All About Royal Families

On 26 October 1802 a royal baby was born in the noble house of Braganza. His birth took place in Lisbon, Portugal. The royal boy received the long name: Miguel Maria do Patrocinio de Bragança e Bourbon. Family Dom Miguel was the third son of King John VI of Portugal and his wife Carlota Joaquina of Spain, although some gossips from that time claimed that Miguel could be the result of an affair of his mother. But the boy always was considered as a son of the King.  Miguel would become the Queen's favourite child. Anyway the prince would have at least 8 siblings inter alia: Pedro IV of Portugal who ruled also as Pedro I of Brazil. Childhood In 1807, at the age of 5, Miguel accompanied the Portuguese Royal family to Brazil in order to escape from the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte. Though he returned in 1821 with his father and his mother. His brother, Pedro stayed in Brazil to act as regent. Duty In the 1820 's there was a liberal revolution in Por...

In 1896, Frans Rombouts founded a coffee brewing company to make his own coffee. It would be the start of a remarkable successful story. On the occasion of the World Exposition of 1958, Rombouts invented the coffee filter. This became a commercial success in 1964. Rombouts Coffee Belgium  - own picture taken in 2017 The triumph of the company was followed by the Royal Court of Belgium. In 1966, Rombouts was appointed as purveyor to the Belgian Royal Court. Rombouts Coffee - purveyor to the Belgian Royal Court In 1968 the company enlarged by buying the French Firm Malongo. Since 1989 Rombouts Coffee's headquarters are located in Aartselaar in the province of Antwerp. Queen Fabiola and King Baudouin of Belgium Nowadays the firm has branches in 35 countries. It employs 150 employees and has a revenue of 155 million euros. It is being led by Xavier Rombouts, great-grandson of founder Frans Rombouts. In Belgium, not only cookie maker Delacre produces tin...

On 12 October 1492, Christopher Columbus made landfall in the Caribbean. So, October can be called Columbus' month. One of the most beautiful monuments to remember his first voyage can be found in Barcelona, at the end of the Ramblas and the beginning of the harbor. Columbus monument - Barcelona  own picture taken in 2016 The monument serves as reminder that Christopher Columbus came to Barcelona to report King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile about his first voyage. King Fernando and Queen Isabella - Source picture: Wikipedia The monument is a column of 40 meters height. It was said that Christopher Columbus  was looking to the new world. royal shield on the Columbus Monument - own picture taken in 2016 However it is more likely that Christopher Columbus was looking to the sea to  undertake a new adventure. Columbus monument - Barcelona - own picture taken in 2016 The idea of a monument arose in 1856 from Ant...

On 14 October 1066 the Battle of Hastings took place near Hastings, East Sussex in England. Background In January 1066 King Edward the Confessor died childless. After his death, there was a huge struggle between various claimants to his throne. King Harold Goldwinson was crowned very soon after the death of King Edward the Confessor. But soon he saw lots of troubles. First of all he faced invasions by William of Normandy , his own brother Tostig and King Harald III of Norway. On 20 September 1066, the Battle of Stamford Bridge took place, this left William of Normandy, also called William the Conqueror as his only concurrent. On 28 September 1066, William of Normandy started to conquer England. On 14 October 1066, the Battle of Hastings took place, then the Normans were on the winning hand. King Harold Goldwinson was killed. On Christmas 1066, William of Normandy was crowned King of England. Legacy The Battle of Hastings gained publicity inte...

On 12 October 1894 a royal princess was born in Sinaia, Romania. The girl received the name: Elisabeth Charlotte Josephine Alexandra Victoria. Family Her parents were Ferdinand I of Romania and Marie of Edinburgh. Marie of Edinburgh was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Check the page Descendants of Queen Victoria, Children & Grandchildren (1) on top of this blog or on this link .  Elisabeth of Romania was raised by her grand-uncle King Carol I of Romania and his wife Queen Elisabeth. Love and Marriage On 27 February 1921, Elisabeth of Romania married Prince George of Greece. The wedding took place in Bucharest with a lavish ceremony. Shortly after this marriage, Elisabeth's brother, Carol, married George's younger sister, Princess Helen of Greece. Duty In Greece, Elisabeth had many difficulties integrating into the royal family and her relation with Queen Sophia, the mother of Prince George, was awkward. Her in-laws re...

On 10 October 1903, a Belgian Prince was born in Brussels. He received the names Charles Théodore Henri Antoine Meinrad. He got the title Prince of Belgium and Count of Flanders. Prince Charles of Belgium, Count of Flanders Family Prince Charles as a child Prince Charles of Belgium was the second son of King Albert I of Belgium and Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. He had thus a older brother, who became King Leopold III of Belgium and a sister Marie-José the last Queen of Italy. Prince Charles as a child World War I During World War I the Belgian Royal Children were sent to the United Kingdom. King Albert I remained in Belgium behind the Yser Front. In 1915 Prince Charles started the school of Wixenford in Wokingham, Berkshire. In 1917 he attended the Royal Naval College in Osborne and later in Dartmouth. In 1926 he received the rank of sub-lieutenant in the British Royal Navy. Later that year he returned to Belgium to attend the Royal Military Schoo...

Seymour Fleming was born on 5 October 1758 as a daughter of Sir John Fleming, 1 st. Baronet of Brompton Park and his wife Jane Coleman. When she was 5 years old, her father and two of her sisters died. Her mother remarried in 1770 to Edwin Lascelles, 1st. Baron Harewood, whose wealth derived from plantations in the West Indies. Love and Marriage On 20 September 1775, Seymour Fleming married Sir Richard Worsley, 7th. Baronet of Appuldurcombe House, Isle of Wight. She was styled Lady Worsley until his death. The couple had one legitimate child: Robert Edwin, who died young. But, Lady Worsley bore another child: Jane Seymour Worsley in August 1781, fathered by Maurice George Bisset. Worsley claimed the young born as his own child to avoid the scandal. However scandal continued. Lady Worsley was rumored to have 27 lovers! But the 'case' George Bisset really was interesting.  He was her husband 's close friend and neighbor on the Isle of Wight. In 1782 W...

During the summer of 2017, I visited a lot of interesting places, which really had great royal connections. One of them was the Old University Library of Leuven  (in French: Louvain), Belgium.  University Library Louvain, Belgium Some history The University of Louvain was founded in 1425 with the support of John I, Duke of Brabant. Until 1636 there was no library on the University. Then it was very likely that students had access to printed books or manuscripts through their professors or to the houses of their colleges.  In 1636, however, a library was founded in the former cloth hall of Louvain. That year the southern Netherlands were ruled by the Spanish Habsburgs. Louvain, Belgium University Library the building in the former Cloth Hall During the first days of World War I, in 1914, the library was burned down by armies of the German Empire.  Fire during World War I in Louvain, Belgium After World War I...