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heavyarethecrowns · 7 years ago

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Those that have married in to the Royal Families since 1800

Norway

Princess Maud of Wales (26 November 1869 – 20 November 1938)

Princess Maud was the third and youngest daughter and the fifth of the six children of the then Prince and Princess of Wales (King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Alexandra of Denmark).

Maud experienced a happy childhood on her parent's Sandringham estate in Norfolk She was a shy and reserved child who loved practical jokes. Growing up, Maud was the most exuberant of the three sisters and was known as Harry in the family.

She developed a one-sided romance with Prince Francis of Teck, the brother of her future sister-in-law Mary of Teck. Maud and Francis exchanged a couple of letters, but it was soon apparent that Francis was not interested in Maud.

Due to Maud’s mother being a Danish princess, Maud visited her Danish relatives often and was familiar with her first cousin Prince Carl of Denmark (later King Haakon VII of Norway), the second son of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, who was three years younger than Maud. On October 29, 1895, the couple’s engagement was announced. Maud and Carl were married in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace on July 22, 1896

As Maud found the cold Danish winters so difficult to bear, she visited England as often as possible. Her only child, Alexander Edward Christian Frederick (Prince Alexander of Denmark, later King Olav V of Norway) was born at Appleton House in Sandringham on July 2, 1903.

In 1905, upon the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway, the Norwegian government began searching for candidates to become King of Norway. Because of his descent from prior Norwegian monarchs, as well as his wife’s British connections, Carl was the overwhelming favorite. Before accepting, Carl insisted that the voices of the Norwegian people be heard in regards to retaining a monarchy. Following a referendum with a 79% majority in favour, Prince Carl was formally offered and then accepted the throne. He sailed for Norway, arriving on November 25, 1905, and took the oath as King two days later. Carl took the name Haakon VII and his son two-year-old son was renamed Olav and became Crown Prince of Norway. Maud and Carl were crowned in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway on June 22, 1906.

Recognizing the people’s need to feel that their royal family was Norwegian, Maud and Haakon were photographed in Norwegian folk costumes and enjoying winter sports such as skiing. They made certain that their son was raised as a Norwegian, although Maud never became fluent in Norwegian. Maud never gave up her love for her native country and visited often, usually staying at Appleton House. However, she did fulfill her duties as Queen of Norway. Maud became active in women’s rights and in the welfare of unmarried women. During World War I, she founded Dronningens Hjelpekomité (the Queen’s Relief Committee) to assist people in extremely difficult circumstances due to the war

Maud’s last public appearance in the United Kingdom was in 1937 at the coronation of her nephew King George VI. She rode with her sister-in-law Queen Mary in the glass coach and sat with her in Westminster Abbey.

In October of 1938, Maud came to England for a visit, first staying at Appleton House and then at a London hotel. While at the hotel, Maud became ill and was taken to a nursing home where abdominal surgery was performed. She survived the surgery, but died on November 20, 1938, six days before her 69th birthday, from heart failure.

Her remains were taken to the chapel at Marlborough House in London, where she had been born and christened. Her casket was then taken by gun carriage to Victoria Station to travel by railroad to Portsmouth and then to travel by sea to Oslo, Norway. Upon arrival in Oslo, the casket was taken to a small church before burial in the royal mausoleum at Akershus Fortress in Oslo. Maud was the last surviving child of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

Her husband King Haakon VII survived her for 19 years. He died on September 21, 1957 at the age of 85 and was buried with Maud in the white sarcophagus in the Royal Mausoleum at Akershus Fortress.

#queen maud #1800 #norway

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duchessofostergotlands · 7 years ago

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So I have weird hypothetical questions to ask for a story I'm writing with an alt-history brit royals. Basic premise: Prince Albert Victor lived long enough to marry Princess Mary of Teck and have a child. However he did eventually die from the flu pandemic that killed him (just during one of the other recurrences in the early 1890s). So, with that being the case, I have 2 main questions. 1) Since Edward VII would have died before said child was 18, who would have most likely been regent?

2) In this story I would want to avoid using the same name of monarchs that did actually reign since this period, so I was wondering what names are sort of “in” with the BRF for monarchs besides Edward, George, Elizabeth, Charles, and William? Thank you so much if you can help! If you can’t do you have any suggestions for who might be able to

That sounds like a really exciting idea! You’ll have to tell me how it’s going. So essentially the regent is usually the closest adult male to the throne. So in that case it most likely would have been the man who would have become George V. But there have been cases in the past of the consort being regent and the idea of it being Mary of Teck is soooo exciting to me!!

So some common names which have been used more three or more times in first and middle names of British princes are: Augustus, Frederik, Louis, Henry, Ernest, Alfred, Alexander, Albert, Arthur, Patrick, Christian, John, Andrew and Philip. Then for women’s it’s: Mary, Louise, Victoria, Charlotte, Alexandra, August, Caroline, Sophie and Matilda

#ask #anon #british royal family #historical royals

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mariannepeiper · 5 years ago

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König Christian IX. von Dänemark (1818-1906) war der vierte Sohn des Herzogs Wilhelm von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1785-1831) und dessen Gattin Herzogin Luise Caroline (1789-1867), Tochter des Landgrafen Karl von Hessen-Kassel und dessen Gemahlin Prinzessin Louise, Tochter von König Frederik V. (1723-1766). Als am 15. November 1863 der dänische König Frederik VII. aus dem Herrscherhaus Oldenburg starb, und die Oldenburger Linie keine männliche Thronerben zur verfügung hattte, trat gemäß dem Londoner Protokoll von 1852 der damalige Prinz Christian von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg die Nachfolge des verstorbenen Königs an und wurde somit Stammvater der glücksburgischen Linie, die heute auf dem dänischen Thron sitzt. Sein offizieller Titel lautete König von Dänemark, der Wenden und der Goten, Herzog von Schleswig, Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Lauenburg und Oldenburg. Am 26. Mai heiratete er auf Schloß Amalienborg in Kopenhagen Prinzessin Louise von Hessen-Kassel (1817-1898), Tochter des Titular-Landgrafen Wilhelm von Hessen-Kassel-Rumpenheim (1787-1867) und dessen Gemahlin Prinzessin Louise Charlotte von Dänemark (1789-1864), Tochter von Erbprinz Frederik von Dänemark und Norwegen (1753-1805). Das Königspaar bekam sechs Nachkommen. Der älteste Sohn und Thronfolger Frederik VIII. (1843-1912) heiratete Prinzessin Luise Josephine (1851-1926), die Tochter König Karls XV. von Schweden und von Norwegen ab 1859 bis 1872. Die Tochter Alexandra (1844-1925) war mit dem späteren König Edward VII. von Großbritannien (1841-1910) verheiratet, und die Tochter Dagmar wurde durch Heirat mit dem russischen Kaiser Alexander III. Alexandrowitsch (1845-1894) Kaiserin mit dem Namen Maria Fjodorowna. Die Tochter Thyra (1853-1933) heiratete den Herzog August von Cumberland und Braunschweig (1845-1923). Der zweite Sohn, Wilhelm (1845-1913), wurde 1863 als Georg I. König von Griechenland, und der dritte Sohn, Waldemar (1858-1939), lehnte den bulgarischen und norwegischen Thron ab. Im Jahr 1905 wurde Prinz Carl von Dänemark und Island (1872-1957), ein Enkel des Königs Christian IX., unter dem Namen Haakon VII. König von Norwegen. Damit war das dänische Königshaus mit vielen regierenden Fürstenhäuser Europas direkt verwandt, was dem König später den Beinamen "Schwiegervater Europas" einbrachte. So ist er beispielsweise der Urgroßvater von Prinz Philip, Duke of Edinburgh und zugleich Ururgroßvater von dessen Gemahlin Königin Elizabeth II. von Großbritannien. - Gemälde von Ole Henrik Benedictus Olrik (1830-1890). Aus: Kongernes Samling - Amalienborg Slot, Kopenhagen, Dänemark.

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mia-soufi2018 · 4 years ago

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How royal babies are named

ELIZABETH HOLMES15 OCT 2018

Vogue looks into the traditions, rules and politics behind naming a new member of the royal family.

What’s in a name? Quite a lot, if you are a royal. The responsibility is significant, much more than just a moniker for the child. A royal name must nod to history and pay respects to relatives while also being contemporary enough to be relatable and relevant.

Before Prince Louis was named, Mary, Alice, and Victoria topped the likely girl picks, according to UK-based bookmaker Ladbrokes, while Albert and Arthur lead the possibilities for boys. But if history is any indication, Baby Cambridge #3 could deliver a surprise, or at the very least a slight departure from what is expected.

“The further down the line of succession, the more likely you are to have a more unique or untraditional name,” says Carolyn Harris, a professor of history at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies and author of Raising Royalty: 1,000 Years of Royal Parenting.

Royals across the globe have their own naming customs but most tend to call upon a shortlist of recycled names, which serve as a familial calling cards. The Danish monarchy is the most extreme example, with just two names in heavy rotation: Christian and Frederick. From the 1400s onward, under the House of Oldenburg, kings have alternated between the two. Queen Margrethe II interrupted the streak when she took the throne in 1972, but her son, the heir apparent, is named Frederik and her grandson is named – you guessed it – Christian.

In Japan, men in the direct line of ascension are given names ending in the character “hito”– Emperor Akihito’s son is Crown Prince Naruhito and his grandson is Prince Hisahito – while royal women are given names ending in “ko.”

Occasionally a royal name is cause for a political statement. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was born in Canada during the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany. Her name was inspired by marguerite, the french word for daisy, which was worn as a symbol of the Dutch resistance.

Royal parents are tasked with picking several names to recognise several notable people at once. Take Spain’s King Felipe VI, whose full name is Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos. His name pays homage to the first King from the current ruling house (King Felipe V), as well as both his grandfathers (King Juan Carlos I and Paul, King of Greece) and his great-grandfather (King Alfonso XIII).

Among the British royals, King Edward VIII had a staggering seven names: Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David. The last four were given for the patron saints of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, respectively. “Even at that time, in 1894, that was considered a great many names,” says Harris. Although he was known publicly as King Edward, family and friends called him David.

Younger royal generations are paring back. While Prince William and Prince Harry each have four names, the Cambridges have opted to give their children just three. Prince George Alexander Louis is named for the Queen’s father, who reigned as King George VI. Alexander is said to be a tribute to the Queen herself, whose full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. Louis comes from his father’s name, William Arthur Philip Louis, and is seen as a nod to Lord Louis Mountbatten, uncle of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Princess Charlotte’s full name – Charlotte Elizabeth Diana – was received as a tribute to both of William’s parents, Charles and Diana, as well as to the Queen. The name Charlotte rose in the royal ranks back in the 18th century, when King George III married Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Indeed, marriages often bring names into the fold, notes Harris. Eleanor and Isabella came much earlier with the marriage of King Henry II to Eleanor of Aquitaine and King John to Isabella of Angoulême.

A royal association can turn an obscure name into a popular one. The name Victoria was “considered unusual” around the time Queen Victoria became queen, says Harris, “now it’s seen as a quintessentially regal name.” Victoria herself had a hand in that by encouraging (some might say insisting) that her descendents use the name. One of her daughters and several of her granddaughters had the first name Victoria. To avoid confusion within the family, they often went by nicknames: one was called Moretta, another Toria.

Today, as royals are increasingly referred to publicly by their first names, there is a newfound awareness about avoiding repetition. (For example, the possibility of Prince Charles reigning as King George VII seems less likely now given the younger, and very popular, Prince George.)

Names are also an important way for the royal family to show they are relevant. “Royals have always been celebrities but they have not always been celebrities in an age of celebrity culture, with other things competing for attention and time,” says Christian Turner, global director of naming at brand strategy firm Siegel+Gale. By choosing a relatable name, it helps to show “they understand and exist in the world around them.” The list of names with historical significance and popular appeal is “running slightly thin,” adds Turner.

The lockstep following of tradition tends to loosen up with more junior members of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth II named her second child Anne, a fairly unremarkable royal name by many accounts. But Anne then named her daughter Zara Anne Elizabeth, a unique first name supposedly recommended by Prince Charles. At the time of her birth, Zara was sixth in line for the throne; after the birth of Prince Louis, she became the 17th occupying the two succession spots. Just in front of her are her nieces, Savannah and Isla; Zara’s daughter, Mia, is just below her.

With the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's third child, there was also the chance that Kate’s family, and her parents Michael and Carole, could have had more of a role. Prince Andrew, the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, is named for Prince Philip’s father.

Best of all, William and Kate appear to have more freedom than their ancestors. The Queen is told of the name before it is announced, to be sure, but prior approval is not required. “We see, from the diversity of names among the Queen's descendants, that the Queen does seem willing to allow the descendants to choose their own names,” Harris says.

When we learn new royal baby names is up to the parents, although the timetable from birth to announcement has shortened considerably. It took a month for Queen Elizabeth to share Charles’s name, but only a week for Charles and Diana to share William’s name. Prince Harry’s name was shared the very same day. The Cambridges released both Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s names two days after their births and Prince Louis's four days after his birth.

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harryandmeghan0-blog · 6 years ago

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7 royal babies who were once seventh in line to the throne

New Post has been published on https://harryandmeghan.xyz/7-royal-babies-who-were-once-seventh-in-line-to-the-throne/

7 royal babies who were once seventh in line to the throne

Earlier this month, it was announced that Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are expecting a baby in spring 2019 – and the new arrival will be seventh in line to the British throne. Which other royals in history have been seventh in line? Writing for History Extra, Carolyn Harris shares seven other royals who found themselves in the same spot…

October 26, 2018 at 9:35 am

On 15 October, Kensington Palace announced that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the spring of 2019. The royal baby will be seventh in line to the throne after the Prince of Wales; Prince William the Duke of Cambridge; Prince George; Princess Charlotte; Prince Louis and Prince Harry himself.

Over the centuries, royal children born seventh in line to the throne have often enjoyed a balance between public and private life, experiencing close connections to their reigning relatives but also opportunities to pursue independent careers and interests. In the 18th and 19th centuries, however, there were sometimes opportunities for a prince or princess who was seventh in line to the British throne, or even further down the line of succession, to become a king or queen elsewhere in Europe. Here are seven royal babies who were seventh in line to the throne when they were born, from the 17th century to the present day.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, photographed during their 2018 tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Prince John Philip Frederick of the Palatinate (26 September 1627 – 16 February 1650)

In 1627, King Charles I of England and Scotland had been married to Princess Henrietta Maria of France for two years. Henrietta Maria had been just 15 at the time of the wedding in 1625 and would not give birth to a living child, the future King Charles II, until 1630.

For English Protestants, however, the succession was already secure in the person of Charles I’s sister, the former Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, and her children. While Henrietta Maria was a Roman Catholic and guaranteed control over her children’s education according to the terms of her marriage contract, Elizabeth was considered to be a Protestant heroine. Her husband, Frederick V, Elector Palatine, had accepted the crown of Bohemia as the request of the predominantly Protestant population of Prague in 1619. Frederick and Elizabeth spent a single winter as king and queen of Bohemia before Frederick was defeated by the Roman Catholic Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II at the battle of White Mountain in 1620 and the family sought refuge in the Hague. Elizabeth and her family were included in English prayers for the royal family and their large number of children seemed to guarantee a stable Protestant succession in the event that Charles I and Henrietta Maria were childless.

Elizabeth Stuart, once queen of Bohemia, c1613. Elizabeth was considered to be a Protestant heroine, says Carolyn Harris. (Photo by VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images)

On 16 September 1627, Elizabeth gave birth to her tenth child and sixth surviving son, John Philip Frederick. The new baby, seventh in line to the English and Scottish thrones, spent his early childhood in Leiden before being sent to the French court for his education, along with his elder brother Edward. While John Philip’s eldest brothers, Charles Louis, Rupert and Maurice, sought their fortune at the court of King Charles I, John Philip became involved in a scandal following his return to the Hague.

In 1646, John Philip killed an exiled French colonel, Jacques de l’Epinay, in a duel. The colonel had boasted that he had enjoyed the favours of John Philip’s mother, Elizabeth, and one of his sisters, the portrait artist Louise Hollandine. These claims outraged the young prince. Wanted by the Dutch authorities after the duel, John Philip fled the Netherlands and became a mercenary in the service of the Duke of Lorraine, where he was killed during the Fronde rebellion in France in 1650.

The descendants of Elizabeth of Bohemia ultimately ensured Protestant succession for the British royal family, as the English Protestants of Charles I’s reign had hoped. In 1701, the Act of Settlement decreed that the succession would be restricted to the Protestant descendants of John Philip’s younger sister, Sophia of Hanover. Sophia’s son, George I, succeeded to the British throne in 1714.

Princess Mary of Great Britain (5 March 1723 – 14 January 1772)

Mary was born in the reign of her grandfather, King George I. She was the sixth surviving child of the future king George II and his queen, Caroline of Ansbach and seventh in line to the throne after her father and five elder siblings. Mary was a voracious reader and described as “tall, and handsome enough to be a painter’s model”.

On 8 May 1740, Mary was married by proxy to the future Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace London. She did not meet her new husband until the following month.

Princess Mary of Great Britain was the sixth surviving child of the future king George II and his queen, Caroline of Ansbach and seventh in line to the throne. (Public domain)

Although Frederick proved a useful ally to Great Britain, providing Hessian soldiers to fight for the British during the American Revolution, Frederick and Mary’s marriage was an unhappy one. Described by Horace Walpole as “obstinate, of no genius” and “brutal”, Frederick was abusive toward Mary. She spent extended periods of time in Britain to escape her husband. After Frederick’s conversion to Catholicism became public in 1754, Mary achieved a permanent separation. Mary’s father-in-law provided her with a residence in Hanau where she raised her three sons.

After the death of her younger sister, Louisa, from pregnancy complications in 1751, Mary took a strong interest in the upbringing of Louisa’s four children from her marriage to King Frederik V of Denmark: three daughters and one son who survived infancy. Mary also corresponded with her relatives in Britain, maintaining the connections between the various branches of King George II’s descendants.

Louisa’s son King Christian VII married his cousin, Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, who was a sister of King George III. The marriage of Caroline Matilda and the mentally unstable Christian VII was deeply unhappy. Caroline Matilda wrote to her aunt Mary: “I am amazed at the King’s torpor and insensibility,” and complained that she was badly treated by her mother-in-law. Mary expressed great concern for her niece but was unwilling to become involved in conflicts within the Danish royal family. Caroline Matilda pursued a disastrous affair with the court doctor Johan Struensee, circumstances that inspired the 2012 Danish film A Royal Affair.

Mary died at Hanau in 1772. Her descendants included Alexandra of Denmark and Mary of Teck, the queens consort of King Edward VII and King George V respectively. Princess Mary of Great Britain, once seventh in line to the throne, is therefore an ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II.

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Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (24 February 1774 – 8 July 1850)

The seventh in line to the throne is usually born to a junior branch of the royal family. George III and his queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, however, were the parents of seven surviving sons as well as five surviving daughters. The seventh in line to throne for part of George III reign, therefore, was also a son of the reigning monarch.

As a younger son, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge was trained to represent the more senior members of his family in Hanover. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

George III and his elder sons George IV and William IV were kings of Hanover as well as Great Britain, and as a younger son, Adolphus was trained to represent the more senior members of his family in Hanover. Adolphus attended the University of Gottingen in Hanover (which had been founded by his great-grandfather, King George II) before pursuing a military career.

From 1816 until 1837, Adolphus served as viceroy of Hanover, representing his elder brothers George IV, then William IV. His administration was effective and he was credited with helping to maintain the continued connection between the British and Hanoverian thrones. When his niece Queen Victoria succeeded to the British throne and his brother, Prince Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, became king of Hanover, Adolphus returned to Britain and devoted the rest of his life to philanthropy, becoming the president of six different hospitals. He died at his London residence and was buried at Kew, where he had spent much of his childhood.

Adolphus married Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel in 1818 and they had three children: Prince George, Duke of Cambridge; Princess Augusta and Princess Mary Adelaide. Despite the junior place that he occupied in the line of succession, Adolphus is an ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II: Mary Adelaide married the future Duke Francis of Teck, and their daughter Mary of Teck married the future King George V. The title of Duke of Cambridge was revived for Prince William when he married Catherine Middleton in 2011.

King George V of Hanover (27 May 1819 – 12 June 1878)

Born in Berlin just three days after his cousin, the future Queen Victoria, Prince George Frederick Alexander Charles Ernest Augustus of Cumberland was seventh in line to the British throne during the last months of his grandfather King George III’s reign. He was preceded in the line of succession by his uncles – the future King George IV, Prince Frederick Duke of York, the future King William IV, and Prince Edward– his cousin Victoria and his father Prince Ernest, Duke of Cumberland. Although Victoria’s birth meant that he was unlikely ever to become king in Britain, the succession to the Kingdom of Hanover was determined by Salic Law, which precluded women from reigning in their own right. Since 1714, the monarch of Great Britain had also been elector of Hanover, but that would change with the accession of Queen Victoria.

At the time of his birth in 1819, Prince George Frederick Alexander Charles Ernest Augustus of Cumberland was seventh in line to the British throne. (Photo by Kean Collection/Getty Images)

By 1840, George had lost his sight. When his father, the Duke of Cumberland, became king of Hanover in 1837, there were questions concerning George’s suitability as crown prince because of his blindness. But George’s family supported his succession rights and George succeeded his father as King of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick and Duke of Cumberland in 1851.

The new king was philosophical about his blindness, stating that: “eyesight was the sense that we could most easily dispense with.” However he was stubborn about his royal prerogatives and often in conflict with the Hanoverian parliament because he feared that his ministers would attempt to limit his authority. In 1866, George supported Austria against the wishes of his counsellors in the Austro-Prussian War. After Prussia won the war, George’s maternal first cousin King William I annexed Hanover and George went into exile. Following his death in Paris in 1878, his remains were sent to Britain where he was buried at George’s Chapel, Windsor, with other members of the British royal family.

The Honourable Gerald Lascelles (21 August 1924 – 27 February 1998)

King George V and Queen Mary were the parents of five children who survived adolescence: the future Kings Edward VIII and George VI; Mary, Princess Royal; Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Prince George, Duke of Kent. After the First World War, George V granted permission for his children to marry into the British aristocracy, expanding the range of acceptable spouses for royalty.

The Princess Royal, the only daughter of George V, with her children the Honourable Gerald and the Honourable George Lascelles, c 1931. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

In 1922, Princess Mary became the first of King George V’s children to marry, and her wedding to Henry Lascelles, the future sixth Earl of Harewood, was celebrated in the United Kingdom as the “people’s wedding”. The marriage produced two children, George and Gerald, who born sixth and seventh in line to the throne.

As the two eldest grandchildren of King George V, the births of George and Gerald Lascelles attracted widespread public attention. Postcards were printed depicting Princess Mary with her young sons. Their public prominence faded with the arrivals of royal cousins who superseded them in the line of succession, including the future Queen Elizabeth II in 1926 and Princess Margaret in 1930 (Margaret shared Gerald’s birthday).

Nevertheless, they attended royal events and their own weddings were occasions for the royal family to come together. Gerald married the actress Angela Dowding in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster, in 1952 in presence of much of his extended family. The absence of the new Queen Elizabeth II, ostensibly because of cold, however, led TIME Magazine to speculate that there had been “a royal snub” and that “cousin Gerry [was] never a royal favourite”. Gerald and Angela divorced in 1978 and Gerald remarried another actress, Elizabeth Cowling, in Vienna that same year. One son was born to each marriage.

The Honourable Gerald and the Honourable George Lascelles, the sons of Princess Mary and grandsons of George V and Queen Mary. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

Gerald resided at Fort Belvedere, which had once been the favourite residence of his uncle, King Edward VIII. Gerald’s interests included jazz music and racecar driving. He was president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club from 1964 to 1991 and worked with music critic Eric Sinclair Traill on producing annual Just Jazz yearbooks in the 1950s. He died in France in 1998.

Prince Michael of Kent (born 4 July 1942)

Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Prince Michael George Charles Franklin of Kent, was born during the Second World War, the youngest child of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece – and a nephew of the reigning King George VI. At the time of his birth, Michael was seventh in line to the throne after his cousins, the future Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret; his uncle Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; his cousin Prince William of Gloucester; his father Prince George, Duke of Kent, and his elder brother Edward, the present Duke of Kent.

Marina, Duchess of Kent with her three children, Prince Edward (later Duke of Kent), Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael on his first birthday, in 1943. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

The circumstances of Michael’s infancy were shaped by wartime. As he was born on 4 July, Britain’s wartime ally President Franklin Roosevelt was one of the godparents, along with Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, who took refuge in the UK during the German occupation of the Netherlands. The christening took place in an undisclosed chapel in the countryside for reasons of wartime security. Michael was seventh in line to the throne for just seven weeks. His father, Prince George, Duke of Kent, died in a plane crash on 25 August 1942.

Prince Michael was a pageboy at the wedding of the future Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1947. Michael attended Eton and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. In contrast to his siblings – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra – Michael did not assume a full schedule of royal duties as an adult but instead pursued a military career for 20 years before opening a consultancy business. He occasionally represents the Queen on important occasions in the Commonwealth, including the coronation of King Mswati III of Swaziland and the independence celebrations in Belize.

Michael’s maternal grandmother, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia was a cousin of Tsar Nicholas II, and Michael is the only member of the British royal family who speaks fluent Russian. He attended the funeral of the last tsar and his family in Saint Petersburg in 1998 and has hosted documentaries about the Romanovs.

Prince Michael of Kent marries Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz in Vienna, June 1978. (Photo by John Downing/Getty Images)

In 1978, Michael married Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz, who was styled Princess Michael of Kent after the wedding. The royal couple resides in a ‘grace and favour’ apartment in Kensington Palace and have two children, Lord Frederick and Lady Gabriella Windsor and two grandchildren, Frederick’s daughters Maud and Isabella. Prince Michael’s marriage to a Roman Catholic removed him from the line of succession according to the terms of the 1701 Act of Settlement, though the succession reforms that came into force in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth in 2015 restored his eligibility to succeed to the throne. Having been born seventh in line to the throne, the 76-year-old Prince Michael of Kent is currently 47th in the line of succession.

Lady Sarah Chatto (born 1 May 1964)

The daughter of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowdon, Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Armstrong-Jones was born seventh in line to the throne, preceded by the Queen’s four children, her mother Margaret, and elder brother David, Viscount Linley. The same age as the Queen’s son Prince Edward, Sarah shared his early lessons in the Buckingham Palace schoolroom before attending Bedales school in Hampshire where she earned an A-level in art. Growing up, Sarah was a frequent royal bridesmaid. She was part of the wedding party when Princess Anne married Mark Phillips in 1973 and when Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

Princess Margaret with her children David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley (front seat) and Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (now Lady Sarah Chatto), 1970. (Photo by Mike Lawn/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Sarah studied at the Camberwell School of Art and pursued a successful career as an artist, and has also carried on some of her mother Princess Margaret’s cultural patronages including the role of vice president of the Royal Ballet.

In 1994, Sarah married Daniel Chatto. The couple have two sons, Samuel Chatto (born 1996) and Arthur Chatto (born 1999). Sarah is close to her royal relatives: the Queen invites Princess Margaret’s children and grandchildren to join the royal family for Christmas at Sandringham. She is the godmother of both Prince Harry and his cousin, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor. The 54-year-old Lady Sarah is currently 23rd in line to the throne.

Dr Carolyn Harris is an instructor in history at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies and the author of three books: Magna Carta and Its Gifts to Canada; Queenship and Revolution in Early Modern Europe: Henrietta Maria and Marie Antoinetteand Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting.