A Portuguese royal wedding was responsible for my first ever trip to Portugal from 3 to 9 October 2023. Unexpectedly warm summer weather – each day around 30 C – made it a bit of a challenge to keep track of my schedule, but in the end I managed to see almost everything I wanted. …
Amerongen Castle – Refuge of an Emperor
On 10 November 1918 at 6am, the German Emperor Wilhelm II arrived at the Belgian-Dutch border, after having started his journey in Spa, Belgium. The next day he was allowed to enter The Netherlands. In the morning of 11 November 1918, at 9.20am, the train could continue its journey. Via several Dutch cities, at 3.20pm …
My tour of Denmark 2022
I think back fondly on my holiday in July 2022, of which I was reminded on my Facebook over and over again last week. Especially after two years pandemic, it was extra wonderful to finally be able to just go on a week-long trip for the first time in almost three years. Between Saturday 9 …
Expansion preview at Palace Het Loo
On Friday 14 April, one week before the grand reopening of Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, by King Willem-Alexander the media was invited to have a look at the new underground expansion of the 17th century palace. Proud members of the staff led the journalists, photographers and cameramen around. Between March 2018 and …
Harburg Castle in Hamburg
My first royal castle of the year was a real surprise find. Travelling to Hamburg because of the state visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom to Germany, I had found a hotel in Hamburg-Harburg. After arrival on 30 March 2023 I decided to go for a walk. One name …
The Dutch King and Queen in Slovakia
There were quite a few touristic highlights during the state visit of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to Slovakia from 7 to 9 March 2023. The city of Bratislava was known until 1919 as Pressburg, and was part of the Austrian Empire. Tuesday 7 March 2023 Embed from Getty Images The presidential …
Palace tips – Sue from the UK
My friend Sue Woolmans, a royal author from the United Kingdom, is an avid traveller and palace visitor, with friends or with her husband. She has joint me at visits to Windsor Castle, Penshurst Place and Hever Castle, as well as on a tour through the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark last summer. Together with …
A 2012 visit to Luxembourg
Article written in October 2012, shortly after my visit on the occcasion of the wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy. On 22 April 2023 another royal wedding will take place, only the civil one, of Guillaume’s sister Princess Alexandra and Nicolas Bagory. I still haven’t gone back by …
King Charles III visited Leighton House
King Charles III of the United Kingdom on Thursday 9 February 2023 visited the newly-renovated museum Leighton House to hear about the artistic partnership with Turquoise Mountain, the charity founded by the then Prince of Wales to preserve and develop traditional craft practices across Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the Middle East, and to drive economic development …
Princess Amalia’s Caribbean Tour
“I actually really loved being able to give all of the Netherlands a glimpse of the islands, which they wouldn’t have had the chance to do without this trip. The islands are so beautiful, so what is there not to fall in love with”, that is what the Princess of Orange said at the end …