All About Royal Families

January 29th. 1584 marks the birth of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. This event took place in Delft, then a part of the Dutch Republic now, located in the Netherlands. Family Frederick Henry was the youngest child of William the Silent and Louise de Coligny. His father was stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Friesland. His mother Louise was the daughter of the Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny. He was thus a half brother of Maurice of Orange. Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, his wife and children Love and Marriage On April 4th. 1625, Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange married to Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. They would have nine children together, four of them died young. Frederick Henry also recognized one illegitimate child by Margaretha Catharina Bruyns. This was Frederick Nassau, Lord of Zuylenstein. Life When his half brother, Maurice died without legitimate issue, Frederick Henry succeeded him. He became stadtholder of Holland, Z...

On January 23rd. 1571, the Royal Exchange in London was opened by Queen Elizabeth I. She awarded the building a royal title and the licence to sell alcohol. The exchange of goods took place till the seventeenth century. Royal Exchange - London - own picture taken in 2016 Building history Richard Clough, a merchant and agent of Queen Elizabeth I suggested to build the exchange in 1562. In 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed the complex. A second complex was built on the site. Edward Jarman was the designer. It was opened in 1669, but a fire destroyed it again in 1838. The building that we can see nowadays was built by William Tite. It was officially opened on October 28th. 1844 by ... Queen Victoria. The Royal Exchange is now a retail center with shops like Hermès, Tiffany & Co etc.

On January 21st. 1911, the first Monte Carlo Rally took place in Monaco. This is a rally event organized by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The Automobile Club de Monaco is a motoring club who organizes the Monte Carlo Rally and the Monaco Grand Prix. Royal Link The Monte Carlo Rally was ordered by Prince Albert I of Monaco. The Rally would start across Europe and end in Monaco. Facts * In January 21st. 1911, 23 cars set out on 11 different locations. * From 1973 till 2008 the Monte Carlo Rally was held in January.    It was the first event of the Fia World Rally Championship. Monaco Grand Prix parcours - own picture taken in 2013 Source pictures (except the last one): Wikipedia

January 14th. 1507 marks the birth of Catherine of Austria. This took place in Torquemada, Spain. Catherine with her brothers and sisters  (she is the young lady at the right) Family Catherine of Austria was the daughter of Philip I of Castile, also called the handsome, and Joanna of Castile (the mad). Catherine was thus a sister of: Eleanor of Castile, Queen of Portugal and later Queen of France; Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; Isabella, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden; Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I; Mary Queen of Hungary and Bohemia (later governor of the Netherlands). Love and Marriage On February 10th. 1525, Catherine married her first cousin, King John of Portugal. They would have 9 children, however only 2 survived childhood. Duty Catherine served as regent for Portugal between 1557 and 1562. She also had one of the earliest and finest Chinese Porcelain collections in Europe. First she collected it as younger sister of Charles V, later...

January 10th. 1864 marks the birth of Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia. Family Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Nikolaievich the Elder and Duchess Alexandra of Oldenburg. He was a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I and thus a member of the Russian imperial family. Love and Marriage On July 26th. 1889 he married Princess Milica of Montenegro. They had 4 children. His elder brother, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich married Princess Anastasia of Montenegro (Milica's sister). The two couples had a huge influence on the imperial court. The women were called the 'Black Perils'. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the couple fled from Russia and they moved to the South of France. Death Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia died at Cap d'Antibes on June 17th. 1931. Source picture: Wikipedia

On January 5th. 1477 the final battle of the Burgundian Wars took place outside the walls of Nancy (located in France). It was there that Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy fought against René II, Duke of Lorraine and the Swiss Confederacy. In 1477, Charles was besieging the city of Nancy (the capital of Lorraine). He wanted to bring the siege to an end at all costs. René had gathered around 12.000 men from Lorraine and the Lower Union of the Rhine. A Swiss Army of 10.000 men arrived to help him. They reached Nancy in the morning of January 5th. and Charles learned that his opponents were too strong. The Duke was seen to fall but the battle flowed on around him. Three days later the Duke's body was finally found. The news of the Burgundian defeat and the death of Charles the Bold was spread across Europe. Many couldn't believe this. Charles the Bold was succeeded by his daughter Mary, who inherited a lot of troubles in the lands of her father. ...