All About Royal Families

The Gevangenpoort (Prisoner's Gate) is a former gate and medieval prison on the Buitenhof in The Hague, Netherlands. It is situated next to the 18th-century art gallery founded by William V, Prince of Orange in 1774 known as the Prince William V Gallery. William V, Prince of Orange his son would become King William I of The Netherlands History From 1420 until 1828, the prison was used for housing people who had committed serious crimes while they awaited sentencing. Its most famous prisoner was Cornelis de Witt , who was held on the charge of plotting the murder of the stadtholder.  He was lynched together with his brother Johan on 20 August 1672 on the square in front of the building called groene zoodje after the grass mat used for the scaffold.  When public executions went out of fashion the area was used to build the "Witte Society", a literature club that still exists today, but had to move when the street was built in 1923. In 1882, the Gevangenpoort beca...

20 September 1886 marks the birth of Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Family Cecilie was a daughter of Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia. Childhood  She spent most of her childhood in Schwerin, at the royal residences of Ludwigslust Palace and the Gelbensande hunting lodge, only a few kilometres from the Baltic Sea coast.  Her father suffered badly from asthma and the wet damp cold climate of Mecklenburg was not good for his health. As a result, Cecilie spent a large amount of time with her family in Cannes in the south of France, favoured at the time by European royalty, including some whom Cecilie met such as Empress Eugénie and her future husband's great-uncle, Edward VII. During the winter visit of 1897, Cecilie's sister, Alexandrine, met her future husband, Crown Prince Christian, later Christian X of Denmark, shortly before the death of their father at the age of 46. After returning to Schw...

The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday, 19th September 2022 at 1100hrs BST. A Committal Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, will take place later the same day at 1600hrs.  Elements of the State Funeral Service and the associated ceremonial arrangements will pay tribute to The Queen’s extraordinary reign, and Her Majesty’s remarkable life of service as Head of State, Nation and Commonwealth On the morning of the State Funeral, the Lying-in-State will end at 0630hrs as the final members of the public are admitted. The State Funeral Service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster . During the Service, the Prime Minister and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth will read Lessons. The Archbishop of York, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the Free Churches Moderator will say Prayers. The Sermon will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will a...

Published 8 September 2022 Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral. Charles, Prince of Wales, Duchess Camilla of Cornwall and the Duke of Cambridge are traveling to Balmoral. The Duke of Suxxex also will  travel to Balmoral just as the Earl and Countess of Wessex and the  Duke of York.  New issue:  The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow. Belgium Canada Denmark Jordan Luxembourg Norway Sweden On the occasion of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, high guard soldiers of the Skaraborg regiment hoisted the three-toned flag on Kungl this morning. The castle is half-masted, by decree of HM the King. The Netherlands There also were many tributes from all over the world.  On Saturday September...

Princess Victoria Louise was born on 13 September 1892, the seventh child and only daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm II and Empress Augusta Victoria.  The young princess was christened on 22 October, and was named after her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, and her paternal great great grandmother, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Known officially as Victoria Louise, she was nicknamed "Sissy" by her family. Childhood Historian Justin C. Vovk writes that Victoria Louise was intelligent like her paternal grandmother Empress Frederick, stately and dignified like her mother, but imperious and willful like her father. She enjoyed being the center of attention,and was her father's favourite. The family resided at Homburg Castle, and Victoria Louise and Joachim would often visit their cousins – the children of the Prussian princesses Margaret and Sophia – at nearby Kronberg Castle. In 1905, the princess studied music with concert pianist Sandra Droucker. For a period o...

 Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne & Grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II  Cecilia Nina Cavendish-Bentinck was born in Belgravia, Westminster as the eldest daughter of the Rev. Charles Cavendish-Bentinck (grandson of British Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland) and his wife, Louisa (née Burnaby). Love and marriage On 16 July 1881, she married Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis, at St Peter's Church, Petersham, Surrey, and they had ten children. Claude inherited his father's title of Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in 1904, whereupon Cecilia became Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. Children * The Hon. Violet Hyacinth Bowes-Lyon 17 April 1882 17 October 1893 * Lady Mary Frances Bowes-Lyon 30 August 1883 8 February 1961 * Patrick Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis 22 September 1884 25 May 1949 * Lieutenant The Hon. John Bowes-Lyon 1 April 1886 7 February 1930 * The Hon. Alexander Francis Bowes-Lyon 14 April 1887 19 October 1911 ...

The House of Habsburg, its dynasty, its ties and its different branches always have interested me. In this blogpost, the creation and the history of the House of Austria-Este is deepened out.  The start It was created in 1771 with the marriage between Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine and Maria Beatrice d'Este, only daughter of the Duke of Modena, Ercole III d'Este. It also is known as the House of Habsburg-Este . Some history Ercole III d'Este , the last Este duke of Modena and Reggio in the direct male line, was deposed in 1796 by the French, and his Italian principality was incorporated into the Cisalpine Republic, later the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.  In 1814, French rule in Italy ended. Modena was to be returned to his daughter Maria Beatrice and her son Francis of Austria-Este after Ercole's death.  Previously, Ercole had been compensated with the duchy of Breisgau in south-western Germany; the Habsburgs ceded this province to him in anticipation of it fall...

Recently, the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog visited The Hague and we had there a lovely city trip very close to The Hofvijver. The Hofvijver - translated court pond - is an amazing beautiful lake in the middle of The Hague in the Netherlands. Hofvijver own picture taken in 2022 The term pond is actually a misnomer, as the Hofvijver has its origin in a natural dune lake fed by the Haagse Beek (Hague Creek, originally Dunecreek) and the, nowadays muted, Bosbeek (Forestcreek) from the Haagse Bos (Hague Forest). The Haagse Beek still feeds the Hofvijver and so the pond is directly connected to the dunes in Kijkduin. In this dune lake there was an island (not the current island in the Hofvijver) on which Willem II built his palace in 1248. Other sources say he built his palace alongside the pond and created a moat around it. The city of The Hague celebrated its 700 years of existence in 1948, suggesting that the city itself bases its origin on the building of the palace by Willem II ...