All About Royal Families

The life and travels of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) always have fascinated me, you can find lots of her travels on this link .  In Austria she felt restless and she always was very keen to be on her way to the most beautiful destinations. Following her footsteps  resulted in a never ending wishlist but from time to time it is a  surprise to visit places where Empress Elisabeth of Austria was before. I must admit: those places are true treasures. One of them is Elche , (also called Elx) in the province of Alicante in Spain. Elche Palm Trees picture taken in October 2022 Empress Elisabeth of Austria Source picture: Wikipedia   In 1894, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) arrived at the port of Alicante . Then she traveled further to Elche, where she was shown an amazing garden.  Port of Alicante in Spain, October 2022 The Empress was very impressed when she looked at the palm tree. She suggested to give them her name. (Imperial Palm).  She also visited the The Huerto del Cura . 

Antonine de Mun was born on 14 November 1849 in Paris as the daughter of marquis Adrien de Mun and Pauline de Ludre.  Love and Marriage She married her nephew Joseph d'Ursel. He became duke d'Ursel and he entered in the Belgian senate. portrait from 1926 painted by Philip de László Source picture: Wikipedia Charles Joseph d' Ursel by by Emile Wauters Source picture: Wikipedia Antonine de Mun moved from Paris to Belgium, where she lived in Hingene  and Brussels. portrait of Antonine made by her mother own picture taken in 2019 In Belgium, she became a respected artist in aristocratic circles. She  painted many portraits of family members and members of the Belgian Royal Family.  a portrait of her daughter in law own picture taken in 2019 A year before her death, she was honoured in her own right by the Belgian King: she was rewarded and became a Dame in the Order of Leopold.  Royal Letters Antonine duchess d'Ursel also had a correspondence with Marie of Hohenzollern Sigm