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Today in Dead Royalty

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Today in Dead Royalty

Tag Archives: Catherine the Great

July 17th

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by samanthaimperiatrix in Daily Posts

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Tags

Catherine the Great, French Royalty, Not So Dead Royalty, Romanovs, Russian royalty, The Hundred Years War, The Windsors, Yugoslavian monarchy

Events:
1429 – The coronation of Charles VII of France takes place at the cathedral in Reims. Charles’ coronation was delayed because of the Hundred Years War. The French victories were made possible by the military leadership of Joan of Arc.

1917 – King George V of the United Kingdom issued a royal proclamation changing his family’s name from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, to the House of Windsor. This was due to the large anti-German sentiment through Britain at the time during World War I. He also renounced any German titles for himself and several members of his family. His first cousin, German Kaiser Wilhelm II famously said that he wanted to Shakespeare’s play, “The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha”, after hearing the news of the name change.

Birthdays:
1945 – In not so dead royalty, the last heir apparent of Yugoslavia, Alexander is born in London. His father, Peter II was living in exile during World War II. When he was just a few months old, his father was overthrown, and his family deprived of citizenship. He grew up in Britain, and finally in 2000 he was able to return to Yugoslavia, and given citizenship again in 2001. He still resides in Serbia, and promised to stay out of politics, focusing on humanitarian efforts.

1947 – Camilla Shand is born in London to Major Bruce Shand and Rosalind Cubitt. She is known today as Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. Charles is her second husband, and she has teo children from her previous marriage.

Deaths:
1762 – Peter III of Russia was found dead, approximately a week after he was overthrown in favor of his wife, now Catherine II of Russia. She would rule in her own right until her death in 1796. German by birth, Catherine had fully assimilated herself into Russian culture and is one of the most famous monarchs, both male or female in European history. She is referred to as Catherine the Great.

1918 – The family of the deposed Tsar Nicholas II was shot and killed near Yekaterinburg, Russia. Nicholas and his immediate family, including his wife, Alexandra, son Alexei, and daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia were assassinated by agents of the new Bolshevik government which had overthrown the monarchy the previous year. The family had been arrested and living in captivity since then. Their remains would not be found until much later in the 20th century, then positively identified through DNA in the late 90’s.

Have a great day!

July 6th

13 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by samanthaimperiatrix in Daily Posts

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Tags

Austrian Royalty, Catherine the Great, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II, Italian monarchy/aristocracy, Mexican royalty, Plantagenets, Russian royalty, Scottish Royalty, Spanish Royalty, The Tudors, The Windsors

Events:
1483 – Richard III of England is crowned as King of England, after his two young nephews, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, were declared illegitimate. Richard was the younger brother of Edward IV.

Birthdays:
1782 – Maria Luisa of Spain is born to Charles IV and Queen Maria Luisa. In 1795, she married her cousin, the Duke of Parma. Her husband was made King of Etruria, which was formed from Tuscany. Soon after Europe was engulfed in the Napoleonic Wars and she was a widow. Her lands were annexed by Napoleon, and she spent the rest of the wars in exile. After the war, her kingdom was dissolved, and she was compensated with the Duchy of Lucca. Her son Charles succeeded her as Duke of Lucca, and was also Duke of Parma.

1796 – The future Nicholas I of Russia is born to Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Wurttemberg. He became Emperor in 1825 after the death of his brother, Alexander I. He had another elder brother, Constantine, who refused his claim to the throne. At the onset of his reign, the Decembrist Revolt took place, and Nicholas developed harsh reactionary policies as a result. His rule also saw the failed Crimean War. However literary arts and ballet flourished under his reign, as did Russian nationalism.

1832 – Maximilian I of Mexico is born in Vienna, Austria. He was an Austrian Archduke as the grandson of Emperor Francis II, and a younger brother of Franz Joseph I. He had spent time in the Austrian Navy, and was married to Charlotte of Belgium. In 1859, he was offered to Imperial Crown of Mexico, which he refused, then refused again in 1861. In 1863 he accepted the crown and lost is Austrian royal status. However, the Mexican monarchists were not in the majority and he was quickly overthrown and captured. He had tried to implement several liberal reforms, and wanted to help the people, but was short sighted in his affairs.

1868 – A daughter is born to Edward VII and Alexandra of the United Kingdom, to be christened Victoria. She was said to be close to her brother, who later became George V. She never married, or had children and remained as a companion to her parents, especially after her father died in 1910, she stayed with her mother. She died in 1935, just one month before her beloved brother. Called Toria, she was at one time courted by Carlos I of Spain, and Nicholas II of Russia.

Deaths:
1189 – Henry II of England died in Chinon, France at age 56, and after over 30 years on the throne of England. His father was Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, and his mother was Matilda, former Holy Roman Empress, and claimant of the crown of England as the daughter of Henry I. Henry had married the equally formidable Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine. Through him, the House of Plantagenet was founded, who would rule England for the next 300 years. He spawned two of the most famous monarchs in English history, Richard I ‘the Lionheart’ and John I. He also held considerable lands in France, including Anjou, Normandy, Aquitaine, Maine, Nantes, and Brittany, ruling more of France than the King of France.

1249 – Alexander II of Scotland died of a fever on the Hebrides Islands. He had been king since 1214, after the death of his father, William I. Shortly after his accession, he provided support to the Barons in rebellion against King John of England. However after John’s death, the rebellion ended. Alexander’s first wife would be John’s daughter, Joan, the sister of the new king, Henry III. The rest of his reign was filled with keeping the peace with England and Norway.

1553 – Edward VI of England, the boy King, died at Greenwich Palace of Consumption. He was just 15 years old, and had been king since 1547, when at age 9, his father, Henry VIII died. He was the first truly Protestant ruler of England and made sweeping religious reforms. When his death was seen as immenent, steps were taken to disinherit his Catholic half-sister, Mary, who would undo his reforms. He attempted to have his cousin, Jane Grey set up as Queen, but her rule only lasted nine days, before Mary was installed as Queen.

1762 – Peter III of Russia is found dead at age 34. Just weeks before, he had been forced to abdicate as Tsar of Russia in a coup led by his wife, now Catherine II of Russia, who is now known as Catherine the Great. He was German by birth and blood, and his Prussian friendly policies had made him wildly unpopular. His rule only last six months before his deposition. It wouldn’t be until his son by Catherine, Paul, took the throne, that Peter was buried with the honors of a Tsar.

Have a good one!

June 25th

25 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by samanthaimperiatrix in Daily Posts

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Tags

Austrian Royalty, Catherine the Great, French Royalty, German Royalty, Habsburg dynasty, Hungarian Royalty, Plantagenets, Russian royalty, The Tudors

Events:
1741 – Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned as Queen of Hungary. She was the daughter of Holy Roman Empress Charles VI, and is the only female ruler in all the Habsburg dynasty. Her accession caused the War of Austrian Succession, and her husband would be elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1745, although all the power laid with Maria Theresa.

Birthdays:
1242 – Eleanor of Provence, mentioned below, gave birth to a daughter named Beatrice, in Bordeaux, France. She was married to John II, Duke of Brittany, although he did not become Duke until after she died, so Beatrice was never known as the Duchess of Brittany. John was also the Earl of Richmond. The two titles would be split between Beatrice and John’s eldest sons, Arthur II, Duke of Brittany, and John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond. Beatrice died in 1275, while in London.

1755 – Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt is born in Brandenburg, Germany to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1773, she was married to the future Paul I of Russia, son of Catherine the Great. The marriage was not happy, and Natalia Alexeievna, as she became known after her marriage, was probably having an affair. She became pregnant and the paternity was disputed, but it didn’t seem to matter to the Empress. However, the Princess died giving birth to a still born baby. She was only twenty years old.

Deaths:
1291 – Eleanor of Provence died in England. This date is disputed, as she may have died the 24th. She was from Aix-en-Provence, and was the daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence, and his Countess, Beatrice of Savoy. In early 1236, when she was only approximately 12 years old, she was sent to England, where she was married to Henry III of England. They had five children, the eldest being the future Edward I of England. While she and Henry were seemingly devoted to each other, she was unpopular with the people, for promoting her foreign relatives, and was even attacked while sailing down the Thames on her barge. She outlived Henry, and eventually went to live in a convent, although she kept in touch with her children, especially Edward.

1533 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk, died in England at age 37. She was the youngest child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and sister Henry VIII. In late 1514, she was married to Louis XII of France against her will. The marriage only lasted for three months when Louis suddenly died. Henry sent his friend, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, whom the Princess married in secret. After they paid a fine, they were allowed at court and returned to royal favor. Mary and Charles had children, and through their daughter, Frances, Mary was the grandmother of the ill-fated Jane Grey, the Nine Days Queen of England.

Have a great day!

May 2nd

02 Thursday May 2013

Posted by samanthaimperiatrix in Daily Posts

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Tags

Catherine the Great, Danish Royalty, German Royalty, Greek Royalty, Romanian Royalty, Russian royalty, The Hanovers, The Stuarts, The Tudors, Wives of Henry VIII

Events:
1536 – Today in 1536, Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, and second wife of Henry VIII was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. She was accused of adultery, which was treason, and incest with her brother George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford. She was taken to the same apartments within the Tower that she stayed in for her coronation.

1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots escaped from imprisonment at Loch Leven Castle. She had been there since her abdication the previous year. Less than two weeks later, she would raise an army to regain her crown, but would be defeated. Mary then fled south, into England, looking for support from her cousin, Elizabeth I of England.

1816 – Princess Charlotte, daughter of the future George IV and Caroline of Brunswick, married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The marriage was a love match, and the young couple were quite devoted to each other. Sadly the marriage only lasted just over a year, when Charlotte died after delivering a stillborn boy. Leopold went on to be King of Belgium, and advisor to Charlotte’s niece, Victoria.

Birthdays:
1729 – Sophie Friederike Auguste is born to the royal house of Anhalt in Germany. We know her better today as Catherine II, Empress of Russia, or Catherine the Great. She married the future Peter III of Russia in 1745, and 1762, they ascended to the throne. However Peter only lasted 6 months, before he was overthrown and killed in favour of just Catherine alone. She would rule until her death in 1796. Her time as ruler is considered to be one of the Golden Ages of Russian history and she continued Peter the Great’s efforts to modernize Russia, leaving it a world player at her death. Despite being German born, she went to great lengths to be accepted by the Russian people, and by several accounts, she was.

1896 – Helen of Greece and Denmark is born in Athens. She was the daughter of the future King Constantine I of Greece and Queen Sophie. Her three brothers, George, Alexander, and Paul would all become kings of Greece. In 1920 she married Romanian Crown Prince Carol, and together they had once child, the future Michael I of Romania. In 1925, her husband renounced his claim to the throne and ran off with his mistress. They divorced officially in 1928, but Helen remained in Romania with her son until she went into self imposed exile. Helen bounced back and forth between Romania and Italy until her son’s abdication in 1947.

No major deaths.

March 11th

11 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by samanthaimperiatrix in Daily Posts

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Tags

Catherine the Great, Danish Royalty, Russian royalty, The Stuarts

Events:
1706 – Queen Anne refuses to give the Royal Assent to the Scottish Militia Bill from Parliament. This was the last time a British monarch would use veto power.

Birthdays:
1899 – Frederick IX of Denmark is born as the son of Christian X. His great-grandfather was ruling the Danes at the time as Christian IX. He would become King in 1947 after the death of his father, and serving as regent for him in 1942 and 1943. He would rule until his death in 1972 and oversee the post-war modernization of Denmark. He would not have sons, so his brother was his heir until 1953, when the laws of succession were changed to allow his daughter, Margarethe II, to become Queen.

Deaths:
1801 – Paul I of Russia was assassinated late at night by some nobles and military officers. They stormed into his room and found him hiding behind some drapes. They tried to force him to sign an order of abdication in favour of his son, Alexander I, but he refused. He was then run through with a sword. He had upset the noble classes with his policies which ended up favouring the serfs. He was the only child of Catherine the Great, and had ruled for only 5 years.

Have an awesome day!!

February 21st

21 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by samanthaimperiatrix in Daily Posts

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Tags

Belgian royalty, Catherine the Great, German Royalty, Napoleon, Norwegian Royalty, Not So Dead Royalty, Romanovs, Russian royalty, Scottish Royalty

Events:
1613 – The Russian National Assembly declares Mikhail Romanov to be Tsar of Russia. He was the founder of the Romanov dynasty that would rule Russia for the next 300 years.

Birthdays:
1728 – The future Peter III of Russia is born in Kiel. He was a grandson of Peter I and nephew to Empress Elizabeth. He would marry a minor German princess who would convert to Russian Orthodoxy upon their marriage and would take the name Catherine. They would have a son, named Paul, who, later, after his death, would claim that Peter was not the boy’s father. Peter would be overthrown after just 6 months as Tsar, and replaced by his wife, who went on the become one the most famous Russian monarchs of history.

1783 – Princess Catharina is born to the Royal family of Wurttemberg in Russia. She would later become Queen consort of Westphalia, a Kingdom created by Napoleon Bonaparte, out of Germany, for his brother Jerome to rule. The kingdom would fall with the Bonaparte family, and Catharina would live out her days in Switzerland.

1937 – In not so dead royals, the future Harald V of Norway is born to King Olav V and Queen Martha. He is the current King and acceded the throne in 1991. He is closely related to most other European monarchs, as a first cousin to Albert II of Belgium and Henri of Luxembourg, and a second cousin of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Margarethe II of Denmark, and Carl XVI of Sweden.

1986 – Also in not so dead royals, Prince Amadeo of Belgium is born. He is a grandson of King Albert II and is seventh in line to the Belgian throne.

Deaths:
1437 – James I is assassinated by his uncle in a failed attempt to overthrow him. He was unpopular due to his policies with the commoners and his attacks against the nobility. He had become King at age 12, and spent 18 years in captivity under the regency of his uncle, the Duke of Albany.

Have a great day!

November 29th

29 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by samanthaimperiatrix in Daily Posts

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Austrian Royalty, Catherine the Great, Chinese Royalty, French Royalty, German Royalty, holy roman emperor, Plantagenets

Events:
800 – Charlemagne arrived in Rome to mediate a council between Pope Leo III and several men who accused the pope of perjury and adultery. The actual council would being two days later.

Birthdays:
1338 – Lionel, Duke of Clarence and Baron of Connaught was born to Edward III of England and Phillippa of Hainault while they were in Antwerp. He served most of his time in Ireland, but the young Geoffrey Chaucer spent time as a page in Lionel’s household. His descendants would claim the throne later as the House of York.

1690 – The minor German Prince, Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst is born. Christian is most well know by his oldest daughter, who was born Sophie Auguste Frederika, but is known to history as Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia.

1835 – Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi is born. She would first be an imperial concubine, and gave birth to a future Emperor becoming his regent later, then was also able to install her nephew as Emperor after her son’s death. She is still a controversial figure in China’s Imperial history.

Deaths:
1314 – Phillip IV of France, or Phillip the Fair died at age 46 after a hunting accident. Earlier in the year, Phillip proceeded with the suppression of the Knights Templar, including the seizure of their goods, and the buring of their leader, Jacques DeMolay. DeMolay professed his innocence and cursed both the Pope and Phillip to die before the year was out. They both died before the end of 1314.

1378 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor died in Prague at age 62. He was popular for his patronage and gifts to the artisitc communities. He is still regarded as Father of the Country in the Czech Republic.

1780 – Maria Theresa of Austria died of a short illness in Vienna in her early sixties. She had been the Queen Regnant of Austria and all the Hapsburg realms, and then Holy Roman Empress upon marriage to Francis I. She was a formidable woman who continued to rule as co-sovereign with her sons. Among her children, she numbers two Holy Roman Emperors, a Queen of Naples and Sicily, and one ill-fated French Queen named Marie Antionette.

Have a great day!!

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