August 2007: Some notable Royal Women in history

[norwegianne]

Summer holiday is coming to a close - and I certainly hope you've had better weather than me. Rain, rain, and more rain… it is hardly the stuff the summers in our imaginations are made of, is it?

It has been a summer of royal events, even if July is technically the summer holiday month in northern Europe. The Christening of Princess Isabella of Denmark, with Mathilde of Belgium and Alexia of Greece and Denmark as royal sponsors, and many other royals in attendance. The birthday celebrations of Queen Sonja of Norway with the following cruise. Crown Princess Victoria turning 30. Infanta Sofia of Spain's christening, the national day in Belgium, the Red Cross ball in Monaco… there have been a lot of events for us to follow.

The Norwegian royal family on July 4th - in Stavanger.

We have chosen to have royal women in history as a subject of this newsletter, and have selected a few. Doubtless - we could have created a 10-page-long thread, (if not several) if we were to include everybody, so we have chosen some. If there's someone special that we've missed - there's always Royal ChitChat for starting a new thread about the subject.

Here's to having a nice August,
Avalon, Norwegianne & Zonk

[norwegianne]

What happened in July?


Birthdays
01.07 - Birthday of Charles Armstrong-Jones (1999)
03.07 - Birthday of Prince Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (1933)
03.07 - Birthday of Princess Marie Louise of Baden (1969)
04.07 - Birthday of Prince Michael of Kent (1942)
04.07 - Birthday of Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand (1957)
04.07 - Birthday of Queen Sonja of Norway (1937)
07.07 - Birthday of Prince Nicholas of Montenegro (1944)
09.07 - Birthday of Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark (1965)
11.07 - Birthday of Prince Kyrill, Prince of Preslay (1964)
11.07 - Birthday of Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon (1986)
12.07 - Birthday of Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (1967)
14.07 - Birthday of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (1977)
15.07 - Birthday of Camille Gottlieb (1998)
15.07 - Birthday of Prince Lukas of Bulgaria (1997)
15.07 - Birthday of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei (1946)
16.07 - Birthday of Princess Marie of Liechtenstein (1975)
17.07 - Birthday of Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall (1947)
17.07 - Birthday of Crown Prince Alexander (1945)
17.07 - Birthday of Felipe Juan Froilan de Marichilar y Borbon (1998)
18.07 - Birthday of Muna Juma of Jordan (1996)
18.07 - Birthday of Prince Alexander of Belgium (1942)
19.07 - Birthday of Prince Ernst-August Jr. of Hannover (1983)
20.07 - Birthday of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway (1973)
20.07 - Birthday of Princess Alexandra of Hannover (1999)
22.07 - Birthday of Prince Felix of Denmark (2002)
23.07 - Birthday of Princess Georgina Maximiliane Tatjana Maria of Liechtenstein (2005)
24.07 - Birthday of Princess Sarvath of Jordan (1947)
25.07 - Birthday of Lord Nicholas Windsor (1970)
25.07 - Birthday of Princess Maria Olympia of Greece and Denmark (1996)
27.07 - Birthday of Archduke Bartholomeus of Austria (2006)
27.07 - Birthday of Princess Mafalda-Ceceilia of Bulgaria (1994)
28.07 - Birthday of Crown Prinxe Vajiralongkorn of Thailand (1952)
28.07 - Birthday of Samuel Chatto (1996)
30.07 - Birthday of Infanta Maria del Pilar (1936)
30.07 - Birthday of Young Crown Prince Hridayendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal (2002)
30.07 - Birthday of Carlos Morales y de Grecia (2005)
31.07 - Birthday of Marina Ogilvy (1966)
31.07 - Birthday of Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern (1932)

27.07 - Death Anniversary of Shahanshah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (1980)
31.07 - Death Anniversary of King Baudouin of Belgium (1993)

Weddings and Anniversaries
21.07.1960 - Wedding Anniversary of Prince Carl, Duke of Wurtemberg and Princess Diane of Orleans
01.07.1995 – Wedding Anniversary of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and Marie Chantal Miller
02.07.2005 – Wedding Anniversary of Archduke Maximilian of Austria and Maya Askari
02.07.1959 – Wedding Anniversary of King Albert II of Belgium and Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria
03.07.1993 – Wedding Anniversary of Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and Duchess Sophie of Bavaria
04.07.1999 – Wedding Anniversary of Countess Clarissa zu Toerring-Jettenbach and Prince Tassilo von Ratibor-Corvey
08.07.2000 – Wedding Anniversary of Prince Bernhard van Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven & Annette Sekreve
09.07.2005 – Wedding Anniversary of Princess Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and Count Stefano Hunyady von Kethily
09.07.1999 – Wedding Anniversary of Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark & Carlos Morales Quintana
12.07.2002 - Wedding Anniversary of King Mohammed VI of Morocco and Salma Bennani
17.07.1999 – Wedding Anniversary of Prince Constantin of Liechtenstein and Countess Marie Kalnoky
30.07.1967 - Wedding Anniversary of Reigning Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein and Countess Marie Kinsky

State Visits/Official Visits
12.07 - Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip to visit Belgium

Special Events
01.07 - Concert For Diana - Preparations for the 10th Anniversary Concert and Memorial Service
04.07 - 70th Birthday Celebrations of Queen Sonja
14.07 - Crown Princess Victoria turns 30
21.07 National Day of Belgium
27.07 - Red Cross Ball - July 27th, 2007

Other Events of Note
01.07 - Christening of Princess Isabella of Denmark
15.07 - Christening of Infanta Sofía of Spain

[norwegianne]

What will happen in August?

Birthdays
03.08 Birthday of Charlotte Casiraghi (1986)
03.08 Birthday of Princess Christina Mrs Magnuson (1943)
03.08 Birthday of Prince Louis of Luxembourg (1986)
05.08 Birthday of Princess Irene of the Netherlands (1939)
06.08 Birthday of Columbus Taylor (1994)
08.08 Birthday of Princess Beatrice of York (1988)
11.08 Birthday of Princess Mabel van Oranje-Nassau (1960)
12.08 Birthday of Achileas Andreas, Prince of Greece and Denmark (2000)
12.08 Birthday of Princess Sarah of Jordan (1978)
12.08 Birthday of Queen Sirikit of Thailand (1932)
13.08 Birthday of Princess Rahma of Jordan (1969)
15.08 Birthday of The Princess Royal (1950)
16.08 Birthday of Duke Paul-Vladimir of Oldenburg (1969)
16.08 Birthday of Princess Luisa of Savoy (2006)
16.08 Birthday of Countess Ingrid Alexandra Irma Astrid Benedikte von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (2003)
19.08 Birthday of The Duchess of Anhalt (1961)
19.08 Birthday of Prince Philipp Erasmus of Liechtenstein (1946)
19.08 Birthday of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (1973)
20.08 Birthday of Prince Gabriel of Belgium (2003)
21.08 Birthday of King Mohammed VI of Morocco (1963)
23.08 Birthday of Queen Noor of Jordan (1951)
24.08 Birthday of Alexandre Eric Stéphane Coste (2003)
26.08 Birthday of Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester (1944)
26.08 Birthday of Princess Maria-Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (1988)
28.08 Birthday of Prince Nikolai of Denmark (1999)
30.08 Birthday of Princess Lilian, the Duchess of Halland (1915)
30.08 Birthday of Former Queen Anne-Marie of Greece (born Princess of Denmark) (1946)
31.08 Birthday of Queen Rania of Jordan (1970)

Weddings and Wedding Anniversaries
04.08 Prince Faisal and Princess Aliya of Jordan (1987)
06.08 Prince Manuel of Bavaria and Princess Anna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (2005)
09.08 Duchess Fleur of Wurttemberg and Count Moritz von Goess (2003)
13.08 Princess Xenia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Max Soltmann (2005)
25.08 Crown Prince Haakon of Norway & Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby (2001)
27.08 Prince Pieter Christiaan of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven and Anita Theodora van Eijk (2005)
27.08 http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...6-a-10674.html (2006)
29.08 King Harald of Norway and Sonja Haraldsen (1968)

30.08 Prince Ferdinand-Maximilian zu Ysenburg und Büdingen & Sophie De Bois (2003)

Special Events
04.08 - http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...7-a-13379.html
31.08 10th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. (1997) - Memorial service.

Other Events of Note
07.08 Anniversary of Enthronement Ceremony of King Albert II of Belgium (1993)

[norwegianne]

In royal history, it has usually been focus on the males - and the sole purpose of the queens and princesses have been to birth the heir to the throne, and marry well so that their countries may live in peaceful alliances with other countries - and other than that, be as inconspicuous as possible. This month, the Newsletter team is putting focus on some women who may have gone beyond the expectations, in some way or other. It is a limited number we have chosen, and while we're certain that there should be several more included, time as well as summer holidays put a stop to it.

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Margrete I (Margaret I) – When Margrete Valdemarsdatter was born in 1353 – one couldn’t possibly have foreseen how her life would impact the way of life in Scandinavia for a long time to come. Certainly, a princess was meant to marry well – and she fulfilled that aspect by being married off as a ten-year-old, to the king of Norway. A queen was meant to give her husband and her country an heir, and she fulfilled that, when she at seventeen, gave birth to a boy, Olav/Oluf. Her goal in life had been attained. However, as the sole surviving child of Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark upon his death in 1375 – she managed to get her five-year-old son elected King of Denmark. As Olav was underage, his mother was to be regent until her son came of age. When her husband, Håkon VI of Norway, passed away – Olav inherited the throne, Norway and Denmark were united in a personal union under the same king – with Margrete as the regent. When Olav passed away in 1387, Margrete took into her care her sister’s nephew. She was elected regent in Denmark in 1387, and in Norway in 1388. Eventually, she would also be elected regent of Sweden – hence she controlled an area that spanned from today’s Finland in the east to Greenland in the west. In 1396, she had her sister’s nephew hailed as king in Kalmar, and formed a formal union between the three countries, but while she might have turned over the visible crown – she was still the one pulling the strings until her death in 1412. The Kalmar Union lasted for over 100 years, but would continue to make a mark on Scandinavian society for a long time to come.

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Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil - She was heir to the throne of Brazil (with the title of Princess Imperial) during the last decades of the reign of her father Pedro II of Brazil.

Isabel was regent of the empire three times while her father traveled abroad. A liberal, the princess joined those who wanted the slavery abolished. She supported young politicians and artists, although many of them were part of the republican movement that started to be created. She used to pay with her own money so that slaves would be free.

On June 30th, 1887 Isabel was acting as regent for the third time. She then took advantage of an incident and fired the whole ministry, that was against the abolition. The road was open for the total abolition.

On Sunday, May 13th, 1888, the final voting for the total abolition was taking place. Isabel was so sure of the victory that she came down from Petropolis to wait for the results at the Imperial Palace. And then, with a golden feather, specially designed for the occasion, Isabel signed the final abolition of slavery edict (the "Lei Áurea", Golden Law, effectively banning slavery), and because of that she was nicknamed the Redeemer. On September 28th, the Pope Leo XIII awarded her with the "Golden Rose".

With a very innovative thought for her time, Isabel was a partisan of modern ideas, like the female vote and the agrarian reformation. Recently discovered documents showed that the princess thought about compensating the ex-slaves with Mauá Bank's resources.

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Isabella of Castile - She was Queen regnant of Castile and Leon. She and her husband, Ferdinand II of Aragon, laid the foundation for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Carlos I of Spain.

Certainly one of the most important and best known actions that Isabella was responsible for was the authorization for the expedition of Christopher Columbus. She rejected his plans three times before changing her mind. His conditions (the position of Admiral; governorship for him and his descendants of lands to be discovered; and ten percent of the profits) were met. On August 3, his expedition departed. He returned the next year and presented his findings to the monarchs, bringing natives and gold under a hero's welcome. Spain entered a Golden Age of exploration and colonization.

In 1494, by the Treaty of Tordesillas, Isabella and Ferdinand divided the Earth, outside of Europe, with Portugal. Ferdinand and Isabella were strong leaders who worked to unify Spain physically as well. This was largely achieved after the conquest of Granada in 1492.

The birth of Isabella’s son in 1478 consolidated the political stability as it meant a clear line of succession for the Spanish throne. Isabella ensured long-term political stability in Spain by arranging strategic marriages for each of her five children. Her firstborn, a daughter named Isabella, married Alfonso of Portugal, forging important ties between these two neighbouring countries and hopefully ensuring peace and future alliance. Juana (the Mad), Isabella’s second daughter, married Philip the Handsome, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and later ruled Castile with him. She was the mother of Charles V. Isabella’s first and only son, Juan, married Margaret of Austria, maintaining ties with the Habsburg dynasty. He died leaving no children. Her fourth child, Maria, married Manuel I of Portugal, strengthening the link forged by her older sister’s marriage and was the mother of John III. Her fifth child, Catherine, first married Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, and, after his death, his younger brother Henry VIII, King of England and was mother to Queen Mary I.

[norwegianne]

The Administrators (Elspeth, Ennyllorac, Mandy, Norwegianne & Warren) would like to welcome Avalon as the sixth member of the administrative team here at TRF.

Other changes in the moderating team includes Empress changing from moderator status to supermoderator.

There have been some glitches around the server change, which has unfortunately resulted in some down-time. Andy is aware of it, and is working on the matter.

[norwegianne]

Final notes:
Thanks to Anna_R for helping out with some of the profiles.

The birthdates, as well as the wedding anniversaries, in the newsletters have been retrieved from the site calendar. If you think we're missing something - why not add it there as well, so you're confident we'll remember it next year.

If there's something you think we should feature in the newsletter - PM Zonk, Norwegianne or Avalon with the details.