All About Royal Families

The Dutch East Indian Company (in Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie VOC) was established on March 20th. 1602. own picture replica of a VOC Ship in Amsterdam  The VOC is often considered as the first multinational of the world. The  company even used stocks! It was a powerful company who could make war to establish colonies. They had their own coins and ways to negotiate treaties. Their beautiful headquarters were located in Amsterdam. This ended all with a defunct on December 31st. 1799,  due to corruption. Although it is not a nice post, I'd like to wish you all a very happy  New Year's Eve.

The Orangery Palace (in German: Orangerieschloss), also known as the New Orangery or just the Orangery was built for King Frederick William V of Prussia between 1851 and 1864. For me it was one of the most beautiful palaces in the world I've ever seen. Not the outside surprised me but the inside of the castle. You had to put on slippers above your shoes, however it was one of the best guided tours I've  ever had. inside the Orangery palace - own picture In the middle of the building lies the Rafael Hall which falls over in the Museum Hall. On the red silk covered walls hang over 50 copies of Renaissance Paintings. inside the Orangery Palace - own picture Besides this Museum Hall there are a lot of apartments, which you can see. They all were outfitted in a splendid second Rococo style. inside the Orangery Palace - own picture There also were guest rooms for Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, who was the sister of

On December 26th. 1618, Elisabeth of the Palatinate (also known as Elisabeth of Bohemia) was born in Heidelberg (Germany) as a daughter of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Elizabeth Stuart. Source picture: Wikipedia After the overthrow of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, Elisabeth spent her earliest youth in Berlin,where Elisabeth 's grandmother Juliana, a daughter  of William of Orange, took care about her. Elisabeth was known for her intelligence, some people called her 'The Greek'. She spoke multiple languages fluently, including Latin. She liked the classical languages very much. Besides her interest in languages, Elisabeth received an education in history, geography, mathematics and fine arts such as painting, dancing and poetry. Elisabeth completed her education in Leiden (The Netherlands). Later she moved to The Hague, where her parents kept a quiet court. However Elisabeth's hunger for knowledge wasn't satisfied yet. Sh

December 24th. 1588 marks the birth of Constance of Austria. Her parents were Charles II of Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria. Constance of Austria - Source picture: Wikipedia After the death of her sister, Anna of Austria, Constance married her sisters widow, Sigismund III Vasa (King of Poland), on December 11th. 1605. They would have 7 children. As Queen Constance was very ambitious and she tried to have political influences. She built a strong fraction of followers by arranging marriages between her handmaidens and powerful nobles.  She also represented the Habsburg Family in Poland and all the positions at the Royal Court were influenced by her. She talked Spanish, Latin and Italian. As queen of Poland Constance learned Polish but she never liked to use it.  The very religious Constance went twice a day to a Service. She also was a patron of clerics, painters and architects.  On July 10th. 1631, at the age of 42, she died due to a stroke.