The Royal Calendar: January 23, 2012

Chinese New Year

Vietnamese New Year

Feast of Blessed Mother Marianne [Cope] of Moloka'i (Roman Catholic)

ROYAL BIRTHDAYS

Hereditary Princess Caroline of Monaco, Princess of Hanover {1957} (sister of Prince Albert II of Monaco)

Princess Kesang Choden Wangchuck of Bhutan {1982} (daughter of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan & half-sister of King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck of Bhutan)

ROYAL WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES

Grand Duchess Marie/Maria Alexandrovna of Russia & Prince Alfred "Affie" of the United Kingdom of Great Britain + Northern Ireland, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Kent, Earl of Ulster {1874}

Princess Caroline of Monaco & Prince Ernst August of Hanover {1999} [civil]

ROYAL CHRISTENING

Samuel van Vollenhoven {2005} [son of Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau (nephew of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands)]

HISTORICAL ROYAL EVENTS

393 Emperor Theodosius I of the Roman Empire proclaims his eight year old son Honorius co-emperor.

1368 In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends to the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming Dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries.

1510 King Henry VIII of England, then 18 years old, appears incognito in the lists of Richmond, and is applauded for his jousting before he reveals his identity.

1533 Anne Boleyn, future second wife of King Henry VIII of England, discovers herself pregnant.

1570 James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.

1719 The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.

1904 Alesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Alesund is devastated by fire, leaving 100,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.

1920 The Netherlands refuses to surrender Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.

HISTORICAL ROYAL BIRTHS

1688 Queen Ulrika Eleonora "the Younger" of Sweden (d.1741)