Recent content by IslandDweller

I hadn't realized bourgeois gentilhommes were equivalent to a gentry, but will defer to your better understanding. The de Laborde de Monpezat family tended to marry quite humbly before Henrik's marriage. To be clear, I'm happy for the couple no matter what the bride's background. I'm just...

Thanks for the useful info! I still wonder if, like the families of the former Camilla Shand or Sarah Ferguson, there is nobility and/or landed gentry in her background, even if the family itself is not noble. None of the coverage I've seen even lists her parents' names.

Has more come to light regarding the background of Count Charles-Henri's wife, Caroline Philipe? I know she's a French banker. Is it certain she's not an aristocrat? I remember reading on the Wikipedia page for the Belgian nobility about a dozen years ago that approximately sixty percent of...

I've always found this family interesting, and Sophie especially very appealing. It's always struck me how they don't seem to be subjected to paparazzi attention, or perhaps they just eschew it very effectively. Members of most reigning families will be photographed out and about as they go...

Ah, finding out the name of her neighborhood yielded better google results, and this article has proved illuminating. https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/noticias/2009-05-05/la-nueva-vida-de-la-infanta-elena_252764/&prev=search It is...

The exterior of Elena's apartment building has been shown a good deal, with recordings of her coming and going, as well as of her applauding healthcare workers numerous times last year. I assume it is in an upscale area, but the building itself looks rather modest and unassuming. Does anyone...

Thank you for confirming that! There's something touching about that arrangement. I've wondered if her son assisted her financially in later years. If there was such a close relationship, perhaps other Shands did as well.

I would love to see a definitive deep dive into the life of Camilla's paternal grandmother, Edith Marguerite "Margot" Harrington Shand Tippet. Accounts of her actions as a mother vary drastically, and at least some of them - including, traditionally, the most prominent ones - are definitely...

Thank you!!! I wonder if it's ever been confirmed if she was indeed the person who drove the Twingo over the bollard. https://www.motor1.com/news/101343/did-princess-beatrix-crash-castle/#:~:text=It%20isn't%20clear%20if,%2C%20Scotland%20homes%2C%20after%20all. We know from the Focus she's...

I remember um-teen years ago the photo elsewhere on this forum of then-Queen Beatrix getting out from behind the wheel of her Ford Focus estate. It was charming that the monarch drove such an un-flashy car. Unfortunately, the link to the photo is now broken. If anyone knows where it, or any...

Others have noted the disputed validity of his title, but I remember being surprised when delving into his mother's background how modest it was. In at least one online family tree, her father's occupation is given as railway employee and her grandfathers' as upholsterer and locksmith...

It's long occurred to me that Maxima's lineage has a bit more snob appeal than most spouses in her generation of royals, i.e. Mary, Mette-Marit, Daniel, Letizia, or Kate. It's true her heritage is varied in this respect, and one paternal great-grandmother was evidently a farm laborer in Italy...

Thanks for that info, claypoint2. I always think of "aristocrat" as being a more fluid term, to describe a high-bred, highly-placed person with nobility/gentry in their family tree, and that one can be an aristocrat without being a noble. However, I know that's probably more of a personal...

I completely respect the Dutch system and will only say this once, but it makes me sad that there will no longer be a 'Queen Beatrix'. She's such a majestic lady! Oh, well - time moves forward and it's exciting to have a King Willem Alexander and Queen Beatrix.

Never said it was good journalism. Just said it was Dutch people talking money.;)