All About Royal Families

On April 20th. 1808 Louis Bonaparte, the younger brother of Emperor Napoleon I of France, received the city keys of Amsterdam. He declared the city as capital of The Netherlands. Amsterdam view from the Royal Palace to the Dam  Amsterdam was constitutional mentioned as capital of The Netherlands due to a change in constitution in 1983. For me it is always a bit strange because the seat of the government and the parliament are located in The Hague. Amsterdam also isn't the capital of its Province, North Holland, which is Haarlem. But it really is a lovely city to visit with a lot of famous landmarks. Own picture of Amsterdam

Johan Wilhelm II (in German: Jan Wellem) was born on April 19th. 1658 in Düsseldorf. His parents were Philip William of Palatinate - Neuburg and Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. He was educated by the Jesuits and in 1674, he made a grand tour to Italy. Johann Wilhelm - Source picture: Wikipedia In 1678 Johann Wilhelm married Maria Anna Josepha, Archduchess of Austria. After her death, he married Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (daughter of Cosmo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany). See my Today in History of February 18th .  He gave work to many artists and painters like Johannes Spilberg. He also had a huge collection of paintings from Rubens. His collection still can be seen in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Johann Wilhelm died on June 8th. 1716. He was a member of the House of Wittelsbach. 

Prinz Albert Wilhelm Heinrich von Preußen or Prince Henry of Prussia was born on August 14th. 1862 in the Crown Prince's Palace in Berlin. Prince Henry of Prussia and his wife Source picture: Wikipedia Frederick III, German Emperor, and Victoria, Princess, Royal were his parents. Prince Henry also was a grandchild of Queen Victoria. (See the page descendants of Queen Victoria (Children and Grandchildren) on top  of my blog). Prince Henry was a younger brother of Emperor William II of Germany, though the two had very little in common. In 1877 Prince Henry went in the Imperal Navy.  In 1888 he married his first cousin, Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine. The sibblings of Princess Irene were inter alia:  Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna of Russia & the last Tsarina: Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. The marriage displeased Queen Victoria because she had not been told  about the courtship untill they had already deciced to mary. H

Villa Politi was founded in 1862 under the chique name: Grand Hotel Villa Politi. It was created by an Austrian woman called Maria Theresa Laudien who fell in love with  Salvatore Politi  from Siracusa in Sicily (Italy). The hotel hosted many important guests like King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Sir Winston Churchill with his wife Lady Clementine.  Villa Politi is located near Siracusa . This is a beautiful, historic city in Sicily (Italy). Siracusa became famous for its amphitheatres and architecture. Siracusa - Greek Theatre - taken with a disposable camera Nowadays Siracusa is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. On this link , you can see a beautiful Youtube Movie of the hotel. 

Karl Philipp was born on April 15th. 1771 in Vienna. Nice portrait of Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg - Source picture: Wikipedia His parents were Johann Nepomuk Anton of Schwarzenberg and Marie Eleonore, Countess of Öttingen-Wallerstein. Timeline: 1788: Karl Philipp entered the Cavalry. 1789: fought under Lacy and Loudon against the Turks and distinguished himself. 1794: received the Commander's Cross of the Military Order of Maria-Theresa. 1804: creation of the title Fürst zu Schwarzenberg 1808: promotion to General of the Cavalry. 1809: was awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece. 1813: Austria took the side of the allies against Napoleon. This resulted in several battles inter alia: 1813: Battle of Dresden 1813: Battle of Leipzig 1814: Battle of Bar-sur-Aube 1814: Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube 1814: Battle of Paris took place (overthrow of Napoleon). Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg also recieved many foreign orders. On October 15th.