All About Royal Families

In the heart of the city of The Hague, the Noordeinde Palace is located.  Today it still is used by the Dutch Royal family as a an office for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. On big events just as Prinjesdag - Prince's Day - , which takes place every third Tuesday in September, the Palace of Noordeinde is the decor of the depart of the royal family and the famous balcony scene. However what's the history of this beautiful place? Some royal history The Noordeinde palace originated as a medieval farmhouse, which was converted into a spacious residence by the steward of the States of Holland, Willem van de Goudt. From 1566 to 1591, the palace had a different owner. After that it was leased, and in 1595, purchased by the States of Holland for Louise de Coligny, the widow of William of Orange, and her son Prince Frederik Hendrik. In recognition of William's service to the nation, the States presented the building to his family in 1609. Louise de Coligny Source pictur...

Oh Vienna ... the lovely capital of Austria has tons of Royal History. Walking around the city we passed lots of palaces. One of the most interesting was the Palais Trautson. own picture taken in 2011 Not only the building style of the Palace attracted us, but also the beautiful royal history. The Palace, located at the Museumstrasse 7, once was owned by the Trautson family. Some history The land on which the palace is built originally belonged to Countess Maria Margareta Trautson in 1657 and consisted of a small house and a vineyard.  After the Battle of Vienna, during repairs Johann Leopold Donat von Trautson , the prince of Troutson, commissioned Christian Alexander Oedtl to build the palace in 1712.  Oedtl used designs by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach.  Source picture: Wikipedia In 1760, the palace was bought by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria for 40,000 Guilders, who then gave the palace to the Hungarian Guard.  The Hungarian Guard converted the palac...

During the state visit of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to Belgium, a sense of anticipation filled the air as the two royal couples embarked on a journey to strengthen the bonds between their respective nations.  The visit marked an important milestone in the bilateral relations between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium, further solidifying the long-standing friendship between the two neighboring countries. Besides this, both King Willem-Alexander and King Philippe are celebrating this year their tenth anniversary on the throne.  I really looked forward to see lovely pictures from the royals and they didn't let me down.  Picture: Bjorn Hoex State Visit Willem-Alexander/Máxima to Belgium DAY 1 As King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima arrived at the Royal Palace in Brussels, they were warmly welcomed by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium.  Pictures made by Bjorn Hoex Then they paid homage to the fallen ...

Queen Fabiola of Belgium was born  Doña Fabiola Fernanda María-de- las-Victoria Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón on 11 June 1928 at the Palacio de Zurbano in Madrid. She was a daughter of Gonzalo de Mora y Fernández y Riera y del Olmo, Marqués de Casa Riera and Blanca de Aragón y Carrillo de Albornoz y Barroeta-Aldamar y Elío. Her birthplace was thus the lovely Palacio de Zurbano in Madrid. This  year I finally had the chance to see this amazing palace. The History of Palacio de Zurbano The Palacio de Zurbano was built by Severiano Sainz de la Lastra —architect, together with Eduardo Adaro, of the Bank of Spain building— in 1878 for Fermín de Muguiro y Azcárate, I Count of Muguiro (Olite, Navarra, July 7, 1831 -Madrid, 15 July 1892). The heirs of Ángela Beruete, widow of Fermín Muguiro, sold the property in 1919 for 750,000 pesetas to Gonzalo de Mora y Fernández, Count of Mora and Marquis of Casa Riera. Between 1915 and 1920 a second extension was carried out b...

On 9 May 2022, the Queen Elisabeth Music Contest starts at the Flagey in Brussels.  Due to a number of cancellations, a total of 66 of the 68 selected candidates will appear in the first round. In this recital, each cellist will perform a Boccherini sonata with cello accompaniment, the first movement of Ysaÿe's Sonata for solo cello and a modern work with piano accompaniment, chosen by the candidate from Phantasiëstuck by Paul Hindemith, Nocturne by André Jolivet and the first two movements of Pohádka by Leoš Janáček. The Flagey building  The Flagey Building, designed by Joseph Diongre after winning a competition launched in 1933, was opened in 1938.  The competition was launched to create a building to house the first national broadcaster in Belgium, the National Institute for Radio Broadcasting (French: Institut National de Radiodiffusion or INR, Dutch: Nationaal Instituut voor de Radio-omroep or NIR) (1930–1960). Famous architects Henry van de Velde and ...

  From 5 till 8 November 2021, I was in "hellhole" Brussels to visit the Bright  Brussels festival and some museums. Quite by accident I ended up in the chapel of the Palace of Nassau.  Immediately I was fascinated by its history. Was it a part of a real royal palace? Who lived there? The painting of the Palace of Nassau Broodhuis in Brussels - own picture 2021 the chapel at the Palace of Nassau own picture 2021 History The Palace of Nassau, also called Hof van Nassau in Dutch and Hôtel de Nassau in French, was the former city palace of the Counts of Nassau located on the Coudenberg in Brussels.  The construction was started in the 14th. century. Willem van Duivenvoorde settled in Brussels. However Willem Van Duivenvoorde had twelve natural children but no legal ones, so his possessions came into the hands of the family Van Polanen. When Johanna van Polanen - the last descendant of this family - married Engelbrecht I of Nassau-Siegen in 1403, the palace came in...