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Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia

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Princess Victoria Louise was born on 13 September 1892, the seventh child and only daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm II and Empress Augusta Victoria.  The young princess was christened on 22 October, and was named after her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, and her paternal great great grandmother, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Known officially as Victoria Louise, she was nicknamed "Sissy" by her family. Childhood Historian Justin C. Vovk writes that Victoria Louise was intelligent like her paternal grandmother Empress Frederick, stately and dignified like her mother, but imperious and willful like her father. She enjoyed being the center of attention,and was her father's favourite. The family resided at Homburg Castle, and Victoria Louise and Joachim would often visit their cousins – the children of the Prussian princesses Margaret and Sophia – at nearby Kronberg Castle. In 1905, the princess studied music with concert pianist Sandra Droucker. For a period o

Cecilia Nina Bowes-Lyon

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 Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne & Grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II  Cecilia Nina Cavendish-Bentinck was born in Belgravia, Westminster as the eldest daughter of the Rev. Charles Cavendish-Bentinck (grandson of British Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland) and his wife, Louisa (née Burnaby). Love and marriage On 16 July 1881, she married Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis, at St Peter's Church, Petersham, Surrey, and they had ten children. Claude inherited his father's title of Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in 1904, whereupon Cecilia became Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. Children * The Hon. Violet Hyacinth Bowes-Lyon 17 April 1882 17 October 1893 * Lady Mary Frances Bowes-Lyon 30 August 1883 8 February 1961 * Patrick Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis 22 September 1884 25 May 1949 * Lieutenant The Hon. John Bowes-Lyon 1 April 1886 7 February 1930 * The Hon. Alexander Francis Bowes-Lyon 14 April 1887 19 October 1911 *

The House of Austria-Este

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The House of Habsburg, its dynasty, its ties and its different branches always have interested me. In this blogpost, the creation and the history of the House of Austria-Este is deepened out.  The start It was created in 1771 with the marriage between Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine and Maria Beatrice d'Este, only daughter of the Duke of Modena, Ercole III d'Este. It also is known as the House of Habsburg-Este . Some history Ercole III d'Este , the last Este duke of Modena and Reggio in the direct male line, was deposed in 1796 by the French, and his Italian principality was incorporated into the Cisalpine Republic, later the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.  In 1814, French rule in Italy ended. Modena was to be returned to his daughter Maria Beatrice and her son Francis of Austria-Este after Ercole's death.  Previously, Ercole had been compensated with the duchy of Breisgau in south-western Germany; the Habsburgs ceded this province to him in anticipation of it falling even

Royal Destinations: Hofvijver at The Hague

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Recently, the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog visited The Hague and we had there a lovely city trip very close to The Hofvijver. The Hofvijver - translated court pond - is an amazing beautiful lake in the middle of The Hague in the Netherlands. Hofvijver own picture taken in 2022 The term pond is actually a misnomer, as the Hofvijver has its origin in a natural dune lake fed by the Haagse Beek (Hague Creek, originally Dunecreek) and the, nowadays muted, Bosbeek (Forestcreek) from the Haagse Bos (Hague Forest). The Haagse Beek still feeds the Hofvijver and so the pond is directly connected to the dunes in Kijkduin. In this dune lake there was an island (not the current island in the Hofvijver) on which Willem II built his palace in 1248. Other sources say he built his palace alongside the pond and created a moat around it. The city of The Hague celebrated its 700 years of existence in 1948, suggesting that the city itself bases its origin on the building of the palace by Willem II in 1248.