Category Archives: general

On the 6th of February, 1952, in a treehouse in Kenya, Queen Elizabeth II formally began her long reign, in Britain, in Canada, in Australia, and so on. Few monarchs in world history have reigned for seventy years, and it is interesting to consider whether such long reigns in history have served as beneficial orContinue reading “Seventy Years on the Throne—Europe’s Longest Reigns as Benefit or Burden?”

When reading about someone who is the prince of this or the duchess of that, most people immediately conjure up an image of someone who is very grand, an elite part of the old aristocracy of Europe. But I am very often struck by how frequently historians, including professional academic historians, regularly use noble titlesContinue reading “What is a prince? What is a duke?”

This website is the product of many years of research, travel, conversation with friends, and so on. I first became obsessed with dynastic history when my family and I visited Innsbruck, Austria, in 1984 and I saw the magnificent tomb of Emperor Maximilian I — who was this guy? who were these ancestors? I wasContinue reading “Hello and Welcome!”