When someone mentions the Mauritshuis in The Hague in a royal context, it is most of the time because of royal visitors, or because of its collection of art. But a long time ago the building used to be a royal residence. Recently I passed the building, that is celebrating its 200th anniversary of a […]
While waiting to be able to post the pictures of two (yes two!) royal weddings in the past weeks, here is another Groninger borg. I went cycling yesterday and passed this beauty, Borg Verhildersum in Leens, that I have visited in the past. My last visit was however quite a few years ago. Unfortunately yesterday […]
I spent the weekend in Antwerpen (Antwerp), Belgium, and even managed to pay a visit to some places despite of my health and the heat. High on my list was a visit to the new Diamond Museum DIVA. More about the museum itself later, but I spotted this beautiful, not too big tiara in a […]
Penshurst Place
2017 has been an interesting royal year and at the end of a year it is always interesting to make a list of what you actually did. I have mainly followed royals behind my computer, but also paid visits to castles, palaces, museums, exhibitions and attended some other royal events. My palace and castle visits: […]
When visiting the city of Braunschweig (Brunswick) last July, we didn’t quite know what to expect. The city has a real royal palace, but surprisingly it is only ten years old. Where discussion went on in Berlin for many years before they finally started rebuilding the city palace, in Brunswick they realised these plans already […]
Princessehof
On 9 October 2017 the Princessehof (court of the Princess) in Leeuwarden – also known as the National Museum of Ceramics – closed its doors for renovation. Actually the renovation already started before the Autumn, but parts of the museum were open as long as possible. The reopening will be on 2 December 2017. Just […]
Although I have visited London several times over the years, I had never been to the Royal Mews. I can only say: if you have time, just go there. I visited on a very quiet Monday afternoon in May 2017 and really loved my visit. Not a lot of visitors around, so I had all […]
Schloss Marienburg © Stefan Knaak
Already from quite a distance Marienburg Castle is clearly visible on the Marienberg Hill, about 20 kilometers south of Hannover. It is probably one of the most impressive buildings in Germany. It looks like an old medieval castle, but surprisingly it isn’t. The story behind it is romantic, but at the same time quite a […]
This month, February 2017, it is 100 years ago the February Revolution broke out that led to the end of the monarchy in Russia. On this occasion from 4 February to 17 September 2017 the Hermitage Amsterdam, The Netherlands, organises the exhibition “1917. Romanovs & Revolution”. An exhibition that in October will open in somewhat […]
Just over 200 years ago the new King Willem I of the Netherlands wished for himself a royal barge, at the time a ‘must have’ if you were a European monarch. The 21-year-old architect Cornelis Jan Glavimans designed the barge and between 1816 and 1818 the royal barge was constructed at the Navy shipyard in […]
