All About Royal Families

September brings with it a rich tapestry of royal engagements, birthdays, and historic milestones across Europe and beyond.The royal calendar is filled with traditions, celebrations and meaningful events. This month also offers moments of remembrance and reflection, with anniversaries marking the lives and legacies of monarchs who shaped history. Royal diary On September 2nd.: Queen Mathilde of Belgium will visit the "De Vijvers residential care centre as part of the ‘Te Gek!?’ campaign." On September 4th. and 5th. : Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will be in Switzerland (Bad Ragaz, St. Gallen) on Thursday and Friday. On September 4th. : The Prince and Princess of Wales will visit the Natural History Museum in London.  Own picture of the Natural History Museum in London taken in 2016 September 4th - Passing of the Duchess of Kent. The funeral will take place at Westminster Cathedral on September 16. at 2pm.  On September 6th.: Queen Sonja of Norway will unv...

One of the places, I always love to visit when I’m in London is the King’s Gallery. In spring and summer, it becomes the stage for some of the most splendid royal exhibitions. This year’s display, The Edwardians: Age of Elegance, was no exception, a true showcase of royal history at its very best. The exhibition tells the story not only of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, but of an entire dynasty finding its place in a rapidly changing world. Beginning with their marriage in 1863 and continuing through to the solemn aftermath of the First World War, the exhibition traces a remarkable journey of duty, devotion, and transformation. What impressed me most was the sheer breadth of the collection. With more than 300 objects on display, nearly half of them never before seen by the public, the show sparkled with treasures: magnificent gowns, portraits, jewels, and intimate photographs. Together they created a vivid and very human portrait of the Edwardian era. Like many visitors, I was da...

Princess Charlotte of Belgium  The Solitary Lady of Bouchout Castle Princess Marie Charlotte Amélie Augustine Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine of Belgium (1840 – 1927) was the only daughter of King Leopold I and Queen Louise of Orléans. She grew up charming everyone around her with her intelligence and elegance. In 1857, she married Archduke Maximilian of Austria, younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph. This made Charlotte the sister-in-law of both Franz Joseph and his world-famous wife, Empress Elisabeth  “Sisi.” Princess Charlotte of Belgium as a child - Exhibition Louise Marie of Orléans in Namur In 1864, the couple sailed to Mexico, where they were crowned Emperor and Empress. For a brief time, life sparkled with ceremony and grandeur. But it all ended tragically: in 1867 Maximilian was executed, and Charlotte, heartbroken, suffered a deep mental collapse. She lived for a while in Italy and at Tervueren, but after a fire destroyed her residence there, she moved in 1879 to B...

Just north of Brussels, Plantentuin Meise unfolds across 92 hectares of breathtaking landscape, surrounding the elegant Bouchout Castle. The castle once served as the secluded residence of Princess Charlotte of Belgium , later Empress of Mexico, sister-in-law of Sisi and sister to King Leopold II . But Plantentuin Meise is not only a place of royal memory. It is also a living archive of botanical science. One of the garden’s remarkable achievements was the relocation of the Balat Greenhouse in the 1930s. Originally designed by royal architect Alphonse Balat , mentor to the great Victor Horta, the structure once stood near the Royal Palace in Brussels. Its careful reconstruction in Meise stands as a tribute to Belgium’s botanical heritage and architectural legacy. The Greenhouse Alphonse Balat Today, the garden is home to over 18,000 plant species, an extensive herbarium with more than 4 million specimens, and the spectacular Plant Palace, where 13 interconnected glasshouses allow visit...

On the morning of April 26, 1478, Easter Sunday, Florence Cathedral—Santa Maria del Fiore—was filled with the devout, the curious, and the powerful. Among them were two of the most prominent figures in Florence: Lorenzo de’ Medici, known as Il Magnifico, and his younger brother, Giuliano de’ Medici. The brothers were the de facto rulers of Florence, widely admired but also deeply resented by rival factions.  A plot That day, unbeknownst to the congregation, a meticulously plotted conspiracy was about to unfold—a plan that would shake the Republic of Florence to its core. The plot had been hatched by the Pazzi family, wealthy Florentine bankers with ambitions to unseat the de' Medici. They were backed by  Francesco Salviati, the Archbishop of Pisa, and, more ominously, by Pope Sixtus IV, who opposed the de'  Medici's influence in central Italy. The Pope’s nephew, Girolamo Riario, was also involved, giving the plot the air of both political and ecclesiastical intrigue. Duri...

Nestled along the banks of the Arno River in Florence, the Uffizi Gallery is one of the most renowned art museums in the world. While it is famous for housing masterpieces by Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci, the Uffizi also has a rich royal history that reflects the grandeur of the de' Medici family and their influence on the Renaissance era. Origins of the Uffizi: A de' Medici Masterpiece The Uffizi Gallery was originally conceived not as an art museum but as an administrative and judiciary building. Commissioned in 1560 by Cosimo I de’ Medici, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, the structure was designed by Giorgio Vasari, the renowned architect and artist. The name "Uffizi," meaning "offices," reflects its original purpose as a space for Florentine magistrates and bureaucrats. Cosimo I de’ Medici, a powerful ruler and patron of the arts, played a pivotal role in transforming Florence into a Renaissance hub. His vision extended beyond governa...