All About Royal Families

As a Belgian I'm very proud to introduce you Princess Eléonore of Belgium, the youngest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians. Princess Eléonore of Belgium full name: Eléonore Fabiola Victoria Anne Marie of Belgium was born 16 April 2008.  Princess Eléonore, picture: Bjorn Hoex Family She is the younger daughter and the youngest of four children of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium. She is currently fourth in line to the throne of Belgium after her older siblings Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, Prince Gabriel, and Prince Emmanuel. She is the twelfth and youngest grandchild of King Albert II and Queen Paola. Place of Birth   The princess was born in 16 April 2008 at 4:50 at the Erasmus Hospital the teaching hospital of Université libre de Bruxelles in Anderlecht. Baptism She was baptised on 14 June 2008 in the chapel of Ciergnon Castle in the Belgian Ardennes, by Cardinal Godfried Danneels, the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels.  Her godparents ar

Princess Ingrid was born on 28 March 1910, at the Royal Palace  in Stockholm as the third child and only daughter of Gustaf Adolf, Crown Prince of Sweden and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught.  Her mother was a daughter of Queen Victoria's third son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn by his wife Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. Princess Ingrid was a member of the House of Bernadotte. Baptism She was baptised Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta in Slottskyrkan (the Royal Chapel) in Stockholm, Sweden on 5 May 1910.  Her godparents were:  - the King and Queen of Sweden (her paternal grandparents); - the Dowager Queen of Sweden (her paternal great-grandmother); - the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn (her maternal grandparents); - the Dowager Grand Duchess of Baden (her paternal great-grandmother); - the Empress of Russia (her mother's paternal first cousin); - Princess Alexander of Teck (her mother's paternal first cousin); - the Pri

Each year, around 17 February, the Belgian Royal Family gathered together to remember the deceased relatives. In 2024 this mass took place on February 20th. in the St. Michael and St. Gudula kathedral in Brussels. This was due to the spring holiday.  As always Geert Janssens and Bjorn Hoex were present to great the royals and to take amazing pictures. Following members of the Belgian Royal Family were present: - King Philippe of the Belgians; - Queen Mathilde of the Belgians; - King Albert and Queen Paola of Belgium; - Prince Laurent and Princess Claire of Belgium; - Princess Delphine of Belgium and her husband James O’Hare. However there were more royals present in the kathedral: - Princess Lea of Belgium; - Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria (born Princess of Luxembourg). After the memorial mass the Belgian Royal Family took their time to meet the public. These pictures were taken by Bjorn Hoex and Geert Janssens. 

Our 3rd. Royal Palace visit took place on January 7th. 2024 in The Hague.  Then we visited the Lange Voorhout Palace and the exhibition "Escher in het Paleis".  Some History The Lange Voorhout Palace in The Hague was designed in 1760 by the architect Pieter de Swart for Anthony Patras (1718-1764), a deputy to the States General of the Netherlands. In 1796 the mansion was bought by Archibald Hope (1747-1821), a manager of the Dutch West India Company.  Archibald was a cousin of Henry Hope and Jan Hope and involved in the family banking business. In 1808 his wife died.  Napoleon and his wife on their travels through the First French Empire used it one night. The inventory was sold in December 1821 and lasted more than two weeks.  The building was bought by Renaud Diederick James de Ginkell, 7th Earl of Athlone (1773–1823), married to a daughter of John Williams Hope. In 1831 the Minister of Foreign Affairs Johan Gijsbert Verstolk van Soelen (1776-1845) moved in. He had an enorm