All About Royal Families

Sonja Haraldsen was born on 4 July 1937 at Red Cross Clinic in Oslo, the daughter of clothing merchant Karl August Haraldsen (1889–1959) and Dagny Ulrichsen (1898–1994). Family She had three siblings, Haakon Haraldsen (1921–2016), Gry Henriksen (1924–1971)  and Karl Herman Haraldsen (1929–1936, who died in a boating accident). Childhood   She grew up at Tuengen Allé 1B in the district of Vinderen in Oslo and completed her lower secondary schooling in 1954. She received a diploma in dressmaking and tailoring at the Oslo Vocational School, and a diploma from École Professionnelle des Jeunes Filles (a finishing school) in Lausanne, Switzerland.  There, she studied accounting, fashion design, and social science. She returned to Norway for further studies and received an undergraduate degree (French, English and Art History) from the University of Oslo. Love and Marriage In June 1959 she first met Crown Prince Harald (the future King Harald V) at a party hosted by Johan H. Stenersen. Later

On 10 May 1774, Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette became king and queen of France. Upon the death of Louis XV on 10 May 1774, the Dauphin ascended the throne as King Louis XVI of France and Navarre with Marie Antoinette as his queen.  When Louis XVI acceded to the throne in 1774, he was nineteen years old. He had an enormous responsibility, as the government was deeply in debt, and resentment of despotic monarchy was on the rise. He himself felt woefully unqualified to resolve the situation. As king, Louis XVI focused primarily on religious freedom and foreign policy. While none doubted his intellectual ability to rule France, it was quite clear that, although raised as the Dauphin since 1765, he lacked firmness and decisiveness.  His desire to be loved by his people is evident in the prefaces of many of his edicts that would often explain the nature and good intention of his actions as benefiting the people, such as reinstating the parlements.  When questioned about his decision, he said

At the year of the Platinum Jubilee of The Queen, the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog wants to talk about the jewelries, the history and the residences of the royal  House of Windsor. This is a blogpost/bookreview about Windsor Castle, nowadays the main royal residence of Queen Elizabeth.   Windsor Castle - An Illustrated History    Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. History Of course, the book Windsor Castle - An Illustrated History contains a lot of history, which goes back to William The Conqueror.  The Medieval Castle It was built in the decade after the Norman conquest of 1066. William established a defensive ring of motte and bailey castles around London; each was a day's march – about 20 miles (32 km) – from the City and from the next castle, allowing for easy reinforcements in a crisis.  Windsor

 Philip IV was born in the Royal Palace of Valladolid on 8 April 1605. Family Philip IV was born in the Royal Palace of Valladolid, and was the eldest son of Philip III and his wife, Margaret of Austria. His paternal grandparents were King Philip II of Spain and Anna of Austria. His maternal grandparents were Charles II of Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria.  Philip  IV was a member of the royal house of Habsburg. Love and Marriage In 1615, at the age of 10, Philip was married to 13-year-old Elisabeth of France. Although the relationship does not appear to have been close, some have suggested that Olivares, his key minister, later deliberately tried to keep the two apart to maintain his influence, encouraging Philip to take mistresses instead, by which he is known to have had at least 30 progeny. Philip had ten children by Elisabeth, with only one being a son, Balthasar Charles, who died at the age of sixteen in 1646. The death of his son deeply shocked the king, who appears to have bee

On 28 March 2007, Annie Leibovitz took four pictures of Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace in London. The pictures marked the Queen's official State Visit to the United States of America.  In 2016, for the occassion of the Queen's 90th. B-Day, Annie Leibovitz made another series of pictures from the Queen, inter alia with her daughter the Princess Royal and her youngest grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  More about Annie Leibovitz Annie Leibovitz was born on 2 October 1949 in Waterbury, Connecticut in the USA. Her parents were Samuel Leibovitz and Marilyn Edith Heit.  Education Annie Leibovitz attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where she studied for painting with the intention to became an art teacher. It was at school that she had her first photography workshop and she changed her major to photography.  Famous clients * Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her State Visit to the USA and in 2016 for her 90th B-Day on this link .  * John Lennon and Yoko Ono in

During the covid pandemic I really missed the tiara moments of the royals, though I found some solace in beautiful books. One of them was published on 1 December 2021 and written/collected by photographer Chris Jackson. The book came just in time for Christmas and New Year. It is a collection of the most beautiful pictures of Queen Elizabeth II during the two most recent decades of her reign. It also mentions the highlights of the royal year in the United Kingdom. The book is devided into 7 chapters: - An extraordinary reign; - Duty and Dignity; - Global Icon; - Never out of fashion; - Family First; - Horses and Highlands; - Passing on the Baton. This is a wonderful book for the royal collection.  I hope there will be plenty of more royal books and souvenirs for the Platium Jubilee.  Who is Chris Jackson? Chris Jackson is Getty Images Royal Photographer . From private shoots with HM The Queen to The Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince H

History is the study of past events  You love it or you hate it: history. This made me think: which royals know/knew their history very well? Austria Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) had a special interest in history, philosophy and literature.  Belgium King Albert I of Belgium liked royal history very much. His wife  Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (a niece of Sisi)  was a keen historian too. For her, the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun was postponed. Her name- sake Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium is now (2021) studying History & Politics in Oxford University (United Kingdom). France Queen Marie-Antoinette of France liked to read history. She saw the  first launch of a Montgofière, a hot air balloon. Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland (1805-1810) decorated his palaces with topics from the national history and he even wrote history books, just as his son Napoleon III. Napoleon III studied sciences, history and economics.  Lucien Bonaparte had a keen interest in historical antiq

Motorcycling certainly is a royal hobby because many kings and princes like(d) to drive incognito around.  Motorcycling is the act of riding on a motorcycle. Motorcycles are mainly a luxury good in developed nations. There they are mostly for recreation or as a symbol of identity.  Belgium King Albert II of Belgium was known as a keen motor cyclist. However he stopped  after a few accidents. His most famous accident was around the time of the wedding of his daughter Princess Astrid.  King Albert I,   the grandfather of King Albert II, had a passion for mechanics and especially for motors too. Denmark Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and her husband Crown Prince Frederik were seen on a scooter ride in 2006. Prince Hendrik of Denmark , the husband of Queen Margrethe of Denmark also liked to ride on a motor bike.  Germany Otto von Hessen died in an accident with his motor bike on 17 May 2020.  Italy Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice, the grandson of Princess Marie-José of Belgi