Royal Tragedies

[carlota]

the recent news of maxima's sister's death by suicide made me think that royals really are, after all, just people and that no amount of power can spare you from horrific things happening to you and your loved ones. i was young when diana's death occurred, but i imagine a lot of people will remember that. were there any royal tragedies that stayed in your head throughout these years?

for me, i add letizia's sister's death by suicide some years back. i remember it being on the front pages of the newspapers, and seeing letizia, who is very composed, stern and planned, crying. i thought the accident that friso suffered and the one that kardam of bulgaria suffered were particularly shocking, specially since they had young kids.

[Countessmeout]

All losses are hard. But when they die in a senseless way, or when they are either quite young or young children, makes it all the worse.

Queen Alia of Jordan, 28 when she died, leaving behind 2 children who were 2 and 3 years old at the time. And a 4 year old adopted daughter. Sadly for her adopted daughter, she lost both her mothers in similar ways. Her birth mother died from a plane crash at a refugee camp in 1976. A year later her adopted mother died in a helicopter crash.

Little Princess Alienor of Liechtenstein died from choking. She was less then 15 months old at the time. Her parents Prince Rudolph and Princess Tilsim live very private lives (Rudolph's father is the younger brother of Hans Adam) and the existence of their daughter wasn't publicized till after she died.

[Princess B]

I think the royal Nepal massacre was a big tragedy.

Not only were the king and queen killed, but a lot of their extended family too.
The crown prince also committed suicide.
This in my opinion eventually led to the end of the monarchy in Nepal

[Moonmaiden23]

That's the worst Royal tragedy in recent times, IMO.

I remember it, I was shocked beyond belief. I still am.

The sudden and violent deaths of Queen Astrid of Belgium, Queen Alia of Jordan, Diana Princess of Wales, and Princess Grace of Monaco are not far behind.

[CyrilVladisla]

On November 16, 1937, Hereditary Grand Duchess Cecilie and Hereditary Grand Duke George Donatus of Hesse and by Rhine, their two sons, Prince Ludwig and Prince Alexander, and George's mother, Grand Duchess Eleonore were traveling by plane to London to attend a family wedding. The plane crashed leaving no survivors.

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by CyrilVladisla

On November 16, 1937, Hereditary Grand Duchess Cecilie and Hereditary Grand Duke George Donatus of Hesse and by Rhine, their two sons, Prince Ludwig and Prince Alexander, and George's mother, Grand Duchess Eleonore were traveling by plane to London to attend a family wedding. The plane crashed leaving no survivors.

Three sons. The third one if he was named before he died, we will never know. Cecile (Prince Philip's sister), was pregnant. It was determined she had actually given birth some time midflight to the baby.

Their daughter Johanna had not been on the flight. She was only a year old, likely why she was left at home. Sadly she died of meningitis less then 2 years later.

They had been headed for the wedding of George's brother Ludwig. Ludwig's wedding took place on time, but he and Margaret married in mourning clothes and then headed home for the funeral. The couple adopted Joanna and planned to raise her as their own.

That's the worst Royal tragedy in recent times, IMO.

I remember it, I was shocked beyond belief. I still am.

The sudden and violent deaths of Queen Astrid of Belgium, Queen Alia of Jordan, Diana Princess of Wales, and Princess Grace of Monaco are not far behind.

Any death by accident are always tragic, no matter who.

But for shock value, a mass murder is something that stays in a person's mind. And when it is the murder of such a prominent group as almost an entire royal family. I remember hearing about the event. I had never heard of the Nepal royal family before. Now I will never forget.

9 members of the royal family were murdered. And four wounded. And then of course the 10th death, the shooter himself.

dead:
-King Birendra
-Queen Aishwarya
-their younger son Prince Nirajan
-Princess Shruti, their only daughter
-Prince Dhirendra, younger brother of the king
-Princess Shanti, the king's sister, the widowed Rani Bahjang (current Raja is her son)
-Princess Sharada, another sister of the king
-Sharada's husband Khadja
-Princess Jayanti, a cousin of the king

shot:
-Princess Shova-another sister of the king
-Gorakh- Shruti's husband
-Princess Komal- the king's sister in law, wife of eventual King Gyanendra
-Ketaki Chester- Princess Jayanti's sister, she had given up her title

The only adult member of the royal family (the king, his children and his siblings) not at least injured, was King Gyanendra.


I remember as a kid watching King Ralph and thinking 'that could never happen'. Okay well 100 people weren't wiped out, but the near wipe out of the royal family in one horrific event was possible.

[Gawin]

Originally Posted by Countessmeout

Three sons. The third one if he was named before he died, we will never know. Cecile (Prince Philip's sister), was pregnant. It was determined she had actually given birth some time midflight to the baby.

Two sons is correct. The body of the third was found in the wreckage but it isn't known whether he was born during the flight or as a result of the crash.

Source: Philip Eade, Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II (2011), p. xviii.

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by Gawin

Two sons is correct. The body of the third was found in the wreckage but it isn't known whether he was born during the flight or as a result of the crash.

Source: Philip Eade, Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II (2011), p. xviii.

Newspaper articles suggest that the determination was made she had gone into labor during the flight

https://news.google.com/newspapers?n...g=4248,1220727

Either way there was a third son and he died.

[Gawin]

Originally Posted by Countessmeout

Newspaper articles suggest that the determination was made she had gone into labor during the flight

https://news.google.com/newspapers?n...g=4248,1220727

Either way there was a third son and he died.

The newspaper account is wrong. Yes there were three sons but the OP referred to the number of sons who were travelling with their parents. There were two. The third was born either during the flight or as a result of the crash.

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by Gawin

The newspaper account is wrong. Yes there were three sons but the OP referred to the number of sons who were travelling with their parents. There were two. The third was born either during the flight or as a result of the crash.

Glad we agree He was traveling on the flight.

It wasn't about those 'born when they boarded the airplane' but those who died as result of the crash. The little prince was one of them.

And you yourself just said that he may have been born during flight, is what the paper said.

[Gawin]

Originally Posted by Countessmeout

Glad we agree He was traveling on the flight.

It wasn't about those 'born when they boarded the airplane' but those who died as result of the crash. The little prince was one of them.

And you yourself just said that he may have been born during flight, is what the paper said.

Nice try but the OP stated "and their two sons...traveled..." so it was about who boarded the plane. Even if the third was born mid-flight (which could never be determined) it only "traveled" from the air to the ground.

And the article you linked to didn't say the baby *may* have been born mid-flight. It clearly stated the birth caused the crash. But that's only a *theory* since the exact time of birth couldn't be determined. Therefore the article is incorrect.

[Tarlita]

That whole plane crash of 1937 was a terrible terrible tragedy that affected so many lives.
And I remember the shooting of the Nepalese Royal family by the son another terrible tragedy.

[maria-olivia]

The Murder of King Feisal of Irak and his Uncle whose body was destroyed in public.

[wonderland31]

The death of Princess Charlotte of Wales after childbirth.

[Countessmeout]

The Murder of King Feisal of Irak and his Uncle whose body was destroyed in public.

Unfortunately Faisal and his Uncle were not the only victims.

Faisal's Uncle Abd al-llah was CP (had been regent for Faisal II when a child). He was doubly related to Faisal, closer on his mother's side. He was Faisal's maternal Uncle, Queen Aliya's younger brother. He was first cousins with Faisal's father Ghazi. Ghazi and Abd were the grandsons of Hussein, King of Hejaz. Abd's father was the eldest son Ali, Ghazi's was the third son Faisal I of Iraq. The second son was Abdullah I of Jordan, great-grandfather of the current king. At the time of the execution Faisal was single, only 23, and having no siblings, his father's cousin was a natural CP.

Abd's wife CP Hiyam, Princess Nafeesa (Faisal's maternal grandmother, Abd's mother), and Princess Abadiya (sister of Abd and Aliya, Faisal's aunt) were all executed as well as the King and CP.

Fortunately members of the family survived:

-Faisal's Aunt Badia (sister of Abd and Aliya). Her and her husband were in Baghdad at the time of the execution. They sought sanctuary at the Saudi Arabian embassy. They were later exiled, eventually settling in London. Her son Ali bin al-Hussein is politically active.

-Faisal's great uncle Zeid. He became the pretender to the throne on the death of his great nephew and nephew (he was the youngest brother of Abd and Faisal's fathers). Fortunately he was an ambassador to London at the time so he and his family were safely away. His son Prince Ra'ad is the current pretender to the throne.

-and of course the Jordanian royal family. Talal was King of Jordan (first cousin of Abd and Ghazi) at the time of the revolution in Iraq.

[An Ard Ri]

The White Ship disaster of November 25th,1120 wiped out several members of the English Royal Family and left a succession crisis that then led to the Anarchy.

Over 250 drowned the most notable were
William Adelin, Duke of Normandy (son of Henry I)
Matilda, Countess of Perche
Richard of Lincoln
Richard d'Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester
Lucia-Mahaut , Countess of Chester

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Ship

[CyrilVladisla]

King Albert I of Belgium died in a mountaineering accident in eastern Belgium in 1934.

[princeofitaly]

Princess Mafalda of Savoy, Landgravine of Hesse, died in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in 1944.

It was on 24 August 1944 that the Allied powers bombed the ammunition factory at the camp. Princess Mafalda was in an adjacent building to the factory. It has been said that she was buried up to her neck in debris from the bombing and had severe burns on her arm.

Eugen Kogon, author of the book "The Theory and Practice of Hell – The German Concentration Camps and the System Behind Them",said that Dr Schiedlausky of the medical office elected to perform an amputation on her injured arm, which was supposedly infected. The results were deadly for the Princess. She died due to significant blood loss from the amputation.

Princess Mafalda’s body was sent, unclothed, to the crematorium where Father Joseph Thyl would take her body, cover her up, and have her cremated. He also took a lock of her hair, which he smuggled out to be sent to her German family. Confirmation of her death did not come until after the Axis powers surrendered to the Allies in April 1945.

[Prinsara]

Mountbatten's assassination by the Provos in 1979. What makes it particularly awful, other than also killing Nicholas Knatchbull, Paul Maxwell, and the Dowager Lady Brabourne, was it was completely unnecessary — Mountbatten actually supported Irish reunification.

I've seen video of ex-IRA going white. "...he should have spoken up about that. He'd probably still be alive..."

(Right. How was he meant to do that?)

Truly tragic, and it brought Diana to the royals and caused years more pain and fatal tragedy.

[Addapalla]

Originally Posted by Countessmeout

Abd's wife CP Hiyam, Princess Nafeesa (Faisal's maternal grandmother, Abd's mother), and Princess Abadiya (sister of Abd and Aliya, Faisal's aunt) were all executed as well as the King and CP

Iraki Crown Princess Hiyam survived the 1958 royal massacre. As everyone in the palace was being rounded up, she had gone back to her room to retrieve something. While still inside the palace, the terrified young woman fainted when she heard the massacre starting and was mercifully spirited away by some sympathetic guards. She settled in Jordan, married a cousin, and had a family before passing away in 1999 at age 66.

Also, it is said that others (loyal retainers?) died alongside the Royal Family that day.