All About Royal Families

One of the oldest families in Europe is without any doubt The House of  Limburg Stirum. It is the eldest and only surviving branch of the House of Berg, which was among the most powerful dynasties in the region of the Lower Rhine duing the Middle Ages.  Some History The Counts of Limburg descended from Count Adolf I van Berg.  Diederik I, Count of Isenberg-Limburg received in 1243 a part of his father's territorium and he called himself: of Limburg. He also possessed the manor of Stirum.  However the titles of the House of Limburg Stirum were confirmed in  1812 by Napoleon Bonaparte.  In 1814 the family was recognised in the nobility of the Kingdom of The Netherlands.  Who is who? Herman Otto II of Limburg Stirum  (1675-1704) fought in the War of the Spanish Succession in the service of the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, against France and Bavaria. He lost the Battle of Höchstadt and the Battle of Schellenberg.  Leopold, Count of Limburg Stirum (1758-1840)  was Lieutenant General o

On 27 March 1746, Carlo Maria Buonaparte also called Charles-Marie Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio Corsica (then a part of the Republic of Genoa) as the youngest of three children.  Family His parents were Giuseppe Buonaparte, who had represented Ajaccio at the Council of Corte in 1749 and Maria Saveria Paravicini.  The Corsican Buonapartes were descended from minor Italian nobility of Tuscan origin, who had come to Corsica from Liguria in the 16th. century.  Carlo studied to be a lawyer at the Pisa University but he left before earning his degree to take charge of family responsibilities.  Love and marriage Carlo married Donna Maria Letizia Ramolino. Both were of Corsican nobility and very young at the time of their marriage. Carlo was 17, Letizia was 13! Their marriage was arranged.  They would have 13 children between 1768 and 1784. Five of them died, eight children survived.  Among them: Napoleon Bonaparte, who became later Emperor of the French.  Gaining Power In June 1764, Carlo wo

Marcus Salvius Otho was born on 28 April 32 AD as the son of Lucius Alvius Otho and Terentia Albia. He was born in Ferento, a former city in Lazio (nowadays located in central Italy). Way to power Otho's grandfather had been a senator and Claudius granted Otho's father patrician status.  An aged freedwoman brought Otho in the company of the emperor Nero. Otho married the emperor's mistress Poppae Sabina. Later Nero forced Otho to divorce Poppae so that he himself could marry her. Otto was exiled to the province of Lusitania. There he became a capable governor.  Otho allied himself with Galba, then governor of neighboring Hispania Tarraconensis. Later Galba was proclaimed emperor by the Senate. Otho accompanied the new  emperor to Rome in October 68.  Galba was kiled by the Praetorians on 15 January 69. Otho was proclaimed Emperor. Reign Vitellius, the commander of the legions on the lower Rhine River, was already advancing upon Italy. Otho prepared for war.  Death Early in

Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte was born on 20 March 1811 at the Tuileries Palace in Paris.  Family His parents were Emperor Napoleon I of France and Empress Marie Louise  born Marie Louise of Austria).  Since his birth Napoléon II had been Prince Imperial of France and King of Rome as well.  Childhood On 9 June 1811 Napoléon II was baptised in the Notre Dame de Paris. Napoléon was put in the care of Louise Charlotte Françoise Le Tellier  de Montesquiou. She was affectionate and intelligent. The governess assembled a considerable collection of books intended to give the infant a strong grounding in religion philosophy, and military matters.  Napoleon I saw his second wife and their son for the last time on 24 January 1814.  The Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1814 gave Napoleon II the right to use the title of Prince of Parma, of Placentia and Guastalla. His mother was styled the Duchess of Parma, of Placentia and of Guastalla.  On 13 April 1814, Marie Louise and her three-year-o