All About Royal Families

Liechtenstein, a German-speaking micro state in the Alps in the southwest of Central Europe really has an interesting royal history. It is a principality headed by the Prince of Liechtenstein. Birth On 28 august 1853, Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein was born at Liechtenstein Castle,  near Vienna in the Austrian Empire.  His parents were Prince Aloys II of Liechtenstein and Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau.  Franz I attended the University of Vienna in Austria and later he went to the  University of Prague. He also was a Knight in the Austrian order of the Golden Fleece. Love and Marriage Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein fell in love to Elisabeth von Gutmann, a woman who had converted to Roman Catholicism from Judaism. The brother of Franz I, Prince Johann disapproved the relationship and he refused to give his consent. But Franz I married Elisabeth von Gutmann secretly after the death of his brother Johann.  Duty On 11 February 1929, Johann...

In Leipzig a royal wedding took place on 24 August 1561. Then William (Willem)I, Prince of Orange married to Anna of Saxony.  Who was who? Anna of Saxony was the daughter of Maurice, Elector of Saxony and Agnes of  Hesse.  She was a member of the House of Wettin. William of Orange, also called the Silent, was the son of William, Count of  Nassau and Juliana of Stolberg-Wernigerode. William the Silent was known for his revolt against King Philip II of Spain.  Between Germany and The Netherlands and an  unhappy marriage On 1 September 1561, William I, Prince of Orange and his new wife relocated to  The Netherlands.  Only a few months after the wedding, the royal couple already had problems.  After the death of her first son, Maurice, in 1566, Anna had a huge depression. She tried to forget her grieve with a large alcohol consumption.  In 1567, William was forced to exile The Netherlands due to his opposition of the Habsburgs. He moved to D...

During a walk in Hulst, Zeelandic Flanders in The Netherlands, I saw the phrase "Concordia res parvae crecunt". Immediately I tried to translate these Latin words in Dutch (which is my mother tongue). So I translated it into "Eendracht maakt macht". In English the phrase is "Unity makes strength". First of all, I asked myself the question: When was Zeelandic Flanders a part of Belgium? Because the Belgian motto is "Unity makes strength". Curious as I was, I made a bit of a research and then I learned a very interesting history and knowledge.  "Unity makes strength" originally was used by the Dutch Republic (1581-1795) and during most of the Napoleonic time in The Netherlands (1802-1810). After the Dutch gained independence of the Spanish Habsburgs, the phrase became more and more familiar. In 1816, when the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded, the phrase "Je maintiendrai" was used (the motto of the Royal House of Ora...

In the past the royals wrote lots of beautiful and interesting letters. It must be an absolute certainty that writing really is and was a royal hobby or even more a duty. The writing desk of Empress Elisabeth of Austria 'Sisi' in Corfu Many royal heads of state had a diary, which they kept up to date very well.  United Kingdom The most famous royal who kept diaries was Queen Victoria. She wrote 122 volumes which were expurgated by her youngest daughter: Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom. Queen Victoria started to write in her daily journal in 1832, when she was 13 years old.  Source picture: Wikipedia Nowadays, in the United Kingdom Princess Michael of Kent is a well known author. She wrote several books inter alia: Eight royal Brides; The Queen of for Kingdoms; Agnès Sorel, mistress of Beauty and Quicksilver; and she wrote some articles for the Orient Express Magazine.  Russia In Russia lots of members of the royal family held diaries, which were important w...

On 9 August 1832, a real royal wedding took place between King Leopold I of Belgium and Princess Louise of Orléans. Hard Negotiations At the beginning the parents of Princess Louise of Orléans, King Louis Philippe I of France and Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, didn't like the idea that their daughter would marry King  Leopold I of the Belgians. They had several reasons to decline the marriage: - King Leopold had fought in the army of the Russian Tsar against France. - He (had) belonged to the court of the royal family of the United Kingdom. - He was not a Roman Catholic. Other objections were:  The mother of Princess Louise of Orléans would like to marry her daughter to the Duke of Calabria, who was also the heir to the kingdom of Naples to tighten the strings between France and her native country. Above all these arguments, King Leopold had a bad reputation. It was known that he was a womanizer. Besides these things, Belgium was at that moment a new...

It was a big surprise, on 17 May 2020, when Queen Máxima of The Netherlands shared the recipe of  her favorite cookies: Alfajores with dulce de leche. The Kitchen at the Penna Palace in Sintra - own picture However Queen Máxima wasn't the only Dutch royal who went to the kitchen during the Covid-19 - crisis. On Instagram, Princess Viktória de Bourbon de Parma shared a picture of her self-made Irish Soda Bread. Princess Aimé of Orange, the wife of Prince Floris reacted immediately and asked the recipe. In Belgium Queen Mathilde and her children made cakes and Brussels Waffles for people who lived in nearby elderly homes. It is no secret that Crown Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant likes to try out some new things in the kitchen. In the period around Christmas, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has made a television program with Mary Berry. Even Prince George, was pictured with his father, his great father, the Prince of Wales and the Queen, making a rea...

Royals and especially the royal history interest me very much. I really enjoy in taking the opportunity to read books about these fascinating topics. This week, I chose the book 'The Top 5 most famous queens' about Nefertiti, Cleopatra, Elisabeth I, Catherine the Great and Victoria. The book is edited by Charles River Editors. This is  - according to Amazon - a digital publishing  company that creates compelling, educational content. It is a bit of a spoiler that the names of The Top 5 of the Most famous queens are already released on the bookcover. However the 5 biographies are interesting though short stories. The Top 5 of the Most Famous Queens also is written very clear and fluently, so it is pleasant to read. Is the book to recommend? Well, sure it is! Especially for royal history fans, but it wasn't specialized.  Nevertheless, I'm happy, I read this book. Source picture: bookcover I read this book via koboplus and bol.com