When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry of Wales got engaged on 27 November 2017 lots of people had high hopes for the couple and wanted her to do well in her new role. They would “modernize” the monarchy, she would be a fresh wind in the rather stiff British royal family. Things have gone down […]
Looking back at 2019 in genealogical facts
Another year has almost come to an end. Also in the reigning and non-reigning royal houses in the world there were births, engagements, weddings, divorces and deaths. We welcomed somewhat sudden a new queen in Thailand, while the crown prince of Dubai finally got married. We had to say goodbye to four former heads of […]
Elisabeth – A Real Christmas Baby
On Christmas Eve 24 December 1837 at 10.43pm the fourth child of Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria was born in München, Germany. The little girl was christened Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, but was known by her family by the nickname of Sisi. In August 1853 Elisabeth became engaged to her full […]
Royal Christmas Babies
Having your birthday at Christmas? I am not certain whether that is fun. I used to have a friend who had her birthday on 26 December. We were never too keen going there, and also for her it can’t have been so great. Lots of people who don’t come to visit you because it is […]
Christmas Markets 2019
What is even more wonderful than a Christmas market … exactly, a Christmas market in or around a castle. Sometimes they’re huge, sometimes they’re rather small. If you’re planning to visit one of the markets, here are the dates for 2019. Some have already taken place, so I didn’t list them, others are still to […]
The monarchs: How royal are they? – Great Britain
Recently we had an interesting discussion on Twitter about the royal ancestry of our royals. How royal is their background? The biggest question is: what is royalty? Most genealogists would settle on (non-)reigning royal families. I thought it would be interesting to post the ancestors of the present monarchs back to their great-great-grandparents, that most […]
Changes within the Swedish Royal House
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on 7 October announced some changes within the Royal House. These changes should establish more clearly which members of his family in the future will perform official duties in name of the monarch. While Prince Carl Philip and his wife Princess Sofia, and Princess Madeleine keep their styles and […]
The royal ancestry of Boris Johnson, the Queen’s 14th Prime Minister
Queen Elizabeth II today receives her new (14th) Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. Yesterday, Tuesday 23 July, he was elected the new Conservative leader. The Queen invites him to form a government today, by saying yes he is officially the new British Prime Minister. While his surname is a rather boring one, his background is quite […]
The private christenings of the British royals
In contrast to some other monarchies the christenings of the British royals are rather private occasions. They often taken place in royal chapels or even in the palaces and are small, intimate ceremonies with few guests. When possible photographers like to take pictures of the arrival and departure of the parents with their child and […]
24 May 1819 – The birth of a future Queen
Birth We are happy in being able to state, that Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent was safely delivered yesterday morning, at Kensington Palace, of a Princess, at a quarter past four o’clock. The following Privy Councillors were present on the occasion: His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, His Grace the Duke of […]