All About Royal Families

One of the oldest families in Europe is without any doubt The House of  Limburg Stirum. It is the eldest and only surviving branch of the House of Berg, which was among the most powerful dynasties in the region of the Lower Rhine duing the Middle Ages.  Some History The Counts of Limburg descended from Count Adolf I van Berg.  Diederik I, Count of Isenberg-Limburg received in 1243 a part of his father's territorium and he called himself: of Limburg. He also possessed the manor of Stirum.  However the titles of the House of Limburg Stirum were confirmed in  1812 by Napoleon Bonaparte.  In 1814 the family was recognised in the nobility of the Kingdom of The Netherlands.  Who is who? Herman Otto II of Limburg Stirum  (1675-1704) fought in the War of the Spanish Succession in the service of the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, against France and Bavaria. He lost the Battle of Höchstadt and the Battle of Schellenberg.  Leopold, Count of Limburg Stirum (1758-1840)  was Lieutenant General o

Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte was born on 20 March 1811 at the Tuileries Palace in Paris.  Family His parents were Emperor Napoleon I of France and Empress Marie Louise  born Marie Louise of Austria).  Since his birth Napoléon II had been Prince Imperial of France and King of Rome as well.  Childhood On 9 June 1811 Napoléon II was baptised in the Notre Dame de Paris. Napoléon was put in the care of Louise Charlotte Françoise Le Tellier  de Montesquiou. She was affectionate and intelligent. The governess assembled a considerable collection of books intended to give the infant a strong grounding in religion philosophy, and military matters.  Napoleon I saw his second wife and their son for the last time on 24 January 1814.  The Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1814 gave Napoleon II the right to use the title of Prince of Parma, of Placentia and Guastalla. His mother was styled the Duchess of Parma, of Placentia and of Guastalla.  On 13 April 1814, Marie Louise and her three-year-o

Equestrian Equestrian is commonly known as horse riding. It includes the disciplines of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses.  own picture Some history The exact date horses were domesticated is unknown, just as the date when  they were first ridden. The best estimate is that horses first were ridden about 3500 BC.  Equestrianism was introduced in the 1900 Summer Olympics as a Olympic sport with jumping events.  By 1912, all three Olympic disciplines still seen today were a part of the games. They are governed by the rules of the International Federation for  Equestrian Sports (FEI). * Dressage; * Show Jumping; * Eventing.  Royals and their love for horse riding Austria On 2 January 1743, Maria Theresa of Austria held a ladies carousel in the Winter Riding School of the Hofburg.  Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi)  (1837 - 1898)  was a keen equestrian. She loved horse riding. She rode every day for hours on end. She became the world's best-known female equestrian at her time.

The noise of motors on the black asphalt ... the tension and of course  the competition. Who will win the race? Who will lose?  Car racing certainly is a nice hobby for everyone who likes cars,  technique and especially speed.  But what's the history of Car racing and which royals love(d) the high speed of cars. Read it in the following paragraphs. own picture taken in 2013 in Monaco History The first prearranged match race of two self-powered road vehicles over a prescribed route took place on 30 August 1867.  On 28 April 1887, the first organized contest took place. This was organized by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne near Paris. It was won by George Bouton. He used a car constructed by Albert, the Comte de Dion.  On 22 July 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized the world's first motoring competition from Paris to Rouen in France. 69 cars stared th

One of the oldest Belgian noble families is without no doubt the  House of Ligne. The family was named from the village of Ligne, located between Ath and Tournai (nowadays the Hainaut province of Belgium).  Some Royal History At the time of the Crusades, the lords of Ligne belonged to the  entourage of the Count of Hainaut.  In the Battle of Bouvines, which took place in 1214, they were described as "great name and men of honour". Thierry de Ligne was mentioned than for the very first time.  In 1544 Jacob of Ligne was granted by Emperor Charles V as Count of Ligne.  On 20 March 1601 Lamoral I of Ligne received from Emperor Rudolf II the title prince of the Holy Roman Empire. This was granted for himself and for all his descendants both male and  female.  King Willem I of the Netherlands granted on 13 March 1816, Eugène of Ligne as prince for him and all his descendants.  In 1923, King Albert I of Belgium granted Ernest of Ligne the right to use his old titles of Prince of Amb

While reading in biographies about royals, sometimes other interesting noble families are mentioned. Such as the Family Lichtervelde. Nowadays Lichtervelde still is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The Counts of Lichtervelde are one of the oldest noble families of the County of Flanders. Some members of them became even mayors. Some history * Already in the 13th. century the County of Flanders knew a baroness of Lichtervelde. * In the 14th., 15th and 16th. century several family members were knights. * It was on 27 May 1745 that Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa granted the title of Count to Gillis-François de Lichtervelde.  Famous people * Roger of Lichtervelde was mayor of Bruges between 1378 and 1379. * Louis of Lichtervelde was councillor of Louis of Male . The most famous one was Louis de Lichtervelde (1889 - 1959). He was a private secretary of the Prime Minister and he hold some important positions. He also was an historian.  Louis de Lichterveld