All About Royal Families

Belgium has lots of noble and even royal families, one of them, at least one of the most important old dynasties is the Noble House of Ursel or in French d'Ursel. Roots The House d'Ursel has its roots in Schmalkalden in Thuringia, Germany. In the late 15th. century some of the members of the d'Ursel family came to Hasselt (nowadays located in Belgium).  Among them was Gaspard II Schetz, who had married to Catherine of Ursel, daughter of Lancelot II of Ursel. When the three daughters of Lancelot II d'Ursel died without heirs and by request of Barbe d'Ursel, Conrad III Schetz was adopted by her. It were his descendants who carried the name d'Ursel. These descendants carried important offices. Some Royal History Conrad Albert, baron of Wesemael and lord of Hingene was created the First Duke of Ursel by the imperial decree of Charles VI on 19 August 1716, later he was created the First Duke of Hoboken (1717). Family ties ...

Portugal really is an amazing country, not only due to its people, nature, food, culture and history but also due to its railway stations. Traveling from Lisbon to Sintra, my husband and I had to use the Rossio Railway station. We were amazed by its beauty and I wanted to know more about its royal history. Rossio Station Lisbon Portugal Some royal history The Rossio Railway Station was ordered by the Portuguese Royal Railway Company and it was designed between 1886 and 1887 by the Portuguese architect José Louis Monteiro.  It was built in one of the most important squares of Lisbon, the Rossio. The Rossio was built during the reign of King Louis I of Portugal (reigned from 1861-1889 over Portugal).  King Louis I of Portugal was the son of Maria II and Ferdinand II. He became King after the death of his brother Pedro V.  King Louis I of Portugal Source picture: Wikipedia In 1918, Sidónio Pais, the fourth President of Portugal, was assas...

Christopher Clark wrote a splendid book about Emperor Wilhelm (William) II of Germany. Wilhelm II  ruled from 15 June 1888 till 9 November 1918 over Germany. He was a weak ruler, disorganized and impulsive. But he wasn't that involved in the military and the army as I expected. Clark wrote very well about the era and about the German society during the reign of Wilhelm II. He also mentioned the foreign policy of the country and the role of Bismarck. Wilhelm II the last Emperor of Germany Christopher Clark bookcover As a grandson of Queen Victoria, Wilhelm II had many important royal family ties, however he was too narcissistic to use them very well. Although, I thought it was more of a biography about the last German Emperor, this book was all about the politics during the reign of Wilhelm II . So, I learned lot of new things. This book is a must read for every history lover and especially the ones who are interested in Germany. Christopher ...

20 July 1973 marks the birth of Prince Haakon of Norway. His birth took place at The National Hospital in Oslo. Family His parents were then Crown Prince Harald of Norway (now King) and Crown Princess Sonja (now Queen). His paternal grandparents were King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. Haakon has one sibling: Princess Märtha Louise of Norway who was born in 1971. Prince Haakon also is in the line of succession of the British throne as a great-great-grandson of King Edward VII and a great-great-great grandson of Queen Victoria. Army & education Crown Prince Haakon has served in the Royal Norwegian Army. He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political sience from the University of California in Berkeley. Later Haakon attended lectures at the University of Oslo. In 2003 he completed his education at the London School of Economics. Love and Marriage Crown Prince Haakon married a commoner and a single mother: Mette-Marit Tjess...

Queen Victoria of The United Kingdom always has fascinated me and reading a book about her and her family really is a special treat. On 10 February 1840, Queen Victoria married her Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. This family already had important family ties with inter alia Belgium, Portugal and many other royal families in Europe. Screenshot of the Bookcover However the new royal couple and especially Prince Albert had a plan. They wanted to secure the peace in Europe through the marriages of their children and even grandchildren. After the death of Prince Albert in 1861, Queen Victoria continued to forfill their dream. The book mentions lots of children and grandchildren and the making of their wedding plans. Queen Victoria's Matchmaking was written by Deborah Cadbury and translated in Dutch in 2017 by Roelof Posthuma/Nieuw Amsterdam. I like the way the author wrote this book, the division into clear chapters and the use of the 'nickna...

On 28 February 1854, a noble girl was born. She received the names:  Elisabeth Sybille of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Family Elisabeth Sybille of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was the daughter of Karl Alexander Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Princess Sophie of The Netherlands. Her paternal grandparents were: Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Maria Pavlovna of Russia. Her maternal grandparents were: King William II of The Netherlands and Anna Pavlovna of Russia. Both her grandmothers were sisters and daughters of Tsar Paul I of Russia. Love and Marriage Elisabeth Sybille of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach married on 6 November 1866 in Weimar to Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Regent of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the Duchy of Brunswick. They had no children. Interests She was very interested in music. Elisabeth Sybille of Saxe-Weimar- Eisenach was a talented singer and piano player herself. She loved to have musicia...

Recently, I read the book Louis XIV written by Richard Wilkinson and translated by Rob Hartmans in 2014. King Louis XIV of France Book and garden The book really is to be recommended if you want to know more about the amazing royal history of France. The book is easy reading and has clear chapters, something I like a lot. Although the biography about King Louis XIV of France is fairly complete, I wanted to know much more about this fantastic sun King. So it is a good thing that Richard Wilkinson also refers to other writers such as Antonia Fraser. screenshot from Bookcover Louis XIV (1638 -1715), the Sun King, ruled more than half a century over France and today he is remembered by his absolutism, his role as a patron and his lavish style of life. The author tells about the life of Louis XIV, his youth, his love life, his war, politics and his personality. King Louis XIV of France and Lavender Louis XIV was not only an arrogant ruler, a  ...

Peter III of Portugal (Pedro in Portuguese) was born at 12 o'clock - noon- on 5 July 1717 in the Ribeira Palace in Lisbon. Family His parents were King João V of Portugal and Maria Anna of Austria. His paternal grandparents were: - King Peter II of Portugal; - Maria Sophia of Neuburg. His maternal grandparents were: - Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor; - Eleanor Magdalene of Neuburg. Eleanor Magdalene of Neuburg was a sister of Queen Maria Sofia of Portugal. It's a family affair! Pedro was a younger brother of King José I of Portugal Love and Marriage In 1760, Pedro married his niece Maria, Princess of Brazil, because she was heiress presumptive to the throne. According to custom Pedro thus became King of Portugal in the right of his wife. The royal couple had 6 children, some of them died young but their son became João VI in 1816. Reign Pedro made no attempt to participate in government affairs, he spent his time by hunting or ...

Paris, the beautiful capital of France, has lots of places and buildings with an amazing history. One of those places is the Palace (in French: Palais) du Luxembourg. It is located in the 6th. arrondissement at 15 Rue de Vaugirard. Besides the alluring building the Palais du Luxembourg really has a very nice royal history. Palais du Luxembourg Paris France own picture taken in 2017 Some royal history When King Henry IV of France died in 1610, his widow, Maria de' Medici, became regent to her son King Louis XIII. At that time, she decided to erect a new palace for herself. She bought an old hôtel particulier, owned by François de Luxembourg, Dud de Piney. Maria de' Medici wanted a palace similar to her native Palazzo Pitti in Florence. She sent the architect Métezeau to Florence to make detailed drawings of the building. Maria de' Medici bought the Luxembourg in 1612. She installed her household in 1625 in the palace while work on interiors continu...