Moniek Bloks, Author at History of Royal Women

Queens Regent: Catherine de’ Medici

Monday, 5 December 2016, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 1

A regent is “a person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated.” Catherine de’ Medici was born on 13 April 1519 as the daughter of Lorenzo II de’ Medici and Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne. She was orphaned just a month later when her mother died of either [read more]

Queens Regnant – Maria II of Portugal

Friday, 2 December 2016, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

The future Maria II of Portugal was born on 4 April 1819 as the daughter of Pedro I of Brazil and IV of Portugal and Maria Leopoldina of Austria. She was the eldest of 7 siblings and one half-sibling. She also had six illegitimate half-siblings. Her grandfather, King John VI died in March VI, and his death sparked a [read more]

Queen Nefertari’s dismembered legs may have been found

Thursday, 1 December 2016, 12:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Queen Nefertari’s mummy was torn to pieces by ancient robbers, but now her legs may finally be identified. Nefertari was the first of the Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses the Great. A pair of unidentified mummified legs were on display in an Italian museum, and they have now been analysed for the [read more]

The City of Mechelen is trying to locate Margaret of Austria’s intestines

Thursday, 1 December 2016, 11:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Mechelen (or Malines), is trying to locate an urn which contains the intestines of Margaret of Austria. Margaret of Austria lived in the city as Governor of the Netherlands for her nephew Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. She died there in 1530. She is buried at Bourg-en-Bresse, in a magnificent mausoleum that she ordered for her [read more]

Banqueting House in London, United Kingdom

Wednesday, 30 November 2016, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

The Banqueting House in London is the only remaining component of the Palace of Whitehall, which was destroyed by fire in 1698. The Banqueting House is a 1622 addition to the original Whitehall Palace, which was first built around 1240. Right now the Banqueting House is most famous for the execution of Charles I in [read more]

Queens Regent – Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies

Monday, 28 November 2016, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

A regent is “a person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated.” Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies was born on 27 April 1806 as the daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies by his second wife, Maria Isabella of Spain. On 11 December 1829, she became the [read more]