The new Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, born Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy, comes from an old noble family from the Low Countries. The House of Lannoy is one of the most distinguished noble houses in Belgium, yet nether of the two princely titles they held at different parts of their history—Sulmona and Rheina-Wolbeck—were located in Belgium.Continue reading “Lannoy: A Quintessentially Belgian Noble House”
Category Archives: Germany
Nassau-Weilburg and Luxembourg: one of Europe’s oldest princely dynasties on one of its newest thrones
On 3 October 2025, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, abdicated his throne in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Guillaume. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg as an independent sovereign state has only had its own ruling family since 1890, though the Duchy of Luxembourg itself (and before that the County) is far more ancient,Continue reading “Nassau-Weilburg and Luxembourg: one of Europe’s oldest princely dynasties on one of its newest thrones”
Eulenburg and Bülow princes: two scandals that shook the Prussian court
The court of Kaiser Wilhelm II is remembered for its excessive militarism—the Prussian sabre rattling that encouraged the Austrian emperor to send such a strong ultimatum to the Serbs in July 1914 that made World War I inevitable—an excess that ultimately brought about the demise of both monarchies and the dukes and princes that supportedContinue reading “Eulenburg and Bülow princes: two scandals that shook the Prussian court”
Dukes of Brunswick II: Lüneburg, Hanover, and the Queen-Consort who never was
An interesting illustrated poster was published in about 1715 for distribution to the people of Great Britain that celebrated the health and vitality of their new royal family: the Hanoverians. At the top is the prosperous looking King George I, a former war hero in Europe and a symbol of the ongoing stability of theContinue reading “Dukes of Brunswick II: Lüneburg, Hanover, and the Queen-Consort who never was”
Schönburg, Schönberg, Schomberg: Beautiful Princes from Dresden to Dublin
If a beautiful fortress in French-speaking lands gave its name to a dynasty or two of dukes and princes (‘Beaufort’), then attractive castles in German-speaking lands can too. There are certainly a number of castles in Germany and Austria named schön burg, or the similar yet different schön berg, referring to a mountain, not aContinue reading “Schönburg, Schönberg, Schomberg: Beautiful Princes from Dresden to Dublin”
The Prince of Wedel: Last one in, shuts the door
The northernmost kingdoms of Europe never had much of a high aristocracy; in marked contrast to Naples, which had hundreds of ducal and princely titles, Norway, Sweden, Denmark had almost none. Neither did the northern German principalities like Brandenburg or Pomerania. At most, nobles were junkers, barons, and occasionally counts. What this northern domain didContinue reading “The Prince of Wedel: Last one in, shuts the door”
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?”
Princes of Orange, Part II
At the end of Part I, in 1530 the Prince of Orange, Philibert de Chalon, left his possessions, including the principality of Orange in Provence, and lands in the Free County of Burgundy, to his sister’s son, René of Nassau, whose family–later called the House of Orange-Nassau, would dominate the history of the Low CountriesContinue reading “Princes of Orange, Part II”
Princes of Orange: a Franco-German-Dutch family (part I)
If you had to choose the most trans-national princely dynasty in all of European history, who would you choose? I’d certainly go for the House of Orange-Nassau, the current royal family of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who, if their history is looked at from a long perspective, are revealed to be a blended FrenchContinue reading “Princes of Orange: a Franco-German-Dutch family (part I)”
Hooray Heinrich! The House of Reuss and the complexities of being a very minor prince
Have you ever heard of a family where all the male members—and I mean all—were named Heinrich? Perhaps you have, as recently one of them (Heinrich XIII) had his 15 minutes of fame after trying to overthrow the German government and restore the old German Reich in December 2022. But although the English-speaking media describedContinue reading “Hooray Heinrich! The House of Reuss and the complexities of being a very minor prince”
Dukes and Princes 