All About Royal Families

On a hot day in May 2019, I visited the Porto Cathedral, a Roman Catholic church located in the historical center of the city of Porto in Portugal. The Cathedral is one of the city's oldest monuments and one of the most important local Romanesque monuments. It also has a very nice royal history. Source picture: Wikipedia Some royal history The building works of the cathedral started around 1147 but it was finished in the 16th. century and even in the 20th century there were renovations. Around 1333, the Gothic chapel of João Gordo was added. João was a Knight Hospitalier who worked for King Denis I of Portugal. The elegant cloister was built between the 14th. and 15th. centuries, during the reign of King John I of Portugal, who married the English Princess Philippa of Lancaster in the Porto Cathedral in 1387. source picture: Wikipedia Philippa of Lancaster was the daughter of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster.  A visit

From 20 October 2019 till 27 October 2019 it was a beautiful but busy week for the royals and also for the blogs about royalty.  There was a splendid enthronement in Japan and the 18th. B-Day ceremony of Princess Elisabeth of Belgium. I really loved both important royal events but I only managed to read one book over the last few weeks.  More about the royal events on these links: Link 1 Link 2 I chose the book: 'Albert & Elisabeth: Mes Parents', written in French by princess Marie José of Belgium, the last Queen of Italy. Queen Marie José lived from 1906 till 2001 and she was the youngest child of King Albert I of Belgium and Queen Elisabeth. Together with her brothers Prince Charles of Belgium and Leopold (Later King Leopold III) she experienced the war and the turbulent years between the two wars in a small, protected world. It were heavy times on the field of military, politics, social, economical internationally and nationally. In

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium turns 18 years on Friday 25 October 2019. Screenshot Princess Elisabeth 18 Princess Elisabeth was born on 25 October 2001 at the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht. Her parents were Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium (now King) and Crown Princess Mathilde (now Queen).  Her full name was: Elisabeth Theresia Maria Helena  Elisabeth was named after Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (the great grandmother of King Philippe of Belgium) Theresia was named after the great grandmother of Queen Mathilde Maria is  a common name in the Belgian royal family Helena is named after the sister of Queen Mathilde. To mark this important royal occasion, a ceremony and a B-Day party took place. This was broadcasted by the 4 BIG television stations of Belgium: VTM, Eén, RTL and RTBF. There also is released a beautiful post stamp with the picture of Princess Elisabeth taken by her dad King Philippe of Belgium. own picture of the stamps issued for t

If you like a palace, built in the amazing Rococo style, then you certainly have to visit the Palace of the Marquis of Dos Aguas in Valencia, Spain. This Palace is now owned by the Spanish State and it houses the Conzález Martí National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts. It also has a nice noble and royal history. Royal History In the15th. century there was a noble knight called Don Francisco Perellós. He was a descendant of the counts of Tolosa and he married to Joanna Perellós, the only daughter of the wealthy Mosen Gines de Rabassa. Their descendants took the surname of Rabassa de Perellós. This family bought the barony of Dosaigües in 1496. In 1699 this was elevated to a marquisate by King Charles II of Spain. It was known that the name Dosaigües was transformed in Dos Aguas. The Marquis of Dos Aguas and his decendants lived in Valencia for many centuries and they were known as wealthy merchants and businessmen. Through marriage with other important Val

Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicated on 30 April 2019. He was the first Japanese Emperor to do so since 1817. This marked the end of the Reiwa era. The new Emperor of Japan is Emperor Naruhito. His enthronement ceremony is scheduled on 22 October 2019. During the enthronement ceremony various ancient imperial regalia are given to the new Emperor. For the people in Japan the enthronement ceremony is an extra holiday and it will be attended by many guests (about 5.000) with high profile delegates from at least 155 countries. What a great diplomatic and royal event! There are already many confirmed royal guests such as: - King Willem Alexander and Queen Máxima from The Netherlands; - King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium; - Grand Duke Henri from Luxembourg; - King Felipe and Queen Letizia from Spain; - King Carl XVI Gustaaf from Sweden and Crown Princess Victoria; - Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark; - Crown Prince of Norway; - Albert II, Princ

Paola Ruffo di Calabria was born on 11 September 1937 in Villa Claudia at Forte dei Marmi in Italy. screenshot Queen Paola of Beglum (2013) Her father was Fulco, Prince Ruffo di Calabria, a title created in 1928 in the Kingdom of Italy. He also was the 6th. Duke of Guardia Lombardia. He served as a pilote during World War I. Later (in 1934) he became a senator due to King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. He served in the senate until 1944 (the start of the downfall of Mussolini). Her mother was Luisa Gazelli, herself a daughter of Augusto Filippo Gazelli, Count of Rossana and of San Sebastiano. But let's continue with Queen Paola's father: Fulco, Prince Ruffo di Calabria. He was the son of Fulco Beniamino Tristano Rufo di Calabria, the 5th. Duke of Guardia Lombardia and Laura Mosselman du Chenoy. The Family of Ruffo di Calabria already exists since the 12th. century. Its ancestor is Sigerio Ruffo and he had close ties with the Vatican. They had a coat

The last weeks were busy ones, so I only could read two fantastic royal books. The first one was Victoria the Queen, written by Julia Baird , which is of course a splendid biography about Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. I liked reading this interesting book about Queen Victoria, which was written  very well  and it gives an idea about her life from birth till death.  It also describes the era of Queen Victoria , her ministers, writers, inventors and many other important people.  This is a biography as it should be.  The other royal biography was a book written in Dutch about an other interesting queen: Queen Elisabeth of Belgium written by Ralf De Jonge. Elisabeth became the third queen of Belgium from 1909 till 1934. In the book, which also was written very well the author tells about Elisabeth's youth in Bavaria, about her bond with her aunt Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) , her marriage to Crown Prince Albert of Belgium, her  duties as a

The Hotel Avenida Palace, in the heart of the center of Lisbon (near the Rossio Railway Station on this link ) not only has a great location but also a beautiful history. Some history The Avenida Palace Hotel was founded at the end of the 19th. century. It opened the doors in 1892. Then Carlos I was King of Portugal. The same year on 14 June 1892 the country was declared bankrupt. More about Carlos I of Portugal on this link .  During the Belle Époque the hotel was one of the best in Europe for its style, location and standard of service. When the Republic of Portugal was established, during the Spanish civil war and during the two World Wars, the Avenida Palace Hotel was an active stage for political intrigue and espionage. Traveling Nowadays (8 October 2019) The Avenida Palace Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal  still has great reviews on TripAdvisor. It is number 6th of the 281 Hotels in Lisbon. Most of the comments really are very good. My pictures of th

Around 1065, Robert II, Count of Flanders was born as the eldest son of Robert I, Count of Flanders and Gertrude of Saxony. He was a member of the noble house of Flanders also called the Baldwins. Duty From 1085 till 1091, Robert II already was regent of Flanders when his father was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Love and Marriage Robert II, Count of Flanders married to Clementia of Burgundy. Robert and Clementia had 3 sons together. Reign After becoming count in 1093, Robert joined the First Crusade launched by Pope Urban II. He made his wife regent of Flanders and formed an army with Godfrey, Duke of Lower Lorraine. When he reached Constantinople the Crusaders were obligated to swear an oath of fealty to the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comemnus of Constantinople. Later Robert participated in the Sieges of Nicaea, Antioch and Jerusalem. He supported Godfrey of Bouillon in his quest to become King of Jerusalem. It was in 1099 that Robert II, Count

4 October 2005 marks the birth of Prince Emmanuel of Belgium. This took place at the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht, near Brussels. He received the full names: Emmanuel Léopold Guillaume François Marie. Prince Emmanuel is the Prince on the right side Family His parents are  Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium and his wife Crown Princess Mathilde (now King and Queen of the Belgians). His godparents are Countess Elisabeth d'Udekem d'Acoz (his maternal aunt) and Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Emmanuel is a member of the Royal House of Belgium. Flags from Belgium Study First Prince Emmanuel attended, like his siblings, the Sint-Jan Berchman College in Brussels. In 2012 it was announced that Prince Emmanuel would attend the Eureka special school at Kessel-Lo. Later it was told that he had dyslexia. He likes cycling, skying, swimming, sailing and he plays several music instruments inter alia the flute and saxophone. Prince Em

Seville's most green area in the middle of the town is without any doubt the Parque de María Luisa. Walking there really is very relaxing. The Parque de María Luisa is located along the Guadalquivir River in Seville, Spain. Besides the nice location, and its green lung it also has a very interesting royal history. Some royal history The Parque de María Luisa was located on the grounds of the Palace of San Telmo. There were donated to the city of Seville in 1893 by Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier  to use as a public garden. Luisa Fernanda was through her father a granddaughter of King Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen Consort of Spain.  In 1911, architect Jean-Claude Nicholas Forestier rearranged the gardens in their present shapes. In 1914, architect Anibal Gonzalez started the construction for the Ibero- American Exposition, which was held in the Parque de María Luisa. The buildings of the Plaza de España were used as o