All About Royal Families

Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria was born on April 30th. 1839 in Florence (now located in Italy). Karl Salvator of Austria - Source picture: Wikipedia His parents had been Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies. Archduke Karl Salvator served in the Imperial Austro-Hungarian army as Lieutenant-Field Marshal. On September 19th. 1861 he married in Rome, his first cousin, Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. They would have 10 children. Archduke Karl Salvator died in Vienna on January 18th. 1892.

Charlotte Amalie was born on April 27th. 1650 in Kassel (Germany) as the daughter of Landgrave William VI of Hesse-Kassel and Hedwig Sophia of Brandenburg. Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel - Source picture: Wikipedia She received a fine education and learned French, Italian, Geography and Philosophy. On June 25th. 1667 Charlotte Amalie married Prince Christian of Denmark. Although the negotiations of this marriage were held by her mother-in-law, Charlotte Amalie had a lot of conflicts with her regarding etiquette matters. Charlotte Amalie was described as a charmful person, who had a great tact. She even learned to speak Danish. Her marriage was a political strategy but not a love match and Christian was unfaithful but in 1670 she became Queen Consort of Denmark and Norway. Charlotte Amalie had several residences, which she administered carefully. In 1699, after the death of her husband, she moved to the Charlottenburg Palace in Copenhagen. There she died on Ma...

Traveling mostly is discovering beautiful places. One of them, which I really liked is Brig. Brig is a municipality located in the canton of Valois in Switzerland. Of course, it has a great history and even a palace. Stockalper palace in Brig - Switzerland - own picture Brig was first mentioned in 1215 as Briga. The name comes from Briva or Bridge. The de Briga family even was mentioned in 1181.  This family seat was the Höllenburg, a tower above Brig. This tower was demolished in the 17th. century.  In the early modern era families became very wealthy by trading. They built magnificent palaces in Brig.  The most amazing palace is the Stockalper Palace built between 1658 and 1678. Kaspar Jodok Stockalper (a silk marchant, banker, and military) gave the order to build this beautiful palace, with towers, an arcaded courtyard and park. Kasper Stockalper - Source picture: Wikipedia This Stochalper Palace was one of the large...

Sabina of Bavaria-Munich was born on April 24th. 1492. Her parents had been Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria and Kunigunde of Austria. Sabina was the grand- daughter of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Leonor of Portugal. Sabina of Bavaria - Source picture: Wikipedia At the age of 6 she was promised to Ulrich of Württemberg. The two got married when she was 15! They would have 2 children. This marriage really became unhappy, due to Ulrich's violence. Finally Sabina was forced to flee from Württemberg. She left her children behind and found shelter by her two brothers in Munich. In 1551 her son Christoph inherited the throne of Württemberg. Sabina moved to Nürtingen. This was the official widow's residence of the Württembergs. Sabina of Bavaria died on August 30th. 1564.

Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg was born on April 22nd. 1780 in Kirchheimbolanden. Henriette - Source picture: Wikipedia Family Her parents had been Charles Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and his wife Carolina of Orange Nassau (daughter of William IV of Orange). She was a member of the House of Nassau-Weilburg. Love and Marriage At the Hermitage near Bayreuth, Princess Henriette married Duke Louis of Württemberg. They would have 5 children. 👉 Did you know that the composer Carl Maria von Weber worked as Geheimer Sekretär for her husband and gave piano lessons to her daughters? info  @SabineHammerba1 Through her grandchildren Princess Henrietta has many descendants. Inter alia: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kindom; Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; Juan Carlos I of Spain. Death Princess Henriette died on January 2nd. 1857 at the age of 76 at Kirchheim unter Teck. 

April 21st. 1673 marks the birth of Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg. This took place in Hanover (Germany). Wilhelmine Amalia - Source picture: Wikipedia She was the youngest daughter of John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate. Trough her great-aunt Louise Holladine she received a catholic education. Eleonor Magdalene of the Palatinate-Neuburg, who was Holy Roman Empress, decided that Wilhelmine would became her daughter-in-law. The girl had to undergo a medical examination to see if she was fertile. All things went well and on February 24th. 1699, Wilhelmine married Archduke Joseph of Austria, the heir of Emperor Leopold I. They would have 3 children. Due to marriage Wilhelmine moved from Hanover to Vienna. She was described as beautiful, religious and serious. In the beginning her marriage with Joseph couldn't be better. But Joseph had during his life mistresses. They could be servants or nobles. He even h...

August 27 th. 1471 marks the birth of George, Duke of Saxony. This event took place in Meissen. His parents had been Albert the Brave of Saxony and Sidonie Podiebrad. George with the Beard - Source picture: Wikipedia  George of Saxony received a very fine education with inter alia theology and other interesting things. In fact he was better educated than many princes of his time. On November 21st. 1496 George of Saxony married Barbara Jagiellon, who was a daughter of the King of Poland. German and Polish nobles attended their wedding. George reformed the finances and the government of Saxony on a wise way and he supported Emperor Charles V. After the death of his wife, in 1534, George mourned very hard, as a sign for his grief, he let grow his beard. George of Saxony died on April 17th. 1539.

One of the most amazing Rivers in Europe is the Moselle. the Moselle flows in France, Luxembourg and in Germany. Near the stream there are a lot of beautiful places, areas and even castles! This time I chose an old picture of me, taken in 2007 during a visit to Remich. Remich is a lovely community, with a city status. Moselle in Remich own picture This picture shows trees and the Moselle, which is here the natural border between Luxembourg and Germany. The history of Remich started in the time of the Romans. They had at the same place a settlement, called Remacum. Later it was transformed to the name Remich. In the 8th century Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, donated his estate 'Hof Remich' to the Benedictine St. Maximin's Abbey in Trier. Unfortunately, in 882 the Normans destroyed the settlement. This happened again in 1687, where the city fortifications were demolished by the army of King Louis XIV of France. Bridge over the Moselle in Rem...

April 14th. 1606 marks the birth of Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her parents were Louis V of Hesse-Darmstadt and Magdalene of Brandenburg. Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt - Source picture: Wikipedia On March 5th. 1631 Juliana married Ulrich II, Count of East Frisia. They would have 3 sons. During the Thirty Year's war Ulrich gave the order to build a Lustschloss, or a palace for private pleasure, for his wife at Sandhorst. Finally the castle was finished in 1648. After her husband's death in 1648, Juliana became regent for her minor son. This lasted until 1641. Her regency wasn't a great success. She lived in a world of decadence and the managing of the county was in hands of her favourites. This led to huge problems with the East Frisian States. In 1651, Emperor Ferdinand III declared Enno Louis, Juliana's eldest son, to be an adult. He removed his mother from the government. Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt spent her last years on a farm called Westerhof ...

April 13th. 1229 marks the birth of Louis II, Duke of Bavaria. His parents had been Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria and Agnes of the Palatinate. Louis II of Bavaria - Source picture: Wikipedia By the death of Louis's father Otto in 1253, Bavaria was devided. He received the Palatinate and Upper Bavaria, while his brother Henry XIII received Lower Bavaria. On August 12th. 1254 Louis married Maria of Brabant. Their marriage should last 2 years and they would have no children. In 1256 Louis accused his own wife of adultery. Therefore she even was beheaded. According to many tales Louis had been away from home for a long time for state affairs. His wife Maria wrote two letters: one to her husband and one to a friend. Those letters had been given to the wrong person ... Later Louis gave the order to found the Fürstenfeld Abbey near Munich as penance for his act. In 1260 Louis married Agnes of Glogau, they should have 2 children. Agnes died in 1271 when s...

My Happy Weekend Picture was taken several weeks ago at the Reien in Bruges. Bruges is a lovely medieval city located in the Province of West-Flanders in Belgium. Bruges Beligum Reien  At the picture you can see the Reien (canals) in Bruges with a lot of White Swans. There is a very nice and royal connection with these Swans. It returns back to the time of Emperor Maximilian I of Austria and his first wife Mary,  Duchess of Burgundy.   See also the page House of Habsburg on top of this blog or on next link . Emperor Maximilian I of Austria - Source picture: Wikipedia In 1482 his wife Mary of Burgundy visited Bruges to do her favorite hobby: falconry. Unfortunately her horse stumbled, she fell down and died to her injuries. Mary of Burgundy - Source picture: Wikipedia During that time Bruges wanted the same city rights as Antwerp or Ghent. When Emperor Maximilian I of Austria refused to grant the cities their rights, he...

April 8th. 1655 marks the birth of Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden. This event took place in Paris (France). His parents were Hereditary Prince Ferdinand of Baden-Baden and Louise of Savoy. His godfather was King Louis XIV of France. As a child, Louis William was kidnapped from his mother's home in Paris and re-patriated to Germany. There he was raised by his step-grandmother. At the siege of Vienna in 1683, Louis William fought against the Turks. There he had a splendid plan to drove his troops into the city. In 1689 he defeated the Turks, who called Louis William the Red King because of his jacket. He married Duchess Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg see my today in history of January 21st at next link .  They would have 9 children. Only their daughters would survive childhood.  His daughter Princess Auguste would marry Louis d'Orléans. Their descendent would be King Louis Philippe of France, father of Queen Louise of Belgium. Louis William, Margr...

On april 7th. 1826, King Ludwig I of Bavaria ordered to build a new gallery for the Wittelbachs Collection. Archictect Leo von Klenze accepted this job with pleasure. The Alte Pinakothek (Old Pinakothek) was at that time the largest museum in the world with a neo-renaissance exterior. So, the museum looked like a castle, which was common in the 19th. century. Alte Pinakothek Munich Germany Own Picture After its inauguration in 1836, the Alte Pinakothek became model for many gallleries in the world like Rome (Italy), Saint Petersburg (Russia) and Brussels (Belgium). Munich Alte Pinakothek around 1900 - Source picture: Wikipedia During World War I the building was seriously damaged by bombing. In the late 1950's it was restored and back opened for public. I visited the museum in 2014 during a holiday in Munich and its architecture really fascinates me a lot. There also is a huge collection of Early Italian, Old German, Old Dutch and even Flemish paint...

This weekend I've visited a magnificent Royal Monument in Nieuwpoort, Belgium. This wasn't just a another Royal statue. Together with the environment it impresses me a lot. King Albert I monument - Own picture After World War I , remembrance committees decided to build a huge monument. This was finished in 1938.  Designer: Julien De Ridder Statue: Karel Aubroeck King Albert I monument - own picture The place wasn't chosen by hazard. Here the German soldiers were stopped on their way to France in 1914, by the water due to open the locks. Last year there was a huge ceremony! Then a lot of royals and notables visited this place inter alia: King Philippe of the Belgians; Queen Mathilde of the Belgians; Former Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands; Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and many more. King Albert I monument - own picture

First of all I want to wish all of you a very Happy Weekend and a Happy Easter! Instead of eggs on the picture, I've chosen for colorful Macarons. yummy Macarons taken in a window in Brussels - own picture A Macaron is a French sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder and food coloring. For the history fans, like me, there is something very interesting about the Macaron. At the beginning there is a huge debate about its origins. Some have traced its French debut back to the arrival of Catherine de' Medici's Italian pastry chefs, which she brought with her in 1533 upon marrying Henri II of France. Others say that the Macaron won fame in 1792 due to two Carmelite nuns, seeking asylum in Nancy during the French Revolution. They sold the Macarons in order to pay their housing. At last, Claude Gerbet, another baker claimed in the early 20th. century to have invented the Macarons. Of course, I like...

April 3rd. 1812 marks the birth of Louise of Orléans. This event took place in Sicily (Italy). Her parents had been Louis Philipp I, King of the French and Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies. As a child Louise of Orléans received a religious and a bourgeois education. On August 9th. 1832 Louise of Orléans married Leopold I, King of the Belgians at Château de Compiègne in France. They would have 4 children: Prince Louis Philippe of Belgium (who died young), Leopold II of Belgium, Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders (his son was King Albert I), Princess Charlotte of Belgium, Consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. King Leopold I, Queen Louise and their family - Source picture: Wikipedia Louise of Orléans died on October 11th. 1850 in Ostend. She had tuberculosis. Check also the page: Belgium a Royal History from 1830 till now on top of this blog or on next link . 

April 2nd. 1826 marks the birth of Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. His parents had been Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Princess Marie Frederica of Hesse-Kassel. George II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen - Source picture: Wikipedia On May 18th. 1850 Georg married Princess Charlotte Frederica of Prussia. Her parents were Prince Albert of Prussia and Princess Marianne of The Netherlands.They would have 4 children. Their marriage was a real love match. One of the wedding gifts was the glorious villa on the Lake Como from their mother Marianne but they would live in Berlin. In 1855 faith strikes. First their second son Georg died and Charlotte followed a few months later. In 1858 Georg married his second cousin Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. She was a niece of Queen Victoria through her mother Princess Feodora who was the half sister of Queen Victoria. Georg and Feodora would have 3 sons. In 1872 Feodora had scarlet fever and she died of it. One year ...