All About Royal Families

68-69 The year of the Four Emperors Birth & family Serverius Sulpicius Galba (sounds as a name in Harry Potter) was born near Terracina on 24 December 3 BC.  He was not related to any of the emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty but he was a member of a distinguished noble family.  Love and marriage Galba had a sexual preference for men above women. Nevertheless he married a woman named Azmilia Lepida and he had two sons. Aemilia and their sons died during the early years of the reign of Claudius (41-54) and Galba would remain a widower for the rest of his life. Public life Galba became praetor in about 30, then he became governor of Aquitania for  about a year, then consul in 33.  In 39, Emperor Caligula learned of a plot against himself in which Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, the general of the Upper German legions was a key figure. Caligula installed Galba in the post held by Gaetulicus. As commander, Galba gained a reputation as a disciplinarian....

On 10 May 2020, Charles Jean Philippe Joseph Marie Guillaume, Prince of Luxembourg was born on 5.13 am. His parents are Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie (born de Lannoy). Prince Charles is the first son of the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple and is second in Line of succession. His names The newborn Prince is named probably after his great-great grandmother Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg or he could be named after his great-uncle, Charles of Luxembourg . Charles also could named after Charles de Lannoy , 1st. Prince of Sulmona.He was in service for the Emperors Maximilian I and Charles V. His second name Jean, is named after Grand Duke Jean, the grandfather of Guillaume. Philippe is either the name of Stéphanie's father or named after King Philippe of the Belgians. Guillaume himself is the godfather of Prince Emmanuel of Belgium. Joseph could be probably the male name of Josephine, after Guillaume's gran...

On 26 January 1859, just before midnight,  Princess Victoria of Prussia got contractions at the Crown Prince Palace in Berlin. She was assisted by a team of German doctors with doctor Wegner as head. Sir James Clark, the personal physician of Queen Victoria also was present. Fourteen hours later the royal child was born. He received the names: Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert. Among family he was nicknamed "Willy" At the time of his birth, his great-uncle, Frederick William was King of Prussia and his grandfather Wilhelm was acting as regent. His parents were Prince Frederick William of Prussia and Princess Victoria. She was the daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. A traumatic breech birth resulted in Erb's palsy, his left arm was about 15 centimetres shorter than his right arm. At 3 pm., 101 salute shots told the crowd that a new prince was born. Source pictures: Wikipedia

9 January 1848 marks the birth of Princess Frederica of Hanover.  She would marry the love of her life. Birth Princess Frederica of Hanover was born on 9 January 1848 at Hanover in Germany. She was the elder daughter of the Hereditary Prince of  Hanover (who became later King George V of Hanover) and his wife Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg. She was known as "Lilly" within her family.  Love and Marriage In January 1866 Otto von Bismarck, the Prime Minister of Prussia  began negotiations with Hanover, regarding the possible marriage of Frederica to Prince Albrecht of Prussia. These plans came to nothing as tensions grew between Hanover and Prussia, which resulted in the Austro-Prussian War. (14 June to 23 August 1866). Frederica was courted by her first cousin, Prince Leopold Duke of  Albany (a son of Queen Victoria of The United Kingdom). They  stayed lifelong friends and confidantes.  One of h...

17 November 1905 marks the birth of Princess Astrid of Sweden. She received the full name: Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra. Her birth took place at the Arvfurstens Palats in Stockholm in Sweden. Nowadays this is the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Family Princess Astrid was the third child and the youngest daughter of Prince Carl, Duke of Västergöteland and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Her paternal grandparents were: King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau. Her maternal grandparents were: King Frederick VIII of Denmark and Louise of Sweden. She had 2 older sisters: Margaretha who would marry to Prince Axel of Denmark and Märtha who would marry to King Olav V of Norway. She had 1 younger brother: Prince Carl Bernadotte. Princess Astrid was thus a member of the royal house of Bernadotte. Childhood Astrid was raised in the strict education and with not much luxury. She studied sewing, piano, ballet and childcare. She enjoyed outdoor sports as: s...

30 September 1956 marks the birth of Princess Marie-Esméralda. This royal event took place at Stuyvenberg Castle in Laeken near Brussels in Belgium. Family Her parents were King Leopold III of Belgium and Lilian Baels, Princess of Réthy. Esméralda had a brother: Prince Alexandre of Belgium and a sister: Princess Marie Christine of Belgium. She also had famous halfbrothers and a halfsister: - Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg - King Baudouin I of Belgium - King Albert II of Belgium She is thus an aunt of the current King: Philippe of Belgium. Love and Marriage On 5 April 1998, Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium married in London to Sir Salvador Moncada, an Hondurian-British pharmacologist. They have two children together: a daughter and a son. Duty Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium is a journalist and an author under the name Esméralda de Réthy. She also produced some documentaries. Princess Marie-Esméralda is the President of Ki...

20 July 1973 marks the birth of Prince Haakon of Norway. His birth took place at The National Hospital in Oslo. Family His parents were then Crown Prince Harald of Norway (now King) and Crown Princess Sonja (now Queen). His paternal grandparents were King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. Haakon has one sibling: Princess Märtha Louise of Norway who was born in 1971. Prince Haakon also is in the line of succession of the British throne as a great-great-grandson of King Edward VII and a great-great-great grandson of Queen Victoria. Army & education Crown Prince Haakon has served in the Royal Norwegian Army. He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political sience from the University of California in Berkeley. Later Haakon attended lectures at the University of Oslo. In 2003 he completed his education at the London School of Economics. Love and Marriage Crown Prince Haakon married a commoner and a single mother: Mette-Marit Tjess...

Alexandrina Victoria was born on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. A young Princess Victoria - Source picture: Wikipedia Family Her parents were Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn was the fourth son of King George III. Queen Victoria painted by Winterhalter Source picture: Wikipedia Youth Alexandrina Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother. Princess Victoria and her dog Dash -  Source picture: Wikipedia Reign At the age of 18, the young princess inherited the throne. She became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality. Love and Marriage Queen Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840. The royal couple got 9 children. She received the nickname: "Grandmother of Europe". On this blog there are 3 pages dedicated to the d...

Elizabeth was born at 02:40 (GMT) on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V. Her father, the Duke of York (later King George VI), was the second son of the King.  Her mother, the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother), was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.  In 2022, the Royal Family released this picture & tweet on Twitter and on  social media It's always nice to see such beautiful pictures!  Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle.