196: Njinga Mbandi Queen of Ndongo and Matamba Born: c.158, Present-day Republic of Angola Died: 1663, Present-day Republic of Angola Also Known as: Nzinga Mbande She defined much of the seventeenth century of what is now the country of Angola. Njinga beat back Portuguese attempts at Colonization with diplomacy, negotiations, and quick thinking. She took…
195: Nur-Jahan The Only Female Acting Empress Regnant of the Mughal Empire Born: 31 May 1577, Kandahar, Present-day Afghanistan Died: 17 December 1645, Lahore, Present-day Pakistan She was the favorite wife of Jahangir (the actual emperor). Nur-Jahan married her first husband aged seventeen, but he was later executed for siding with the emperor’s enemies; leaving…
194: Hürrem Sultan Her name meant The Laughing or Joyful One Born: c.1505, Rohatyn, Poland (Present-day Ukraine) Died: April 1558, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (Present-day Istanbul, Turkey) Also Known As: Roxelana or Roxolana Born Name: Aleksandra Lisosvka After being kidnapped and sold into slavery as one of the sultan’s many concubines, Roxelana rose through the ranks…
193: Mary Stuart And It All Had to do With Religion Born: 8 December 1542, Linlithgow, Scotland (Present-day United Kingdom) Died: 8 February 1587, Fotheringhay, England (Present-day United Kingdom) Also Known As: Mary Queen of Scots (And before you ask—the 2018 Film depicting the rivalry and dynamic between her and Elizabeth I is about 99.8%…
192: Jane Grey Proclaimed Queen of England for All of Nine Days When she was Fifteen or Sixteen Years Old Born: 1537, Leicestershire, England (Present-day United Kingdom) Died: 12 February 1554, Tower Green, Tower of London, England (Present-day United Kingdom) Jane had strong ties to the Tudor throne and was educated as such—having knowledge in…
“When I think of marriage, it is as though my heart were being dragged out of my vitals.” 191: Elizabeth I Queen of England and Ireland and the Final Tudor Monarch Born: 7 September 1533, Greenwich, London, England (Present-day United Kingdom) Died: 24 March 1603, Richmond, London, England (Present-day United Kingdom) She came to the…
190: Catherine Howard English Queen and the Fifth Wife of Henry VIII Born: c.1522, London, England (Present-day United Kingdom) Died: 13 February 1542, Tower Green, Tower of London, England (Present-day United Kingdom) She was Henry’s second of three Catherines and served as Queen Consort for one year. Henry first started to consider her for marriage…
189: Catherine de Medici Queen of France, Serving as Consort, Regnant, and Dowager (Depending on the Year) Born: 13 April 1519, Florence, Italy Died: 5 January 1589, Blois, France She was the wife of Henri II of France and subsequent Regent of France after his death. Three of her sons would reign as king of…
188: Mary I English Queen dubbed “Bloody Mary” by Some of Her Subjects Born: 18 February 1516, Greenwich, London, England (Present-day London, United Kingdom) Died: 17 November 1558, St. James, Westminster, London, England (Present-day London, United Kingdom) She is remembered as the first queen to rule England in her own right (despite Jane Grey and…
187: Anne of Cleves German Born English Queen and the Fourth Wife of Henry VIII Born: 22 September 1515, Present-day Düsseldorf, Germany Died: 16 July 1557, Chelsea, London, England (Present-day United Kingdom) They married after Henry decided he needed to form a political alliance with her brother who was a leader of Protestants in Western…