All About Royal Families

During an exceptional very warm weekend in October 2018, I went to the beautiful city of Lille in France. By train there is a direct line to this city from my hometown Sint-Niklaas. It lasted about one hour and a half. Although Lille is known for its amazing shopping centers, I decided to be just a tourist and to discover the town's wonderful history. Lille France on a busy Friday afternoon Royal history According to archeological research, already in 2000BC people lived in the area of Vieux-Lille. From 830 till 910 the Vikings invaded Flanders and the northern part of France. Then the eastern part of the region was ruled by local princes. In 1066, Lille was mentioned for the first time in written documents. Then the town was controlled by the County of Flanders, one of the most prosperious regions of Europe at that time. Évrard, the Carolingian duke, lived in Lille in the 9th. century and he participated in many of the day's politicial and military ...

If even Goodreads states: you're behind your reading scheme of the year, it's certainly time to read some royal books :-) This 'Books on Sunday' is about someone who lately has touched lots of royalty watchers. It's about Delphine Boël. Finally, after all these years, King Albert II of Belgium has admitted, in a very cold message that Delphine Boël is his natural daughter. But who is she? Delphine Michèle Anne Marie Ghislaine Boël was born on 22 February 1968 as the daughter of Sybille de Seleys Longchamps and King Albert II of Belgium. However Sybilles official husband, Jacques Boël (a member of a noble family of industrialists) recognized Delphine as his daughter. The couple divorced in 1978. Delphine attended boarding school in England and Switzerland and she studied at the Chelsea School of Art and Design in London. In 1990 she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Fine arts. In 1999, Mario Danneels published his book Paola from la Dolce Vita t...

Imagine a lovely commune in northwestern France, located on the estuary of the Seine and Le Harvre ... it was written in the stars that this town must attract lots of tourists and artists. This beautiful place was painted by Courbet, Eugène Boudin and even Claude Monet. Honfleur is not only beautiful it also has a splendid (royal) history! Honfleur - picture taken in 2019 by my mother History Honfleur was first mentioned in documents of Richard III, Duke of Normandy in 1027. During the Hundred Years' War (1337 - 1453) between France and England, Honfleur held a very strategic position. In 1357 and again from 1419 and 1450 Honfleur was taken by the English. At the end of the Hundred Years' War, Honfleur had much advantages from the booming maritime trade. During the years of religion conflicts in the 16th. century trade was disturbed. It lasted till the end of the 18th. century. The wars of the French Revolution and in particular the blocade cau...

On 4 February 2020, King Philippe of the Belgians visited the National Bank of Belgium in Brussels. Nationale Bank België Brussel National Bank of Belgium in Brussels Royal history The National Bank of Belgium has been the central bank of Belgium since 5 May 1850. First they worked from a mansion in the Warmoesberg in Brussels. But this became soon too small. The organization bought some properties near the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. This is nowadays a museum about the history of the National Bank of Belgium. Later the National Bank of Belgium opened suboffices around the country. Even in my hometown Sint-Niklaas there was a building of the National Bank. Most of them are closed now. In 2010, the National Bank of Belgium acquired the buildings of the Union du Crédit in Brussels. These buildings were designed by Désiré De Keyser. The most impressive is the glass roof, held by a steel structure. National Bank Belgium Museum ...