All About Royal Families

Readers of this blog know already that I love big jewelry or bling. My admiration for the Manchester Tiara was therefore endless.  The Tiara is on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. But what is the history of this wonderful bling? Fit for a duchess The Manchester Tiara once belonged to Consuelo Montagu, Duchess of Manchester.  The Duchess was a celebrated society figure, belonging to the intimate circle of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, formerly the Prince of Wales.  Shortly before her death, she entertained King Edward and Nicholas II, the Tsar of Russia, while the Tsar was on a visit to England. However she wasn't born to become such an important woman. Or perhaps she was. Birth Consuelo Yznaga was born in 1853, in New York City, as the second of four children of diplomat Antonio Modesto Yznaga del Valle and wife Ellen Maria Clement of Ravenswood Plantation. Her father was from an old Cuban family that owned a large plantation and sug...

In October 2020, the Princess of Wales, then Duchess of Cambridge, announced the Winner of the Wildlife  Photographer of the Year in a very nice setting: the Natural History Museum in London. Let's take a closer look to this important place "The Natural History Museum in London". The museum houses life and earth specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology. The museum also is a center of research of taxonomy, identification and conservation. It has specimen collected by the famous Charles Darwin. It also is known for its dinosaur skeletons.  "The Natural History Museum" in London does not charge an admission fee and its royal patron is Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. But what about the history of "The Natural History Museum" in London? Some royal history The foundation of the collection of the museum was that of doctor Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753). His significant col...

Spain is known for its churches and its typical Spanish building style, however there are exceptions. In Barcelona Gaudi has created lovely houses but Valencia has it own great architecture in the City of Arts and Sciences.  Although the buildings are modern, I really liked it there, due to the beauty of the place and of course the royal history.  The City of Arts and Sciences is the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia  and one of the 12 Treasures of Spain.  The area is designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela. Santiago Calatrava also is the architect who designed the railwaystation of Liège-Guillemins in Belgium see on this link . Famous buildings The City of Arts and Sciences is made up of several buildings inter alia: L'Hemisfèric (opened in 1998); On 13 November 2000 the Museu de les Ciènces Principe Felipe was opened for public. It inter alia has a section about Climate Change.  On 14 February 2003 the Ocean...

Oostende near the North Sea in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, always has had  a strong link to the Belgian royals. Nowadays there is still a link to King Albert II of Belgium and Queen Paola. However that's not the main reason the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog likes to spend some time there. Oostende really has an interesting art scene.  Many art galleries have found shelter in this amazing city near the  North Sea.  One of the main attractions of the city is with no doubt the Mu.ZEE.  The Mu.Zee is a museum specialized in Belgian art from 1830 till now.  It has an interesting history and a large art collection as well. Mu.Zee Mu.Zee in Oostende Belgium Some history Already in 1885, the history of the fine arts museum of the city of  Oostende started with a large gift of a private art collector.  It was in 1897 that a museum was created to house the large art collection.  At th...

The Museum of Natural History (in German: Naturhistorisches Museum) was opened om August 10th. 1889. This museum has a royal connection and so a great history for me. Emperor Franz Joseph I (husband of Sisi) ordered to build a Ringstrasse in Vienna and he asked for a place were the private collection of different members of the House of Habsburg could be exhibited for public. On the Maria Theresien Platz in Vienna a beautiful building, almost a palace was created. The architect was Karl Hasenauer (who won a competition). The construction works started in 1871. Me before the Museum of Natural History in Vienna The collection was bought in 1750 by Emperor Francis II (in German: Franz). He was the husband of Maria Theresia (who actually ruled the areas of the House of Habsburg).   See my page the House of Habsburg on top of my blog or on this link .  inside the Museum of Natural History in Vienna Each year, over 500.000 tourists visits thi...