(Encyclopedia) ComnenusComnenuskŏmnēˈnəs [key], family name of several Byzantine emperors—Isaac I, Alexius I, John II, Manuel I, Alexius II, and Andronicus I—who reigned in the 11th and 12th cent.,…
(Encyclopedia) Hepburn, Audrey, 1929–93, British film actress, b. Brussels as Audrey Kathleen Ruston. The daughter of an English banker and a Dutch baroness, she and her mother lived in the…
(Encyclopedia) Gombrowicz, WitoldGombrowicz, Witoldvēˈtōld gŏmbrōˈvĭch [key], 1904–69, Polish writer. Gombrowicz is recognized as an original satirist, an existential innovator who mingled the real…
(Encyclopedia) Juan Carlos IJuan Carlos Ihwän kärˈlōs [key], 1938–, king of Spain (1975–2014), b. Rome. The grandson of Alfonso XIII, he was educated in Switzerland and in Spain. Placed by his father…
(Encyclopedia) AchillesAchillesəkĭlˈēz [key], in Greek mythology, foremost Greek hero of the Trojan War, son of Peleus and Thetis. He was a formidable warrior, possessing fierce and uncontrollable…
(Encyclopedia) Leopold III, 1901–83, king of the Belgians (1934–51), son and successor of Albert I. In 1936, Leopold announced a fundamental change in foreign policy; Belgium abandoned its military…
(Encyclopedia) Stuart or Stewart, Charles Edward, 1720–88, claimant to the British throne, b. Rome. First son of James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender), he was known as Bonnie Prince Charlie…
(Encyclopedia) Seymour of Sudeley, Thomas Seymour, Baron, 1508?–1549, English nobleman. After the marriage (1536) of his sister Jane to Henry VIII, he served on various diplomatic missions, was in…
(Encyclopedia) PřemyslPřemyslpərzhĕmˈĭsəl [key], earliest dynasty of Bohemia. Its semilegendary founder was the peasant Přemysl, whom the Bohemian Princess (sometimes called Queen) Libussa chose as…
(Encyclopedia) Carol II, 1893–1953, king of Romania, son of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. While crown prince, he contracted a morganatic marriage with Zizi Labrino but divorced her to marry (1921)…
