All About Royal Families

Oh Vienna ... the lovely capital of Austria has tons of Royal History. Walking around the city we passed lots of palaces. One of the most interesting was the Palais Trautson. own picture taken in 2011 Not only the building style of the Palace attracted us, but also the beautiful royal history. The Palace, located at the Museumstrasse 7, once was owned by the Trautson family. Some history The land on which the palace is built originally belonged to Countess Maria Margareta Trautson in 1657 and consisted of a small house and a vineyard.  After the Battle of Vienna, during repairs Johann Leopold Donat von Trautson , the prince of Troutson, commissioned Christian Alexander Oedtl to build the palace in 1712.  Oedtl used designs by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach.  Source picture: Wikipedia In 1760, the palace was bought by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria for 40,000 Guilders, who then gave the palace to the Hungarian Guard.  The Hungarian Guard converted the palac...

On 2 October 1800, Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg was born at Český Krumlov Castle (German: Böhmisch Krumau) in Bohemia. He was the second son of Prince Joseph of Schwarzenberg (1769–1833) and his wife Pauline of Arenberg.  His mother died in a fire during a ball on the occasion of Napoleon I's wedding to Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria. One of his brothers was Archbishop Friedrich zu Schwarzenberg. Revolution Upon the outbreak of the 1848 Revolutions, he rushed to the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia to join Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky defeating the Italian rebel forces of King Charles Albert of Sardinia in Milan. For his role as a close advisor to Radetzky, as well as his status as brother-in-law to Marshal Prince Alfred of Windisch-Grätz, who had suppressed the Czech "Whitsun Riot" in Prague and the Vienna Uprising in October, Schwarzenberg was appointed Austrian minister-president— the sixth within a year—and foreign minister on 21 November 1848. In these off...

21 August 1866 marks the birth of Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria. This took place at Altmünster Austria. Family He was a son of Archduke Karl Salvator, Prince of Tuscany and his wife Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two-Sicilies.  Duty He was a cavalry general in the Imperial and Royal (k.u.k.) Austro-Hungarian Army. Love and Marriage He married first, in Ischl on 31 July 1890, Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria (Ofen, 22 April 1868 – Schloss Wallsee, 6 September 1924), daughter of Franz Joseph I of Austria and wife Elisabeth in Bavaria. He became thus a son in law of the Emperor and Empress of Austria. Their children were: * Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska Marie Karoline Ignatia Salvator (Vienna, 27 January 1892 – Schloss Syrgenstein, 29 January 1930), * Archduke Franz Carl Salvator Marie Joseph Ignaz (Lichtenegg, 17 February 1893 – Wallsee, 10 December 1918), * Archduke Hubert Salvator Rainer Maria Joseph Ignatius (Lichtenegg, 30 April 1894 – Schloss Persenbeug, 24 Marc...

Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte was born on 20 March 1811 at the Tuileries Palace in Paris.  Family His parents were Emperor Napoleon I of France and Empress Marie Louise  born Marie Louise of Austria).  Since his birth Napoléon II had been Prince Imperial of France and King of Rome as well.  Childhood On 9 June 1811 Napoléon II was baptised in the Notre Dame de Paris. Napoléon was put in the care of Louise Charlotte Françoise Le Tellier  de Montesquiou. She was affectionate and intelligent. The governess assembled a considerable collection of books intended to give the infant a strong grounding in religion philosophy, and military matters.  Napoleon I saw his second wife and their son for the last time on 24 January 1814.  The Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1814 gave Napoleon II the right to use the title of Prince of Parma, of Placentia and Guastalla. His mother was styled the Duchess of Parma, of Placentia and of Guastalla.  On 13 April ...

One of the oldest Belgian noble families is without no doubt the  House of Ligne. The family was named from the village of Ligne, located between Ath and Tournai (nowadays the Hainaut province of Belgium).  Some Royal History At the time of the Crusades, the lords of Ligne belonged to the  entourage of the Count of Hainaut.  In the Battle of Bouvines, which took place in 1214, they were described as "great name and men of honour". Thierry de Ligne was mentioned than for the very first time.  In 1544 Jacob of Ligne was granted by Emperor Charles V as Count of Ligne.  On 20 March 1601 Lamoral I of Ligne received from Emperor Rudolf II the title prince of the Holy Roman Empire. This was granted for himself and for all his descendants both male and  female.  King Willem I of the Netherlands granted on 13 March 1816, Eugène of Ligne as prince for him and all his descendants.  In 1923, King Albert I of Belgium granted Ernest of Ligne the right to u...

Nikolaus I was born on 18 December 1714 in Vienna as the son of Prince  Joseph and Mária Octavia Baroness Gilleis of Theras and Sonneberg.  Nikolaus was the younger brother of Paul II Anton, Prince of Esterházy. They were members of the famous Hungarian Esterházy family.  Early life Prince Nikolaus was educated by Jesuits. He became a military officer serving the Austrian Empire. He participated at the Battle of Kolin in 1757 where he led the wavering cavalry troops to victory. He was made Lieutenant Field Marshal. Prince Nikolaus became one of the original members of the Order of  Maria Theresa.  In 1762 he was appointed captain of Maria Theresa's Hungarian bodyguard. Other honours included the Golden Fleece and the Grade of Commander in  the Order of Maria Theresa.  Love and Marriage On 4 March 1737, Prince Nikolaus married Freiin Marie Elisabeth, a daughter of a Reichsgraf (Count of the Holy Roman Empire) Ferdinand von Weissenwolf.  Duty When h...

On 1 October 1685, Archduke Charles of Austria was born at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Family His parents were Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and Princess Eleonore Magdalena of Neuburg.  His paternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Anna of Spain.  His maternal grandparents were Prince William, Elector Palatine and  Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.  Archduke Charles of Austria was thus a member of the royal house of  Habsburg. Youth The tutor of Archduke Charles was Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein.  Duty After the death of King Charles II of Spain in 1700 there was a succession crisis because he had no direct heir.  Archduke Charles declared himself King of Spain, because both were members of the House of Habsburg. This caused the War of the Spanish Succession against the French candidate Philip, Duke of Anjou, who was a grandson of King Louis XIV of France. The Battle lasted almost 14! years.  Love...

Liechtenstein, a German-speaking micro state in the Alps in the southwest of Central Europe really has an interesting royal history. It is a principality headed by the Prince of Liechtenstein. Birth On 28 august 1853, Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein was born at Liechtenstein Castle,  near Vienna in the Austrian Empire.  His parents were Prince Aloys II of Liechtenstein and Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau.  Franz I attended the University of Vienna in Austria and later he went to the  University of Prague. He also was a Knight in the Austrian order of the Golden Fleece. Love and Marriage Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein fell in love to Elisabeth von Gutmann, a woman who had converted to Roman Catholicism from Judaism. The brother of Franz I, Prince Johann disapproved the relationship and he refused to give his consent. But Franz I married Elisabeth von Gutmann secretly after the death of his brother Johann.  Duty On 11 February 1929, Johann...

27 July 1678 marks the birth of Joseph Jacob Johann Anton Eustachius. This took place in Vienna, Austria. Family Joseph was the son of Emperor Leopold I and his third wife, Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg. He was a member of the royal house of Habsburg. Youth Joseph was educated by Prince Dietrich Otto von Salm and he became a good linguist. On 9 December 1687, when he was 9 years old, Joseph was crowned King of Hungary. On 23 January 1690, at the age of 11, Joseph was crowned King of the Romans. Joseph had two great passions: music and hunting. Love and Marriage On 24 February 1699, Joseph married Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick- Lüneburg in Vienna. They would have three children but their only son died of hydrocephalus before his first B-day. Military service In 1702, at the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession, Joseph saw his only military service. He joined the Imperial General, Louis William Margrave of Baden-Baden. Duty ...

In these series the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog is researching about the hobbies of members of the royal family in past and in present as well. This week, the blog wants to talk about gardening. Which royal like(d) to spend some time in the garden? Who are or were the Monty Dons of the Royal Family? Let's check it! First of all: there are many royals who designed (or gave the order to design their palace gardens) and much royals like to garden themselves. It's a long list and far from complete. So if you have remarks or you want to add royals on the list, please let me know! Schönbrunn Schönbrunn Schönbrunn Belvedere Belvedere Austria Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (1768-1835), gave the order to redecorate the palace garden of Schönbrunn in its Neoclassical Style as people can see today. Another beautiful palace with an amazing garden in Vienna is the Belvedere Palace, built in order of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Belgium It was k...