June 11th

Events - 

1509 - King Henry VIII of England married Catherine of Aragon, thus beginning Henry's checkered marital history.  Catherine was the widow of Henry's older brother Arthur, but claimed that the marriage had never been consummated.  Soon after Arthur died, marriage between Henry and Catherine was already being discussed between Henry VII of England and Ferdinand II of Aragon, Henry having already spent a good portion of Catherine's dowry, which he would have had to return if her second marriage wasn't made to another member of his family.  There was even talk that Henry VII was thinking of marrying her himself, since he had only one living son.  Henry VII dithered on the proposed marriage, and died before matters could be resolved.  Henry VIII, who seemed to truly love Catherine at the time, married her as soon as feasible after his father's death (less than two months).  Catherine had no problem getting pregnant, but out of six pregnancies, she had two stillbirths (one boy, one girl), three babies of whom the longest lived was just under two months (two boys, one girl), and one surviving girl, Mary.  By the time of her last pregnancy, Catherine was already into her thirties.  Since England had never "technically" had a queen regnant (Empress Matilda was hardly in power long enough to count in the 1140s), Henry was obsessed with having a son.  In the mid-1520s, one of Catherine's ladies-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn, caught his eye and he began to look for ways to get out of his marriage.  He claimed he was being punished with no living sons because he had sinned in marrying his brother's widow, as well as suggesting the marriage was invalid because Catherine had consummated her marriage to Arthur.  Finally, after much protesting on Catherine's part and the reluctance of the Catholic Church to sanction an annulment, Henry's new Archbishop of Canterbury declared the marriage invalid - even though he had secretly married a pregnant Anne Boleyn four months earlier.  Catherine was more or less kept imprisoned in two castles, forbidden to see her daughter Mary, until she died, probably of cancer, in January 1536.  Ironically, the woman she had been tossed away for only survived her by four months.

Born on this date - 

1456 - Anne Neville, daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and Anne Beauchamp.  Along with her older sister Isabella, Anne would spend her childhood as a marriage pawn in her father's desire for power.  Warwick first encouraged relationships to develop between his daughters and the younger brothers of King Edward IV, George and Richard.  When Edward refused to grant permission for the marriages, Warwick had Isabella married to George, who remained on Warwick's side when he rebelled against Edward with the intent of putting George on the throne.  Richard, who remained on Edward's side in the conflict, was separated from Anne.  When it became obvious that putting George on the throne would not work, Warwick made a deal with Margaret of Anjou to help her regain the throne for her husband Henry VI, and offered his daughter Anne as wife for Margaret and Henry's son Edward.  Warwick did succeed in driving Edward IV and Richard from the kingdom and install Henry VI back on the throne, but Edward and Richard invaded England in the spring of 1470.  Warwick was killed in the Battle of Barnet on Easter Sunday, 1471.  The Lancastrians made a last stand at Tewkesbury at the beginning of May, but they were defeated and Edward, Prince of Wales, was killed, leaving Anne a widow.  Anne was taken into her sister and brother-in-law's home shortly afterwards, but disappeared under mysterious circumstances.   Theories behind the disappearance include George hiding her away to prevent Richard from marrying her, or Anne running away because George was threatening her, again to prevent her marriage to Richard.  The Neville sisters were their parents' only heirs and George didn't want to split the inheritance with Richard and Anne.  Richard eventually found her and took her to sanctuary, where George could not get to her.  Richard and Anne finally married in July 1472 and settled at their mutual childhood home of Middleham.  They lived contentedly there for 11 years with Richard as Lord of the North, trying to reconcile northern Lancastrians to Yorkist rule.  About a year after their marriage, Anne gave birth to their only son, Edward of Middleham.  After Richard became King of England when the marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville was declared invalid (making all their children bastards, and thus ineligible for the throne), Anne, who had been Princess of Wales through her first husband, was now Queen of England through her second.  Anne would not enjoy her time as Queen.  In April 1484, her only child died suddenly of what seems to be appendicitis.  Anne would die the following year at the age of 28, likely of tuberculosis.  There were rumors that Richard poisoned his wife so that he could take another who would give him sons, but Anne had been ailing for some time and contemporary reports indicate Richard was very grieved when she died.

1726 - María Teresa Antonia Rafaela of Spain, the second daughter of Philip V of Spain and Elizabeth Farnese.  Relations were tense between the French and Spanish royal courts, largely due to a broken engagement between Louis XV and Maria Teresa's older sister Mariana Victoria.  Maria Teresa was engaged to Louis XV's son Louis, while her brother Felipe of Spain was married to Louis' sister Louise Elisabeth of France.  Five years after her engagement was announced, Maria Teresa married Louis, the Dauphin by proxy in December 1844 and arrived in France two months later.  Although the marriage did not start off well - it went unconsummated for seven months - Louis and Maria Teresa seem to have fallen in love.  Nine months later, Maria Teresa gave birth to a daughter and died 3 days later in July 1746.  The Dauphin was so devastated that the King had to drag his son away from his wife's deathbed.  When the Dauphin died 19 years later, he requested that his heart be buried by his first wife.

1897 - Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova (Татьяна Николаевна), second daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Alix of Hesse.  For the second time, Alix had given birth to a daughter instead of the son Russia wanted, since girls could not inherit the throne.  Two more daughters followed after Tatiana's birth before the long-awaited heir was finally born.  Her sisters gave her the nickname "The Governess" as she was the practical and organized one.  They also said that if they needed a favor from their parents, Tatiana should be the one to ask for it.  After World War I began, Tatiana trained as a Red Cross nurse with her mother and older sister Olga.  At the outbreak of the revolution, Tatiana was sick at Alexander Palace with the rest of her siblings - that had all contracted measles.  Nicholas returned to the family soon after the abdication, and the family lived in fairly comfortable captivity at their home until August, when they were taken to Tobolsk in Siberia for protection.  While they were in Tobolsk, the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government in the October Revolution.  Soon, life became more difficult for the Romanovs, and they were told they were being moved to Moscow, presumably for trial.  However, Alexei was suffering a hemorrhage and was unable to travel.  Afraid of what might happen to Nicholas, Alix decided to travel with him and took Maria along to help take care of her.  Tatiana was left behind in charge of the household.  Nicholas and his party was diverted to Ekaterinburg by a bloodthirsty Ural Soviet which was anxious to take revenge on Nicholas.  The rest of the family joined them a few weeks later in Ekaterinburg.  Two months later, on July 17, 1918, Tatiana was murdered at the age of 21, along with her parents, four siblings, and four servants.  The bodies remained missing until a grave containing nine of the eleven bodies was excavated in 1991.  Tatiana's body was finally given a proper burial with the rest of the recovered bodies on July, 17, 1998, the 80th anniversary of the murders.

1928 - Fabiola de Mora y Aragón, daughter of Gonzalo de Mora y Fernández and Blanca de Aragón y Carrillo de Albornoz.  Fabiola married King Baudouin of Belgium on December 15, 1960.  Unfortunately, the new queen was unable to provide an heir to the throne, as all five of her pregnancies ended in miscarriage.  As a result, when her husband died in 1993, his younger brother Albert succeeded to the throne.  Although she reduced her appearances after her husbands death, she still does make appearances on behalf of the Royal Family.

1934 - Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat, son of André de Laborde de Monpezat and Renée Doursenot.  In June 1967, he married the heiress presumptive to the Danish throne, Princess Margarete.  The couple have two sons and eight grandchildren. 

1968 - Alois Philipp Maria von und zu Liechtenstein, the son of Prince Hans Adam II and Marie Aglaë Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau.  Their oldest son, Alois is the heir apparent to the Lichtenstein throne.  In preparation for his future responsibilities, Hans Adam II handed the day-to-day governmental power over to his son, although he remains head of state.  In July 1993, Alois married Duchess Sophie in Bavaria.  The couple has four children, the oldest of whom is second in line to the throne after his father.

Died on this date -

1183 - Henry of England, "the Young King", aged 28.  Henry was born on February 28, 1155 as the son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.  In June 1170, Henry was crowned king during his father's lifetime, following the custom on the continent.  Two years later, Henry married Margaret of France, daughter of Louis VII of France by his second wife.  Henry, who wanted his father to share the power, and not just the title, of king, rebelled against his father in 1173.  The civil war which resulted from this rebellion led to Eleanor of Aquitaine being kept a prisoner for the remainder of her husband's life.  Henry would predecease his father, contracting dysentery in Jun 1183 while on a campaign against his father and brother Richard.  Near the end, he asked for is father, but Henry II, suspecting a trick, refused to meet his son.  Henry did send men to ascertain his son's condition and to pass on a ring as a sign of the father's love.  Henry predeceased his own son William, who lived for a few days in 1177.  As a result, Richard became heir to the throne - although Henry kept him in suspense over whether he wasn't going to be bypassed - and became King when their father died.

1216 - Henry of Flanders, Emperor of the Latin empire of Constantinople, aged about 42.  He was born around 1174 as the son of Baldwin V of Hainault (also Baldwin VIII of Flanders) and Margaret I of Flanders.  He distinguished himself during the Fourth Crusade and was named regent of Constantinople when his older brother Baldwin was captured after the Battle of Adrianople.  Once word of Baldwin's death reached him, he ascended to the throne.  By his first wife, Agnes of Montferrat, he only had a stillborn child.  His second marriage, to Maria of Bulgaria, was childless.  Henry's death was allegedly caused by poison, possibly supplied by his second wife.

1488 - James III of Scotland, aged 36.  He was the son of King James II of Scotland and Mary of Guelders and was born on July 10, 1451.  He was nine when he ascended the throne after his father was killed by a misfiring cannon.  James married Margaret of Denmark in 1469 and had three sons, the oldest of whom would succeed his father as James IV.  James died at the Battle of Sauchieburn, fighting against a rebellious group of Scottish nobles, leading to the succession of yet another child king.

1557 - João III of Portugal, aged 55.  He was born the son of King Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon on June 7, 1502.  He succeeded his father as King in 1521 when he was 19.  Portugal during his reign was the first western country to make contact with China and Japan.  He married Catherine of Austria, a marriage which produced nine children.  None of his sons followed him as king, as they all predeceased him.  His successor was his grandson Sebastião I, son of his fifth son João, who ascended to the throne at three when João died of a stroke.

1727 - King George I of Great Britain, aged 67.  He was the son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, and Sofia von der Pfalz.  Sofia was the heir to the throne of Great Britain under the 1701 Act of Settlement, which barred Catholics and those married to Catholics from the throne.  Sofia predeceased Queen Anne by two months, leaving her claim to the British throne to her son, George.  George went back and forth between his two kingdoms, spending about a fifth of his time in Hanover.  It was while on a trip to Hanover that he had a stroke and died, being succeeded by his only son, George II.

1879 - Willem Nicolaas Alexander Frederik Karel Hendrik, Prince of Orange, aged 38. He was born on September 4, 1840, the son of King Willem III of the Netherlands and Sophie of Württemberg.  Willem was originally looked at by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a possible husband for their second daughter, Alice.  After those plans fell through, Willem fell in love with the non-royal Mathilde van Limburg-Stirum.  Even though she was from a noble family, his parents refused to allow the marriage, not seeing her as a suitable bride for their son.  Willem planned to marry Mathilde without permission, but since she was under 21, her parents still had to approve.  After her parents' lack of approval, Willem moved to Paris, where he led a dissipated life..  He died of typhus and liver problems.  After both Willem and his brother predeceased their father, the succession law in the Netherlands was changed to allow their half-sister Wilhelmina to succeed to the throne, which she did in 1890.

1903 - Alexander I of Serbia, aged 26 and Queen Draga of Serbia, aged 38.  He was the son of King Milan I of Serbia and Natalija Keşco and was born on August 14, 1876.  He unexpectedly came to the throne in 1889 when his father abdicated, with his mother as regent until he came of age.  When he was 16, he overthrew the regency and declared himself of age.  The following year, he made his father commander-in-chief of the army, in essence making him the country's ruler again.  Alexander's engagement to the widowed Draga Mašin (born September 11, 1864) in 1900 was very unpopular, both with his family and the country at large.  The marriage weakened the king in everyone's eyes.  When Alexander wished to name his wife's brother as his heir if their marriage was childless, a group of Army officers revolted and invaded the palace, murdering the King and Queen.  Eyewitnesses said that their mutilated bodies were thrown out a window onto a manure pile.  Alexander was replaced on the throne by Peter I, from the rival family of Karađorđević, which had ruled Serbia before the Obrenović family.

1914 - Adolf Friedrich V of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, aged 65.  He was born on July 22, 1848, the son of Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg and Augusta of Cambridge (granddaughter of King George III of Great Britain).  He became the grand duke on the death of his father in 1904, and at the time of his death, he was the second richest person in Germany after Kaiser Wilhelm II.  By his wife, Elisabeth of Anhalt, he had four children, including his heir Adolf Friedrich VI, who committed suicide four years later, a few months before the abolition of the monarchy.

June 10th

Born on this date - 

1688 - James Francis Edward Stuart, son of King James II of England and Mary of Modena.  James' birth was controversial in a country which wanted a Protestant back on the throne - some claimed that the King and Queen's son had been stillborn and another child substituted in his place, the so-called "warming pan baby".  Six months after his birth, his mother took him to France to protect him from those seeking to overthrow the Catholic James II.  The following day, James II was captured and imprisoned as he attempted to flee England, but was allowed to escape to France later that month.  When James II died in 1701, his son declared himself James III of England and VIII of Scotland, a title which was recognized in several Catholic countries in Europe.  The following year, just a few days before his half-sister Anne came to the throne, James was attained and his English titles considered forfeit.  In 1708, he attempted to invade Scotland, but was turned back.  It was suggested that had he been willing to convert to Protestantism, he might have been acceptable as next in line to the throne under the 1707 Act of Settlement, but James refused.  As a result, the throne passed under the Act to the son of Sophia of Hanover, the closest in the line of succession who was Protestant - George I.  In 1715, James finally landed in Scotland and planned to have himself crowned at Scone, but lack of support for his cause led him to leave the country again.  Since his patron King Louis XIV of France had passed away, James was no longer welcome in France and accepted the offer of a home in Rome from Pope Clement XI.  He married Maria Clementina Sobieska (granddaughter of the Polish King) in 1719 and had two son, each of whom succeeded to his claims to the English throne.  James died at the age of 77 on New Years' Day, 1766 in Rome and was buried in St. Peter's Basilica.  Had James actually ascended to the throne on his father's death, he would have ruled for over 64 years, longer than Queen Victoria (at 63+ years) and Queen Elizabeth II (at 60+ years), and the longest reigning monarch in British history.  Queen Elizabeth II will have to reign until May 23, 2016 to surpass his "reign."

1713 - Princess Caroline Elizabeth of Hanover, daughter of George, the Hereditary Prince of Hanover, and Caroline of Ansbach.  The year after her birth, Caroline's grandfather succeeded as King George I of England, making her father the Prince of Wales.  She became known as HRH Princess Caroline of Great Britain on her grandfather's ascension and HRH The Princess Caroline on the ascension of her father as George II.  Caroline died unmarried at the age of 44 on December 28, 1757 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

1825 - Hildegard Luise Charlotte Theresia Friederike von Bayern, the fourth daughter of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.  In 1844, she married Archduke Albrecht of Austria, giving birth to three children.  Her oldest daughter married the heir to the Kingdom of Würrtemberg, her only son died of smallpox at only a year old, and her younger daughter accidentally set herself on fire at the ag of 18 while trying to hid a lit cigarette from her father, who detested smoking.  The cigarette, hidden behind her back, set fire to her dress.  Fortunately, her mother did not live to see her daughter burn to death in front of her (as had the rest of the family) - while in Munich for the funeral of her brother Maximilian II of Bavaria, she became ill, dying the following month in Vienna on April 2, 1864.

1894 - Prince Igor Constantinovich of Russia (Игорь Константинович), the sixth child of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich (Константи́н Константи́нович) and Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg (Елизавета Маврикевна).  Igor served as a captain during World War II and was a decorated hero, but ill-health forced him away from the front.  After the Russian Revolution broke out in 1917, Igor was allowed a relative amount of freedom compared to some of the other Romanovs.  However, he was exiled to Siberia in April 1918, eventually joining up with two of his brothers (Ioann and Constantine), two cousins (Vladimir Paley and Sergei Mikhailovich) and a cousin by marriage (Grand Duchess Elisabeth).  They, along with two other companions, were murdered July 18, 1918 by being thrown down a mind shaft outside of Alapayevsk.  The bodies were discovered in October 1918 after the White Army retook the area from the Bolsheviks. 

1921 - Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, fifth child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Alice of Battenberg.  When he was a year old, revolution forced his family into exile, with Philip being smuggled out of the country in a fruit box.  The family settled just outside Paris, where Philip began school.  He was eventually sent to England to continue his schooling under the guardianship of his maternal grandmother, Victoria of Milford Haven and his uncle George Mountbatten.  He was separated from his immediately family during this time - all his sisters were now married and living in Germany, his mother diagnosed with schizophrenia  and institutionalized and his father opting to live in Monte Carlo.  In 1939, Philip joined the British Navy and also met his future wife when, on a visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Dartmouth Naval College, Philip was assigned to escort the royal couple's two daughters Elizabeth and Margaret.  Elizabeth fell in love and began corresponding regularly with Philip.  After World War II ended, Philip formally asked for Elizabeth's hand, but the announcement of the engagement was postponed until after Elizabeth's 21st birthday.  Around this time, Philip changed his name to that selected by Philip and Elizabeth married November 20, 1947, eventually becoming the parents of four children.  In 1952, while the couple were on a visit to Kenya, King George VI died and Elizabeth ascended to the throne.  60 years later, Philip is both the longest living consort (91 years, although his mother-in-law was older at her death, she was a widow and not consort for 50 years) and the longest serving (over 60 years) in British history.  In addition, Philip and Elizabeth have the longest lived marriage (almost 65 years) among British monarchs.

1956 - Georg Borwin Friedrich Franz Karl Stephan Konrad Hubertus Maria of Mecklenburg, son of Grand Duke Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg and Ilona of Austria.  In 1963, Borwin became heir to the House of Mecklenburg when his grandfather died and his father succeeded to the title.  When his father died in 1996, Borwin because the head of the house.  With his wife Alice Wagner, he is the father of three children, a daughter and two sons.

1981 - Prince Hashim bin Al Hussein, the younger son of King Hussein and Queen Noor.  In 2006, he married Fahdah Mohammed Abunayyan of Saudi Arabia, with whom he has three daughters.

1982 - Madeleine Thérèse Amélie Joséphine of Sweden, youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Sylvia.  She is currently fourth in line to the Swedish throne, after her older sister Victoria, Victoria's daughter Estelle and Madeleine's older brother Carl Philip.  After the breakup of her engagement, she moved to New York, where she words for the World Childhood Foundation.

Died on this date -

323 BC - King Alexander III of Macedon, "Alexander the Great", aged 32.  He was born in July 356 BC, the son of Philip II of Macedon and Olympias of Epirus.  When he was 19, he succeeded to the throne on the assassination of his father.  He continued with plans drawn up by his father to expand the empire, and at its height, the empire stretched from Greece to the Indian subcontinent.  Alexander died in Babylon (modern-day Al Hillah, Iraq), allegedly of poisoning, although natural causes have been suggested.  He was succeeded by his half-brother, Philip III, and his posthumous son by Roxana of Bactria, Alexander IV.

1190 - Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, aged 67-68.  Frederick was born on 1122 as the son of Friedrich II of Swabia and Judith of Bavaria.  His descent from the two foremost families in Germany made him a desirable candidate to replace Conrad III as Holy Roman Emperor, which he did in 1152.  During his lifetime, he launched six expeditions into Italy for various reasons.  He also joined the Third Crusade in 1189, but he died the following year crossing the Saleph River, rather than trying to cross at the nearby bridge, which was clogged with soldiers.  He was succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor by a son by his second wife, Heinrich VI.

1424 - Duke Ernest of Austria, aged 56-57.  Ernest was born in 1377 as the son of Leopold III, Duke of Inner Austria, and Viridis Visconti.  He became Duke of Inner Austria on the death of his older brother Wilhelm in 1406.  Beginning in 1414, he called himself Archduke, the first time a member of the Habsburg dynasty had used it.  On his death, he was succeeded jointly by two of his sons, Friedrich and Albrecht.  Friedrich later became Holy Roman Emperor.

1776 - Hsinbyushin, King of the Konbaung dynasty in Burma, aged 39.  He was born on September 12, 1736, the second son of King Alaungpaya, and came to the throne in 1763 on the death of his older brother Naungdawgyi.  During his reign, he fought two wars with Siam (Thailand) and one with China.  When he died, his next brother should have been king, as his father Alaungpaya had wished each of his six sons to succeed in turn.  However, Hsinbyushin made his son Singu heir apparent, and Singu ascended the throne without incident.

1974 - Henry William Frederick Albert, Duke of Gloucester, aged 74.  The son of King George V and Mary of Teck, Henry was born on March 31, 1900.  After his brother Bertie ascended the throne (George VI), Henry was named a potential regent for his niece Elizabeth, should she come to the throne while a minor, which required Henry to remain in England until she turned 18.  At the time of his death in 1974, he was the last surviving child of King George V and Queen Mary.  His title was inherited by his younger son, the elder predeceasing him by two years.

June 8th

Events - 

68 AD - The first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors, Galba, was proclaimed emperor by the Roman Senate.  A former Praetor and consul, Galba had gained a good reputation in many parts of the empire.  After the death of Caligula in 37 AD, friends tried to convince Galba to put himself forth as emperor, but Galba decided to remain loyal to Claudius.  He later went into retirement until about midway through Nero's reign, when Nero made him governor of Hispania Tarraconensis (the northeastern part of modern-day Spain).  Galba learned that Nero intended to put him to death in 68 AD, he considered rebelling, but hesitated.  Nero committed suicide the same year, and Galba was proclaimed Emperor and returned to Rome.  As emperor, he acted in the opposite manner of his previous reputation, making him unpopular.  After seven short months as emperor, legions began rebelling against him, and a former supporter, Otho, was supported as emperor by some of the rebels.  Galba, carried in a litter due to his advancing age (71), went to meet with Otho, but was murdered by some of Otho's troops.

218 - Emperor Macrinus was defeated in the Battle of Antioch by forces loyal to Elagabalus, the cousin of the late Emperor Caracalla, who had been murdered, perhaps by Macrinus.  Elagabalus considered the date of the battle as the beginning of his reign, although Macrinus was alive for a short time after the battle.  Although only 14 when he became emperor and 18 when he was murdered, Elagabalus' reign was known for controversy, both religious and sexual - in his short life, Elagabalus was married to five women (one of whom was a Vestal Virgin), referred to one of his slaves as his husband and supposedly married another man in a public ceremony.  He was murdered, along with his mother, at the age of 18 by supporters of his cousin Severus Alexander, who became the next emperor.

1191 - King Richard I of England arrived in Acre (modern-day 'Akko, Israel), which marked the start of his participation in the 3rd Crusade.  Richard's participation in the crusade came as a result of his father, Henry II.  Henry had been feuding with the King Philippe II of France, and a bishop attempting to mediate between them manipulated both men into pledging to take the cross in the new crusade called by Pope Gregory VIII to recover the recently-captured city of Jerusalem.  Henry died the following year, leaving the command of England's crusaders to his heir.  Partly because of his participation in the crusade and capture by Duke Leopold V of Austria on his way home, Richard spent only six months of his ten-year reign actually in England.  Richard did spend quite a bit of time in his continental possessions during the latter part of his reign - he preferred Aquitaine as his mother had - and died while putting down a rebellion by the Viscount of Limoges and Count of Angoulême (father of Isabella, later the wife of Richard's brother and successor, John).

Died on this date -

1042 - King Harthacnut of Denmark and England, aged approximately 23-24.  He was born around 1018 as the son of King Cnut of Denmark and England and Emma of Normandy.  He had succeeded to the throne of Denmark on his father's death in 1035.  Tied up assisting his half-brother Svein in regaining Norway, Harthacnut was unable to return to England and another half-brother, Harold, was appointed regent, but Harold was soon accepted as King of England over the absent Harthacnut.  Harthacnut considered an invasion of England, but Harold was ill, so Harthacnut decided to bide his time until his brother died, which he did in March 1040.  Harthacnut finally traveled to England in June 1040 accompanied by his mother, who had fled England when Harold became king.  Harthacnut reigned for only two years before he suddenly dropped dead at a wedding.  He was succeeded as King of England by his maternal half-brother Edward the Confessor, who allegedly promised the throne on his own death to the great-nephew of Emma of Normandy - William the Conqueror.

1376 - Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, aged 45.  Born on June 15, 1330, Edward was the son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault.  Renowned for his military capabilities, Edward became popular in England for his victories at Crécy and Poitiers during the Hundred Year War.  He was made the first English duke in 1337 (Duke of Cornwall) and the first Knight of the Garter (in 1348) by his father and is known to history as the Black Prince for the black armor he wore in battle.  Despite her somewhat scandalous marital history, Edward married his cousin Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent" in 1361.  They had two sons, the elder of whom died at the age of 7.  Edward himself died a year before his father, the first English Prince of Wales not to succeed to the English throne.  His surviving son succeeded Edward III the following year at the age of 10, becoming Richard II, who was eventually the second king since the Conquest to be deposed.

1716 - Johann Wilhelm II von der Pfalz, Elector Palatine, aged 68.  The son of Philip Wilhelm von der Pfalz and Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt was born on April 19, 1658 and succeeded his father as the Elector Palatine in 1690.  Johann Wilhelm married twice - first to Maria Anna Josepha of Austria (daughter of Emperor Ferdinand III) and after her death to Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (daughter of Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany).  He had no children by his wife and was succeeded on his death by his younger brother, Karl III Philip.

1795 - King Louis XVII of France, aged 10.  The tragic son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antonia of Austria (Marie Antoinette), he was born Louis-Charles on March 27, 1785.  Louis had become the Dauphin on the death of his older brother Louis Joseph in June 1789, the month before the storming of the Bastille.  Two years later, the royal family tried to escape France but were caught and imprisoned.  A few months later, Louis XVI was separated from his family, tried and executed, at which time Louis would normally have ascended the throne.  His uncle even named himself Regent for the child King.  Six months after his father's death, Louis was separated from his mother and turned over to guardians who allegedly abused him.  He was forced to testify against his mother that she had sexually abused him while they were in captivity, part of the charges which led to her execution in October 1793.  Around this same time he also saw his sister Marie-Thérèse for the last time.  A few months later, his appointed guardians left the prison and Louis allegedly was caged for six months with no human contact and with food being passed to him through the bars.  Louis' conditions improved somewhat after he was visited in May 1794.  Louis died suddenly a year later, the cause of death being announced as a disease associated with tuberculosis, an associated condition which is not usually fatal in and of itself.  Because of the suspicious nature of his death and autopsy, there were rumors of escape and numerous people claiming to be Louis, although these were proved false when a heart originally held by the doctor who performed the autopsy was tested in 2000 and proved to be the heart of the Dauphin.  The heart was buried in the Basilica of St. Denis next to his parents.  Although Louis never reigned as King, he is traditionally listed among the Kings of France as Louis XVII since his uncle took the name Louis XVIII on the restoration of the monarchy - thereby acknowledging his nephew as his legitimate predecessor.

June 5th

Events - 

70 AD - Future Roman Emperor Titus (reigned 79 - 81) led four Roman legions in the breach of the middle wall of Jerusalem during the Siege of Jerusalem.  The siege, which began in March of that year, eventually ended with the destruction of the Second Temple in September.  The siege was one of the major events of the First Jewish-Roman War (also known as The Great Revolt), which was fought by the Jews of Judea against the Roman Empire from 66 - 73.  When Titus became emperor, he was the first Roman Emperor to follow his father as emperor.

1849 - King Frederik VII of Denmark signed the country's new constitution, which marked the move from an absolute to constitutional monarchy.  The signing of this constitution is now marked by a national holiday in Denmark, Constitution Day (or Grundlovsdag).

Born on this date - 

1341 - Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault.  Edmund was the fourth of the King and Queen's five surviving sons.  His descendants became the House of York during the War of the Roses.  Through his first wife, Isabella of Castile, he was the father of Richard, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, who was executed for treason in 1415.  Richard's son (Edmund's grandson) was the father of King Edward IV and King Richard III.  As a result, Edmund is the ancestor of all English monarchs after Henry VII, through Henry's wife Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.  Despite the fact that his descendants would later challenge for the throne, Edmund remained loyal to the Lancastrian Henry IV after Richard II was overthrown.  Edmund died August 1, 1402 at the age of 61.

1523 - Margaret of France, daughter of King François I of France and Claude of France (daughter of Louis XII of France).  When she was 26, she was created Duchess of Berry in her own right.  By her husband Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, she was the mother of Carlo Emanuele I of Savoy.  She died September 14, 1574 at the age of 51.

1771 - Ernest Augustus of Great Britain, later King of Hanover, fifth son of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  Because he had four older brothers, he was expected to have no chance to ascend to a thone, but the deaths of King George IV, King William IV and Frederick, Duke of York without any surviving children improved his prospects.  His other older brother, Edward, Duke of Kent, did leave a surviving daughter, but Salic law prevented her from ascending the throne of Hanover.  As a result, at the death of King William IV, Victoria of Kent became Queen of England and Ernest Augustus became King of Hanover, ending the union between Hanover and Great Britain which had existed since George I had become King of Great Britain in 1714.  Ernest Augustus' marriage was not without controversy.  He had fallen in love with his cousin Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, but she was married to her second husband.  When her husband conveniently died in 1814, some suspected Frederica of poisoning her husband to clear the way for her marriage to Ernest Augustus.  The marriage was also opposed by Queen Charlotte because Frederica had broken a previous engagement to the Duke of Cambridge.  Ernest Augustus died November 18, 1851 at the age of 80 and was succeeded as King of Hanover by his only child, George.  Ernest Augustus was greatly mourned in Hanover, but hardly at all in England, where The Times said of him "the good that can be said of the Royal dead is little or none."

2005 - Irene de Todos los Santos Urdangarín y de Borbón, daughter of Infanta Christina of Spain (daughter of King Juan Carlos I) and Iñaki Urdangarín Liebaert, Duchess and Duke Consort of Palma de Mallorca. 

Died on this date -

301 - Sima Lún (司马伦), usurper of the Chinese throne during the Jin Dynasty, more than 52 years old.  Sima Lún was born before 249, the youngest son of Sima Yi (司马懿), a general and politician who was posthumously honored as Emperor Juan of Jin when his grandson founded the Jin Dynasty in 265, and Lady Bai (柏夫人).  He became Prince of Langye when his nephew founded the Jin Dynasty, and later Prince of Zhao.  During the reign of his grand-nephew Emperor Hui, Sima Lún became a confidant of Empress Jia.  In 300, Jia was convinced to overthrew the Crown Prince, son of her husband's concubine.  Sima Lún then encouraged her to assassinate the Crown Prince while in exile.  The subsequent assassination was used as an excuse to murder her family and force Jia to commit suicide.  Sima Lún then became regent for the Emperor, who was developmentally disabled.  He was later persuaded to overthrow Hui and proclaim himself emperor.  Hui was put under house arrest and given the honorary title of "retired emperor", while the new Crown Prince, Hui's grandson, was executed.  Sima Lún was overthrown three months later and forced to commit suicide.  His four sons, the oldest of whom had been created Crown Prince, were subsequently executed.

1017 - Emperor Sanjō (三条天皇) of Japan, aged 42.  He was born with the name Iyasada-shinnō on February 6, 975, to Emperor Reizei (冷泉天皇) and Fujiwara no Chōshi (藤原超子).  He was appointed Crown Prince to his cousin Emperor Ichijō (一条天皇) when he was 11.  Although Ichijō was younger than Iyasada, he ascended the thrown when Iyasada's half-brother Emperor Kazan (花山天皇) retired to become a Buddist monk.  Ichijō resigned the throne after a reign of 25 years, and Iyasada became emperor with the name Sanjō.  During his sixth year as emperor, Sanjō abdicated to become a Buddist monk and was succeeded by his cousin Emperor Go-Ichijō (後一条天皇).  None of Sanjō's sons ever became emperor, although his daughter Princess Teishi was the wife and mother of future emperors.

1296 - Edmund, 1st Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, aged 51.  Edmund was born January 16, 1245 as the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence.  When he was 8, he was named King of Sicily and Apuila by the Pope, but it was an empty title as there was already a King of Siciliy living.  The Earldom of Chester, which he received around the same time, was later transferred to his older brother Edward (the future Edward I).  After the defeat of Simon de Montfort in 1265, Edmund received the forfeited Earldom of Leicester and also received the Earldom of Lancaster two years later.  By his second wife, Blanche of Artois, he was the father of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, who was executed after rebelling against King Edward II and his favorite Hugh le Despencer the younger.

1316 - Louis X of France, aged 26.  He was born October 4, 1289 as the oldest son of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre.  He was the brother of Isabella, Queen of England as the wife of Edward II.  Louis' first wife, Margaret of Burgundy, was accused of adultery in 1314 in the Tour de Nesle affair, which was apparently instigated by Louis' sister Isabella.  Margaret was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.  Louis received an annulment and subsequently married Clementia of Hungary five days after Margaret's mysterious death in captivity.  In the midst of all the personal upheaval, Louis became King of France on the death of his father in 1314.  Louis was a devoted tennis player and supposedly died after drinking a large quantity of cooled wine after a particularly exhausting game.  Pneumonia, pleurisy and poison have all been suggested as the cause of death.  Louis is the first tennis player known by name due to the circumstances of his death.  His wife was pregnant at his death, so France was ruled by Louis' brother as regent until the child was born and gender was determined - France was ruled by Salic Law, which would have barred the unborn child from the throne if female and also barred Louis' daughter by his first wife (although her paternity was doubted because of her mother's affair).  Queen Clementia eventually gave birth to a boy who would become Jean I of France.  Jean was the shortest-reigning King of France, living only five days after his birth.  Despite the questions of her paternity, Louis' daughter Joan did succeed as Queen of Navarre, which Louis had inherited from his mother and which was not governed by Salic Law.

1383 - Dmitri Konstantinovich of Suzdal (Дми́трий Константи́нович Су́здальский), Grand Duke of Vladimir, aged approximately 59.  Dmitri was born in 1324 and was the senior descendant of Grand Duke Vsevolod III (he was his great-great-great-great grandson).  He was Prince of Suzdal, which he inherited in 1359.  The following year, he was installed as Grand Duke of Vladimir by the Khan of the Golden Horde.  Three years later, he was deposed by Prince Dmitri I of Moscow, with whom he made peace by marrying Dmitri of Moscow to his daughter Eudoxia.  By his daughter, Dmitri was the ancestor of the later Grand Princes of Moscow and Tsars of Russia from the Rurik Dynasty.  He was allied with his son-in-law Dmitri until 1382, when he defected to the Khan of the Blue Horde in its assault against Moscow.  He died in unknown circumstances the following year.

1819 - King Bodawpaya of Burma, aged 74.  He was born the son of King Alaungpaya and chief Queen Me Yun San on March 11, 1745.  He seized the throne in 1782, deposing King Phaungkaza Maung Maung, son of his oldest brother, having the deposed King and his chief Queen executed by drowning.  After a reign of 37 years, he died and was succeeded by his grandson Bagyidaw, who had become Crown Prince after the death of his after Thado Minsaw in 1808.  Bodawpaya had 208 queens, who provided him with 62 sons and 58 daughters.  All the future Kings of Burma descended from Thado Minsaw, and therefor Bodawpaya.

June 3rd

Events -

350 - Iulius Nepotianus proclaimed himself Roman Emperor, in competition with Magnentius, who had overthrown co-Emperor Constans in January 350.  Nepotianus was a cousin of Constans and his co-Emperor Constantius II, as the son of Eutropia, half-sister of Constans' and Constantius' father Constantine I.  Nepotianus was grandson of Emperor Constantius I and great-grandson of Emperor Maximian.  After ruling Rome for 28 days, Nepotianus was killed by Magnentius' general Marcellinus.  Magnentius later committed suicide after the Battle of Mons Seleucus in 353.

1665 - James Stuart, Duke of York and commander of the Royal Navy (later King James II), defeated the Dutch fleet during the Battle of Lowestoft, the first battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. 

1937 - Edward, Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII) married Wallis Simpson at the Château de Candé, near Tours, France.  As the marriage was not sanctioned by the Church of England, a clergyman from Darlington, County Durham, offered to perform the ceremony privately.  Members of the British Royal Family were forbidden by King George VI from attending, upsetting the Duke, who had wanted his other brothers to attend.

Born on this date - 

1537 - Infante João Manuel of Portugal, eighth son of King João III of Portugal and Catherine of Austria (daughter of Felipe I of Castile and Juana "the Mad" of Castile).  After the death of his four older brothers, João became heir to the throne.  He died 3 1/2 years before his father on January 2, 1554 at the age of 16, but not before marrying and producing a posthumous son, the future Sebastião I.

1540 - Karl II Franz, Archduke of Austria, son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and Anne of Bohemia and Hungary.  He was a paternal grandson of Felipe I of Castile and Juana "the Mad" of Castile and a maternal grandson of Vladislav II of Bohemia and Hungary.  Karl married his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria, and became the father of future Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II.  He died at the age of 50 on July 10, 1590. 

1843 - Christian Frederik Vilhelm Carl of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, later King Frederik VIII of Denmark.  His parents were Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (heir-apparent to the throne of Denmark, later King Christian IX) and Louise of Hesse-Kassel.  Among his siblings were Tsarina Maria Feodorovna of Russia (former Dagmar of Denmark), Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom and King George I of Greece.  He had been Crown Prince for 43 years when he finally acceded the throne on January 29, 1906.  He married Princess Louise of Sweden in 1869 and produced two future kings among their many children - King Christian X of Denmark and King Haakon VII of Norway (born Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel of Denmark).  Frederik ruled Denmark for six years before dying on May 14, 1912 at the age of 68.

1865 - George Frederick Ernest Albert, later King George V of England.  He was the son of Albert Edward, then-Prince of Wales, and Alexandra of Denmark.  As a second son, George was not expected to inherit the throne, so was groomed for a naval career.  The early death of his older brother Eddy in January 1892 left George second in line for the throne behind his father, and also left George with Eddy's fiancée, Princess Victoria Mary "May" of Teck.  George and May married the following year, and among their six children were two future Kings of England - Edward VIII (who abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson) and George VI (father of Queen Elizabeth II).  George V died on January 20, 1936 at the age of 70 and after a reign of nearly 26 years, his end hastened by a lethal dosage of morphine and cocaine.

Died on this date -

1395 - Tsar Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria, aged 44-45.  He was born around 1350-1351 as the son of Tsar Ivan Alexander and Sarah-Theodora, a Jewish convert to Eastern Orthodoxy.  The death of his older half-brother in 1355 made Ivan heir to the throne.  He was co-ruler with his father until February 17, 1371, when his father died, ruling alone for just over 26 years before he was executed by the Ottomans.  His older half-brother Ivan Sratsimir, who had been passed over in the succession in favor of Ivan Shishman, became Tsar since both of Ivan Shishman's sons had died young. Ivan Sratsimir did not last long as Tsar, being captured and strangled by the Ottomans in 1397.  The two brothers were the final medieval Tsars of Bulgaria.

1411 - Leopold IV, Duke of Further Austria, aged 39-40.  Leopold was born in 1371, the son of Leopold III of Austria and Viridis Visconti.  Leopold married Catharine of Burgundy, but they had no children.  Since neither Leopold nor his older brother Wilhelm had children, Austria was divided between their younger brothers Ernst and Friedrich after Leopold's death.

2004 - Frances Ruth Roche, age 68.  Frances was best known as the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales.  Frances was born January 20, 1936 as the daughter of Edmund Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy, and Ruth Sylvia Gill.  Frances married John Spencer, then-Viscount Althorp, and had four children, among them Diana, Princess of Wales.  She died of complications from Parkinson's disease and brain cancer.