All About Royal Families

In 'hellhole' Brussels on the Mont des Arts, near the Central Railway Station, one of the most interesting places of Belgium is located: the Royal Library of Belgium.  Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels - own picture Some Royal history The library was founded in 1837 by the young Belgian state and it  was open for public in 1839. However the real history of the collection went further back in time.  The collection dates back to the Dukes of Burgundy who became the rulers of the Low Countries. There are books and manuscripts which belonged to Philip the Bold, John the Fearless, Philip the Good and Charles the Bold.  Philip the Bold, John the Fearless, Philip the Good and Charles the Bold were the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Source pictures: Wikipedia When Charles the Bold d

On the opposite of the Tuileries Garden, between the Place de la Concorde and the Musée du Louvre on Rue de Rivoli , a magnificent historical palatial hotel is located: Hotel Le Meurice. Already from the street, Hotel Le Meurice looks fabulous and classy, but this blog is about royal history, so my surprise was big, when I researched more about this interesting topic. Hotel Le Meurice in Paris, France own picture taken in 2017 Some History During the 18th century, a French postmaster called Charles-Augustin Meurice knew that English tourists wanted to be on the continent with the comforts they were used at home. In 1815 he opened the Hôtel Meurice in Paris, however it was originally located at Rue Saint-Honoré. In 1835, Le Meurice moved from Rue Saint-Honoré to its current location on the Rue de Rivoli in a new luxurious building. A wealthy clientele followed and from the July Monarchy till the French Third Republic, Le Meurice welcomed the high society of th

If you are interested in the former French Royal Family, you certainly have heard from the Royal House of Valois, which started in 1284 and ended in 1589. Some royal history Before the French Royal Family were members of the Royal House of Valois, another dynasty had lots of power: House of Capet. From 1270 till 1285 France was ruled by King Philip III . He was a member of the House of Capet. King Philippe III of France had left 3 surviving sons (Louis, Philip and Charles) and a daughter (Isabella). Each son became king but they died young without male heirs (except Charles), leaving only two daughters who could not inherit the throne. Finally in 1328 Philip Count of Valois , the son of Charles, Count of Valois became the King of France. He was the closest heir in male line and a grandson of King Philip III. But there were other candidates of the French throne inter alia: Joan of Navarre, daughter of King Louis X. She received the Kingdom of Navarre.

On 11 June 1403, John IV, Duke of Brabant was born in Arras, nowadays in France. John IV, Duke of Brabant Family John IV, Duke of Brabant was the son of Antoine of Burgundy, the ruling Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg. John IV's mother was Jeanne of Saint-Pol. John IV 's paternal parents were Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and Margaret III, Countess of Flanders. John IV 's mother, Jeanne of Saint-Pol, was a step-granddaughter of Edward, the Black prince and her maternal granddaughter was Joan of Kent. John IV, Duke of Brabant was a member of the noble House of Valois. Duty After his father's death at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 John IV became the new Duke of Brabant. His succession wasn't accepted by everyone. The Holy Roman Sigismund contested his succession as he wished to stop the Valois influence or the influence of the Burgundian Duke, John the Fearless, who was the uncle of  John IV, Duke of Brabant. However the S