All About Royal Families

Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig of Prussia (in English: Frederick) was born on October 30th. 1794. His parents were Prince Louis Charles of Prussia and Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (who became later Queen of Hanover). From 1815, the Prince served as Commander. He lived in a Palace in the Wilhelmstrasse (Berlin). Love and Marriage There were noble candidates who wanted to marry him, inter alia Princess Charlotte of Wales (who would later marry Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld). The pair met each other several times. However Prince Frederick was suddenly engaged to Princess Louis of Anhalt-Bernburg (daughter of Alexius Frederick Christian, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg). The two married on November 21st. 1817. They would have two sons. In 1855 Prince Frederick would live separated from his wife, due to her chronic  nervous disease. Although each year at their common birth day, he visited his wife in Düsseldorf. Duty In 1820 Prince Frederick...

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus was born on October 28th. 1466 in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). About his exact day of birth is a discussion but this day is the most common. Statue of Erasmus in Rotterdam Born as an illegitimate child (his father was a priest and his mother a servant), Erasmus became an important man. He was a  Dutch Renaissance Humanist, a catholic priest, social critic, teacher and theologian.

Princess Marie Victoire of Arenberg was born on October 26th. 1714 in Brussels as the eldest daughter of Léopold Philippe, Duke of Arenberg and Maria Ludovica Francesca Pignatelli. The  noble house of Arenberg Marie Victoire was a member of the House of Arenberg, an aristocratic lineage who took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel Region. The current head of the house bears the title Duke of Arenberg, while all other members are princes or princesses. They were all styled of Serene Highness. I made already a 'Today in History / On This Day' from  the father  of Princess Marie Victoire, Léopold Philippe, Duke of Arenberg,  which you can read on this link .  Youth During her childhood, Princess Marie Victoire was a friend of the future Empress Maria Theresa. She also had important family ties. She was the cousin of Maria Henriette de La Tour d'Auvergne, mother o...

Last week AB InBev and SABMiller announced that there was an agreement in principle about a take-over. The offer estimated SABMiller, the brewery of inter alia  Pilsner Urquell, Grolsch, Foster's, Peroni and Miller on 96 billion Euro. SABMiller has two big shareholders: the group Altria and the Colombian family Santo Domingo. One member of the family Santo Domingo, Tatiana, married Andrea Casiraghi, the eldest son of the Princess of Hanover and the 4th in the line of succession of the Monegasque throne. So far the economic news and the Royals of Monaco. Did you know that some of the families behind AB InBev are aristocrats? The most famous is the noble family De Spoelberch (also called Van Spoelberch) & their family tree started already in the 14th. century. In 1636, Jan Baptist van Spoelberch was a warlord in service of the Holy Roman Emperor. Emperor Ferdinand II granted him the title of 'knight'. King Philip IV of Spa...

Henry the Proud was born in 1108 as the second son of Duke Henry IX of Bavaria and Wulfhilde (daughter of Duke Magnus of Saxony). Henry was thus a member of the House of Welf. In 1126 his father retired to Weingarten Abbey where he and his wife died shortly afterwards. Henry's elder brother Conrad entered the Cistercian Order so the Duchy of Bavaria went to him. Love & Marriage In 1127 he married Gertrude, the only child of King Lothair III of Germany. Gertrude was heir of the properties of three Saxon dynasties. This marked the expansion of power of the Welf Dynasty. The couple would have one son, who would become known as Henry the Lion. Duties In 1136 Henry accompanied his father-in-law to Italy and he took command of a Bavarian division of the Imperial army. They marched up to the Kingdom of Sicily and devastated the land. Henry distinguished himself by his military abilities during his campaign and he was appointed as Margrave of Tuscany and as ...

During the latest State visit from Belgium to Poland, King Philippe mentioned the connection of his wife, Queen Mathilde,with Poland. Poland is a country located in central Europe, bordered by Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belarus and Lithuania, it has a long (royal) history with a  lot of noble families. One of them even has a royal link to Belgium. It is the house of Komorowski, with their ancestral seat in the Duchy of Belz. The Komorowski family has its roots due to  Dymitr Komorowski .  One of his descendants Piotr was appointed  count of Liptov and Orava  in 1469 by King Matthias Corvinus  of Hungary.  In 1781 a Jakub Komorowski was granted the rank of Count by King Sanislaw August Poniatowski.  Link with Belgium A member of the House of Komorowski is countess Anna Maria Komorowska, who was born on September 24th. 1946 in Bialogard Poland.On this link , you can see pictures of her. Anna was a child of Count...

Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg Castle, in German Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg, is a romantic opera in three acts made by Richard Wagner. Richard Wagner  Performance history The first performance took place in the Royal Theater in Dresden on October 19th. 1845. Through 1846 and 1847 there were performances in Schwerin, Breslau, Freiburg, Leipzig, Darmstadt etc. From 1853 on there were performances outside Germany, like Riga, Prague,London and later even in New York and Sidney. Opera history Richard Wagner used songs from the Middle Ages, sagas and romantic stories for his operas. The most important person in the opera is  Henrich von Ofterdingen also known as Tannhäuser. The theme is the conflict of an artist his between sensuous lust and his religious sense. This conflict is embodied by the two women of his love. Tannhäuser and King Ludwig II of Bavaria Tannhäuser was the most favorite opera o...

October 13th. 1679 marks the birth of Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. Her parents were Karl of Anhalt-Zerbst and Duchess Sophia of Saxe-Weissenfels. On June 7th. 1696 she married her first cousin, Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg at Friedenstein Castle . They would have 19 children. One of them, Augusta, would married in 1736 to Frederick, Prince of Wales. One of her children became King George III of Great Britain. It made that Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst was the mternal grandmother of King George III of the United Kingdom. Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst died on October 11th. 1740 at the age of 60. Pictures: Wikipedia

On October 12th. 1818 the opening of the National Theatre  in Munich (in German: Nationaltheater München) took place. own picture The first theatre was ordered by King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. He knew that the nearby Cuvilliés Theatre was too small. The new theatre was designed by Karl von Fischer. The construction works began on October 26th. 1811, however they were interrupted in 1813 due to financial problems. Finally the new theatre opened on October 12th. 1818 with a performance of Die Weihe made by Ferdinand Fränzl. old postcard - source picture: wikipedia However on January 14th. 1823 the National Theatre was hit by a fire. Architect Leo von Klenze incorporated the Neo-Grec style which was then fashionable. In 1943 this National Theatre was hit in an air raid during World War II.It finally was restored in 1963. Many German composers have played their music in this magnificent  building, inter alia...

George Frideric Handel also called Frederick Handel was a German born British Baroque composer who spent a lot of time in London. He created inter alia four coronation anthems. One of them, Zadok the Priest was played on the coronation of King George II of Great Britain, which took place on October 11th. 1727. You can listen to a part of the piece on this youtube link . Source pictures: Wikipedia

One of the largest military cemeteries from World War I is located in De Panne, West-Flanders, Belgium. De Panne Belgium The land has a rectangular floor plan with an area of 270 acres. It was laid out symmetrical and consists of double rows of tombstones. De Panne Belgium The Belgian Flag is located very central. De Panne Belgium Some sad facts: There are 3739 headstones and among them there are 3366 killed people from the First World War. 811 people weren't identified yet. There also are 342 Belgians killed from World War II. Among them 42 people who were not identified. Besides Belgian killed people there are also British, Canadians, French and even Czechs (World War II). De Panne Belgium When I visit such a military cemetery, I always become very quite. so much (young) people killed during Wars. I hope they will never forget.

The Siege of Antwerp (in Dutch: Het beleg van Antwerpen) took place from September 28th. 1914 till October 10th. 1914. This was a battle between Belgian, French and British troops against the German troops around the fortress of Antwerp during World War I. A German bombardment started on September 28th. 1914 and it was already from the beginning clear that the Belgian troops had no chance on victory. The city of Antwerp was protected under the command of the military Governor General of Victor Deguise. He was ordered by King Albert I of Belgium. The withdrawal of the Allies took place on October 9th. 1914. They moved to Ghent and later to Bruges and Ostend. Later that day the German troops found the fortifications almost empty. On October 10th. 1914 the last members of the Antwerp Garrison surrendered and the city was occupied by German troops. Source picture: Wikipedia

When Montenegro declares war to the Ottoman Empire on October 8th. 1912, the First Balkan War Was started. The  battle lasted till May 1913! The battle took place between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan League (Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Bulgaria). The Balkan League was had more soldiers than the Ottoman Empire and they could overthrow the army of the Ottoman Empire. This led to the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire of Europe and finally to the creation of Albania. Source picture: Wikipedia

Between Bruges and Bruges on Sea (Zeebrugge), a very idyllic white town is located. It is called Lissewege. Lissewege Even the Railway station is beautiful - Own picture This location was already mentioned in 961. Its arise came due to the construction of dykes and the drains , which should protect the region. The textile industry ensured the wealth of the little town. What really strikes every visitor of Lissewege is the large church. Why was such a big church built in such a small village? Lissewege Church The large church in Lissewege  - Own picture This church led to many unsolved questions.  Inter alia: Who gave the money for this amazing building?  1/ Did the money came from the Knights Templar ? This order was extremely wealthy and it became popular but in 1307 the Knights Templar were arrested in France and their patron would end on a stake. There are a lot of stories about the Knights Templar. One of them...

In Dessau, on October 1st. 1794 a noble boy was born. He received the names: Leopold Frederick. His parents were Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg. On August 9th. 1817 Leopold Frederick succeeded his grandfather, Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau. On April 18th.1918 he married Princess Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia. They would have 6 children (2 of them died shortly after their birth). On November 27th. 1847 he inherited the Duchy Anhalt Köthen. This merged later as the Duchy's Anhalt Köthen Dessau. In 1863 Leopold received Bernburg. He used the title Duke of Anhalt. On October 29th. 1848 Duke Leopold was forced to make a constitution. In 1859 there already came a new version of it. Leopold Frederick, Duke of Anhalt, died on May 22nd. 1871. He was succeeded by his son Frederick. House of Anhalt The House of Anhalt (also known as Ascania) was founded in 1036 and dissolved in 1918. Its member...