It’s safe to say that members of the world’s various royal families are an extremely privileged class.
But even with palaces and a near-endless supply of money, they aren’t above misfortune.
Royals have their own devastating life changes such as dissolved marriages, family crises, and international scandals.
Titles can’t exempt anyone from an untimely death either.
Car crashes, illnesses, and suicides plague royal families in much the same way they plague everyone else.
However, when a royal dies young, the grief spreads much further than just the immediate family members.
Here are some of the most tragic royal deaths that broke hearts around the world.
Philip was one of five children produced by the union but died at just 3 years old.
His siblings included Margarita Teresa, Maria Ambrosia, Thomas Karl, and Charles.
Philip, Maria Ambrosia, and Thomas Karl all died in childhood.
Philip had been perpetually ill since birth and died in 1661.
Maria Ambrosia likely suffered from epilepsy and survived about 15 days while Thomas Karl died at 4 months old.
Charles, Philip’s youngest brother, would eventually take the throne, reigning from 1665 until 1700.
Prince Alexander John of Wales
Prince Alexander John of Wales was born and died in 1871.
He was the sixth child of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and Alexandra of Denmark.
Albert held the title of Prince of Wales for 59 years and 45 days.
His youngest child, Prince Alexander John, was born premature and in ill health.
He died roughly a day after his birth, and the family buried him at Sandringham Church.
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
Prince Leopold died when he was just 30 years old.
He attended Oxford University and held the honorary title of Colonel-in-Chief for the Seaforth Highlanders.
Leopold died on March 28, 1884.
He suffered from haemophilia which was diagnosed in childhood, a trait he inherited from his mother.
He may have also had epilepsy.
In February 1884, he was sent to Cannes to ease his joint pain.
While there, he fell and injured his knee and head.
He died the next morning, likely from a cerebral hemorrhage due to his haemophilia.
Before his marriage, Leopold was linked to Alice Liddell the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s famous work.
Leopold was the godfather to one of her sons, who was named after him.
He had many political designs including ruling Hungary and bringing the Kingdom of Poland back to power.
Other reports claim Prince Rudolf shot his mistress first before turning the gun on himself.
He left behind one child, a daughter named Elizabeth Marie.
However, female heirs were not eligible for the line of succession.
Upon Rudolf’s death, his uncle became heir.
Alexandra died in 1891 just days after the birth of her son Dmitri.
At seven months pregnant, she collapsed at a ball due to severe labor pains.
The family’s fate started with the February Revolution of 1917.
The whole family was shot on July 17, 1918.
Her granddaughterPrincess Olga Romanoff is a cousin of Queen Elizabeth IIand currently lives in England.
She is a living link between the House of Windsor and the Romanovs.
Born in 1905, he was the great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
His parents were King George V and Mary of Teck.
By the time the prince was 4 years old, his parent became aware of his medical issues.
He started having epileptic seizures and showed signs of behavioral and cognitive issues.
He was not sent to school and was rarely seen in public.
Due to showing little educational progression, his tutors were dismissed.
He rarely spent time with his own family as his increasingly frequent seizures reportedly upset his siblings.
Prince Joachim of Prussia
Prince Joachim of Prussia died at just 29 years old.
In 1916, he wed Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt.
The marriage only lasted about four years and was dissolved in a secret divorce for unknown reasons.
He took his own life on July 18, 1920 (viaUCR).
Alexander was the son of King Constantine I and Princess Sophia of Prussia.
Alexander married Aspasia Manos, a commoner, in 1919 to much scandal.
The marriage was opposed by his father and the prime minister.
He received bite wounds on his torso and leg which he did not think were very serious.
However, the bites became infected which led to sepsis.
He passed away on October 25th, 1920.
Her parents were Prince Carl, Duke of Vastergotland, and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark.
Astrid would eventually be wed to Prince Leopold of Belgium.
The couple had three children.
Astrid died in 1935 while on vacation with her husband and two elder children.
Astrid was thrown from the vehicle and her body struck a tree.
Her brother,Prince Philip, married Queen Elizabeth II and became the Duke of Edinburgh.
Her second child was born in 1933, and her third in 1936.
She was pregnant with her fourth at the time of her demise.
In 1937, Cecilie and her family took a flight to London to attend her brother-in-law’s wedding.
During the flight, the weather shifted and the pilot attempted an emergency landing.
Eleven people were on board, including Cecilie’s husband, her two oldest children, and her mother-in-law.
According toThe Evening Independent, a newborn infant was found in the wreckage.
It is assumed that Cecilie gave birth during the flight.
Queen Alia of Jordan
Queen Alia was married to King Hussein of Jordan.
She was his third wife, and they wed in 1972, five years before her death.
Prior to her marriage, Alia worked for Royal Jordanian airline.
She also helped oversee the First International Water Skiing Festival, a position Hussein requested she fulfill.
He even taught her to water ski.
Alia was killed in a helicopter crash on February 9, 1977.
She was returning from southern Jordan where she was inspecting the Tafileh Hospital.
The military helicopter went down in a rainstorm also killing the pilot and Health Minister Dr. Mohammed Al-Bashir.
In 1983, an airport was named in her honor: Queen Alia International Airport in Amman.
She was the daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and Frances Roche.
Known as the People’s Princess, Diana was recognized for her philanthropy and support of humanitarian causes.
Diana died in 1997 when the vehicle she was riding in lost control in a Paris tunnel.
The driver, Henri Paul, was trying to evade the paparazzi.
He was also killed in the accident along with Dodi Fayed, Diana’s companion.
Alya was the daughter of Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein and Princess Tlsm.
Rudolph is the nephew of the current reigning monarch, Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein.
Tlsm’s father is a wealthy Turkish businessman.
Since the couple are very private, little was reported in the media about Alya before her death.
In fact, her birth was not even a well-known fact.
Her death was announced in 2015, she was only a year old.
The family was visiting the United States when Alya choked on her food which lodged in her trachea.
They were born in 2016.
She was the fourth child of Prince Piotr Galitzine and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria.
Her siblings include Princess Xenia, Princess Tatiana, Princess Alexandra, Prince Dimitri, and Prince Ionn Teimouraz.
Maria was born in Luxembourg but grew up in Russia.
Her obituary published in theHouston Chronicledescribed Maxim as “the apple of her eye.”
Maria died suddenly on May 4, 2020, due to a cardiac aneurysm.
Maria was buried at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery in the Orthodox section in Houston.
