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July 7, 1307 – Death of King Edward I of England at Burgh-by-Sands, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Edward I may be best known for his relentless, but unsuccessful campaign to assert his overlordship over Scotland. It was resisted by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, (later King Robert I of Scotland) but it gave him one of his nicknames, “Hammer of the Scots,” which was inscribed on his tomb. In 1296, Edward I captured the Stone of Scone, an oblong block of red sandstone that was used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland. Edward had the Stone of Scone taken to Westminster Abbey, where it was fitted into a wooden chair, known as King Edward’s Chair, on which most subsequent English monarchs have been crowned. In 1996, 700 years after it was taken, the Stone of Scone was returned to Scotland. It is kept at Edinburgh Castle in the Crown Room alongside the crown jewels of Scotland (the Honours of Scotland) when not being used at coronations. Ever the warrior, in the summer of 1307, Edward was on the way to Scotland, when the 68-year-old king died at Burgh by Sands in Cumbria, England.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward I of England
July 7, 1537 – Death of Madeleine de Valois, Queen of Scots, daughter of King François I of France and first wife of James V, King of Scots, at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland; buried at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland
Scotland wanted to strengthen their alliance with France. The Treaty of Rouen was signed in 1517 and one of the provisions was for King James V of Scotland to marry a French princess. When King James V reached a marriageable age, talks began regarding a marriage with Madeleine. However, Madeleine apparently had tuberculosis but James V married her anyway. The couple arrived in Scotland on May 19, 1537, after months of celebrations in France, with Madeleine’s health having further deteriorated. Madeleine wrote a letter to her father on June 8, 1537, saying that she was feeling better and that her symptoms had subsided. Despite this, on July 7, 1537, Madeleine died from tuberculosis in her husband’s arms, a month short of her seventeenth birthday.
Unofficial Royalty: Madeleine de Valois, Queen of Scots
July 7, 1683 – Death of Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel, Electoral Princess of Brandenburg, first wife of the future King Friedrich I in Prussia, in Berlin, Electorate of Brandenburg, now in Brandenburg, Germany; buried at the Berlin Cathedral
Elisabeth Henriette and Friedrich were first cousins and had known each other for most of their lives. It was Elisabeth Henriette’s mother who encouraged and promoted the marriage, and it proved to be a love match. Elisabeth Henriette, aged 22, contracted smallpox and died just weeks before her fourth wedding anniversary.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel, Electoral Princess of Brandenburg
July 7, 1718 – Death of Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, son of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia and his first wife Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina, at the Fortress of St. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia; buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg
Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, heir to the Russian throne, was the elder of the two sons of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia, and his first wife Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina. In 1711, 21-year-old Alexei married 17-year-old Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Alexei and Charlotte Christine had two children, Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna who died of tuberculosis at age 14, and Peter II, Emperor of All Russia who died of smallpox at age 14. Three days after giving birth to her son Peter, 21-year-old Charlotte Christine died from puerperal fever (childbed fever). In 1718, Alexei confessed to being involved in a plot to overthrow his father and implicated most of his friends. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to be executed. The sentence could be carried out only with Peter the Great’s signed authorization but Peter hesitated in making the decision. 28-year-old Alexei died at the Fortress of St. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg. His death most likely resulted from injuries suffered during his torture.
Unofficial Royalty: Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia
July 7, 1759 – Birth of Isabella Ingram-Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, born Isabella Anne Ingram in London, England
Isabella was the daughter of Charles Ingram, 9th Viscount of Irvine and Frances Shepherd. Charles Ingram was a prominent landowner and politician and served as a Groom of the Bedchamber to King George III from 1756 until 1763. She replaced Maria Fitzherbert, the long-time mistress of the Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, and was his mistress from 1807-1819.
Unofficial Royalty: Isabella Ingram-Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford, mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom
July 7, 1839 – Birth of Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, second wife of Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Baden-Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Feodora Victoria Adelheid
Feodora was the youngest child of Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Through her mother, she was the niece of Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen
July 7, 1883 – Birth of Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia, son of Wilhelm I, German Emperor, at Marmorpalais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Wilhelm Eitel Friedrich Christian Karl
Eitel Friedrich married Duchess Sophie Charlotte of Oldenburg. The marriage was childless and never a happy one as Eitel Friedrich was continually unfaithful, and Sophie found it difficult to make friends in her new home. The couple was formally divorced on October 20, 1926. After World War I and the end of the German Empire, Eitel Friedrich remained active in monarchist circles and was an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia
July 7, 1972 – Death of King Talal of Jordan in Istanbul, Turkey; buried in a mausoleum at the Royal Cemetery, near Raghadan Palace within the Royal Compound (Al-Maquar) in Amman, Jordan
At the time of the assassination of his father King Abdullah I of Jordan in 1951, Talal was in a sanatorium in Switzerland being treated for a nervous breakdown. At first, it was unsure whether Talal would succeed his father due to his mental condition, but on September 5, 1951, he was proclaimed King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. On June 4, 1952, the Jordanian Cabinet announced that it was necessary to form a Regency Council because Talal’s condition had worsened despite the treatment he was receiving in Switzerland. The Jordanian Parliament declared Talal mentally unfit on August 11, 1952, and proclaimed his eldest son Hussein King of Jordan. Talal died on July 7, 1972, in Istanbul, Turkey where he had spent the last years of his life in a sanatorium reportedly being treated for schizophrenia.
Unofficial Royalty: King Talal of Jordan
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