June 15th

Events -

1215 - King John of England put his seal on the charter of liberties drawn up by his barons at Runnymeade.  Four days later, the barons swore oaths of fealty to King John, at which time the Magna Carta was created.  The charter, which put limits on the power of the king and protected those of the barons, was declared null and void by Pope Innocent III, a ruling which was ignored by the barons.  The charter, which was modified several times over the years, is considered the foundation of constitutional law in the English-speaking world.

1580 -  Willem I, Prince of Orange, who led a revolt against Spain which resulted in the Eighty Years' War, was declared an outlaw by King Philip II of Spain.  The war eventually led to the independence of the Netherlands.  Philip promised a reward for William's assassination, an offer which was taken up by Balthasar Gérard four years later.

1905 - Princess Margaret of Connaught, daughter of Arthur, Duke of Connaught (son of Queen Victoria), married the Crown Prince of Sweden, Prince Gustaf.  The couple had five surviving children, including the father of a future King of Sweden and a Queen Consort of Denmark.  Eight-months-pregnant with her sixth child, Margaret died in 1920 due to a post-op infection.  Gustaf married Margaret's cousin Louise Mountbatten (granddaughter of Queen Victoria's daughter Alice) in 1923 and became King of Sweden in 1950.

1978 - American Lisa Najeeb Halaby became the fourth wife of King Hussein of Jordan, taking the name Noor al Hussein on her conversion to Islam.  She became friends with the King while he was mourning the death of his third wife due to a helicopter crash, and they became engaged the following year.  Noor and Hussein had four children, two sons and two daughters, before Hussein's death in 1999.

Born on this date -

1330 - Edward of Woodstock, son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault.  Edward was invested as the third English Prince of Wales in 1343 and became the first Knight of the Garter in 1348.  In 1361, he married his cousin Joan of Kent, by whom he had two sons.  A renowned military commander, Edward was responsible for the English victories at Crécy and Poitiers during the Hundred Years' War.  He became the first English Prince of Wales not to succeed his father as King of England, as he died on June 8, 1376 at the age of 45 (a week before his 46th birthday), a year before his father.  His oldest son having died in 1372, his younger son succeeded Edward III in 1377 as King Richard II of England.

1519 - Henry FitzRoy, illegitimate but oldest surviving son of King Henry VIII of England and Elizabeth Blount.  He was six when he was created Duke of Richmond and Somerset in 1525. After Henry's second daughter Princess Elizabeth was declared a bastard, there were rumors that Henry was planning to name his illegitimate son as his heir, but the duke died before an act which would have permitted this was passed by Parliament.  Henry FitzRoy died July 23, 1536 at the age of 17, probably of tuberculosis.  He had no children, as his marriage to Mary Howard, daughter of the Duke of Norfolk, was unconsummated.

Died on this date -

923 - King Robert I of France, aged 56. He was born on August 15, 866, the younger son of Robert IV of Neustria and Adelaide of Tours.  The younger brother of Odo, King of the West Franks, he did not claim the kingdom after his brother's death, but remained a vassal under the rule of Charles III of France until 922, when he rebelled and had himself proclaimed King of France.  Charles led an army against Robert and defeated him in battle at Soissons, where Robert was killed.  His only son, born of his second wife Béatrice of Vermandois, was the father of Hugh Capet.

991 - Holy Roman Empress Theophano Skleraina, aged 30-31.  She was born in 960 in Constantinople, the Constantine Skleros and Sophia Phokaina.  Holy Roman Emperor Otto I wanted to marry his son to a Byzantine princess as part of a treaty between the Eastern and Western Empires.  Her mother was a cousin of Byzantine Emperor Iōannēs I Tzimiskēs and neice of Emperor Nikēphoros II Phōkas, while her father was the brother of Iōannēs I Tzimiskēs first wife.  She married Emperor Otto II on April 14, 972 and was crowned Empress the same day.  Otto II died in 983, and Theophano became regent for their only son, who became Otto III.  She died eight years later, with her mother-in-law taking over as regent until Otto III came of age.

1073 - Emperor Go-Sanjō (後三条天皇) of Japan, aged 40.  He was born on September 3, 1032, the second son of Emperor Go-Suzaku (後朱雀天皇) and Empress Sadako (禎子内親王, daughter of Emperor Sanjō, 三条天皇) with the name of Takahito-shinnō (尊仁親王).  He succeeded his older brother Chikahito (Emperor Go-Reizei, 後冷泉天皇) as emperor in 1068 when his brother died with no children.  Go-Sanjō abdicated in favor of his son Sadahito (Emperor Shirakawa, 白河天皇) in 1072 and became a Buddist priest.

1246 - Friedrich II, Duke of Austria, aged 35.  He was the son of Duke Leopold VI of Austria and Theodora Angelina of Byzantium and was born on April 25, 1211.  He became heir to the duchy in 1228 on the death of his older brother Heinrich and succeeded his father in 1230.  He died without children at the Battle of the Leitha River, fought against King Béla IV of Hungary.  Although a woman could have inherited the duchy, it became a part of Bohemia with the marriage of Friedrich's sister Margaret to Ottokar II of Bohemia.

1341 - Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos, aged 44.  He was born on March 25, 1297, the son of so-Emperor Mikhaēl IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia.  A rift developed between Andronikos and his grandfather Andronikos II after he accidentally killed his brother Manuel and his father Mikhaēl died of grief.  Andronikos began a civil war against his grandfather and was eventually recognized as co-emperor in 1328, in which year he deposed his grandfather and became sole emperor.  During his rule, the Ottoman Turks began encroaching on his territories in Asia Minor, and the Serbians expanded their territory into Macedonia.  By his second wife, Anna of Savoy, he had four children, including his heir Iōannēs V Palaiologos and a daughter Maria, future Empress of Bulgaria.

1383 - Iōannēs VI Kantakouzēnos, aged about 91.  He was the son of the governor of Morea Mikhaēl Kantakouzēnos and Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, which gave him a relationship to the reigning Palaiologos dynasty.  After the death of Andronikos III Palaiologos, Iōannēs became regent for the nine-year-old heir, Iōannēs V Palaiologos.  Iōannēs had no desire to become emperor himself, having declined several offers to become co-emperor during the reign of Andronikos III.  When Iōannēs left for Morea, enemies who suspected him of wanting the throne for himself overthrew the regency, the army naming Iōannēs emperor when they found out, which started a six-year civil war.  The war was ended with an agreement for the two Iōannēs to be co-emperors, and Iōannēs V Palaiologos to marry Iōannēs VI Kantakouzēnos' daughter Helena.  After Iōannēs V Palaiologos seized sole power in 1354, Iōannēs VI Kantakouzēnos retired to a monastery.  One of his sons, Matthaios, was co-emperor from 1353-1357 and a daughter, Theodora, was wife of Sulta Orhan of the Ottoman Empire.

1389 - Sultan Murad I of the Ottoman Empire, aged 62-63.  Murad was born the son of Sultan Orhan I and Nilüfer Hatun in March or June 1326.  He became Sultan in 1361 on the death of his father.  During his reign, most of the Balkans came under Ottoman rule and the Byzantine Emperor was forced to pay him tribute.  Murad was assassinated during the Battle of Kosovo Polje (fought against Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović of Moravian Serbia) and was succeeded by his son Bayezid I. 

1389 - Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović of Moravian Serbia, aged 59-60.  He was born around 1329, the son of Pribac Hrebeljanović, chancellor of King Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia. Serbia began falling apart during the reign of Stephan Uroš V Dušan, after which Lazar became knez (translated as Prince).  When Stephan Uroš V Dušan died childless in 1371, Serbia split into several principalities, of which Moravia was the most powerful.  The Turks began raiding into Moravia in 1381 and the threat from the Ottomans against Serbia increased until they met in the Battle of Kosovo Polje.  Prince Lazar was killed during the battle and was succeeded by his son Stefan Lazarević under the regency of Stefan's mother Milica.  The following year, Serbia submitted to the Ottoman empire.  Lazar was later venerated in the Serbian Orthodox Church as a saint and martyr.

1467 - Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, aged 70.  He was born on July 31, 1396, the son of Jean II of Burgundy and Margaret of Bavaria.  He became Duke of Burgundy on his father's assassination in 1419.  Blaming the Dauphin of France for his father's death - his father was killed during a meeting between the two - Philip allied himself with Henry V of England, marrying his sister Anne to Henry's brother John.  Although he mostly stayed out of the Hundred Years' War, his troops were responsible for the capture of Jean of Arc.  On his death, he was succeeded by his son Charles, who was the last Duke of Burgundy from the Valois family.

1888 - Kaiser Friedrich III of Germany, aged 56.  The son of Wilhelm of Prussia (younger son of Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, later Wilhelm I) and Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, he was born on October 18, 1831.  As early as 1851, Friedrich was looked at by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a husband for their oldest daughter Victoria, the Princess Royal, in the hopes of bringing liberal ideas to Germany.  The couple became engaged in 1856 and were married on January 25, 1858.  Their successful marriage produced eight children.  However, the couple were at odds with the conservative ideals of Friedrich's father and his chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the two of whom greatly influenced Friedrich and Victoria's oldest son Wilhelm (later Kaiser Wilhelm II) against them.  Friedrich was unable to implement any of his liberal ideals, as his father lived to age 90, by which time Friedrich was already dying of throat cancer.  Friedrich ascended the throne March 9, 1888, reigning for only 99 days before losing his battle against cancer.  He was succeeded by his oldest son, Wilhelm, who became the last Kaiser of Germany.

June 4th

Events - 

1039 - Heinrich III of Germany became Holy Roman Emperor following the death of his father, Conrad II.  Heinrich would reign as Emperor until his own death on October 5, 1056 at the age of 38.  By his second wife, Agnes of Aquitaine, he was the father of his successor Heinrich IV.

1411 - King Charles VI of France granted an exclusive license to the city of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon for the aging of Roquefort cheese.  To this day, only cheese which has been aged in the caves of this city may be labeled Roquefort.

1802 - King Carlo Emanuele II of Sardinia abdicated his throne in favor of his brother Vittorio Emanuele.  His wife, Marie Clotilde of France, had died a few months previously, and Carlo Emanuele was so grieved by her death that he decided to give up the throne.  In addition to being the King of Sardinia, Carlo was also considered the Jacobite Pretender to the throne of England after 1807 as a great-great-great-great grandson of Charles I of England.

2001 - Gyanendra of Nepal ascended to the throne of Nepal after the death of his nephew, King Dipendra.  Dipendra had perpetrated the Nepal royal massacre three days earlier, immediately ascending to the throne on the death of his father in the massacre.  However, Dipendra had been in a coma due to self-inflicted wounds since the massacre, with his uncle as regent.  Gyanendra was the last King of Nepal, as the constitution was amended in May 2008 to exclude a monarchy.

Born on this date -

1394 - Philippa of England, daughter of the future Henry IV of England and Mary de Bohun.  Philippa married King Eric VII of Denmark (also Eirik III of Norway and Ericus of Sweden), becoming Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.  Philippa's wedding was the first recorded instance of a bride wearing a white wedding dress.  She died on January 7, 1430, at the age of 35, having given the King no children (a stillborn son was born in 1429).

1604 - Claudia de' Medici, daughter of Ferdinando I de' Medici and Christina of Lorraine.  By her second husband, Archduke Leopold V of Austria, she became the mother of a Holy Roman Empress, Maria Leopoldine of Austria (wife of Emperor Ferdinand III).  She died on Christmas 1648 at the age of 44.

1738 - George William Frederick of Great Britain, later King George III.  He was the son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, and was grandson of the reigning King George II.  His father's death in 1751, nine years before the death of George II, made George the heir to the throne, and he was created Prince of Wales three weeks later by his grandfather.  George ascended to the throne in October 1760, reigning until his death in January 1820 - the third-longest reign in British history after Queen Victoria (63 years) and Queen Elizabeth II (60 years).  George III was also the third-longest lived monarch after Elizabeth II (86 years) and Victoria (81 years).  Aside from the length of his reign and longevity, George III is perhaps best known for being King during the American Revolution.  Due to ill-health and insanity, believed to be caused by porphyria, George III was permanently confined to Windsor Castle after 1811, with his son the Prince of Wales serving as regent for the remainder of his reign.  George died January 29, 1820 at the age of 81, just six days after the death of his fourth son Edward, Duke of Kent (father of Queen Victoria).  By his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, he was the father of two future Kings of Great Britain, George IV and William IV.

Died on this date -

1039 - Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, at the age of approximately 49.  He was born around 990, the son of Heinrich of Spayer (great-grandson of Emperor Otto I) and Adelaide of Alsace.  He was elected King of Germany in 1024 after the Saxon line of Kings died out and became Holy Roman Emperor three years later.  He married Gisela of Swabia and was the father of his successor, Heinrich III.

1135 - Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty of China, at the age of 52.  He was the son of Emperor Shenzong and his wife Yinzhe and was born on November 2, 1082.  He succeeded his older half-brother, Zhezong, as Emperor in 1100, reigning until his abdication in favor of his oldest son Qinzong on January 18, 1126.   Another of his 32 sons would become Emperor Gaozong in 1127.  He also had 34 daughters.

1206 - Adèle of Champagne, third wife of King Louis VII of France, approximately aged 65-66.  She was born around 1140, the daughter of Count Theobald II of Champagne and Matilda of Carinthia.  She had married Louis just five weeks after the death of his second wife in childbirth and became mother of Louis' only son, Philippe II.

1257 - Przemysł I, Duke of Greater Poland, aged 36.  He was born on either 5 June 1220 or 4 June 1221 (if the latter, he would have died on his 36th birthday; if the former, the day before his 37th), the son of Duke Władysław Odonic and his wife Hedwig.  Przemysł became Duke on his father's death in 1239, formally ruling from 1241-1247 with his brother Bolesław, and afterwards alone.  By his wife, Elizabeth of Wrocław, he was the father of Przemysł II, who became the third King of Poland in 1295.

1394 - Mary de Bohun, first wife of the future King Henry IV of England, aged around 26.  She was born approximately 1368 as the daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, and Joan FitzAlan.  She was around 12 when she married Henry, and was the mother of the future Henry V of England.  She died giving birth to her daughter Philippa, the future Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

1941 - Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, aged 82.  He was born on January 27, 1859 to Prince Friedrich (later Kaiser Friedrich III) and Victoria, Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.  He was born third in line to the throne of Prussia, after his father and grandfather.  Wilhelm came to the throne in June 1888, after his father's brief reign of 99 days, and ruled until his forced abdication at the end of World War I on November 9, 1918.  He lived the rest of his life in exile in the Netherlands.  He flirted with Nazism initially in the hopes of the monarchy being restored, but several atrocities soured him on them to the point that he virtually disowned his fourth son for being an ardent Nazi.  Despite Adolf Hitler's desire to bring Wilhelm's body back to Berlin for a state funeral, in order to connect the Third Reich with the Kaiserreich in the minds of the public, Wilhelm was buried at his home in exile in the Netherlands, as he had expressed a desire not to return to Germany until the monarchy was restored.  However, his wishes not to have any Nazi paraphernalia displayed at his funeral was ignored.

2001 - King Dipendra of Nepal, aged 29.  He was the son of King Birendra and and his wife Aiswarya, and was born on June 27, 1971.  He reigned as king for just three days, after murdering most of his immediate family at a dinner party on June 1, 2001, reportedly over a marriage dispute.  He shot himself in the head after the massacre and lingered in a coma during the three days he was king before dying of his injuries.

June 1st

Events -

987 - Hugh Capet, founder of the House of Capet which would rule France from 987 to 1328, was elected King of France.  Hugh would rule France until his death on October 24, 996 and was succeeded by his son, Robert II.  Later French Kings from the House of Valois and House of Bourbon, although all male-line (agnatic) descendants of Hugh Capet due to Salic Law, were descended from younger sons in the line.  The current rulers of Spain (King Juan Carlos I) and Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri) are members of the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the House of Capet.

1204 - King Philippe II Augustus of France conquered Rouen.  The city was the capital of the Duchy of Normandy, which was under the control of King John of England.  On June 24th, Philippe entered the city and annexed Normandy to the French crown.  The city would come under English control again in 1419, when the city surrendered to King Henry V of England during the Hundred Years' War.  Thirty years later, the city would be conquered again by French king Charles VII, bring it under permanent French control.

1215 - The Battle of Zhongdu ended with the capture of the city of Zhongdu (present-day Beijing) by Genghis Khan.  Zhongdu was the capital of the Jin Dynasty, which ruled parts of northern China from 1115-1234.  Emperor Jin Xuanzong (金宣宗) was forced to move his capital to Kaifeng.

1252 - Alfonso X was elected King of Castile and Léon one day after the death of his father Ferdinand III.  He would rule until his death on April 4, 1284 and was succeeded by his son, Sancho IV.

1533 - Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was crowned Queen of England.  She would remain queen until her marriage to Henry was annulled on May 17, 1536, two days before her execution.  She was the mother of Queen Elizabeth I.

1670 - England, under King Charles II, and France, under King Louis XIV, signed the Treaty of Dover.  The treaty had two aims - France was to help bring England back to the Roman Catholic Church and England was to assist France in its conquest of the Dutch Republic.  The treaty, which remained secret until 1830, resulted in the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

1815 - Napoléon I swore to uphold the Charter of 1815, which was adopted by a direct vote of the French people as France's new constitution.  After his return from exile on Elba, Napoléon requested that a new constitution be written.  Due to his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo less than three weeks later, the constitution was never fully implemented.

1918 - The Battle of Belleau Wood began near the Marne River in France.  The German troops were lead by Crown Prince Wilhelm.  One June 26, 1918, the battle ended when the Allied troops under American generals Pershing and Harbord cleared Belleau Wood of enemy troops.  Pershing later said "the Battle of Belleau Wood was for the U.S. the biggest battle since Appomattox and the most considerable engagement American troops had ever had with a foreign enemy."

Born on this date -

1076 - Mistislav I, Grand Prince of Kiev, son of Vladimir II of Kiev and Gytha of Wessex.  He ruled Kiev from his father's death in 1125 until his own death on April 14, 1132 at the age of 55.

1134 - Geoffrey FitzEmpress, Count of Nantes, son of Geoffrey V of Anjou and Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England.  He became Count of Nantes in 1156 at the suggestion of his brother King Henry II of England, after the previous count was deposed.  He died July 27, 1158 at the age of 24. 

1300 - Thomas of Brother, 1st Earl of Norfolk, son of King Edward I of England and Margaret of France.  He became the 1st Earl of Norfolk in 1312.  He died August 4, 1338 at the age of 38.

1754 - Archduke Ferdinand Karl Anton Joseph Johann Stanislaus of Austria-Este, son of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Austrian Empress Maria Theresa.  He was an older brother of French queen Marie Antoinette.  He was the Duke of Breisgau from 1803 until he ceded the territory to the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1805.  He died on December 24, 1806 at the age of 52.

1815 - Otto Friedrich Ludwig of Bavaria, later King Otto of Greece, son of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.  He was elected the first King of the modern country of Greece in 1832 when he was 17.  He was deposed in 1862 after 30 years of rule.  He died in exile in Bavaria on July 26, 1867, aged 52.

Died on this date - 

 

195 BC - Emperor Gao (高帝), born Liu Bang, first emperor of the Han Dynasty of China.  He was born in either 256 BC or 247 BC, making him either 60-61 or 51-52 at the time of his death.  He became Emperor of China in 202 BC, and was succeeded by his second son Liu Ying on his death.

193 - Marcus Didius Severus Julianus, 20th Emperor of the Roman Empire and the second emperor in the Year of the Five Emperors.  He was born either on January 30, 133 (according to historian Cassius Dio) or February 2, 137 (per Historia Augusta).  He purchased the throne from the Praetorian Guard after the assassination of his predecessor Pertinax on March 28, 193 and was assassinated after a reign of only 3 months.

1432 - Dan II of Wallachia, Voivode of Wallachia, son of Dan I of Wallachia and Maria of Serbia.  He was Prince of Wallachia five times in the early 15th century - 1420–1421, 1421–1423, 1423–1424, 1426–1427, and 1427–1431.  He was killed in battle by the Ottomans.  His son, Basarab II, would be buried alive by Vlad III of Wallachia, known as Vlad the Impaler (the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula).

1434 -  Władysław II Jagiełło, Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1434), King consort of Poland (1386–1399) and King regnant of Poland (1399–1434).  He was born around 1362 and was the son of Algirdis of Lithuania and Uliana Alexandrovna of Tver.  He became the King consort of Poland with his marriage to Jadwiga, Queen regnant of Poland.  He became king after Jadwiga's death, strengthening his claim to the throne with his marriage to Anna of Celje, granddaughter of Casimir III of Poland.  His territory was divided between his two sons on his death - Władysław III became King of Poland and Casimir succeeded as Grand Duke of Lithuania.

1879 - Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph Bonaparte, Prince Imperial of France.  He was born on March 16, 1856 as the only son of Emperor Napoléon III of France and Eugénie de Montijo.  He was killed at the age of 23 in battle during the Anglo-Zulu War.

1983 - Charles Théodore Henri Antoine Meinrad of Belgium, Prince Regent from 1944-1950 during the reign of his older brother Leopold III.  He was born on October 10, 1903, the son of King Albert I of Belgium and Elisabeth in Bavaria.  He retired from public life after 1950 and died at the age of 79.

2001 - Nine members of the Nepalese royal family were murdered by Crown Prince Dipendra at a dinner party.  The dead included King Birendra (born December 28, 1945), Queen Aishwarya (born November 7, 1949), Prince Nirajan (born November 6, 1977, son of Birendra and Aishwarya), Princess Shruti (born October 15, 1976, daughter of Birendra and Aishwarya), Prince Dhirendra (brother of Birendra), Princess Jayanti (cousin of Birendra), Princesses Shanti and Sharada (sisters of Birendra) and Kumar Khadga (husband of Princess Sharada).  Five other members of the royal family were wounded.  Dipendra became King on the death of his father, despite having perpetrated the massacre, and died of self-inflicted wounds three days later.

2009 - Pedro Luís of Orléans-Braganza, third in line to the former Brazilian throne after his uncle and father.  He was born on January 12, 1983 and was the son of Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza and Christine of Ligne.  He was killed at the age of 26 when Air France 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on a flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France.