Moniek Bloks, Author at History of Royal Women

Princess Charlotte’s emerald brooch headed for auction

Friday, 7 July 2023, 11:15 Moniek Bloks 0

An emerald and diamond brooch that belonged to Princess Charlotte of Wales is headed for auction in July. Princess Charlotte would have succeeded her father, King George IV, as Queen if she hadn’t died in childbirth in 1817. The brooch was given by Princess Charlotte’s husband, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who went on to become [read more]

Queen Alexandra’s Wedding Brooch

Friday, 7 July 2023, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Queen Alexandra’s Wedding Brooch consists of a “bow-centred oval outline, set with one large and two smaller pearls encircled with brilliant, the outer border with 20 brilliant in pierced collet claw settings, and suspending three detachable brilliant and pave-set baroque pearls; the central bouton pearl framed by 14 brilliants also detachable.” Embed from Getty Images [read more]

Marie Antoinette is forced to hand over her son

Monday, 3 July 2023, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 2

Louis Charles, the future King Louis XVII, was born on 27 March 1785 as the second son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. Upon the death of his elder brother Louis Joseph on 4 June 1789, he became the Dauphin of France. As the situation around the French Revolution spiralled out [read more]

boleyns of hever castle owen emmerson claire ridgway

Book Review: The Boleyns of Hever Castle by Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway

Saturday, 1 July 2023, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

*contains affiliate links* Hever Castle is perhaps best known as the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, but there is far more history there. Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 until her execution in May 1536. From her marriage to King Henry VIII of England, she had one surviving daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth [read more]

Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace

Friday, 30 June 2023, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace was created in 1888 after quite some debate. The “Women’s Jubilee Offering” committee had been established in 1887 with the purpose of marking Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. With the Queen’s approval, an equestrian statue of Prince Albert was made for Windsor Great Park, but the contributions raised far outgrew the [read more]

Review – African Queens: Njinga

Saturday, 24 June 2023, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

From Netflix comes the African Queens series, and the first series focuses on Njinga, Queen of Ndongo and Matamba. Netflix describes it as “a new documentary series exploring the lives of prominent and iconic African Queens. The first season will cover the life of Njinga, the complex, captivating, and fearless 17th-century warrior queen of Ndongo [read more]