This Day in History

[Susan]

Today in royal history:

October 30, 1485 - Coronation of Henry VII
Henry’s wife Elizabeth of York was crowned on November 24, 1487.

October 30, 1668 – Birth Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, wife of Frederick I of Prussia

October 30, 1683 - Birth of George II at Schloss Herrenhausen, Hanover, Germany

October 30, 1816 – Death of Frederick I of Württemberg; buried at the Palace Chapel in Ludwigsburg Palace

October 30, 1892 – Death of Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, wife of Charles I of Württemberg, at Friedrichshafen, Württemberg; buried at the Old Castle in Stuttgart

[Susan]

Today in royal history:

October 31, 1214 - Death of Eleanor, daughter of Henry II, at the Abbey of Las Huelgas, Burgos, Castile; buried at the Abbey of Las Huelgas

October 31, 1613 – Birth of Luisa de Guzmán, wife of João IV of Portugal

October 31, 1765 - Death of William, Duke of Cumberland, son of George II, at Upper Grosvenor Street, London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey

October 31, 1786 – Death of Princess Amelia Sophia, daughter of George II, at Cavendish Square, London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey

October 31, 1838 – Birth of Luís I of Portugal

October 31, 1851 – Birth of Lovisa of Sweden, wife of Frederik VIII of Denmark

October 31, 1922 - Birth of former King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia

October 31, 1955 - Princess Margaret announces she won't marry Peter Townsend

October 31, 1960 - Birth of Reza Pahlavi, the son and heir of the last Shah of Iran

October 31, 2005 – Birth of Infanta Leonor of Spain, daughter of Felipe, Prince of Asturias

[Susan]

Today in royal history:

November 1, 1396 - Wedding of Richard II and Isabella of France t St. Nicholas' Church, Calais, France

November 1, 1526 – Death of Catherine Jagiellon, wife of Johan III of Sweden, at Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Uppsala Cathedral

November 1, 1549 – Birth of Anna of Austria, fourth wife of Philip II of Spain

November 1, 1700 – Death of Carlos II of Spain at Madrid; buried at the Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real in El Escorial

November 1, 1864 – Birth of Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at Bessungen, Darmstadt, Germany
Princess Elisabeth was the daughter of Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria, and Grand Duke Louis of Hesse and by Rhine. She married Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich of Russia. Ellla, as she was known by her family, was murdered by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution. She was canonized as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church and is depicted above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey with other Twentieth Century Martyrs.

November 1, 1894 - Death of Tsar Alexander III of Russia at Livadia Palace in the Crimea; buried at the Fortress of Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Petersburg

[Susan]

Today in royal history:

November 2, 1083 – Death of Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, at Caen, Normandy; buried at Holy Trinity Abbey, Caen, Normandy

November 2, 1135 - Death of Baldwin, son of King Stephen, at London; buried at the Priory of the Holy Trinity, Aldgate, London

November 2, 1160 – Wedding of Henry the Young King and Marguerite of France, daughter of King Louis VII, at Neubourg, Normandy

November 2, 1475 - Birth of Anne, daughter of Edward IV, at the Palace of Westminster
Anne married Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (the the Earl of Surrey) but she died young and they had no children. The Duke later married Anne Stafford, daughter of the Duke of Buckingham and was the uncle of Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard.

November 2, 1709 - Birth of Anne, Princess Royal, daughter of George II, at Schloss Herrenhausen, Hanover, Germany
Anne married the Prince William IV of Orange. The Dutch Royal Family is descended from her.

November 2, 1755 - Birth of Maria Antonia of Habsburg-Lotharingen, wife of Louis XVI of France
Full name: Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna (better known by her French name, Marie Antoinette)

November 2, 1767 - Birth of Edward, Duke of Kent, son of George III, at Buckingham Palace
Full name: Edward Augustus
The Duke of Kent was the father of Queen Victoria.

November 2, 1777 - Birth of Princess Sophia, daughter of George III, at Buckingham Palace
Full name: Sophia Matilda
Sophia was the fifth daughter and twelfth child of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenberg-Strelitz. She had an illegitimate son by Captain Thomas Garth. Sophia never married but lived with her mother as a companion. She died at Vicarage House, Kensington and was buried at her request at Kensal Green Cemetery opposite her brother the Duke of Sussex.

November 2, 1916 – Death of Elisabeth of Wied, wife Carol I of Romania, at Bucharest, Romania; buried at the Cathedral of the Curtea de Arges Monastery

November 2, 1938 - Birth of Sofia of Greece, wife of King Juan Carlos I of Spain
Full name: Sofia Margarita Victoria Frederika
Sofia is a descendant of Queen Victoria via both her father and mother.

[Susan]

Today in royal history:

November 3, 1717 - Birth of Prince George William, son of George II, at St. James Palace

November 3, 1852 - Birth of Emperor Meiji of Japan

November 3, 1901 – Birth of King Leopold III of the Belgians

November 3, 1961 - Birth of David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, son of Princess Margaret, at Clarence House

[Susan]

Today in royal history:

November 4, 1393 - Wedding of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York and Joan Holland

November 4, 1470 - Birth of Edward V in sanctuary at Westminster Abbey

November 4, 1631 - Birth of Mary, Princess Royal, daughter of Charles I, at St. James Palace, London
Mary married Prince William II of Orange and was the mother of Prince William III of Orange. William III of Orange married his first cousin Mary, daughter of James II. They jointly succeeded to the British throne as William III and Mary II after the overthrow of James II.

November 4, 1677 - Wedding of William III and Mary II at St. James Palace, London

November 4, 1970 – Death of former King Peter II of Yugoslavia in Denver, Colorado; buried at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Libertyville, Illinois
Peter is the only European monarch buried on American soil. In March, 2007, his son Crown Prince Alexander announced that he planned to return his father's remains to Yugoslavia and re-inter him at the Mausoleum of the Serbian Royal Family.

[Susan]

Today in royal history:

November 5, 1605 – The Gunpowder Plot, conceived by Guy Fawkes and 10 accomplices, to kill King James I and all members of Parliament is scheduled by planting gunpowder under Parliament. The conspirators were tried, convicted and beheaded.

November 5, 1828 – Death of Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg, second wife of Tsar Paul I of Russia, at Pavlovsk Palace; buried at Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg
Name after marriage: Maria Feodorovna

November 5, 1864 – Birth of Hilda of Luxembourg, wife of Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden

[Susan]

November 6 in royal history:

November 6, 1429 - Coronation of Henry VI
Henry became king when he was 8 months old. He was crowned one month before his eighth birthday. Henry’s wife Margaret of Anjou was crowned on May 30, 1445.

November 6, 1479 – Birth of Juana I of Castile

November 6, 1550 – Birth of Karin Månsdotter, wife of Eric XIV of Sweden

November 6, 1612 - Death of Henry, Prince of Wales, son of James I, at St. James Palace, London; buried at Westminster Abbey
Henry died of typhoid at age 18. His brother Charles (later Charles I) became heir to the throne. Henry’s death was considered a national tragedy.

November 6, 1656 – Death of João IV of Portugal at Ribeira Palace, Lisbon; buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, Lisbon

November 6, 1661 – Birth of Carlos II of Spain at Madrid

November 6, 1754 – Birth of Frederick I of Württemberg

November 6, 1816 – Death of Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

November 6, 1836 – Death of former Charles X of France and Navarre at the palace of Count Michael Coronini von Cronberg in Gorizia, in present-day Italy; buried at the Church of Saint Mary of the Annunciation on Kostanjevica Hill in present-day Nova Gorica, Slovenia

November 6, 1935 - Wedding of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott at the Private Chapel, Buckingham Palace

[Susan]

November 6, 1817 - Death of Princess Charlotte of Wales, only child of the Prince of Wales (later George IV), in childbirth after delivering a stillborn son, at Claremont House, Esher, Surrey; buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle

Not many people remember Charlotte but I think it is important that she be remembered and that it is understood how her death affected the British succession.

Charlotte married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the uncle of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and the future king of Belgium. Had Charlotte lived, she would have succeeded her father George IV as queen but on November 6, 1817, a great tragedy struck the British Royal Family. Twenty-one year old Princess Charlotte, the only child of George, Prince of Wales, died after delivering a stillborn son. Charlotte was mourned by the British people in a manner similar to the mourning of Diana, Princess of Wales. Charlotte’s pregnancy and delivery were grossly mismanaged and the doctor in charge later committed suicide.

At the time of her death, Charlotte, who was second in line to the throne, was the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, despite the fact that he had eleven of his fifteen children were still living. Her death left no legitimate heir in the second generation, and prompted the aging sons of George III to begin a frantic search for brides to provide for the succession. George III's eldest son (Charlotte's father) and his second son Frederick, Duke of York, were in loveless marriages, and their wives, both in their late forties, were not expected to produce heirs. William, Duke of Clarence, age 53, married 26 year old Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. 50 year old Edward, Duke of Kent, married 32 year old widow Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld. Victoire was the sister of Leopold, Princess Charlotte's widower. 21 year old Augusta of Hesse-Cassel was married to 44 year old Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge. It was then the scramble to produce an heir began.

Within a short time, the three new Duchesses, along with Frederica, wife of Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, became pregnant. Augusta gave birth to a son on March 26, 1819; Adelaide had a daughter the following day. Victoire produced a daughter on May 24, 1819 and three days later Frederica had a boy. Adelaide's daughter would have been the heir but she died in infancy. The child of the next Royal Duke in seniority stood to inherit the throne. This was Alexandrina Victoria, daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent and Victoire. The baby stood fifth in line to the throne after her uncles George, Frederick and William, and her father.

The baby's father Edward died in 1820, eight months after her birth. Later in 1820, King George III's death brought his eldest son to the throne as George IV. Frederick, Duke of York, died in 1827, bringing the young princess a step closer to the throne. George IV died in 1830 and his brother William (IV) succeeded him. During William's reign little Drina, as she was called, was the heiress presumptive. There was always the possibility that King William IV and Queen Adelaide would still produce an heir. But it was not to be. William died on June 20, 1837 and left the throne to his 18 year old niece, who is known to history as Queen Victoria.

[Susan]

November 7 in royal history:

November 7, 1485 - Parliament passes an Act of Succession confirming Henry VII’s succession

November 7, 2000 – Death of Ingrid of Sweden, wife of Frederik IX of Denmark at Fredensborg Castle; buried at Roskilde Cathedral