All About Royal Families

The House of Orléans is a noble dynasty with a rich history that dates back several centuries. The House of Orléans takes its name from the city of Orléans, located in north-central France. History The House of Orléans is the name used by various branches of the French royal family, all descended from the legitimate male line of the dynasty's founder, Hugo Capet.  The last branch to bear the ducal title descended from Henry of Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (Henry IV of France), who became king (nominally) in 1589, and is sometimes known as the House of Bourbon-Orléans.  The eldest of these branches consisted of Gaston of Orléans, the younger son of Henry IV, and the four daughters of his two marriages.  The youngest and last House of Orléans descended from Philip of Orléans, the younger brother of Louis XIV (who, as such, was known at court simply as Monsieur).  From 1709 until the French Revolution, the Orléans dukes were next in the order of succession to the French thr...

Kasteel Cortewalle is a Flemish moated castle in Beveren in Belgium, which was inhabited for many years by the de Brouchoven de Bergeyck family. History The castle dates from the 15th century and is one of the oldest in the Waasland. It is built in white sandstone, in the style of the Flemish Renaissance . It was expanded by Joos Vijd, who bequeathed it to his cousin Joos Triest.  Joos Vijd & Ghent Altarpiece Vijd was the third son of Clais Vijd and Amelberga van der Elst and was born in the moated castle of Singelberg. His father was a castle guardian and bailiff and moor master of Beveren, but was relieved of these functions in 1390 by Philip the Bold after an investigation into fraud and self-enrichment. The family fortune has its origins in interest on land, peat extraction and dyke tenders in the Waasland.  Around 1392, Joos married Lysbette Borluut, a patrician daughter from Ghent (she is also depicted on one of the panels). The couple lived in a Ghent city house, kn...

In the previous blog post  about  Windsor Castle , the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog mentioned a drinking feast in England with King Christian IV of Denmark. Who was this King Christian IV of Denmark? Check it in this brand new  post.  12 April 1577 marks the birth of Christian IV of Denmark. He was born at Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark as the third child and eldest son of King Frederick II of Denmark–Norway and Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. At the time, Denmark was still an elective monarchy, so in spite of being the eldest son Christian was not automatically heir to the throne. But Norway was an hereditary monarchy, and electing someone else would result in the end of the union of the crowns. However, in 1580, at the age of 3, his father had him elected Prince-Elect and successor to the throne of Denmark. Family His paternal grandparents were Christian III of Denmark and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. His maternal grandparents were Ulrich II of Mecklenburg-...

 Philip IV was born in the Royal Palace of Valladolid on 8 April 1605. Family Philip IV was born in the Royal Palace of Valladolid, and was the eldest son of Philip III and his wife, Margaret of Austria. His paternal grandparents were King Philip II of Spain and Anna of Austria. His maternal grandparents were Charles II of Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria.  Philip  IV was a member of the royal house of Habsburg. Love and Marriage In 1615, at the age of 10, Philip was married to 13-year-old Elisabeth of France. Although the relationship does not appear to have been close, some have suggested that Olivares, his key minister, later deliberately tried to keep the two apart to maintain his influence, encouraging Philip to take mistresses instead, by which he is known to have had at least 30 progeny. Philip had ten children by Elisabeth, with only one being a son, Balthasar Charles, who died at the age of sixteen in 1646. The death of hi...

6 January 1367 marks the birth of Richard of Bordeaux the younger son of Edward the Black Prince and Joan of Kent. Richard's birth took place at the Archbishop's Place in Bordeaux in the English principality of Aquitaine. According to contemporary sources, three Kings: - The King of Castille, - The King of Navarre, and the King of Portugal were present at his birth. Family His paternal grandparents were King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. His maternal grandparents were Edmund of Woodstock, the 1st. Earl of Kent and Margaret Wake, 3rd Barones of Wake. Richard II was thus a member of the royal house of Plantagenet. Childhood The Commons in parliament genuinely feared that Richard's uncle, John of Gaunt, would upsurp the throne. Due to this, the Prince was quickly invested with the princedom of Wales and his father's other titles. On 21 June 1377, King Edward III of England died after a 50-year- long reign. Richard, t...

On 12 May 1496, Gustav I of Sweden was born in probably Rydboholm Castle in the northeast of Stockholm in Sweden. This was the mayor house of Eric Vasa. Family Gustav I of Sweden was a son of Eric Johansson Vasa and Cecilia Mansdotter Eka. Gustav I of Sweden was thus a grandchild of Johan Kristersson and Brigitta Gustafdotter of the dynasties Vasa and Sture. Both dynasties were of high nobility. Brigitta Gustafdotter was the sister of Sten Sture the Elder, regent of Sweden. Love and Marriage Gustav I of Sweden married three times: 1/ Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg 2/ Margaret Leijonhufvud 3/ Catherine Stenbock. He had lots of children inter alia: - King Eric XIV of Sweden - King John III of Sweden - King Charles IX of Sweden Duty Since the end of the 14th century, Sweden had been a part of the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway. The Danish dominance in this union sometimes led to uprisings in Sweden. During Gustav's childhood, parts of...