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History - On This Day - 18 June 1901 - Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia

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On 18 June 1901 (O.S. June 5) a new Grand Duchess was born at the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. She received the name: Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia.  Source picture: Wikipedia Family Her parents were Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna.  Grand Duchess Anastasia was the sister of: Grand Duchess Olga, Grand Duchess Tatiana, Grand Duchess Maria and Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia. The Tsar and his family - Taken at the exhibition in the Hermitage in Amsterdam in 2017 Early life When Anastasia was born, the Tsar and his family were disappointed that she wasn't a boy, who would be heir apparent to the throne.  At the Russian Royal Court, the Tsar's children were raised as simple as possible. They slept on hard beds, they took cold baths in the  morning and they were expected to tidy their rooms and to do  needlework (which was sold to charity events).  Anastasia g

Royal Destinations in the past - Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal

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The main residence of the Kings of Portugal in Lisbon for around 250 years was the Ribeira Palace. Source picture: Wikipedia Some history Before 1147 (The Siege of Lisbon), the Portuguese monarchs always had used the Castle of São Jorge as their residence in Lisbon. In 1225, Lisbon became Portugal's definitive capital. King Manuel I of Portugal set off on a building spree, renovating the Lisbon landscape and starting with the construction of a brand new Royal Palace. This new palace wasn't located on a high, easily protected fortress hill, it was built on the river shore of the Tagus river. That's why the new palace received the name: Ribeira Palace. A special Thank You for João Rita, who read one of my previous posts  about Portugal very well and who gave this explanation too.  Soon, Lisbon became one of the most important cities and ports in all Europe. The city had a lot of spice trade and from Lisbon many explorers left Europe for the wide w