compiled by Susan Flantzer
This does not purport to be a complete list. All images are from Wikipedia unless otherwise indicated.
William Ætheling
- Born: August 5, 1103 in Winchester, England
- Parents: King Henry I of England and Matilda of Scotland
- Married: Matilda of Anjou in 1119
- Died: November 25, 1120, aged 17 years, in the English Channel near Barfleur, Duchy of Normandy, now in France
- Wikipedia: William Ætheling
William Ætheling was the only surviving son of King Henry I of England and therefore, was the heir to the English throne. After the successful military campaign in which King Henry I of England had defeated King Louis VI of France at the Battle of Brémule, the English were finally preparing to return to England. King Henry I was offered the White Ship for his return to England, but he had already made other arrangements. Instead, Henry suggested that his son William sail on the White Ship along with his retinue which included William’s half-brother Richard of Lincoln, his half-sister Matilda the Countess of Perch, Richard d’Avranches the 2nd Earl of Chester and many of the heirs of the great estates of England and Normandy.
By the time the ship was ready to set sail, there were about 300 people on board. William and his retinue ordered the captain of the White Ship to overtake the ship of King Henry I so that the White Ship would be the first ship to return to England. Unfortunately, the White Ship hit a submerged rock and capsized. William’s bodyguard quickly got the heir to the throne into the safety of a dinghy. However, William Ætheling heard the screams of his half-sister Matilda and ordered the dinghy to turn back to rescue her. At this point, the White Ship began to sink and the many people in the water desperately sought the safety of William’s dinghy. The chaos and the weight were too much causing William Ætheling’s dinghy to capsize and sink without a trace. The chronicler Orderic Vitalis claimed that only two people survived the shipwreck by clinging to a rock all night.
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Friedrich I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Swabia,
- Born: 1122
- Parents: Friedrich II, Duke of Swabia and Judith of Bavaria
Married: (1) Adelheid of Vohburg circa 1147, marriage annulled (2) Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy in 1156 - Died: June 10, 1190, aged 67 – 68, in the Göksu River near Silifke in present-day Turkey
- Buried: body in the Church of St. Peter, now in Turkey in Antioch, bones in the cathedral of Tyre, now in Lebanon, his heart and inner organs in Tarsus, now in Turkey
- Wikipedia: Friedrich I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Swabia
The nickname Barbarossa (Italian for red beard) was given to Friedrich because of his red hair and beard. Friedrich drowned in the Saleph River near Silifke Castle in present-day Turkey on his way to the Holy Land to fight in the Third Crusade. The story that is most widely told is that Friedrich was thrown from his horse and the shock of the cold water caused him to have a heart attack and weighed down by his armor, he drowned. However, there are other stories that say he died while attempting to swim across the river, he died while enjoying a refreshing swim or he died on the banks of the river.
According to a “king in the mountain” legend, Friedrich Barbarossa is not dead but sleeps in a hidden chamber under the Kyffhäuser Mountains in Germany. There he awaits his country’s hour of greatest need when he will emerge once again from under the mountains. The presence of ravens circling the mountain is said to be a sign of Friedrich Barbarossa’s continuing presence.
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King Magnus IV of Sweden
- Born: April or May 1316 in Norway
- Parents: Eric, Duke of Södermanland and Ingeborg of Norway
- Married: Blanche of Namur
- Died: December 1, 1374, aged 58, in the Bömmelfjord near Lyngholmen, Norway
- Buried: Varnhem Abbey in Varnhem, Västergötland, Sweden
- Wikipedia: King Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus was King of Sweden until 1364 when he was deposed. He then sought refuge with his son King Haakon VI of Norway. On December 1, 1374, while traveling from Bergen, Norway to Tønsberg, Norway for Christmas, Magnus’ ship was shipwrecked in the Bömmelfjord. His servants managed to get him to shore but he was already dead. Twenty-five people died in the shipwreck.
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George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence
- Born: October 21, 1449 at Dublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland
- Parents: Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Lady Cecily Neville
- Married: Lady Isabel Neville
- Died: February 18, 1478, aged 28, at the Tower of London in London, England
- Buried: Tewkesbury Abbey in Tewkesbury, England
- Wikipedia: George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence
George was a son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, whose claim to the English throne led to the Wars of the Roses, and the brother of King Edward IV and King Richard III from the House of York. Although originally supporting his family’s House of York during the Wars of the Roses, George switched sides to support the Lancastrians, before reverting to the Yorkists. His brother Edward IV never trusted him again and George was eventually found guilty of plotting against Edward, imprisoned in the Tower of London and privately executed. Tradition says George was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine at his request but some modern historians believed he was beheaded.
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King Louis II of Hungary
- Born: July 1, 1506 in Buda, now Budapest, Hungary
- Parents: King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and Anne of Foix-Candale
- Married: Mary of Austria
- Died: August 29, 1526, aged 20, in Mohács, Hungary
- Buried: Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Székesfehérvár, Hungary
- Wikipedia: King Louis II of Hungary
At the Battle of Mohács, fought against Suleiman I (the Magnificent), Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, nearly the entire Hungarian Royal army was killed. During the retreat, King Louis died when he fell backward off his horse while trying to ride up the steep ravine of a stream. He fell into the stream and because of the weight of his armor, he was unable to stand up and drowned.
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Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange
- Born: August 14, 1687, in Dessau, Principality of Anhalt-Dessau, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
- Parents: Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz and Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau
- Married: Princess Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel
- Died: July 14, 1711, aged 23, in the Hollands Diep, a wide river in the Netherlands, between Dordrecht and Moerdijk, now in the Netherlands
- Buried: Grote of Jacobijnerkerk in Leeuwarden, Friesland now in the Netherlands
- Unofficial Royalty: Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange
In July 1711, Johan Willem Friso traveled from the battlefields of the War of the Spanish Succession to The Hague to meet with King Friedrich I of Prussia about a succession dispute. To cross the Hollands Diep, a wide river in the Netherlands, Johan Willem Friso and his carriage traveled on a ferry. The captain had trouble with the sails and suddenly a great gust of wind filled the sails, the ferry capsized and Johan Willem Friso drowned. His body was found floating in the river eight days later.
Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange and his wife Princess Marie Luise of Hesse-Kassel hold the distinction of being the most recent common ancestors to all currently reigning European monarchs. In addition, they are the ancestors of many formerly reigning families
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Prince Friedrich of Prussia
Embed from Getty Images
Prince Friedrich of Prussia, on left, in 1965
- Born: December 19, 1911 in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, now in Brandenburg, Germany
- Parents: Wilhelm, German Crown Prince (son of Wilhelm II, King of Prussia, German Emperor) and Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- Married: Lady Brigid Guinness in 1945
- Died: April 20, 1966, aged 54, in the Rhine River near Ersbach, Germany
- Buried: At the family cemetery at Hohenzollern Castle in Bisingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Wikipedia: Prince Friedrich of Prussia
Prince Friedrich was the owner of Reinhartshausen Castle in Ersbach, Germany. While staying at the castle in 1966, he went missing and was found two weeks later in the Rhine River. It is unknown whether the death was an accident or suicide.
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