All About Royal Families

Our 2nd castle visit of  2024 took place on January 6th. On a rather grey Saturday we visited Slot Zeist in The Netherlands. Slot Zeist is a castle built in the 17th. century in Zeist, near Utrecht in  The Netherlands. We travelled from The Hague to Utrecht by train and then we took the bus to the castle. Some history It all started with Willem Adriaan van Nassau, lord of Odijk, Kortgene, Zeist and Driebergen, a natural grandson of Maurice of Orange and thus a natural great grandson of Willem of Orange, also known as the Silent. Willem Adriaan van Nassau  bought the manor of the States of Utrecht in 1677 and had the current castle built. The architect of the house was Jacobus Roman, who also designed Paleis Het Loo.  The interior was mainly designed by the Huguenot Daniel Marot. Its largely preserved wall and ceiling paintings are reminiscent of the French Baroque.  Construction lasted from 1677 to 1686. In 1745, Slot Zeist was purchased by the merchant Co...

Today, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark will abdicate after 52 years on the throne. In the afternoon Frederik will become the new King and Mary the new Queen. Foto: Hasse Nielsen In Europe this is the 6th. change of throne within 11 years.  It all started with Pope Benedict XVI. He was Pope from 19 April 2005 untill his resignation on 28 February 2013. He was succeeded by Pope Francis. Beeld: ©RVD - Gemmy Woud-Binnendijk Meanwhile in a broadcast on national media on 28 January 2013, Beatrix announced her intention to abdicate on 30 April (Queen's Day), when she would have been on the throne for exactly 33 years. Beatrix stated that it was time to "place the responsibility for the country in the hands of a new generation". The official program for the abdication and inauguration took place on 30 April 2013. Beatrix signed the instrument of abdication in the Vroedschapkamer (also known as Mozeszaal) in the Royal Palace, Amsterdam at 10:07 a.m. local time. With the completion o...

In the heart of the city of The Hague, the Noordeinde Palace is located.  Today it still is used by the Dutch Royal family as a an office for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. On big events just as Prinjesdag - Prince's Day - , which takes place every third Tuesday in September, the Palace of Noordeinde is the decor of the depart of the royal family and the famous balcony scene. However what's the history of this beautiful place? Some royal history The Noordeinde palace originated as a medieval farmhouse, which was converted into a spacious residence by the steward of the States of Holland, Willem van de Goudt. From 1566 to 1591, the palace had a different owner. After that it was leased, and in 1595, purchased by the States of Holland for Louise de Coligny, the widow of William of Orange, and her son Prince Frederik Hendrik. In recognition of William's service to the nation, the States presented the building to his family in 1609. Louise de Coligny Source pictur...

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 ...

On 23 November 1890, King Willem (William) III of The Netherlands died  in Apeldoorn. Birth William was born on 19 February 1817 in the Palace of the Nation in Brussels, which was then a part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.  Family His parents were the future King William II of the Netherlands and Anna  Pavlovna of Russia. He had three brothers (one died young) and one sister.  King William II (the father) and his family.  Early life At the age of 10, in 1827, he was made an honorary colonel in the Royal Netherlands Army. In the 1830's he served as lieutenant in the Grenadiers Regiment.  Reign At the beginning, King William III ruled over the Netherlands and Luxembourg as well.  In 1856, the "Luxembourg Coup" took place. William instituted a new constitution for Luxembourg which he ruled personally separate from the crown.  In 1867, France offered to buy Luxembourg, which led to the Luxembourg Crisis. However the Second Treaty of London ...

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...

19 July 1234 marks the death of Floris. He was born on 24 June 1210 as a son of Count William I of Holland and Adelaide of Guelders. His paternal grandparents were Floris III, Count of Holland and Ada of Scotland. His maternal grandparents were Count Otto I of Guelders and Richardis, herself a daughter of Duke Otto I of Bavaria and Agnes van Loon. Love and Marriage Floris IV, Count of Holland married his stepaunt, Mathilda of Brabant, daughter of Duke Henry I of Brabant. They would have 5 children. Duty Floris IV succeeded his father William I of Holland in 1222. He acquired the land of Altena and had lots of disputes with Otto II of Lippe, the bishop of Utrecht. However Floris IV helped Otto against the peasants of Drenthe in 1227. In 1234, Floris fought in the crusade against the Stedinger north of Bremen. Death Floris IV, Count of Holland died on 19 July 1234, on a tournament in Corbie, France. He was buried at Rijnsburg Abbey. Source picture:...

The diplomatic skills of the Lannoy family 1 May 1456 marks the death of Hugo (also called Hue of Huges) van Lannoy. He was an important man at the court of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Hugo was born in 1384 as the son of Gilbert I van Lannoy and Catherine of Molembais (in Dutch: Molenbeek) . His brothers were Guillebert of Lannoy and Baldwin of Lannoy. As a young knight he traveled to Jerusalem and he even joined an armed expedition against the Tartars, who occupied Muscovy. Muscovy was the former name of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. It was the predecessor State of the Tsaredom of Russia. When Hugo returned to Europe, he first served John the Fearless. He also fought at the Battle of Agincourt, where he was taken captive by the English. After his release, he became a diplomat for Philip the Good, who succeeded his father in 1419. For Philip the Good, Hugo of Lannoy helped to arrange the wedding between Jacqueline, Countess of Holland and Humphrey, Duke...