All About Royal Families

One of the most beautiful regions in Switzerland is the Berner Oberland area. This is the higher part of the canton of Bern, which really has it all: from amazing nature, the mountains (inter alia Jungfrau) , lakes (Lake Thun and Lake Brienz) till great cities as Bern and Adelboden. Berner Oberland, Switzerland typical valleys - own picture Besides the stunning geographical aspect, the Berner Oberland region also has an exceptional history with many royal links. Berner Oberland, Switzerland - own picture Some royal history The first settlements in the Berner Oberland region were from the Roman era. The Romans settled along the river and the lakes. During the High Middle Ages, a number of villages in Berner Oberland grew around valley parish churches, which were religious and cultural centers within each surrounding valley. Around 800 the Berner Oberland region first belonged to the Kingdom of  Burgundy . Later the Dukes of Zähringen had all the p...

Philippa of Hainault was born on June 24th. between 1310 and 1315 at Valenciennes, in the County of Hainault in the Low Countries. Nowadays Valenciennes is located in France, just over the border with Belgium.  Family Philippa of Hainault was the daughter of William I, Count of Hainault and Joan of Valois, Countess of Hainault. Joan was a granddaughter of King Philip III of France. Philippa's eldest sister, Margaret, married to the German King Louis IV and she became Holy Roman Empress. Philippa of Hainault and her family were members of the noble House of Avesnes. Love and Marriage King Edward II wanted a strong alliance between Flanders and England, therefore he sent Bishop Stapledon of Exeter on the Continent as an ambassador. On this trip, the bishop passed the County of Hainault to inspect the count William's daughters. Four years later Philippa was betrothed to Prince Edward. As the couple were second cousins (through their mothers), a Papal ...

In 'hellhole' Brussels on the Mont des Arts, near the Central Railway Station, one of the most interesting places of Belgium is located: the Royal Library of Belgium.  Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels - own picture Some Royal history The library was founded in 1837 by the young Belgian state and it  was open for public in 1839. However the real history of the collection went further back in time.  The collection dates back to the Dukes of Burgundy who became the rulers of the Low Countries. There are books and manuscripts which belonged to Philip the Bold, John the Fearless, Philip the Good and Charles the Bold.  Philip the Bold, John the Fearless, Philip the Good and Charles the Bold were the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Source pictures: Wikipedia When Charles...

On the opposite of the Tuileries Garden, between the Place de la Concorde and the Musée du Louvre on Rue de Rivoli , a magnificent historical palatial hotel is located: Hotel Le Meurice. Already from the street, Hotel Le Meurice looks fabulous and classy, but this blog is about royal history, so my surprise was big, when I researched more about this interesting topic. Hotel Le Meurice in Paris, France own picture taken in 2017 Some History During the 18th century, a French postmaster called Charles-Augustin Meurice knew that English tourists wanted to be on the continent with the comforts they were used at home. In 1815 he opened the Hôtel Meurice in Paris, however it was originally located at Rue Saint-Honoré. In 1835, Le Meurice moved from Rue Saint-Honoré to its current location on the Rue de Rivoli in a new luxurious building. A wealthy clientele followed and from the July Monarchy till the French Third Republic, Le Meurice welcomed the high society of th...

If you are interested in the former French Royal Family, you certainly have heard from the Royal House of Valois, which started in 1284 and ended in 1589. Some royal history Before the French Royal Family were members of the Royal House of Valois, another dynasty had lots of power: House of Capet. From 1270 till 1285 France was ruled by King Philip III . He was a member of the House of Capet. King Philippe III of France had left 3 surviving sons (Louis, Philip and Charles) and a daughter (Isabella). Each son became king but they died young without male heirs (except Charles), leaving only two daughters who could not inherit the throne. Finally in 1328 Philip Count of Valois , the son of Charles, Count of Valois became the King of France. He was the closest heir in male line and a grandson of King Philip III. But there were other candidates of the French throne inter alia: Joan of Navarre, daughter of King Louis X. She received the Kingdom of Navarre....

On 11 June 1403, John IV, Duke of Brabant was born in Arras, nowadays in France. John IV, Duke of Brabant Family John IV, Duke of Brabant was the son of Antoine of Burgundy, the ruling Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg. John IV's mother was Jeanne of Saint-Pol. John IV 's paternal parents were Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and Margaret III, Countess of Flanders. John IV 's mother, Jeanne of Saint-Pol, was a step-granddaughter of Edward, the Black prince and her maternal granddaughter was Joan of Kent. John IV, Duke of Brabant was a member of the noble House of Valois. Duty After his father's death at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 John IV became the new Duke of Brabant. His succession wasn't accepted by everyone. The Holy Roman Sigismund contested his succession as he wished to stop the Valois influence or the influence of the Burgundian Duke, John the Fearless, who was the uncle of  John IV, Duke of Brabant. However the S...

Hotel Alfonso XIII in Seville, Spain certainly is one of the most important VIP hotels in the city. It is located on the Calle San Fernando, next to the University of Seville in the Santa Cruz area. Alfonso XIII hotel in Seville, Spain own picture taken in 2018 Some Royal History On 28 April 1929 Hotel Alfonso XIII was officially inaugurated with a celebration attended by King Alfonso XIII and his wife Queen Victoria Eugenia . This Spanish queen was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria were the grandparents of King Juan Carlos of Spain. King Alfonso XIII of Spain Source picture: Wikipedia The reason of the celebration was the wedding of Infanta Isabel with Count Juan Zamoyski. Infanta Isabel Alfonso was the daughter of Prince Carlos of Two Sicilies and Mercedes, Princess of Asturias. Mercedes was a daughter of King Alfonso XII of Spain and thus a sister of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. Some buildi...

On 7 June 1502, a royal birth took place at the Alcáçova Palace in Lisbon, Portugal. Then the future King John III of Portugal (João III in Portuguese) was born. King John III of Portugal - own picture taken in 2017 at the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon. Family John III was the eldest son of Koing Manuel I of Portugal and his second wife Maria of Aragon. He was a member of the noble House of Aviz. Youth John III was educated by notable scholars of the time including the astrologer Tomás de Torres, Diogo de Ortiz, Bishop of Viseu and Luis Teixeira Lobo, one of the first Portuguese Renaissance humanists. King João III of Portugal: Source picture Wikipedia Love and marriage At the age of 16, John III was chosen to marry his first cousin the 20-year- old Eleanor of Austria, the eldest daughter of Philip the Handsome of Austria-Burgundy and Queen Joanna of Castile. However this plan didn't work. Instead Eleanor married John's widowed father...