All About Royal Families

30 May 1524 marks the birth of Selim. He was born in Constantinople (nowadays Istanbul) as the son of Suleiman the Magnificent. His mother was Hurrem Sultan, a slave and concubine, who was born as an Orthodox priest's daughter. Later she was freed and she became Suleiman's legal wife. Love and Marriage In 1545, Selim married to Konya Nurbanu Sultan. She was the mother of Murad III, Selim's successor. Reign Selim II took the throne after palace intrigue and fraternal dispute. He became Sultan on 7 September 1566. However Selim's Grand Vizier, Mehmed Sokullu controlled much of the State Affairs. They made an agreement with Holy roman emperor Maximilian II. Early in 1570, ambassadors of Tsar Ivan IV of Russia concluded at Istanbul a treaty that restored friendly relations between the Sultan and the Tsar. During the famine of 1573, due to a severe cold, the farmers of that time could not provide goods for the people. Selim gave the people food...

On 28 May 1660, the birth of George Louis (in German: Georg Ludwig) took place in the city of Hanover in the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire. Family His parents were Ernest August, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of the Palatinate. Sophia was the granddaughter of King James of I of England, through her mother, Elizabeth of Bohemia. In letters, Sophia describes George as a responsible child who set an example to his younger brothers and sisters. George's father took him hunting and riding and introduced him to military matters, mindful of his uncertain future, Ernest August took the then 15 year old George on campaign in the Franco-Dutch War for testing and training his son in battle. Love and marriage In 1682, George married his first cousin, Sophia Dorothea of Celle. His mother first opposed the marriage because she looked down on Sophia Dorothea's mother, Eleonore (who came from lower nobility). She was eventually w...

On 24 May 1971, George Pompidou visited Brussels where he met the government leaders. He also was received by King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of the Belgians at the Royal Palace. It was the first official visit to Belgium by a French chief of State since 1929. George Pompidou was Prime Minister of France from 1962 till 1968. From 1969 till 1974 he was President of France. Baudouin was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 till 31 July 1993. If you want to know more, check this movie on this link . The latest State Visit From France to Belgium took place on 19 & 20 November 2018. Then president Macron and his wife visited Belgium. I took these pictures during several summer exhibitions at the Royal Palace in Brussels.

In these series the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog is researching about the hobbies of members of the royal family in past and in present as well. This week, the blog wants to talk about gardening. Which royal like(d) to spend some time in the garden? Who are or were the Monty Dons of the Royal Family? Let's check it! First of all: there are many royals who designed (or gave the order to design their palace gardens) and much royals like to garden themselves. It's a long list and far from complete. So if you have remarks or you want to add royals on the list, please let me know! Schönbrunn Schönbrunn Schönbrunn Belvedere Belvedere Austria Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (1768-1835), gave the order to redecorate the palace garden of Schönbrunn in its Neoclassical Style as people can see today. Another beautiful palace with an amazing garden in Vienna is the Belvedere Palace, built in order of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Belgium It was k...

On 17 May 1971, Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is the daughter of Jorge Zorreguieta and Maria del Carmen Cerruti Carricart. She has two brothers and a sister (deceased) and three half-sisters. She is named after her paternal grand-mother Máxima Bonorio González (1874 - 1983). Máxima grew up in Buenos Aires. She graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina From 1989 Máxima started working. From May 2000 till March 2001, she worked for the Deutsche Bank in Brussels, Belgium. In April 1999, Máxima met Prince Willem-Alexander in Seville, Spain, during the Spring Fair. The news of the couple's relationship, caused lots of controversy, due to Máxima's father Jorge. He was a minister during the Dirty War in Argentina. The couple announced their engagement on 30 March 2001. Máxima addressed the nation in Dutch. On 17 May 2001, she received the Dutch citizenship. Máxima and Prince Willem-Alexander m...

Was Klemens (von) Metternich a real spider or just a  splendid diplomatic? Klemens Metternich was born on 15 May 1773 as the eldest son of Franz George Carl Count Metternich-Winneburg zu Bilstein and  Countess Maria Beatrice Aloysia von Kageneck. He was named in honour of Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, the archbishop of Trier and the former employer of his father.  Education His education was handled by his mother , influenced by their  proximity to France. Metternich spoke French better than German. In 1788, Metternich started to study law at the University of Strasbourg. During his studies he met Prince Maximilian of Zweibrücken (who became later King of Bavaria).  At the end of 1790 till the summer of 1792, Metternich studied law at the University of Mainz. This was a more conservative education than at Strassbourg. In March 1792, Francis II succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor, he was  crowned in July. M...

On 10 May 2020, Charles Jean Philippe Joseph Marie Guillaume, Prince of Luxembourg was born on 5.13 am. His parents are Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie (born de Lannoy). Prince Charles is the first son of the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple and is second in Line of succession. His names The newborn Prince is named probably after his great-great grandmother Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg or he could be named after his great-uncle, Charles of Luxembourg . Charles also could named after Charles de Lannoy , 1st. Prince of Sulmona.He was in service for the Emperors Maximilian I and Charles V. His second name Jean, is named after Grand Duke Jean, the grandfather of Guillaume. Philippe is either the name of Stéphanie's father or named after King Philippe of the Belgians. Guillaume himself is the godfather of Prince Emmanuel of Belgium. Joseph could be probably the male name of Josephine, after Guillaume's gran...

8 May 1326 marks the birth of Joan I, Countess of Auvergne. Family Joan's parents were William XII, Count of Auvergne -Boulogne and Margaret of Navarre. Her paternal grandparents were Robert VII of Auvergne and Blanche of Bourbon. Her maternal grandparents were Louis Count of Évreux and Margaret of Artois. Louis, Count of Evreux was a son of King Philip III of France. Joan inherited the County of Auvergne (and Boulogne) after the death of her father.This took place in 1332. Love and Marriage Joan's first marriage was to Philip of Burgundy. who held the title Count of Auvergne. Their son Philip would inherit the title Duke of Burgundy from his grandfather Odo IV Duke of Burgundy. Philip I , Count of Auvergne died on 10 August 1346. Joan remarried on 19 February 1350 at the Château de Sainte-Gemme to King John II of France. It was a second marriage for both of them. The first wife of King John II of France, Bonne of Bohemia, had died of Bla...

Belgian newspapers of 23 June 1940 reported that the Duke of Windsor, (former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom) had arrived in Madrid. There he stayed at the Ritz hotel. Later the Duke of Windsor would travel to Lisbon. Lisbon immediately took my interest, because it is one of my favourite cities. Suddenly I wanted to know more about the history of Lisbon during World War II. This turned out into a very interesting history, as you'll read in the next chapters of this blog post. Some history of Portugal In 1939, Portugal was ruled by António de Oliveira Salazar, the man who in 1933 had founded the Estado Novo the New State. When Nazi Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, the Portuguese Government announced that the 550-year old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance remained intact, but since the United Kingdom did not seek for Portuguese assistance, the country was free to remain neutral in the war and it did so. When Hitler and his Nazi's occupied Europ...