June 4: Today in Royal History

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Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont, Princess of  Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

June 4, 1678 – Death of Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont, Princess of Monaco, wife of Prince Louis I of Monaco, at the Palais Royal in Paris, France; buried at the now destroyed Couvent des Capucines in Paris, France
Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont, the wife of Louis I, Prince of Monaco, had many affairs at the French court including one with King Louis XIV and a long-time affair with her cousin which Catherine-Charlotte continued after her marriage. The couple had five daughters and one son, Antonio I, Prince of Monaco. In 1665, Catherine-Charlotte left her husband and children in Monaco and returned to the French court because she found life at the Monaco court boring. At the French court, she continued her scandalous affairs. Catherine-Charlotte became seriously ill, probably with cancer, and died at the Palais Royal in Paris, France on June 4, 1678, at the age of 39. She was buried at the now-destroyed Convent of the Capuchins in Paris, France. Catherine-Charlotte had not seen her husband Louis I during the last six years of her life, and Louis showed no grief over her death.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont, Princess of Monaco

June 4, 1738 – Birth of King George III of the United Kingdom at Norfolk House, St. James Square in London, England
Full name: George William Frederick
King George III is the longest-reigning British king, having reigned for 59 years, 96 days. His length of reign is surpassed only by two queens, both his descendants, his granddaughter Queen Victoria and his great-great-great-great-granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II. George established himself as one of the more popular Hanoverian kings.  He was admired for his respectable private life and gained sympathy for his illness. He inherited the family’s love of music and was a patron of the arts and sciences.  George was very interested in agriculture and his creation of model farms at Windsor earned him the nickname “Farmer George” which he adored.
Unofficial Royalty: King George III of the United Kingdom

June 4, 1923 – Birth of Princess Mikasa of Japan, wife of Prince Mikasa, born Yuriko Takagi at her family home in Tokyo, Japan
Princess Mikasa is the widow of the late Prince Mikasa, the youngest son of Emperor Taishō, the brother of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), and the uncle of Emperor Akihito. Prince and Princess Mikasa had three sons and two daughters. All three sons predeceased their parents. Princess Mikasa’s husband died in 2016, at the age of 100, a little more than a month before his 101st birthday. At the time of his death, he was the world’s oldest royal and the longest-lived member of the Japanese Imperial Family. Five days before Prince Mikasa’s death, he and his wife celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in his hospital room.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mikasa of Japan

June 4, 1941 – Death of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, at Huis Doorn in Doorn, Netherlands; buried in a mausoleum on the grounds of Huis Doorn
A grandson of Queen Victoria, Wilhelm was the last German Emperor and the last King of Prussia. He abdicated on November 9, 1918. A day later, he crossed the border by train and went into exile in the Netherlands, never to return to Germany. Wilhelm purchased Huis Doorn, a small manor house outside of Doorn, a small town near Utrecht in the Netherlands.  As a condition of his exile, Wilhelm was allowed to travel freely within a radius of 15 miles from his house. Traveling further required that advance notice had to be given to local government officials.  Wilhelm did not like to be under the thumb of minor officials, so he rarely traveled further than the 15 miles.  Wilhelm, aged 82, died of a pulmonary embolism at his home.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelm II, German Emperor

June 4, 1990 – Birth of Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan, wife of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan, in Thimphu, Bhutan
On October 13, 2011, 21-year-old Jetsun Pema became the youngest queen in the world when she married King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan. The couple has two sons and a daughter. Queen Jestun Pema has accompanied her husband on foreign official trips and she accompanies him on official visits throughout Bhutan.
Unofficial Royalty: Jetsun Pema, Queen of Bhutan

June 4. 2021 – Birth of Princess Lilibet of Sussex, daughter of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California
Full name: Lilibet Diana
Princess Lilibet of Sussex, nicknamed Lili, is the second of the two children and the only daughter of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife The Duchess of Sussex, the former Meghan Markle. Lili is named after her paternal great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and her paternal grandmother Diana, Princess of Wales. Lilibet was Queen Elizabeth II’s family nickname, which originated from Queen Elizabeth II’s pronunciation of her name when she was young. Lili has dual citizenship from the United States and the United Kingdom.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Lilibet of Sussex

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Commonwealth Day – United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Flags of member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations flying at Parliament Square in London on Commonwealth Day in 2009: Credit – By Simon Berry – Parliament Square 11/3/09, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88407359

Commonwealth Day is held on the second Monday in March. However, there is not a worldwide uniform observance of the day in the member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, and it is not celebrated as a public holiday in most Commonwealth countries. Events which include the British Royal Family are held in London.

What is the Commonwealth of Nations?

Current member states in dark blue, Partially suspended member state in green, Former member states in orange, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies in light blue; Credit – Wikipedia

Originally created as the British Commonwealth of Nations through the Balfour Declaration of 1926 at the 1926 Imperial Conference in London, the Commonwealth of Nations is an international association of currently 56 member countries, most of which were former territories of the British Empire.

The Head of the Commonwealth is a ceremonial leader who symbolizes “the free association of independent member nations” of the Commonwealth of Nations and keeps in touch with Commonwealth developments through regular contact with the Commonwealth Secretary General and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Head of the Commonwealth is not formally hereditary. The Commonwealth heads of government choose the successors. Once in office, there is no term limit. The Head of the Commonwealth has no constitutional role in any Commonwealth countries except the United Kingdom if the Head of the Commonwealth is also Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The first Head of the Commonwealth, chosen in 1949, was King George VI. Since then his successors as Sovereign of the United Kingdom, his daughter Queen Elizabeth II, and his grandson King Charles III, have been chosen as Head of the Commonwealth.

What is the history of Commonwealth Day?

Commonwealth Day traces its origins to Empire Day, an event initially created to celebrate the British Empire. It was originally observed on Queen Victoria’s birthdate, May 24th, or the last weekday before it. In the latter half of the 20th century, the celebration’s focus shifted towards emphasizing the modern Commonwealth of Nations, with the event being renamed Commonwealth Day in 1958, and its date moved in 1977 to the second Monday in March.

What happens on Commonwealth Day?

Members of the British Royal Family attend the 2024 Service of Celebration for Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey. King Charles III and The Princess of Wales were unable to attend due to their cancer treatments.

Events and speeches each year focus on a theme. Past themes can be seen at Wikipedia: Commonwealth Day themes.

The Head of the Commonwealth, now King Charles III, broadcasts the Commonwealth Day Message throughout the entire Commonwealth of Nations. In some Commonwealth countries, the message is sometimes followed by a speech from a member country’s president, prime minister, or another senior government minister. The Commonwealth Secretary-General also issues a statement.

King Charles III (on left) delivers his Commonwealth Day Message during the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey on March 13, 2023

Royal Family members along with 2,000 people attend an inter-denominational Service of Celebration for Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey in London. They listen to reflections on the year’s theme and view performances by artists from throughout the Commonwealth of Nations. The Head of the Commonwealth delivers their Commonwealth Day Message as King Charles III did in 2023.

Guests watch a video of King Charles III delivering his Commonwealth Day Message during the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in London, on March 11, 2024

In 2024, King Charles II could not attend in person due to his cancer treatment, and a video of his Commonwealth Day Message was played during the service. Attending the service in 2024 were Queen Camilla, The Prince of Wales, The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and The Duke of Kent.

King Charles III shakes hands with former British Prime Minister John Major during the Commonwealth Day Reception at Buckingham Palace in 2023

Later in the day, the Commonwealth Day Reception is held for members of the Commonwealth and diplomatic communities. In 2023, King Charles III and Queen Camilla hosted the first Commonwealth Day Reception of King Charles III’s reign at Buckingham Palace where they were joined by The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence. In 2024, Queen Camilla attended the Commonwealth Day reception at Marlborough House, the international headquarters of the Commonwealth, where the reception is traditionally held.

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.

Works Cited

  • Celebrating 75 years of the Modern Commonwealth. (n.d.). https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/celebrating-75-years-of-the-commonwealth
  • Celebrating the Commonwealth. Westminster Abbey. (n.d.). https://www.westminster-abbey.org/history/explore-our-history/celebrating-the-commonwealth
  • Commonwealth. Westminster Abbey. (n.d.-c). https://www.westminster-abbey.org/worship-music/services-times/special-services/commonwealth-at-the-abbey
  • Commonwealth Day. Commonwealth. (n.d.). https://thecommonwealth.org/commonwealth-day
  • Commonwealth Day 2024. The Royal Family. (n.d.-b). https://www.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2024-03-11/commonwealth-day-2024
  • Members of the Royal Family Celebrate Commonwealth Day at the Abbey. (2024). Westminster Abbey. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-news/commonwealth-day-service-2024
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Commonwealth Day. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Day
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Commonwealth of Nations. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations

Website Back Up

The Unofficial Royalty website was down for several days due to technical issues with the server beyond our control. Yes, we know the last royal news update was published on Tuesday, May 28, and Deven, Scott, and Susan were just as frustrated as you. The technical issues were finally resolved on Saturday, June 1. We highly recommend joining us on our Facebook page where we post information about Unofficial Royalty including any issues with the website. You can access the Unofficial Royalty Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/732569951300062

June 3: Today in Royal History

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King George V of the United Kingdom; Credit – Wikipedia

June 3, 1822 – Birth of Archduchess Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia, first wife of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia (the future first King of Italy), at the Royal Palace of Milan in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, now in Italy
Full name: Adelheid Franziska Marie Rainera Elisabeth Clotilde
At the time of her marriage, Adeleheid’s husband Vittorio Emanuele was heir to the Sardinian throne and held the title Duke of Savoy. She became Queen of Sardinia following her father-in-law’s abdication and her husband’s accession to the throne. However, she died before her husband became King of Italy.
Unofficial Royalty: Archduchess Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia

June 3, 1843 – Birth of King Frederik VIII of Denmark at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Full name: Christian Frederik Wilhelm Carl
Frederik VIII and his wife Louise of Sweden are the ancestors of several royal families besides the Danish royal family. Their son Carl was elected King of Norway and reigned as King Haakon VII. Their daughter Ingeborg was the mother of Märtha who married her first cousin King Haakon VII of Norway. However, Märtha died before her husband became king. Ingeborg was also the mother of Astrid, the first wife of Leopold III, King of the Belgians.  Astrid’s daughter Josephine-Charlotte married Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik VIII of Denmark

June 3, 1844 – Death of Louis-Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême (Legitimist pretender as King Louis XIX of France), son of King Charles X of France, in Görz, Austria; buried with his father in the church of the Franciscan monastery of Kostanjevica near Görz, now Nova Gorica, Slovenia
After the storming of the Bastille in 1789, King Louis XVI insisted that Charles-Philippe, his youngest brother and the father of Louis-Antoine, and his family leave France to be sure that one close relative would be free to act as a spokesman for the monarchy. Louis-Antoine was the last Dauphin of France and was technically King of France for less than twenty minutes, after his father abdicated and before he himself abdicated. After his father’s death, he was the Legitimist pretender to the French throne and is sometimes known as King Louis XIX. Louis-Antoine married his first cousin Marie-Thérèse of France, the only surviving child of the executed King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Unofficial Royalty: Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême

June 3, 1865 – Birth of King George V of the United Kingdom at Marlborough House in London, England
Full name: George Frederick Ernest Albert
During World War I, on July 17, 1917, King George V issued a proclamation changing the name of the British Royal Family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment. All George’s British relatives relinquished their German titles and styles and adopted British-sounding surnames. The king compensated his male relatives by creating them British peers. All this led George’s first cousin Wilhelm II, German Emperor to remark that he would attend a performance of Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg” at the earliest opportunity.
United Kingdom: King George V of the United Kingdom

June 3, 1869 – Birth of Prince Baudouin of Belgium at the Palais de la Régence in Brussels, Belgium
Full name: Baudouin Léopold Philippe Marie Charles Antoine Joseph Louis
Baudouin was the son of Philippe, Count of Flanders, the second son of Leopold I, King of the Belgians. He was considered the heir of his uncle Leopold II, King of the Belgians who had no living male heirs. In early 1891, Baudouin became ill with influenza that had made its way through most of the members of his family. He likely caught the illness from his sister Henriette, whom he insisted on visiting during her illness despite warnings from doctors. Although at first, he appeared to be weathering the illness better than his sister, Baudouin’s condition suddenly deteriorated on January 22, 1891. He died early the following morning at the age of 21. The country of Belgium was plunged into mourning for their promising prince. Parliament was adjourned, theaters and libraries were closed, and mourning was ordered until the beginning of the spring. His younger brother later became Albert I, King of the Belgians.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Baudouin of Belgium

June 3, 1877 – Death of Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands, first wife of King Willem III of the Netherlands, at Huis ten Bosch, in The Hague, The Netherlands; buried at Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, The Netherlands
The marriage of Sophie and Willem was unsuccessful. Willem had numerous extramarital affairs and had numerous illegitimate children. Sophie thought him inferior to her and unfit to serve as king. She tried to divorce her husband, but because of national interests, this was impossible. In 1855, an agreement was made that Sophie would have her own quarters at Noordeinde Palace and that she would spend the summers at Huis ten Bosch Palace without her husband. In accordance with her wishes, Sophie was buried in her wedding dress because she considered that her life had ended on the day she married Willem.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands

June 3, 1880 – Death of Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, first wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia; buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia
Maria Alexandrovna had a close relationship with her brother Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, who had made a morganatic marriage with Countess Julia Hauke, one of his sister’s ladies-in-waiting. Their children were the start of the Battenberg (and later the Mountbatten) family. Maria’s frequent stays at her brother’s Hessian home Schloss Heiligenberg resulted in the subsequent marriage of Maria’s son Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, and also the marriage of Maria’s grandson Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia with Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, Maria Alexandrovna, Empress of All Russia

June 3, 1933 – Birth of Sheikh Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain in Al Jasra, Bahrain
Isa became Hakim of Bahrain upon the death of his father in 1961. In 1971, Bahrain declared its independence from the United Kingdom and signed a new treaty of friendship with the United Kingdom. Isa changed the title of the ruler of Bahrain to the Emir of Bahrain and appointed his brother Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa as the first Prime Minister of the newly sovereign country, the Emirate of Bahrain. Despite the fact he had dissolved Parliament in 1975 and took on absolute power, during Isa’s 38 years as Emir, Bahrain was transformed into a modern nation and became an important financial center in the Persian Gulf area. On March 6, 1999, 65-year-old Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain died of a heart attack just minutes after concluding a meeting with the United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen.
Unofficial Royalty: Sheikh Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain

June 3, 1937 – Wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson at the Château de Candé in Monts, France
The Duke of Windsor had wanted his brothers Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Prince George, Duke of Kent along with his close friend and second cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten (the future 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma) to attend the ceremony but his brother King George VI forbade members of the royal family from attending. Instead, the marriage was witnessed by a small group of faithful friends. Major Edward Dudley Metcalfe, known as Fruity Metcalfe, the Duke of Windsor’s close friend and former equerry, served as best man. Wallis Simpson was given away by her friend Herman Rogers. When the Church of England refused to sanction the wedding, Reverend Robert Anderson Jardine, the Vicar of St Paul’s Church in Darlington,  England, offered to perform the ceremony. When Reverend Jardine returned home to Darlington, he soon became aware that he had performed an act that the Church of England could not accept. He was forced to resign his position and under pressure, he left England and settled in California.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson

June 3, 1978 – Birth of Queen Suthida of Thailand, fourth wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, born Suthida Tidjai in Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand
Queen Suthida is the fourth wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. A former flight attendant, Suthida met her future husband, then Crown Prince of Thailand, in 2013, joined the palace guard later that year, and was promoted to deputy commander of the Crown Prince’s bodyguard unit in 2014. Suthida was linked romantically to the Crown Prince following his divorce from his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee in 2014.  On May 1, 2019, just days before his coronation, King Vajiralongkorn surprisingly married Suthida and appointed her Queen.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Suthida of Thailand

June 3, 1980 – Birth of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar in Doha, Qatar
As Crown Prince, Sheikh Tamim was instrumental in raising the international profile of Qatar, putting much of his focus on various sporting events. He is a member of the International Olympic Committee, as well as the chairman of the Qatar National Olympic Committee. He was a large part of the successful bid to bring the FIFA World Cup to Qatar in 2022.  In 2013, his father Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar announced his abdication and the accession of Sheikh Tamim as the new Emir of Qatar.
Unofficial Royalty: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar

June 3, 1984 – Birth of Prince Félix of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
Full name: Félix Léopold Marie Guillaume
Félix is the second son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. In 2013, he married Claire Lademacher, and the couple had two children. The family lives in Lorgues, France, where Félix and Claire manage Château les Crostes, a winery owned by Claire and her father.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Félix of Luxembourg

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June 2: Today in Royal History

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Maria Teresa of Savoy, Countess of Artois; Credit – Wikipedia

June 2, 1805 – Death of Maria Teresa of Savoy, Countess of Artois, wife of the future King Charles X of France, in Graz, Austria, buried at the Imperial Mausoleum next to the Graz Cathedral
Maria Teresa was the daughter of King Vittorio Amadeo III of Sardinia and Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. In 1773, she married Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, a brother of King Louis XVI of France, and the couple had four children. In July 1789, just days after the storming of the Bastille and the start of the French Revolution, Marie Teresa and her family fled France, settling for some time in her native Savoy. They eventually moved to Graz, Austria, where Marie Thérèse died at the age of 33.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Teresa of Savoy, Countess of Artois

June 2, 1913 – Birth of  Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona, son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and father of King Juan Carlos, at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso in Segovia, Spain
Full name: Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso
Juan was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria through his mother Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. In 1935, he married Princess Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The couple had four children including King Juan Carlos I of Spain. After both of his elder brothers renounced their rights of succession, Juan became heir apparent to the Spanish throne.  After the Spanish monarchy was overthrown and the Second Spanish Republic was declared, the royal family went into exile. In 1947, Francisco Franco, who ruled over Spain from 1939 to 1975, as a dictator, declared that the monarchy would be restored after his death. It would be another 22 years before Franco named his successor. Feeling that Juan would be too liberal, he instead passed over him and chose Juan’s son, Juan Carlos, as heir to the Spanish throne. Despite never being King of Spain, Juan was buried with the honors of a king upon his death in 1993.
Unofficial Royalty: Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona

June 2, 1940 – Birth of King Constantine II of Greece at the Villa Psychiko in Psychiko, Greece
Constantine was the King of Greece from 1964 until the monarchy was abolished in 1973. Both his parents, King Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover, were descendants of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter Victoria, Princess Royal who married Friedrich III, German Emperor.  In 1960, Constantine became one of the royal Olympian medal winners.  In the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics, Constantine won a Gold Medal in Sailing. Constantine died at Hygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece on January 10, 2023, at the age of 82.
Unofficial Royalty: King Constantine II of Greece

June 2, 1953 – Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Westminster Abbey opened at 6:00 AM on Coronation Day to the approximately 8,000 invited guests including members of the Queen’s family and foreign royalty, the peers of the United Kingdom, heads of state, Members of Parliament from the Queen’s various legislatures, and other guests from the member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. Among the guests were three granddaughters of Queen Victoria. Westminster Abbey was closed for five months prior to the coronation so that the construction needed for 8,000 people to attend could be completed.
Unofficial Royalty: Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

June 2, 1976 – Birth of Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho, wife of King Letsie III of Lesotho, born Anna Karabo Mots’oeneng in Mapoteng, Lesotho
Born Anna Karabo Motšoeneng, Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho is the wife of King Letsie III of Lesotho. Anna and King Letsie III were married on February 18, 2000, at Setsoto Stadium in Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho The national sports stadium was filled to its capacity of 40,000 people, with thousands turned away. The marriage ceremony was conducted by Bernard Mohlalisi, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Maseru. King Letsie and Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso had three children.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho

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Royal Birthdays & Anniversaries: June 2 – June 8

© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Below is a select list of birthdays and wedding anniversaries for current monarchies. It does not purport to be a complete list. Please see the Current Monarchies Index in the heading above for more information on current monarchies.

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Princess Désirée of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

86th birthday of Princess Désirée of Sweden, sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden; born at Haga Palace outside Stockholm, Sweden on June 2, 1938
Full name: Désirée Elisabeth Sibylla
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld

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Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso, Credit – Wikipedia

48th birthday of Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso, wife of King Letsie III of Lesotho; born Anna Karabo Mots’oeneng in Mapoteng in the Berea District, Lesotho on June 2, 1976
Unofficial Royalty: Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso

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Queen Suthida of Thailand; Credit – Wikipedia

46th birthday of Queen Suthida of Thailand, fourth wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, born Suthida Tidjai in Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand on June 3, 1978
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Suthida of Thailand

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Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar; Credit – Wikipedia

44th birthday of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar in Doha, Qatar on June 3, 1980
Unofficial Royalty: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar

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40th birthday of Prince Félix of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; born at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg on June 3, 1984
Full name: Félix Léopold Marie Guillaume
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Félix of Luxembourg

Princess Mikasa of Japan; Credit – Wikipedia

101st birthday of Princess Mikasa of Japan, widow of Prince Mikasa of Japan; born Yuriko Takagi in Tokyo, Japan on June 4, 1923
Prince Mikasa was the brother of the late Emperor Hirohito and uncle of Emperor Akihito.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mikasa of Japan (Yuriko Takagi)

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Jetsun Pema, Queen of Bhutan; By Ian Jones – Buckingham Palace reception, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=131634284

34th birthday of Jetsun Pema, Queen of Bhutan, wife of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan; born in Thimphu Hospital in Thimphu, Bhutan on June 4, 1990
Unofficial Royalty: Jetsun Pema, Queen of Bhutan

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Lilibet being held by her mother with her father and brother; Credit – Alexi Lubomirski/The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

June 4. 2021 – 3rd birthday of Princess Lilibet of Sussex, daughter of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Lilibet of Sussex

Princess Astrid of Belgium; Credit – Wikipedia

62nd birthday of Princess Astrid of Belgium, daughter of King Albert II of the Belgians; born at the Château de Belvédère in Laeken, Belgium on June 5, 1962
Full name: Astrid Joséphine-Charlotte Fabrizia Elisabeth Paola Maria
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Astrid of Belgium

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Princess Tatjana of Liechtenstein and Philipp von Lattorff, Credit – goddesssaintnoblewomannun.blogspot.com

25th wedding anniversary of Princess Tatjana of Liechtenstein and Philipp von Lattorff; married at the Cathedral of St. Florin in Vaduz, Liechtenstein on June 5, 1999
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Tatjana of Liechtenstein

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Albert II, King of the Belgians; Credit – Wikipedia

90th birthday of the former Albert II, King of the Belgians, born at Stuyvenberg Castle in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium on June 6, 1934
Unofficial Royalty: Albert II, King of the Belgians

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Embed from Getty Images

55th birthday of Prince Joachim of Denmark, son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; born in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 7, 1969
Full name: Joachim Holger Valdemar Christian
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Joachim of Denmark

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Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill; Credit: Ewa-Marie Rundquist, Swedish Royal Court

11th wedding anniversary of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill, married on June 8, 2013 in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill

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Lady Anne FitzRoy, Illegitimate Daughter of King Charles II of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Lady Anne FitzRoy; Credit – www.wikidata.org

Despite fathering many illegitimate children with his mistresses, King Charles II of England had no children with his wife, Catherine of Braganza. Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family. Lucy Walter and Charles II are ancestors of Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

Lady Anne FitzRoy circa 1665; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on February 25, 1661, in Westminster, London, England, Anne was known by three names during her life: her name at birth, Lady Anne Palmer, her name after King Charles II of England recognized her, Lady Anne FitzRoy, and her married name, Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex. The surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. Anne was the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England and one of his mistresses, Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland in her own right. Anne’s paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France (the daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici). Her maternal grandparents were William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning.

In 1642, the English Civil War broke out between King Charles I and the Parliamentarian and Puritan forces. When the situation deteriorated in the spring of 1646, the future King Charles II, then Prince of Wales, was sent out of England. The execution of King Charles I on January 30, 1649, made his son Charles the de jure King of England. Until the Stuart Restoration in 1660, when the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland was restored and King Charles II returned to England, he lived in exile in various places.

Anne’s mother, Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne’s mother was born in 1640 as Barbara Villiers, the only child of William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning. In 1643, Barbara’s father died in the First English Civil War, leaving his 18-year-old widow and his three-year-old daughter in financial difficulty. Barbara’s mother soon married Charles Villiers, 2nd Earl of Anglesey, her late husband’s cousin. The marriage was childless, and Barbara’s stepfather died from smallpox in 1661.

Barbara was considered one of the most beautiful of the young Royalist women, but her lack of a dowry did not help her marriage prospects. In 1659, Barbara married the Roman Catholic Roger Palmer, later 1st Earl of Castlemaine, against his family’s wishes. At the end of 1659, Roger and his new wife left with other supporters of the exiled Charles, Prince of Wales (the future King Charles II), joining him in the Spanish Netherlands. In 1660, Barbara became King Charles II’s mistress. After years of exile during the Commonwealth, on May 1, 1660, Parliament formally invited Charles, as King Charles II, to be the English monarch in what has become known as the Restoration. On May 23, 1660, Charles landed in Dover, England, and on his 30th birthday, May 29, 1660, King Charles II entered London in a procession.

King Charles II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 25, 1661, Barbara gave birth to Anne, her first child. Anne was probably the daughter of King Charles II, although some people believed she resembled Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield, a lover of Anne’s mother, but he was in France when Anne was conceived. Barbara did not doubt that King Charles II was Anne’s father. As a reward for Barbara’s services, Charles II created her husband, Roger Palmer, Earl of Castlemaine in 1661. Despite not being Anne’s father, Roger Palmer always held her in high affection and made her his trustee and the chief beneficiary in his will.

Besides Anne, Barbara gave birth to five other children, and it is surmised that they were all the children of King Charles II. Through their children, Barbara Palmer and King Charles II are the ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York, and their children Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie.

The children of Barbara Palmer, probably the children of King Charles II, and therefore, probably the full siblings of Lady Anne FitzRoy:

In 1668, Anne’s mother sent her to be educated at the Visitation Convent in Chaillot, France, founded in 1651 by Anne’s paternal grandmother, Queen Henrietta Maria, who had returned to live in her native France. Anne was to be supervised by her grandmother, but when Queen Henrietta Maria died the following year, Anne returned to England. In 1671, Anne was again sent to France, to the Convent of English Benedictines in Pontoise, France, where Lady Anne Neville was the Abbess. She returned to England after spending nearly two years at the convent.

Anne’s husband Thomas Dacre, 1st Earl of Sussex; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 11, 1674, at Hampton Court Palace, thirteen-year-old Anne was married to twenty-year-old Thomas Lennard, 15th Baron Dacre, a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Anne’s father, King Charles I,I and the first cousin of Anne’s mother, Barbara Palmer. Thomas was created Earl of Sussex upon his marriage to Anne.

Anne and Thomas had four children. Only their two daughters survived childhood. When Thomas died in 1715, his earldom became extinct because he had no sons, but his daughter Anne succeeded to his baroncy.

  • Barbara Lennard (1676 – 1741), married Charles Skelton, a Lieutenant-General in the French army, no children
  • Charles Lennard (1682 – 1684), died in early childhood
  • Henry Lennard (born and died circa 1683), died in infancy
  • Anne Lennard, 16th Baroness Dacre in her own right (1684 – 1755), married (1) Richard Barrett-Lennard, died a few months after their marriage, had one son Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 17th Baron Dacre (2) Henry Roper, 8th Baron Teynham, had two sons and one daughter (3) The Honorable Robert Moore, had one son (4) Joseph Williams, had one son

Anne’s husband Thomas was considered a “popular but extravagant man” who lost money gambling. In 1688, after the Glorious Revolution forced Anne’s paternal uncle King James II of England to vacate the throne in favor of his daughter (and Anne’s first cousin) Queen Mary II and her husband and first cousin (also Anne’s first cousin) King William III, Anne and Thomas separated and it seems their marriage was dissolved. Anne and her two daughters joined the former King James II in exile at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris, France.

St. Peter and St. Paul New Church in Lyynsted, Swale Borough, Kent, England, where Anne is buried in the churchyard; Credit – Wikipedia by Pam Fray

Anne eventually returned to England, where she died on May 16, 1721, at the age of 60, and was buried in the churchyard at St. Peter and St. Paul New Church in Lyynsted, Swale Borough, Kent, England. As for her former husband Thomas, due to his debts, he was forced to sell his 15th-century estate Herstmonceux Castle in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, England in 1708, and died in 1715.

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.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2020). Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Mistress of King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/barbara-palmer-1st-duchess-of-cleveland-mistress-of-king-charles-ii-of-england/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-ii-of-england/
  • Fraser, Antonia. (2002). King Charles II. Phoenix.
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Lennard,_Countess_of_Sussex
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Thomas Lennard, 1st Earl of Sussex. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lennard,_1st_Earl_of_Sussex

Investitures – United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

The Princess Royal conducting an Investiture in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace in 2023; Credit – By Fcandice – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=135463762

Each year around 2,600 people are personally invested with their honours by the Monarch or another senior member of the British Royal Family. Twice a year, in the New Year Honours and the June Birthday Honours, a list of the honour recipients is published. Most honours are awarded on the advice of the Cabinet Office, and anybody can make a recommendation if they know someone they believe to be worthy. To find out more visit https://www.gov.uk/honours

Investitures for those honours are held throughout the year usually in either the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace or the Grand Reception Room at Windsor Castle. Sometimes Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland, and other sites are used, even the field of battle as in the photo below.

In 1944, during World War II, King George VI invested Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey with his knighthood as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, on the field of battle; Credit – Wikipedia

What kind of honours are awarded?

The current honours system consists of six orders of chivalry and four orders of merit. Those who receive two orders of chivalry, the Most Noble Order of the Garter and the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, are invested with the order’s insignia at separate specific ceremonies just for those orders.

The following orders of chivalry and orders of merit are awarded at Investitures.

Orders of Chivalry

Orders of Merit

Unofficial Royalty: British Orders and Honours

What happens at an Investiture?

King Charles III while Prince of Wales conducting an Investiture in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace in 1986

An Investiture is a formal ceremony in which those awarded an honour personally receive their insignia from a member of the Royal Family. The recipient will visit a royal residence with their family and friends to receive their honour. Around 60 recipients attend each Investiture. When the recipients arrive at the Investiture site, they are given a special pin to wear so that their insignia can be easily attached to their clothing when their honour is awarded. On the day of the Investiture, the insignia are carefully checked and laid out in the room where the Investiture will be held. The sword used for knighting is checked and put in its place.

The Monarch or senior member of the Royal Family enters the room attended by two Gurkha orderly officers, a tradition begun by Queen Victoria in 1876. On the dais are five members of the Yeomen of the Guard. Three Lady or Gentleman Ushers are on duty to help look after the recipients and their guests. The National Anthem is played, and then the military band or orchestra plays a selection of music during the Investiture.

Each year around 2,600 people are personally invested with their honours by the Monarch or another senior member of the British Royal Family. Twice a year, in either the New Year Honours or the June Birthday Honours, a list of the honour recipients is published. Most honours are awarded on the advice of the Cabinet Office, and anybody can make a recommendation if they know someone they believe to be worthy. To find out more, or to nominate someone for an honour, visit https://www.gov.uk/honours

King Charles III while Prince of Wales conducting an Investiture in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace in 2019

Either the Lord Chamberlain or the Lord Steward stands to the right of the Monarch or senior member of the Royal Family and announces the name of each recipient and the achievement for which they are being honoured. Each insignia is placed on a cushion and is then passed to the Royal Family member awarding the honour. The Monarch or senior member of the Royal Family is provided with a brief background for each recipient by their equerry as each recipient approaches, and then places the insignia on the person and congratulates them on their honour.

Sir David Khalili is knighted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle in 2022; Credit – By Khalili Collections CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=144431171

Men receiving a knighthood kneel on an Investiture stool to be dubbed. The Monarch or senior member of the Royal Family lays the sword blade on the right and then the left shoulder. Only men are dubbed. Women receiving a damehood, the female counterpart to a knighthood, receive that honour in the same fashion as those receiving decorations or medals.

After the Investiture, recipients gather outside in the quadrangle with their families and friends, where they can take photographs to remember the moment.

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.

Works Cited

  • Behind the Scenes: Investitures. The Royal Family. (n.d.). https://www.royal.uk/behind-the-scenes-investitures
  • Hardman, Robert. (2007). A Year With The Queen. Simon and Schuster.
  • Investiture. (2024). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investiture
  • Investitures. Royal Collection Trust. (n.d.). https://www.rct.uk/collection/exhibitions/a-royal-welcome-at-buckingham-palace/buckingham-palace/explore-the-exhibition/investitures
  • Investitures. The Royal Family. (n.d.-b). https://www.royal.uk/investitures
  • Mehl, Scott. (2012). British Orders and Honours. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/current-monarchies/british-royals/british-orders-and-honours/

Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth, Illegitimate Son of King Charles II of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite fathering many illegitimate children with his mistresses, King Charles II of England had no children with his wife Catherine of Braganza. Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family. Lucy Walter and Charles II are ancestors of Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

Born in 1657, in Bruges, now in Belgium, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth was the illegitimate son of King Charles II of England and one of his mistresses, Catherine Pegge (1635 – 1678). His surname FitzCharles comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning son of, and so FitzCharles means son of Charles. His paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France (the daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici). Charles’ maternal grandparents were Thomas Pegge of Yeldersley, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and Catherine Kniveton, daughter of Sir Gilbert Kniveton, Baronet.

In 1642, the English Civil War broke out between King Charles I and the Parliamentarian and Puritan forces. When the situation deteriorated in the spring of 1646, the future King Charles II, then Prince of Wales, was sent out of England. The execution of King Charles I on January 30, 1649, made his son Charles the de jure King of England. Until the Restoration in 1660, when the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland was restored and King Charles II returned to England, he lived in exile in various places. From 1656 – 1658, Bruges was the base for Charles II and his court in exile.

Catherine Pegge’s father Thomas Pegge was the squire of Yeldersley Hall in Yeldersley, Derbyshire, England, and a staunch royalist. Thomas and his family were exiled to Bruges during the English Civil War following his capture while serving in the Royalist Army. During the Pegge family’s exile in Bruges, Catherine and Charles met and had two illegitimate children.

Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth had one full sister, Catherine FitzCharles, born in 1658. Very little is known about Catherine. Although some think she became a nun and died in 1759 when she was 101, she probably died young. Catherine seems to be confused with Cecilia FitzRoy (1670 – 1759), another illegitimate child of King Charles II who did become a nun.

In 1660, Charles’ mother Catherine Pegge married Sir Edward Greene, Baronet of of Sampford. Catherine and Edward had one daughter, Charles’ half-sister Justinia Greene (1667 – 1717) who became a nun at the Convent of English Benedictines in Pontoise, France. This was the first of the English convents in exile, founded specifically for English women who, until then, had no choice but to join existing communities on the Continent and often did not speak their language.

In 1672, Charles FitzCharles made his first appearance in England. His mother wanted to remind King Charles II of their son’s existence and the need to make provisions for his education and future. King Charles II appointed Sydney Lodge as his tutor and Robert Cheeke as his governor. Charles progressed so quickly with his education that King Charles II considered sending him to Cambridge University but then changed his mind. In 1675, eighteen-year-old Charles was created Earl of Plymouth.

King Charles II took great care in selecting a wife for Charles. At St. Mary’s Church in Wimbledon, Surrey, England, on September 19, 1678, Charles married Lady Bridget Osborne, the daughter of Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, the Lord High Treasurer for King Charles II. Their marriage was childless.

The city of Tangier, now in Morocco, had become part of the Portuguese colonial empire in 1471. When King Charles II married the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza he received Tangier as part of Catherine’s dowry. Sultan Moulay Ismail of Morocco unsuccessfully attempted to seize Tangier during the Great Siege of Tangier (March 25 – October 27, 1680). King Charles II allowed his son Charles FitzRoy to serve in Tangier. The King’s Own Royal Regiment was re-formed on July 13, 1680, as the 2nd Tangier, or Earl of Plymouth’s Regiment of Foot, with Charles FitzCharles as the founding Colonel. However, the decision to send him to Tangier was to have a fateful consequence. On October 17, 1680, 23-year-old Charles FitzCharles, Earl of Plymouth died from dysentery, a common killer of soldiers for centuries due to poor hygienic conditions in army camps.

Charles’ body was returned to England where he was buried in Westminster Abbey. In 1684, due to the cost of maintaining an army presence, Tangier was evacuated by the English. Charles’ widow Bridget, only sixteen when he died, remained unmarried until 1705 when she married Philip Bisse, a Church of England minister, and later a bishop.

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.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-ii-of-england/
  • Fraser, Antonia. (2002). King Charles II. Phoenix.
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Catherine Pegge. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Pegge
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_FitzCharles,_1st_Earl_of_Plymouth

Chelsea Flower Show – United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Topiary elephants at the 2014 Chelsea Flower Show; Credit – By Eva Rahman Nishi – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32557857

In 2024, the Chelsea Flower Show will be held from May 21 to May 25. King Charles III and Queen Camilla along with The Duke of Gloucester and The Duchess of Gloucester will attend the preview show on May 20.

The Chelsea Flower Show, now held five days in May, is sponsored by the Royal Horticultural Society and held on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, an Old Soldiers’ retirement home and nursing home in Chelsea, London. 157,000 people attend the Chelsea Flower Show each year. The number of visitors is limited by the capacity of the 11-acre/4.5-hectare grounds, and all tickets must be purchased in advance. Members of the British Royal Family attend the Chelsea Flower Show.

History

Chelsea Garden Show, May 19, 1914

Starting in 1833, the Royal Horticultural Society held flower shows at their gardens in Chiswick, a district in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London. In 1862, the flower show, called the Great Spring Show, was moved to Kensington Gardens in London and remained there until 1888 when the Royal Horticultural Society decided to move the flower show to Temple Gardens at The Temple, an area of the City of London surrounding Temple Church.

In 1912, the Great Spring Show was canceled at the Temple Gardens to allow an international horticultural exhibition to use the site. Instead, the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea were used for the 1912 Great Spring Show. It proved such a good site that the Great Spring Show was permanently moved there in 1913 and has taken place almost every year since, except for breaks during World War I and World War II. Eventually, the flower show came to be called the Chelsea Flower Show.

What Happens?

Visitors view the roses at the David Austin display stand at the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show

There are show gardens and competition gardens. Four grades of awards – gold, silver-gilt, silver, and bronze – are awarded for the competition gardens in the following categories: gardens and floral exhibits, exhibits of trees, exhibits of vegetables including herbs, exhibits of special educational or scientific interest and exhibits of pictures, photographs, floral arrangements, and floristry.

Sculptures made of wood at the 2023 Chelsea Garden Show

There are also special awards for best show garden, best courtyard garden, best chic garden, best city garden, sundries bowl, junior display trophy, floral arrangement trophies, floristry trophies, show certificates of merit, certificates for junior displays, Royal Horticultural Society President’s Award, Royal Horticultural Society Best Tradestand Award, and Royal Horticultural Society Director General’s Award for the Best Tradestand.

There have been several royalty-related show gardens including in 1937, the year of the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later The Queen Mother) – “Coronation Year: The Empire Exhibition”, with displays of ornamental and economic plants from around the British Empire.

A display created by Simon Lycett for the 2022 show in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, featuring 70 terracotta pots – one for every year of The Queen’s reign – planted with Lily of the Valley

In 2022, the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee – 2022 – “The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Garden”, with laser-cut steel silhouettes of the Queen surrounded by 70 planted terracotta pots planted with Lily of the Valley, the Queen’s favorite flower.

The Back to Nature Garden

In 2019, Catherine, Princess of Wales, then Duchess of Cambridge, worked with the Royal Horticultural Society as one of the co-designers for a garden display “Back to Nature Garden”. The garden featured a tree house, a waterfall, a rustic den, and a campfire to emphasize the benefits the natural world brings to mental and physical well-being.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, then Duchess of Cambridge climbing up the ladder to the treehouse in the Back to Nature Garden

The Garden of Royal Reflection and Celebration, designed by Dave Green for the 2023 show, featuring a bust of King Charles III (on the right)

In 2023, the Garden of Royal Reflection and Celebration celebrated Queen Elizabeth II’s life and King Charles III‘s coronation. The garden featured some of the favorite plants of both Queen Elizabeth and King Charles III.

The Princess of Wales having a picnic with students at the 2023 show

Also, in 2023, Catherine, Princess of Wales, hosted the first children’s picnic at a newly created garden at the show with students from ten schools from the Royal Horticultural Society’s school gardening campaign.

Royal Attendance

Queen Elizabeth II at the 2012 Chelsea Flower Show; Credit – By Guy Evans – https://www.flickr.com/photos/birminghamculture/7261536130/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33309054

In 1913, royal visits were yet to become a tradition. King George V and Queen Mary did not attend but the King’s mother Queen Alexandra did attend the 1913 show. Eventually, royalty became a significant presence at the Chelsea Flower Show. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later The Queen Mother) regularly attended the Chelsea Garden Show. Queen Elizabeth II visited fifty times during her seventy-year reign.

King Charles and Queen Camilla speak with Janet Fookes,  Judy Ling Wong, and Piet Oudolf after awarding them the Elizabeth Medal of Honour in the Garden of Royal Reflection and Celebration during the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show 

In 2023, King Charles III, accompanied by Queen Camilla, made his first visit as King. He presented the first-ever Elizabeth Medal of Honour given out to people who have had a “significant impact on the advancement of science, art, or the practice of horticulture for the benefit of all generations and the environment.” The Elizabeth Medal of Honour is limited to seventy recipients at any one time, in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign. The Elizabeth Medal of Honour may not be awarded every year, however, it may be awarded to multiple recipients in other years.

Today, just about any member of the British royal family could attend the Chelsea Garden Show. Usually, several members of the British royal family attend a preview of the show, as part of the royal patronage of the Royal Horticultural Society.

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.

Works Cited

  • Piet Oudolf Receives Elizabeth Medal of Honour Presented by The King and Queen. Gardens Illustrated. (n.d.-a). https://www.gardensillustrated.com/chelsea/elizabeth-medal-honour-2023
  • RHS Chelsea Flower Show. RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 / RHS Gardening. (n.d.). https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show
  • Royalty at Chelsea Flower Show Through the Years. Gardens Illustrated. (n.d.). https://www.gardensillustrated.com/chelsea/royals-at-chelsea-flower-show
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Chelsea Flower Show. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Flower_Show