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King Carl XV of Sweden/King Karl IV of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

May 3, 1152 – Death of Matilda of Boulogne, Queen of England, wife of King Stephen of England, at Hedingham Castle in Essex, England; buried at Faversham Abbey in Kent, England
When Stephen’s uncle, King Henry I of England, died, Stephen quickly crossed from Boulogne to England, seized power in England, and was crowned King of England. Empress Matilda, Henry I’s only surviving child, did not give up her claim to England and Normandy, leading to the long civil war known as The Anarchy between 1135 and 1153. During the civil war, Matilda of Boulogne was her husband’s strongest supporter. Matilda of Boulogne was as strong and resourceful as Stephen was weak and indecisive. Perhaps if she had not died in 1152 and her husband had not lost his strongest supporter, the result of the civil war would have turned out differently.
Unofficial Royalty: Matilda of Boulogne, Queen of England

May 3, 1257 – Death of Katherine of England, daughter of King Henry III of England, at Windsor Castle; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
The description by 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris that Katherine was “‘mute and useless though with a most beautiful face” has often been interpreted to mean that she had an intellectual disability or degenerative disease. However, it may indicate that Katherine had a stammer or some other speech impediment. There is much disagreement on what disease or disability Katherine may have had, or if she had one at all. Contemporary evidence suggests that the reaction of Katherine’s parents to her illnesses followed a similar reaction to the illnesses of her siblings and that Katherine was treated no differently than her siblings, suggesting that there were no serious or long-term health concerns. Katherine did have some illness during the spring of 1257, which resulted in her death on May 3, 1257, when she was three and a half years old. Her parents, King Henry III and Queen Eleanor, deeply mourned her death and were emotionally distraught.
Unofficial Royalty: Katherine of England

May 3, 1415 – Birth of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, mother of King Edward IV and King Richard III of England, at Raby Castle in Durham, England
A great-granddaughter of King Edward III of England, Cecily Neville was the wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, also a great-grandchild of King Edward III, who was a claimant to the English throne and the leader of the Yorkist faction during the Wars of the Roses. She was also the mother of King Edward IV of England and King Richard III of England, the grandmother of the ill-fated King Edward V of England, and the great-grandmother of King Henry VIII of England. Cecily outlived all but two of her twelve children. She was alive when her granddaughter Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV, married Henry Tudor, who had defeated her son King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 and then succeeded to the English throne by right of conquest as King Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch. Cecily was alive when her granddaughter Elizabeth of York gave birth to her first three children, Cecily’s great-grandchildren, Arthur, Prince of Wales, Margaret Tudor, and King Henry VIII. Through Margaret Tudor, who married James IV, King of Scots, Cecily is an ancestor of the British royal family and many other European royal families.
Unofficial Royalty: Cecily Neville, Duchess of York

May 3, 1446 – Birth of Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, sister of King Edward IV and King Richard III of England, wife of Charles I, Duke of Burgundy, at Fotheringay Castle in Fotheringay, England
The daughter of Cecily Neville (above) and Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, Margaret married Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, after the death of his second wife, Isabella of Bourbon. Margaret and Charles were half-second cousins. They were both great-grandchildren of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the third surviving son of King Edward III, but from different wives of John. Margaret and Charles had no children, but Margaret was the stepmother to Charles’s daughter and successor, Mary, Duchess of Burgundy. After Charles the Bold’s death, Margaret proved invaluable to Burgundy. Regarded as skillful and intelligent, Margaret provided guidance and advice to her stepdaughter, Mary, using her own experiences in the court of her brother, King Edward IV of England.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy

May 3, 1514 – Death of Anna of Brandenburg, Duchess of Schleswig and Holstein, first wife of King Frederik I of Denmark and Norway, in Kiel, Duchy of Schleswig and Holstein, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein; buried at the Convent Church in Bordesholm, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Anna died before her husband became King of Denmark and Norway, but she was the mother of his heir. She often accompanied her husband on his travels, and she was very popular with the people of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Having two children during her teenage years weakened Anna’s health. She contracted tuberculosis and died, aged 26, while six months pregnant with her third child.
Unofficial Royalty: Anna of Brandenburg, Duchess of Schleswig and Holstein

May 3, 1764 – Birth of Madame Elisabeth of France, sister of King Louis XVI of France, at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France
Full name: Élisabeth Philippine Marie Hélène
Elisabeth was devoted to her brother King Louis XVI, and with his permission, declined all marriage offers so that she could remain in France. She accompanied her brother and his family to imprisonment in the notorious Temple. On May 9, 1794, Elisabeth was transferred to the Conciergerie, where she was tried and condemned to be executed the next day.  She was executed by the guillotine at the Place de la Révolution in Paris (now called Place de la Concorde) with 23 other people.  A very religious person, Elisabeth comforted and prayed with several others awaiting execution.
Unofficial Royalty: Madame Elisabeth of France

May 3, 1783 – Death of Prince Octavius, son of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Kew Palace in Surrey, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
Smallpox was a leading cause of death in the 18th century. By having their children inoculated against smallpox, King George III and Queen Charlotte were trying to protect them and starting down the long road that would eventually eradicate this terrible disease.  Before Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine that contained the cowpox virus, variolation, first seen in China in the fifteenth century, was another way to protect against smallpox. Live smallpox virus in the liquid taken from a smallpox blister in a mild case of the disease was inoculated into a cut of a healthy person who developed a very mild case of smallpox.  About 3% of those inoculated developed a severe case of smallpox and died, but that was preferable to catching smallpox with its mortality rate of 20–40% and scarred survivors. In April 1783, Octavius and his sister Sophia had their smallpox inoculations. Sophia recovered without incident, but four-year-old Octavius became ill and died several days later, on May 3, 1783.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Octavius of Great Britain
Unofficial Royalty: Smallpox Knew No Class Boundaries

May 3, 1826 – Birth of King Carl XV of Sweden/King Karl IV of Norway at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
Full name: Carl Ludwig Eugen
Upon his father’s death in 1859, Carl ascended to the thrones of Sweden as King Karl XV, and of Norway as King Karl IV. He was crowned in Sweden on May 3, 1860, and in Norway on August 5, 1860. Despite his abrupt manner, he is noted as one of the most successful  Swedish sovereigns. During his reign, he oversaw the enactment of communal law, ecclesiastical law, and criminal law, and in 1858, he passed the law of legal majority for unmarried women
Unofficial Royalty: King Carl XV of Sweden/King Karl IV of Norway

May 3, 1870 – Birth of Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Frogmore House in Windsor, England
Full name: Victoria Louise Sophia Augusta Amelia Helena
Helena Victoria, known as Thora, was the daughter of Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. Thora never married and remained at home. Following her mother’s example, Thora was involved in many charities and organizations. These included the YMCA, YWCA, and Princess Christian’s Nursing Home in Windsor (established by her mother). She was also, with her sister Marie Louise, an avid supporter of the arts, and often held small concerts and performances at their various homes. Like her mother, Thora also assisted her aunt Beatrice in serving as an unofficial secretary to Queen Victoria. In the last few months of the Queen’s life, she often dictated her journal to Helena Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein

May 3, 1905 – Birth of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne from 1955 until he died in 1996, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria
Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, was Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne from 1955 until he died in 1996. He was the eldest surviving grandson of the last reigning King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, and also the heir to the Jacobite succession.
Unofficial Royalty: Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

May 3, 1918 – Death of Princess Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg, wife of Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony; buried at the Bückeburg Mausoleum in the park surrounding Bückeburg Castle
In 1882, Maria Anna married the future Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, and the couple had nine children. Upon the death of his father in 1893, Maria Anna’s husband, Georg, became the reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. As Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, Maria Anna supported churches and schools. Maria Anna’s husband died in 1911, and Marie Anna survived her husband by seven years, dying on May 3, 1918, at age 54.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg, Princess of Schaumberg-Lippe

May 3, 1974 – Birth of Princess Haya bint Hussein, daughter of King Hussein of Jordan and his third wife Queen Alia al-Hussein, in Amman, Jordan
A skilled equestrian, Princess Haya was the first female to represent Jordan internationally in show jumping. She won individual bronze at the 1992 Pan Arab Games, becoming the first female to win a Pan-Arab medal in equestrian sports. She was named Equestrian Personality of the Year in 1996 by the Spanish Equestrian Federation. In 2000, she competed in the Sydney Olympic Games and was the flag-bearer for the Jordanian athletes. In 2004, Haya became the junior wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emir of Dubai, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. The couple had two children. Sheikh Mohammed divorced Princess Haya under Sharia Law in February 2019, but did not inform Haya. In the early summer of 2019, Princess Haya took her two children and fled to London, where she sought political asylum. In 2021, Princess Haya was granted full custody of her children by a British court. In March 2022, the British High Court declared that Princess Haya had been a victim of “domestic abuse”, and she was announced as the sole person in charge of the children’s schooling and medical care.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Haya bint Hussein

May 3, 1986 – Birth of Jack Brooksbank, husband of Princess Eugenie of York, born at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, Lambeth, England
Full name: Jack Christopher Stamp
Jack and Eugenie are third cousins twice removed via their mutual descent from Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester. They were married on October 12, 2018, at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. The couple has two sons.
Unofficial Royalty: Jack Brooksbank

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Helen of Greece, Queen Mother of Romania Credit – Wikipedia

May 2, 1729 – Birth of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, born Princess Sophie  of Anhalt-Zerbst, in Stettin, Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia, now Szczecin, Poland
Never destined at birth to be a monarch or even married to a monarch, Princess Sophie Auguste Friederike of Anhalt-Zerbst achieved both. She married Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich (born Carl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp), the grandson of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia, and the successor of his unmarried aunt Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia, as Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. A conspiracy to overthrow Peter was planned and centered around the five Orlov brothers. After a reign of five months, Peter III was deposed, died under circumstances that remain unclear, and his wife became Catherine II, Empress of All Russia, now known as Catherine the Great. During Catherine’s reign, Russia grew larger and stronger and was recognized as one of the great powers of Europe.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia

May 2, 1816 – Wedding of Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, later Leopold I, King of the Belgians, at Carlton House in London, England
In 1814, the handsome Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (after 1826, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) visited London and met Charlotte. It was love at first sight. The newlywed couple settled at Claremont House, which the British nation had purchased by an Act of Parliament as a wedding gift for Charlotte and Leopold. Charlotte was second in the line of succession to the British throne and would have succeeded her father, the future George IV, as Queen, but on November 6, 1817, a great tragedy struck the British Royal Family.  After a labor of over 50 hours, Charlotte delivered a stillborn son. Several hours later, twenty-one-year-old Princess Charlotte, the only child of George, Prince of Wales, and King George III’s only legitimate grandchild, died of postpartum hemorrhage.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Wales
Unofficial Royalty: Leopold I, King of the Belgians

May 2, 1896 – Birth of Princess Helen of Greece, Queen Mother of Romania, wife of King Carol II of Romania, in Athens, Greece
Helen’s marriage to Carol was unsuccessful, and the couple divorced. She was the Queen Mother of Romania during the reign of her son, King Michael. Helen was noted for her humanitarian efforts to save Romanian Jews during World War II, which led to her being named Righteous Among the Nations by Israel.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Helen of Greece, Queen Mother of Romania

May 2, 1914 – Death of John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, husband of Princess Louise of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria, at Kent House in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England; buried at St. Munn’s Parish Church in Kilmun, Scotland
In 1878, Lorne, as he was called, was appointed Governor-General of Canada, where he served for five years. Lorne and his wife, Princess Louise, traveled extensively throughout Canada, bringing a royal touch to the country. From 1892 until his death, he was the Governor and Constable of Windsor Castle, appointed by his mother-in-law, Queen Victoria. Although more of a title than an actual job, Lorne took the position very seriously. He wrote an extensive history of the castle – The Governor’s Guide to Windsor Castle.
Unofficial Royalty: John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll

May 2, 1938 – Birth of King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho in Morija, Basutoland, now in Lesotho
Moshoeshoe II was Paramount Chief of Basutoland (the former name of Lesotho) from 1960 – 1965 and King of Lesotho from 1965 – 1990. The Kingdom of Lesotho is a country completely within South Africa’s borders. In December 1990, King Moshoeshoe II  was deposed, and his elder son became king, reigning as King Letsie III. Letsie III was embarrassed at being king while his father was still alive, and tried to persuade the government to reinstate his father as king. In August 1994, he enacted a new coup d’état with the army. Having obtained power, Letsie promised to return power to the previous government on the condition that Moshoeshoe II would return to being King of Lesotho. Moshoeshoe II’s second reign was brief. In the Maloti Mountains in Lesotho, Moshoeshoe’s car plunged off a mountain road during the early hours of January 15, 1996, killing him and his chauffeur.
Unofficial Royalty: King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho

May 2, 2015 – Birth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, daughter of Prince William, The Prince of Wales, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, England
Full name: Charlotte Elizabeth Diana
Regardless of the gender of any younger siblings, Princess Charlotte will retain her place in the line of succession to the British throne until her older brother has children. The Succession to the Crown Act 2013, which formally went into effect on March 26, 2015, put in place absolute primogeniture, which means that for those born after October 28, 2011, the eldest child becomes the heir to his or her parent, regardless of gender. With the birth of her younger brother, Prince Louis, in 2018, Charlotte became the first British princess not to be overtaken in the line of succession by her younger brother.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Wales

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Isabel of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

May 1, 1118 – Death of Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England, first wife of King Henry I of England, at the Palace of Westminster in London, England; probably buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
In 1100, Matilda, the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and his second wife, Saint Margaret of Scotland, married King Henry I of England. Matilda and Henry had four children, but only two survived childhood. Matilda accompanied her husband in his travels throughout England and Normandy. She was a patron of music and poetry and commissioned a biography of her mother, The Life of Saint Margaret, attributed to Turgot of Durham. Influenced by her abbey upbringing and her mother, Saint Margaret of Scotland, Matilda was pious and generous to the poor. She died when she was about the age of 38 on May 1, 1118, at the Palace of Westminster in London. Matilda’s burial place is uncertain. One tradition says that she was buried in the old monastery at Winchester Cathedral and that, around 1158, Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, had her remains placed in a mortuary chest now lost. Another tradition says Matilda was buried in Westminster Abbey at the entrance of the chapter house and then later reburied to the south of Edward the Confessor’s shrine by King Henry III.
Unofficial Royalty: Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England

May 1, 1539 – Death of Isabel of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Spain wife of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor/Carlos I, King of Spain and mother of King Felipe II of Spain, in Toledo, Spain; originally buried in the Royal Chapel of Granada in Spain, later her remains were moved to buried to the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain
Isabella, Infanta of Portugal, was the wife of her first cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who was also King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among many other titles. Charles and Isabella had five children, but only three survived to adulthood. Their son Felipe would become King of Spain (1555 – 1598), King of Portugal (1581 – 1598), King of Naples and Sicily (1554 – 1598), Duke of Milan (1540 – 1598), Lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands (1555 – 1598) and jure uxoris (by right of his wife) King of England and Ireland during his marriage to his second wife Queen Mary I of England from 1554 until Mary died in 1558. Isabella and Charles’ happy marriage lasted for thirteen years. In 1539, during the third month of Isabella’s seventh pregnancy, she developed a fever, causing her to miscarry. The fever caused her condition to worsen, and Isabella died two weeks later in Toledo, Spain, on May 1, 1539, aged thirty-five.
Unofficial Royalty: Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Spain, Holy Roman Empress

May 1, 1850 – Birth of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Arthur William Patrick Albert
Prince Arthur’s first two names were given in honor of his two godfathers: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Commander of the Coalition Army that defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and a former Prime Minister (the prince was born on the Duke’s 81st birthday), and Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (later Wilhelm I, German Emperor, King of Prussia). Patrick was chosen to show his parents’ gratitude for the hospitality of the Irish people during their visit the previous year, and Albert, as his father, Prince Albert, wrote, “…Victoria’s love has always insisted on my name to finish up with.” Arthur was very much like his father in looks and was obedient, conscientious, and disciplined. He was Victoria’s favorite son: “This child is dear, dearer than any of the others put together, [after Albert] the dearest and most precious object to me on earth.” In 1879, Arthur married Princess Luise Margarete of Prussia, and the couple had three children. In 1911, in order to strengthen the links between the British monarchy and Canada, Arthur was appointed the first Governor-General of Canada, who was a member of the Royal Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught

May 1, 1869 – Birth of Prince Friedrich Karl, Landgrave of Hesse, husband of Princess Margarete of Prussia, at his family’s estate Gut Panker in Plön, Holstein, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Full name: Friedrich Karl Ludwig Konstantin
Known as Fischy, he married Princess Margarete of Prussia, a daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia, and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. They had six sons, including two sets of twins. Two of their sons were killed in action during World War I, and one was killed in action during World War II.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Friedrich Karl, Landgrave of Hesse

May 1, 1920 – Death of Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, born Princess Margaret of Connaught, wife of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Royal Burial Ground in Haga, Sweden
Margaret was the daughter of Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. In 1905, Margaret married the future King Gustaf VI Adolf, then Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Skåne. The couple had four sons and one daughter, and the Danish and Swedish Royal Families are the descendants of Margaret and Gustaf Adolf. Margaret was eager to learn the Swedish language and history, endearing her to the Swedish public. During World War I in neutral Sweden, Margaret organized supply drives and acted as a go-between for her relatives whose Allied and Axis countries were divided by the war. In 1907, when Gustaf Adolf’s grandfather, King Oscar II, died and his father became King Gustaf V, Gustaf Adolf and Margaret became the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden. Margaret was eight months pregnant with her sixth child in 1920 when she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection set in, killing Margaret, at the age of 38, and her unborn child on May 1, 1920, her father’s 70th birthday. Her family, along with the Swedish and British public, mourned her death greatly.
Unofficial Royalty: Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden

May 1, 1963 – Birth of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, at Betzdorf Castle in Betzdorf,  Luxembourg
Full name: Guillaume Marie Louis Christian
Guillaume is the youngest of the five children of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. In 1994, he married Sibilla Weiller, a distant cousin. Sibilla is a descendant of Queen Victoria via her youngest child, Princess Beatrice. She is a granddaughter of Infanta Beatriz of Spain and a second cousin of King Felipe VI of Spain. Guillaume and his wife have four children. They live in Luxembourg and often attend the major events in the Grand Duchy and family functions.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg

May 1, 1964 – Birth of Lady Sarah Chatto, daughter of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom, born Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones at Kensington Palace in London, England
Full name: Sarah Frances Elizabeth
Sarah attended Bedales School, where she developed an interest in art. This interest led her to attend the Camberwell College of Arts, followed by coursework in Printed Textiles at Middlesex Polytechnic, before completing her studies at the Royal Academy Schools, where she won the Winsor & Newton Prize for emerging artists in painting and drawing in 1988 and the Creswick Landscape Prize in 1990.  Sarah continues to pursue her career as a painter. In 1994, Sarah married Daniel Chatto, and the couple had two sons. Sarah and her family typically attend all the family functions and often spend the holidays with the Royal Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Lady Sarah Chatto

May 1, 2019 – Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan as the 126th Emperor of Japan after the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Naruhito of Japan
Unofficial Royalty: Ceremonies: Abdication of Emperor Akihito and Accession and Enthronement of Emperor Naruhito

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Queen Mary II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

April 30, 1553 – Birth of Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, Queen of France, wife of King Henri III of France, in Nomeny, France
Shortly after her marriage to King Henri III, Louise suffered a miscarriage with complications, and she never had children. However, Louise and Henri did not give up on the idea of ​​having children. They went on many pilgrimages and took thermal cures in the hope of having an heir. Despite Henri’s affairs, Louise and Henri both loved each other, and Louise did an admirable job with her duties as Queen of France. Their marriage lasted fourteen years until King Henri III was assassinated. After the assassination, Louise became permanently depressed, always dressed in white, the traditional mourning color of French queens, and was nicknamed the “White Queen.” The walls of her bed-chamber were all black, and the décor was all symbols of mourning. On January 29, 1601, Louise died at the Château de Moulins at the age of 47.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, Queen of France

April 30, 1587 – Birth of Éléonore de Bourbon-Condé, Princess of Orange, wife of Filips Willem, Prince of Orange, in St-Jean-d’Angély, Saintonge, France
Éléonore was the elder of the two children of Henri I, Prince de Condé, and his second wife, Charlotte Catherine de La Tremoille. The House of Condé was a French princely house and a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon. The title of Prince of Condé was originally assumed around 1557 by Éléonore’s grandfather, Louis de Bourbon,  a prominent Huguenot (French Protestant) leader and general, and first cousin of King Henri IV of France. His male-line descendants held the title. In 1606, 19-year-old Éléonore married 51-year-old Filips Willem, Prince of Orange, son of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange, and his first wife Anna van Egmont. Éléonore and Filips Willem had a happy marriage despite their age difference and the absence of children.
Unofficial Royalty: Éléonore de Bourbon-Condé, Princess of Orange

April 30, 1632 – Death of King Sigismund III Vasa of Sweden at Warsaw, Poland; buried at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland
Sigismund was the son of Johan III, King of Sweden, and his first wife, Katarina Jagellonica of Poland. He was not only King of Sweden but also King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania through his mother. Sigismund, who was Catholic, was deposed in 1599 as King of Sweden by his Protestant uncle, who reigned as King Karl IX of Sweden. He lived the remainder of his life in Poland.
Unofficial Royalty: King Sigismund III Vasa of Sweden

April 30, 1662 – Birth of Queen Mary II of England at St. James’ Palace in London, England
Mary was the elder of the two surviving children (the other was Queen Anne) of King James II of England and his first wife, Anne Hyde.  Mary married her first cousin, Willem III, Prince of Orange, who followed Mary and her sister Anne in the line of succession to the English throne. In 1688, Mary’s father, King James II, was deposed in the Glorious Revolution, and Mary and her husband William became joint sovereigns as King William III and Queen Mary II.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Mary II of England

April 30, 1837 – Death of Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany; buried in the Ducal Crypt Chapel in the Meiningen municipal cemetery until 1977 when her remains were removed from the chapel, cremated, and buried elsewhere in the cemetery
Luise Eleonore and her husband were the parents of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the wife of King William IV of the United Kingdom. When her husband died, and their three-year-old son became the reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, Luise Eleonore became Regent and is credited with steering the duchy through some very difficult times.
Unofficial Royalty: Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

April 30, 1857 – Death of Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Gloucester House in Piccadilly, London, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Princess Mary was one of the three of the six daughters of King George III who eventually married.  At the age of 48, she married her paternal first cousin, Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the son of King George III’s brother, Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh. Mary was a great favorite with all the members of the royal family, particularly with her niece, Queen Victoria. She died at age 81, the longest-lived and the last survivor of her parents’ fifteen children. Mary also has the distinction of being the only child of King George III to be photographed, in a photo with her niece, Queen Victoria, and two of Victoria’s children, Princess Alice and the Prince of Wales (future Edward VII), which can be seen in the article linked below.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester

April 30, 1881- Birth of Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, in Vienna, Austria
Full name: Dorothea Maria Henriette Auguste Louise
Through her mother, Dorothea was a granddaughter of King Leopold II of the Belgians. Dorothea and her husband had no children of their own, but they adopted Princess Marie Luise and Prince Johann Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the children of Prince Albrecht of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his first wife, Countess Ortrud of Ysenburg and Büdingen.
Unofficial Royalty: Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein

April 30, 1882 – Death of Marie of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Princess of Württemberg,  first wife of King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, at Ludwigsburg Palace in Ludwigsburg, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried at the Old Cemetery on the grounds of Ludwigsburg Palace
Marie was the sister of Emma, who married King Willem III of the Netherlands, and Helena, who married Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.  On April 24, 1882, Marie gave birth to her third child, a stillborn daughter, and suffered serious complications. She died six days later.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Princess of Württemberg

April 30, 1909 – Birth of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands
April 30, 1980 – Abdication of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands; her daughter Beatrix becomes queen
Full name: Juliana Emma Louise Wilhelmina
Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her husband, Prince Hendrik of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.  After a reign of nearly 58 years, Queen Wilhelmina abdicated in favor of her daughter, and Juliana became Queen of the Netherlands. Juliana was a much more relaxed monarch than her mother had been, and this lessened the distance between the royal family and the Dutch people. She often appeared in public dressed like any ordinary Dutch woman, and preferred to be addressed as “Mevrouw” (Dutch for “Mrs.”) rather than her formal “Majesty”. Juliana’s love of bicycling for exercise gave rise to the royal family’s nickname, “the cycling family.”
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Juliana of the Netherlands

April 30, 1946 – Birth of King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden at Haga Palace in Solna, Sweden
Full name: Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus
Carl Gustaf is a descendant of Queen Victoria through both of his parents.  His paternal grandmother was Princess Margaret of Connaught, daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.  His maternal grandfather was Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the posthumous son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria’s youngest son.  On April 26, 2018, King Carl  XVI Gustaf became the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history, surpassing King Magnus IV, who reigned for 44 years and 222 days from July 8, 1319, to February 15, 1364.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden

April 30, 1991 – Death of Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco, wife of Prince Louis II of Monaco; buried at the Cimetiere de Passy in Paris, France
Ghislaine was an actress working at the famed Comédie-Française in Paris before meeting Prince Louis II. She had been married twice before. Members of the royal family questioned her motives and viewed her as an opportunist and a gold-digger. Prince Louis died less than three years after their marriage and was succeeded by his grandson, Prince Rainier III. In his will, Louis had left half of his estate to Ghislaine, but Rainier and his sister Antoinette contested this, and the will was overturned.  Ghislaine lived the rest of her life in Paris but developed a close relationship with Prince Rainier III’s wife, Princess Grace.
Unofficial Royalty: Ghislaine Marie Francoise Dommanget, Princess of Monaco

April 30, 2013 – Abdication of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands; her son Willem-Alexander becomes King
Following in the footsteps of her mother, Queen Juliana, and grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina, Queen Beatrix also abdicated in favor of her heir. Her official title after her abdication is Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

April 30, 2019 – Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicates in favor of his son Naruhito
In 2016, Emperor Akihito gave a televised speech emphasizing his advanced age and declining health that was interpreted as a desire to abdicate.  In 2017, the National Diet, the Japanese legislature, passed a bill allowing Akihito to abdicate. On December 1, 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that Emperor Akihito would abdicate on April 30, 2019, in favor of his elder son, Crown Prince Naruhito. The last abdication occurred 200 years ago when Emperor Kōkaku abdicated in 1817.
Unofficial Royalty: Emperor Akihito of Japan
Unofficial Royalty: Ceremonies: Abdication of Emperor Akihito and Accession and Enthronement of Emperor Naruhito

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