March 2009 Newsletter: The 1910s

[Lady Jennifer]

March's newsletter focuses on the world events of the 1910's. This is the time of the Great War, which signals not only the beginning of "modern" times, but mostly the end of an era and certainly the end of reign for many a royal family. We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter.

We hope that you enjoy this month's newsletter.

Lady Jennifer, Kimebear, LadyLeana and Zonk

[Lady Jennifer]

Changes to the team

We would like to welcome wbenson who is our newest moderator. wbenson is a moderator over in the British Forums. Welcome to the team wbenson!

Questions about The Royal Forums?

We have a thread in the Support and Feedback forum that contains all sorts of information about TRF and also contains a copy of the Member FAQs for easy reference.

Picture of the Month

Don't forget to vote for February's Picture of the Month. There are two polls this month. You can find them here & here.

The Royal Forums Blog

We are pleased to announce that TRF's blog is now live (the announcement). If you would like to participate in the blog you can contact either Elspeth or Kimebear.

The Royal Articles

If you haven't had the opportunity, to check out The Royal Articles.

Since we are unable to use professional photos to illustrate the articles, the editors are very interested in hearing from any members who have taken photos of royals and would be willing to have their photos used in the articles. Also, anyone who would like to try their hand at writing an article should contact one of the editors. The editors are Elspeth, Mandy, Marengo, and TheTruth.

[Lady Jennifer]

Birthdays

1st - Birthday of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.
1st - Birthday of Duchess Anna of Wurttemberg
3rd - Birthday of Princess Angela of Liechtenstein
4th - Birthday of Princess Marilène of Orange Nassau, van Vollenhoven
5th - Birthday of Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark
5th - Birthday of Arthur Chatto
6th - Birthday of Princess Louise of Belgium
6th - Birthday of Princess Marie-Christine of Belgium
7th - Birthday of Count Frederik of Ortenburg
9th - Birthday of Princess Raiyah of Jordan
11th - Birthday of Prince Katsura of Japan
11th - Birthday of Princess Ayah of Jordan
12th - Birthday of Prince Hussein Mirza of Jordan
13th - Birthday of Princess Alia of Jordan
14th - Birthday of Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein
16th - Birthday of Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg
17th - Birthday of Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg
17th - Birthday of Crown Prince Al-Muhtabee Billah of Brunei
18th - Birthday of Queen Komal of Nepal
18th - Birthday of Princess Christina of the Netherlands
19th - Birthday of Prince Andrew, The Duke of York
20th - Birthday of Princess Prerana Rajya Laxmi Devi Singh of Nepal
21st - Birthday of Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk, the Dragon King of Bhutan
21st - Birthday of Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Prince Imperial and Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia
21st - Birthday of King Harald of Norway
21st - Birthday of Count Carl Theodor of Ortenburgh
22nd - Birthday of Katharine, The Duchess of Kent
23rd - Birthday of Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan
24th - Birthday of Prince Carlo, Duke of Calabria
24th - Birthday of Arrietta Morales y de Grecia
25th - Birthday of Princess Alice of Albany
26th - Birthday of Ernst August, Prince of Hanover
28th - Birthday of Lalla Khadija of Morocco


WeddingsAnniversaries

2nd - Wedding Anniversary of Crown Prince Willem Alexander and Maxima Zorreguieta
3rd - Wedding Anniversary of Princess Benedikte of Denmark & Prince Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
6th - Wedding Anniversary of Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria and Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg
10th - Wedding Anniversary of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
11th - Wedding Anniversary of Archduke Philipp of Austria and Heather Maria Plain
11th - Wedding Anniversary of Prince Karl-Wilhelm of Baden and Stephanie Anne Kaul
12th - Wedding Anniversary of Stephanie, Countess von Bismarck-Schoenhausen and Karl-Theodor, Reichsfreiherr von und zu Guttenberg
14th - Wedding Anniversary of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista


Deaths

1st - Death of Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Sweden
6th - Death of King George VI of Great Britain
7th - Death of King Hussein I of Jordan
9th - Death of Queen Alia of Jordan
9th - Death of Princess Margaret, The Countess of Snowdon


Other Anniversaries

6th - Accession to the Throne of Queen Elizabeth II
24th - Announcement of the engagement of Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer

Special Events

2nd - 6th - The Princess Royal visits Croatia and Kosovo
State Visit from Italy to Luxembourg; February 2 to 4, 2009
2nd - Prince Albert makes an official visit to Düsseldorf, Germany to launch the German branch of the Prince Albert II Foundation
3rd - 8th - The Earl of Wessex visits the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Barbados
4th - The Queen of Denmark receives a delegation from the Serbian parliament at Christian IX's Palace
4th - Crown Princess Mary participates in the launch of a new project for The Mary Foundation at Nykredit
Haakon & Mette Marit Visit to Finnmark; 5-6 February
Visit to Antartica- 6/9 february 2009
Crown Prince Naruhito's Official Visit to VietNam: 9-15 February 2009
5th - 7th - Princess Caroline visits Niger in order to examine AMADE's activities
State Visit from Argentina. February 9th-10th, 2009.
17th - 19th - The King and Queen of Sweden visit Bangkok, Thailand, to attend the Baden-Powell Fellowship Event.
17th - The Queen of Denmark receives a delegation from the Ukrainian parliament at Christian IX's Palace
18th - Crown Prince Philippe attends a memorial service of the 100th anniversary of Albert I taking the oath and the 75th anniversary of his fatal accident in Liège.

[Lady Jennifer]

Birthdays


1st - Timothy Laurence (Husband of Princess Royal)


1st - Lady Rose Windsor (1980)


2nd - Takako Shimazu, formerly her Imperial Highness Princess Takako of Japan (1939)


2nd - Eloise Taylor (2003)


3rd - Infanta Maria Francisca, the daughter of Duke and Duchess of Braganza (1996)


4th – Jazmin Grace Grimaldi (1992)


5th - Eugenia de Bourbon (2007)


6th - Infanta Margarita de Borbon (1939)


7th - Atsuko Ikeda, formerly Her Imperial Highness Princess Atsuko of Japan (1931)


10th – The Earl of Wessex (1964)


12th - Xan Richard Anders Windsor, Baron Culloden (2007)


12th - Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi (1963)


12th - Gabriel de Nassau (2006)


13th – Grand Duke Georgiy Mikhailovich (1981)


14th – Prince Albert II of Monaco (1958)


14th - Simeon Hassan Muñoz (2007)


15th - Prince Constantin of Liechtenstein (1972)


17th - Prince Abdul Muntaqim of Brunei (2007)


19th - Prince Abdullah bin Ali of Jordan (2007)


20th - Prince Hassan of Jordan (1947)


21st - Duchess Maria Assunta of Oldenburg (2007)


21st – Count Claus Casimir van Oranje-Nassau (2004)


22nd – Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg (1956)


22nd - Prince Pieter Christiaan of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (1972)


23rd - Prince Beltran of Bulgaria (1999)


23rd – Princess Eugenie of York (1990)


25th - Philipp von Lattorf (1968)


25th - Infante Alfonso, Prince of Beira (1996)


26th – Crown Prince Leka of Albania (1982)


26th – Princess Margarita of Romania (1949)


26th – Countess Luana van Oranje-Nassau (2005)


27th - Princess Sara and Princess Aisha of Jordan (1997)


28th - Princess Badiya of Jordan (1974)


29th - Prince Hamzah of Jordan (1980)

Deaths


8th - Karl XIV Johan of Sweden (1844)


20th - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (2004)


20th - King Henry IV of England (1413)


30th - Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (2002)


31st - Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1751)

Weddings and Wedding Anniversaries


3rd - http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...7-a-12011.html


10th - http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...66-a-3885.html


18th - http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...1995-a-43.html


20th - http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...82-a-3985.html

Other events


Visit to Chile, Brazil and Ecuador: 8th - 17th March 2009


Philippe & Mathilde on economic mission to Mexico and Panama, 21 to 27 March 2009


http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...9-a-19812.html


MADD Day 2009


Rose Ball - March 28th, 2009


http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...9-a-19450.html


http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...7th-20405.html


State Visit from Russia:2th-3th March 2009.


http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...9-a-20248.html

[Lady Jennifer]

Births

28 March 1910: Princess Ingrid of Sweden (later Queen Consort of Denmark) was the third child of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden, and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught. She was one of the many royal grandchildren of British Queen Victoria. Princess Ingrid was, at one point, linked to the then Prince of Wales, but she ended up marrying Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Iceland, who was a third cousin through several family ties. The couple had three children, the current Queen of Denmark, Margrethe, Benedikte and Anne-Marie, former Queen of Greece. the Princess became Queen upon her husband's accession to the throne in 1947. She died on 7 November 2000 and was interred next to her husband outside Roskilde Cathedral.

29 June 1911: Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (later Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands, consort to Queen Juliana) was born with the title of Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld, because the marriage of his parents, Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, the younger brother of the reigning Prince of Lippe) and Baroness Armgard von Sierstorpff-Cramm was considered morganatic. Later on, he wagranted the title of Prince of Lippe-Biesterfeld. He married (then) Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, and became Prince Consort upon her accession to the throne. During WWII he was very active in the army, and he is known to have wrecked many a plane and care in his lifetime. He fathered six children, four of whom with his wife: Beatrix (now Queen of the Netherlands), Irene, Margriet, and Christina. Prince Bernhard died on 1 December 2004 of cancer. His funeral was held with all possible military honours.

20 June 1913: Infante Juan of Spain (later Count of Barcelona) was the fourth son and designated heir of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, the monarch replaced by the Second Spanish Republic. He married Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1910-2000), known in Spain as Doña María de las Mercedes de Borbón Dos-Sicilias y Orleans, in Rome on 12 October 1935. On her marriage, she gained the title of Countess of Barcelona. They had four children, one of which is King Juan Carlos of Spain, under whom a constitutional monarchy was restored. As King, he would have been Juan III of Spain. He died on 1 April 1993.

2 August 1916: Zein al-Sharaf (later Queen Consort of Jordan and mother of King Hussein) was born in Alexandria, in Egypt. She is mostly known for her pioneering work in the promotion of women's rights in Jordan, and her many efforts in charitable work. She married King Talal in 1934. She was a major political influence during the 1950's and acted as regent both during her husband's and son's reign. She had four sons, one of which was King Hussein of Jordan, the father of the current King, and two daughters. She died on 26 April 1994 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

28 November 1916: Lilian Baels (later Princess of Réthy, morganatic wife of Leopold III of Belgium) was born as Mary Lilian Baels in London, where her parents were living at the time. She was educated in English, Dutch and French, and attended a finishing school in London. At the age of 20, she was presented to King George V and Queen Mary of England. She met her future husband, King Leopold III of the Belgians in 1933, when he was still Duke of Brabant. In 1941 she was invited to Laeken to entertain King Leopold, who was quite depressed because of his emprisonment by the Nazis (he was a prisoner of war, but was allowed to live in his palace). Leopold and Lilian married in September of that year. Lilian declined the title of Queen, and was known as Princess of Réthy. The couple had three children: Alexandre, Marie Esmeralda and Marie Christine. This morganatic marriage was one of the reasons Leopold had to abdicate. The couple moved from the Palace in Laecken to Argenteuil upon the marriage of Baudouin and Fabiola, where Lilian lived until her death in 2002.

18 April 1917: Princess Frederika of Hanover (later Queen Consort of Greece) was the daughter of Ernest Augustus III, Duke of Brunswick and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of German Emperor William II and Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1936 Prince Paul, Crown Prince of Greece, proposed to her in Berlin when he was there to see the 1936 Summer Olympics. On 9 January 1938 they married in Athens. Prince Paul was the son of King Constantine I of Greece and Sophie of Prussia. Ten months after their marriage their first child was born on 2 November 1938: Sophia, the future Queen Sofia of Spain. On 2 June 1940 their son and heir, Constantine was born. She was Queen Consort of Greece from 1947 to 1964, when her husband died of cancer. Queen Frederika died in Madrid, in exile after the abolishment of the Greek monarchy, on 6 February 1981, during surgery.

[Lady Jennifer]

Marriages and Anniversaries

24 May 1913: Princess Victoria-Louise of Prussia and Ernst-August of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick. Princess Victoria-Louise was the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Prussia. She and Ernst-August of Hanover met when he visited the Court to thank the Kaiser for his condolences on the death of Ernst-August's elder brother. The couple fell in love and were married in May 1913, the last large ceremony involving the European royals before World War I. Later that year, Ernst-August took over the title Duke of Brunswick from his father. Ernst-August and Victoria-Louise had five children, four sons and a daughter. The daughter, Frederika, married the King of the Hellenes and is the mother of King Constantine of Greece and Queen Sofia of Spain.

4 November 1919: Alexander I of Greece and Aspasia Manos. Aspasia Manos was a Greek commoner and not considered a suitable wife for King Alexander. They eloped and contracted a secret marriage. Because of the outcry at the marriage, the couple had to leave Greece for a while and live in Paris. Aspasia was never referred to as Queen but instead was known as Madame Manos. Alexander and Aspasia had one daughter, Alexandra, who eventually married King Peter of Yugoslavia. Alexander died in October 1920, less than a year after his wedding and five months before the birth of his daughter. His father, Constantine I, was restored to the throne and in 1922 formally recognised the marriage of Alexander and Aspasia. After this, Aspasia was granted the title Royal Highness, as was her daughter. She died in Venice in 1972.

6 November 1919: Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma. Charlotte became Grand Duchess of Luxembourg in January 1919 following the abdication of her sister Marie-Adelaide. In November of that year she married Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, one of the 24 children of Robert Duke of Parma. He was created Prince of Luxembourg the day before the wedding. Felix and Charlotte had six children, the eldest being Jean, who succeeded his mother as the ruler of Luxembourg and who is still alive today, aged 88.

[Zonk]

The German Revolution was a politicially driven conflict that occurred in Germany at the end of World War I. The conflict began in November 1917 and ended with the formation of the Weimar Republic in August of 1919. The roots of the revolution can be found in the social tensions of the German Empire: its undemocratic constitution and the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to reform. By July of 1918, the military defeat of Germany was all but certain.On October 5th, the German Empire changed from a consitutional monarchy to a parliamentary monarchy. In order to secure more favorable peace terms, the new government reached out to the Allied Powers. President Wilson of the United States responded to the request for a truce with three diplomatic notes. As a precondition for negotiations he demanded the retreat of Germany from all occupied territories, the cessation of submarine activities and – in between lines – the Kaiser's abdication. Prior to President Wilson formalizing his requests, the German Commander, who initially was in favor of ending the war changed his mind. Needless to say, the German troops who had reconciled themselves to the end of the war and were pressing to go home were not happy. The sailor's revolt was triggered by the policy of the Supreme Command and the decision of the Naval Command in the face of defeat to deliver one last battle to the British Royal Navy. The sailor’s revolt, then ensued in the naval ports of Wilhelmshaven and Kiel and quickly spread across the whole country within days. After the outbreak of the German Revolution, Kaiser Wilhelm could not make up his mind whether or not to abdicate. He was under the impression that if he vacated the German throne, he could still retain the Prussian kingship. The unreality of this claim was revealed when, for the sake of preserving some form of government in the face of anarchy, Wilhelm's abdication both as German Emperor and King of Prussia was abruptly announced by the Chancellor, Prince Max of Baden on November 9, 1918. In 1919 a National Assembly was convened in Weimar. On August 11, 1919 a new constitution was adopted for the German Reich. For fourteen years, there was an attempt to establish a liberal demoracy in Germany. Unfortunately, this attempted failed with the ascent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in 1933.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 and effectively ended the war between Germany and the Allied Powers. One of the most important and controversial provisions of the Treaty required Germany and its allies to accept full responsibility for causing the war. In addition, they were required to disarm, make territorial concessions and pay reparations to some of the countries that made up the Allied Powers. Each of the three major countries (Great Britain, France and the United States) had different goals, so the Treaty is often referred to as the “unhappy compromise.” Since a significant amount of the battles had been fought on French land, the French Prime Minister wanted to impose policies that would cripple Germany military, politically and financially so that Germany would never be in the position to invade France again. In addition, France wanted the industrial rich Alsace-Lorraine, which the French had lost to Germany in 1871. The British had no desire for the French demands to be met --- if the demands were carried out then the French had the potential to become a powerful force –thus upsetting a balance that previously had been in Great Britain’s favor. In addition, prior to the War, Germany had been Britain’s main competitor and largest trading partner. In essence, hurting Germany economically would in turn hurt Britain. The United States wanted to ensure future trading opportunities, collect the European debt and avoid future wars. The result of these competing and sometimes incompatible goals among the victors was compromise that left none satisfied: Germany was not pacified nor permanently weakened. This would prove to be a factor leading to later conflicts, as well as sowing the seeds for the rise of Adolf Hilter in Nazi Germany.

[Zonk]

In order to prevent another world war from happening, The Treaty of Versailles called for the creation of a governing body that would deal with world issues before they escalated. Thus the League of Nations was created. The League’s goals included upholding the Rights of Man, disbarment, settling disputes between countries through negotiation and diplomacy and preventing future wars. Although its initial intent were honorable, the League lacked its own armed force and as a result depended on the Great Powers (France, Great Britian and the United) to enforce its resolutions, keep to economic sanctions which the League ordered, or provide an army, when needed, for the League to use. However, they were often reluctant to do so. Sanctions could also hurt the League members imposing the sanctions and given the anti-war attitude following World War I, countries were reluctant to take military action. The onset of the Second World War suggested that the League had failed in its primary purpose, which was to avoid any future world war. There were a variety of reasons for this failure, many connected to general weaknesses within the organization.


In 1918, an influenza pandemic began that spread to nearly every part of the world (including the Arctic and remote Pacific islands). This flu pandemic, also known as the Spanish flu, was caused by an unusually severe and deadly Influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1. The pandemic lasted from March 1918 until June of 1920, and a majority of its victims were healthy adults as opposed to other influenza outbreaks which tend to affect juvenile, elderly, or otherwise weakened patients. It is estimated that anywhere from 20 to 100 million people were killed worldwide or the approximate equivalent of one third of the population of Europe, more than double the number killed in World War I.