Marianne of the Netherlands Archives - History of Royal Women

Five brave royal women who should be remembered – #InternationalWomensDay

March 8, 2020 Moniek Bloks 0

For this International Women’s Day I’d like to shine a spotlight on five royal women who should be remembered for their bravery. Sophie of Hohenberg The daughter of the assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg tried to negotiate her brothers’ release from Dachau concentration camp with Heinrich Himmler, [read more]

Separated forever – Princess Marianne and her illegitimate son

October 2, 2018 Moniek Bloks 0

Just last week you could read about Princess Marianne’s eventful life and her lonely end. Marianne wished to be buried together with her son and Johannes van Rossum but this was not allowed as they were not married. Their son was buried in the Johannes church, which Marianne founded specifically for him, while Marianne and [read more]

Schloss Reinhartshausen – Princess Marianne’s escape

September 25, 2018 Moniek Bloks 0

In 1855, Princess Marianne bought Schloss Reinhartshausen. She had left her cheating husband in 1845 and they were officially divorced in 1849. By then, Marianne had started a relationship with Johannes van Rossum, who was her former coachman. Shortly after her divorce, she gave birth to her child by Johannes, a son named Johannes Willem. [read more]

Wilhelmsturm Dillenburg – A Princess’s Tribute

December 20, 2017 Moniek Bloks 0

The city of Dillenburg has a lot of links with House of Orange-Nassau and the Wilhelmsturm is a testament to those links. The original Dillenburg Castle was destroyed in 1760. It had been the home of William the Silent’s parents Juliana of Stolberg and William the Rich. William was born at the Castle and some [read more]

24 Hours with William I at the National Archives

August 31, 2015 Moniek Bloks 0

Last week I was invited to view the new exhibition from the National Archives in The Hague. At the same time a new book was presented, which is (so far) only in Dutch. The book is called ‘Majoor van Oranje. Jacobus Hojel, ooggetuige van de beginjaren van ons koninkrijk’ (English: Major of Orange, Jacobus Hojel, [read more]

An afternoon with Princess Marianne of the Netherlands

August 28, 2015 Moniek Bloks 0

Last weekend I spent an afternoon with Princess Marianne of the Netherlands, or rather her legacy. This was a day trip organised by Historizon, which is a Dutch travel agency who also arranges longer trips. They have something coming up in October about the wives of William of Orange, so I might go to that [read more]