All About Royal Families

Chess sometimes is called a royal game. However which royals play(ed) chess? Discover it in this blogpost!  Archduchess Anna of Austria and her husband Albert V, Duke of Bavaria liked to play chess (portrait made in 1522). In 1873, the Vienna Chess tournament took place at the Prater from May 1st. Through this tournament Austria-Hungary presented itself as a world leader  and the equal of France and England. Emperor Franz Joseph, Baron Albert Salomon von Rothschild and Baron Ignaz von Kolisch contributed large sums to the prize fund.  In Belgium, King Baudouin used to play chess just for fun.  King Ottokar II of Bohemia also known as the Iron and Golden King liked to play chess.  Czech Republic Oldrich Duras was a famous chess player from the Czech Republic. He played against Dr. Jur. Wladimir Count Lazanski (1857-1925).  This man was the  husband of Mechtilidis Wallburg-Zeil-Trachburg. As you can see on the name, she was family of ...

On 22 June 1868, queen Victoria hosted the first ever Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.  Of course, she mentioned this special event in her diary: "The afternoon splendid & not too hot.""Quantities of people on the lawn who I had to recognise as I went along." Despite her anxiety the day was a resounding success. It was recorded in  The Illustrated London News. Two particularly lavish Garden Parties were held to celebrate  Queen Victoria's Golden and Diamond Jubilees in 1887 and 1897. Source pictures: Wikipedia

After the lockdown of 2020 due to Covid-19, I was very happy to go out and about, to finally visit a real royal palace in Antwerp, Belgium. History The Royal Palace at the Meir in Antwerp was built by Johan Alexander van Susteren, a wealthy merchant in the 18th. century. It was designed by architect Jan Pieter van Baurscheidt de Jonge. In 1811, the Palace at the Meir was acquired by Napoleon Bonaparte. The French Emperor embellished the interior, inter alia the salon with green furniture in  Empire Style. Napoleon himself, never lived at the Royal Palace at the Meir in Antwerp, but his rival Tsar Alexander I of Russia stayed there during Napoleon's exile in Elba.  Tsar Alexander I of Russia was the brother of Anna Pavlovna of Russia. She married King Willem (William) II of The Netherlands.  After the defeat of Waterloo in 1815, Belgium became a part of the United Kingdom of The Netherlands with King Willem (William) I as head of State. H...