All About Royal Families

On 31 March 1900 Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was born in York Cottage at Sandringham (United Kngdom). Family Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was the third son of King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary. He was born during the reign of his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. His father was then the Duke of York, the eldest surviving son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). His mother was the Duchess of York (later Queen Mary), the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Teck. At the time of his birth, Prince Henry was fifth in the line of succession to the throne, behind his grandfather, father and two elder brothers. Baptized Prince Henry was baptized at the private chapel of Windsor Castle on 17 May 1900 by Randall Thomas Davidson, Bishop of Winchester. He had famous godparents inter alia: - Queen Victoria, his great-grandmother; - The German Emperor, his cousin, for whom Prince Albert of Prussia

Modest and yet so special, that's the best way to describe Clervaux Castle, located in the town of Clervaux in northern Luxembourg. It stands at a height of 365 meters on a rock above the town, surrounded on three sides by the River Clerve. Clervaux Castle - Luxembourg - own picture taken in 2007 Some history First a Roman castle was built on the place of the Clervaux Castle. However  the current oldest parts of this magnificent building are mentioned in 1126. The owner was Gerard I, Count of Sponheim. He was a stepbrother of Frederick I, Count of Vianden.  Gerard was since 1106 Lord of Cleve.  Around 1400 the Lords of Brandenburg lived in the Clervaux Castle. They were through marriages and family ties, relatives of the Lord of Cleves.  In 1413 Clervaux Castle was taken by force by Duke Anthony of Burgundy, however it came back in the hands of the Brandenburg family. The new owner was Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg.  Throug

On 26 March 1584, John II the Younger (in German: Johann II der Jüngere) was born in Bergzabern, now a part of southern Germany. Family John was born as the eldest son of John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wife Magdalene of Cleves Berg. He was thus a grandson of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, Anna of Hesse, Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Marie of Habsburg, Archduchess of Austria. Through them he was a great grandson of: Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken; Elisabeth of Hesse; Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse; Christine of Saxony; John III, Duke of Cleves; Maria von Geldern; Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor; Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. John belonged to the noble family of Wittelsbach. Duty In 1604, John succeeded his father. From 1610 - 1612 he was the guardian of Frederick V, Elector Palatine. He also was briefly the deputy of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II. Love and marriage On 26 August 1604, John married Catherine

Francis of Pomerania (von Pommern) was born on 24 March 1577 in Barth, northern Germany. Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania was located on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea. It contained parts of northern Germany and Poland. Family Francis was the son of Duke Bogislaw XIII and his wife Clara of Brunswick- Lüneburg.  In his youth he received the best eduction of that time. He belonged to the noble House of Griffins also called the House of Pomerania. This was founded in the 12th century and the disolution took place in 1660. Youth Francis indicated at an early age that he was interested in knighthood and military affairs. In 1594 he made a trip to Vienna and Hungary. There he took part in the siege of Esztergom fortress under Archduke Matthias of Austria. Later, in 1596 he traveled to Italy and afterwards he returned to Pomerania. In 1602, Francis became bishop of Cammin. His residence was at Köslin. In 1604, the King of Sweden offered him the co

The book "The Life and times of Elizabeth I, portraits of the Greatness" took my interest in the public library on my hometown. I had the chance to acquire this wonderful book and I discovered a true treasure! Book: "The Life and times of Elizabeth I, portraits of the Greatness" About the Book The life and times of Elizabeth I, portraits of the Greatness was published by The Hamlyn publishing Group Ltd.  The General Editor was Dr. Enzo Orlandi. The Text was written by Massimo Rossaro.  About the life and times of Elizabeth I The story starts on 17 November 1558, the day that Queen Mary I of England died.  Later it continues with the succession after King Henry VIII. First his son Edward became King, later Queen Mary and finally Queen Elizabeth. However when she became Queen, the country was a ruin. The English life then was a mixture of medieval crudeness and Renaissance refinement. Elizabeth's Court was a travelling c

On 19 March 1604 King John IV of Portugal was born at Vila Viçosa. John IV of Portugal - own picture taken in 2017 in Lisbon Family His parents were Teodósio II, Duke of Braganza and Ana de Valesco y Girón. John was thus a grandson of Catherine, Duchess of Braganza. He belonged to the noble house of Braganza. Love and marriage In 1633, John married Luisa de Guzmán. She was a daughter of the 8th. Duke of Medina Sidonia. The royal couple would have had 7 children. Some of them died in childhood. One of their children Catherine would marry King Charles II of England and she became Queen Consort of England. John also had a natural daughter. Duty Around the time of his birth Portugal was ruled by the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg. King Philip II of Portugal (Philip III of Spain) and later King Philip III of Portugal (Philip IV of Spain) ruled the Portuguese issues. However in 1640 there was a huge revolution organized by the nobles and the bourgeo

On 18 March 1555 the youngest son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici was born. Youth Francis was an attractive child but at the age of 8 he was scarred by smallpox. In 1574 after the death of his brother King Charles IX of France, his other brother Henry III was crowned King of France. Francis became heir to the throne. Following titles were granted to him: 1560-1584: Duke of Évreux; 1566-1584: Duke of Alençon, Duke of Châteaux-Thierry, Count of Perche,                    Count of Meulan, Count of Mantes 1576-1584: Duke of Anjou, Duke of Berry, Duke of Touraine. Duty On the night of 15 September 1575, Francis fled from the French Court after a difference with his brother King Henry III. Both Henry III and his mother feared that he would join the Protestant rebels. These fears were right. He joined the Prince of Condé and his forces in the south. In 1578 there were arrangements for marrying him to Queen  Elizabeth I of England. He w

Recently, I read the e-book Eleanor of Aquitaine, written by Anne Strickland and published by Paphos Publishers. I had the version of 2016. Anne Strickland also wrote a book about Catherine of Aragon. e-book Eleanor of Aquitaine About the book Eleanor of Aquitaine was an easy reading book. Eleanor was Queen of France and later Queen of England. She had at least 10 children and many descendants. The book gave a short synopsis of the history of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Though it was interesting. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Source picture: Wikipedia It mentioned inter alia her youth, her life at the Royal Court of France, the royal residences where she lived in England and her later life as prisoner of her husband King Henry II. She wasn't released until her son became king Richard I. Eleanor of Aquitaine certainly was a refreshment of my history knowledge.

Source picture: Wikipedia One of the public parks where Parisians like to celebrate, come together or just relax, certainly is the Tuileries Garden. This wonderful park is located near the Tuileries Palace (near the Louvre) in the first arrondissement Paris, France. own picture of the Tuileries Garden, Paris taken in 2017 on a rainy Sunday Morning Some royal history In July 1559, after the death of King Henry II of France, his widow, Queen Catherine de' Medici decided to move to the Louvre Palace along with her son, King François II. She wanted a new palace for herself separated from the Louvre with a garden modeled after the gardens of her native Florence. Catherine de' Medici Source picture: Wikipedia Some of the lands were already acquired by King François I but Catherine acquired more land and she ordered to build a palace and a garden on the site. Catherine commissioned a landscape architect who came from Florence to build an Italian R

On 6 March 1817 at the Chateau de Neuilly a noble girl was born. She received the names: Princess Marie Clémentine Léopoldine Caroline Clothilde d'Orléans. Family Princess Clémentine was the youngest daughter of Louis Philip d'Orléans and Marie Amalia of the Two Sicilies. In 1830 Louis Philip became King of France. Princess Clémentine was styled as a Royal Princess, Princess d'Orléans. She was thus a sister of inter alia: - Princess Louise d'Orléans, who became the first Queen of Belgium; - Ferdinand Duke of Orleans; - Princess Marie d'Orléans, who became duchess of Württemberg; - and more Love and marriage King Leopold I of Belgium organized the wedding between his sister-in-law Princess Clémentine and his nephew Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was closely linked with the royal houses of Great Britain, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico and Austria-Hungary. Princess Clémentine and Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and G

Ambiorix Shoes Store in Brussels - Own picture taken in 2017 Since 15 November 2009 Ambiorix is Royal Warrant Holder of the Belgian Royal Court but the Shoe Store also has a nice history. Some History Ambiorix was founded in 1895 by Louis Steyns in Verviers (Belgium). From 1907 unwards the fabric moved to Tongeren. During the 1950's they employed some 250 people. In 1999, Ambiorix was sold by George Steyns, the grandson of the founder. Sylvain Gielen and an investment group acquired the fabric. Since January 2007, the Vavedin familial group owns the company. The firm has around 60 employers and around 100.000 pair of shoes were produced a year. Shops Nowadays, Ambiorix has shops in Antwerp, Hasselt and in Brussels, capital of Belgium. Own picture of Ambiorix Shoes Store in Brussels - taken in 2017 Besides Royal Warrant Holder, Ambiorix is sponsor of the Belgian National football team the Red Devils and supplier of the National Olympic Team.