All About Royal Families

In the night of August 30th. and August 31st. 1997, a tragic car accident took place in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul died immediately. Diana, Princess of Wales was fatally injured.  The sudden and unexpected death of a very popular royal woman, brought many tributes in the world.  On September 1st. 1997 the newspapers around the world only had one topic: the sudden death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The next pictures are original front pages of some of the Belgian Newspapers and magazines during that period. 'Het Nieuwsblad' with Diana's favorite picture.  'Het Laatste Nieuws' : She had everything except happiness 'Dag Allemaal'

Arenberg Castle near Louvain, Belgium The Arenberg Castle really is a must see near Louvain in Belgium. It has everything: beauty and a rich, royal history. Arenberg Castle Entry - own picture taken in 2017 Some royal history Since the 12th. century, at the site of the castle there already was a domain of the Lords of Heverlee. However this family became poorer and in 1445 it was bought by the mighty  Croÿ family . The Croÿ family came into power under the reign of the Dukes of Burgundy. The most well known member of this powerful family was William of Croÿ. He was the chief tutor and first chamberlain of emperor Charles V. William of Croÿ painted by Quenten Matsys  Source picture: Wikipedia Under this William of Croÿ, the works of the castle were completed. Arenberg Castle buildings near Louvain, Belgium - own picture taken in 2017 Charles III of Croÿ was the last duke of the Croÿ family and after his death in 1612, the Arenberg famil...

Ludwig I of Bavaria, also called Louis I in English, was born on 25 August 1786 in Strasbourg, France. King Ludwig I - statue - own picture taken in 2014 Family He was the son of Count Palatine Maximilian Joseph of Zweibrücken, who later became King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, and his wife Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. King Ludwig I of Bavaria was the godson and namesake of King Louis XVI of France. On 1 January 1806 his father became King of Bavaria. Education Ludwig studied in Landshut, where he was educated by Johann Michael Sailer. Love & Marriage Ludwig married Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on 12 October 1810. This wedding was the occasion of the first ever Oktoberfest. The couple would have 9 children. He also had extramarital affairs and was one of the lovers of Lady Jane Digby, Marianna Marquesa Florenzi. His famous affair with Lola Montez caused a huge scandal in Bavaria. Reign On 13 October 1825 Ludwig became King of Bavaria....

On August 22nd. 1787, Christian Friedrich Stockmar was born in Coburg. Duty He became the personal physician of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1816. That year the German Prince married Princess Charlotte of the United Kingdom, the only child of King George IV. Princess Charlotte died, when she gave birth to a stillborn son about a year later. Stockmar stayed in service of Prince Leopold as a private secretary, comptroller of the household and political adviser. King Leopold I of Belgium - painting in the Royal Palace of Brussels own picture In 1828, one of his cousins, Caroline "Lina" Bauer, an actress, became the mistress of his master. She was brought to England together with her mother but the affair ended and she returned to Germany to the theater. Later she claimed that she had a morganatic marriage with Leopold but there was never an evidence for such a marriage. In 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha became King of the Belgians...

On 21 August 1862, the opening of the Wiener Stadtpark took place. Some Royal History In 1857, Emperor Franz Joseph issued a decree to order the demolition of the old city walls and moats. He also ordered to make a brand new Boulevard in Vienna, with new buildings and parks. This new area would be a showcase for the grandeur of the Habsburg Empire. The City Park of Vienna, called the Wiener Stadtpark in German, is a large public park that extends from the Ring Road in the Innere Stadt up the the Heumarkt (Hay Market) . The Park had a area of 65,000 square meters and there are a lot of statues of famous Viennese artists and composers like inter alia: Johann Strauss II, Franz Schubert and Anton Bruckner. The park was designed in the style of English gardens and it became the first public park in Vienna. It also has a Kursalon, a spa pavilion in which mineral water with healing properties was served. The current Kursalon was built between 1865 and 1867. Durin...

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna of Russia was born on 18 August 1819 in St. Petersburg, then a part of the Russian Empire. Family Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna of Russia was a daughter of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, born Princess Charlotte of Prussia. She was thus a sister of inter alia Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Maria and her brother the future Tsar Alexander II She grew up in a close knit family and they remained on good terms all their lives. Maria was raised in the company of her sisters Olga and Alexandra. Their rooms were on the ground floor of the Winter Palace, they were unpretentious and void of luxury. Maria and her sisters received dancing, music and drawing lessons. Artistically gifted she showed an early interest in interior design. All three sisters were good in music and were involved in charitable work. Character Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna was noted for her formidable personality and her strong ch...

During the months April and May, the garden of Het Oude Loo, 'The Old Woods' is open for public. In 2017, I had the occasion to visit this beautiful royal domain, in the company of my husband, Els Moraal and Oscar Meijer, creator of the Dutch site, De Staat van Oranje. Het Oude Loo - Apeldoorn - The Netherlands Some royal history Around the 15th. century the castle was built and Udo Talholt became the owner. In the 16th. century the residence belonged to the Bentinck family. They enlarged it around 1540. In 1684, the castle was bought by William III of Orange, who became King of England, Ireland and Scotland (in Scotland he was known as William II). King William III of England Source picture: Wikipedia Beautiful gardens of Het Oude Loo In 1795, William V, Prince of Orange-Nassau had to leave the Netherlands for the French armies of Napoleon Bonaparte. Louis Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon ruled the Kingdom of Holland. The cast...

Delvaux - From the Kingdom of Belgium Nothing is more suitable for a lady than an amazing beautiful handbag. That's one of the key specialties of Delvaux. Delvaux, made from Belgium - own picture taken in Louvain in 2017 Delvaux with very small bags - own picture taken in Brussels in 2017 Some history Delvaux was founded in 1829, one year before the independence of Belgium, by Charles Delvaux. He opened a travel goods workshop and store in Brussels. At the beginning of the 20th. century, the house went into decline. In 1933, Franz Schwennicke took over the company from Edmond Delvaux, the last of the Delvaux family line. Franz Schwennicke worked with a new concept: seasonal collections. In 1958, at the Brussels World Fair, Delvaux introduced the Brillant handbag, designed by Paule Goethals. The product showed for the first time the brand logo: the "D" letter. In 1970, Franz Schwennicke died, his wife Solange succeeded him. A new model ...

After the abdication of his father King Talal of Jordan, Crown Prince Hussein became King of Jordan on 11 August 1952. Early life Hussein bin Talal bin Abdullah bin Hussein bin Ali was born on 14 November 1935 in Amman, then a part of Transjordan. He was a son of then Crown Prince Talal of Jordan and Princess Zein Al-Sharaf. At that time, the royal family was poor, they could not afford heating in their house. Hussein got his name from his great-grandfather, Hussein bin Ali (Sharif of Mecca), who was the leader of the 1916 Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.It was said that Hussein was the 40th. direct descendant of Muhammad through the Hashemite dynasty. The young Prince Hussein started his education at the Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt. Then he went to Harrow School in England, where he became a close  friend with King Faisal II of Iraq. On 20 July 1951, Prince Hussein traveled to Jerusalem to perform Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque wi...

One of the most important UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Belém area of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, is the Jerónimos Monastery. Jerónimos Monastery in Belém Lisbon Portugal It was built in the amazing beautiful Portuguese Late Gothic Manueline style of architecture. Some royal history On 6 January 1501 the construction of the monastery and the church started, 100 years later it was completed. King Manuel originally funded the project with moneys of the commerce from Africa and the Orient. Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon, Portugal It was King Manuel himself who selected the religious order of the Hieronymite monks to occupy the monastery, whose role it was to pray for the King's eternal soul and to provide spiritual assistance to navigators and sailors who departed from the port of Restelo to discover the world. On 16 July 1604, Philip of Spain (he ruled of Portugal after the Iberian Union) made the monastery a royal funerary monument. He ...

7 August 1613 marks the birth of William Frederick of Nassau -Dietz. This took place at Arnhem (now a part of the Netherlands then a part of the Dutch Republic). Family William Frederick of Nassau-Dietz was the second son of Ernest Casimir I, Count of Nassau-Dietz and Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick- Lüneburg. He had an elder brother Hendrik Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz. Love and Marriage William Frederick of Nassau - Dietz married Albertine Agnes of Nassau, the 5th. daughter of Frdercik Henry, Prince of Orange on 2 May 1652 at Cleves. This couple had 3 children: Amalia of Nassau-Dietz, Henry Casimir II, Count of Nassau-Dietz, Wilhelmina Sophia Hedwig. William Frederick was a paternal grandson of John VI, Count of Nassau- Dillenburg, a younger brother of his wife's paternal grandfather: William the Silent. Career William Frederick studied at Leiden University and the University of Groningen, later he took a commission in the army of the Dutch Republic. He...

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was born on 4 August 1900. Family Her father was Claude Bowes-Lyon the 14th. Earl of Strathmore and Kinghore. Her mother was Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck, a descendant of the British Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3 rd. Duke of Portland. She also was a descendant of Richard Wellesley, 1st. Marques of Wellesley, Governor of India and a younger brother of another Prime Minister: Arthur Wellesley, 1st. Duke of Wellington. Love and Marriage In 1921, Prince Albert, Duke of York (known as Bertie in the family), second son of King George V asked for her hand but she turned him down. In 1922, Elizabeth was a bridesmaid for Albert's sister Princess Mary, the next month Albert proposed her but she turned him down again. Finally in January 1923, Elizabeth agreed to marry Prince Albert, despite her misgivings for living a royal life. The two would marry on 26 April 1923 at Westminster Abbey. The couple would have 2 ...

Mahmud I was born on 2 August 1696 at the Edirne Palace in Edirne, then a part of the Ottoman Empire, now located in north western Turkey. Family He was the son of Mustafa II and Saliha Sabkati Valide Sultan. Mahmud I was the older brother of Osman III. Reign In September 1730, a small group of Janissaries aroused some of the citizens of Constantinople who opposed the reforms of Ahmet III. There was a riot at the Topkapi Palace and Ahmet III agreed that his nephew Mahmud would become the new sultan. Mahmud I was recognized as sultan by the mutineers and by the court officials as well. Mahmud I reigned from 1730 till his death in 1754. This period was dominated by wars with Persia, Austria and Russia. Mahmud I entrusted the government to his viziers and spent much of his time composing poetry. Death Mahmud I died on 13 December 1754 at the Topkapi Palace in Constantinople. Source picture: Wikipedia