from 1889 until 1898, while he was The Prince of Wales. A renowned social hostess, she later put much of her time and effort, and fortune into helping those less fortunate. Interestingly, Daisy was descended from King Charles II of England in several different ways, through his mistresses Nell Gwyn, Barbara Palmer, and Louise de Kéroualle.
Unofficial Royalty: Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom

December 10, 1865 – Death of Leopold I, King of the Belgians at the Royal Palace of Laeken in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium; buried in the  Royal Vault at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Born Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, King Leopold was the uncle of both Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. Leopold’s first marriage in 1816 to Princess Charlotte of Wales, the heir and the only child of the future King George IV of the United Kingdom, tragically ended when Charlotte delivered a stillborn son and died of postpartum hemorrhage. In 1831, the southern provinces of the Netherlands rebelled against Dutch rule and became a new country, Belgium. Leopold agreed to become the first King of the Belgians. Leopold had to marry to provide for the Belgian succession, and so in 1832, he married Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans, daughter of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. The couple had four children. Leopold again became a widower when Louise-Marie died in 1850, at the age of 38 from tuberculosis. Leopold helped arrange the marriage of his niece, Queen Victoria, the daughter of his sister, to his nephew, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son of his brother. Even before she succeeded to the throne, Leopold had been advising Victoria by letter, and after her accession continued to influence her. Leopold had a twenty-year relationship with Arcadie Claret with whom he had two sons. Leopold died at the age of 74. Among his last words were “Charlotte…Charlotte.” Was he calling to his daughter Charlotte or to his beloved first wife Princess Charlotte of Wales?
Unofficial Royalty: King Leopold I of the Belgians

December 10, 1936 – King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom signs the Instrument of Abdication
King Edward VIII signed the Instrument of Abdication at Fort Belvedere, his home in Windsor Great Park, in the presence of his brothers: Prince Albert, Duke of York, the heir to the throne; Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; and Prince George, Duke of Kent. The next day, the last act of his reign was the royal assent to His Majesty’s Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, necessary because only Parliament can change the succession to the throne. On the evening of December 11, 1936, once again His Royal Highness Prince Edward, the former king gave his famous radio speech in which he said, “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.”
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, Duke of Windsor

December 10, 2014 – Birth of Princess Gabriella of Monaco, Countess of Carladès and Hereditary Prince Jacques of Monaco, Marquis of Baux, children of Prince Albert II of Monaco, at the Princess Grace Hospital Center in Monaco
Full names: Gabriella Thérèse Marie and Jacques Honoré Rainier
Princess Gabriella, Countess of Carladès and Hereditary Prince Jacques of Monaco, Marquis of Baux are the twin children of Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife Princess Charlene (born Charlene Wittstock). Gabriella was born two minutes before her twin brother, however, she is second in the line of succession to the throne of Monaco. Because the succession to the throne is male-preference cognatic primogeniture, Gabriella’s brother Jacques is ahead of her in the line of succession even though she was born first.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Gabriella of Monaco
Unofficial Royalty: Jacques, Hereditary Prince of Monaco

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© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Pedro II, King of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

December 9, 1706 – Death of King Pedro II of Portugal at the Palhavã Palace in Alcântara, Portugal; buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
Following the death of his father João IV, King of Portugal, Pedro’s mother Luisa de Guzmán became regent for the new king 13-year-old Afonso VI, Peter’s elder, partially paralyzed, and mentally unstable brother. In 1662 Afonso put his mother away in a convent and assumed control of Portugal as Prince Regent.  He also had his brother’s marriage to Marie Françoise of Savoy annulled and then married her. Pedro officially became King of Portugal when his brother died in 1683. After his first wife died, Pedro married again to Maria Sophia of Neuberg because he had only one daughter with his first wife and wanted sons. On December 5, 1706, he had a seizure that resulted in a stroke and he died four days later.  Pedro was succeeded by was 17-year-old son João V, King of Portugal.
Unofficial Royalty: King Pedro II of Portugal

December 9, 1709 – Birth of Louise-Élisabeth of Orléans, Queen of Spain, wife of King Luis I of Spain, at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, 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

December 9, 1751 – Birth of Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain, wife of King Carlos IV of Spain, in the Duchy of Parma, now in Italy
Full name: Luisa María Teresa Ana
The daughter of Felipe, Infante of Spain, Duke of Parma (founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma) and Louise Élisabeth of France, Maria Luisa married her first cousin, the future King Carlos IV of Spain in 1765. Maria Luisa had twenty-three pregnancies. Thirteen of the pregnancies resulted in live births, including a set of twins. The other ten pregnancies ended in miscarriages. Of the fourteen children who were born alive, only seven survived childhood. In 1808, after riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII. Less than two months later, Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon I, Emperor of the French where he forced them both to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. Napoleon kept Carlos and Maria Luisa’s son Fernando VII under guard in France for more than five years until the 1813 Treaty of Valençay provided for the restoration of Fernando VII as King of Spain. After the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, King Fernando VII refused to allow his parents to return to Spain. Carlos IV and Maria Luisa settled in Rome at the Palazzo Barberini where they both died in 1819.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain

December 9, 1793 – Death of Gabrielle de Polastron, Duchesse de Polignac, favorite of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, in Vienna, Austria; buried in Vienna, Austria
In 1775, Gabrielle and her husband were invited to visit Versailles by her sister-in-law, Diane de Polignac, who was a lady-in-waiting to Princess Elizabeth of France, the younger sister of King Louis XVI. Gabrielle was formally presented to Queen Marie Antoinette who instantly took a liking to her and soon asked her to move permanently to Versailles. Heavily in debt, this was not a move that Gabrielle and her husband could afford. Despite their aristocratic background, there was little money for extravagance. They lived on Jules’s military salary of just 4,000 livres and were heavily in debt. Becoming aware of this, Marie Antoinette quickly arranged to settle their debts and find a better position for Jules within the royal household. In 1782, Gabrielle was appointed Governess to the children of France. Following the storming of the Bastille in July 1789, Gabrielle and her family fled France, traveling throughout Europe before eventually settling in Vienna, Austria. During this time, she remained in close contact with Marie Antoinette for the next several years. Having developed what is believed to be cancer, her health quickly began to decline. Just two months after the Queen’s execution, Gabrielle died at the age of 44. Gabrielle is an ancestor of Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco.
Unofficial Royalty: Gabrielle de Polastron, Duchesse de Polignac

December 9, 1806 – Death of Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried in a mausoleum in the Coburg Court Garden in Coburg
Franz Friedrich Anton was the grandfather of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In 1777, Franz married Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf. They had nine children including Franz’s successor and Prince Albert’s father Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria’s mother Victoria, and Leopold who was the first King of the Belgians. In 1775, he began a print collection that ultimately consisted of 300,000 prints. The collection can be visited at the Veste Coburg. Because of Franz, the family’s library had an extensive collection of books. Franz conducted an extensive renovation of the family castles. Walls, ditches, and towers were demolished and replaced by gardens and other green areas. In 1805, Franz bought back Schloss Rosenau which the family had been forced to sell in 1704 due to debts. Franz Frederick Anton died, aged 56.
Unofficial Royalty: Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

December 9, 1810 – Birth of Auguste de Beauharnais, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg, first husband of Queen Maria II of Portugal, at the Royal Villa of Monza, just outside of Milan, Italy
Full name: Auguste Charles Eugène Napoléon
Auguste was the eldest son of Eugène de Beauharnais and Princess Augusta of Bavaria, a daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria. Auguste’s father Eugène was the son of the French Empress Joséphine from her first marriage, and therefore a stepson of Emperor Napoleon I. on January 26, 1835, Auguste married Queen Maria II of Portugal. Sadly, their marriage was to be very short-lived. On March 20, 1835, Auguste complained of a sore throat but refused to see a doctor. By March 23, 1835, his condition was worse and he finally consented to see a doctor. Within days, his condition became extremely grave, doctors told the family there was no hope, and Auguste was given the last rites. Auguste died on March 28, 1835, at the age of 24, most likely from diphtheria.
Unofficial Royalty: Auguste de Beauharnais, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg

December 9, 1963 – Birth of Empress Masako of Japan, wife of Emperor Naruhito of Japan, born Masako Owada at Toranomon Hospital in Tokyo, Japan
Masako’s father Hisashi Owada, was a former Japanese diplomat and served as Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations and as a member of the International Court of Justice, located in the Netherlands. Masako has a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Radcliffe College, part of Harvard University, and a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Balliol College, Oxford University. In 1986, Masako met her future husband, Emperor Naruhito of Japan, at a tea held in honor of Infanta Elena of Spain. She finally accepted his third proposal in December 1992.  On June 9, 1993, Naruhito and Masako were married in a traditional ceremony. The couple has one daughter Princess Aiko, born in 2001. In 2004, it was announced that she was suffering from Adjustment Disorder, although many speculate that she was dealing with clinical depression, brought on by the pressures and constraints placed upon her by the strict Imperial Household Agency. It would be many years before she would return to the public eye. In 2019, upon the abdication of his father Emperor Akihito, Masako’s husband became Emperor of Japan and she became Empress.
Unofficial Royalty: Empress Masako of Japan

December 9, 1987 – Death of Ernst August (IV), the former Hereditary Prince of Brunswick and Prince of Hanover, at Calenberg Castle in Schulenburg in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried at Marienburg Castle in Pattensen in Lower Saxony, Germany
Ernst August (IV) was the eldest son of Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia. He was the senior male-line descendant of King George III of the United Kingdom, which made him the pretender to the former Kingdom of Hanover. He was also a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria via his mother. In 1951, Ernst August (IV) married Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. They had six children including the present Prince Ernst August (V), the husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco. After his first wife’s death, Ernst August (IV) married Countess Monika zu Solms-Laubach. Ernst August (IV) died at the age of 73.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick and Prince of Hanover

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King Oscar II of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

December 8, 1521 – Death of Christina of Saxony, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, wife of King Hans of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, in Odense, Denmark; buried first in the Gråbrödre Klosterkirke in Odense, after her first burial site was demolished her remains were moved in 1805 to Saint Canute’s Cathedral in Odense, Denmark
In 1478, Christina married the future King Hans of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Christina and Hans had six children. In 1501, Hans began a long-term affair with Edel Jernskjæg, one of Christina’s ladies-in-waiting. The affair caused a scandal and a de facto termination of their marriage. From that time on, the marriage of Hans and Christina was one in name only. Christina was a devout Catholic (the Reformation had not yet occurred in Denmark) and she founded convents for the nuns of the Poor Clares in Copenhagen and Odense. In 1513, King Hans died from injuries after he was thrown from his horse. Christina survived her husband by eight years, dying aged 59, and was buried wearing the habit of a Poor Clares nun.
Unofficial Royalty: Christina of Saxony, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden

December 8, 1542 – Birth of Mary, Queen of Scots at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland
The year before Mary’s birth, her grandmother Margaret Tudor died and her father James V saw no reason to keep the peace with England. When war broke out between England and France in 1542, it was inevitable that Scotland would go to war against England because of their treaty with France. When Henry VIII of England broke from the Roman Catholic Church, he asked James V of Scotland, his nephew, to do the same. James ignored his uncle’s request and further insulted him by refusing to meet with Henry VIII at York. Furious, Henry VIII sent troops against Scotland. In retaliation for the English raid into Scotland, James raised an army and attacked England. On November 24, 1542, the Battle of Solway Moss in Cumberland, England resulted in a decisive English victory. After the Battle of Solway Moss, James V fled to Falkland Palace in Scotland where he became ill and took to his bed. Overcome with grief and shame about the Battle of Solway Moss, James V lost the will to live. The news that his wife Marie of Guise had given birth to a daughter on December 8, 1542, did nothing to raise his spirits. James V, King of Scots died at Falkland Palace in Fife, Scotland on December 14, 1542, at the age of 30, and was succeeded by his only surviving, legitimate child, six-day-old Mary.
Unofficial Royalty: Mary, Queen of Scots

December 8, 1625 – Death of Christina of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen of Sweden, second wife of King Karl IX of Sweden, at Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred, Södermanland, Sweden; buried at Strängnäs Cathedral in Strängnäs, Sweden
In 1592, Christina married the future King Karl IX of Sweden as his second wife. They had four children including Gustavus II Adolphus the Great, King of Sweden. In 1611, Christina’s husband died. Christina was co-regent for her son Gustavus II Adolphus during his short regency. Christina was considered the real power behind the throne during the early years of her son’s reign. In 1622, Christina’s younger son Karl Philip died at the age of twenty after a serious illness. Christina was heartbroken after the death of her younger son, and she retired from public life and lived in seclusion. She survived her husband by fourteen years, dying at the age of 52.
Unofficial Royalty: Christina of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen of Sweden

December 8, 1708 – Birth of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor at the Ducal Palace of Nancy, Duchy of Lorraine, now in France
In 1736, Francis Stephen married Maria Theresa of Austria, the only surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI and the heir to the Habsburg empire. The couple had sixteen children but only eight survived childhood including two Holy Roman Emperors and Maria Antonia better known as Queen Marie Antoinette of France. Upon her father’s death in 1740, Maria Theresa became the sovereign ruler of the Habsburg territories in her own right of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma, and she was the only female to hold the position. However, Maria Theresa was unable to become the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female. Maria Theresa’s right to succeed to her father was the cause of the eight-year-long War of the Austrian Succession. The Habsburgs had been elected Holy Roman Emperors since 1438, but in 1742 Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria from the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII. He died in 1745 and via a treaty Maria Theresa arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor as Franz I. Despite the snub, Maria Theresa wielded the real power and Francis Stephen was content to leave the act of reigning to his wife.
Unofficial Royalty: Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor

December 8, 1722 – Death of Elizabeth Charlotte (Liselotte) of the Palatinate, Duchess of Orléans, second wife of Philippe, Duke of Orléans, at the Château de Saint-Cloud, near Paris, France; buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, near Paris, France
Elizabeth Charlotte, called Liselotte, was the daughter of Karl I Ludwig, Elector Palatine. Her paternal grandmother was Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of King James I of England and the granddaughter of Mary, Queen of Scots. Liselotte’s paternal aunt Sophia of the Palatinate, Electress of Hanover was the heiress presumptive to Queen Anne of Great Britain in accordance with the Act of Settlement 1701 but Sophia died two months before Queen Anne died. Upon Queen Anne’s death on August 1, 1714, Liselotte’s first cousin succeeded to the British throne as King George I of Great Britain. In 1670, Liselotte’s first cousin once removed, Henrietta of England, daughter of King Charles I of England, wife of Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and sister-in-law of King Louis XIV of France, died at the age of 26. In 1671, Liselotte became the second wife of Philippe, Duke of Orléans. Philippe and Liselotte had three children including Élisabeth Charlotte d’Orléans who was the paternal grandmother of Maria Antoinette, Queen of France. After Philippe’s death  After Philippe’s death in 1701, Liselotte was concerned that she would be forced to retire to a convent as stated in her marriage contract. However, her brother-in-law Louis XIV appreciated her and allowed Liselotte to keep her apartments at all the royal residences and retain her rank. Liselotte survived Philippe by twenty-one years, dying at age 70.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, Duchess of Orléans

December 8, 1793 – Execution by guillotine of Jeanne Bécu, Countess du Barry, mistress of King Louis XV of France, at the Place de la Révolution (now the Place de la Concorde), in Paris, France; buried at the Madeleine Cemetery in Paris, France
Jeanne Bécu, Countess du Barry was the last official mistress of King Louis XV of France, from 1768 until Louis XV’s death in 1774. Following Louis XV’s death, Jeanne was banished from court and sent to the Abbey du Pont-aux-Dames. After a year, she was permitted to leave the abbey but banned from coming within 10 miles of Versailles. During her time as the King’s mistress, Jeanne had been gifted with a slave Zamor who remained in her household. Zamor later joined the Jacobin club, and upon discovering this, Jeanne dismissed him. In retaliation, Zamor gave testimony implying that Jeanne had assisted numerous aristocrats who had fled the French Revolution. Due to this testimony, Jeanne was arrested and charged with treason. A swift trial took place and she was found guilty and sentenced to death by guillotine.
Unofficial Royalty: Jeanne Bécu, Countess du Barry, mistress of King Louis XV of France

December 8, 1818 – Birth of Charles III, Prince of Monaco in Paris, France
Charles Honoré Grimaldi was born on December 8, 1818, in Paris, France. During his reign, the famous Casino de Monte-Carlo was established and the construction of the Cathedral of Monaco began. In 1846, Charles married 18-year-old Countess Antoinette de Mérode, the daughter of Count Werner de Mérode, a Belgian politician. Although they sometimes were in Monaco, Charles and Antoinette preferred to live in France, where Antoinette had acquired the Château de Marchais in Aisne in northern France. The Château de Marchais still belongs to the Princely Family of Monaco. Charles and Antoinette had one child Albert I, Prince of Monaco.
Unofficial Royalty: Charles III, Prince of Monaco

December 8, 1818 – Death of Karl, Grand Duke of Baden at Schloss Rastatt in Rastatt, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried St. Michael’s Church in Pforzheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Karl became Grand Duke of Baden upon the death of his grandfather Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden in 1811. In 1806, Karl had married Stéphanie de Beauharnais. They had five children but their only son died within a week of his birth. In 1817, with no living male heirs, and only one unmarried uncle to succeed him, Karl formally gave dynastic rights to his half-uncles – the sons of his grandfather Karl Friedrich from his second, morganatic, marriage. This kept the Grand Ducal throne of Baden from passing to Karl’s brother-in-law King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. In 1818, Karl oversaw the passing of a new and much more liberal constitution.  When Karl died in 1818 at the age of 32, the throne of Baden passed to his uncle, Ludwig I. However, through his daughters, his descendants include the former Kings of Romania and Yugoslavia, the Belgian royal family, the Luxembourg grand ducal family, and the Monaco princely family.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl, Grand Duke of Baden

December 8, 1826 – Birth of John Brown, personal attendant and favorite of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, in Crathie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
John Brown served Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom as a ghillie at Balmoral (Scottish outdoor servant) from 1849 – 1861 and a personal attendant from 1861 – 1883. Prince Albert’s untimely death in 1861 was a shock from which Queen Victoria never fully recovered. In 1864, Victoria’s personal physician Sir William Jenner ordered that she ride all winter. Victoria refused to be accompanied by a stranger and so John Brown was summoned to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight with Victoria’s Highland pony. His duties soon encompassed more than leading a horse. Brown became known as “the Queen’s Highland Servant” who took his orders exclusively from the Queen. From then on, until his death nearly twenty years later, Brown was never far from Victoria’s side.
Unofficial Royalty: John Brown

December 8, 1875 – Death of Leopold III, Prince of Lippe in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; buried in the Mausoleum at the Büchenberg in Detmold
Upon the death of his father in 1851, Leopold became sovereign Prince of Lippe. A year later, he married Princess Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt but the couple had no children. In 1875, Leopold III, aged 54, died after suffering a stroke and was succeeded by his brother Woldemar. Leopold III had eight younger siblings. It appears that Leopold and his brother Woldemar were the only ones who married and neither had any children. This would eventually create a succession crisis. After the death of Leopold’s brother Alexander, who succeeded his brother Woldemar, and the extinction of the Lippe-Detmold line, the throne of the Principality of Lippe went to Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld who would be the last Prince of Lippe.
Unofficial Royalty: Leopold III, Prince of Lippe

December 8, 1907 – Death of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Oscar was the third of the four sons of King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway. In 1857, he married Princess Sophia of Nassau and the couple had four sons. Upon his father’s death in 1859, Oscar became Crown Prince and heir of his elder brother King Karl XV, who had no living male heirs. Oscar became King of Sweden and Norway in 1872, upon his brother’s death. In 1905, King Oscar II formally renounced his claim to the Norwegian throne, with Sweden finally recognizing Norway as an independent constitutional monarchy. Oscar’s great-nephew, Prince Carl of Denmark (a grandson of Oscar’s elder brother King Karl XV), was elected King of Norway, taking the name Haakon VII. Ironically, Haakon’s son Olav married the daughter of Oscar’s son Prince Carl of Sweden, and today it is Oscar’s great-grandson, King Harald V, who sits on the Norwegian throne. Through his children, Oscar II’s descendants currently occupy the thrones of Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Soon after the end of the union with Norway, King Oscar’s health began to decline. He died at the age of 78.
Unofficial Royalty: King Oscar II of Sweden

December 8, 1915 – Death of Julia Abercromby, Baroness Abercromby, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, at Camperdown House in Dundee, Scotland
Born The Honorable Julia Haldane-Duncan, she was the eldest child of Adam Haldane-Duncan, 2nd Earl of Camperdown and married George Abercromby, 4th Baron Abercromby. In April 1874, Julia was appointed a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria and served until March 1885. She was an accomplished painter and was asked to paint the first official portrait of Queen Victoria for the National Portrait Gallery. She painted a watercolor portrait, based on an original painting by von Angeli. It was reported to be one of Queen Victoria’s favorite portraits of herself.
Unofficial Royalty: Julia Abercromby, Baroness Abercromby

December 8, 1942 – Death of Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia, son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, at Villa Ingenheim in Potsdam, Germany; buried at the Antique Temple in Sanssouci Park, Potsdam, Germany
In 1906, Eitel Friedrich married Duchess Sophie Charlotte of Oldenburg. The couple had no children. The marriage was never a happy one as Eitel Friedrich was continually unfaithful and the couple divorced in 1926. After World War I and the end of the German Empire, Eitel Friedrich remained active in monarchist circles and was a supporter of the Stahlhelm paramilitary organization. He was later one of the founders of the Harzburg Front, a radical right-wing alliance formed to present unified opposition to the government of Chancellor Heinrich Brüning. However, Eitel Friedrich was an outspoken opponent of Hitler. When Eitel Friedrich died at the age of 59 in 1942, the Nazi regime refused to allow him any military honors at his funeral and forbade anyone to participate wearing their uniforms. Despite this, there was a large turnout of his former comrades, all in civilian clothes, who participated in his funeral.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia

December 8, 1956 – Death of Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom and granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at 10 Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square, London, England; buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore in Windsor, England
In 1890, Marie Louise married Prince Aribert of Anhalt. However, the marriage was unsuccessful. In 1900, the marriage was dissolved by Marie Louise’s father-in-law, at her husband’s insistence. It has been speculated that the marriage was never consummated and that Aribert was homosexual, and had been caught in a delicate situation by either his wife or his father. In her memoirs, Marie Louise states that even though her marriage was annulled, she maintained the vows she had made at her wedding, and would never remarry. After World War II, Marie Louise and her unmarried sister Helena Victoria moved to 10 Fitzmaurice Place in Berkeley Square, London, England. She continued to participate in most family functions and remained very close to King George VI and his family. Following her sister’s death in 1952, one of her last major appearances was the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. At the suggestion of Queen Elizabeth II, she began to write her memoir, My Memories of Six Reigns, which was published in 1956. Soon after the book was published, Princess Marie Louise died at the age of 84.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein

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