All About Royal Families

Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural habitat and stay by means of a trained bird or prey.  The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird also is called "hawking".  Falconry is an art. It requires long hours, constant devotion, finesse, subtlety and skill.  The falconer must train a bird of prey to fly free, hunt for a human being and then  accept a return to captivity.  Falconry was just not a hobby. It was a lifestyle. Falconers must devote time to their birds each and every day. It must be no surprise that  falconry has a long and royal history just as horse riding. In many countries owning a falcon was and is a status symbol.  Some history of Falconry Medieval sports were chances for men to practice their mental and physical skills. However falconry also was practiced by women.  Royals and Falconry Bahrain Emir Isa bin Salman al Khalifa of Bahrain and his family owned the Sulman Falcon Centre. The r...

Recently (in 2021), the Duchess of Cambridge revealed the newest hobby of her youngest son, Prince Louis. This is cycling. Is he the only royal who like(s)d to ride on a bike and what's the history of cycling?  History Bicycling was introduced around the 1800's and it became soon very popular. In 1868, the first bicycling race was held near Paris. In Europe cycling went strong until the 1950's. However it is still a favourite sport.  Belgium King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians are often pictured while riding on a bike and their children: Princess Elisabeth, the Duchess of Brabant, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eleonore as well. During their holidays in France they like to be out and around on bike. However they are pictured in  Belgium as well on their bikes: while they were promoting tourism during covid-19 and on Car Free Sundays.  It is no secret that Queen Fabiola of Belgium liked to ride on a bike as well...

Some royals do have a fantastic garden around their estates. These always  give fantastic ideas for your own garden or balcony ....  So let's take a closer look to Highgrove, the home of Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III). It is no secret at all that Highgrove has a wonderful garden too.  Highgrove is the family residence of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. It lies southwest of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England. Near Tetbury, in the County of Gloucestershire in South West England, Gatcombe Park, the country residence of Anne, Princess Royal is located between the villages of Minchinhampton and Avening.  History Highgrove  House was built in 1796 to 1798 by John Paul Paul and believed to have designed by architect Anthony Keck.  In 1864 the house was sold to a barrister, William Yatman. Yatman was described as one of the "chief preservers of foxes."  Yatman left Highgrove following a fire...

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh passed away at Windsor Castle on 9 April 2021. Who was Prince Philip? Source picture: Book Cover   Family Prince Philip was born on 10 June 1921 at Mon Repos on Corfu in Greece.  More about Mon Repos on this link . His parents were Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and  Princess Alice of Battenberg.  His paternal grandparents were King George I of Greece and Olga Constantinovna of Russia. His maternal grandparents were Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine.  Prince Philip was a member of the House of Glücksburg and later a member of the House of Mountbatten. Education Prince Philip first went to The Elms, an American school in Paris run by Donald MacJannet.  In 1928, Philip went to the United Kingdom to attend Cheam School,where he lived with his maternal grandmother, Victoria Mountbatten, Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven at Kensington Palace and h...

The noise of motors on the black asphalt ... the tension and of course  the competition. Who will win the race? Who will lose?  Car racing certainly is a nice hobby for everyone who likes cars, technique and especially speed.  But what's the history of Car racing and which royals love(d) the high speed of cars. Read it in the following paragraphs. own picture taken in 2013 in Monaco The first prearranged match race of two self-powered road vehicles over a prescribed route took place on 30 August 1867.  On 28 April 1887, the first organized contest took place. This was organized by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne near Paris. It was won by George Bouton. He used a car constructed by Albert, the Comte de Dion.  On 22 July 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized the world's first motoring competition from Paris to Rouen in Fra...

Running is described as a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running in humans is associated with improved health and life expectancy.  Running also has an amazing (royal) history.  Royal History The Pharaos of Egypt had to prove their ability to reign by running in the Heb-Sed Feast also called the Sed festival. In the Midlle Ages knights had running as a part of their education. It also was in the education of future kings.  At the coronation of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia there was an important part of physical tests just as running.  Nowadays it is known that many royals like to run.  Belgium * King Philippe of Belgium has already participated in the 20 km of Brussels.  He runs almost every day to clean up his mind. More on this link . * Princess Astrid of Belgium, the sister of King Philippe, has participated in The marathon of New York.  * Crown Prince...

Music is all over the world. People can play it everywhere, from the smallest houses to the biggest royal palaces.  But this blog is about royal families in past and present. So, let's take a closer look to the royals who played amazing music themselves.  Music was in the past an obligated part of the education of princesses and future queens. Although I found some dukes, princes and Kings who played music too. Enjoy this post! piano at the royal palace in Brussels own picture taken in 2015 Nowadays Queen Máxima of The Netherlands and Queen Mathilde of Belgium are trying to promote more music and culture at school. It's their amazing mission. In the past, Belgium has had some musical queens. The most famous without doubt is Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, who played the violin herself. A well-known music competition was called after her. On the picture you see her favourite violin.  In The Netherlands it is known that Catharina Amalia, the curren...

On 13 September 1843, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert visited Belgium. The visit Their Royal Yacht brought the couple to Ostend. During this visit, the Queen of the United Kingdom and her husband were officially received in Bruges, Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp. Ostend nowadays - a lot of differences when Queen Victoria paid a visit there ...  Of course the Queen and her husband visited uncle King Leopold I of Belgium and his wife Queen Louise-Marie. Waterloo In these days the battlefield of Waterloo wasn't officially visited. King  Leopold I of Belgium didn't want that the ties between France and England  deteriorated.  However in all silence, lord Aberdeen, the British minister of Foreign  Affairs, visited the battlefield of Waterloo. His younger brother had died there  in 1815. The Return In Antwerp the royal company embarked to their yacht to return to London. Source pictures: Wikip...

In the past the royals wrote lots of beautiful and interesting letters. It must be an absolute certainty that writing really is and was a royal hobby or even more a duty. The writing desk of Empress Elisabeth of Austria 'Sisi' in Corfu Many royal heads of state had a diary, which they kept up to date very well.  United Kingdom The most famous royal who kept diaries was Queen Victoria. She wrote 122 volumes which were expurgated by her youngest daughter: Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom. Queen Victoria started to write in her daily journal in 1832, when she was 13 years old.  Source picture: Wikipedia Nowadays, in the United Kingdom Princess Michael of Kent is a well known author. She wrote several books inter alia: Eight royal Brides; The Queen of for Kingdoms; Agnès Sorel, mistress of Beauty and Quicksilver; and she wrote some articles for the Orient Express Magazine.  Russia In Russia lots of members of the royal family held diaries, which were important w...

It was a big surprise, on 17 May 2020, when Queen Máxima of The Netherlands shared the recipe of  her favorite cookies: Alfajores with dulce de leche. The Kitchen at the Penna Palace in Sintra - own picture However Queen Máxima wasn't the only Dutch royal who went to the kitchen during the Covid-19 - crisis. On Instagram, Princess Viktória de Bourbon de Parma shared a picture of her self-made Irish Soda Bread. Princess Aimé of Orange, the wife of Prince Floris reacted immediately and asked the recipe. In Belgium Queen Mathilde and her children made cakes and Brussels Waffles for people who lived in nearby elderly homes. It is no secret that Crown Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant likes to try out some new things in the kitchen. In the period around Christmas, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has made a television program with Mary Berry. Even Prince George, was pictured with his father, his great father, the Prince of Wales and the Queen, making a rea...