In the long and varied history of European monarchy there have always been aspirations by the families of dukes and princes to move up in rank into the world of royalty. There have been some great success stories, for example the princes of Orange forging a new monarchy in the Low Countries in the eighteenthContinue reading “A New Royal House for Denmark: Laborde de Monpezat”
Author Archives: Jonathan Spangler
Cantemir Princes in Moldavia and Russia
Sometimes a princely family rises in prominence from fairly humble origins, burns brightly, then disappears. Often this occurs in zones of conflict between great powers, where huge opportunities can be seized by the bold or the crafty. One such family were the Cantemir, ruling princes of Moldavia, then princes of the Russian Empire. Their dynasticContinue reading “Cantemir Princes in Moldavia and Russia”
The de Beauharnais Dukes of Leuchtenberg and Princes Romanovsky: French? German? Russian?
Readers of this site will know by now that I am slightly obsessed with trans-national noble families that moved effortlessly across Europe in the 18th and 19th century, blissfully ignoring the boundaries of nationalism and attempting, in their way, to hold the continent together through kinship networks and cultural exchange. The recent new film NapoleonContinue reading “The de Beauharnais Dukes of Leuchtenberg and Princes Romanovsky: French? German? Russian?”
Lobkowicz Princes: Survivors of the Great Bohemian Purge
The Kingdom of Bohemia has a unique place in European history. As the only kingdom within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, and the only mostly Slavic state in a sea of German principalities, it was an anomaly, as were its leading noble families in the middle ages. These Bohemian lords, speaking Czech, alwaysContinue reading “Lobkowicz Princes: Survivors of the Great Bohemian Purge”
Royal Mistresses’ Kin: Dukes of La Vallière and Antin
One of the most powerful positions a woman could hold at any royal court, but particularly that of France, was the ‘recognised’ royal mistress, the open secret that everyone at court knew about. It was one of the only pathways for a woman to get a dukedom on her own in the ancien regime, asContinue reading “Royal Mistresses’ Kin: Dukes of La Vallière and Antin”
The Duke of Terceira and the House that Manuel built
In the middle of the Atlantic lies a small green island, known as Terceira, as the ‘third’ island to be discovered in the Azores archipelago by Portuguese navigators in the mid-15th century. At over a thousand miles off the coast of the mainland, Terceira would not normally be thought of as a likely seat forContinue reading “The Duke of Terceira and the House that Manuel built”
Anatomy of a British Queen: Scotland, the Netherlands, and beyond
September 2023 marks the one-year anniversary of the reign of Charles III in the United Kingdom, and in the list of British queen consorts, adds the name of Camilla Shand. In the history of royal consorts, in Britain or elsewhere in Europe, or indeed at the top of the European aristocracy—the dukes and princes—a familyContinue reading “Anatomy of a British Queen: Scotland, the Netherlands, and beyond”
Jacobite Dukes: the Drummonds of Perth and Melfort
Scotland has several families who obtained the highest rank in the peerage: a dukedom. Several of these families come from the borderlands between Highlands and Lowlands that runs from Argyll to Aberdeen. Perthshire is right in the middle of this, and the Drummond family have been a major power here for centuries. But their dukedom,Continue reading “Jacobite Dukes: the Drummonds of Perth and Melfort”
Dukes of Alburquerque: Royal Favourites and Colonial Governors
Once upon a time there was a Spanish outpost built in the far northern reaches of New Spain, in the Rio Grande Valley of the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico. Its founders named it after the Viceroy based in far-off Mexico City, the 10th Duke of Alburquerque. Some years later, the increasingly AnglophoneContinue reading “Dukes of Alburquerque: Royal Favourites and Colonial Governors”
Meet the Actons, English barons and Neapolitan princes
In the 18th century, political boundaries and national identities were a bit more fluid than they became in the 19th and 20th centuries. A person of great talent could move around the European continent and acquire position and status in a land very different from his or her place of origin. Such is the interestingContinue reading “Meet the Actons, English barons and Neapolitan princes”
Dukes and Princes 