All About Royal Families

Our 2nd castle visit of  2024 took place on January 6th. On a rather grey Saturday we visited Slot Zeist in The Netherlands. Slot Zeist is a castle built in the 17th. century in Zeist, near Utrecht in  The Netherlands. We travelled from The Hague to Utrecht by train and then we took the bus to the castle. Some history It all started with Willem Adriaan van Nassau, lord of Odijk, Kortgene, Zeist and Driebergen, a natural grandson of Maurice of Orange and thus a natural great grandson of Willem of Orange, also known as the Silent. Willem Adriaan van Nassau  bought the manor of the States of Utrecht in 1677 and had the current castle built. The architect of the house was Jacobus Roman, who also designed Paleis Het Loo.  The interior was mainly designed by the Huguenot Daniel Marot. Its largely preserved wall and ceiling paintings are reminiscent of the French Baroque.  Construction lasted from 1677 to 1686. In 1745, Slot Zeist was purchased by the merchant Cornelis Schellinger. In 1746 h

Today, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark will abdicate after 52 years on the throne. In the afternoon Frederik will become the new King and Mary the new Queen. Foto: Hasse Nielsen In Europe this is the 6th. change of throne within 11 years.  It all started with Pope Benedict XVI. He was Pope from 19 April 2005 untill his resignation on 28 February 2013. He was succeeded by Pope Francis. Beeld: ©RVD - Gemmy Woud-Binnendijk Meanwhile in a broadcast on national media on 28 January 2013, Beatrix announced her intention to abdicate on 30 April (Queen's Day), when she would have been on the throne for exactly 33 years. Beatrix stated that it was time to "place the responsibility for the country in the hands of a new generation". The official program for the abdication and inauguration took place on 30 April 2013. Beatrix signed the instrument of abdication in the Vroedschapkamer (also known as Mozeszaal) in the Royal Palace, Amsterdam at 10:07 a.m. local time. With the completion o

Since Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced her abdication, I had the idea to write a post about the family ties between the royal families of Denmark and Belgium. The current King of Belgium, is King Philippe. Is he related to Queen Margrethe of Denmark and how?  Let's find it out in this blogpost.  Kongehuset © King Philippe of Belgium Denmark Let's start from Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, We continue with her father, King Frederick IX of Denmark . King Frederick IX's father was King Christian X of Denmark, while his grandfather was King Frederick VIII of Denmark . King Frederick VIII  of Denmark married Louise of Sweden. Their daughter was Princess Ingeborg of Denmark . This princess married to Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway, the Duke of Västergötland. Belgium Princess Ingeborg of Denmark and Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway had several children. One of them was Princess Astrid , who married King Leopold III of Belgium. Queen Astrid was the mother of Josephine Char

Many reining monarchs have special Christmas traditions. One of them is the  yearly Christmas Speech. In the United Kingdom the first Christmas Broadcast was delivered by George V  in 1932 and since then has evolved into an important part of the Christmas Day celebrations for many in Britain and around the world. Each Broadcast carefully reflects current issues and concerns, and shares The Monarch's reflections on what Christmas means to them and their listeners. Over the years, the Christmas Broadcast has acted as a chronicle of global, national and personal events which have affected the Monarch and their audience.  King George V's eldest son and the new king, Edward VIII, never delivered a Christmas Broadcast, as his reign lasted less than a year. The task fell to King George VI, King Edward's younger brother, who made his first broadcast in December 1937 in which he thanked the nation and Empire for their support during the first year of his reign. Though the Christmas