All About Royal Families

 The Hôtel national des Invalides (The National residence of the Invalids) really is a wonderful royal destination located in the 7th. arrondissement of Paris in France.  It contains museums and monuments all relating to the military history of  France as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans.  Les Invalides also has a Dôme, which is a large church - the tallest of Paris -  with the tombs of France's war heroes, the most well-known of them is of course Napoleon Bonaparte.  Les Invalides also has an amazing royal history, which I will explain in the next chapter. Some royal history On 24 November 1670, King Louis XIV of France gave the order to build a hospital and a home for aged and unwell soldiers.  The architect of Les Invalides was Libéral Bruant and the selected location  was in the suburban plain of Grenelle. Later they fell that the veterans  needed a chapel. Jules Hardouin-Mansart assisted the then aged B...

Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily was born on 6 June 1772 at the Royal Palace in Naples. She was the eldest of 18 children. Family Her parents were Ferdinand IV & III of Naples and Sicily and Maria Carolina of Austria. She was the favourite child from her mother. Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily was inter alia the sister of Maria Amelia Theresa who would marry Louis Philippe, the King of the French. Her paternal grandparents were King Charles III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Her maternal grandparents were Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa who became Holy Roman Empress. Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily was thus a member of the royal house of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Maria Theresa was named after her maternal grandmother Maria Theresa of Austria. Love and Marriage On 15 September 1790, she married her double first cousin Francis. In 1792 he would become Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and Emperor Francis I of Austria. The ...

Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie, who was born on 23 June 1763, married on 13 December 1779 to Alexandre de Beauharnais. Alexandre died on 23 July 1794 at the guillotine. On 15 October 1795, Joséphine met Napoleon Bonaparte. He was 6 years  younger than her. In January 1796 Napoleon asked her hand and the two were married on 9 March at the Town Hall of the (then) 11th. arrondissement in Paris.  She was known as Rose but Napoleon preferred to call her Joséphine, a name she adopted since then. The marriage wasn't well received by Napoleon's family because she was an older widow with two children. Two days after his wedding, Napoleon left Paris to lead his French army in Italy. During their separation they sent each other lots of love letters.  Joséphine rarely wrote back.  Joséphine left in Paris started an affair with Hippolyte Charles. Rumors of the affair reached Napoleon and his love for her changed forever....

Arthur Wellesley was born on May 1st. 1769 in Dublin, Ireland. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington statue in London Family He was the son of the first Earl of Mornington and his wife, Anne, daughter of the first Viscount Dungannon. In 1781, Arthur's father died and his eldest brother Richard inherited his father's earldom. From 1781 to 1784, Arthur Wellesley enrolled at Eton. He hated it and he would have said after the Battle of Waterloo: "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton. " In 1785 the young Arthur Wellesley was forced to move to Brussels with his mother. His mother, Anne, was concerned about her son she stated: " I don't know what I shall do with my awkward son Arthur. " A young Arthur Wellesley - Source picture: Wikipedia Early Military Career On March 7th. 1787, Arthur Wellesley, was gazetted ensign in the 73rd. Regiment of the Foot. In October he became aide-de-camp to the new Lord Lieu...

On July 30th. 1872 a girl was born in the Palace in Laeken (near Brussels in Belgium). She was called Princess Clémentine. Her parents, King Leopold II, and Queen Consort Marie Henriette of Austria had hoped that this child was a boy, so they really were disappointed and initially they didn't care about her. Princess Clémentine of Belgium -  Source picture: Wikipedia The young princess had strong family ties. She was a second cousin of  Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and a sister-in-law of Rudolf,  Crown Prince of Austria, as well. As princess in Laeken she had a tragic childhood because her mother was very difficult.  When Queen Marie Henriette died in 1902, Princess Clémentine became First Lady of the country. She accompanied her father very often to  events in Belgium and in Europe. Then Princess Clémentine fell in love with Victor,  Prince Napoléon. She askedher father his permission to marry but the King...