Philip III of Spain (1578 - 1621)

After Philip III’s older brother don Carlos died insane, Philip II had concluded that one of the causes of Carlos’ condition had been the influence of the warring factions at the Spanish court. He believed that Carlos’ education and upbringing had been badly affected by this, resulting in his lunacy and disobedience, and accordingly he […]

Philip II of Spain (1527 - 1598)

The son of Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, and his wife, Infanta Isabella of Portugal, Philip was born in the Spanish capital of Valladolid on 21 May 1527 at Palacio de Pimentel owned by Don Bernardino Pimentel (the first Marqués de Távara). The culture and courtly life of Spain were an important influence […]

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500 - 1558)

Charles I (Spanish: Carlos I) (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558), of the Spanish Empire from 1516 and later, as Charles V (French: Charles Quint; German: Karl V.)[a] was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 until his voluntary abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I as Holy Roman Emperor and […]

Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452 - 1516)

Ferdinand was born in Sada Palace, Sos del Rey Católico, Kingdom of Aragon, as the son of John II of Aragon (whose family was a cadet branch of the House of Trastámara) by his second wife, Juana Enríquez. He married Infanta Isabella, the half-sister and heiress of Henry IV of Castile, on 19 October 1469 […]

Mary of Burgundy (1457 - 1482)

Mary of Burgundy was born in Brussels, at the ducal castle of Coudenberg, to Charles the Bold, Count of Charolais, and his wife, Isabella of Bourbon. Her birth, according to the court chronicler, Georges Chastellain, was attended by a clap of thunder ringing from the otherwise clear twilight sky. Her godfather was Louis, Dauphin of […]

Isabella I of Castile (1451 - 1504)

Isabella was born in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, Ávila, to John II of Castile and Isabella of Portugal on 22 April 1451. At the time of her birth, she was second in line to throne after her older half-brother Henry. Henry was 26 at that time and married but childless. Her younger brother Alfonso […]

John II of Castile (1405 - 1454)

John was the son of King Henry III and his wife, Catherine of Lancaster. His mother was the granddaughter of King Peter, who was ousted by Henry III’s grandfather, King Henry II. John succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, and united in his person the claims of both Peter and Henry II. His mother […]

John II of Aragon (1398 - 1479)

John was born at Medina del Campo. In his youth he was one of the infantes (princes) of Aragon who took part in the dissensions of Castile during the minority and reign of John II. Till middle life he was also lieutenant-general in Aragon for his brother and predecessor Alfonso V, whose reign was mainly […]

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545 - 1567)

Darnley was born in 1545, at Temple Newsam, Leeds, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Through his parents he had claims to both the Scottish and English thrones, as he was descended from both James II of Scotland and Henry VII.  Darnley’s father, Matthew Earl of Lennox, had been declared guilty of treason in […]

William II, Prince of Orange (1626 - 1650)

William II, Prince of Orange, was the son of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. Frederick Henry was the youngest son of William the Silent (stadtholder 1559-1584); his older half brother Maurits of Nassau was stadtholder (1585-1625); he was stadtholder from 1625 to 1647. The stadtholders governed in conjunction with the States-General, […]

Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (1631 - 1660)

Princess Mary Henrietta was born at St. James’s Palace, London. Charles I designated her Princess Royal in 1642, thus establishing the tradition that the eldest daughter of the British Sovereign might bear this title. The title came into being when Queen Henrietta Maria, the daughter of King Henry IV of France wished to imitate the […]

Mary, Queen of Scots (1542 - 1587)

Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart[3] or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567 and Queen consort of France from 10 July 1559 to 5 December 1560.  Mary, the only surviving legitimate child of King James […]

Isabella of Portugal (1503 - 1539)

Isabella was the second child and eldest daughter of King Manuel I of Portugal and his second spouse, Infanta Maria of Castile and Aragon. She was named after her maternal grandmother, Isabella I of Castile, and her aunt Isabella, Princess of Asturias, who had been her father’s first spouse.  Through her father, she was a […]

Catherine of Aragon (1485 - 1536)

Catherine of Aragon (Castilian: Catalina; also spelled Katherine of Aragon, 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England from 1509 until 1533 as the first wife of King Henry VIII; she was previously Princess of Wales as the wife of Prince Arthur.  The daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King […]

Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (1517 - 1559)

Lady Frances Brandon was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire and spent her childhood in the care of her mother. She was close to her aunt Catherine of Aragon, first wife of her uncle King Henry VIII, and a childhood friend of her first cousin, the future Queen Mary I. Lady Frances received permission from the King […]

Elizabeth of York (1466 - 1503)

Elizabeth of York was born at the Palace of Westminster as the eldest child of King Edward IV and his wife, Elizabeth Woodville. Her christening was celebrated at Westminster Abbey, sponsored by her grandmothers Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford, and Cecily Neville, Duchess of York. Her third sponsor was her cousin, Richard Neville, 16th […]

Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (1415 - 1495)

Cecily Neville was a daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland. Her paternal grandparents were John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby and Hon. Maud Percy, daughter of Henry de Percy, 2nd Baron Percy. Her maternal grandparents were John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and Katherine Swynford. […]

Catherine of Valois (1401 - 1437)

Catherine of Valois was the youngest daughter of King Charles VI of France and his wife Isabeau of Bavaria. She was born at the Hôtel Saint-Pol (a royal palace in Paris) on 27 October 1401. Early on, there had been a discussion of marrying her to the prince of Wales, son of Henry IV of […]

Joan of Kent (1328 - 1385)

Joan was the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, and Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell. Her father Edmund was the son of King Edward I and his second wife, Margaret of France, daughter of Philip III of France. Edmund’s support of his older half-brother, King Edward II of England, placed […]

Isabella of Hainault (1170 - 1190)

Isabella was born in Valenciennes on 5 April 1170, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders. At the age of one, her father had her betrothed to Henry, the future Count of Champagne. He was the nephew of Adèle of Champagne, who was Queen of France. In 1179, […]

Sophia of Hanover (1630 - 1714)

Before her marriage, Sophia, as the daughter of Frederick V, Elector Palatine of the Rhine, was referred to as Sophie, Princess Palatine of the Rhine, or as Sophia of the Palatinate. The Electors of the Palatinate were the Calvinist senior branch of House of Wittelsbach, whose Catholic branch ruled the Electorate of Bavaria.  On 30 […]

Sophia Dorothea of Celle (1666 - 1726)

Sophia Dorothea was born on 15 September 1666, the only child of George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg by his long term mistress, Eleonore d’Esmier d’Olbreuse (1639–1722), Countess of Williamsburg, a Huguenot lady, the daughter of Alexander II d’Esmiers, Marquess of Olbreuse. George William eventually married his daughter’s mother officially in 1676 (they had been married […]

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (1719 - 1772)

Princess Augusta was born in Gotha to Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676–1732) and Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (1676–1740). Her paternal grandfather was Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, eldest surviving son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.  At age sixteen and speaking virtually no English, Augusta arrived in Great Britain in order to marry 29-year […]

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744 - 1818)

Sophia Charlotte was born on 19 May 1744. She was the youngest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prince of Mirow and his wife Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a small north German duchy in the Holy Roman Empire.  The children of Duke Charles were all born at the Untere Schloss […]

William IV of the United Kingdom (1765 - 1837)

William was born in the early hours of the morning on 21 August 1765 at Buckingham House, the third child and son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. He had two elder brothers, George and Frederick, and was not expected to inherit the Crown. He was baptised in the Great Council Chamber of St […]

King George IV of the United Kingdom (1762 - 1830)

George was born at St James’s Palace, London, on 12 August 1762, the first child of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte. As the eldest son of a British sovereign, he automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth; he was created Prince of Wales and Earl of […]

Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (1894 - 1972)

Edward VIII was born on 23 June 1894 at White Lodge, Richmond Park, on the outskirts of London, during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria. He was the eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary). His father was the son of the Prince and Princess […]

George V (1865 - 1936)

George was born on 3 June 1865, in Marlborough House, London. He was the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Albert Edward and Alexandra. His father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and his mother was the eldest daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark. As a son […]

George II of Great Britain (1683 - 1760)

George was born in the city of Hanover in Germany, and was the son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later King George I of Great Britain), and his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Celle. Both of George’s parents committed adultery, and in 1694 their marriage was dissolved on the pretext that Sophia had abandoned […]

George I of Great Britain (1660 - 1727)

George was born on 28 May 1660 in Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the eldest son of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and his wife, Sophia of the Palatinate. Sophia was the granddaughter of King James I of England through her mother, Elizabeth of Bohemia.  For the first year of his life, […]