All About Royal Families

São Jorge Castle - Lisbon - Portugal São Jorge Castle - Lisbon - Portugal On one of my recent trips, I visited the São Jorge Castle in, Lisbon, Portugal. This Moorish Castle on top of the hill is an important tourist site of the Portuguese capital. Entrance tickets of the São Jorge Castle The main entrance is a 19th. century gate surmounted with the coat-of-arms of Queen Maria II of Portugal and 1896. Main Entrance São Jorge Castle - Lisbon - Portugal However the other entrances are also very beautiful entrance and stairs of São Jorge - Lisbon Royal History of the São Jorge Castle in Portugal In 1147 the castle and the city of Lisbon were freed from Moorish rule by Alfonso Henriques. When Lisbon became the capital in 1255 the castle served as the alcáçova, a fortified residence for King Alfonso III. São Jorge Castle Portugal - Flags  It was highly renovated around 1300 by King Denis I. Then it was transformed from a Moorish C...

Alexandrina Victoria was born on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. A young Princess Victoria - Source picture: Wikipedia Family Her parents were Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn was the fourth son of King George III. Queen Victoria painted by Winterhalter Source picture: Wikipedia Youth Alexandrina Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother. Princess Victoria and her dog Dash -  Source picture: Wikipedia Reign At the age of 18, the young princess inherited the throne. She became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality. Love and Marriage Queen Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840. The royal couple got 9 children. She received the nickname: "Grandmother of Europe". On this blog there are 3 pages dedicated to the d...

In May 2017, I visited a very Royal Exhibition in Amsterdam, The Netherlands called: 1917: Romanovs & Revolution Poster exhibition - Hermitage Amsterdam This exhibition displays a perfect spirit of the age between 7 October 1917 and 27 May 1918. Its marvelous collection shows many special pieces, lend from the Hermitage of St. Petersburg in Russia.  picture of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife  It also was special that people were allowed to take pictures at the exhibition. St. Petersburg, Russia at the beginning of the 19th. century For more information, check the site of the Hermitage Amsterdam on this link . Ticket of the Hermitage in Amsterdam Check also the page 'Russia: House of Romanov - 1917 till now' on top of  my blog or on this link . 

May 21st. 1864 marks the birth of Princess Stéphanie of Belgium. This happy event took place at the Royal Castle of Laeken near Brussels. Stéphanie - dreaming of a fairy tale? Family Her parents were King Leopold II of Belgium and Queen Marie Henriette of Austria. Her aunt, Charlotte was married to Maximilian of Austria, a brother of Emperor Franz Joseph. She later became Empress of Mexico. The parents of Princess Stéphanie of Belgium had an unhappy marriage. Finally Queen Marie Henriette retired from court life to escape him and she lived the rest of her life in Spa. King Leopold had little interest in Stéphanie and his daughter Louise, the education of his daughters was neglected. Leopold also rejected his family for his mistresses and he had many scandalous liaisons. Stéphanie and Rudolph Love In March 1880, Rudolph, Crown Prince of Austria (son of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi)) was invited to the Belgian court. Rudolph arriv...

Former Queen Beatrix with hat - picture taken in the Royal Palace at the Dam in Amsterdam On May 12th. 2017, I visited at the Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, an unique royal exhibition called: Chapeaux! Chapeaux exhibition at the Loo Palace in Apeldoorn - The Netherlands - own picture taken on 12 May 2017 At the exhibition people can see hats from the period 1980 - 2013. This was the time that Beatrix was Queen of the Netherlands. Queen Beatrix and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom were seen as the most important wearers of hats. However with royal hats it isn't just the hat, it has also another important aspect. Queen Elizabeth II answered: "It is the part of the uniform", when she was asked why she wore a hat. The Royal Hat is the crown, the hat is her majesty, the hat is Queen Beatrix. Chapeaux - a royal exhibition - The Loo Palace - The Netherlands own picture taken on 12 May 2017 The exhibition For me the exhibitio...

Mehmed VI was born on 14 January 1862, in Constantinople, then a part of the Ottoman Empire. Family His parents were Abdülmecid I and Gülüstü Hanim. They were members of the House of Osman. Coat of Arms of the House of Osman Love and Marriage Sultan Mehmed VI married five times and he had a lot of children, mostly daughters. Duty Sultan Mehmed VI reigned from 1918 till 1922. The First World War was a disaster for the Ottoman Empire, they fought on the side of Germany against Great Britain and others. British and allied troops had conquered Baghdad, Damascus and Jerusalem during the war and most of the Ottoman Empire was divided among the European allies. At the San Remo conference of April 1920, the French were granted the mandate over Syria and the British received one over Palestine and Mesopotamia. On August 10th. 1920, representatives from Sultan Mehmed VI signed the Treaty of Sèvres. However Turkish nationalists rejected the settleme...

For royalty fans, the National Coach Museum in the Belém district of Lisbon, Portugal, really is a must see! Amazing building - National Coach Museum in Lisbon - Portugal The former Horse Riding Arena of the Belém Palace and a new museum houses one of the finest collection of historical carriages of the world. Beautiful coach In 1905, the museum was created by Queen Amalia of Portugal to house an extensive collection of carriages which belonged to the Portuguese royal family. Amazing coach details The amazing carriages were made in Portugal, Italy, France, Spain, Austria and England. coaches in a lot of colors with coat of arms The National Coach museum in Lisbon can be visited between 10 o'clock and 18 o'clock from Tuesday till Sunday. It is easy to reach with public transport. golden coach details a coach need horses ...  For more information, check the website of the National Coach Museum on this link .

Alfonso was born on May 5th. 1210 in Coimbra, Portugal. Family His parents were King Alfonso II  of Portugal and Urraca of Castile. His maternal grandparents were King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England. Alfonso had an older brother Sancho, who inherited the Portuguese throne after his father's death. Love and Marriage Alfonso had married to Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne. This couple had no children. They divorced in 1253. The same year Alfonso remarried Beatrice of Castile. His first wife protested this with the Pope. However the new royal couple stayed together and they would have children. He also had a lot of natural children. Reign In 1246, his brother, Sancho had a lot of conflicts with the church. Pope Innocent IV ordered Sancho II to be removed from the throne and replaced by his brother, Alfonso. Sancho died on January 4th. 1248 and Alfonso was ready to take the throne. Alfonso III paid special attention to the middle cla...

Arthur Wellesley was born on May 1st. 1769 in Dublin, Ireland. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington statue in London Family He was the son of the first Earl of Mornington and his wife, Anne, daughter of the first Viscount Dungannon. In 1781, Arthur's father died and his eldest brother Richard inherited his father's earldom. From 1781 to 1784, Arthur Wellesley enrolled at Eton. He hated it and he would have said after the Battle of Waterloo: "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton. " In 1785 the young Arthur Wellesley was forced to move to Brussels with his mother. His mother, Anne, was concerned about her son she stated: " I don't know what I shall do with my awkward son Arthur. " A young Arthur Wellesley - Source picture: Wikipedia Early Military Career On March 7th. 1787, Arthur Wellesley, was gazetted ensign in the 73rd. Regiment of the Foot. In October he became aide-de-camp to the new Lord Lieu...