Catherine de' Medici

500: Catherine de’ Medici & her daughters

To celebrate the 500th birthday of the formidable Catherine de’ Medici, we will be posting seven articles over the next seven days about her. This is the sixth, and it will focus on her relationships with her daughters. Read part five here. Over the years, Catherine gave birth to ten children of which five were [read more]

Agnes of Aquitaine

Lost Kingdoms – Kingdom of Aragon

House of Jiménez The Kingdom of Aragon began its life in 1035 when it was established as an independent Kingdom. Its first King was Ramiro I of Aragon, an illegitimate son of Sancho III of Pamplona. Ramiro’s first wife was Ermesinda of Bigorre, who was thus the first Queen of Aragon. They went on to have five [read more]

Amélie of Leuchtenberg

Lost Kingdoms – Kingdom of Portugal

The Kingdom of Portugal began its life in 1139 when Afonso Henriques, Count of Portugal, was acclaimed King of the Portuguese. House of Burgundy His wife was Matilda or Mafalda of Savoy, who was thus the first Queen of Portugal. They had seven children together, including his successor the future King Sancho I of Portugal. Sancho succeeded his [read more]

Adelaide of Austria

Lost Kingdoms – Kingdom of Sardinia

The Kingdom of Sardinia began its life in 1324 when King James II of Aragon claimed the territories as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica. The Kingdom remained separate from the Crown of Aragon. House of Barcelona James II was married four times but as his first marriage to Isabella of Castile had been annulled, [read more]