All About Royal Families

The life and travels of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) always have fascinated me, you can find lots of her travels on this link .  In Austria she felt restless and she always was very keen to be on her way to the most beautiful destinations. Following her footsteps  resulted in a never ending wishlist but from time to time it is a  surprise to visit places where Empress Elisabeth of Austria was before. I must admit: those places are true treasures. One of them is Elche , (also called Elx) in the province of Alicante in Spain. Elche Palm Trees picture taken in October 2022 Empress Elisabeth of Austria Source picture: Wikipedia   In 1894, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) arrived at the port of Alicante . Then she traveled further to Elche, where she was shown an amazing garden.  Port of Alicante in Spain, October 2022 The Empress was very impressed when she looked at the palm tree. She suggested to give them her name. (Imperial Pal...

Prince William was born at St Mary's Hospital, London on 21 June 1982 as the first child of Charles, Prince of Wales (heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth II) and Diana, Princess of Wales. His name His names, William Arthur Philip Louis, were announced by Buckingham Palace on 28 June. Baptize He was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 4 August, the 82nd birthday of his paternal great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.  William had six godparents: * former King Constantine II of Greece (his paternal second cousin once removed); * Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Mrs Ogilvy (his paternal first cousin twice removed); * the Duchess of Westminster; * Lady Susan Hussey (a confidant of The Queen) ; * Lord Romsey (his paternal second cousin once removed); and Sir Laurens van der Post. A first trip He was the first child born to a Prince and Princess of Wales since Prince John in 1905.   William accompanied hi...

Hadrian was born on 24 January 76, probably in Italy (near modern Seville) in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica. He was named Publius Aelius Hadrianus after his father. His father was a senator of praetorian rank.  Hadrian's mother was Domitia Paulina, daughter of a distinguished Hispano-Roman senatorial family from Gades (Cádiz).   Childhood Hadrian's father was thus a senator and would have spent much of his time in  Rome. Trajan was Hadrian's father's first cousin.  In 86, Hadrian's parents died. He was then only ten years old. He and his sister became wards of Trajan. Hadrian enjoyed hunting. When he was 14, Trajan ordered him to Rome and arranged his further education to become a young Roman aristocrat. Hadrian had an enthusiasm for Greek literature and  culture, which gave him the nickname: Graeculus ("Greekling"). Emperor Hadrian @ Louvre in France Source picture: Wikipedia  Love and Marriage Hadrian married Trajan's seventeen or eighteen-y...

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...