All About Royal Families

The collection of coins for their artistic value was a development and a real royal hobby. My own modest coin collection from the royal Family of Belgium received by my co-worker History Historical records state that in Ancient Rome and medieval Mesopotamia coins were collected and catalogued by scholars and state treasuries.  Emperor Augustus sometimes presented old and exotic coins to friends and courtiers during festivals and other special occasions. More about Augustus on this link .  Coin collecting and appreciation began around the fourteenth century. During the Renaissance it became a must among the members of the  priveleged classes, especially for Kings and Queens.  Many European Kings, princes and other nobility kept collections of ancient coins.  Collectors Emperor Maximilian I of Austria  (1459 - 1519) was a member of the House of Habsburg. He married to Mary of Burgundy.  Maximilian - Source picture Wikipedia More about Maximilian and the House of Habsburg on this link  

Nikolaus I was born on 18 December 1714 in Vienna as the son of Prince  Joseph and Mária Octavia Baroness Gilleis of Theras and Sonneberg.  Nikolaus was the younger brother of Paul II Anton, Prince of Esterházy. They were members of the famous Hungarian Esterházy family.  Early life Prince Nikolaus was educated by Jesuits. He became a military officer serving the Austrian Empire. He participated at the Battle of Kolin in 1757 where he led the wavering cavalry troops to victory. He was made Lieutenant Field Marshal. Prince Nikolaus became one of the original members of the Order of  Maria Theresa.  In 1762 he was appointed captain of Maria Theresa's Hungarian bodyguard. Other honours included the Golden Fleece and the Grade of Commander in  the Order of Maria Theresa.  Love and Marriage On 4 March 1737, Prince Nikolaus married Freiin Marie Elisabeth, a daughter of a Reichsgraf (Count of the Holy Roman Empire) Ferdinand von Weissenwolf.  Duty When his brother died in 1762, Nikolaus i

Only a few noble families are intertwined with the history of  a country.  The de Liedekerke family has it all: a long and interesting history and close ties to the rules of their country.  Let's take a closer look!  History It was in 1301 that the history of the family de Liedekerke started.  Then Knight Raas of Herzele signed an official document in Beveren. His son was Raas of Herzele of (de) Liedekerke. His descendants called themselves de Liedekerke.  But there were many interesting people in the family de Liedekerke. connections with the Duke of Burgundy Raas of Liedekerke, lord of Nieuwerkerken (+/- 1421 - 1494/1495) was married to a certain Johanna. Due to his marriage he became Lord of Heestert and Zulte. In 1476 he went on a military campaign with Charles the Bold. Duke of Burgundy. In 1477, Mary of Burgundy, appointed him as bailiff of Aalst and Geraardsbergen.  Charles the Bold Mary of Burgundy Connections with the House of Habsburg Steven of Liedekerke (+/- 1457 - 1530

9 October 1586 marks the birth of Leopold V, Archduke of Austria. This royal event took place in Graz. Family The parents of Leopold V, Archduke of Austria were Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria. His paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and  Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. His maternal grandparents were Albert V, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Austria. Leopold V, Archduke of Austria was thus a member of the royal house of Habsburg. Duty Already as a child, in 1598, Leopold was invested as a Bishop. In 1607 he became Bishop of Strasbourg. Although he resigned to marry in 1626. In 1632 Leopold V defended Tyrol against the Swedes.  Love and marriage On 19 April 1626, Leopold married to Claudia de' Medici, a daughter of Fernando I de' Medici. They would have 5 children together. Death Leopold V, Archduke of Austria died on 13 September 1632 in Schwaz, Tyrol. Source pictures: Wikipedia

On 1 October 1685, Archduke Charles of Austria was born at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Family His parents were Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and Princess Eleonore Magdalena of Neuburg.  His paternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Anna of Spain.  His maternal grandparents were Prince William, Elector Palatine and  Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.  Archduke Charles of Austria was thus a member of the royal house of  Habsburg. Youth The tutor of Archduke Charles was Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein.  Duty After the death of King Charles II of Spain in 1700 there was a succession crisis because he had no direct heir.  Archduke Charles declared himself King of Spain, because both were members of the House of Habsburg. This caused the War of the Spanish Succession against the French candidate Philip, Duke of Anjou, who was a grandson of King Louis XIV of France. The Battle lasted almost 14! years.  Love and Marriage Charles's father and

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 died and Franz became Prince

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 Dillenburg in Germany. This was the German headqua

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

Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily was born on 6 June 1772 at the Royal Palace in Naples. She was the eldest of 18 children. Family Her parents were Ferdinand IV & III of Naples and Sicily and Maria Carolina of Austria. She was the favourite child from her mother. Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily was inter alia the sister of Maria Amelia Theresa who would marry Louis Philippe, the King of the French. Her paternal grandparents were King Charles III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Her maternal grandparents were Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa who became Holy Roman Empress. Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily was thus a member of the royal house of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Maria Theresa was named after her maternal grandmother Maria Theresa of Austria. Love and Marriage On 15 September 1790, she married her double first cousin Francis. In 1792 he would become Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and Emperor Francis I of Austria. The

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 24 Febuary 1500, the future Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V was born at Gent (in English: Ghent) in the Prinsenhof. On the picture of the painting, which is now at the STAM Museum at Gent, people can see a part of the christening procession of Charles V. The neighbourhood of the Prinsenhof is located from the Rabot to the Gravensteen. Unfortunately this huge castle was demolished in the 19th century. However this castle really has a great and even a royal history. Some royal history In 1064, Count Baldwin V of Flanders offered a swampy area for use to Burgrave Hugo II and his wife Oda. In 1323 this region came into the possession of Simon de Mirabello. Later this man was killed by the people of Gent. In 1340, Louis II, Count of Flanders was the owner. He rebuilt the place to a home that was fit for the Count of Flanders. These Counts were vazals of the King of France! Later this place was inherited by the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. In 1477 the joyous entry

May 21st. 1864 marks the birth of Princess Stéphanie of Belgium. This happy event took place at the Royal Castle of Laeken near Brussels. Stéphanie - dreaming of a fairy tale? Family Her parents were King Leopold II of Belgium and Queen Marie Henriette of Austria. Her aunt, Charlotte was married to Maximilian of Austria, a brother of Emperor Franz Joseph. She later became Empress of Mexico. The parents of Princess Stéphanie of Belgium had an unhappy marriage. Finally Queen Marie Henriette retired from court life to escape him and she lived the rest of her life in Spa. King Leopold had little interest in Stéphanie and his daughter Louise, the education of his daughters was neglected. Leopold also rejected his family for his mistresses and he had many scandalous liaisons. Stéphanie and Rudolph Love In March 1880, Rudolph, Crown Prince of Austria (son of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi)) was invited to the Belgian court. Rudolph arriv

coat of arms of the House of Habsburg - Source picture: Wikipedia   God Save Emperor Francis or in German: Got herhalte Franz den Kaiser were the first words of the Emperor's Hymn 'Kaiserhymne'. The Lyrics were made by Lorenz Leopold Haschka and the melody was written by Joseph Haydn. The premiere of this song took place at the Burgtheater in Vienna on  February 12th. 1797. Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser, Unsern guten Kaiser Franz, Hoch als Herrscher, hoch als Weiser, Steht er in des Ruhmes Glanz; Liebe windet Lorbeerreiser Ihm zum ewig grünen Kranz. Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser, Unsern guten Kaiser Franz! On next Youtube link you'll hear the performance at the funeral of the last Otto von Habsburg.

Carlota of Mexico was born on June 7th. 1840 in Belgium as the only daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium and his second wife Louise of Orléans. She had 3 brothers: Louis Philippe (who died in infancy), Leopold (who became King Leopold II) and Philippe, Count of Flanders. Carlota - Source picture: Wikipedia When Charlotte was then years old, her mother died in Ostend of turberculosis. The princess grew up by a close family friend the Countess of Hulste. On July 27th. 1857 she married in Brussels her second cousin  Archduke Maximilian of Austria (younger brother of Emperor Franz Josef). Princess Charlotte and her husband - Source picture: Wikipedia She disliked her sister-in-law Empress Elisabeth (Sisi).  Princess Charlotte was prized by her mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie  ( see my today in history of May 28th .) Later the couple moved to Italy, where Maximilian was governor of the provinces Lombardy and Venetia. In 1859, Franz Josef