All About Royal Families

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 powerlessness

The people from Antwerp (Belgium) haven't forgotten a visit from the Russian Tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725). He visited the city near the Scheldt for three days in 1717! According to some  sources the Tsar and his court could drink a lot and he wanted to know the length of the cathedral by measuring it with a rope.  Antwerp and its people never saw such a special person before and of course they wanted to honour him or his visit by a statue.  The statue of Peter De Grote was created in 1998 on the initiative of Art Group International who wanted - after the fall of the communism - to strengthen the cultural ties between Antwerp and Russia. The creator of the statue was Georgy Frangulyan.    Who was Peter the Great? Peter I Aleksejevitsj Romanov, nicknamed Peter the Great was Tsar from Russia from 9 June 1672 till his death on 8 February 1725.  He was the first Russian Tsar who travelled outside his country. He modernised  the vast empire and he especially promoted the science. 

On Saturday, October 17th. 2020, "Love" the new statue of the newbe Princess Delphine of Belgium was inaugurated in (my hometown) Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. "Love" is located in the Gerda Park, a green lung between modern buildings of several elderly homes. On Tuesday, October 20th. 2020, I went researching for royal traces in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. I could take some lovely pictures of me and the "Love" Statue of Princess Delphine of Belgium.  I also have some amazing pictures of the inauguration ceremony with princess Delphine of Belgium taken by my fantastic colleague, Marie-Christine Rottier. "Love" statue with the Chairman of Kunst in de Stad VZW Princess Delphine  and Ine Somers of Open Vld (picture: Marie-Christine Rottier) 👉The Statue "Love" was bought by "Kunst in de Stad VZW", check the Dutch website on this link . They also bought the statue of the royal skeletons, more about this on next link .  Princess Delphine of Be

No, this blog post isn't about the anthem of Belgium "La Brabançonne" or perhaps it is.  In 'hellhole' Brussels there is an amazing statue called "La Brabançonne".  It is  located on La Place Surlet de Chokier.  Besides the statue is named after the national anthem of Belgium, it really has a wonderful royal history.  Royal History On 22 November 1918, King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium made their joyous entry in the city of Brussels after World War I. More about this occasion on this link . For that event a series of temporary statues were created in stucco. Only one of them the "Brabançonne" is made in Bronze.  The statue was made by Charles Samuel and inaugurated on 16 November 1930,  one hundred year after the independence of Belgium.  A part of the national anthem of Belgium was sculpted on the pedestal. This was realised by René Gillion who was one of the richest Belgians at that moment.  A visit The statue of La Brabançonne is

King William I of The Netherlands and his statue in Ghent, Belgium  People from Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, have not only the language in common with citizens from The Netherlands but they also share some royal history together. Common royal history From 1815  Belgium and thus Flanders, was a part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. But not everybody was happy with this union it led to the independence of Belgium in 1830.  However in Ghent, the capital of Eastern Flanders, the people were happy with the reign of King William I of The United Kingdom of The Netherlands.  The Monarch founded the University of Ghent and he gave the order to create  the canal of Ghent-Terneuzen.  A statue In 2015 (200 years after the formation of the United Kingdom of The Netherlands), Ghent honoured King William I with a statue. This statue was erected on a beautiful location at the Reep and was revealed on 20 October 2018. The statue costed 25.000 euro and was paid by crowdfunding, gifts

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