All About Royal Families

In Lille, France, there is a wonderful museum full of history, amazing furniture and beautiful paintings. The museum is called Hospice Comtesse. The Hospice Comtesse has besides its lovely building and interior a very nice royal history. Hospice Comtesse in Lille - own picture taken in 2018 Hospice Comtesse in Lille - own picture taken in 2018 Some Royal History The royal history of Hospice Comtesse goes back till 1236. Then the building was created after the order of Joan, Countess of Flanders. Joan, Countess of Flanders also was called Johanna van  Constantinopel  (in Dutch) or Jeanne (in French).   In 1237 Joan of Flanders founded a hospital in her own palace. However from the primitive hospital and building nothing remains due to a fire, which took place in the night of 11 April 1468. Joan of Flanders at the Hospice Comtesse in Lille own picture taken in 2018 The rooms for the sick people were rebuilt between 1468 and 1472. The ground floor wa

On 6 June 1944, the Normandy landings, also called D-Day took place. This marked the beginning of the end of World War II. It was the end of an occupied Belgium. However for King Leopold III of Belgium and his family the end of the war wasn't a happy period at all. Who was King Leopold? King Leopold III of Belgium was born on 3 November 1901 in Brussels. He died on 25 September 1983. He was the eldest son of King Albert I of Belgium and Queen Elisabeth. (Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria). In 1926 he married Princess Astrid of Sweden. They had 3 children. In 1935 Astrid died in Switzerland. World War II When World War II broke out in September 1939, France and Great-Britain tried to persuade Belgium to join them. Leopold III and his governement refused. They wanted to maintain Belgium's neutrality. On 10 May 1940, nazi Germany invaded Belgium. The Belgian army was overwhelmed by the German forces, nevertheless the Belgian perseverance prevented the Br

Belgium is known for its beer and it chocolate. Since I don't like beer that much, I unfortunately :-) really enjoy chocolate as the Belgian royal family does. On the Place du Grand Sablon in Brussels there is a very famous boulangerie called Wittamer and this shop received a royal warrant of appointment to the Belgian Court. Wittamer Some Royal History Already in 1910 Henri Wittamer opened his boulangerie with his wife Marie on the Place du Grand Sablon. The shop passed on to his son Henri II and his wife Yvonne. Their son called Henri III (to make it easy) and his sister Myriam took over Wittamer in the 1960's. Henri III had his training as maître chocolatier in Switzerland. In these years the process of manufacturing was modernised with new technological developments. In the 1980's new ideas also were introduced. In the 1980's Wittamer opened its first shop in Osaka in Japan. Nowadays the company is ruinning with the fourth generation

In Sint-Niklaas, Belgium there is a small old but beautiful castle called the 'Castro Hof'. For years, I wondered where the name Castrohof came from. This question finally was solved in an exhibition  (January 2019) organised by the 'Koninklijke Oudheidkundige Kring Land van Waas'. So, in this blogpost I wanted to dig out more about the noble house de Castro y Toledo. Castro Hof, Sint-Niklaas Belgium own picture taken in 2016 Origin of the noble house Sources mentioned that the family name came from San Cebrián de las Amayelas. This was the old name for the town which has nowadays the name: Cebrián de Campos. It is a place in the region Castilla y Léon in the north west of Spain. Coat of Arms de Castro own picture taken in 2019 @the exhibition in the Library of Sint-Niklaas Some royal history During the rule of  King Philippe II of Spain, the Habsburg Netherlands were ruled by governors as Fernando Alvarez de Toledo (known as the Duke of

On 8 February 1291 Afonso was born in Lisbon as the rightful heir to the throne of Portugal. Family His parents were King Denis of Portugal and Elizabeth of Aragon. Afonso was thus a member of the Portuguese noble House of Burgundy. Youth Afonso IV was born as the rightful heir to the Portuguese throne. However, he was not the favourite son of King Denis. He preferred his illegitimate son, Afonso Sanches. The rivalry between the half-brothers even led to several civil wars. King of Portugal On 7 January 1325, Afonso's father died and Afonso IV became king, but his rival Afonso Sanches exiled to Castile and stripped him of all the lands and fiefdom given by their father Denis. After a few failed attempts at invasion, the brothers finally signed a peace treaty arranged by Afonso's mother Queen Elizabeth. Love and Marriage On 12 September 1309 Afonso married Beatrice of Castile, daughter of Sancho IV of Castile and Maria de Molina. They had 7 chil

You can never get enough watches even in this modern, digital time. I'm fond of Swiss watches. I wore Swatch by myself but there are lots of other magnificent brands such as Chopard. Besides watches Chopard sells lots of beautiful jewelry such as necklaces, earrings and of course tiara's. This brand still has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and it also has a nice royal history. Due to its lovely history Chopard is mentioned on this blog. Chopard Shop in Rome Italy Some royal history In 1860, the 24-year old Louis-Ulysse Chopard (1836-1915) founded its watch manufactory in Sonvilier Switzerland. He specialized himselves in making ultra-thin, high-precision pocket-watches intended for daily wear. He traveled across Eastern Europe, Russia and Scandinavia to find customers. He even became a supplier to Tsar Nicholas II. Tsar Nicholas II In 1904 Karl Scheufele I (1877-1941) bought a company in Pforzheim, Germany. He invented a special c

On 2 February 1943, Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy was born in Naples, Italy. Family Her parents were King Umberto II and Queen Marie -José, the last King and Queen of Italy. Her paternal grandparents were Victor Emmanuel III and Princess Elena of Montenegro. Her maternal grandparents were King Albert I of Belgium and Queen Elisabeth (Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria). Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy is thus a member of the noble house of Savoy. Life Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy was the fourth and last child of then the Prince and Princess of Piedmont. In her family she is known as 'Titi'. When she only was three years old, her father ruled Italy as Umberto II, for slightly over a month, from 9 May 1946 till 12 June 1946. Later the family was exiled, they briefly gathered in Portugal, where her parents decided to separate. She and her siblings went together with her mother to Switzerland, while their father remained in the Portuguese Riviera