All About Royal Families

On 24 August 1838, Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, was born at the Tuileries Palace in Paris. As the eldest son of Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and Duchess Hélène of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, he was born into the heart of the French royal family. His grandfather was King Louis Philippe I of the French, who had been on the throne since 1830. A French prince with Belgian family ties Philippe's father, Ferdinand Philippe, was the eldest son of King Louis Philippe and Queen Marie Amélie. His younger sister Louise Marie of Orléans had married Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, in 1832. Belgium's first queen was therefore Philippe's aunt. This also made Philippe a first cousin of Louise's children, including the future King Leopold II, Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and Princess Charlotte, who would later become Empress of Mexico. The French and Belgian royal families were not simply neighbouring dynasties. They were close family. Philippe's future chang...

In Belgium, trains are such a familiar part of everyday life that we rarely stop to think about the history travelling with us. We take the train to work, to school, for a day out or perhaps to begin a journey abroad. Yet those railway tracks tell a story stretching back almost two centuries. And in 2026, there is an extra reason to look back. The National Railway Company of Belgium,better known as NMBS/SNCB, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. For me, this anniversary has a personal connection too. I am an avid train traveller myself and whenever possible, I love discovering places by rail. But there is another reason why this anniversary deserves a place on All About Royal Families: Belgian railway history also has a fascinating royal side. A century on the rails Belgium has always been a railway pioneer. As early as 1835, the first public railway on the European continent connected Brussels with Mechelen. The NMBS/SNCF itself was established in 1926, taking over the railway lines ...

Some exhibitions tell you a story through paintings, documents or photographs. Others have the remarkable ability to bring a person back to mind through the things they once wore. In July 2026, during my visit to London, I had the opportunity to visit Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. For anyone who followed Queen Elizabeth II throughout the years, it is much more than an exhibition about royal fashion. It is a journey through a familiar life. Organised to mark the centenary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth in 1926, the exhibition is the largest and most comprehensive display of her fashion ever staged. More than 300 items take visitors through all ten decades of her life, from childhood and her years as a young princess to her long reign as Queen. Many of the pieces have never been displayed before. A royal life told through clothes What I particularly loved was the way the exhibition follows the different stages of Elizabeth’s life. Her clot...