Moniek Bloks, Author at History of Royal Women

Sophia: Mother of Kings: The Finest Queen Britain Never Had by Catherine Curzon Book Review

Thursday, 16 July 2020, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Sophia of Hanover would have been Queen of Great Britain if she had lived just a few months longer. In the end, she died only two months before Queen Anne, and it was Sophia’s eldest son who became King George I of Great Britain. The youngest daughter of the famous Winter Queen, Elizabeth Stuart, and [read more]

Catherine the Great – The little-known German Princess (Part one)

Wednesday, 15 July 2020, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

In the early hours of 2 May 1729, 16-year-old Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein Gottorp, wife of the 39-year-old Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, gave birth to her first child in a merchant’s house in Szczecin (in present-day Poland). The house served as temporary quarters for her husband, who was stationed there as a general [read more]

Marie of Württemberg – Prince Albert’s stepmother (Part two)

Tuesday, 14 July 2020, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Read part one here. In the early years of the marriage, Marie suffered at least two miscarriages that reportedly almost cost her her life, after which she travelled to the waters at Travemünde. She wrote to her husband, “The two miscarriages so quickly following each other have deeply affected my health and body and requires [read more]

Marie of Württemberg – Prince Albert’s stepmother (Part one)

Monday, 13 July 2020, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Marie of Württemberg was born on 17 September 1799 in Coburg as the daughter of Duke Alexander of Württemberg and Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She was the eldest of five children, though two of her brothers would die in infancy. Two brothers named Alexander and Ernest would live to adulthood. Her mother was the sister of [read more]

Maria Isabel of Braganza – An obstetric tragedy

Friday, 10 July 2020, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 2

Maria Isabel of Braganza was born on 19 May 1797 as the daughter of John VI of Portugal and his wife Carlota Joaquina of Spain. She was their third child, but her elder brother would die at the age of six. Six more siblings would follow, including Peter IV of Portugal and I of Brazil. Her [read more]

Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan Book Review

Thursday, 9 July 2020, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 2

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, remains one of the most controversial and interesting women in history. She was one of the reasons I began my website, and I remember reading everything I could. Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies begins with the tale that she must be most maligned women in [read more]