June 7th

Events -

421 - Emperor Theodosius II of the Byzantine Empire married Aelis Eudocia in Constantinople. Theodosius and Eudocia were both important figures in the rise of Christianity during the early days of the Byzantine Empire.  Theodosius is mostly known for the Codex Theodosianus, which codified all the laws from the time of Constantine to Theodosius' time.  As Theodosius was increasingly interested in Christianity, a large part of his Codex dealt with implementing orthodoxy into the Church - during a time when the Arian Controversy was major issue for Christians - and 65 of the decrees in the Codex were directed specifically at heretics.  Eudocia's work is little considered today, but in her day it was important in understanding the rise of Christianity in Byzantium.  She drew from both her Greek heritage and Christianity in her most famous work, a Homeric centos, where she used Homeric themes from Iliad and Odyssey to interpret biblical passages from Genesis and New Testament stories of Jesus, using the familiar Homer to bring the tenets of Christianity to a people who were still fairly new to the religion.  Of the couple's three children, their only son died in infancy, one daughter died in childhood, and their surviving daughter married two emperors of the Western Roman Empire - Valentinian III and Petronus Maximus.

1654 - The man who would become the longest-reigning monarch in the Western world (72 years and 110 days) was crowned this day, 11 years after he had come to the throne at the age of five.  As the head of the preeminent power in Europe, he led France through three major wars and two minors one.  Although there is no proof that he ever said it, "L'État, c'est moi" summed up his ardent belief in the divine rights of Kings.  With his wife, Maria Theresa of Spain, of whom he said the only unease she had ever caused him was when she died, he had six children, none of whom would succeed him to the throne.  Only one of their children, Louis, know as le Grand Dauphin, survived to adulthood.  The Dauphin's early death of smallpox when he was 49 left the next generation as heirs to the throne.  Of the three sons of the Dauphin, the youngest was the Duke of Berry, the middle had become the King of Spain (as a result of the treaty that ended the War of Spanish Succession), and the oldest, the Duke of Burgundy, le Petit Dauphin, was now heir to France's throne.  As Burgundy had two sons himself, the succession seemed to be secure.  But then the Duke of Burgundy died in 1712 after catching measles from his dying wife.  Both their sons caught the disease, and the older of the two, Louis, Duke of Brittany, died as well.  The two-year-old Duke of Anjou, great grandson of Louis XIV, was now the only surviving heir in the direct line.  Then le Grand Dauphin's youngest son, Berry, died in 1714 in a hunting accident, making the next heir after the young Duke of Anjou the middle son of le Grand Dauphin - King Philip V of France (whose sudden interest in a throne he had renounced his claims to may have started another war in Europe).  Fortunately, Anjou's nurse kept the doctor's away from him, refusing to let them do any bloodletting, which is widely credited with saving his life.  Like his great grandfather, Anjou would come to the throne at the age of five as Louis XV.

1940 and 1945 - King Haakon VI, along with his son Crown Prince Olaf, arrived in London in exile after the Germans starting bombing government sites because Haakon and his government refused to appoint a Nazi sympathize as Prime Minister after Norway was invaded by the Nazis.  Haakon reported the ultimatum to the Council of State, which agreed unanimously with the King not to make the appointment.  The King, Prince and Council worked on staying one step ahead of the Germans hunting them until they could be safely evacuated to London.  The Nazi's attempted to force Parlament to force the King to abdicate, but the King refused. Exactly five years after they went into exile, Haakon and the government returned to Oslo on June 7, 1945 to cheering crowds.

1977 - The high day of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee draws 500 million people to television to watch the festivities.  35 years later, the Queen has just finished celebrating her Diamond Jubilee, making 60 years on the throne.

Born on this date -

1840 - Marie Charlotte Amélie Augustine Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine of Belgium, only daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium and Marie-Louise of France (daughter of future King Louis-Philippe I of France).  When she was 17, she married her second cousin, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, younger brother of Emperor Franz Josef.  Napoléon III, wishing to add Mexico to his empire, sought out Maximilian as a figurehead for the throne of Emperor of Mexico.  Maximilian agreed and Charlotte and her husband were crowned in 1864 as Emperor and Empress of Mexico.  After they were abandoned by the French, Charlotte returned to Europe seeking assistance to prop up their shaky throne.  After several refusals, she suffered an emotional collapse and never returned to Mexico.  In 1867, three years after their coronation, Maximilian was overthron and executed.  Living in seclusion after the death of her husband (one of her brother even had her declared insane), Charlotte died January 19, 1927 at the age of 86.

1907 - Sigvard Oscar Fredrik Bernadotte, son of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Margaret of Connaught.  He renounced his right to the throne in 1934 to marry a commoner.  He was one of Queen Victoria's longest-lived descendants when he died February 4, 2002 at the age of 94.

1969 - Joachim Holger Waldemar Christian of Denmark, younger son of Queen Margarthe II and Henrik, Prince Consort.  With his first wife, he is the father of two sons; with his second, he has a son and a daughter.

Died on this date -

1329 - King Robert I of Scotland, known as Robert the Bruce, aged 54.  Robert was born July 11, 1274 to Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale, and Marjorie, Countess of Carrick.  Robert and his father both initially sided with Edward I after John Balliol was picked as the new King of Scotland.  Robert's grandfather, the 5th Lord of Annandale, resigned his title over to his son possibly so he not to have to swear fealty to John.  The Bruces believed their claim to the throne was superior to the Balliol family.  After swearing fealty to Edward I of England, the younger Robert reneged on his oath and sided with the Scottish rebels in 1297.  Robert wavered between loyalty to Edward and loyalty to his country.  Robert finally choose Scotland when he had himself crowned King of Scotland in 1306.  The next few years were spent battling the English, until Scotland's independence was won militarily at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.  Ongoing conflicts with England and Ireland consumed much of his reign.  Robert died of what was believed at the time to be leprosy, although alternative explanations have been put forth.

1394 - Anne of Bohemia, Queen of England, aged 28 of the plague.  She was born to Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and Elizabeth of Pomerania on May 11, 1366.  She married Richard II of England in 1382, and despite the length of their marriage, they were to have no children.  Genuinely loved by her husband, her death is often cited as one of the causes that led down the path to eventually losing his throne.

1840 - King Friedrich William III of Prussia, aged 69.  He was born August 3, 1770 as the son of Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia and Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt.  He became King of Prussia at his father's death in 1797.  With his wife Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, he had 10 children, among whom were his two successors as King of Prussia and an Empress Consort of Russia.

2002 - Lillian, Princess of Réthy, aged 85.  She was born Mary Lilian Baels and became known for being the second wife of King Leopold III of Belgium.  They secretly married while Leopold was being held prisoner by the Germans in Laeken Castle.  The wedding was very controversial in Belgium - it was considered an insult to the late Queen Astrid and Lillian was considered little more than a social climber.  Before her death, Lillian had wanted to be buried at Argenteuil, but she was buried in the royal crypt beside her husband and his first wife.