Diamond Jubilee Commemorative Coin

Diamond Jubilee Commemorative  Royal Mint £5 coin.

This coin is a real currency which can be spent (if you want to). It is the first diamond jubilee coin ever made since Queen Victoria never had one made for her Diamond Jubilee.
This Commemorative bears Portraits of HM Queen Elizabeth on both sides. It is a true souvenir and memorabilia.

http://www.queenelizabeth2diamondjubilee.co.uk/diamond-jubilee-2012-souvenirs/en/50-queens-jubilee-commemorative-coin.html

The Château de Beuregard, Loire Valey

Our friend Countess Natalie du Pavillon, chatelaine of Beuregard, dedicates herlsef, along with her husband, to the preservation of their ancestral home.

The Château de Beuregard, near Chambord, is a beautiful destination in the Loire. We encourage any of our readers to pay the Chatillons a visit, enjoy a wonderful day supporting this stately home. all while basking in the surrounding beautiful scenery of the Loire.

The Château de Beauregard is a Renaissance castle in the Loire Valley in France It is located on the territory of the commune of Celletes, a little south of the city of Blois and a few miles from other famous Loire châteaux such as Cheverny Although still inhabited, it can be visited by tourists. The castle is renowned for its Gallery of portraits decorated in the 17th century with 327 portraits of famous people.

 

History

Most of the château was built around 1545, when it was bought by Jean du Thiers, Lord of Menars, and Secretary of State to King Henri II. The commissioned interior included frescoes on the fireplace of the royal chamber, which have survived. In the Great Gallery there is a fireplace in Italian style from this period. However its main feature was commissioned by Paul Ardier, Comptroller of Wars and Treasurer, who bought the château in 1617. He added further interior decorations over the next few decades, including a gallery of portraits.

 

The gallery of portraits

The gallery of portraits (Galeries des Illustres in French), the largest in Europe to have survived to our days, is the masterpiece of the castle : built during the first half of the 17th century at the request of Paul Ardier, it is 26 meters long, its pavement is entirely made of 5 500 Deltwate tiles and its walls are decorated with 327 portraits of famous people having lived between 1328 (date of the beginning of the reign of Philippe VI of France) and 1643 (death of Louis XIII. The French kings are depicted accompanied by portraits of their queens, ministers, marshals, diplomats etc. Apart from French personalities, other important historical people of 25 nationalities are represented. Marie Ardier, daughter of Paul Ardier, committed the decoration of the ceiling to the painter Jean Mosnier and its family. The blue color which dominates has been obtained by the use of lapis lazuli, one of the most precious and expensive mineral stones in the 17th century.

Summer Baby in House Hesse

 
Hereditary Prince (Heinrich) Donatus and Hereditary Princess Floria of Hesse are expecting their third child later thus Summer.

The eldest son of Landgraf Moritz of Hesse (b. 1926) and of his former wife Princess Tatiana zu Sayn-Wittengenstein-Berleburg (whose brother Richard is the husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark ), Donatus was born in Kiel, Germany, in 1966. In 2003 he married Countess Floria-Franziska von Faber-Castell (b. 1974).

Four years after their wedding, which had taken place at Kronberg, where the Hesse's magnificent castle, Schloß Friedrichshof, is located, the couple welcomed twins. Princess Paulina and Prince Moritz were born in March 2007, their baptism taking place privately at Schloß Wolfsgarten some time later.

Crown Princess Victoria To Receive the Galliera Inheritance

Crown Princess Victoria To Receive the Galliera Inheritance

A Swedish magazine, Svenska Dagbladet, has reported that Prince Carl Philip of Sweden "has agreed to let the Galliera inheritance, which consists of an exquisite art collection and a financial fund, pass to his sister Crown Princess Victoria, although the Prince would be the legal inheritor according to the terms laid down by Emperor Napoléon I of the French." 

What Galliera possessions remain in the hands of the Swedish royal family, include: "some sixty Italian works," as well as "jewels of the Swedish royal collection." “Madonna with Child," a masterpiece by Piero de Cosimo is widely considered the greatest masterpiece of the Galliera collection. The trust fund that accompanies this inheritance "was worth millions already at the time of the death of King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1973"

The Dukedom of Galliera was an Italian title created in 1812 by Emperor Napoleon I and bestowed on the firstborn child of his stepson Eugene de Beauharnais, in this case Princess Josephine of Leuchtenberg.Modern-day Galliera is a city located in Province of Bologna, in the state of Emilia-Romagna.

Princess Josephine married Crown Prince Oscar of Sweden in 1823 when she was barely sixteen years old. With the future King Oscar I, Josephine had several children, among them: King Carl XV and King Oscar II. Josephine's three other children did not leave any offspring. Carl XV's only children Louise was married to King Frederik VIII of Denmark and brought a fabulous jewel collection as part of her personal property, not to mention the tremendous dowry and inheritance she received from her wealthy parents. Oscar II's descendants include the present Swedish monarch.

Management of the Duchy of Galliera posed a serious problem for Josephine and her husband. It's income was not worth the trouble caused by the demands involved in administering such a faraway possession. Thus soon after her marriage, Josephine began searching for a buyer. It took a decade and a half to find one.

In 1837 Marchese Raffaele de Ferrari (1803-1876) purchased the properties attached to the Dukedom of Galliera. One year later Pope Gregory XVI created de Ferrari "Duke of Galliera." In 1839, King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia confirmed the granted given by the Pope and also added the title of Prince of Lucedio.

Josephine had the works of art she owned at Galliera transferred to Sweden, along with the money made out of the sale. It was placed in trust and was to be inherited by for the oldest son of each generation of her descendants. Thus, It would go to future King Gustav V, then to his oldest son (Gustav VI Adolf), and from him to Gustav Adolf (who died before his father), then to King Carl XVI Gustav and from him to his son Carl Philip. However, the change of the Swedish succession law allowing absolute primogeniture denied Carl Philip the throne, as well as the position Queen Josephine had designed when it came to the Galliera inheritance. Had Carl Philip inherited the Galliera trust, it would have mandated that it break away from the main royal line. His renunciation has now corrected the situation.

The new Duke of Galliera, holder of a magnificent banking fortune which he made through the creation of the Crédit Immobilier de France (a rival to the Rothschild banking empire), married a French noblewoman by the name of Marie Brignole-Sale (1811-1888), by whom he had three children. Two of them died young. Their last remaining child, Philippe (Filippo), was born in 1850 and died in 1917. In the world of philately, he was well-known as the owner of perhaps the world's most complete stamp collection. He lived at the sumptuous Hôtel Matignon in Paris, now the official residence of the French Prime Minister. Marie Brignole-Sale was distantly related to the Princes of Monaco as well.

Philippe was also notorious for a quarrel with his mother, whom he accused of having been untrue to his father. Because of his suspicions, unfounded it seems, Philippe refused the use of the title of Duke of Galliera claiming that not being his father's son, he had no right to use the title, much less claim possession of any of its properties.

When Duchess Marie died in 1888 she left the bulk of the Galliera inheritance to her dear friend Prince Antoine d'Orléans, Duke de Montpensier, youngest son of King Louis Philippe of the French. Other royal friends received bequeaths from Duchess Marie, among them the Empress Friedrich, who used some of this windfall to finance the construction of her magnificent home, Schloß Friedrichshof.


The Galliera properties were sold by Infante don Antonio of Spain, Montpensier's only surviving son. They were used by Antonio to continue paying for the expenditures of his mistress, much to the detriment of his sons and wife. In fact, such was the financial dislocation brought about by Anotnio's mismanagement, that his eldest son the Infante don Alfonso (who was married to Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh) took his father to court in an effort to declare Antonio incompetent. By the time Infante Antonio's misdeeds were out an end to, little remained of this once phenomenally amazing fortune.

The Duke de Montpensier was recognized as Duke of Galliera by King Umberto I of Italy. In 1890 when Antoine died, he was succeeded by his son Antonio, who held the title until 1930. From that year and until 1975 the Infante don Alfonso was also the Duke of Galliera, his son Alvaro inheriting the title that year. Alvaro died in 1997 and was succeeded by his own grandson Alfonso, who is the present holder of the Orléans creation of the Duchy of Galliera.

 Queen Josephine of Sweden
(Duchess of Galliera)

 King Oscar I of Sweden
(Duke Consort of Galliera)

 Prince Antoine d'Orléans, Duke de Montpensier, Infante
of Spain, 1st Duke of Galliera (Orleans creation)

 Infante don Alfonso of Spain, 2nd Duke of Galliera

 Infante don Alfonso of Spain, 3rd Duke of Galliera, holding his son
Prince Alvaro de Orleans, 4th Duke of Galliera

Prince don Alfonso de Orleans, Fifth Duke of Galliera

Sources:

http://trondni.blogspot.com/2012/05/prince-carl-philip-renounces-galliera.html

Los Desconocidos Infantes de España, by Ricardo Mateos Saínz de Medrano
Los Infantes de Andalucía, by Ricardo Mateos Saínz de Medrano
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Galliera
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffaele_de_Ferrari
Various Issues of the EuroHistory Journal
Le Cousinage – The Descendants of the Other Count of Paris, by Arturo E. Beéche
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Brignole-Sale
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Caterina_Brignole

When Idiots Get Elected to Public Office or Governor Scott Visits King Juan Carlos

How this moron is let loose on European royalty strikes me as indicative of the sort of idiots a certain party and a movement of extremists (usually lesser educated and cosmopolitan) enjoy electing.


Governor Rick Scott, Republican of Florida, is nothing short of a cretino!

–//–

Gov. Rick Scott became a Spanish punch line this week after a televised gaffe with the king of Spain, who's reeling from an elephant-shooting scandal.

"I've ridden elephants, I've never tried to shoot one," Scott said, smiling as he walked in and shook the hand of King Juan Carlos.

The king seemed to freeze and mumble "Oh."

You can't blame him.

The 74-year-old monarch was pilloried for hunting elephants in Botswana, where he injured his hip. Spaniards were infuriated because the king took such an expensive hunting trip at a time when the country is in such dire economic straits. About one in four Spaniards are unemployed. Also, Juan Carlos is an honorary president of Spain's branch of the World Wildlife Fund.

"I am very sorry. I made a mistake. It won't happen again," the king said in an apology when he left a Madrid hospital in crutches.

The king has since recovered. And the scandal had seemed to die down.

Enter Scott — who was visiting Spain this week on a trade mission.

Not only did the governor start with the I've-never-shot-an-elephant ice-breaker, Scott then continued to talk about elephants and Botswana after he introduced his wife, Ann, to the king.

"We were in Botswana," Scott says. "And we were in the Jeep. And an elephant started to chase the Jeep. My wife was in the back part of the Jeep and she wanted to get out to the front of the Jeep."
"I needed you in the Jeep with me," Ann leans in to say to the king.

Juan Carlos laughed nervously at the elephant in the room and . . . Cut! The video stops.

But the laughter began. Newspapers nationwide and late-night Spanish television made Scott's elephant story a topic of uproarious laughter.

"All the news outlets highlight the absolute lack of tact of the Florida governor, which can only be attributed to poor preparation for the meeting," TV personality Sandra Sabatés says on the satirical news show El Intermedio (Halftime). "Gov. Scott continues, obstinate in his error. He adds insult to injury and asks the king increasingly uncomfortable questions about the details of the hunt."

At one point, Scott suggests that the king needs a better story to tell than that he injured his hip getting out of bed while on the trip.

"On top of it, he thinks the anecdote is s- - -!" the show's host, a comedian known as El Gran Wyoming (The Great Wyoming), roars about Scott. "That's because he's American. If the story is about an exploding car and Will Smith killing someone, he's bored."

Returning to Florida on Thursday afternoon, Scott was met by a gaggle of media at Miami International Airport.

"If I did anything . . . wrong I completely apologize," he said. "The king's a wonderful person. He's a wonderful world leader. He's done so many wonderful things in his life. And we had a great conversation.

"The first thing I asked him about was his hip, of course, because he had been injured," Scott said.

Continue reading...http://www.tampabay.com/news/bizarre/gov-scott-talks-to-king-juan-carlos-of-spain-about-elephant-hunt-creates/1231789

Official Photos of the Swedish Royal Baptism

The Royal Court in Stockholm has released several official photos of the baptism of Princess Estelle of Sweden.

Enjoy!

(©kungahuset.se)

Yugoslav Royals at The Queen's Celebrations

Much appreciated photos were sent to us by the Yugoslav Royal Court.

These images are of Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine attending last week's commemorative gatherings in honor of Her Majesty The Queen, both at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.

Many thanks!

 The Yugoslav Crown Princely couple being welcomed by HRH The Prince of Wales and his wife The Duchess of Cornwall.

 Top and bellow: Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia.

Queen Victoria's Journals Now Online!

A message from HM Queen Elizabeth II

In this the year of my Diamond Jubilee, I am delighted to be able to present, for the first time, the complete on-line collection of Queen Victoria's journals from the Royal Archives.
These diaries cover the period from Queen Victoria's childhood days to her Accession to the Throne, marriage to Prince Albert, and later, her Golden and Diamond Jubilees.

Thirteen volumes in Victoria's own hand survive, and the majority of the remaining volumes were transcribed after Queen Victoria's death by her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, on her mother's instructions.

It seems fitting that the subject of the first major public release of material from the Royal Archives is Queen Victoria, who was the first Monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee.

It is hoped that this historic collection will make a valuable addition to the unique material already held by the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University, and will be used to enhance our knowledge and understanding of the past.

http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org/home.do

+Fürstin Delia zu Oettingen-Oettingen und Oettingen-Wallerstein

Born in 1919 Countess Delia Schenck von Stauffenberg was destined to marry into a prominent mediatized family.

Her parents were Count Marquard Schenck von Satuffenberg (1889-1975) and Olga-Marie Böhl de Liagre (1889-1973).

Delia was the couple's first child and her siblings included: Maria-Agnes (1920-1999) who was married to Hans-Heinrich Linden; Alexandra (b. 1922), widowed from Rolf Staelin (1912-1985); Alfred (b. 1923), who in 1954 married Countess Gioia von Hochberg, Baroness zu Fürstenstein (of the Princes of Pleß), but divorced in 1980 and six years later married Mrta Daeppen; and Clemens (1929-1987), who married Countess Clementine Wolff-Metternich zur Gracht.

In 1942, in the midst of the Second World War, Delia married Hereditary Prince Carl Friedrich zu Oettingen-Oettingen und Oettingen-Wallerstein (1917-1991), eldest son and heir of Fürst Eugen (1885-1969) and of his wife the former Princess Maria Anna zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, von Ratibor und Corvey (1895-1978). Carl Friedrich's siblings included: Moritz (1922-1944), who was killed fighting in Romania; Rose-Marie (1923-2008), who was married to Count Franz von Strassoldo; and Wolfgang (1924-2001), who married three times, firstly to Countess Henriette de Longueval von Buquoy (1917-1967), secondly to Princess Michaela von Schönburg-Waldenburg (b. 1940 (div.); and lastly to Countess Angelika von Schönborn (b. 1942), who survived him.

Carl Friedrich and Delia were the parents of three children: Ernestine (b. 1943), who is widowed from Raffaello Massini (1928-2001); Moritz (b. 1946), who married Princess Lioba zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg; and Krafft (b. 1951), who is married to Helen Lins.

Delia's husband succeeded as sixth Fürst zu Oettingen-Wallerstein upon the death of his father in 1969. For the next two decades he was head of the mediatized family whose holdings include forestry and agricultural lands in Baden-Württemberg and Western Bavaria, as well as a well-respected brewery. Their properties include three beautiful castles in the area: Schloß Wallerstein, Schloß Baldern and the Harburg. These are destinations for countless tourists yearly.

Fürst Carl Friedrich passed away in 1991. Fürstin Delia survived her husband by more than two decades, achieving the status of doyenne amongst German aristocrats.

Fürstin Delia zu Oettingen-Wallerstein passed away on 5 May 2012. She is mourned by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Her funeral was celebrated a week later and she now rests next to her husband in the family burial plot at Schloß Baldern.

May She Rest in Peace...

Article about her 90th birthday: http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/noerdlingen/Fuerstin-der-Herzen-bekommt-ihren-eigenen-Preis-id5230116.html

Article on her funeral service: http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/noerdlingen/Fuerstin-Delia-beigesetzt-id20149971.html

Fürstin Delia on her 90th birthday.

 Fürstin Delia in old age.

The German Gotha gather at Schloß Baldern to bid farewell to Fürstin Delia.

Fun Facts About The Queen

Queen Elizabeth II is the second longest serving monarch in British history, with a rich and varied 60 years on the throne. From the amount of letters she has received during her reign to the distance she has traveled, we take a quirky look at her life in numbers.

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/europe/diamond-jubilee/the-queen-in-numbers/index.html?iid=article_sidebar