Which royals know/knew their history very well?

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History is the study of past events 



You love it or you hate it: history. This made me think: which royals know/knew their history very well?


Austria


Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) had a special interest in history, philosophy and literature. 






Belgium

King Albert I of Belgium liked royal history very much. His wife  Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (a niece of Sisi)  was a keen historian too. For her, the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun was postponed. Her name- sake Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium is now (2021) studying History & Politics in Oxford University (United Kingdom).




France


Queen Marie-Antoinette of France liked to read history. She saw the first launch of a Montgofière, a hot air balloon.









Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland (1805-1810) decorated his palaces with topics from the national history and he even wrote history books, just as his son Napoleon III. Napoleon III studied sciences, history and economics. 




Lucien Bonaparte had a keen interest in historical antiquity too. He shared this interest with Napoleon Bonaparte when he was young. 



Germany

Frederick III (1831-1888) studied at the University of Bonn in Germany. There he learned history, law, governance and public duty. 





The university of Bonn
where
both Frederick III as his father-in-law, Prince Albert have studied


Greece

Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece started a degree in History of Art at the University of New York. However she stopped this study a year later, when Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece proposed her.


Italy


Princess Marie José of Belgium also was very keen on history. This was a hobby she shared with her husband Umberto II of Italy. 

Norway


When King Harald V of Norway was a Prince, in 1960, he entered the Balliol College of the Oxford University. There he studied,  history, economy and politics. 



A young Harald of Norway
Source picture: Wikipedia


Sweden


King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden studied at Uppsala University and the Stockholm University. He learned inter alia history, political science and tax law.

His daughter, princess Madeleine enrolled the Stockholm University in 2003. There she studied Art History. 

King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden was interested in the history of  civilization. 


The Netherlands


Princess Beatrix did make her granddaughters enthousiast for royal history.  She studied inter alia history at the University of Leiden.

King Willem-Alexander is an historian himself. He studied history at the University of Leiden, just as his mother. 


The Leiden University library -1610



Oxford painting 


United Kingdom 

King Charles III knows a lot about royal history.  

Prince William and his wife have both studied Art History at the St. Andrews University. 

Mary of Teck (later Queen Consort) (1867-1953) used her extensive knowledge of history to advise her husband. 



In October 1919, Prince Albert (later King George VI of the United Kingdom) went up to Trinity College of the Cambridge University. There he studied history, economics and civics for a year. 

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (later Prince Consort of Queen Victoria) studied at the University of Bonn (Germany). He studied law, political economy, philosophy and the history of art. 


Thank you


Thank you Geert Janssens &  @EmpressofHaB for your wonderful research help! 


Source pictures: Wikipedia



Location: Brussel, België

Comments

Vallypee said…
What an interesting post, Kathleen. Mind you, I expect knowing about their history might well be a requirement for many royals. I like it that Prince William studied art history, though.
November 2, 2021 at 8:29 AM
Kathleen Van Lierop said…
Thank you for commenting, Vall!!! Yes, I think most royals should know their history. But I like the facts and I like the idea that some of them would be history theirselves.
November 2, 2021 at 5:37 PM
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