All About Royal Families

The National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour (Ordre royal de la Légion d'honneur), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, it has been retained (and slightly altered) by all later French governments and régimes. The order's motto is Honneur et Patrie ("Honour and Country"), and its seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur next to the Musée d'Orsay, on the left bank of the Seine in Paris. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand officier (Grand Officer), and Grand-croix (Grand Cross) or the Grand Eagle. Foundation This order was founded on 19  May 1802.  The idea During the French Revolution, all of the French orders of chivalry were abolished and replaced with Weapons of Honour. It was the wish of Napol...

On 4 July 1799, Oscar was born in Paris, then a part of the French Republic. Napoleon Bonaparte himself chose the name Oscar after one of the heroes  in the Poems of Ossian by James Macpherson. (Via Johan Bengtsson @ Twitter) Family Oscars parents were King Charles XIV of Sweden and Désirée Clary. His paternal grandparents were Henri Bernadotte and Jeanne de Saint-Jean. Désirée Clary was the daughter of a wealthy silk merchant and her sister July Clary married Joseph Bonaparte. July Clary became queen of Naples and Sicily. It was Joseph Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon, who was the godfather of Oscar of Sweden. (Via Johan Bengtsson @ Twitter)  King Oscar I of Sweden was a member of the House of Bernadotte. Childhood On 21 August 1810, Oscars father Charles XIV was elected at the Riksdag of the Estates as King Charles XIII had no heirs. On that day, Oscar was created Prince of Sweden with the style your Royal Highness. He also received the title Duke of Södermanland. Prince A...

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 ...

 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...

On 22 July 1812 the Battle of Salamanca was fought between an Anglo-Portuguese army under the command of the Duke of Wellington and a French Army under the command of August Marmont. The Battle took place at Arapiles, Salamanca in Spain. It was a part of the Penisular War against Napoleon Bonaparte. It ended in a victory for the allied forces and the French were defeated. The allied forced lost around 5,000 men and the French lost 13.000 people. After this victory the Duke of Wellington was able to liberate Madrid. The French lost their Spanish Kingdom ruled by King Joseph Bonaparte. King Joseph Bonaparte was an older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) became a famous legend. He is regarded as one of the greatest commanders of all time. Source pictures: Wikipedia

Yes! I've finished another very interesting book: The Countess, Napoleon and St. Helena. It is written by a wonderful author: Lally Brown. Readers of the Allaboutroyalfamiliesblog already know that I've a 'small' fascination about Napoleon Bonaparte, an ordinary man who became Emperor of France. On Twitter I've 'met' several years ago a lovely author: Lally Brown. We started to talk about my other passion gardening and about her amazing roses. Via Twitter and Lally I discovered her fascinating books: - The Volcano, Montserrat and me; - High and dry in the BVI; - The Countess, Napoleon and St. Helena. When reading books, I always love two important things: the style of the author and the fact if the book is written chronologically. For me the latter is very important in history works. Lally Brown, took me back to 1815. After the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated and he was forced to exile to St. Helena. So the Co...

14 June 1870 marks the birth of Sophia of Prussia. This lovely event took place at the New Palace in Potsdam near Berlin in Prussia (now a part of Germany). Family Sophia was the daughter of Frederick III (who became later German Emperor) and Victoria, Princess  Royal. Sophia was thus a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of The United Kingdom. Her paternal grandparents were Wilhelm I, German Emperor and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Sophia was a member of the House of Hohenzollern. Sophie was eleven years younger than her brother the future Wilhelm II, German Emperor. 6 days after Sophia's birth, Napoleon III of France declared war to Prussia. Childhood Sophia was known as Sossy during her childhood. Two other brothers Sigismund and Waldemar died during their childhood. This made that Sophia and her sisters had a good bond with their mother Victoria. She was raised with a great love for England and she made frequent visits to her grandm...

Was Klemens (von) Metternich a real spider or just a  splendid diplomatic? Klemens Metternich was born on 15 May 1773 as the eldest son of Franz George Carl Count Metternich-Winneburg zu Bilstein and  Countess Maria Beatrice Aloysia von Kageneck. He was named in honour of Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, the archbishop of Trier and the former employer of his father.  Education His education was handled by his mother , influenced by their  proximity to France. Metternich spoke French better than German. In 1788, Metternich started to study law at the University of Strasbourg. During his studies he met Prince Maximilian of Zweibrücken (who became later King of Bavaria).  At the end of 1790 till the summer of 1792, Metternich studied law at the University of Mainz. This was a more conservative education than at Strassbourg. In March 1792, Francis II succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor, he was  crowned in July. M...

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....

On 2 October 1768, William Carr Beresford was born in Bedgebury at Kent in England. William Carr Beresford own picture taken in Lisbon, Portugal in 2017 Family Beresford was the illegitimate son of the 1st Marquess of Waterford. He was the brother of Admiral Sir John Beresford, 1st Baronet and the half-brother of the 2nd Marquess of Waterford, Archbishop Lord John Beresford and General Lord George Beresford. Military Career & Travels Beresford entered the British Army in 1785 in the 6th Regiment of Foot and the next year he was blinded in one eye due to an incident with a musket. In 1791 he was promoted to captain with the 69th Regiment of Foot. He distinguished himself at Toulon, in Egypt and South Africa. Between 10 and 12 August 1806 Beresford and the British forces were defeated in Buenos Aires but he managed to escape and he arrived back in England in 1807. In November of 1807 Imperial French troops under Junot invaded the Kingdom of Portugal duri...

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...

The Battle of Hohenlinden was fought on December 3rd. 1800 during the French Revolution Wars. Battle of Hohenlinden - Source picture: Wikipedia The French army was led by Jean Victor Marie Moreau. A coalition army of Austrians and Bavarians was led by Archduke John of Austria. Jean Victor Marie Moreau, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813)  was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte rise to power,  but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.  Source picture:Wikipedia This battle took place at Hohenlinden, which is now located around 33 km in the east of Munich (Germany).  In February 1801 the Austrians had to sign the Treaty of Lunéville . They also accepted the French control up to the Rhine and the French puppet republics in Italy and the Netherlands.  There also is a poem called Hohenlinden, which was created by  Thomas Campbell. The first verse is: On Linden, when the sun was low, All bloo...