Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, younger daughter of George VI and sister of Elizabeth II, died in her sleep on 9 February 2002 at the age of 71 after suffering a series of strokes and a heart attack.

The funeral of the executed King Charles I took place on 9 February 1649. His personal dignity during his trial and execution had won him much sympathy and he was laid to rest at Windsor rather than Westminster Abbey to avoid the possibility of public disorder at his funeral.

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales, widow of Frederick Prince of Wales (eldest son of George II) and mother of George III, died in London on 8 February 1772. She is remembered for her involvement with Kew Gardens, where the Great Pagoda was built for her.

After 19 years of imprisonment, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded for treason at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, on 8 February 1587. She had been implicated in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth II was formally proclaimed Queen and Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith on 8 February 1952.

George VI, the monarch who led Britain through World War II, died at Sandringham House, Norfolk, on 6 February 1952, aged only 56, after a 15-year reign and was succeeded by his daughter Elizabeth II, who was in Africa en route to Australia at the moment of her accession.

Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son of Alfred Duke of Edinburgh (2nd son of Queen Victoria), died under mysterious circumstances in Austria-Hungary on 6 February 1899, aged only 24, predeceasing his father.

Queen Anne, the last Stuart ruler and second daughter of James II, was born on 6 February 1665. Since none of her children outlived her, she was succeeded on her death in 1714 by James I's great grandson George of Hanover (who became George I).

Charles II of England and Scotland was declared King of Great Britain by the Parliament of Scotland on 6 February 1649. This move was not followed by the Parliament of England or the Parliament of Ireland. He died on 6 February 1685.

The Regency Act was passed on 5 February 1811 allowing George, Prince of Wales, to rule because his father, King George III, was considered insane. He later became George IV.

A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park in August 2012 was confirmed on 4 February 2013 as that of Richard III, who was killed at Bosworth in Leicestershire in 1485. Experts from the University of Leicester said that DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the monarch's family.

The Honours of Scotland (the Scottish Crown Jewels) were rediscovered in Edinburgh Castle by the novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott on 4 February 1818. They had been in storage since the union of England and Scotland in 1707.

George VI commissioned the Royal Yacht Britannia on 4 February 1952, two days before his death. The ship was launched in April 1953.

Queen Victoria was buried at the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore, on or about 4 February 1901. It was built after Prince Albert's death, as a final resting place for both of them.

Richard I (the Lionheart) was released from captivity by Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI on 4 February 1194 after payment of a large ransom. He had been captured on his way home from crusade.

Elizabeth II visited Australia on 3 February 1954, the first reigning monarch to visit the country.

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, wealthy and powerful third surviving son of Edward III and father of Henry IV, died in Leicester on 3 February 1399 at the age of 58. By the offspring of his third marriage, to his mistress Catherine Swynford, he is an ancestor of today's royal family.

Sweyn Forkbeard, Danish King of England, died in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, on 3 February 1014. King Sweyn had only been King of England for five weeks at his death. He is buried in Roskilde or Lund.

Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of George II and father of George III, was born in Hanover on 1 February 1707. He predeceased his father, who was succeeded by his grandson, the first time since Edward III was succeeded by Richard II in 1377.

Under pressure from her Council, on 1 February 1587 Elizabeth I signed the warrant authorising the execution of Mary Queen of Scots after Mary was implicated in a plot against Elizabeth. Mary was executed a week later.

Edward III was crowned on 1 February 1327 aged 14 after his father Edward II was deposed. The Queen Mother, Isabella of France, and her favourite, Roger Mortimer Earl of March, who had engineered Edward II's downfall, acted as regents, hoping (unsuccessfully) to retain the role permanently.

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, was exhumed and formally executed on 30 January 1661, 2 years after his death. His execution took place on the anniversary of the execution of Charles I, the monarch who Cromwell had deposed 12 years earlier.

Charles I was beheaded at Whitehall on 30 January 1649 after being convicted of treason. His reign was followed by an 11-year interregnum until his son Charles II was recalled from exile to take the throne in 1660.

Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife and husband of Louise Princess Royal (daughter of Edward VII), died of pleurisy in Egypt on 29 January 1912, probably a complication of being in a shipwreck a few weeks earlier.

George III died on 29 January 1820, aged 81. At the time he was Britain's longest reigning monarch (he is still the longest-reigning king) and reigned for more than 59 years. He was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV, who had been Prince Regent since 1811.

Queen Victoria instituted Britain’s highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross (VC), on 29 January 1856, awarded to British and Commonwealth armed forces for outstanding bravery ‘on the field of battle’. It was originally made from the metal of cannon captured from the Russians at Sevastopol.

Anne Boleyn suffered a miscarriage on 29 January 1536, the day of Catherine of Aragon's funeral. The loss of her child, as well as the death of Catherine, made Anne's position very vulnerable, and within a few months she was arrested for adultery and treason and was executed.

Henry VIII died in the Palace of Whitehall on 28 January 1547, exactly 90 years after the birth of his father Henry VII. He spent much of his reign on foreign policy alliances, often holding the balance of power between the French and Spanish monarchies.

Dervorguilla of Galloway, mother of king John Balliol of Scotland, died on 28 January 1290 at around 80 years of age. She was a 'lady of substance' in 13th century Scotland, the wife from 1223 of John, 5th Baron de Balliol.

Henry VII was born at Pembroke Castle on 28 January 1457 to Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, and Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of Edward III. He won the throne when he defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1495, the last English king to win his throne in battle.

The funeral of George V took place at St George's Chapel, Windsor, on 28 January 1936. royalwatcherblog.com/2026/01/28/f...

Edward of Angoulême, eldest son of Edward the Black Prince, was born in France on 27 January 1365. His death aged 5 left his younger brother Richard as heir to their grandfather Edward III. Richard II is said to have had had his brother Edward depicted as the Christ Child in the Wilton Diptych.

The Cullinan Diamond, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, was discovered in South Africa on 26 January 1905. It was cleaved into nine major pieces, of which the two largest are in the Crown Jewels and the other seven are in jewels in the royal collection.

Lady Katherine Grey, younger sister of Lady Jane Grey, died on 26 January 1568, aged only 28, after being imprisoned by Elizabeth I for marrying without permission.

Victoria, Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, married Prince Frederick William of Prussia (later, briefly, Frederick III) on 25 January 1858. This was the only wedding of any of Queen Victoria's children that took place during Albert's lifetime.

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn married in a secret ceremony on 25 January 1533, a few months before Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon was annulled. Anne was already pregnant with the future Elizabeth I.

Edward II married Isabella of France on 25 January 1308; their son Edward III's claim to the French throne was via his mother. It was an ill-fated marriage, mostly because of Edward's infatuation with a series of male favourites; it ended with Isabella's successful plot to overthrow her husband.

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, 4th son of George III and father of Queen Victoria, died in Devon on 23 January 1820, aged only 52, predeceasing his father. At his death, his daughter Victoria was less than a year old; she was raised by her mother until her accession at the age of 18.

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray and regent for the infant James VI of Scotland, was fatally shot by James Hamilton, a supporter of Mary Queen of Scots, on 23 January 1570. It was the first recorded assassination by a firearm.

Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901, aged 81, at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. At the time, her reign was the longest in British history, spanned 63 years and saw the growth of 'an empire on which the sun never set'.

Edward Seymour, brother of Henry VIII's third wife and Protector during the reign of her son Edward VI, was executed on 22 January 1552 after a power struggle with other members of the regency council.

Francis, Duke of Teck, husband of George III's granddaughter Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge and father of Queen Mary (consort of George V), died in London on 21 January 1900. He was an officer in the Austrian army until his marriage.

George V died at Sandringham House on 20 January 1936 at the age of 70 after a 25-year reign. As he lay dying, his doctors administered euthanasia, partly to relieve suffering and partly to ensure his death occurred before midnight and could be reported in the more influential morning newspapers.

The Duchess of Edinburgh, wife of Elizabeth II's youngest child Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, was born (as Sophie Rhys-Jones) in Oxford on 20 January 1965.

Richard II married his first wife, Anne of Bohemia, on 20 January 1282. Although childless, it was a love match, and it has been observed that his cruel and unstable behavior as king did not start until after her death.

Edward Balliol abdicated as King of Scotland on 20 January 1356 in favour of Edward III and in exchange for an English pension. He spent the rest of his life living in obscurity and died in 1367, at Wheatley, Doncaster.

Edward II abdicated in favour of his teenage son, Edward III, on 20 January 1327. The abdication was engineered by his queen, Isabella of France, who ruled with her favourite, Roger Mortimer. Edward II died in prison a few months later.

Prince John, epileptic youngest child of George V and Queen Mary, died at Wood Farm, Sandringham, on 18 January 1919 aged 13. He had lived there with his nanny, Lalla Bill, separately from the rest of the royal family. The public were not informed of the prince's disability until after his death.

Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and Yorkist heir to the throne, on 18 January 1486. They were the parents of Henry VIII. She was not crowned until after the birth of her first child.

Princess Margaret of Connaught, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and wife of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, was born on 15 January 1882.