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Maria Ana of Portugal, wife of Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg, with her six daughters; Credit – Wikipedia

 July 31, 1527 – Birth of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria
Maximilian married his first cousin Infanta Maria of Spain, the daughter of his uncle Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was also King Carlos I of Spain and Isabella of Portugal. The couple had fifteen children including two Holy Roman Emperors and two Queen Consorts (France and Spain).  Upon the death of his father Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, who was also King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia and Archduke of Austria, Maximilian succeeded as ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Holy Roman Emperor. During his reign, Maximilian had to deal with the ongoing Ottoman-Habsburg wars, conflicts with his Spanish Habsburg cousins, and the effects of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg officially ended the religious struggle between Lutherans and Catholics, and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing the rulers of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their state.
Unofficial Royalty: Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria

July 31, 1750 – Death of King João V of Portugal at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal; buried at the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon.
When João was nearly ten years old, his 32-year-old mother Maria Sophia of Neuburg died. His mother’s death caused changes in João’s behavior. He became withdrawn and depressed. His paternal aunt Catherine of Braganza, the widow of King Charles II of England, had returned to Portugal to live in 1693. Catherine took over caring for João and remained his main female role model until she died in 1705. In 1706, João’s father Pedro II, King of Portugal died and his 17-year-old son  João became King of Portugal. In 1708,  João married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, the daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. The couple had six children. In 1742, 52-year-old João had a stroke and became partially paralyzed. He recovered somewhat but was left diminished and much less energetic. His wife Maria Anna served as regent for the rest of his life. After a reign of forty-three years, João V, King of Portugal, aged 60, died on July 31, 1750.
Unofficial Royalty: King João V of Portugal

 July 31, 1737 – Birth of Princess Augusta of Wales, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales at St. James’ Palace in London, England
Augusta was the elder sister of King George III of the United Kingdom. She married Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, the future Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The couple had seven children including Caroline who married her first cousin, the future King George IV of the United Kingdom. (The marriage was a disaster.) Augusta never fully adapted to life in Brunswick nor was she well-liked. Any popularity she had was damaged by the fact that her three eldest sons were born with handicaps. Although Augusta reported to her brother King George III that her marriage was happy, it was actually unhappy. Karl found Augusta dull and preferred to spend time with his mistresses. After her husband was killed during the Napoleonic Wars and Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was occupied by the French, Augusta escaped to Sweden. Her brother King George III sent a British naval ship to transport his sister back home to England. Augusta lived in London with her daughter Caroline, Princess of Wales. Augusta got to know her granddaughter Princess Charlotte of Wales, who told her grandmother upon their first meeting “that she was the merriest old woman she ever saw.” Augusta died on March 23, 1813, at the age of 75.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Augusta of Wales, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

July 31, 1769 – Birth of Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham, Mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, born Elizabeth Denison
Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham was the last mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, from 1820 until he died in 1830. George IV was so devoted to her that he bequeathed her his plate and jewels, although she refused them when he died. He also provided housing at Windsor Castle and the Brighton Pavilion for Elizabeth and her family. He ensured that they traveled with him when he moved from one residence to the other. She was given full use of the King’s horses and carriages, and most of the large dinners held at her London townhouse were prepared in the kitchens of St. James’s Palace. To King George IV, nothing was ‘off limits’ for his beloved Elizabeth. However, it would all come to a quick end on the morning of June 26, 1830, when King George IV died at Windsor Castle. By the following day, Elizabeth had packed her belongings and left Windsor for her brother’s home before traveling to Paris, reportedly expelled from the country by the new King William IV.
Unofficial Royalty: Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham, Mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom

July 31, 1812 – Birth of Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil, second wife of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil (King Pedro IV of Portugal), in Milan, Lombardy-Venetia, now in Italy
Full name: Amélie Auguste Eugénie
Amélie was the daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais (son of Empress Jospéhine, the first wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, from her first marriage) and Princess Augusta of Bavaria. Because of a political and economic crisis, her husband Emperor Pedro I of Brazil abdicated his throne in favor of a daughter from his first marriage. Pedro, Amélie, and their daughter Maria Amélie returned to Portugal. Both Pedro and his daughter Maria Amélie died from tuberculosis.  Amélie financed the construction of a hospital to treat patients with lung diseases in Funchal on the island of Madeira in Portugal called the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélie which is still in existence. When Amélie died, the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélia was handed over to her sister Queen Joséphine of Sweden, and according to the terms of Amélie’s will, it is owned and administered by the Swedish Royal Family. King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden have visited the hospital.
Unofficial Royalty: Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil

July 31, 1816 – Birth of Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies, second wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, at Weilburg Castle near Vienna, Austria 
Full name: Maria Theresia Isabella
In 1836, Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies, wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died at the age of 23 from childbirth complications after giving birth to a son. The widowed king met Maria Theresa during his stay in Vienna, Austria later in 1836, and they became engaged to strengthen the relations between Austria and the Two Sicilies and married in 1837. Maria Cristina and Ferdinando had twelve children. Ferdinando died in 1859 at the age of 49 after hesitating to have surgery for a strangulated hernia. During Ferdinando II’s reign, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, began. During the reign of Ferdinando’s son Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Maria Theresa and her children left Naples and settled in Rome. In the summer of 1867, a cholera epidemic broke out in Rome.  Both Maria Theresa and her youngest son, ten-year-old Gennaro developed cholera and died from the disease.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies

July 31, 1924 – Death of Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg, son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, in Territet, Switzerland; buried in the Schaffhausen Forest Cemetery in Schaffhausen, Switzerland
The Battenberg/Mountbatten family descends from Franz Joseph’s parents Prince Alexander of Hesse and by the Rhine and his morganatic wife Countess Julia von Hauke. Franz Joseph married Princess Anna of Montenegro but the couple did not have children. During World War I, they found their financial situation more and more precarious and sometimes struggled to make ends meet. After 1920, they began to receive some financial support from Edwina Mountbatten, the wife of Franz Joseph’s nephew Louis Mountbatten, the future 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Until her death in 1960, Edwina continued to send money to Princess Anna. Prince Franz Joseph outlived all of his siblings.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg

July 31, 1942 – Death of Maria Ana of Portugal, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, wife of Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg, in exile during World War II in New York City; temporarily interred at Calvary Cemetery in Queens in New York City and then buried at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg after World War II
Maria Ana married Guillaume, the future Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The couple had six daughters including two reigning Grand Duchesses of Luxembourg. Maria Ana fled Luxembourg with her family when the German Army invaded in 1940. She died in New York City on July 31, 1942, of a stomach ailment and was temporarily interred at Calvary Cemetery in Queens in New York City. Her remains were later returned to Luxembourg and buried at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Ana of Portugal, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

July 31, 1993 – Death of Baudouin I, King of the Belgians in the Villa Astrida in Motril, Spain; buried at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
On July 31, 1993, King Bauduin died at Villa Astrida, his private retreat in Motril, Spain. Although King Baudouin had heart surgery in March 1992, his death from heart failure still came unexpectedly and sent Belgium into a period of deep mourning. He was succeeded by his brother King Albert II, who would reign for the next 20 years until he abdicated in favor of his son Philippe. Baudouin’s funeral was held at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels, Belgium, and attended by many royals from around the world. One notable guest was Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, who rarely attended royal funerals. Following the funeral, King Baudouin’s remains were entombed in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, the traditional burial site of the Belgian monarchs.
Unofficial Royalty: King Baudouin I of the Belgians

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Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of France; Credit – Wikipedia

July 30, 1126 – Death of Cecilia of Normandy, Abbess of Holy Trinity Abbey, daughter of King William I of England, at the Abbey of the Holy Trinity in Caen, Normandy, now in France; buried at the Abbey of Holy Trinity in Caen, Normandy
In early childhood, Cecilia was promised as a nun to the abbey her mother Matilda of Flanders founded, the Abbey of the Holy Trinity (also called the Abbaye-aux-Dames, Abbey of the Women), in Caen, Duchy of Normandy. Cecilia had a successful career at the abbey. In 1112, Cecilia became the Abbess of the Abbey of the Holy Trinity. Cecilia died on July 30, 1126, at the Abbey of the Holy Trinity and was buried at the abbey in the choir of the nuns, on the main axis of the church, opposite the choir of the laypeople where her mother Matilda of Flanders was buried. However, Cecilia’s grave is no longer accessible.
Unofficial Royalty: Cecilia of Normandy, Abbess of Holy Trinity Abbey

July 30, 1569 – Birth of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein at Valtice Castle in Valtice, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic
Karl I was the first Prince of Liechtenstein and the founder of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein. In 1590, Karl married Baroness Anna Maria von Boskowitz and Černahora. They had four children including Karl I’s successor Karl Eusebius. In 1592, Karl became the treasurer of Archduke Matthias of Austria, a future Holy Roman Emperor. Karl and his younger brothers were raised in the Evangelical Lutheran faith but they all converted to Catholicism in 1599. Karl’s younger brother Maximilian and his wife founded a Pauline monastery, and had the Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary built on the monastery grounds in the village of Vranov, then in Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. A crypt in the church served as the burial site for members of the House of Liechtenstein until the burial property was seized after World War II by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia. Since then, both Czechoslovakia and the current Czech Republic have refused to return the property to the Princely Family of Liechtenstein.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein

July 30, 1683 – Death of Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of France, wife of King Louis XIV of France, at the Palace of Versailles in France; buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France
Maria Theresa was the daughter of King Felipe IV of Spain and his first wife Elisabeth of France. As the Spanish monarchs at the time were part of the House of Habsburg, she was styled as Archduchess of Austria, as well as Infanta of Spain and Portugal. She was the first wife of King Louis XIV of France and gave birth to six children but only one, Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, survived childhood but he predeceased his father. At the end of July 1683, Maria Theresa fell ill, the result of an abscess in her left arm which was not treated correctly. Septicemia quickly set in causing her death.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of France

July 30, 1700 – Death of William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne of Great Britain, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Queen Anne had 17 pregnancies with only five children being born alive. Two died on the day of their birth, two died at less than two years old within six days of each from smallpox, and William, Duke of Gloucester died at age 11. Some modern medical experts feel that William had hydrocephalus, a condition in which there is an excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain. William celebrated his eleventh birthday at a party held at Windsor Castle. Jenkin Lewis, his servant, reported, “He complained a little the next day, but we imputed that to the fatigues of a birthday so that he was much neglected.” In the evening, William complained of a sore throat and chills. Two days later, he was no better and had developed a fever and was delirious. The doctors suspected smallpox, but no rash appeared, so they used the usual treatments of the time, bleeding and blistering, which no doubt, made William’s condition worse. The 11-year-old duke’s death was the major reason for the passage of the Act of Settlement in 1701 which gave the throne to Sophie, Electress of Hanover and her Protestant descendants. Upon the death of Queen Anne, William’s mother, Sophia of Hanover’s son ascended to the British throne as King George I.
Unofficial Royalty: William, Duke of Gloucester

July 30, 1769 – Birth of Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, husband of Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, now in Hesse, Germany
Full name: Friedrich Joseph Ludwig Carl August
While Friedrich was in the military, he showed no inclination to marry. In 1814, 45-year-old Friedrich met 44-year-old Princess Elizabeth, the third daughter and seventh of the fifteen children of King George III of the United Kingdom at a ball held at the British court. None of George III’s six daughters had been allowed to marry at the age when most princesses would marry. Eventually, three of the six daughters managed to get married. In 1818, Elizabeth read a letter from 48-year-old Friedrich, then Hereditary Prince of Hesse-Homburg to her mother asking to marry Elizabeth. Queen Charlotte was not easily persuaded to agree to the marriage and after heated discussions and interventions from several of Elizabeth’s siblings, the Queen agreed to the marriage. Using Elizabeth’s dowry and annual allowance, the couple built new roads in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, restored the castles in Bad Homburg and Meisenheim, and became involved in the care of the poor. Using seeds and seedlings from England, they created an English garden at Bad Homburg Castle.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg

July 30, 1833 – Birth of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
Karl Ludwig was the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I. In 1889, Crown Prince Rudolf died by suicide at his hunting lodge Mayerling. Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, had no sons, so the succession passed to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Franz Ferdinand. There have been suggestions that Karl Ludwig renounced his succession rights in favor of his son Franz Ferdinand. However, an act of renunciation was never formally signed and Karl Ludwig was never officially designated heir to the throne. He was only three years younger than Franz Joseph and not a realistic choice. When Karl Ludwig died in 1896, his son Ferdinand became the heir to his uncle’s throne.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria

July 30, 1872 – Birth of Princess Clémentine of Belgium, Princess Napoléon, daughter of Leopold II, King of the Belgians and wife of Prince Victor Bonaparte, the Bonapartist pretender to the French throne, at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Clémentine Albertine Marie Léopoldine
Clémentine was the third of the three daughters and the youngest of the four children of Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Archduchess Marie-Henriette of Austria. In 1869, when Leopold and Marie-Henriette’s only son Leopold died, King Leopold II blamed Queen Marie-Henriette for their son’s death. Little Leopold had fallen into a pond, caught pneumonia, and died. Hoping for a crown prince because only males could inherit the throne, Queen Marie-Henriette became pregnant again, but the long-awaited crown prince did not materialize as the child was a girl, Clémentine. Clémentine’s parents completely separated after her birth. In 1910, she married Prince Victor Bonaparte, the Bonapartist pretender to the French throne, and the couple had two children. On March 8, 1955, Clémentine died at the age of 82, at her home in Nice, France, the Villa Clairvallou.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Clémentine, Princess Napoléon

July 30, 1900 – Death of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Schloss Rosenau in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried in the Ducal Family’s mausoleum in Coburg Cemetery
Alfred’s father Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and elder brother, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom had both renounced their rights of succession to the throne of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, leaving Alfred as heir to childless his uncle Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The transition to his new position was not easy. The people were mostly against the idea of a British prince being their Duke even though his father was born a Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. However, Alfred was able to build up the people’s confidence in him and soon became quite popular.
Unofficial Royalty: Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

July 30, 1912 – Death of Emperor Meiji of Japan, at the Meiji Palace in Tokyo, Japan; buried in the Fushimi Momoyama Ryo (Graveyard) in Kyoto, Japan; his soul is enshrined in Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan
Since 1185, a shogun, a military dictator appointed by the Emperor had been the de facto ruler of Japan. In 1868, the last shogun lost power, and in the name and with the support of the young Emperor Meiji, a new, more Western-oriented upper class initiated the modernization of Japan known as the Meiji Restoration. Under Emperor Meiji’s reign, Japan started to become an industrial and naval power. The old feudal system was abolished and public state schools were introduced along with the Gregorian calendar. In 1890, the Emperor made the greatest contribution to the modernization of Japan with the enactment of a constitution. Emperor Meiji moved the capital of Japan from Kyoto to Edo (later Tokyo). Although he had little political power during his 45-year reign, he was an important symbol of the country’s unity. Emperor Meiji suffered from diabetes, nephritis, and gastroenteritis, and died of uremia at the age of 59.
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Meiji of Japan

July 30, 1936 – Birth of Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz, daughter of Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona, sister of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, in Cannes, France
Full name: María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos
In 1967, Infanta Pilar married Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada. The marriage was controversial because Luis was not royal and Pilar had to renounce her succession rights to the Spanish throne. Infanta Pilar was President of the International Equestrian Federation from 1994 – 2005. She was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1996 to 2006 and was then an Honorary member. She was also a member of the executive board of the Spanish Olympic Committee. Infanta Pilar died on January 8, 2020, at the age of 83 from colon cancer.
Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz

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King Umberto I of Italy; Credit – Wikipedia

July 29, 1672 – Birth of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Duc d’ Aubigny, an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England and Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, in London, England
Charles Lennox was an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom. After King Charles II died, Charles and his mother Louise went to France. Unsatisfied with his position at the French court and sure his position at the English court would be higher and that he would receive more revenue, 20-year-old Charles returned to England in 1692, during the reign of his first cousins, who reigned jointly as King William III and Queen Mary II. In 1692, Charles married Anne Brudenell, the daughter of Francis Brudenell, Lord Brudenell. The couple had two sons and one daughter. In 1683, the English colony of New York was divided into ten counties. Staten Island, now one of the five boroughs of New York City, and several minor neighboring islands, were designated as Richmond County, named after Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond. Still today, Staten Island is Richmond County, one of the counties of New York State.
Unofficial Royalty: Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and Lennox

July 29, 1735 – Death of Sophie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen in Prussia, third wife of Friedrich I, King in Prussia, at Schwerin Castle in Mecklenburg, Duchy of Mecklenburg Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; buried in the Schelfkirche St. Nikolai in Schwerin, Duchy of Mecklenburg Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Sophie Luise and her husband had no children. Being so much younger than her husband, and close in age to his children, Sophie struggled to find acceptance at the Prussian court. It did not help that her predecessor, Friedrich’s second wife Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, was greatly loved and admired by the Prussian people, and many saw Sophie Luise as a poor replacement. Sophie Luise became deeply religious but as time progressed, her devotion became obsessive and manic. During his final illness, her husband Friedrich awoke to find his wife standing before him, covered in blood and screaming at him. She had crashed through a glass door while running from her apartments to his, apparently to confront him in a fit of hysteria. Sophie Luise had no recollection of the event afterward and soon sent her husband back to Mecklenburg to be with her family. She lived the rest of her life with her widowed mother.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen in Prussia

July 29, 1787 – Birth of Sarah Lyttelton, Baroness Lyttelton, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria and Governess to the Royal Children, at Althorp in Althorp, Northamptonshire, England
 Born Lady Sarah Spencer, the daughter of George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer, she married Sir William Henry Lyttelton, 3rd Baron Lyttelton.
Unofficial Royalty: Sarah Lyttelton, Baroness Lyttelton

July 29, 1887 – Death of Marianne Skerrett, Head Dresser and Wardrobe-Woman to Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1862, at 41 Beaumont Street in Marylebone, London, England; burial unknown (Note: The depiction of Queen Victoria’s dresser in the series Victoria is completely false and an insult to the real person.)
Marianne Skerrett was born in 1793, so she was 44 years old when the 18-year-old Victoria became queen. She was intelligent, extremely well-read, and fluent in Danish, French, and German. Recommended to Queen Victoria by Louisa Petty-FitzMaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne, a Lady of the Bedchamber, Marianne became one of Queen Victoria’s two dressers in 1837 and eventually became head dresser. As the head dresser, Marianne oversaw the ordering of Queen Victoria’s clothing, shoes, hats, gloves, and undergarments. Marianne kept the wardrobe accounts and was diligent in checking all the bills to make sure no one tried to cheat Victoria. She was also responsible for supervising the hairdressers, dressmakers, and seamstresses who kept the royal wardrobe in good repair. After 25 years of serving Queen Victoria, Marianne retired in 1862 at the age of 69. She received a pension of £70 and went to live with her sister in the Marylebone section of London. Marianne Skerrett remained in contact with Queen Victoria, visiting her and writing to her, until she died in London, England on July 29, 1887, at the age of 94.
Unofficial Royalty: Marianne Skerrett

July 29, 1900 – Assassination of King Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Gaetano Bresci at Monza, Italy; buried in the Pantheon in Rome, Italy
On July 29, 1900, while visiting Monza, Italy, King Umberto I of Italy was shot and killed by Gaetano Bresci, an Italian anarchist, claiming to avenge the deaths of people in Milan during the riots of May 1898.
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Umberto I, King of Italy
Unofficial Royalty: King Umberto I of Italy

July 29, 1981 – Wedding of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England
The Prince of Wales, later King Charles III, and Lady Diana Spencer were married on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. The Prince and Princess of Wales, separated in December 1992 and divorced in August 1996. Exactly a year later, Diana, Princess of Wales tragically died in a car accident in Paris, France.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer

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Carlo Alberto, King of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

July 28, 1684 – Death of Charlotte FitzRoy (Charlotte Paston, Countess of Yarmouth), the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England and his mistress Elizabeth Killigrew in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England

Charlotte’s second husband was William Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth. The Paston family is famous for the Paston Letters, a collection of letters between members of the Paston family and others written between 1422 and 1509. The letters are an important primary source of information about life in England during the Wars of the Roses and the early Tudor period. Charlotte died suddenly, aged thirty-four, on July 28, 1684, at her home in London and was buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte FitzRoy (Charlotte Paston, Countess of Yarmouth), Illegitimate Daughter of King Charles II of England

July 28, 1844 – Death of Joseph Bonaparte, former King of Spain and King of Naples in Florence, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence
Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, was King of Naples from 1806 – 1808 and King of Spain from 1808 – 1813 through the machinations of his brother. After the fall of Napoleon, Joseph spent his exile living in Switzerland, the United States (seventeen years total spent in New York City, Philadelphia, and New Jersey, where he had an estate, Point Breeze, in Bordentown, New Jersey, on the Delaware River), London, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany where he died and is buried.
Unofficial Royalty: Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain and King of Naples

July 28, 1849 – Death of Carlo Alberto I, King of Sardinia in exile in Porto, Portugal; buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy
In 1848, Carlo Alberto attempted to rid the Italian peninsula of Austria’s rule resulting in the First Italian War of Independence, part of the Italian Unification.  In 1849, Carlo Alberto abdicated in favor of his son Vittorio Emanuele II after his forces were defeated. On March 24, 1849, the day after his defeat, Carlo Alberto left the Italian peninsula and wound up in Porto, Portugal on April 19, 1849. During his travels to Portugal, he became ill with a liver condition. Although Carlo Alberto had coughing fits and two heart attacks, his doctors considered the liver condition more serious. After being in quite a serious condition, Carlo Alberto seemed to improve on July 28, 1849, but then his condition seriously deteriorated after a third heart attack. He was given last rites, fell asleep with a crucifix on his chest, and died at 3:30 PM at the age of 50.
Unofficial Royalty: Carlo Alberto I, King of Sardinia

July 28, 1852 – Birth of Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, wife of Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz, in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Ida Mathilde Adelheid
On October 8, 1872, 20-year-old Ida married 26-year-old Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz. Ida and Heinrich XXII had one son and five daughters. Their only son Heinrich XXIV would be unable to marry and be unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Heinrich XXIV would be nominally the 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz but two Regents from the House of Reuss-Gera (also called the Younger Line) successively ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz.
Unofficial Royalty: Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess Reuss of Greiz

July 28, 1860 – Birth of Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, wife of  Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, at Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia
In 1879,  Anastasia, the daughter of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia and the granddaughter of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia, married the future Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The couple had three children: Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IIV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Alexandrine who married King Christian X of Denmark, and Cecilie who married Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia. Anastasia had six brothers. Her brother Sergei was among the five other Romanovs murdered by the Bolsheviks along with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna on July 18, 1918. Two of her brothers, Nicholas and George, were among the four Grand Dukes murdered by the Bolsheviks on January 28, 1919.
Unofficial Royalty: Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

July 28, 1894 – Birth of Freda Dudley Ward, mistress of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, born Winifred May Birkin in Nottinghamshire, England
Freda Dudley Ward was the mistress of the future King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom from 1918 – 1934 while he was Prince of Wales.
Unofficial Royalty: Freda Dudley Ward, mistress of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom

July 28, 1952 – Birth of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand in the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall of the Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand
King Vajiralongkorn is the current King of Thailand. On October 13, 2016, upon the death his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand who had reigned for seventy years, it was announced that Vajiralongkorn would be proclaimed King of Thailand following a period of personal mourning. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn did not want to be immediately named king to give the nation time to mourn his father’s death. He was proclaimed King of Thailand on December 1, 2016. Coronation ceremonies for King Vajiralongkorn were held May 4 – May 6, 2019.
Unofficial Royalty: King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand

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The Marriage of Princess Louise of Wales with the Duke of Fife at Buckingham Palace, 27th July 1889 by Sydney Prior Hall; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

July 27, 1765 – Birth of Friederike of Württemberg, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp, wife of the future Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, in Treptow an der Rega, Pomerania, now Trzebiatów, Poland
Full name: Friederike Elisabeth Amalie Auguste
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

July 27, 1773 – Birth of Luisa of Naples and Sicily, first wife of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany at the Royal Palace in Naples, Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, now in Italy
Full name: Luisa Maria Amalia Teresa
Luisa was the daughter of King Ferdinando IV of Naples and III of Sicily, later Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies, and his first wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. In 1790, Luisa married Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. At the Tuscan court, there was gossip about Luisa’s lack of attractiveness. However, many considered the gossip about her looks superficial and saw Luisa as someone who showed great kindness to everyone. Luisa and her husband had five children. Sadly, she died in childbirth delivering a stillborn son in 1802.
Unofficial Royalty: Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

July 27, 1888 – Birth of Prince Oskar of Prussia, son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, at Marmorpalais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Oskar Karl Gustav Adolf
In 1914, Oskar married Countess Ina-Marie von Bassewitz. The marriage was considered morganatic, so the bride could not take her husband’s style and title. Instead, four days before the wedding, Ina-Marie was created Countess von Ruppin. The couple had four children. Several years later, in November 1919, the marriage was decreed dynastic, and Ina-Marie and her children were elevated to HRH Prince/Princess of Prussia as of June 1920.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Oskar of Prussia

July 27, 1889 – Wedding of Princess Louise of Wales, later Princess Royal, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, and Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife, later 1st Duke of Fife, at the Private Chapel in Buckingham Palace, London, England
Despite her mother’s possessiveness and her grandmother’s matchmaking, Louise decided that she wanted to marry for love. She preferred to marry a British subject rather than a European prince that would take her away from home and so, like her aunt Princess Louise who had married the future 9th Duke of Argyll, she chose a husband from the British aristocracy, Alexander Duff, then the 6th Earl Fife.  When Louise’s grandmother Queen Victoria arrived at Sandringham to discuss a potential engagement with Louise’s parents, she was met by Louise who tearfully explained that if she was not allowed to marry Alexander, she would die an old maid. Queen Victoria, who had known Alexander since childhood, explained that as her grandmother and sovereign, she had to spend some time with her potential groom before deciding about the marriage. Queen Victoria was partial to Scotsmen and approved of the marriage when she spent some time with Alexander.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife

July 27, 1900 – Birth of Prince Knud of Denmark, later Hereditary Prince of Denmark, son of King Christian X of Denmark. at Sorgenfri Palace in Lyngby-Taarbæk, Denmark
Full name: Knud Christian Frederik Michael
In 1947 when King Christian X died and his elder son became King Frederik IX, Knud was the heir presumptive. Danish succession law did not allow for female succession, so King Frederik IX’s three daughters, including the current monarch Queen Margrethe II, were not in the line of succession. It was expected that Knud and then his elder son Ingolf would become king. However, the 1953 Danish Act of Succession allowed a female to become queen if she did not have any brothers. With the passage of that act, Knud and his son Prince Ingolf went from being first and second in the line of succession to being fourth and fifth after the three daughters of King Frederik IX. The 2009 Act of Succession now allows for the eldest child to become the monarch regardless of gender. To compensate for the change in the succession, Knud was given the title Hereditary Prince of Denmark, and both Knud and his elder son Ingolf were granted fixed annuities and additional flexible annuities for life.
Unofficial Royalty: Hereditary Prince Knud of Denmark

July 27, 1932 – Death of Archduchess Gisela of Austria, daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, in Munich, Germany; buried at St. Michael’s Church in Munich, Germany
Gisela married her second cousin Prince Leopold of Bavaria. The couple had a long and happy marriage and lived in the Palais Leopold in the Schwabing section of Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. Leopold died in 1930, at the age of 84. Two years later, Gisela died aged 76. She was buried with her husband in the Wittelsbach crypt at St. Michael’s Church in Munich, Germany.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduchess Gisela of Austria

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