All About Royal Families

November 30th. 1340 marks the birth of John of Berry also called John the Magnificent. Family John of Berry was born as a son of King John II of France and Bonne of Bohemia. His siblings were inter alia: King Charles V of France; Philip II, Duke of Burgundy; Joan, Queen of Navarre; Love and Marriage John, Duke of Berry first was married to Joan of Armagnac (1346-1387). They would have 5 children. He also had one illegitimate son with a Scottish woman. In 1389 he married his second wife Joan II, Countess of Auvergne. They would have no children together. Duty By his birth, his father granted him the title: Count of Poitou. In 1360, Poitiers was ceded to England. John was created Duke of Berry and Auvergne. The Treaty of Brétigny declared that John became hostage to the English crown. He remained in England till 1369. In 1380, Johns older brother died and he became one of the regents for King Charles VI of France, who was then a minor. Be

Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh was born on November 25th. 1743 at Leicester House in London. Family His parents were Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. His grandparents were inter alia King George II and Caroline of Ansbach.  On October 25th. 1760, Prince William's brother succeeded his father as King George III. On November 19th. 1764, Prince William was styled Duke of  Gloucester and Edinburgh and Earl of Connaught.  Love and Marriage In 1764, Prince William began to court Maria Walpole, the  Dowager Countess of Waldegrave.  In 1766, he and Maria maria married in secret in his home on the Pall Mall.  This marriage only became known to the King after the passing of the Royal Marriages Act 1772. The couple would have 3  children. He also had a illegitimate daughter, born with his mistress.  However, their marriage was valid, Maria never was received at court d

Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel was born on November 20th. 1627 as a daughter of William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau Münzenberg. Love and Marriage At Heidelberg Castle, Charlotte married on February 22nd. 1650 to her cousin, Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine. At the beginning everything went very well as Charles Louis started with his task of providing the Palatinate with an heir. According to Charles Louis' sister Sophia 'his passion had impaired his intellect'. Charlotte and Charles Louis didn't have the same interests. She loved riding on a horseback, but her husband rejected that. She also loved gambling which Charles Louis regarded as a waste of money. In 1651 a son was born and in 1652 a daughter. Later a new woman came to the court. This was Marie Luise von Degenfield. She would become Charles Louis' mistress. Their relation started in 1658 and they would have 13 children while he was still married to Charlot

November 18th. 1774 marks the birth of Friederike Louise Wilhelmine of Prussia. This event took place in Potsdam (Germany). Family Princess Wilhelmine was a daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia and Queen Frederica Louisa. Her education was dominated by the strict regime of her great-uncle Frederick the Great. However there wasn't much known about her youth. Love and Marriage On October 1st. 1791, Princess Wilhelmine married her cousin, William of the Netherlands. He was the son of Stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange. Their wedding took place in Berlin. Their marriage was a part of an arranged wedding pact between the House of Orange and that of Prussia. It became a real love match and their marriage life was very happy. They young couple lived at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. They would have 6 children, only 3 of them would reach their adulthood. Duty In 1815, Princess Wilhelmine became Queen of the Netherlands. During those

November 13th. 1801 marks the birth of Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. This took place in Munich, Bavaria. Family Her parents were King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Caroline of Baden. Amalie Auguste was the identical twin sister of Elizabeth Louise, Queen of Prussia. She also was an aunt of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sisi. Love and Marriage On November 22nd. 1822 Amalie Auguste married Prince John of Saxony. The royal couple would have 9 children. Duty In 1851 Amalie Auguste became chairman of Women's Association of Dresden. This was founded by her sister (the former Queen of Saxony). Amalie Auguste reorganized the foundation and the organization continued till 1932! Death Amalie Auguste died on November 8th. 1877 at the age of 75 in Wachwitz, Dresden. Source pictures: Wikipedia

Auguste was born on November 10th. 1704 at Schloss Johanisburg in Bavaria. Family Her father was the imperial army commander Louis, William, Margrave of Baden-Baden. See link  Her mother was Duchess Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg. See Link Love and Marriage Auguste 's mother tried to find a suitable wedding candidate for her daughters. She proposed two candidates: - Prince Alexander Ferdinand of Thurn und Taxis (German); - Prince Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans (French). Auguste preferred the German prince but her mother wanted a French wedding and Auguste agreed. The marriage took place on June 18th. 1724 in Baden-Württemberg and on July 13th. 1724 in France. They would have 2 children. Duty She became very popular at the court of Versailles and was known as charming. Death Auguste died on August 8th. 1726, shortly after giving birth of her second child. Source picture: Wikipedia

James Ensor (April 13th. 1860 - November 19th. 1949) lived in Ostend and was a famous Belgian painter who had an important influence on expressionism and surrealism. James Ensor - Source picture: Wikipedia Family His parents were James Frederic Ensor and Maria Catharina Haegheman. James Frederic Ensor was born in Brussels of English parents. His mother came from Ostend. Study From 1877 till 1880, James Ensor attended the Académie Royale des Beaux Arts in Brussels. Later Ensor traveled to France, the Netherlands and he even made a four-day visit to London. Work Initially, people found his works scandalous. However in 1895 one of his paintings was bought by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels. Nowadays his works are spread over a lot of museums in the world. Belgium: Brussels  Antwerp and Ostend. United States of America: Museum of Modern Art in New York France: Musée d'Orsay in Paris Germany: The Wallraf Richartz Museum in Cologne.

Leopold III,  Duke of Austria was born on November 1st. 1351 in Vienna. He was a member of the noble House of Habsburg. Family His parents were Albert II 'The Wise' of Austria and Johanna of Pfirt. His mother was 51 years old, when she gave birth to Leopold. Shortly after she died. Love and Marriage On February 23rd. 1365, Leopold married to Viridis Visconti. She was the daughter of Bernabo Visconti, Lord of Milan and Beatrice Regina della Scala. Leopold and Viridis would have 6 children. Duty Leopold was firstly administrator of Tyrol and he was charged (jointly) to rule the Habsburg Lands. However on September 9th. 1379, Leopold became the exclusive ruler of inter alia: Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Windic March, and Gorizia. In 1382 he even acquired Trieste. Death Leopold died on July 9th. 1386, during the Battle of Sempach. He was succeeded by his eldest son William. Source picture: Wikipedia