All About Royal Families

16 October 1351 marks the birth of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. This took place in Pavia in what's nowadays Italy. Family His parents were Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca II of Savoy. He was a member of the noble house of Visconti. Duty Gian Galeazzo Visconti ruled from 1378 till 1399 as Lord of Pavia. However in 1385 he overthrew his uncle Bernabò and gained control in Milan. His uncle was taken captive and died soon. Soon after seizing Milan Gian Galeazzo took Verona, Vincenza and Padua. He controlled almost the complete valley of the Po River. Already at this time, Gian Galeazzo had dreams to unite the north of Italy into one Kingdom. Love and Marriage Gian Galeazzo married 2 times: 1/ Isabella of Valois, who offered him the title of comte de Vertus in the Campagne. She was a daughter of King John II of France and Bonne of Bohemia. She was thus a sister of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Gian Galeazzo and Isabella would have 4 children. She...

Recently I read the splendid book 'The Lost King of France'. This terrible excellent work was written by Deborah Cadbury and published for the first time in 2002. The Lost King of France Deborah Cadbury Screenshot Never ever before a book about royals touched me as much as this one. It is about the sad story of the young son of King Louis XVI of France and his wife Queen Marie Antoinette. Louis XVII of France Born: 27 March 1785 Died: 8 June 1795 Source picture: Wikipedia After his parents were murdered in 1793, the new King Louis XVII was captured by the mob during the Reign of Terror. However he never took his position as monarch of France. This caused many speculation. What had happened to this young royal kid? Why nobody could help him? De verdwenen koning van Frankrijk Nederlandse vertaling Foto van het boek Deborah Cadbury did the reconstruction of this extremely sad story and her research very well.

On 27 August 1545 Alexander Farnese was born at Rome in the Papal States. Family Alexander was the son of Duke Ottavio Farnese of Parma (a grandchild of Pope Paul III) and Margaret of Parma, the natural daughter of Emperor Charles V. Alexander was a member of the noble house of Farnese. Youth Alexander's mother was the half-sister of King Philip II of Spain. So, he could led a significant military and diplomatic career in the service of Spain. He fought in the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and then in The Netherlands against the rebels. He accompanied his mother to Brussels, when she was appointed Governor of the Netherlands. Love and Marriage In 1565 his marriage with Maria of Portugal ( a granddaughter of King Manuel I of Portugal) was celebrated in Brussels. Duty In 1586, Alexander Farnese became Duke of Parma, through the death of his father. He named his son Ranuccio as Regent. In 1587, Farnese took Sluis for the Spanish King. De...

Around 1304 a very noble boy was born. He received the name Louis (in Dutch: Lodewijk). Family Louis was the son of Louis I, Count of Nevers and Joan, Countess of  Rethel. He was a grandson of Robert III of Flanders and Yolande II, Countess of Nevers. He was thus a member of the noble family of Dampierre Life Louis I succeeded his father as Count of Nevers and his grandfather as Count of Flanders in 1322. He also inherited the County of Rethel from his mother.  In 1320 Louis married Margaret, she was the second daughter of  King Philip V of France and Joan II, Countess of Burgundy. In 1361 Margaret would inherit her mother's counties of Burgundy and Artois.  Louis I was pro-French. He also ordered excessive taxations and that  caused an uprising in 1323. A peasant insurrection escalated into a full rebellion that dominated the public affairs in Flanders until 1328! The rebels were led by Nicolaas...