All About Royal Families

Recently, I discovered a very interesting link between Oostende, a city located near the North Sea in Belgium and the Principality of Monaco. Walking in Oostende, I suddenly saw a statue, which immediately caught my attention. It was a statue of Grace Kelly, the former princess of Monaco and mother of the current head of state of Monaco: Prince Albert II. I asked myself the question why Oostende in Belgium had such a statue of Grace Kelly. It really has a wonderful history. Grace Kelly Monaco Oostende Some royal history The statue of Grace Kelly is located on the Monacoplein (Monacosquare) in Oostende, near the Casino and the Leopold II Avenue and the Langestraat. This square was created between 1960 and 1965, after Oostende and Monaco became twinning 'cities' in 1958. The statue of Grace Kelly was made by Josyanne Vanhoutte. It was unveiled on 18 June 2008 by Prince Albert II of Monaco. This took place on the 50th anniversary of the twinning Oost

On 20 december 2018, Queen Elizabeth II took the train from London to Norfolk. There the Queen will traditionally stay at Sandringham House during the winter months. It really is her favourite Christmas destination. At Sandringham members of the royal family will join Her majesty with the festivities such as Christmas and New Years's Evy. Sandringham House not only has a great role in present times but it also had a wonderful royal history. Sandringham House taken by my mother in 2017 Some royal history Sandringham is first mentioned in the Domesday Book as "sant-Dersingham". It was the land awarded to a Norman knight, Robert Fitz-Corbun after the conquest of England. In the Elizabethan era a manor was built on the site of the present house. In the 18th. century it came into the possession of the Hoste Henly family, which were descendants of Dutch refugees. In 1834, Henry Hoste Henley died without issue and the estate was bought by John Motteu

St. Peter's Square and the Crowd One of the most special monarchies of the world is the Vatican City State. It is an independent city state enclaved within Rome, Italy. Each Christmas Day, at 12 o'clock,  the head of state: nowadays Pope Francis will give his papal address and a blessing to the City of Rome and to the World. This is in his Urbi et Orbi. I had the chance to visit this lovely place in December 2017. It really has some nice recognizable monuments.  It also has a wonderful history. A view at Vatican City from the Castle Amazing buildings in Vatican City Some 'royal' history 'Vatican' was already mentioned during the time of the Roman Republic. It was then a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber in the city of Rome. Under the Roman Empire, many villas were constructed there after Agrippina the Elder gave the order to drain the area. Nero completed some building works there, known as the Circus of Nero. In 326

One of the most noble dynasties in Belgium is the prestigious Ullens de Schooten Family. Besides a lovely coat of arms, the family Ullens de Schooten really has a nice history linked to an illustrious royal. History It was King Charles II of Spain who granted three sons of the family Ullens a noble title. Only one of the three sons had descendants. This was Antoine Ullens, the son of Jean-Baptiste, married to Marie van Delft, who continued the noble line. In 1816 their title was recognized in the Belgian nobility. Many descendants of the family Ullens de Schooten became famous. - Cornelius Floris Ullens was mayor of Schoten from 1830 till 1847; - Charles Ullens de Schooten was member of the Chamber of Representatives in   Belgium (1892 - 1908) Royal link 👑 Countess Madeleine Bernadotte   the wife of Charles-Albert d' Ullens de Schooten was the daughter of Prince Carl Bernadotte. He was the son of Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland. Prince Car