An evening of glamour...

February 27

The Academy Awards (aka the Oscars) are tonight!

Today is also the Feast Day of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

HISTORICAL ROYAL EVENT

1594   Henry IV is crowned King of France


HISTORICAL ROYAL BIRTHS

272   Constantine I, Roman Emperor (d.337)
1711   Constatine Mavrocordatos, Prince of Wallachia & Prince of Moldavia (d.1769)



BIRTHDAYS OF OTHER "FAMOUS" OR OTHERWISE NOTABLE PERSONS

1807   Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (d.1882)
1902   John Steinbeck, American writer & Nobel laureate (d.1968)
1928   Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister of Israel
1930   Joanne Woodward, American actress
1932   Elizabeth Taylor, British-American actress
1934   Ralph Nader, American author, activist & political figure
1971   "Chilli" Thomas, American singer (TLC)
1980   Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill & Hillary Clinton
1981   Josh Groban, American singer


DEATHS

1887   Alexander Borodin, Russian composer & chemist
1892   Louis Vuitton, French luggage maker
1936   Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist & Nobel prize winner
1970   Marie Dionne, one of the French-Canadian Dionne quintuplets
1985   Henry Cabot Lodge, American politician
2003   Fred Rogers, American children's television actor
2008   William F. Buckley, Jr., American conservative author & commentator

Today

February 26

ROYAL BIRTHDAY

Prince Ernst August of Hanover   {1954}

HISTORICAL ROYAL EVENTS

364   Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.

1266   Battle of Benevento:  An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German & Sicilian force led by King Manfred of Sicily.  Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as King of Sicily & Naples.

1658   Treaty of Roskilde:  After a devastating defeat in the Northern Wars (1655-1661), the King of Denmark-Norway is forced to give up nearly half his territory to Sweden to save the rest.

1794   Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen burns down.

1815   Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.

1876   Korea's status as a tributary state of the Qing Dynasty (China) is ended by a treaty.



HISTORICAL ROYAL BIRTHS

1361   Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia (d.1419)
1746   Archduchess Marie Amalie of Austria, Duchess of Piacenza (d.1806)
1861   King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d.1948)

1909   King Talal of Jordan (d.1972)

On this day...

February 25

National Day in Kuwait

ROYAL EVENTS

138   The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antonius Pius, effectively making him his successor
1570   Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England
1912   Marie-Adelaide, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

ROYAL BIRTHS

1398   Emperor Xuande of China (d.1435)
1643   Ahmed II, Ottoman Sultan (d.1695)
1883   Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (d.1981)

1885   Princess Alice of Battenberg (d.1969)

ROYAL DEATHS

1246   Dafydd ap Llewelyn, King of Gwynedd
1558   Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal & France
1713   King Frederick I of Prussia
1850   Daoguang, Emperor of China
1912   Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

Dia de la Bandera

February 24

Today is...

Flag Day in Mexico

Independence Day in Estonia

The Feast Day of St. Matthias the Apostle

30 years ago today, the engagement was announced between The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales & Lady Diana Spencer   {1981}

ROYAL WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Grand Duchess Marie Kirillovna of Russia & Hereditary Prince Friedrich Karl of Leiningen   {1925}

National Day in Brunei!

February 23

Today is National Day in Brunei.

ROYAL BIRTHDAYS

Lia Lambrino   {1949}   (wife of Paul Lambrino, who is the grandson of King Carol II of Romania & his morganatic wife Zizi Lambrino)

Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan   {1960}

DEATHS

King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia   {1969}

Today

February 22

Today is the birthday of the first President of the United States of America, George Washington   {1732-1799}

ROYAL BIRTHDAY

Katharine, Duchess of Kent   {1933}

February 20 & February 21

February 20

BIRTHDAY

Arrietta Morales y de Grecia   (eldest daughter of Princess Alexia of Greece & Denmark and Carlos Morales Quintana)   {2002}

February 21

Today is President's Day in the US!

BIRTHDAYS

King Harald V of Norway   {1937}

 
Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este   {1986}

On this day...

February 19

BIRTHDAY

The Prince Andrew, Duke of York   {1960}

On this day...

February 18

BIRTHDAYS

Princess Christina of the Netherlands   {1947}

Queen Komal of Nepal   {1951}

On this day...

February 17

Today is the Lantern Festival in China, which ends Chinese New Year celebrations!  Also celebrated in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong & Vietnam.

BIRTHDAYS

Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria (nee Princess of Luxembourg)   {1954}

Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah of Brunei   {1974}

DEATH

King Albert I of Belgium   {1934}

On this day...

February 16

BIRTHDAY

Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg   {1991}

Happy St.Valentine's Day!

February 14

Saint Valentine's Day

 Feast Day of Saint Cyril & Saint Methodius

Today is also the 2nd Day of Lupercalia (Ancient Rome)



BIRTHDAY

Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein   {1945}

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Hereditary Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg & Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista-Falla   {1981}

Today

February 13

Two award ceremonies take place tonight:

The 64th Annual BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts) Awards

The Grammy Awards, CBS 9:00pm Eastern

BIRTHDAY

Princess Alia bint Al Hussein of Jordan   {1956}

Yesterday & Today

February 11

BIRTHDAY

Princess Milena Petrovic-Njegos of Montenegro   {2008}

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Archduke Philipp of Austria & Mayasuni Heath   {2006}

 (photo NOT from their wedding)









February 12

BIRTHDAYS

Princess Astrid of Norway   {1932}

Crown Princess Marina of Italy, Princess of Naples   {1935}

Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Italy, Prince of Naples   {1937}

On this day...

February 10

BIRTHDAY

Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al Qasimi   {Ras al-Kaimah, UAE}   {1956}

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland & Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha   {1840}

Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, Crown Prince of Thailand & Srirasmi Akharaphongpreecha (now Princess Srirasmi)   {2001}

(photo not from their wedding)

On this day...

February 9

BIRTHDAY

Princess Raiyah bint Al-Hussein of Jordan   {1986}

DEATHS

Queen Alia of Jordan   {1977}

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon   {UK}   {2002}

On this day...

February 8

BIRTHS

1191   Yaroslav II of Russia
1291   King Afonso IV of Portugal
1405   Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos of the Byzantine Empire
1487   Ulrich, Duke of Wurttemberg
1720   Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan
1792   Queen Caroline Augusta of Bavaria
1798   Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Prince David Bagration of Mukhrani & Princess Anna Bagration-Gruzinsky  {Georgia}  {2009}  (possibly separated or divorced now?)

EVENTS

421   Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
1952   Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom.
1960   Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issues an Order-in-Council, stating that she & her family would be known as the House of Windsor, & that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".

DEATHS

1204   Alexius IV Angelus, deposed Eastern Roman Emperor
1250   Robert I of Artois, French crusader
1265   Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler
1296   King Przemysl II of Poland
1587   Mary, Queen of Scots

1696   Tsar Ivan V of Russia

1725   Tsar Peter I of Russia

1772   Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales