All About Royal Families

The  House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin which ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region. This was one of the longest-ruling families of Europe.  History The family was established by Pribislav, a Slavic prince who converted to Christianity and accepted the suzerainty of Saxon Duke Henri the Lion. The main branch of the house was elevated in 1347 to ducal rank. In the family there were several branches: - Duchy of Mecklenburg; - Lordship of Rostock; - Principality of Schwerin; - County of Schwerin; - Principality of Ratzenburg; - Lordship of Stargard; - Principality of Wenden. Titles and claims to the thrones Sweden The Dukes of Mecklenburg pursued from the 14th. century a claim to  the Swedish throne. The Duke of Mecklenburg was a descendant and the heir of two women whom legends tied to Scandinavian royal houses: * Christina, who was the wife of Henry Borwin II, Lord of Mecklenburg; * Marianna, who was the wife of duke Barnim I of

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. Meanwhile France had declared

On 26 January 1859, just before midnight,  Princess Victoria of Prussia got contractions at the Crown Prince Palace in Berlin. She was assisted by a team of German doctors with doctor Wegner as head. Sir James Clark, the personal physician of Queen Victoria also was present. Fourteen hours later the royal child was born. He received the names: Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert. Among family he was nicknamed "Willy" At the time of his birth, his great-uncle, Frederick William was King of Prussia and his grandfather Wilhelm was acting as regent. His parents were Prince Frederick William of Prussia and Princess Victoria. She was the daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. A traumatic breech birth resulted in Erb's palsy, his left arm was about 15 centimetres shorter than his right arm. At 3 pm., 101 salute shots told the crowd that a new prince was born. Source pictures: Wikipedia

On 2 January 1861, Frederick William IV of Prussia died and his brother William (in German: Wilhelm) ascended the throne as William I of Prussia. This important event marked a total change in his life as he wasn't expected to reign over Prussia. Family William Frederick Louis of Prussia (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig von Preussen) was born on 22 March 1797 in the Kronprinzenpalais in Berlin. His parents were Prince Frederick William and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. His paternal grandparents were King Frederick William II of Prussia and Frederica of Hesse-Darmstadt. His maternal grandparents were Charles II Grand Duke of Mecklengburg- Strelitz and Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt. William (Wilhelm) was thus a member of the royal house of Hohenzollern. He would have several siblings but one sister Charlotte, became Empress of Russia. Early life In 1797, his father Frederick William III became King of Prussia. William was educated from 1801 t

November 18th. 1774 marks the birth of Friederike Louise Wilhelmine of Prussia. This event took place in Potsdam (Germany). Family Princess Wilhelmine was a daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia and Queen Frederica Louisa. Her education was dominated by the strict regime of her great-uncle Frederick the Great. However there wasn't much known about her youth. Love and Marriage On October 1st. 1791, Princess Wilhelmine married her cousin, William of the Netherlands. He was the son of Stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange. Their wedding took place in Berlin. Their marriage was a part of an arranged wedding pact between the House of Orange and that of Prussia. It became a real love match and their marriage life was very happy. They young couple lived at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. They would have 6 children, only 3 of them would reach their adulthood. Duty In 1815, Princess Wilhelmine became Queen of the Netherlands. During those

Louise of The Netherlands was born on August 5th. 1828 in The Hague. Her parents were Prince Frederick of The Netherlands and Princess Louise of Prussia. Louise of The Netherlands - Source picture: Wikipedia On June 19th. 1850 Louise married Crown Prince Charles of Sweden and Norway. They had two children but the marriage wasn't that happy. He took several mistresses and she was shy and not very social.  Her hobbies were music and history. She also coloured bible pictures.  On July 8th. 1859 Louise became Queen Consort of Sweden and Norway but she didn't interfere with politics. Louise died on March 30th. 1872 in Stockholm (Sweden).

On January 18th. 1701, Frederick I crowned himself as King in Prussia in Königsberg (Germany). His title was King in Prussia instead of King of Prussia. Frederick I of Prussia Source picture: Wikipedia On July 11th. 1657, Frederick I of Prussia was born in Königsberg. His parents were Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg and  Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau. Frederick I married three times. 1/ Elizabeth Henrietta of Hesse-Kassel  2/ Sophia Charlotte of Hanover 3/ Sophia Louise of Mecklenburg - Schwerin Coronation Frederick crowned himself on 18 January 1701 in Königsberg. Although he did so with the Emperor's consent, and also with formal acknowledgement from Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony, who held the title of King of Poland, the Polish-Lithuanian Diet (Sejm) raised objections, and viewed the coronation as illegal.  In fact, according to the terms of the Treaty of Wehlau and Bromberg, the House of Hohenzollern's sovereignty o