May 2

May 2

Early May Bank Holiday (UK)

ROYAL BIRTHDAYS

Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg   {1975} [daughter of Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark)]

Prince Leopold of Nassau   {2000} [twin] [son of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (son of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg & brother of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg)]
Princess Charlotte of Nassau   {2000} [twin] [daughter of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (son of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg & brother of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg)]

 (the twins pictured here in 2000 with their parents)


ROYAL WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES

Princess Charlotte of Wales & Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duke of Saxony   {1816}

Prince Jean of Orleans, Duke of Vendome & Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart   {2009} [religious]

HISTORICAL ROYAL EVENTS

1194   King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
1335   Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
1536   Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason, & witchcraft.
1568   Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
1670   King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
1885   The Congo Free State is established by King Leopold II of Belgium.
1889   Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia signs a treaty of amity with Italy, which gives Italy control of Eritrea.



HISTORICAL ROYAL BIRTHS

1360   Emperor Yongle of China (d.1424)

1451   Rene II, Duke of Lorraine (d.1508)
1458   Leonor (Eleanor) of Viseu, Queen of Portugal (d.1525)
1729   Empress Catherine II "the Great" of Russia (d.1796) (May 2 is the new style date)

1896   Princess Helen of Greece & Denmark, Queen Mother of Romania (d.1982)

1928   Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Third King of Bhutan (d.1972)

1935   King Faisal II of Iraq (d.1958)

1938   King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d.1996)

DEATHS

756   Emperor Shomu of Japan
907   Boris I of Bulgaria
1219   Leo I, King of Armenia
1300   Blanche of Artois, regent of Navarre
1914   John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, Marquess of Lorne