All About Royal Families

King Constantine II of Greece died in Athens on 10 January 2023. He was the last King of Greece untill the abolution of the monarchy on 1 June 1973.  The funeral of the former King of Greece takes place on Monday 16 January 2023 at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens Eisenhower, Constantine, Alexis Liatis, Ambassador of Greece  Youth Constantine was the only son of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece. As his family was forced into exile during World War II, he spent the first years of his childhood in Egypt and South Africa.  Civil War He returned to Greece with his family in 1946 during the Greek Civil War. King George II died in 1947, and Constantine's father became the new king, making Constantine the crown prince. A King He acceded as king in 1964 following the death of his father, King Paul. Later that year he married Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark. Although the accession of the young monarch was initially regarded auspiciously, his reign saw political instability that cu

Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont was born on  25 October 1743 in Zweibrücken (now a part of Germany). Friedrich Karl August with his parents, brothers and sisters. Family Friedrich was the second son of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Countess Palatine Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.  He was thus a member of the House of Waldeck and Pyrmont. A Grand Tour He stayed on for one and a half years in Lausanne and made his Grand Tour through Italy and France. Military Friedrich entered into foreign military services. In 1757 he was Imperial lieutenant colonel. In 1766 he became Major General and in 1772 lieutenant-general of the Dutch army. Working for the Netherlands already were three battalions from Waldeck, which had set up his father. Which Friedrich Karl August in 1767 added a fourth battalion. Duty At the death of his father in 1763. In 1775 he went on a journey to England. In Waldeck, he undertook several modernization efforts. He pro

24 August 1772 marks the birth of William (Willem Frederik), Prince of  Orange-Nassau. Family King William I's parents were the last stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange of the Dutch Republic, and his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia.   Until 1806, William was formally known as William VI, Prince of Orange-Nassau, and between 1806 and 1813 also as Prince of Orange.  Love and marriage In Berlin on 1 October 1791, William married his maternal first cousin (Frederica Louisa) Wilhelmina of Prussia , born in Potsdam. She was the daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia. This royal couple would have 6 children together: * Willem Frederik George Lodewijk (b. The Hague, 6 December 1792 – d. Tilburg, 17 March 1849) later King William II of the Netherlands from 1840. He married Russian Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna. * Stillborn son (Hampton Court, Palace, Middlesex, 18 August 1795). * Willem Frederik Karel (b. Berlin, 28 February 1797 – d. Wassenaar, 8 September 1881), he married on 21 M

  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 into the possess

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

King William I of The Netherlands and his statue in Ghent, Belgium  People from Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, have not only the language in common with citizens from The Netherlands but they also share some royal history together. Common royal history From 1815  Belgium and thus Flanders, was a part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. But not everybody was happy with this union it led to the independence of Belgium in 1830.  However in Ghent, the capital of Eastern Flanders, the people were happy with the reign of King William I of The United Kingdom of The Netherlands.  The Monarch founded the University of Ghent and he gave the order to create  the canal of Ghent-Terneuzen.  A statue In 2015 (200 years after the formation of the United Kingdom of The Netherlands), Ghent honoured King William I with a statue. This statue was erected on a beautiful location at the Reep and was revealed on 20 October 2018. The statue costed 25.000 euro and was paid by crowdfunding, gifts

In the past the royals wrote lots of beautiful and interesting letters. It must be an absolute certainty that writing really is and was a royal hobby or even more a duty. The writing desk of Empress Elisabeth of Austria 'Sisi' in Corfu Many royal heads of state had a diary, which they kept up to date very well.  United Kingdom The most famous royal who kept diaries was Queen Victoria. She wrote 122 volumes which were expurgated by her youngest daughter: Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom. Queen Victoria started to write in her daily journal in 1832, when she was 13 years old.  Source picture: Wikipedia Nowadays, in the United Kingdom Princess Michael of Kent is a well known author. She wrote several books inter alia: Eight royal Brides; The Queen of for Kingdoms; Agnès Sorel, mistress of Beauty and Quicksilver; and she wrote some articles for the Orient Express Magazine.  Russia In Russia lots of members of the royal family held diaries, which were important witnesses of

It was a big surprise, on 17 May 2020, when Queen Máxima of The Netherlands shared the recipe of  her favorite cookies: Alfajores with dulce de leche. The Kitchen at the Penna Palace in Sintra - own picture However Queen Máxima wasn't the only Dutch royal who went to the kitchen during the Covid-19 - crisis. On Instagram, Princess Viktória de Bourbon de Parma shared a picture of her self-made Irish Soda Bread. Princess Aimé of Orange, the wife of Prince Floris reacted immediately and asked the recipe. In Belgium Queen Mathilde and her children made cakes and Brussels Waffles for people who lived in nearby elderly homes. It is no secret that Crown Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant likes to try out some new things in the kitchen. In the period around Christmas, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has made a television program with Mary Berry. Even Prince George, was pictured with his father, his great father, the Prince of Wales and the Queen, making a rea

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