European and American Children's fashions, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries were strongly influenced by the way royal families dressed their children. Queen Victoria was especially influential as so many of her children and grandchildren maired into royal familes throught Europe. Kaiser Wilhelm II, for example, was the Queen's grandson. While the British House of Windsor was the most influential in this regard, other royal families also had great influence, at least in their own countries.

Figure 1.--This photograph of the Austrian Habsburgs was taken about 1925, about 7 years after the fall of the monarcy. Prince Otto on the far right still wears short pants. Two years later in 1927 he was photographed in a knicker suit.

The geneology of European royalty is a huge under taking, given the large number of countries and principalities. Major changes have ocurred over time with countries created, dismantleted, and reappearing. Some royal lines extend more than a millenium, others only a few generations. Royal lines can be looked up on the internet with a convenient search engine.

Royal Houses

The following information is available on the royal houses in various countries around the world. Our research has primarily focused on Europe, but we have some information on other areas as well.

Africa

• Ethiopia:
  
  
• Lesotho:
  
  
• Swaziland: Sobhuza II (July 22, 1899 – August 21, 1982) was King of Swaziland. He was the son of Ngwane V. His father died on December 10, 1899, when Sobhuza was only a few months old, and his grandmother, Labotsibeni Gwamile Mdluli, acted as regent until December 22, 1921. His nominal reign of over 82 years (1899-1982) is the longest precisely dated monarchical reign on record, although Pepi II Neferkare of Egypt has claim to an even longer one.
  
  

  Asia

• Assam: Assam or Vietnam also, like China, also had an emperor. He wa more like a king, but because the Vietnamese did not want to be seen as of a lesser rank than the Chinese imperial monarchy, the monarch was also styled an emperor.
  
  
• Cambodia: We have no information on Cambodia's long rioyal line. The only monarch we know about at this time is long reigning King Sihanouk who was placed on the throne by the French (1941).
  
  
• China : Perhaps the most fabled royal dynasties are those of China. The last dynasty was the Manchu (Qing) and the last Manchu emperor was Puyi.
  
  
• India: Indian royal lines are an extremely complicated topic. By the time the British arrived in India, the Mogul emperor in Deli had lost most of his authority. India was divided into many small principalities. When Indis became a republic at independence, the princes or nabobs surrendered their authority to the republic.
  
  
• Japan: The modern Japanese Constitution states that "the Emperor shall be the symbol of the State and of the unity of them people, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power." Modern Japanese royals, like other Japanese boys, have primarily been dressed in western clothes.
  
  
• Thailand:
  
  
  

  Europe

  The history of Europe until the 20th century was largely the history of monarchy. Of course there were the Greek city state democracies and the Roman Republic as well as various other republics over time. Ad of course there was the French Republic resulting from the Revolution. With these exceptions, however, y Europe until the 20th century was largely governed by moarchies. These monarchies played a role in the gradual development of democracy--usually opposing it. There were a variety of limitations on royal power in Europe which varied from country to country. Many monarchs sought to expanded their power, cilminating in Louis XIV's famous statement, "I am the state." The most asolute royal house was the Romanovs in Tsarist Russia. A small group of other dynasties dominated Europe, the Bourbons, Hapsburgs, and evetually the Hohenzollerns. The English royal family was also important, but here there were several different dynasties. In additin to these major royal dynasties there were a substabtial number of other royal lines that ukled the various European countries. Here the story becomes very complicated because of the large number of principalities in addition to the major countries. German and Italy in particular were divided into many small principalities.
  

• Albania: Italian dictator Benito Mussolini throughout the 1930s tried to seize control of Albania. The President of Albania had himself declared King Zog. He resisted Mussolin's efforts until the Itlians actually invaded in 1939, forcing King Zog to flee. Italian King Victor Emanuel was granted the Albanian crown. The monarchy was abolished by the Communist government which took power in Albania after World War II.
  
  
• Austria: The Hapsburgs were one of the European ruling families with the longest histories. I have some information about the family of the last Habsburg Emperor of Austria Hungary. The dress of the Austrian royal family appears to have influenced how wealthy families dressed boys within the Empire, but in recentb years do not seem to have had any great influence on European styles in general or on the clothes of other social strata.
  
  
• Belgium: The Belgium crown only dates from the 1830s. I have little information on how the first kings were dressed as boys. We have much more information on how the children of Albert I and the other Belgian kings were dressed. The two sons of Albert I after the turn of the century wore Fauntleroy suits and lacey blouses. Subsequent princes have not been dressed in such fancy styles.
  
  
• Bosnia: Bosnia-Herzegovina has mostly been ruled by foreign monarchies including the Romans, Byzantines, Hungarians, Ottomans, and Austro-Hungarians, before bring made a part of the Yugoslavain monarchy after World War I. There was an independent Bosnian monarchy in the 12th-15th centuries.
  
  
• Bulgaria: The modern Bulgarian state originated with the defeat of Ottoman Turk forces by the Russian Army and Bulgarian volunteers in 1879. I have only limited information at this time on Bulgarian royals.
  
  
• Croatia: The first monarch of independent Croatia was King Tomislav. An independent Croatian kingdom existed between 923-1102 A.D. The Roman CatholicPapcy hicwas at the heighth of its power endorse the crowning of King Tomislav ho was crowned in 925 and disappeared in 928. The NAZIs endorsed a pupet Croatian state during World II. With the breakup of Yugoslavia, an independent Croatian republic has been formed.
  
  
• Denmark: The Danish royal family is the longest unbroken history of rule in Europe. The fierce Vikings kingdom was one of the first to introduce constitutinal rule in Europe during the 19th Century. Like the German royals, the Danes were fond of sailor suits for the young princes. The monarchy stayed with the people to face the Germans during World War II. The institution and current queen continue emensely popular.
  
  
• Finland: Although bordering on Sweden, the Finns are a separate people speaking a destinctive language different from the other Scandinavian languages. The Finns were conquered and Christianized by Sweden. Since that time until independence in 1918 as a republic, Finland was ruled by either Sweden or Russia. As a result, there was no Finnish royal line.
  
  
• France: The Bourbons dominated the history of France for and much of Europe for centuries. There was also the Emperor Napoleon and Louis Napoleon in the mid 19th century. Napoleon I turned European royalty upside down and inspired nationalist movements that were to eventually dismantle the great empires of Europe. Since the 1870s, France has been a Republic.
  
  
• German Empire: German royals were also outfitted in dresses as little boys during the 19th centuries. Sailor suits were a popular fashion, but the princes wore a variety of other outfits such as satin blouse and short pants outfits. Army uniforms were worn by the older boys.
  
  
• German states: Germany until 1870 was composed of a pathwork quilt of independent principalities. They were united in 1870 by Prussia under the Hohenzollerns, but the various royal families were retained. Many of these German princes married into royal families throughout Europe, including the British royal family. Many dressed their children very fashionably. We have some information on Bavaria, but are just beginning to work on several other German principalities.
  
  
• Greece: Greece was for many years ruled by the Ottoman Turks. The cause of subjected Greece became a romantic issue in the 19th century championed by Lord Byron. The modern monarchy of an independent Greece was established in 1832.
  
  
• Hungary: Süleymân I known to history as Süleymân the Magnificent at the Battle of Mohács in 1526, killed the Jagiellan Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia and most of the Hungarian nobels. Louis' brother-in-law, Ferdinand of Austria, future Emperor and brother of the Emperor Charles V, pressed claims to both crowns for the Hapsburgs, ending an independent Hungarian crown. This was to lead in the 16th century to a separation of the Hapsburg's Spanish and Austrian possessions. After Austria's defeat by Prussia in 1866, the Austrian monarchy was converted into a dual crown for Austria and Hungary in the 1867 Ausgleich. Hungary was raised from the status of a Crownland to a joint partnership in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. After the fall of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I, Emperor Karl I made an unsuccessful effort to estanbish a new Hungarian monarchy.
  
  
• Italy: I have acquired a little information on the Italian monarchy. It had a very short life from 1860 when the King of Savoy became the the first king of a unified Italy. Mussolini and his Fascists reduced the monarchy to a minor influence. After World War II, the Italian people in 1946 narrowly voted for a republic.
  
  
• Italian states: Italy like Germany was not united until the 19th century. Until 1860, Italy was made up of a compicated and often waring mix of republics, the Papal state, kindoms and dukedoms. Large areas of Italy were at times occupied by Austria, France, and Spain and as a result the Bourbons, Bonapartes, and Hapsburgs have played prominently in the royal families of the Italian states. Italy was finally unified by Garibaldi in the name of the Kingdom of Savoy in northern Italy. We have only limited information here, but have begun to collect some information.
  
  
• Liechtenstein: Liechtenstein is a small independent principality bounded by Austria and Switzerland. The history of te principality dates from 1342 and acquired its present boundaries in 1712. Liechtenstein is a largely German speaking principality, but became independent of the German Conferation in 1866 and immediately demobilized its army. The current prince is John III.
  
  
• Lithuania: Lithuania was a major power in the 16th centuryhelping to block the growing power of the Teutonic Knights in the east. The rulers were styled counts with only one of those counts reaching royal status. The Lithuanian line merged with the Polish monarchy.
  
  
• Luxemburg: Luxemburg or Luxembourg in French dates it history to the 10th century. It was one of the few German-speaking principalities that did not join the German Empire after the Franco Prussian War (1870-71). Archduchess Charlotte reigned for decades after World War I when she was confirmed by a plebecite. We have only limited information at this time. Her two sons wore short pants suits a younger boys.
  
  
• Montenegro: Montenegro is a small Balkans principality. We do not know much about the royal family yet. We plan to look into the history. An old engraving shows the six oldest children of King Nicholas. We are unsure what happened to the Montenegrian royal family when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was created after World War I.
  
  
• Monaco: We are all aware of Prince Ranier and Princess Grace, but the Grimaldi family has a long history. We have collected some historfy on the family.
  
  
• Netherlands: Oranje Nassau is the Dutch royal family, since 1815, the legal dynasty of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The modern Dutch Kingdom was created after the Napoleonic wars, but House of Orange and the independent Dutch Republic played a major role in the Reformation and the dynastic wars of the 16th-18th centuries. The Dutch also agreed to loan money to the Amnerican colonies in their fight for independence from Britain.
  
  
• Norway: The Norwegian monarchy is a relatively modern one, dating from only 1907. Some limited information is available on Norway.
  
  
• Poland: Poland was in the early Medieval period a land without central control, racked by warring tribes. Prince Mieszko I was baptised in 966. Mieszko and Roman Catholic Christianity provided stability and cohesion for the first time. Polish kings in the 16th and 17th centuries played a major role in Polish fashion developments. Poland had by the 17th century had become the largest state in Europe. An elected kingship and the power of the nobility significantly impaired the development of a strong national state. Despite important reforms in the late 18th century, Poland was partioned between Austria, Prussia, and Russia and the Polish monarchy ended. Napoleon was aided by Polish nationalists in his campaigns against Austria and Prussia, but his devestating defeat in Russia, ended any hope of a restored Polish monarchy as the peace was dictated by the very powers that had partioned Poland.
  
  
• Potugal: The Portuguese monarchy was founded by Hernry of Burgandy, son of the poweful French Duke of Burgandy. Portugal was born from the struggle to reconquer Iberia from the Moors. There have since been five dynasties of Portuguese ruling families. There was only a short period in which the Spanish seized control of Portugal. Each Poruguese monarch has had a brief description attached to his dynastic name.
  
  
• Romania: The Romanian monarchy like most of the Balkan monarcies were, like their nations, relatively recent creations. They developed as Ottomon power receeded in the Balkans. There was no medievak Romanian kingdom. Romania was formed out of medieval provinces that had been dominated by the Ottomans. The lack of defined boundaries and mixed borders created an unstable situation. Many of the available images are of King Michael.
  
  

  Figure 2.--This is the Tsarevitch Alexis in a formal uniform for a state occasion. He was murdered by the Bolshevicks in 1918, ending the Romanov line.

• Russia: Sailor suits were the Zarevitch Alexis' principal outfit as a boy. He wore them almost constantly, until World war I began and he, like his father, began to wear army uniforms. The Romanov dynasty like many European monarchies ended in 1918, the Romanov's, however, met a more terrible fate than simplly having to abdicate.
  
  
• Scotland: Scotland has not had its own monarch since the 16th Century. The last Scottish king was James VI, son of Mary Queen of Scotts. He became James I of England. British monarchs who once brutally supressed Scottish national sentiment, have since Queen Victoria dressed in kilts and tried to appeal to the Scotts.
  
  
• Serbia: Serbia was a medevial Christian kingdom until conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. Serbia remerged in the 19th century, first during the Napoleonic Wars, but after being again suppressed by the Ottomans, again later in the 19th century. Several other Balkan states rmerged as Ottoman power receeded. he lack of defined boundaries and mixed populations created a unstable situation and several wars, both with the Ottomans and other Balkan states. Serbian nationalism was the spark that set off World War I. After the War, Serbia became the nucleus for Yugoslavia
  
  
• Spain: The Spanish crown was unified by the mairrage of Isabela of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon. The ruling families since were Hapsburgs and Bourbons. The monarchy was deposed by the Republicands in the 1930s, but reinstated after Franco's death in 1975.
  
  
• Sweden: The hisorty of the modern Swedish monarchy begin with the era of the French Revolution. Gustavus III pursued liberal policies, but was assasinated when, after the French Revolution (1789) he became increasingly despotic. His son Gustavus IV Adolphus was only 13 years old when his father was assasinated. Gustavus was bitterly deposed to Napoleon, but an army revolt deposed Gustavus in 1809. Charles XIII formulated for the time a radical new constitution, but was, however, aging and childless. In an effort to appease Napoleon, the Riksdag chose one of Napoleon's trusted marshals as crown prince--Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, Prince of Pontecorvo. The marshal accepted and became a bitter enemy of Napoleon. The current royal familt descenced from Crown Prince Bernadotte.
  
  
• United Kingdom: British Royal families have always influenced fashion, but primarily adult fashion. Until the late 18th century there were no special styles for children, thus there were no fashions to influence. After styles for children developed, the fashions for the royal children were of considerable interest to the public. Queen Victoria and her children and grand children were closely followed by the British public. Her children and future royal generations had a tremendous impact on European and American children's fashions.
  
  
• Yugoslavia: The independence of the southern Slavs had been a dream for the centuries of Ottoman rule, despite their profound religious and cultural difference which continue in the countries formed from Yugoslavia today.
  
  
  

  Latin America

  The major pre-Colombian civilizations had royal dynasties and historians have developed some information on them. The best known civilizations were the Aztecs in Mexico and the Inca in Peru. A good deal is known about both Montezuma and Altalapa who were in power at the time of the Conquest of Mexico and Peru. There were also two short-lived monarchies during the 19th century. Most of the Latin American countries after their wars of independences established republics. Europe at the time was dominated by monarchies and it was far from clear that republics were a practical way of governing. Two monarchies were established in Latin America during the19th century. The Brazil monarchy (Pedro I and II) was a domestic one. Santa Anta in Mexico wanted to set up a kingdom, but was unable to do so. France imposed a monarchy (Maximillian) on Mexico. Maximillian was a Austrian royal, but robavly father by Napoleon II which in part explains why Napolen chose him. His reign proved short lived. After Napoleon withdrew French support, he was executed by a Mexican firing squad.
  
  
  

  Middle-East

• Egypt: We have done some basic work pn the pharohs of ancient Egypt. Most of the information we have developed concerns the New Kingdom.
  
  
• Iraq: The British after World War I helped set up Emir Fisel as king of Iraq. He was the leader of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the War. He was a member of the Sunni Hashimite family from Mecca. He was the first king of the new state of Iraq. This was the first independent state in what is now Iraq since the Islamic Caliphate. Feisal manage to obtained the Iraqi throne in part because of his close association T. E. Lawrence, the famed British officer who helped organize the Arab Revolt. The British drive the Ottomans out of Iraq at the end of the War and were granted a mandate by the League of Nations. The Iraqi monarchy was legitimized by a plebiscite (1921). The British Mandate ended (1932). The Iraqi Army moved toward the NAZIs during World War II and the British reoccupied the country (1941). It was the major source of oil for the British Royal Navy and 8th Army in the Wrstern Desert Fisel proved to be a moderate, moderizing ruler. He was overthrown and brutally murdered in a military coup, the first step in Saddam Husein's rise to power.
  
  
• Jordan: The modern Kingdom of Jordan has dates it history to World War I and the post-war settlement. For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King Hussein. King Hussein bin Talal claimed to be the 42nd generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through the male line of the Prophet's grandson Al-Hassan. Prince Abdallah, the eldest son of King Hussein and Princess Muna, assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999.
  
  
• Libya:
  
  
• Morocco:
  
  
• Persia/Iran: The modern Iranian monarchy was founded by Ismail I (1501). He ended what is called the "fourth era" of political fragmentation. Ismail founded the Safavid dynasty (1501-1740). The other dunasties were the Afsharids, Zands, Qajars, and Pahlavis. The Iranian shahs or emperors ruled as absolute monarchs until the Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905-11). At that time, Iran became a constitutional monarchy. Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar and founded the Pahlavi Dynasty (1925). He changed the name of the country to Iran, a name wgich had racist associations with the pre-historic Aryan peoples. Reza Shah had NAZI orientations. The Soviet Union and Britain occupied the country during World War II to ensure the safe passage of Lend Lease materials. The British replaced Reza Shah with his young son--Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He proved to be the last shah. The Islamic Revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini forced Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to flee the country. The Islamic Revolution abolished the monarchy and created a theocratic republic.
  
  
• Turkey: We have not yet succeed in collecting images on Turkish royals, but we have begun to collect some information on Ottoman royals.
  

European Monarchies

Europe since the fall of the 500-year old Roman Republic in the first century B.C. was ruled by various monarchial systems, ranging from tribal chiefs to the absolutism of Louis XIV, France's famed Sun King. The Christian monarchs which emerged in first Western and then Eastern Europe and Russia claimed that they were anointed by God, the divine right monarchy which dominated Europe for a millenium. Some monarch were able to exert absolute control, symbolized the French bourbons which inherited a weak monarchial system and built a system of absolute control. Elsewhere in Europe, limited monarchies developed out of the struggle between monarchs and the nobility. In some countries, such as Poland, a strong monarchy never developed, in the end leading to the disappearance of Poland from the European map in the 18th century. In other countries this lead to the emergence of modern constitutional monarchies, such as in Britain (the United Kingdom). Democratic institutions appeared in many countries, including Imperial Germany. Led by able advisors like the Count von Bismark, the German Kaiser was able to dominate still weak democratic institutions. In other countries, such as Russia and and Austria-Hungary, the monarch still reigned with virtual absolute power at the turn of the century.

The 20th century was not kind to the great royal houses of Europe. The turn of the 20th century saw a Europe still largely dominated by monarchial government. The only important republic was the France. All other European states, with only minor exceptions, were ruled by hereditary monarchs. This vast monarchial system was virtually swept away in a few years by the malestorm of the First Word War. More than half of the monarchs were forced to abdicate. The Romanovs were shot. Most of the monarchs steped down peacefully in the face of poopular outrage over the war. At the time it was seen as a progressive democratic step, but the nationalistic passions unleased play a major role in the horrors of the Second World War. Monarchies in Austria, Italy, Germany, and Russia were replaced or eclipsed by totalitarian regimes of the left and right that were to challenge the very principle of democratic ruke. And as seen still today in the Balkans, where the First World War erupted, the ultr-nationalist excesses that were once constrained by European mnarchies have still not yet fully played out.

The fall of the European monarchies left a large numbers of prentenders to vanished thrones. Details on these individuals are included in each of the national pages above.

Clothing

European royals had placed an often excessive emphasis on outward forms. This often expressed itself in an almost obsessive concern with clothing, military uniforms, medals, and other decorations. This varied over time, but through World War I when many royal reigns ended, it tended to be the case. It of course varied from monarch to monarch and there were great differences between kindoms. It was not always the more important monarchs that dressed the most formally, although they could of course best afford it. Such diverse personalities as Britain's Edward VII and Germany's Kaisser Wilhelm II were greatly concerned with proper dress. In some cases monarchs even designed their queens' dresses--although usually with little success. In most cases it was the queens who selected the children's clothes, especially when they were younger. Some kings also took an interest here. Britain's George V, for examole thought the only suitable children's attire were sailor suits and kilts.

Clothes Selection

One interesting question about the royal children picture in these pages is who selected their clothes. One would imagine that the quuen rather than the king had more to do with the boys' clothing. Some queens may have done it mostly themselves. at least one king took an nterest in the children's clothes--Grorge V. In other cases the palace staff may have been involved. The authors have no information on this, but hopefully will eventually find some pertinent sources. The choices could be complicated. More was involved than just what the queen though stylish. There were political considerations. Queen Victoria by having the young princes wear kilts presumably improved the popularity of the monarchu in Scotland. The Dauphin when he wore a long pants skeleton suit was making an important political statrement in 18th century France. Monarchs who wore ruled multi-ethnic populations might adopt ehtnic influenced attire for the princes and princesses. Many monarchs had to be careful not to allow the children to appear in outfits that might be considered foreign.

Political Connotations

One does not normally consider the political conotations of boys wear, but in fact the way some boys were dressed had definite political conotations. The ones that most prominently come to mind are the ways that royal youngsters were dressed. Their parents commonly used the children, especially the boys, to help improve the image of the ruling houses. There may be some non-royals as well, but none occur to HBC at this time.

Modern Royals

When we now think about kings of kings we generally think about Europe before the 20th century. European history from the fall of Rome to the 20th century is often viewed, rightly or wrongly, trough the study of the rise and fall of royal dynasties. The royals, of course, have not disappeared even in the 21st century. The modern royals, however, have very different life styles from their precessors who kept themselves and their children apart from their subjects.

Biographical Informaton

These pages will focus primarily on the chilhood of the royals in an effort to describe their clothes and life style. Some basic background is also provided to show their accomplishments and impact on the following generation. Greater details are available on many interest sites. There are some excellent search engine for biographical information on the royals. Readers who know of other useful sites are encouraged to let us know so we can add links here.

• European royalty bibliography
• Royalty data bases
• Royal genelogy

Sources

HBRC has consulted a variety of books on the lives of individual monarchs. These works are noted on the individual pages where the information was used. There are, however, many books with general information about European monarchs as boys.

Van der Kiste, John. Childhood at Court (Sutton Publishing, 1995).

Unidentified Images

HBC has acquired a number of images of European royalty, but can not identify all of them. If you know who the individuals in these images are or can add any other information, HBC would be most interested in your insights.

Contributions

We hope you will find our HBRC wesite of interest. Because of the substantial hosting fees, we need to ask your support to maintain our site. The images in particular require considerable bandwith. We have had to limit access to the images to those readers who help support HBRC. We are also very interested in any information that readers may be offer to help expand tghe information about royals we have already began to work on or additional royals we have not yet covered.