All About Royal Families

When the Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen wrote about Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: "I quite love the young duke, he is the first of all princes that I really find attractive" I wanted to know more about this Duke. Youth Charles Alexander August Johann was born on 24 June 1818 in Weimar. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Karl Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia.  His mother engaged as tutor for Karl the Swiss scholar Frédéric Soret who became a close acquaintance to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Reign On 8 July 1853 his father died, and Charles Alexander became Grand Duke; but he stopped his constitutional accession until Goethe's birthday, on 28 August 1853. Charles Alexander renovated Wartburg Castle, and left his traces in many places in Eisenach.  He was the protector of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt, retained the tradition of Weimar's classical period, and gave

Kasteel Cortewalle is a Flemish moated castle in Beveren in Belgium, which was inhabited for many years by the de Brouchoven de Bergeyck family. History The castle dates from the 15th century and is one of the oldest in the Waasland. It is built in white sandstone, in the style of the Flemish Renaissance . It was expanded by Joos Vijd, who bequeathed it to his cousin Joos Triest.  Joos Vijd & Ghent Altarpiece Vijd was the third son of Clais Vijd and Amelberga van der Elst and was born in the moated castle of Singelberg. His father was a castle guardian and bailiff and moor master of Beveren, but was relieved of these functions in 1390 by Philip the Bold after an investigation into fraud and self-enrichment. The family fortune has its origins in interest on land, peat extraction and dyke tenders in the Waasland.  Around 1392, Joos married Lysbette Borluut, a patrician daughter from Ghent (she is also depicted on one of the panels). The couple lived in a Ghent city house, known as th

The King has conferred the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon his brother, Prince Edward, on his 59th birthday .  What is the history behind the title Duke of Edinburgh?  Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, is a title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produce any revenue for the title holder. 1726 creation The title was first created in the Peerage of Great Britain on 26 July 1726 by King George I, who bestowed it on his grandson Prince Frederick , who also became Prince of Wales the following year.   The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Eltham, in the County of Kent, Viscount of Launceston, in the County of Cornwall, and Baron of Snowdon, in the County of Caernarvon, all of which were also in the Peerage of Great Britain. The marquessate was gazetted as Marquess of the Isle of Wight, apparently erroneously. In l

The Dukes of Seville were , of course named after Seville, the beautiful  Andalusian town in Spain. Seville own picture taken in 2018   History of the Dukes of Seville The Title "Duke of Seville" was granted in 1823 by King Ferdinand VII of Spain .  King Ferdinand VII of Spain by Goya Source picture: Wikipedia King Ferdinand VII of Spain granted his own nephew Infante Enrique of Spain the title Duke of Seville.   Source picture: Wikipedia Who is who?  Infante Enrique of Spain himself was a grandson of King Charles VI of Spain and of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies as well (through his mother). He was born in Seville, so that's why his uncle King Ferdinand VII granted him that  title. His eldest son, Enrique de Borbón y Castellvi became the second Duke of Seville.  Nowadays Nowadays the current Duke of Seville is Francisco de Borbón y Escasany . He is the 5th. Duke of Seville and still a distant relative to the Spanish royal family. He is a businessman, involved in inte