May 2026 - History of Royal Women

Royal Wedding Recollections – Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands & Laurentien Brinkhorst

Tuesday, 19 May 2026, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands and Laurentien Brinkhorst married on 19 May 2001. Prince Constantijn is the younger brother of the current King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. He and Laurentien began dating in 1995, but their families had been friends for years. Their engagement was announced on 16 December 2000. Embed from Getty Images The [read more]

Elizabeth the Cuman – The Cuman Queen of Hungary (Part one)

Monday, 18 May 2026, 6:00 CaraBeth 0

Elizabeth of the Cumans was one of the most interesting medieval queens of Hungary. Not only did she rule as regent, but she also came from a very different background than the other medieval Hungarian queens did. Elizabeth came from the Cumans, a nomadic, pagan Turkic tribe. Background The Cumans originated in Central Asia and [read more]

Book News Week 21

Saturday, 16 May 2026, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

*contains affiliate links* Book News Week 21 – 18 May – 24 May 2026 A History of France in 21 Women Hardcover – 19 May 2026 (US) Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. Her Story. Hardcover – 19 May 2026 (US) I, Vera: The Many Lives of Vera Gedroits, a Radical Princess Kindle Edition – [read more]

The Norway Maltese Cross Circlet

Friday, 15 May 2026, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

The Maltese Cross Circlet made its way into the Norwegian royal family through Queen Maud, who was born as Princess Maud of Wales. The piece was made for her mother, Queen Alexandra, and the tiara is named after the Maltese crosses, which have been placed on the bandeau base. It originally had four fleur-de-lys elements [read more]

Princess Marianne of the Netherlands – A charitable spirit (Part five)

Thursday, 14 May 2026, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Read part four here. The same year as the consecration of the Evangelical Church in Johannes’s name, Marianne’s youngest daughter, Alexandrine, married Duke William of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a younger son of Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg and Alexandrine’s aunt and namesake, Princess Alexandrine of Prussia. Her mother could not be present, and she wrote to [read more]

Princess Marianne of the Netherlands – “I can never be a stranger” (Part four)

Wednesday, 13 May 2026, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Read part three here. Marianne now began to pursue an official divorce, and her only demand was that she would like to see her children for part of the year. She wrote to the Prussian King, “If it is true that the thoughts of me being his wife are fatal to the father of my [read more]