All About Royal Families

Daniel Ost was born on May 8th. 1955 in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. He became a real floral artist, floral designer and garden architect. To know more about him, check his site on this link .  Daniel Ost etalage in Sint-Niklaas - Own picture He still has a shop in his hometown Sint-Niklaas. Although a lot of Royals are fan of him. Daniel Ost Etalage - own picture Amazing flower 'projects' On December 4th. 1999, Daniel Ost provided the flower decoration at the wedding of, then, Prince Philippe of Belgium (now King of  the Belgians) and Princess Mathilde. In 2008, he decorated the opening of the museum of Islamic art in Doha, Qatar. He also provided the flower decoration at the wedding of the Crown Prince of Qatar. Daniel Ost also is very famous in Japan.  Daniel Ost garden with the Koi Fish Coup de Ville Every three years the art platform WARP organizes in the city of Sint-Niklaas the Coup de Ville arts exhibit...

October 26th. 1427 marks the birth of Sigismund, Archduke of Austria. This took place in Innsbruck. Family His parents were Frederick IV, Duke of Austria and Anna of Brunswick. Sigismund was thus a first cousin of Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III. Duty In 1439, Sigismund succeeded his father in Tyrol and Further Austria. During his rule, Sigismund had a conflict with the Bishop of Brixen and the Duke took the bishop captive. The pope excommunicated Sigismund. In 1469 he sold his lands near the Rhine to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. In 1477, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, made Sigismund Archduke. During his reign, Sigismund reformed the money matters of his estates. In 1487, Jakob Fugger the Rich became his bankers. Love and Marriage Sigismund Archduke of Austria was married to: 1/ Eleanor of Schotland (1443-1480). She was a daughter of     King James I of Scotland and Joan Beafort 2/ Catherine of Saxony a daughter of Albert ...

Louis de Lorraine was born on October 21st. 1527 in Joinville, Champagne in France. Family He was the fourth son of Claude, Duke of Guise and Antoinette de Bourbon. He was the younger brother of Charles of Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine and Mary of Guise, Queen consort of King James V of Scotland. Duty On May 11th. 1545, at the age of 18, Louis de Lorraine was made Bishop of Troyes. On 27th June 1550 he was transferred to the see of Albi. On December 22nd. 1553 he was created cardinal by Pope Julius III. On May 9th. 1561 he received the archbishopric of Sens but he resigned it in 1562 to Cardinal de Pellevée. On February 13th. 1575 he crowned Henry III of France at Reims. He had a illegitimate daughter: Anne d' Arne. Death Louis de Lorraine died on March 29th. 1578 in Paris. Source picture: Wikipedia

Hans Memling (sometimes referred as Memlinc) was born around 1430 in Selingenstadt near Frankfurt in the Middle Main region. Memling - Shine of St. Ursula - Own Picture Memling obtained his apprenticeship at Mains or Cologne. Later the painter moved to the Low Countries. There, Memling worked with Rogier van der Weyden in Brussels, Duchy of Brabant and at Bruges, County of Flanders. Memling -  Shrine of St. Ursula - Own picture In 1477, Memling was wounded at the Battle of Nancy. Afterwards the Hospitallers of Bruges took care about him. In 1479 and 1480 he painted this Hospitallers as a thank you. Memling - Shrine of St. Ursula - Own picture Memling worked for the Burgundian court and later for Archduke Maximilian of Austria (Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I). Memling died on August 11th. 1494 in Bruges.  Nowadays a lot of his work stays at the St. John Hospital in Bruges. Famous works like: Shrine of St. Ursula (see above), and the portrai...

Although the exact date of birth of Margaret of Burgundy is unknown, some sources refer her birth as October 16th. 1374. This took place at Montbard (then a part of the Duchy of Burgundy now located in France). Family Margaret of Burgundy was a daughter of Philip II, Duke of Burgundy and Margaret III, Countess of Flanders. She was inter alia the sister of John the Fearless. Love and Marriage On April 12th. 1385 a double wedding took place in Cambrai.  Margaret of Burgundy married William II of Bavaria and her brother, John the Fearless married Margaret of Bavaria, William's sister. Margaret and William would have one daughter: Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut.  Duty Margaret of Burgundy had a lot of political influence over her husband. William II of Bavaria ruled both Holland and Hainaut but the couple preferred Holland to spend most of their time.  In the 1410's Margaret was granted several towns and castles as her ...

Claude of France was born on October 13th 1499 at Romorantin-Lanthenay (now located in the Loir et Cher department in central France). Family Her parents were King Louis XII of France and his wife Anne of Brittany. Claude had a younger sister Renée of France. Love and marriage On August 10th 1501 there was a signed marriage contract between Claude and the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. She was then 2 years old, he one year old. In 1505, Louis XII of France canceled this agreement. Instead Claude married on May 18th 1514 to her cousin Francis, who would become King Francis I of France. Claude and Francis would have 7 children, two of them became over 30 years old. Duty In 1515, Anne Boleyn stayed in Francis ' household as translator for his English documents. However she returned in 1521 in England. On May 10th 1517, Claude was crowned as Queen of France. She spent most of her married life with pregnancies and her husband had many mistresse...

On March 5th. 1585, John George (in German: Johann Georg) was born in Dresden (Germany). Family John George was the second son of Elector Christian of Saxony and his wife Sophie of Brandenburg. Duty On June 23rd. 1611, John George became Elector of Saxony with the death of his elder brother Christian II. At the beginning of his reign John George didn't know what to do: making an alliance with the protestants against the House of Habsburg or making an alliance with the Habsburg Emperor. This led to wars and finally the Treaty of Prague in 1635. John George was no great ruler. He would have been harsh and unlovely. He liked to drink  and hunting. Love and Marriage John George I of Saxony married twice. 1/ on September 16th. 1604 to Sibylle Elisabeth of Württemberg. She died while giving birth to their only child: a stillborn son 2/ on July 19th. 1607 to Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia They would have 10 children. Source pictures: Wikipe...

Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (Marianna in the family) was born on October 6th. 1738 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Family Archduchess Maria Anna was the daughter of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa of Austria. She was thus the sister of inter alia: Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II Queen Marie Antoinette of France ... Childhood Maria Anna became Francis I's favorite child but she didn't get well on with her mother. She received a customary education of the princely courts at that time. Maria Anna was highly intelligent but physically disable. She suffered from a bad health and the drafty, cold rooms of the Hofburg Palace worsened this. A turning point In July 1765 the Imperial family traveled to Innsbruck for the wedding of Leopold. They stopped in Klagenfurt. There Maria Anna visited a small monastery that belonged to the Order of Saint Elisabeth (established in 1710). The meeting with the sist...

October 2nd. 1452 marks the birth of Richard III of England. This took place at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire. Family He was a son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, born at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Childhood When he was eight years old, his father and elder brother, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, were killed at the Battle of Wakefield (December 30th. 1460). Richard and his older brother, George (later Duke of Clarence) were sent to the Low Countries. They stayed in Utrecht under the careful eye of Bishop David of Burgundy. Although they returned after the Battle of Towton. In 1461, Richard's eldest brother was crowned as King Edward IV. At this time Richard became Duke of Gloucester and he was made Knight of the Garter and a Knight of the Bath. Edward appointed him as Commissioner of Array for the Western Counties (he was 11 years old). Richard spent several years under the tutelage of his cousin Richard Nevil...

Bernard van Orley - statue of a painter in Brussels - Jardin du Petit Sablon  One of the most productive and leading court painters of the Habsburgs was Bernard van Orley (1487/1491 till January 6th. 1541). During his life he painted on canvases, worked with tapestry and  even on stained glass.  Bernard van Orley was born and he died in Brussels, he also served as commissioner of the arts for the Brussels town council.  possible portrait of Bernard van Orley made by Albrecht Dürer: Wikipedia On May 23rd. 1518, Bernard van Orley was appointed as the official  court painter of the regent of the Netherlands: Margarete of Austria Then he made inter alia  portraits of Emperor Charles V This year I had the chance to visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels where two of his portraits were shown Bernard van Orley - Joris van Zelle Bernard van Orley - Portrait of the secretary of Emperor Charles V No...