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November’s calendar of historic royal moments

1 November 1864:

On this day in 1864, Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine was born in Germany. She met her tragic end in 1918 when she was murdered by The Cheka (Soviet secret police) by being beaten and thrown in a mine before having grenades launched at them and being set alight. The Princess was the daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and was married to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia. They never had any children.

3 November 1961:

On this day in 1961, David Armstrong-Jones was born in Clarence House as the elder child of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and Antony Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon. David now has two children of his own, Charles and Margarita.

8 November 2003:

On this day in history, Lady Louise Windsor was born in 2003 at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey to The Earl and Countess of Wessex. Louise attends St Mary’s School Ascot in Berkshire. Louise has taken after her grandfather, Prince Philip, and has taken up the sport of carriage racing.

9 November 1841:

On this day in 1841, Prince Albert Edward was born in Buckingham Palace to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He was the second child, after his elder sister Victoria, but the first son and heir to the English throne. He later ascended to the throne as King Edward VII and was dubbed the ‘Uncle of Europe’ as he was related to almost every other monarchy on the continent. King Edward was succeeded by his son, King George V in 1910.

11 November 1953:

On this day in 1953, Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine died in West Germany. The Princess was born in the Duchy of Hesse, as the daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and Louis IV, Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. She had three children and was a grandchild of Queen Victoria.

12 November 1929:

American actress Grace Kelly was born on this day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956 and became the Princess of Monaco. Together, they had three children: Princess Caroline, Prince Albert (Monaco’s reigning Prince of Monaco), and Princess Stéphanie. Grace died due to injuries she sustained in a car crash in 1982.

Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer – Ebayfrontback, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

13 November 1929:

On this day in 1929, Princess Viktoria of Prussia died in Germany during its time as the Weimar Republic. She was born to Princess Victoria, the Princess Royal and Frederick III, German Emperor in Prussia in 1866. The Princess married twice and had no children.

14 November 1973:

On this day in 1973, Princess Anne, The Princess Royal married her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey. The couple had two children and divorced in 1992. Both later re-married.

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14 November 1948:

On this day in history, Prince Charles was born at Buckingham Palace to Queen Elizabeth – then Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh – and the Duke of Edinburgh; he was also the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later The Queen Mother). Charles was named Prince of Wales in 1958 and is the longest-serving Prince of Wales of all time. He graduated from Cambridge University and then went on to marry Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. They had two children, Princes William and Harry, both born at St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington. The Prince and Princess of Wales divorced in 1996 after separating in 1992. Charles re-married in 2005 to Camilla Parker-Bowles (now the Duchess of Cornwall). The Prince has four grandchildren.

15 November 1977:

On this day in 1977, Peter Phillips was born as the son of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips; he is the older brother of Zara Tindall. He and his sister do not have royal titles, as titles do not pass through the mother, and Anne and her husband rejected The Queen’s offer of titles upon their marriage. Peter graduated from Exeter University with a degree in Sports Science. He married Autumn Kelly, after meeting in her native Canada, on 17 May 2008 at St George’s Chapel, and they share two daughters, Savannah and Isla. They announced their intent to divorce in January 2020.

16 November 1878:

On this day in 1878, Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine died of diphtheria at only four-years-old. She was born in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, German Empire to Princess Alice, the daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

17 November 1558:

On this day in 1558, Queen Mary I died at St James’s Palace in London at the age of 42. She was the first child of King Henry VIII’s that survived to adulthood; however, because she was a girl, she did not get the attention of her father who longed for a son. Her half-brother, Edward, became King Edward VI at the age of nine and died when he was 15. Mary had expected to become queen following the death of her half-brother, but Edward ordered for Lady Jane Grey to succeed him. Mary quickly raised her Catholic followers and had Lady Jane Grey imprisoned. After only nine days as queen, she was executed at the Tower of London. Queen Mary reigned for five years, before her death during influenza-season in 1558.

19 November 1600:

On this day in 1600, King Charles I was born in Scotland as the son of King James VI & I. The father of future King Charles II was the first British monarch to be overthrown and later beheaded. He married Princess Henrietta Maria of France and had nine children. He was imprisoned by Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan army in 1645. He is buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

20 November 1938:

On this day in 1938, Queen Maud of Norway died in London. The daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom was born at Marlborough House in London as Princess Maud of Wales. Queen Maud had one child and heir to the Norwegian throne – Prince Alexander/Olav – who went on to become King Olav V.

20 November 1947:

On this day in history, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh married at Westminster Abbey in 1947. They first met when Elizabeth was only 13-years-old, and Philip was in the Royal Navy. It is thought their courtship was engineered by Philip’s uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was intent on getting the Mountbatten name back up into high standing. Less than five years after their wedding, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II upon the death of her father. They have four children, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

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20 November 1992:

On this day in 1992, Windsor Castle caught fire after a workman’s light had been left on too close to a curtain. The fire occurred on the wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. It is well known that Windsor Castle is the favourite residence of the monarch and was her main childhood home. The fire added to an awful year for the Windsor family with the divorces of three of The Queen’s children being announced and the fire that followed, resulted in The Queen describing 1992 as an ‘annus horribilis’ (horrible year).

21 November 1840:

The eldest daughter and first child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was born on this day in 1840. Princess Victoria, The Princess Royal married German Emperor Frederick III and had eight children, one of whom was Wilhelm II. The Princess died only a few months after her mother.

25 November 1868:

On this day in 1868, Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse was born in Germany. The Duke was the son of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and a grandson of Queen Victoria. The Duke had three children.

25 November 1876:

On this day in 1876, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born in Malta, whilst her father was serving in the Royal Navy. The daughter of Prince Alfred (later the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) caused a great scandal when she divorced her first husband, Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. She later claimed that he had homosexual tendencies.

26 November 1869:

On this day in 1869, Queen Maud of Norway was born in London. The youngest daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom married Prince Carl of Denmark (later King Haakon VII of Norway). Queen Maud had one child and heir to the Nordic throne, Prince Alexander. His name was changed to Olav when his father was elected as Norway’s monarch. He ascended to the throne as King Olav V in 1957.