British RoyalsEuropean RoyalsFeaturesHistoryThe Netherlands

Royal Relations: how Elizabeth II is linked to King Willem-Alexander

Her Majesty The Queen is related to many of Europe’s sovereigns, not in the least because of Queen Victoria’s matchmaking but also because of another woman, Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau. Princess Carolina was born on28 February 1743 as the daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange and Anne, Princess Royal, the daughter of King George II and Caroline of Ansbach, after whom…
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Features

Inside the room where Marie Antoinette was born

The Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria – Mariabeing an establishedHabsburg prefix given to all the daughters of Empress Maria Theresia to mark the dynasty’s special veneration for The Virgin Mary – was born as the 15thchild of Maria Theresia on 2 November 1755 at around 8.30 in the evening, a ‘small, but completely healthy Archduchess’, as the Court Chamberlain…
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Taking a look at Tudor perfume

The use of perfume can be traced back to the world’s most ancient civilisations, notably Mesopotamia and Egypt. It flourished during the Italian Renaissance and the personal perfumer of the French Queen Catherine de’ Medici Rene the Florentine, brought his perfumes with…
FeaturesMonaco

A look at the Monégasque line of succession

This summer, we are taking a look at the various lines of successions in the world’s monarchies. Today, we are focusing on the sixteen people in line to the Monégasque throne. There was a major change to the Constitution of Monaco in 2002 regarding the line of succession. Until then, only the direct descendants, including adopted children, of the reigning prince could inherit the crown.
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Looking for the grave of Queen Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour was the only one of Henry VIII’s queens to share a grave with him, but the tomb is not what Henry VIII originally intended. The King had planned an impressive monument, to include a recumbent statue of his most “entirely beloved” Queen Jane, a tomb which…
Features

August 4: a day of regal anniversaries

The fourth day of August turned out to be a very good one for the House of Windsor. Two of its most famous women made their debut on that date. They joined a rather interesting list of people with regal connections who celebrated birthdays then. As the royal bunting comes…