All About Royal Families

On 10 March 1863, a Royal Wedding took place at the St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Then Prince Albert Edward (who later became King Edward VII) married to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. What preceded Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, were already concerned with finding a bride for their son and heir, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales. They enlisted the aid of their daughter, Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, in seeking a suitable candidate. Alexandra was not their first choice because the Danes were at loggerheads with the Prussians over the Schleswig-Holstein Question, and most of the British royal family's relations were German. Eventually, after rejecting other possibilities, they settled on her as "the only one to be chosen" On 24 September 1861, Crown Princess Victoria introduced her brother Albert Edward to Alexandra at Speyer. Almost a year later on 9 September 1862 (after his affair with Nellie Clifden and the death of his father) Alb

There are not many books about the grand ducal family of Luxembourg. However  recently I found and bought a very beautiful book: un Amour Souverain. It is a mix written in English and in French. Source picture: book cover Context While studying in Geneva, Henri met the Cuban-born María Teresa Mestre y Batista, who was also a political science student.  They married in Luxembourg in a civil ceremony on 4 February 1981 and a religious ceremony on 14 February 1981 with the previous consent of the grand duke, dated 7 November 1980; and they remain married. The couple has five children: Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prince Félix of Luxembourg, Prince Louis of Luxembourg, Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, and Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg. For the first time, on the occasion of their emerald wedding, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess agreed to confide in Stéphane Bern in complete privacy, to tell their love story, to unveil their personal album with unpublished photographs.

On 21 January 2022, Jacques Boël died. Jacques Boël, descendant of the Boël family, born on 31 March 1929, was the son of Max Boël (1901-1975),vice-chairman of the Hoge Bosraad, and the grandson of Pol-Clovis Boël (1868-1941), president of the Usines Gustave Boël, industrialist, senator and representative. After completing his civil engineering studies, he headed the steel factory Usines Gustave Boël, among other things. Later he was a director at Union Financière Boël, among others. own picture Jacques Boël married Sybille Baroness de Selys Longchamps in 1962, but divorced her in 1978. Despite his discreet career, he was known to the general public as the legal father of Delphine Boël, until the latter could prove that she was the daughter of King Albert II of Belgium. Book cover Sybille de Selys Longchamps, Prince Albert (later King) and Delphine (later Princess) The basis of the Boël's family fortune was steel however they were investing in other companies, such as the distribu

Recently I read various articles that a nephew of Prince Albert of Monaco claimed to be the real heir of the throne of Monaco. I wanted to know more about the "new" claimant and about the succession of the little, beautiful principality as well. More about the article on this link . History In 1612, Honoré II (1597-1662) was the first Lord of Monaco, who was granted the title Prince. He was the son of Hercule, Lord of Monaco (1562-1604) and Maria Landi. At the age of 6, Honoré's father was murdered. His uncle, Frederico Landi, the 4th. Prince of Val di Taro, became regent. However the Spanish influence over Monaco stayed until 1633. The first branch for the throne of Monaco were descendants of Princess Charlotte of Monaco . Princess Charlotte of Monaco was the daughter of Marie Juliette Louvet, a cabaret singer and Prince Louis II of Monaco. But as Louis II had no  legitimate children, the principality would have a succession crisis. The heir could be the nephew of Princ

When Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium (then Duke of Brabant) married to  Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, the nobel family of Mathilde became immediately famous.  History The history of the d'Udekem family went back to the Late Middle Ages. The earliest records were dated in 1472 with the ancestor of the family: Gooris van Udekem (who bought then a residence).  Around 1716, the family d'Udekem was granted a noble title, but in 1795, after the French revolution, the nobility lost their status.  When King William I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands reigned  over The Netherlands and Belgium as well, he granted the d'Udekem family their rightful titles.  Jacques François Joseph d'Udekem (1758-1829) was lord of Acoz, Villers, Potteries and Lasprelle, he lived in Louvain in "House den Arent", was granted in 1816 as a Knight of the Province of Hainaut with the title baron. The d'Udekem family held the title of baron but in 2000, after the wedding of Mathi

Vespasian was born on 17 November 9 AD at Falacrine, a village at the north-east of Rome.  Colosseum in Rome own picture taken in 2017 Family Vespasian's paternal grandfather, Titus Flavius Petro, became a centurion and he fought at Pharsalus for Pompey in 48 BC. He also became a debt collector.  Titus Flavius Sabinus, Vespasian's father, worked as a customs official in the province of Asiia and he became a moneylender on a small scale. He married Sabinus. They had three children. The elder boy was Titus Flavius Sabinus.  The younger boy was Vespasian. He seemed far less likely to be successful than his elder brother. He married Flavia Domitilla, the daughter of Flavius Liberalis from Ferentium and formerly the mistress of a roman equestrian. They had two sons. Titus Flavius Vespasianus and Titus Flavius Domitianus and a daughter Domitilla. Both his daughter and his wife died before he became emperor.  His mistress Antonia Caenis became his wife in all but formal status.  She w

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

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.  Galba was appointed as

Only a few noble families are intertwined with the history of  a country.  The de Liedekerke family has it all: a long and interesting history and close ties to the rules of their country.  Let's take a closer look!  History It was in 1301 that the history of the family de Liedekerke started.  Then Knight Raas of Herzele signed an official document in Beveren. His son was Raas of Herzele of (de) Liedekerke. His descendants called themselves de Liedekerke.  But there were many interesting people in the family de Liedekerke. connections with the Duke of Burgundy Raas of Liedekerke, lord of Nieuwerkerken (+/- 1421 - 1494/1495) was married to a certain Johanna. Due to his marriage he became Lord of Heestert and Zulte. In 1476 he went on a military campaign with Charles the Bold. Duke of Burgundy. In 1477, Mary of Burgundy, appointed him as bailiff of Aalst and Geraardsbergen.  Charles the Bold Mary of Burgundy Connections with the House of Habsburg Steven of Liedekerke (+/- 1457 - 1530

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

While reading in a book about the history of the Belgian Royal family the name d'Oultremont was mentioned often. the coat of arms of Henriette d'Oultremont History The name d'Oultremont was originally from a town Warnant in the principality of Liège in Belgium. A certain Hustin de Warnant  d'Oultremont alderman of Huy and Wanze died on 17 May 1398. This is one of the first traces of the name: d'Oultremont. Due to the right marriages the family d'Oultremont could gain more power in Huy and in the region of Liège. In 1731, Emperor Charles VI, granted the hereditary title: Count to Jean-François d'Oultremont. In 1816, three great-grandsons of François d'Oultremont were included in the hereditary nobility of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands Famous personalities Elisabeth d'Oultremont (1867-1952) was the lady-in-waiting of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (1876-1965). But there were lots of more traces of connection o