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Shield presented to the Prince of Wales by the King of Prussia

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Shield presented to the Prince of Wales by the King of Prussia

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Public domain scan of artwork in the Rijksmuseum, Netherlands, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

The House of Windsor is the royal house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. Founded by Ernest Anton, the sixth duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, it is the royal house of several European monarchies, and branches currently reign in Belgium through the descendants of Leopold I, and in the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms through the descendants of Prince Albert. It succeeded the House of Hanover as monarchs in the British Empire following the death of Queen Victoria. The name was changed from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor in 1917 because of anti-German sentiment in the British Empire during World War I. Windsors were originally a branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha that have provided five British monarchs to date, including four kings and the present queen, Elizabeth II. The name had a long association with the monarchy in Britain.

The Exposition des produits de l'industrie française (Exhibition of Products of French Industry) organized in Paris, France, from 1798 to 1849 impressed the British public so much so that under increasing public pressure the British government reluctantly set up a Royal Commission to investigate the idea of London Exhibition. National pride dictated that the exhibition must bigger and better than anything French could organize. A competition to design an exhibition building was won by the firm of Fox and Henderson, with plans based upon a design by Joseph Paxton and adapted from a glass and iron conservatory produced for the Duke of Devonshire’s Chatsworth House. The design of the impressive glass and iron conservatory or Crystal Palace was amended to accommodate the Hyde Park's large elm trees. The building was 1,850 feet (564 m) long, and 108 feet (33 m) high. Shortly after the exhibition, the whole structure was removed from Hyde Park site and re-erected at Sydenham, then a sleepy hamlet in the Kent countryside, now a multi-ethnic part of South East London. The building was destroyed by fire on the 30th November 1936. The Great Exhibition was opened by Queen Victoria on 1st May 1851. The opening of the Great Expedition happened to coincide with the great innovation of the Industrial Revolution. The Exhibition of 1851 ran from May to October and was visited by six million people. The event became one of the defining points of the nineteenth century. The exhibits included every marvel of the Victorian age, including pottery, porcelain, ironwork, furniture, perfumes, pianos, firearms, fabrics, steam hammers, hydraulic presses and even the odd house or two. Although the original aim of the world fair had been as a celebration of art in industry for the benefit of All Nations, it turned into a showcase of British manufacturing: more than half the 100,000 objects on display were from Britain and the British Empire.

In 1225, the Teutonic Knights, a military order of crusading knights, headquartered in the Kingdom of Jerusalem at Acre transferred their operations to the Baltic Sea where Order engaged in numerous armed conflicts until Order's lands came into the hands of a branch of the Hohenzollern family, who already ruled the Brandenburg. The resulting state, known as Brandenburg-Prussia, commonly known as "Prussia", consisted of geographically disconnected territories in Prussia, Brandenburg, and the Rhineland. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), armies repeatedly marched across the territories so Hohenzollerns had to build a powerful military to protect disconnected lands. "Prussia" developed one of the most powerful armies in Europe. Mirabeau said: "Prussia, is not a state with an army, but an army with a state." More than 20,000 Protestant refugees from Salzburg settled in thinly populated eastern Prussia. Prussia engaged in wars with Poland, Lithuania, numerous German States, Habsburg Austria, France, and Russia proving Prussia's status as one of the great powers of Europe. By 1813, Prussia could mobilize almost 300,000 soldiers. Prussian troops contributed crucially in the Battle of Waterloo - the final victory over Napoleon. Prussia invited the immigration of Protestant refugees (especially Huguenots). For protestants, Prussia was a safe haven in much the same way that the United States welcomed immigrants seeking freedom in the 19th century. Frederick the Great, the first "King of Prussia" introduced a general civil code, abolished torture and established the principle that the Crown would not interfere in matters of justice. He promoted an advanced secondary education which prepares the brightest pupils for university studies. The Prussian education system was emulated in various countries, including the United States. The first half of the 19th century saw a prolonged struggle between those who wanted a united Germany and others who wanted to maintain Germany as a patchwork of independent, monarchical states with Prussia and Austria competing for influence. In 1862 Prussian King Wilhelm I appointed Otto von Bismarck as Prime Minister. Bismarck guided Prussia through a series of wars resulting in a formation of the North German Confederation that united all German-speaking peoples, excluding Austria, which remained connected to non-German territories. On 18 January 1871, William was proclaimed "German Emperor". World War I ended Prussia’s supremacy. The abolition of the political power of the aristocracy transformed Prussia into a region strongly dominated by the left-wing of the political spectrum. Prussia lost territories and became a Land under the Weimar Republic. After the rise to power of Adolf Hitler in 1933, the Prussian constitution was set aside and the legislature abolished. World War II led to the abolition of Prussia with most the land ceded over to Poland. The German population was expelled and fled to the Western occupation zones. The number of casualties is estimated at 2 to 4 million, including those who fled during the last months of the war. 25 February 1947, Prussia was officially proclaimed to be dissolved.

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1851
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Rijksmuseum
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