Tag Archives: Bulgarian Royalty

August 28th

04 Saturday Jan 2014

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Events:
1619 – Ferdinand II is elected Holy Roman Emperor, succeeding his childless cousin, Matthias. Under his rule, the Thirty Years War would start.

1913 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands officially opened the Peace Palace in The Hague. The concept of diplomats and philanthropists (including Andrew Carnegie). It is the home of the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague Academy of International Law, and other organizations.

1996 – The divorce of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles and Diana, would be final. Diana would die suddenly in a car crash the following year.

Birthdays:
1667 – Louise of Mecklenburg-Gustrow is born in Germany to the Ducal family of Mecklenburg-Gustrow. In 1695, she married the future Frederick IV of Denmark, and they became King and Queen in 1699. Frederick was famously unfaithful, even entering into bigamous marriages. She was dutiful, but never very popular. Louise amassed a large collection of religious books during her time, which was donated after her death, with much praise from the clergy. Her son would become Christian IV, but Louise would die in 1721.

1691 – Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel is born in Germany. Elisabeth was the oldest daughter of Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen. In 1708, she married Austrian Archduke Charles in Spain, the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. In 1711, they succeeded to the Imperial throne, but Charles went alone, leaving Elisabeth as Governor of Catalonia, where we was said to be a wise and effective ruler. She joined him later, and gave him four children, with only two surviving into adulthood. Her oldest surviving child would be the indomitable future Empress Maria Theresa. Elisabeth would live well into her daughter’s reign, dying in Vienna at age 58.

1694 – Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg is born to the Duke and Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She shared a birthday with her elder sister, Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Charlotte was married in 1711, to Tsarevitch Alexei, the son of Peter the Great of Russia. She was isolated at court, and never fully assimilated into the Russian court. Charlotte gave birth to two children, a daughter named Natalia, then a son, the future Peter II. Her death came just a few days after the birth of Peter. She was only 21 years old.

Deaths:

1481 – Afonso V of Portugal died in Lisbon, at age 49. He was the son of King Edward of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon. In 1438, He became king at age 6, under the rule of a regency. He spent many years on campaign in North Africa, fighting the Muslims by Papal decree. He would attempt to claim the throne of Castile from Isabella I, but to no avail. Afonso would retire after, abdicating in favour of his son, and spending the rest of his life in a monastery.

1943 – Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria died of heart failure in his home country. He had just met with Adolf Hitler a few days before, and it has been suspected that the German leader poisoned him. Her had been Tsar since the abdication of his father, Ferdinand I, in 1918, after World War I. During World War II, Bulgaria was allied with Germany, but Boris did not cede control to the Nazis. Boris also refused to deport Bulgarian Jews, and helped many escape to other countries.

1972 – Prince William of Gloucester died in a crash at an air show. He was the son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, a grandson to King George V, and a cousin to Queen Elizabeth II. William was just 30 years old, and unmarried. In 1968, he had been diagnosed with porphyria, a blood disorder, but had continued to attend to royal duties. He was close to his cousin, Charles, Prince of Wales, who would name his eldest son in his honor.

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July 24th

03 Saturday Aug 2013

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Events:
1148 – Louis VII of France would begin the Siege of Damascus, as part of the Second Crusade. The siege would end 5 days later, in a sound defeat for the Crusaders, and begun the collapse of that Crusade.

1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate the Scottish Crown in favor of her infant son, now James VI. She would be held at Loch Leven Castle for another year, before she escaped, attempted to regain her throne, but lost in her attempt. She then fled to England where she would be kept as a prisoner by nobles of Elizabeth I.

2001 – Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria. Simeon had been the last Tsar of Bulgaria as a small child and ruled under a regency. He lived in exile after the fall of Bulgaria to the Soviets and is the only monarch to return to elected office after his overthrow.

Birthdays:
1860 – Princess Charlotte of Prussia was born in Potsdam to the future Emperor Frederick III and Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom. She was the younger sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was married to Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen in 1878, and in 1914, they became the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, but by the end of World War I, her husband abdicated. She was said to have a nervous personality at a young age, and had a terrible relationship with her only child, a daughter named Feodora.

Deaths:
1568 – Carlos, Prince of Asturias died in Madrid at age 23. He was the eldest son of the future Phillip II of Spain and his first wife, Princess Maria of Portugal. His father would attempt several betrothals to various prominent houses, but none would come through. He was said to be mentally unstable. In 1567, he was angry with his father over a government position he was promised, and spoke of helping the revolts in the Netherlands, and he may have spoke of his father’s murder. Phillip had him arrested, and he died in prison.

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June 16th

16 Sunday Jun 2013

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Events:
1487 – Today in 1487 marks the last battle of the Wars of the Roses. The relatively new King, Henry VII was still trying to secure his place on the throne. The Earl of Lincoln, John de la Pole, who had been named by Richard III to be his successor, was putting forth a boy, Lambert Simnel as a pretender to the throne. The battle was bloody, but was a final victory for the Lancastrian forces.

Birthdays:
1332 – A daughter named Isabella is born to Edward III and Philippa of Hainault at Woodstock Palace. She was said to be her father’s favourite, and was overindulged as a child. Edward tried to marry her into a powerful alliance, but remained unmarried until she was 33 years old, when she was permitted to marry the Lord de Coucy, later the Count of Soissons and Earl of Bedford. She lived just into the reign of her nephew, Richard II, but her death date is disputed.

1644 – The youngest child of Charles I and Henrietta Maria was born in England, to also be named Henrietta. When she was three years old, she fled England with the rest of her family, and was just five when her father was executed. She would live in the court of her cousin, Louis XIV, and marry Phillippe, Louis’ brother, and also her first cousin, in 1660, after her brother’s restoration as King Charles II. She had two daughters with him, who went on to be Queen consorts of Spain and Sardinia, and was a key player in the secret Treaty of Dover, which attempted to reconcile France and England. She died suddenly at age 26, in France, in 1670.

1937 – In not so dead royalty, Bulgarian Tsar Simeon II is born as the son of Boris III and Tsaritsa Giovanna. In 1943, he became Tsar after the death of his father at age 6. He ruled with his uncle as a regent, but the country was invaded but the Soviets, and in 1946, the monarchy was dissolved and the family was sent into exile. Simeon would live in Spain until the collapse of the Soviet Union, when he returned to Bulgaria, and in 2001, he was elected to the office of Prime Minister until 2005. He never renounced his title, but hasn’t spoke out about his views on possible restoration.

No major deaths.

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April 5th

05 Friday Apr 2013

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Events:
1566 – The Compromise of Nobles is presented to Margaret of Parma, regent of the Netherlands for her half-brother, Phillip II of Spain. Two hundred Dutch Nobles presented the petition in order to stop the Inquisition in the Habsburg Netherlands, and ask the king to moderate the heresy laws. Phillip would ultimately reject the demands, and lead to the Eighty Years War and the Dutch Revolt.

Birthdays:
1472 – Bianca Maria Sforza is born in Milan, Italy to the Duke and Duchess of Milan. Her older sister half sister was the fierce Caterina Sforza. At age 2, she was married off to her cousin, Philibert I, Duke of Savoy. She would be widowed at age 10. At age 22, she married Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and thus became Empress consort at his accession in 1508. They had no children, and it was said to be an unhappy marriage. But she was a good stepmother to his children, until her death in 1510 at age 38.

1857 – Alexander of Battenburg is born in Germany to Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and his wife, Countess Julia von Hauke. He would spend time in the Russian court of his uncle Alexander II of Russia, and eventually be offered the title of sovereign Prince of Bulgaria. He would rule from 1879 until 1886, when he was overthrown in a military coup. He would live out his days in exile in Austria.

1863 – Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine is born in Windsor Castle in England. She was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, through Princess Alice, Victoria’s daughter. She would grow up in Germany, but spend time in Britian. In 1884, she married Prince Louis of Battenburg, who was living in Britain and serving in the British Navy. Her eldest child, Alice, would marry Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and her other daughter would become Queen consort of Sweden. Her daughter Alice, would have a son named Phillip, who is currently the Duke of Edinburgh and married to Queen Elizabeth II.

Deaths:
1697 – Charles XI of Sweden dies at age 41 of stomach cancer. He had become king at age 5 after the death of his father. He would assume power at age 17, and aside from fighting the Danish early on, his reign was mostly peaceful. He spent the rest of his time as king rebuilding Sweden’s economy and military, leaving a sound country for his son, Charles XII.

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March 6th

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

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Events:
1882 – A proclamation is declared changing the Principality of Serbia into the Constitutional Monarchy Kingdom of Serbia. The countries first monarch was Milan I. However the Kingdom would not survive World War I.

Birthdays:
1340 – A third son is born to Edward III of England and Phillippa of Hainault, christened John. He was born in Ghent, Flanders, which is in present day Belgium, leading to his moniker John of Gaunt. He would become the Duke of Lancaster in 1362. His descendants would become the House of Lancaster, which would fight for the throne a century later during the Wars of the Roses.

1405 – John II of Castile is born as the son of Henry III and Queen Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. He would succeed his father at the age of ten months. He would rule for 49 years, but is widely regarded as an ineffective ruler. He would sire two Castilian monarchs, Henry IV and the famous Isabella I of Castile.

1817 – A daughter is born to French King Louis Phillipe I and Marie Amalie of Two Sicilies, named Clementine. She would marry a German prince, August of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary and be the dominate personality in the relationship. She would have to flee France in 1848, after the Revolution of that year. Her youngest son, Ferdinand, would go on to be Tsar of Bulgaria.

1823 – The future Charles I of Wurttemberg is born in Stuttgart. He was the son of William and Therese of Wurttemberg. He became king in 1864, and would rule until his death in 1891, despite his country being absorbed into the German Empire in 1871.

1939 – In not so dead royals, a daughter is born in Rome to the displaced royal Spanish family. She is known today as Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria, sister of former King Juan Carlos I. She renounced her rights to the throne in 1972, upon her marriage to a commoner.

Deaths:
1964 – King Paul of Greece dies in Athens from stomach cancer. He had spent chunks of time living in exile before he took over as king. He had become king after World War II and interfered in politics, despite growing republican sentiments. His daughter, Sophia would go on to be Queen of Spain, and his son Constantine II, would be the last Greek monarch.

Have an awesome day!!

February 26th

26 Tuesday Feb 2013

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Events:
1266 – The Battle of Benevento occurs between forces loyal to Charles of Anjou and Manfred of Sicily. Manfred would be killed in battle. Pope Urban IV, who supported Charles, would crown him as King of Sicily shortly thereafter.

1658 – The Treaty of Roskilde is finalized between Frederick III of Denmark and Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden, ending the Second Northern War. Denmark had been soundly defeated and was forced to give up half its territory to Sweden.

1815 – The deposed French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from captivity on the island of Elba. He would arrive on the French mainland 2 days later and march into Paris for the Hundred Days by the end of the following month.

Birthdays:
1746 – Maria Amalia is born as an Archduchess of Austria as a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Empress Maria Theresa. She would go on to be the Duchess of Parma by marriage. She was the sibling of two Holy Roman Emperors, Joseph II and Leopold II, and also Queen consort of Naples Maria Carolina, and the ill-fated French Queen consort, Marie Antoinette.

1861 – The future Ferdinand I of Bulgaria is born in Vienna. He would go on the be elected Prince regnant of Bulgaria, and later be declared Tsar. He would later be forced to abdicate in favour of his son Boris after the Bulgarian defeat in World War I, in 1918.

Deaths:
1577 – Eric XIV of Sweden is believed to have been poisoned and died today after eating his last meal. He had been dethroned by his brother in 1568 for erratic behavior and insanity. He was more than likely schizophrenic. His remains were examined in 1958 and he was found to have been poisoned by arsenic.

1933 – Princess Thyra of Denmark, daughter of King Christian IX and Queen Louise died at age 79 in Austria. She had married the Crown Prince of Hanover, but his father lost the throne and thus the couple spent most of their marriage in exile. Her husband was also a member of the British royal family as the Duke of Cumberland. Her siblings would include Frederik VIII of Denmark, George I of Greece, Queen Alexandria of the United Kingdom, and Empress Maria of Russia.

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February 1st

01 Friday Feb 2013

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Events:
1327 – A fourteen year old Edward III is crowned King of England after the deposition of his father, Edward II. His father abdicated the throne after an invasion lead by Edward’s mother, Isabella of France, because of the disaster of the elder Edward’s rule. Isabella and her lover, Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, would be de facto rulers until Edward came of age and took the reigns of government.

1946 – The Hungarian Parliament votes and decides to declare a republic, abolishing its monarchy. Hungary had been a Kingdom for over 900 years.

2005 – King Gyanendra of Nepal attempts to reinstate direct and authoritative rule in his country by dismissing the Prime Minister and naming himself Chairman on the Ministers. The monarchy would be abolished the following year.

Birthdays:
1965 – The only birthday is a not so dead royal one. Princess Stephanie of Monaco is born to Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. Stephanie was actually with her mother when the car accident occured that caused Princess Grace’s death. She would miss her mother’s funeral, due to still being in the hospital recovering.

Deaths:
1328 – Charles IV of France died at age 33 without a male heir. He was the last of the direct Capetian line kings of France as the son of Phillip IV. France observed Salic law, which barred women from being sovereign, or the line of succession passing through a woman. This caused a crisis, as the next male heir was Phillip of Valois. Edward III of England would stake a claim to the throne, being a grandson of Phillip IV, through his mother, Isabella. This was one of the direct causes of the Hundred Years War.

1733 – King Augustus II of Poland died in Warsaw at age 62. He had actually been King of Poland twice, the first between 1697 and 1706, then again between 1709 and his death. He was known for his physical strength, and his patronage of the fine arts. However his rule is not regarded as successful because of his failure to keep the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth out of the Great Northern War.

1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal, and his eldest son, Prince Felipe are assassinated by republican activists while riding in an open carriage. His other son, Prince Manuel, would be declared King and was the last King of Portugal.

1945 – Prince Kiril of Bulgaria was assassinated by a coalition of the Communist Party of Bulgaria. He was the younger brother of the deceased Boris III and was regent and Prime Minister for his nephew, Simeon II.

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January 30th

30 Wednesday Jan 2013

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Events:
1649 – Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded for high treason against the people. Forces loyal to him had lost what was now referred to as the English Civil War. His family, including his wife and two older sons had already fled to France. He wore two shirts, as it was a chilly morning and it was said that he didn’t want to be seen shivering, and his enemies mistake it for fear.

1661- Two years after his death, and one year after the Restoration of the Monarchy in Britain, Oliver Cromwell, one time Lord Protector was exhumed and ceremonially decapitated and given a traitor’s funeral, for his part in the overthrow and execution of Charles I. The former King’s oldest son, also named Charles, was the new King.

1889 – Crown Prince and Archduke of Austria Rudolf, heir to the thrones of Austria and Hungary, is found dead at the royal residence of Meyerling, with his mistress, in an apparent murder-suicide. He was the only son of Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth. This lead to a succession crisis, with the duty of heir falling on Franz Joseph’s nephew, the doomed Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Birthdays:
1894 – The future Boris III of Bulgaria is born. He became Tsar of Bulgaria in 1918, after his father, Ferdinand I was forced to abdicate after the disaster of World War I. When Hitler came to power in the Thirties, Boris was back and forth on his policies, agreeing with some to regain lost territory, but then refusing others at first, like the deportation of Bulgarian Jews. In fact, no Jews from pre-war Bulgaria were deported, to the chagrin of Hitler. Boris would not see the end of the war though, as he would pass away in 1943.

1962 – In recently dead royals, the future King Abdullah II of Jordan is born in Amman. He would become King in 1999 after the death of his father, King Hussein of Jordan. His son, Hashem bin Al Abdullah was also born today, in 2005.

1968 – And in not so dead royals, Felipe, Prince of Asturias and heir apparent to the crown of Spain is born in Madrid. He is now King Felipe VI, and the only son of the former King, Juan Carlos I and Queen Sophia. Juan Carlos abdicated in June of 2014. He was actually a competitor in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, and he and his sisters are the first Spanish royals to participate in public protests, as they did in 2004.

Deaths:
1730 – Tsar Peter II of Russia, grandson of Peter I, dies suddenly of smallpox at the age of 14. He had come to the crown just three years earlier, and with his death, it ended the direct male line Romanov dynasty. He would be succeeded by his cousin, Anna.

1989 – Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cadiz dies at age 52 in a skiing accident, while visiting the United States. He was of the Spanish House of Bourbon but also had a claim to the defunct French crown as a descendant of the French Bourbons. Another claimant of the French throne, from the House of Orleans, actually sued him over the use of the French royal arms. The case was thrown out in favour of Alfonso.

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January 19th

19 Saturday Jan 2013

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Events:
1419 – The French city of Rouen surrenders to the English forces of Henry V. With the fall of the city, it completed the conquest of Normandy for the English in the Hundred Years War.

Birthdays:
1544 – The future Francis II of France is born to Henry II and Queen Catherine de Medici. Francis would marry his childhood friend, Mary, Queen of Scots, who was raised in the French court with the royal family. They would become King and Queen of France in 1559 after the sudden death of his father. He would only be King for less than a year, and under a regency of his mother for the whole reign.

1943 – Princess Margriet is born in Canada during her mother, the later Queen Juliana’s exile during World War II. She was named for the Marguerite flower, which the Dutch wore to show opposition to Nazi occupation. Her sister is former Queen Beatrix, and Margriet carries out several official duties for her nephew King Willem-Alexander.

1972 – Also in not so dead royals, Princess Kalina of Bulgaria is born in Madrid. Her father, Simeon II was exiled in Spain already when she was born. She currently resides in Morocco with her husband and son.

Deaths:
1526 – Isabella of Austria died at age 24 after an prolonged illness. She was the daughter of Phillip and Joanna of Castile, and sister to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. In 1514, she married Christian II of Denmark, becoming Queen consort of Denmark and Norway, and later Queen of Sweden until her husbands deposition in 1523 and 1521 from both crowns.

1925 – Maria Sophie of Bavaria, the last Queen consort of the Two Sicilies died at age 83 in her birth home of Bavaria. She had married Francis II in 1859. Her husband was overthrown in 1860, and they lived in Roman exile at first, before having to escape to Bavaria. She was widowed in 1894. Her sister is the famous Austrian Empress Elisabeth.

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December 5th

05 Wednesday Dec 2012

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Events:
1496 – Manuel I of Portugal issues a decree exiling all heretics, including Jews, from the country. Jews had the choice of conversion to Christianity or boarding ships to leave the country. However when they came to the ports to leave, they were met with priests, forced baptisims and intimidation to keep them from leaving.

1757 – Frederick the Great of Prussia’s army meets Prince Charles of Lorraine’s Austrian army in the Battle of Leuthen. The battle ended in a rout in favor of the Prussians, with Prince Charles reportedly screaming, “I can’t believe it!” as his army fell apart.

Birthdays:
1927 – A not so dead royal birthday today, when Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand was born. He has been King since 1946 and is the worlds longest serving monarch.

1967 – Another not so dead royal birthday, Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin and Duke of Saxony, son of deposed Bulgarian king Simeon II was born in Madrid. He currently lives and works in Spain with his wife and children.

Deaths:
1560 – The 15 year old King Francis II of France, died 18 months into his reign. He became king when his father died suddenly from a jousting accident. He was the son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici, the older brother of Charles IX and Henry III, and husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. Its believed that he died from an abcess from an ear infection.

1891 – Emperor Pedro II of Brazil died in exile in France. He had been overthrown in 1889 after 58 years of rule, in favor of a Republic. He had actually been quite popular with the people, and while his memory suffered at first, it has been rehabilitated and is regarded as one of the greatest Brazilians ever.

1969 – Princess Alice of Battenberg, wife of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and mother to Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, died at age 84 in Buckingham Palace, the home of her son and daughter in law, Elizabeth II. Born as the oldest child of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, she grew up to spend a lot of her life in periodically in Germany, England and the Mediterranean, often exiled from Greece along with its Royal family. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia, living separated from her husband as she went to Switzerland in order to seek treatment. After her recovery she did a lot of charitable work during the Second World War. Returning after the war, in order to attend her only son’s wedding, she used her remaining jewels to create Elizabeth II’s engagement ring.

Have a great day!!