The Queen Silvia of Sweden Rap

HM Queen Silvia of Sweden is going to be 70 on 23 December. Celebrations have been sprinkled all over advent in December as the queen intends to spend the birthday proper with the family in preparation for Christmas. One such event was held at the Oscar Theatre in Stockholm, and the show contained an extra surprise for her.

Royal Christmas Traditions

Many Royal Christmas traditions we can think of are actually much younger than expected. But some are older than we were told, too. In his book A Royal Christmas published by Elliott & Thompson, Jeremy Archer traces the influence the British Royal family had on the way Christmas is celebrated in the United Kingdom. And in other countries other Royal families are leading in defining Christmas traditions.

Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle, Prince Daniel

Emperor Frederick II: Expert Falconer

German historians in the 19th century promoted Emperor Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire to diplomatic wonder worker. They showed him as a mild monarch and philosopher of enlightened tolerance. This contrasted starkly with his treatment of Muslims in Sicily. His reading habits were not those of a philosopher, either.

Emperor Frederick II

Empress Helena of Rome

Roman Empress Flavia Iulia Helena is one of the few early church saints whose existence is a historical certainty. She must have been an energetic lady even in high age. She shared the Roman Emperors penchant for putting up representative buildings and went on a spending spree to erect numerous churches. According to legend, she was one of the first archaeologists as well as an avid collector of bric-a-brac.