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Books on Sunday: Elizabeth II - A Queen For Our Time

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During the covid pandemic I really missed the tiara moments of the royals, though I found some solace in beautiful books. One of them was published on 1 December 2021 and written/collected by photographer Chris Jackson. The book came just in time for Christmas and New Year. It is a collection of the most beautiful pictures of Queen Elizabeth II during the two most recent decades of her reign. It also mentions the highlights of the royal year in the United Kingdom. The book is devided into 7 chapters: - An extraordinary reign; - Duty and Dignity; - Global Icon; - Never out of fashion; - Family First; - Horses and Highlands; - Passing on the Baton. This is a wonderful book for the royal collection.  I hope there will be plenty of more royal books and souvenirs for the Platium Jubilee.  Who is Chris Jackson? Chris Jackson is Getty Images Royal Photographer . From private shoots with HM The Queen to The Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince H

Who was Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin?

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Alexandrine was born a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on 24 December 1879 in the city of Schwerin, the capital of the vast Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg- Schwerin in Northern Germany.  Family Her father was Frederick Francis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; who was the eldest son of and heir to the reigning Grand Duke Frederick Francis II. Her mother was Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, who was a granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia. Alexandrine was her parents' first child, and was born eleven months after their wedding in St. Petersburg. She was born in the Neustädtisches Palais in Schwerin, which was her parents' residence in the city at the time. Alexandrine had two younger siblings: her only brother was Duke Frederick Francis, who in 1897 succeeded their father as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and her only sister was Duchess Cecilie, who in 1906 married the German Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, eldest son of German Emperor Willia

Is walking a royal hobby?

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Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, recently stated that walking helped a lot to maintain his mental health. Prince William about walking: "Walking has been a feature of my life during the good times and the bad, come rain or shine. For me, it provides an opportunity to clear my mind and gain some perspective. It's a key part of how I manage my mental health. It can be a very sociable exercise or a moment of complete calm and isolation. In the hope of inspiring a few other people to get active and take some extra time for their own mental health – I wanted to share a few of my stories and favourite songs with you in an episode of Time to Walk." But who are/were other royals who liked to walk? Check it in this new hobby post.  Austria Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) loved to make long walks.  Belgium King Baudouin of Belgium liked walking during his talks with people. He asked author Henri Van Daele: "Shall we walk a bit around?" Queen Paola of Belgium likes

Who is the family Thurn und Taxis?

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While I was waiting on the Christmas cards 2021 - I thought about the postal service in the past. Who took care of the royal correspondence? Immediately I came to  the family Thurn und Taxis. Who is the family Thurn und Taxis? The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis is a family of German nobility that is part of the Briefadel. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th. century until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. It became well  known as the owner of breweries and builder of many castles. History? The Tasso family was a Lombard family in the area of Bergamo. Omodeo Tasso organized 32 of his relatives into the Company of Couriers and linked Milan to Venice and Rome.  In 1443, Ruggiero de Tassis was named to the court of Emperor Frederick the Peaceful . He organized a post system between Bergamo and Vienna by 1450; from Innsbruck to Italy and Styria around 1460; and Vienna with Brussels by 1480.  Ruggiero was knighted and made a gentleman of the Chambe