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All About History Books

Published March 2025. The Deeds of King Henry V, or in Latin Henrici Quinti, Angliæ Regis, Gesta, is a first-hand account of the Agincourt Campaign, and subsequent events to his death in 1422. The author of the first part was a Chaplain in King Henry's retinue who was present from King Henry's departure at Southampton in 1415, at the siege of Harfleur, the battle of Agincourt, and the celebrations on King Henry's return to London. The second part, by another writer, relates the events that took place including the negotiations at Troye, Henry's marriage and his death in 1422.

Available at Amazon as eBook or Paperback.

Biography of King Leopold II of Belgium 1835-1909

Paternal Family Tree: Wettin

1861 Funeral of Prince Albert

1878 Double Royal Wedding

On 9th August 1830 [his father] King Leopold I of Belgium (age 39) and [his mother] Louise Orléans Queen Consort Belgium (age 18) were married. The difference in their ages was 21 years. He the son of [his grandfather] Francis Saxe Coburg Gotha I Duke Saxe Coburg Gotha and [his grandmother] Augusta Reuss Duchess Saxe Coburg Gotha (age 73).

On 9th April 1835 King Leopold II of Belgium was born to King Leopold I of Belgium (age 44) and Louise Orléans Queen Consort Belgium (age 23).

On 11th October 1850 [his mother] Louise Orléans Queen Consort Belgium (age 38) died.

On 18th February 1858 [his daughter] Louise Wettin was born to King Leopold II of Belgium (age 22) in Brussels [Map].

Funeral of Prince Albert

The Times. 24th December 1861. Yesterday, with little of the pomp and pageantry of a State ceremonial, but with every outward mark of respect, and with all the solemnity which befitted his high station and his public virties, the mortal remains of the husband (deceased) of our Queen (age 42) were interred in the last resting-place of England's Sovereigns-the Chapel Royal of St. George's, Windsor [Map]. By the express desire of his Royal Highness the funeral was of the plainest and most private character; but in the Chapel, to do honour to his obsequies, were assembled all the chiefest men of the State, and throughout England, by every sign of sorrow and imourning, the nation manifested its sense of the loss wlhich it has sustaiined. Windsor itself wore an aspect of the most profound gloom. Every shop was closed and every blind drawn down. The streets were silent and almost deserted, and all wvho appeared abroad were dressed in the deepest mourning. The great bell of Windsor Castle [Map] clanged out: its doleful sound at intervals from an early hour, and minute bells were tolled also at St. John's Church. At the parish church of Cleover and at St. John's there were services in the morning and: aternoon, and the day was observed throughout the Royal borough in the strictest manner. The weather was in character with the occasion, a chill, damp air, with a dull leaden sky above, increased the gloom which hung over all. There were but few visitors in the town, for the procession did not pass beyond the immediate precincts of the Chapel and Castle, and none were admitted except those connected with the Castle andi their friends. At 11 o'clock a strong force of the A division took possession of the avenues leading to the Chapel Royal, and from that time only the guests specially invited and those who were to take part in the ceremonial were allowed to pass. Shortly afterwards a of honour of the Grenadier Guards, of which regiment his Royal Highness was Colonel, with the colonrs of the regiment shrouded in crape, marched in and took up its position before the principal entrance to the Chapel Royal. Another guard of honour from the same regiment was also on duty in the Quadrangle at the entrance to the State apartments. They were speedily followed by a squadron of the 2nd Life Guards dismounted, and by two companies of the Fusileer Guards, who were drawn uip in single file along each side of the road by which the procession was to pass, from the Norman gateway to the Chapel door. The officers wore the deepest military mourning-scarves, sword-knots, and rosettes of crape. In the Rome Park was stationed a troop of Horse Artillery, which commenced firing minute guns at the end of the Long Walk, advancing slowly until it reached the Castle gates just at the close of the ceremony. The Ministers, the officers of the Queen's Household, and other distinguished personages who had been honoured with an invitation to attend the ceremonial, reached Windsor a special train from Paddington. They were met by carriages provided for them at the station, and began to arrive at the Chapel Royal soon after 11 o'clock. The Earl of Derby (age 62), the Archbishop of Canterbury (age 81), Earl Russell (age 69), and the Duke of Buccleuch were among the first to make their appearance, and as they alighted at the door of the Chapel they were received by the proper officials and conducted to the seats appointed for them in the Choir. In the Great Quadrangle were drawn up the hearse and the mourning coaches, and, all the preparations having been completed within the Castle, the procession began to be formed shortly before 12 o'clock. It had been originally intended that it should leave the Castle by the St. George's gate, and, proceeding down Castle-hill, approach the Chapel through Henry VII.'s gateway, but at a late hour this arrangement was changed, and the shorter route by the Norman gatewvay was chosen.

The crowd which had gradually collected at the foot of Castle-hill, owing to this change, saw nothing of the procession but the empty carriages as they returned to the Castle after setting down at the Chapel. The few spectators who were fortunate enough to gain admission to the Lower Ward stood in a narrow fringe along the edge of the flags in front of the houses of the Poor Knights, and their presence was the only exception to the strict privacy of the ceremonial. The Prince of Wales (age 20) and the other Royal mourners assembled in the Oak Room, but did not form part of the procession. They were conveyed to the Chapel in private carriages before the coffin was placed in the hearse, passing through St. George's gatewayinto the Lower Ward. In the first carriage were the Prince of Wales, Prince Arthur (age 11), and the Duke of Saxe Coburg (age 8). The Crown Prince of Prussia (age 30), the Duke of Brabant (age 26), and the [his brother] Count of Flanders (age 24) followed in the next; and in the others were the Duke de Nemours (age 47), Prince Louis of Hesse (age 24), Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar (age 38), and the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh, with the gentlemen of their respective suites. Scarcely had they alighted at the door of Wolsey's Chapel, from which they were conducted through the Chapter Room to the door of the Chapel Royal to be in readiness to meet the coffin, when the first minute gun fired in tlhe distance, and the rattle of the troops reversing arms announced that the procession had started, and exactly at 12 o'clock the first mourning coach moved from under the Norman gateway. First came nine mourning coaches, each drawn by four horses, conveying the Physicians, Equerries, and other members of the household of the late Prince. In the last were the Lord Steward (age 63) (Earl St. Germans), the Lord Chamberlain (age 56) (Viscount Sidney), and the Master of the Horse (age 57) (the Marquis of Ailesbury). The carriages and trappings were of the plainest description; the horses had black velvet housings and feathers, but on the carriages there, were no feathers or ornaments of any kind. The mourning coaches were followed by one of the Queen's carriages, drawn by six horses, and attended by servants in State liveries, in which was the Groom of the Stole (age 26), Earl Spencer, carrying the crown, and a Lord of the Bedchamber, Lord George Lennox, carrying the baton, sword, and hat of his late Royal Highness. Next escorted by a troop of the 2nd Life Guards, came the hearse, drawn by six black horses, which, like the carriages, was quite plain and unornamented. On the housings of the horses and on the sides of the hearse were emblazoned the scutcheons of Her Majesty and of the Prince, each surmounted by a, crown, the Prince's arms being in black and Her Majesty's in white. The procession was closed by four State carriages.

On 10th December 1865 [his father] King Leopold I of Belgium (age 74) died. His son Leopold (age 30) succeeded II King Belgium.

In 1866 King Leopold II of Belgium (age 30) was appointed 748th Knight of the Garter by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (age 46).

1878 Double Royal Wedding

On 18th February 1878 a double Royal Wedding took place at Berlin. The brides were second-cousins.

Bernhard Saxe Meiningen III Duke Saxe Meiningen (age 26) and Charlotte Hohenzollern (age 17) were married. She the daughter of Frederick III King Prussia (age 46) and Victoria Empress Germany Queen Consort Prussia (age 37). He the son of Georg II Duke of Saxe Meiningen (age 51). They were third cousin twice removed. She a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Frederick Augustus II Grand Duke of Oldenburg (age 25) and Elisabeth Anna Hohenzollern (age 21) were married. They were fifth cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King George I of Great Britain and Ireland. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King George I of Great Britain and Ireland.

The event was attended by King Leopold II of Belgium (age 42) and his wife Marie Henriette of Austria, and the Prince of Wales (age 36) and his brother Prince Arthur Windsor 1st Duke Connaught and Strathearn (age 27).

On 17th December 1909 King Leopold II of Belgium (age 74) died.

Royal Ancestors of King Leopold II of Belgium 1835-1909

Kings Wessex: Great x 23 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings Gwynedd: Great x 23 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd

Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 29 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth

Kings Powys: Great x 24 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys

Kings England: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Kings Scotland: Great x 22 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 19 Grand Son of Louis VII King Franks

Kings France: Great x 17 Grand Son of Philip IV King France

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 27 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Ancestors of King Leopold II of Belgium 1835-1909

Great x 4 Grandfather: Ernest "The Pious" Saxe Gotha I Duke Saxe Gotha 13 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Ernest Saxe Coburg Saalfeld IV Duke Saxe Coburg Saalfeld 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elisabeth Sophie Saxe Altenburg Duchess Saxe Gotha 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Francis Josias Saxe Coburg Saalfeld Duke Saxe Coburg Saalfeld 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Charlotte Johanna Waldeck Wildungen Duchess Saxe Coburg Saalfeld

Great x 1 Grandfather: Ernest Frederick Saxe Coburg Saalfeld Duke Saxe Coburg Saalfeld 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Prince Louis Frederick I of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Great x 2 Grandmother: Duchess Anna Sophie Of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Frederick Saxe Coburg Altenburg I Duke Saxe Gotha Altenburg 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Anna Sophie Saxe Coburg Altenburg 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Duchess Magdalena Sibylle of Saxe Gotha Altenburg 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

GrandFather: Francis Saxe Coburg Gotha I Duke Saxe Coburg Gotha 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Augustus II Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Ferdinand Albert I Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern 13 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Ferdinand Albert II Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 14 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Sophia Antonia Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Duchess Saxe Coburg Saalfeld 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Anthony Ulrich Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg 13 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Louis Rudolph 14 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Princess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Father: King Leopold I of Belgium 14 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: Heinrich XXIV Count Reuss of Ebersdorf

GrandMother: Augusta Reuss Duchess Saxe Coburg Gotha 17 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: George Albert Count of Erbach-Schönberg

Great x 3 Grandfather: George Albert II Count of Erbach-Fürstenau

Great x 2 Grandfather: George August Count of Erbach Schonberg

Great x 1 Grandmother: Karoline Ernestine of Erbach Schonberg 16 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Louis Christian Count of Stolberg Gedern

Great x 2 Grandmother: Ferdinande Henriette Countess of Stolberg Gedern 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Duke Gustav Adolph of Mecklenburg-Güstrow 13 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Christine of Mecklenburg Güstrow 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Magdalena Sibylla of Holstein Gottorp 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

King Leopold II of Belgium 15 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Mother: Louise Orléans Queen Consort Belgium