544: Empress Matilda Holy Roman Empress and German Queen Born: February 1102, Oxfordshire, England (Present-day Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom) Died: September 1167, Rouen, France Also Known As: Empress Maud Matilda was also Queen Regnant of England during the Anarchy and English Civil War. She was the only legitimate surviving child of Henry I, and therefore…
543: Vibia Sabina Roman Empress Born: c.83-88 AD, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: 136 AD She was the second cousin once removed and wife of Hadrian. When they married, Vibia was anywhere from twelve to seventeen, and Hadrian was six to twelve years older (depending on which birth year you believe or use…
542: Faustina the Elder Roman Empress Born: c.90-105 AD, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: 140 AD, Cappadocia, Roman Empire, (Present-day Cappadocia, Italy) Also Known As: Annia Galeria Faustina Faustina was the wife of Antoninus Pius. Unlike most Emperors and Empresses of Rome, Faustina and Antoninus really loved each other and ruled over a…
Julia speaking on her son, “As long as he becomes emperor, let him kill me!” Original Latin: “Occidat dum imperet.” 541: Julia Agrippina Roman Empress and Wife of Claudius Born: 4 November 15 AD, Colonia Claudia Ara Agripinnensium, Roman Empire, (Present-day Cologne, Germany) Died: 23 March 59 AD, Roman Empire, (Present-day Miseno, Italy) Also Known…
528: Mary Von Waldersee Philanthropist Who Married Into German Aristocracy Born: 3 October 1837, New York City, New York, United States of America Died: 4 July 1914, Hanover, Germany Mary may have had an affair with Kaiser Wilhelm II. She was known for her political salons and charities. There is little other information for Mary…
527: Bianca Cappello Mistress of Francesco de Medici and Grandduchess of Tuscany Born: 1548, Venice, Italy Died: 20 October 1587, Poggio a Caiano, Italy Also Spelled: Bianca Capello Bianca was married at the time the affair started and had a daughter with her husband, but as soon as they were both free of their marital…
“I’m of a very delicate nature. And it is all made far more complicated due to the fact that I have a grand piano inside me… a grand piano would be bad enough but this one happens to be made out of glass,” -Princess Alexandra in “The Glass Piano” 519: Alexandra of Bavaria Slightly Eccentric Princess…
514: Joanna of Castile Queen of Aragon and Castile Born: 6 November 1479, Toledo, Kingdom of Castile, Spain (Present-day Toledo, Spain) Died: 11 April 1555, Tordesillas, Kingdom of Castile, Spain (Present-day Tordesillas, Spain) Joanna is also known as “Joanna the Mad” (or in Spanish Juana la Loca). She was the elder sister of Catherine who…
513: Katharina Schratt Mistress of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria-Hungary Born: 11 September 1853, Baden bei Wien, Austro-Hungarian Empire (Present-day Baden bei Wien, Austria) Died: 17 April 1940, Vienna, Austria She was an actress, had already married into the aristocracy, and had a son. Katharina first appeared onstage at the age of eighteen, and…
512: Gabrielle d’Estrées Mistress of Henri IV of France Born: 1573, France Died: 10 April 1599, Paris, France Gabrielle was also the duchess de Beaufort et d’Étampes, as well as the Marquise de Monceaux. It is said Henri would compromise military victories in order to visit her. She was also extremely important in converting him…