All About Royal Families

Is tennis a Royal Hobby or not? Tennis is mentioned in literature as far back as the Middle Ages. In the Second Shepherds' Play (c 1500) shepherds gave three gifts, including a tennis ball, to the newborn Christ. Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's round table, plays  tennis against a group of 17 giants in the Turke and Gowin (c 1500).  The Medieval form of tennis is termed as real tennis, a game that evolved over three centuries from an earlier ball game played around the 12th. century in  France which involved hitting a ball with a bare and later with a glove. By the 16th. century, the glove had become a racket, the game had moved to an enclosed playing area, and the rules had been stabilized. Real tennis  spread in popularity throughout royalty in Europe, reaching its peak in the 16th. century.  Austria In 1899 Archduke Franz Ferdinand left his watch chain after a tennis party in  Pressburg. In his watch chain there was a portrait of his later wife Sophie.  Forgetting his

 On 24 October 51, Domitian was born in Rome. He was the youngest son of Titus Flavius Vespasianus - known as Vespasian - and Flavia Domitilla Major.  He had one older sister, Domitilla the Younger and a brother also named Flavius Vespasianus.  Childhood Domitian was not educated at court. He displayed considerable marksmanship with the bow and arrow.  He was tall, with a modest expression. His eyes were large, but his sight was somewhat dim. He was handsome and graceful too.  He received the education of young man of the privileged senatorial class, he studied rhetoric and literature. Domitian could quote important poets and writers such as Homer or Virgil on appropriate occasions. He was described as learned and educated. Among his first published works were poetry as well as writings on law and administration.  The Year of the four emperors On 9 June 68 , Nero committed suicide and with him the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end. Chaos occurred and it led to a year of brutal civi

On 16 October 1430, James II of Scotland was born at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Family His parents were King James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort! He was a  member of the House of Stewart. Childhood By his first B-Day, his elder twin brother, Alexander died, so James became heir of the throne of Scotland. He was called the Duke of Rothesay. Love and Marriage On 3 July 1449, then 18 years-old, James married Mary of Guelders who only was 15 years old! She was the daughter of the Duke of Guelders. She bore him seven children.  Duty On 21 February 1437, his father King James I was assassinated. James' mother the Queen managed to get her 6- year-old son.  On 25 March 1437, James II was crowned in Holyrood Abbey as King of  Scotland. Until 1439, James II lived together with his mother and his sisters - one of his sisters, Margaret, would marry King Louis XI of France, at  Dunbar Castle. In 1449, James II reached adulthood but he had to struggle to control his Kingdom due to

James Hamilton was born on 19 June 1606 at Hamilton Palace in Lanarkshire in Scotland. Family His parents were James, 1st. Marquis of Hamilton and Lady Ann Cunningham. Lady Ann Cunningham was the daughter of James, Earl of Glencairn. In 1609 James' insane great uncle, also called James (What's in a name?!) Earl of Arran died, so the little James was styled Earl of Arran. Heir to the throne The Young James's close ancestor was Princess Mary, daughter of King James II of Scotland and Mary of Guelders. After the death, in 1612, of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, the young James became third in line to the Scottish throne, after Charles, Duke of Rothesay and his sister Elizabeth (who later became Queen of Bohemia). Later the Young James was sent to Exeter College in Oxford. Art From a very young age, James was interested in art. He collected Venetian painting through an agent: Viscount Basil Feilding. Nowadays this collection can be seen at the Ku

On December 12th. 1574, Anne of Denmark was born at Skanderborg Castle in Denmark. Anne of Denmark Source picture: Wikipedia Anne was born on 12 December 1574 at the castle of Skanderborg on the Jutland Peninsula in the Kingdom of Denmark to Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and King Frederick II of Denmark.  In need of a male heir the King had been hoping for a son, and Sophie gave birth to a son, Christian IV of Denmark, three years later. With her older sister, Elizabeth, Anne was sent to be raised at Güstrow by her maternal grandparents, the Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburg. Christian was also sent to be brought up at Güstrow but two years later, in 1579, his father the King wrote to his parents-in-law, to request the return of his sons, Christian and Ulrich, (probably, at the urging of the Rigsråd, the Danish Privy Council), and Anne and Elizabeth returned with him. Anne enjoyed a close, happy family upbringing in Denmark, thanks largely to Queen Sophie, who nursed the child