All About Royal Families

In December 2024, I received a special royal post card from the United Kingdom. It was a postcard from Lady Pamela Hicks. But who is she actually? How is she related to the Royal Family? Who is Lady Pamela Hicks? Lady Pamela Carmen Louis Hicks, born Mountbatten, was born on 19 April 1929 in Barcelona, Spain. Royal Family Her parents were Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and his wife Edwina Ashley.  Her paternal grandparents were Prince Louis of Battenberg and  Princes Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. The mother of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine was Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. Princess Victoria was thus a sister of Princess Alexandra, the last Empress of Russia.  Lady Pamela Hicks is thus a niece of Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh. Title and more ties At the request of George V her grandparents Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine relinquished their German princely titles in 1917 in exc...

On 2 August 1890, Emperor Wilhem II of Germany visited his 'uncle' King Leopold II of Belgium in Oostende (Ostend). Emperor Wilhelm II painting Source picture: Wikipedia   The Emperor travelled with his boat "the Hohenzollern".  own picture of Ostend The city of Ostend and King Leopold II made lot of hoopla about this important royal visit.  They went from the railway station to the royal chalet.  railway station of Ostend - Own picture the royal chalet of Ostend - Own picture Later that day, a concert at the Kursaal was given in honor of the Emperor, a banquet at the Townhall also took place and the day ended with a défilé and fireworks.  the old Kursaal of Ostend (picture taken at the Royal palace of Ostend) Wellingtonrenbaan of Ostend (horses) - own picture Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany liked the sea very much. In fact as a Crown Prince he had once been naked in the sea near Mariakerke in Ostend.  Family ties Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany was throug...

On Sunday 21 July 2024, a splendid National Day took place in Belgium. In Brussels, the capital of Belgium, most of the events happened.The weather was great and there was an amazing atmosphere to meet the royal family of Belgium. History The National day marks the taking of the oath of King Leopold I of Belgium on his arrival in 1831 in Brussels. Events The National Day in Brussels started early with a Te Deum in the St. Michael and the St. Gudula Kathedral. King Philippe, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians and their children, Crown Princess Elisabeth, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore were present. After the mass they took time to meet and greet the public. As always Bjorn Hoex was present where he made some lovely pictures of the Royals. In the afternoon a défilé took place in front of the Royal Palace in Brussels. This was viewed by, King Philippe of the Belgians, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, Crown Princess Elisabeth, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess ...

Bjorn Hoex, royal photographer and friend is in the United Kingdom and especially in London to attend some wonderful royal events such as Trooping the Colour. What is Trooping the Colour? In the United Kingdom, Trooping the Colour is also known as the "King's Birthday Parade" ("Queen's Birthday Parade" when the monarch is female).  First performed during the reign of King Charles II (1660–1685), in 1748 it was decided that the parade of Trooping the Colour should mark the official birthday of the Sovereign.  In 1760, after the accession of King George III, it became an annual event. Seamus, an Irish wolfhound, is the mascot of the Irish Guards.  Some history Edward VII kept Trooping the Colour in May or June, because of the vagaries of British weather (his actual birthday being in November). It coincides with publication of the Birthday Honours List, and usually takes place at Horse Guards Parade by St James's Park, London. It is followed by a 41-gun sal...

The eldest daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, Margarita was born at the Royal Palace in Athens on 18 April 1905.  Family Through her mother, Margarita was the eldest great-great grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom . Contrary to the custom of the time, her father attended her birth because her grandmother, Queen Olga, believed that "it is only justice that men see the suffering they cause to their wives, and from which they completely escape". She also was a great-great grandchild of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia , trough her father. With their mother, Margarita and her sisters communicated in English, but they also used French, German, and Greek in the presence of their relatives and governesses. The princesses were formally educated in English and Greek. Balkan War Between 1912 and 1913, Greece engaged in the Balkan Wars, which put the country in opposition to the Ottoman Empire and to Bulgaria. Called to join the arm...

9 February 1846 marks the birth of Prince Leopold of Bavaria. This took place in Munich.  Family Prince Leopold of Bavaria was the son of Prince Regent Luitipold of Bavaria  and Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria. In the army Prince Leopold entered the Bavarian Army at the age of 15, and received his patent as a lieutenant dated 28 November 1861. He saw first combat during the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, where he commanded an artillery battery at Kissingen and Rossbrunn. In 1870, King Ludwig II of Bavaria sent Leopold to the battlefields of France, where the Bavarian Army was fighting alongside the Prussian Army in the Franco-Prussian War. He served with the 3rd Bavarian Artillery Regiment and saw action at Sedan and Beauvert. He was promoted to major in December 1870. For his bravery against the enemy he received both the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Classes, the Bavarian Military Merit Order Knight 1st Class, the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph, Bavaria'...

Prince Andrew was born at the Tatoi Palace just north of Athens on 2 February 1882, the fourth son of George I of Greece. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, he was a prince of both Greece and Denmark, as his father was a younger son of Christian IX of Denmark. He was in the line of succession to the Greek and more distantly to the Danish throne. He learned Greek as well as Danish, German, French, English and Russian. In conversations with his parents he refused to speak anything but Greek. He attended cadet school and staff college at Athens, and was given additional private tuition in military subjects by Panagiotis Danglis, who recorded that he was "quick and intelligent". Love and Marriage In 1902, Prince Andrew met Princess Alice of Battenberg during his stay in London on the occasion of the coronation of King Edward VII, who was his uncle-by-marriage and her grand-uncle. Princess Alice was a daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princ...

Our 2nd castle visit of  2024 took place on January 6th. On a rather grey Saturday we visited Slot Zeist in The Netherlands. Slot Zeist is a castle built in the 17th. century in Zeist, near Utrecht in  The Netherlands. We travelled from The Hague to Utrecht by train and then we took the bus to the castle. Some history It all started with Willem Adriaan van Nassau, lord of Odijk, Kortgene, Zeist and Driebergen, a natural grandson of Maurice of Orange and thus a natural great grandson of Willem of Orange, also known as the Silent. Willem Adriaan van Nassau  bought the manor of the States of Utrecht in 1677 and had the current castle built. The architect of the house was Jacobus Roman, who also designed Paleis Het Loo.  The interior was mainly designed by the Huguenot Daniel Marot. Its largely preserved wall and ceiling paintings are reminiscent of the French Baroque.  Construction lasted from 1677 to 1686. In 1745, Slot Zeist was purchased by the merchant Co...