April 5, 2012

Maundy Thursday / Holy Thursday / Shere [or Sheer] Thursday (Western Christianity: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian, etc.) (UK, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Malta, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Kerala in South India, the Philippines, Iceland, Spain, Colombia, Paraguay, etc.)

ROYAL BIRTHDAYS

Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya of Thailand   {1951} (daughter of King Bhumibol Adulyadej {Rama IX} of Thailand)

Princess Camilla of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Castro   {1971}

HISTORICAL ROYAL EVENTS

1081   Alexios I Komnenos is crowned Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, bringing the Komnenian dynasty to full power.

1566   Two hundred Dutch noblemen, led by Hendrik van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of Duchess consort Margaret of Parma, Piaceza + Florence, Governor of Habsburg Netherlands, and present the Petition of Compromise, denouncing the Spanish Inquisition in the Netherlands. The inquisition is suspended and a delegation is sent to Spain to petition her brother King Felipe II of Spain, Naples + Sicily, Lord of the Seventeen Provinces.

HISTORICAL ROYAL BIRTHS

1288   Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (d.1336)

1472   Bianca Maria Sforza, Duchess consort of Savoy (1474-1482), Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire, Queen consort of Germany, Archduchess consort of Austria, Duchess consort of Styria, Carinthia + Carniola (d.1510)

1604   Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (d.1675)

1857   Prince Alexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria (d.1893)

1863   Princess Victoria of Hesse + by Rhine (1863-1884), Princess Louis of Battenberg (1884-1917), Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven (1917-1950) (d.1950)

DEATHS

1697   King Carl XI of Sweden, Duke of Bremen, Prince of Verden, Duke of Palatinate-Zweibrucken

1954   Princess Martha of Sweden + Norway (1901-1905), Princess of Sweden (1905-1929), Crown Princess of Norway (1929-1954)