compiled by Susan Flantzer

Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection caused by a specific type of salmonella. Symptoms are usually a gradual onset of high fever accompanied by weakness, abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, and mild vomiting. Some people develop a skin rash with rose-colored spots. In severe cases, people may experience confusion. Without treatment, symptoms may last weeks or months. Typhoid fever is spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person. Risk factors include poor sanitation and poor hygiene. The death rate without treatment is about 20%. With treatment, it is between 1 and 4%. Often confused, typhoid fever and typhus are different diseases.

This does not purport to be a complete list. All images are from Wikipedia unless otherwise indicated.

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Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales

• Born: February 19, 1594 at Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland
• Parents: James VI, King of Scots, later also King James I of England, and Anne of Denmark
• Died: November 6, 1612, aged 18, at St. James’s Palace in London, England
• Buried: Westminster Abbey in London, England
• Unofficial Royalty: Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales

Henry Frederick was the eldest son of his parents and the heir to the throne of Scotland and England. By the time Henry was 18 years old, he was physically mature, well-educated, an independent thinker, and ready to assume some government responsibility. He was on his way to making an excellent and popular king.

Except for frequent nosebleeds when he was young, Henry’s health was excellent. However, on October 12, 1612, Henry began to have fevers but continued his physical activities. Over the next two weeks, Henry did not sleep well and continued to have fevers and developed gastrointestinal symptoms. On October 25, 1612, he played tennis and then felt much worse. He dined with his father that night, but his physicians noted that he had a fast pulse, a fever, a red face, a swollen stomach, gastrointestinal symptoms, and was very thirsty.

By October 29, 1612, Henry had a continuous fever and two days later he was delirious. On November 2, 1612, he alternated between sleeping and being confused and shouting. His servants had difficulty keeping him in bed. His condition worsened on November 4. He sang in his sleep and had violent convulsive movements. On November 6, 1612, the last day of his life, Henry was delirious, clammy, cold, and sweaty. His pulse weakened and he died. It was suspected that Henry had been poisoned, but an autopsy found no evidence of poisoning. The cause of his death was said to be “a fever.” With modern medical knowledge, it is now suspected that Henry died from typhoid fever.

After Henry Frederick’s death, his younger brother, the future King Charles I who was beheaded, became the heir to the throne.

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Duke Georg of Oldenburg

• Born: May 9, 1784 in Oldenburg, Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
• Parents: Peter I, Duke of Oldenburg and Frederica of Württemberg
• Married: Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia in 1809
• Died: December 27, 1812, aged 28, in Tver, Russia
• Buried: first at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg, Russia; in 1826 transferred to the family mausoleum at the Gertrude Cemetery in Oldenburg, then in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg now in Lower Saxony, Germany
• Wikipedia: Duke Georg of Oldenburg

While serving as Governor-General in Tver in central Russia, Georg became infected with typhoid fever during a visit to the hospital and died in December 1812.

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Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Uppland

• Born: June 18, 1827 at Haga Palace in Solna, Sweden
• Parents: King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway and Josephine of Leuchtenberg
• Died: September 24, 1852, aged 25, at Christiana Palace in Oslo, Norway
• Buried: Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden
• Wikipedia: Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Uppland

Upon arriving via ship in Norway with his parents and his sister Princess Eugénie on September 16, 1852, Gustaf already had a fever. Soon it was obvious that he was suffering from typhoid fever and getting weaker. On September 24, he died. Other royal family members, including King Oscar I, were also affected by typhoid fever but only Prince Gustaf died.

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Princess Margaretha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria

• Born: May 24, 1840 in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
• Parents: King Johann of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria
• Married: Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria in 1856
• Died: September 15, 1858, aged 18, in Monza, Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, now in Italy
• Buried: Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Crypt in Vienna, Austria
• Wikipedia: Margaretha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria

On a trip to northern Italy with her husband, Margaretha became ill with typhoid fever and died. Later in life, her husband also died from typhoid fever.

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Princess Anna of Saxony, Grand Princess of Tuscany

• Born: January 4, 1836 in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany
• Parents: King Johann of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria
• Married: Ferdinand, Grand Prince of Tuscany, the future Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1856
• Died: February 10, 1859, aged 23, in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
• Buried: Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy
• Wikipedia: Anna of Saxony, Grand Princess of Tuscany

Anna was the elder sister of Margaretha (above), who also died from typhoid fever four months earlier. While on a trip to Naples, during her second pregnancy, Anna had a miscarriage due to the effects of typhoid fever and died four days later.

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Infante Fernando of Portugal

• Born: July 23, 1846 in Lisbon, Portugal
• Parents: Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, King Consort of Portugal and Queen Maria II of Portugal
• Died: November 6, 1861, aged 15 in Lisbon, Portugal
• Buried: Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
• Wikipedia: Infante Fernando of Portugal

Fernando’s father was a first cousin of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Along with his brothers King Pedro V and Infante João, Duke of Beja, he died from typhoid fever November-December 1861.

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King Pedro V of Portugal

• Born: September 15, 1837 at Necessidades Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
• Parents: Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, King Consort of Portugal and Queen Maria II of Portugal
• Married: Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1858, died 1860
• Died: November 11, 1861, aged 24, at Necessidades Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
• Buried: Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
• Unofficial Royalty: King Pedro V of Portugal

Pedro’s father was a first cousin of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Along with his brothers Infante Fernando and Infante João, Duke of Beja, he died from typhoid fever November-December 1861. As Pedro had no children from his brief marriage, he was succeeded by his brother Luís.

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Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, The Prince Consort

• Born: August 26, 1819 at Schloss Rosenau near Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany
• Parents: Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his first wife Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
• Married: his first cousin Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom in 1840
• Died: December 14, 1861 at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
• Buried: first St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England; moved 1862 to the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore in Windsor, England
• Unofficial Royalty: Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Consort

Sir William Jenner, one of Prince Albert’s doctors, diagnosed his final illness as typhoid fever but Albert’s modern biographers have argued that the diagnosis is incorrect. Albert had been complaining of stomach pains for two years and this may indicate that he died of some chronic disease, perhaps Crohn’s disease, kidney failure, or cancer.

In the fall, Victoria and Albert learned that their 20-year-old eldest son Bertie (the future King Edward VII) was having an affair with an Irish actress. Devastated by this news, Albert traveled to Cambridge to discuss the matter with his son. On November 25, 1861, the two walked together in the pouring rain while Albert explained how horrified he and the Queen felt about the situation. Victoria later blamed her son for Albert’s final illness – “That boy…I never can, or ever shall look at him without a shudder.”

When Albert returned to Windsor Castle, he complained of shoulder, leg, back, and stomach pain and could not eat or sleep. He was examined by doctors who assured Victoria that Albert would be better in two or three days. Even while Albert was feeling ill, he was still working. When the Trent Affair, the forcible removal of Confederate diplomats from a British ship by Union forces during the American Civil War, threatened war between the United States and the United Kingdom, Albert intervened on November 30, 1861, to soften the British diplomatic response. His action probably prevented war between the United States and the United Kingdom.

However, Albert’s condition continued to worsen. Victoria continued to hope for a recovery, but finally, on December 11, the doctors told her the dismal prognosis. At 10:50 PM on December 14, 1861, Albert died in the presence of his wife and five of their nine children.

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Infante João of Portugal, Duke of Beja

• Born: March 16, 1842 at Necessidades Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
• Parents: Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, King Consort of Portugal and Queen Maria II of Portugal
• Died: December 27, 1861, aged 19, at Necessidades Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
• Buried: Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
• Wikipedia: Infante João of Portugal, Duke of Beja

João’s father was a first cousin of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Along with his brothers Infante Fernando and King Pedro V, he died from typhoid fever November-December 1861.

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Princess Leopoldina of Brazil, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

• Born: July 13, 1847 at Paço de São Cristóvão in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Parents: Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies
• Married: Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1864
• Died: February 7, 1871, aged 23, at Palais Coburg in Vienna, Austria
• Buried: St. Augustine’s Church in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany
• Wikipedia: Leopoldina of Brazil, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

At the beginning of 1871, Leopoldina displayed the first symptoms of typhoid fever. She developed gastrointestinal problems, fever, and the classic skin rash with rose-colored spots. Her condition worsened and she suffered from delusions and convulsions. After a month of agony, she died.

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Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans, Queen of Spain

• Born: June 24, 1860 at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Madrid, Spain
• Parents: Antoine of Orléans, Duke of Montpensier (son of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French) and Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain (daughter of King Ferdinand VII of Spain)
• Married: King Alfonso XII of Spain in 1878
• Died: June 26, 1878, aged 18, at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Madrid, Spain
• Buried: first in the Pantheon of Infantes at the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain; in 2000 moved to the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de La Almudena in Madrid, Spain
• Unofficial Royalty: Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans, Queen of Spain

In June 1878, it was announced that Mercedes was pregnant and the country rejoiced. However, the joy was short-lived as Mercedes suffered a miscarriage. Shortly after the miscarriage, Mercedes became suddenly ill. Within hours, she was at death’s door with typhoid fever. Mercedes died two days after her 18th birthday.

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Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria

• Born: July 30, 1833 at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
• Parents: Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria
• Married: (1) Margaretha of Saxony in 1856, who also died from typhoid in 1858 (2) Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in 1862, died from tuberculosis in 1871 (3) Maria Theresa of Portugal in 1873
• Died: May 19, 1896, aged 62, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
• Buried: Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria
• Wikipedia: Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria

Karl Ludwig was the brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I. Karl Ludwig died from typhoid fever he contracted on a trip to Egypt and Palestine where he apparently drank contaminated from the River Jordan for religious reasons.

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Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein

• Born: April 14, 1867 at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
• Parents: Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria
• Died: October 29, 1900, aged 33, in Pretoria, South Africa
• Buried: Church Street Cemetery in Pretoria, South Africa
• Unofficial Royalty: Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein 

While serving with the British Army during the Boer War, Christian first became ill with malaria and then also became ill with typhoid fever which killed him. His death shocked his family and in particular his grandmother, Queen Victoria, with whom he had been very close. Although preparations were made to return his body to the United Kingdom, he was buried in a soldier’s grave in Pretoria, at the wishes of Queen Victoria.

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Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine

• Born: March 11, 1895 in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany
• Parents: Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, both grandchildren of Queen Victoria, in 1894, divorced 1901
• Died: November 16, 1903, aged 8, at the Russian Imperial hunting lodge in Skierniewice, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, now in Poland
• Buried: Rosenhöhe Park in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany
• Wikipedia: Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine

Following a large family gathering in Darmstadt in October 1903 for the wedding of his niece Princess Alice of Battenberg, Ernst Ludwig and his daughter Elisabeth went to visit Ernst Ludwig’s sister (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia) and her family at their hunting lodge in Poland. While there, Elisabeth fell ill. At first, it was just believed to be exhaustion from so much playing with her Romanov cousins but her condition quickly worsened. A telegram was sent to her mother, imploring her to come quickly, as it seemed the child would not survive. Unfortunately, the telegram would arrive too late. Princess Elisabeth died on November 16, 1903. Rumors at the time were that she had been poisoned by eating or drinking something which was intended for her uncle Nicholas II. However, it was discovered that she had died from typhoid fever. Ernst Ludwig, of course, was distraught. His daughter had been, in his own words, “the sunshine of my life.”

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Prince Mircea of Romania
Mircea with his sister Ileana

• Born: January 3, 1913 in Bucharest, Romania
• Parents: King Ferdinand I of Romania and Princess Marie of Edinburgh, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria
• Died: November 2, 1916, aged 3, at Buftea Palace in Buftea, Romania
• Buried: first on the grounds of Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest, Romania; moved 1941 to the chapel at Bran Castle in Bran, Romania; moved 2019 to the New Episcopal and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeș, Romania
• Wikipedia: Prince Mircea of Romania

Mircea and his sister Ileana are believed to have been fathered by Queen Marie’s lover Barbu Stirbey but were formally acknowledged by King Ferdinand as his own. Mircea died of typhoid fever during World War I when enemy troops were approaching Bucharest and many battles were taking place close to the city. The royal family had to quickly bury him on the grounds of Cotroceni Palace before they left Bucharest.

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