All About Royal Families

On the morning of April 26, 1478, Easter Sunday, Florence Cathedral—Santa Maria del Fiore—was filled with the devout, the curious, and the powerful. Among them were two of the most prominent figures in Florence: Lorenzo de’ Medici, known as Il Magnifico, and his younger brother, Giuliano de’ Medici. The brothers were the de facto rulers of Florence, widely admired but also deeply resented by rival factions.  A plot That day, unbeknownst to the congregation, a meticulously plotted conspiracy was about to unfold—a plan that would shake the Republic of Florence to its core. The plot had been hatched by the Pazzi family, wealthy Florentine bankers with ambitions to unseat the de' Medici. They were backed by  Francesco Salviati, the Archbishop of Pisa, and, more ominously, by Pope Sixtus IV, who opposed the de'  Medici's influence in central Italy. The Pope’s nephew, Girolamo Riario, was also involved, giving the plot the air of both political and ecclesiastical intrigue. Duri...

Since my parents are moving from a house to an apartment, I received some lovely pieces from them for my royal collection of Belgium. These are two special editions of Belgian stamps issued in 1990. In 1990, the Koninklijke Landsbond der Belgische Postzegelkringen celebrated its centenary. In that context, these stamps were created. The roses depicted on them were taken from the work of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, 60 Roses for a Queen, which belongs to the Royal Library Albert I in Brussels . The stamps also feature Queen Louise-Marie, the first Queen of the Belgians. She was the second wife of King Leopold I, from their marriage on August 9, 1832, until her death in 1850. Louise-Marie was the second child and eldest daughter of the French King Louis-Philippe I and his wife, Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies. Although she rarely participated in public representation, she played a significant role as the political adviser to her husband. Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840) was a renowned flower...