All About Royal Families

First of all, I want to wish you all a very happy 2025! I hope the year started well for you. A new year gives new expectations, wishes and the most important: new energy. In November and December it became so busy, that I did not get around to writing and blogging, but I do not want to break my promise I've made last year. So let's resume the trip to Florence and discover more about the de' Medici family. My fifth castle visit of 2024 took place in Florence and it was a fantastic one. There, I visited the Palazzo Pitti, the main residence of the de' Medici family.  The Palazzo Pitti some royal history At the beginning the building of Palazzo Pitti was ordered by banker, Luca Pitti , a  friend and supporter of Cosimo de' Medici. However the building works stopped, when Luca Pitti suffered financial losses after the death of Cosimo de' Medici. Luca Pitti died in 1472, while the Palazzo still was unfinished. Luca Pitti, source picture: Wikipedia In 1549, the Palaz...

In June 2024, we had the chance to travel to Florence in Italy (Firenze).  We expected a lot from this amazing city but it more than lived up to the high expectations. We "knew" Florence a bit because of the royal family de' Medici, but the city offered much more royal destinations and royal history. I will tell about this in the coming weeks and months on this blog. In Firenze we saw interesting portraits and we "met" important figures in royal history. I'm still sorting out the many pictures we took. So, I hope you will enjoy my coming posts and video's!  By the way, let's hope the summer will last a bit longer. 

On 30 May 1926, a special statue in Sint-Niklaas was inaugurated by Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium (later King Leopold III). The inauguration This day was accompanied by all kinds of festivities. Schoolchildren performed gymnastics exercises and sang patriotic songs. This was followed by a large procession from the main market to the site of the monument.  At the unveiling, a cantata was played by 1,000 musicians, written especially for the occasion by priest artist August Nobels and composed by Florimond Sax. Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium Source picture: Wikipedia The statue Along the front, on the pedestal: a soldier who takes a fallen brother-in-arms in his arms, protects the victim and looks with indignation at the enemy; below, on the steps, the hero's rifle and helmet wreathed with flowers and a crown.  At the back, the image of a man in the prime of his years, stretching desperately, taken away by the Germans and tortured for his rebelliousness and doomed to powerles...

Our 3rd. Royal Palace visit took place on January 7th. 2024 in The Hague.  Then we visited the Lange Voorhout Palace and the exhibition "Escher in het Paleis".  Some History The Lange Voorhout Palace in The Hague was designed in 1760 by the architect Pieter de Swart for Anthony Patras (1718-1764), a deputy to the States General of the Netherlands. In 1796 the mansion was bought by Archibald Hope (1747-1821), a manager of the Dutch West India Company.  Archibald was a cousin of Henry Hope and Jan Hope and involved in the family banking business. In 1808 his wife died.  Napoleon and his wife on their travels through the First French Empire used it one night. The inventory was sold in December 1821 and lasted more than two weeks.  The building was bought by Renaud Diederick James de Ginkell, 7th Earl of Athlone (1773–1823), married to a daughter of John Williams Hope. In 1831 the Minister of Foreign Affairs Johan Gijsbert Verstolk van Soelen (1776-1845) moved in. H...

One of the greatest palace surprises ever was the Residenz in Munich. As the proverb says: don't jugde a book by its cover, it also can apply to  seemingly boring palaces. So don't jugde a palace by its facade.  Some Facts The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture, room decorations, and displays from the former royal collections. The complex of buildings contains ten courtyards and displays 130 rooms. own pictures of the Residenz taken in 2014 Some royal history The first buildings at this site were erected in the year 1385 and were financed by the township of Munich as a sanction for a failed uprising against Stephen III (1375–1413) and his younger brothers.  The Silver Tower (Silberturm), as the strongest bastion, was significantly situated next to the inner walls protecting the castle against the city.  With the order of William IV (1508–1550) to expand the Neuveste with the so-called Rundstubenbau and to...