All About Royal Families

Recently I bought a royal book from the library in Sint-Niklaas. I received a hint from a wonderful colleague and he discovered a real treasure. It is a book about Princess Marie-José of Belgium, who became the last Queen of Italy and her royal wardrobe.  Source picture: Bookcover Who was Princess Marie-José of Belgium? Princess Marie-José of Belgium was the third child and only daughter of King Albert I of Belgium and Queen Elisabeth (born Duchess in Bavaria). Her brothers were the  later King Leopold III of Belgium and Prince Charles (Regent of Belgium). Princess Marie-José was born on 4 August 1906 in Ostend (Oostende). During the First World War she was evacuated to England and later she attended the College  of Santissima Annunziata in Florence, Italy. On 8 January 1930, Princess Marie-José of Belgium married Crown Prince Umberto of Italy. They would have 4 children. She became president of the Red Cross in Italy. During World War II, Princess Marie-José became a diplomatic channe

Equestrian Equestrian is commonly known as horse riding. It includes the disciplines of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses.  own picture Some history The exact date horses were domesticated is unknown, just as the date when  they were first ridden. The best estimate is that horses first were ridden about 3500 BC.  Equestrianism was introduced in the 1900 Summer Olympics as a Olympic sport with jumping events.  By 1912, all three Olympic disciplines still seen today were a part of the games. They are governed by the rules of the International Federation for  Equestrian Sports (FEI). * Dressage; * Show Jumping; * Eventing.  Royals and their love for horse riding Austria On 2 January 1743, Maria Theresa of Austria held a ladies carousel in the Winter Riding School of the Hofburg.  Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi)  (1837 - 1898)  was a keen equestrian. She loved horse riding. She rode every day for hours on end. She became the world's best-known female equestrian at her time.

Music is all over the world. People can play it everywhere, from the smallest houses to the biggest royal palaces.  But this blog is about royal families in past and present. So, let's take a closer look to the royals who played amazing music themselves.  Music was in the past an obligated part of the education of princesses and future queens. Although I found some dukes, princes and Kings who played music too. Enjoy this post! piano at the royal palace in Brussels own picture taken in 2015 Nowadays Queen Máxima of The Netherlands and Queen Mathilde of Belgium are trying to promote more music and culture at school. It's their amazing mission. In the past, Belgium has had some musical queens. The most famous without doubt is Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, who played the violin herself. A well-known music competition was called after her. On the picture you see her favourite violin.  In The Netherlands it is known that Catharina Amalia, the current princess of  Orange loves to sing,

In Leipzig a royal wedding took place on 24 August 1561. Then William (Willem)I, Prince of Orange married to Anna of Saxony.  Who was who? Anna of Saxony was the daughter of Maurice, Elector of Saxony and Agnes of  Hesse.  She was a member of the House of Wettin. William of Orange, also called the Silent, was the son of William, Count of  Nassau and Juliana of Stolberg-Wernigerode. William the Silent was known for his revolt against King Philip II of Spain.  Between Germany and The Netherlands and an  unhappy marriage On 1 September 1561, William I, Prince of Orange and his new wife relocated to  The Netherlands.  Only a few months after the wedding, the royal couple already had problems.  After the death of her first son, Maurice, in 1566, Anna had a huge depression. She tried to forget her grieve with a large alcohol consumption.  In 1567, William was forced to exile The Netherlands due to his opposition of the Habsburgs. He moved to Dillenburg in Germany. This was the German headqua

In these series the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog is researching about the hobbies of members of the royal family in past and in present as well. This week, the blog wants to talk about gardening. Which royal like(d) to spend some time in the garden? Who are or were the Monty Dons of the Royal Family? Let's check it! First of all: there are many royals who designed (or gave the order to design their palace gardens) and much royals like to garden themselves. It's a long list and far from complete. So if you have remarks or you want to add royals on the list, please let me know! Schönbrunn Schönbrunn Schönbrunn Belvedere Belvedere Austria Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (1768-1835), gave the order to redecorate the palace garden of Schönbrunn in its Neoclassical Style as people can see today. Another beautiful palace with an amazing garden in Vienna is the Belvedere Palace, built in order of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Belgium It was k

6 January 1367 marks the birth of Richard of Bordeaux the younger son of Edward the Black Prince and Joan of Kent. Richard's birth took place at the Archbishop's Place in Bordeaux in the English principality of Aquitaine. According to contemporary sources, three Kings: - The King of Castille, - The King of Navarre, and the King of Portugal were present at his birth. Family His paternal grandparents were King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. His maternal grandparents were Edmund of Woodstock, the 1st. Earl of Kent and Margaret Wake, 3rd Barones of Wake. Richard II was thus a member of the royal house of Plantagenet. Childhood The Commons in parliament genuinely feared that Richard's uncle, John of Gaunt, would upsurp the throne. Due to this, the Prince was quickly invested with the princedom of Wales and his father's other titles. On 21 June 1377, King Edward III of England died after a 50-year- long reign. Richard, t