# International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences

The International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences is a biennial conference for topics of heraldic and genealogical interest. The Congress convenes scholars and other interested persons from Europe and throughout the world.
The first Congress was held at Barcelona in 1929; at the second Congress, held in 1953, it was decided that future meetings would be held every two years (there being two exceptions).
The 22nd Congress at Ottawa in 1996 was memorable '"for the first time beyond the birthplace of modern scientific studies in genealogy and heraldry"' with HE the Rt Hon. Roméo LeBlanc, Governor General of Canada and his wife Dr Diana Fowler LeBlanc as patrons. The 2006 Congress at St Andrews, had HRH the Princess Royal as its patron, and HE the Rt Hon. Michaëlle Jean was patron of the 2008 Congress at Quebec City.
The main themes of the Congresses have changed greatly over the years, and some disciplines have ceased to form any part of the Congress' study. Abandoned subjects include sphragistics and iconography, which were dealt with at Paris, and vexillology, which was to have been one of the themes at Congresses after Bern. Genetics, which had been a subject of discussion at Stockholm in 1960, did not reappear until the Ottawa Congress of 1996. Chivalric orders were another discarded subject, despite featuring in the Congresses held at Rome/Naples, Madrid, Stockholm and Edinburgh, as well as in a few papers presented at Madrid in 1982.

## List of Congresses

The Congress rotates being hosted in different countries:
| Nr | City | Year | Dates | Patron | Theme |
| I | Barcelona | 1929 | | HM King Alfonso XIII of Spain | |
| II | Rome/Naples | 1953 | 23-25 September | Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro | |
| III | Madrid | 1955 | 6-11 October | Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona |
| IV | Brussels | 1958 | | HM King Baudouin of the Belgians | |
| V | Stockholm | 1960 | 21-28 August | HRH Prince Bertil of Sweden |
| VI | Edinburgh | 1962 | 8-14 September | HRH the Duke of Edinburgh | |
| VII | The Hague | 1964 | 20-26 June | HM Queen Juliana of the Netherlands | |
| VIII | Paris | 1966 | | President Charles de Gaulle | |
| IX | Bern | 1968 | 30 June-6 July | King Umberto II of Italy | |
| X | Vienna | 1970 | | Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg | |
| XI | Liège | 1972 | 29 May-3 June | HM King Baudouin of the Belgians | |
| XII | Munich | 1974 | | Prince Ernst August of Lippe | |
| XIII | London | 1976 | | HRH Princess Anne | |
| XIV | Copenhagen | 1980 | 25-29 August | HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark | |
| XV | Madrid | 1982 | 19-25 September | HM King Juan Carlos of Spain | |
| XVI | Helsinki | 1984 | 16-21 August | Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich | |
| XVII | Lisbon | 1986 | 7-13 September | Duke Duarte Pio of Braganza | |
| XVIII | Innsbruck | 1988 | 5-9 September | Archduke Otto von Habsburg | |
| XIX | Keszthely | 1990 | 2-6 October | Archduke Andreas Salvator of Austria | |
| XX | Uppsala | 1992 | 9-13 August | HM King Carl Gustaf of Sweden | |
| XXI | Luxembourg | 1994 | 28 August-3 September | HRH the Grand Duke of Luxembourg | |
| XXII | Ottawa | 1996 | 18-23 August | HE the Rt Hon. Roméo LeBlanc & Dr Diana Fowler-LeBlanc | Families and Symbols Transcending Frontiers |
| XXIII | Turin | 1998 | 21-26 September | HE Dott. Ugo Barzini | |
| XXIV | Besançon | 2000 | | Count Henri of Paris | |
| XXV | Dublin | 2002 | 16-21 September | Professor Mary McAleese | Genealogy and Heraldry: Their Place and Practice in Changing Times |
| XXVI | Bruges | 2004 | 6-11 September | HM King Albert II of the Belgians | |
| XXVII | St Andrews | 2006 | 21-26 August | HRH the Princess Royal | Myth and propaganda in heraldry and genealogy |
| XXVIII | Quebec | 2008 | 23-27 June | HE the Rt Hon. Michaëlle Jean | The Meeting of Two Worlds, Quest or Conquest |
| XXIX | Stuttgart | 2010 | 12-17 September | Georg Friedrich Prinz von Preussen | Identity in Genealogy and Heraldry |
| XXX | Maastricht | 2012 | 24-28 September | HRH Prince Willem-Alexander | Frontiers in Genealogy and Heraldry |
| XXXI | Oslo | 2014 | 13-17 August | HM King Harald V of Norway | Influence on Genealogy and Heraldry of Major Events in the History of a Nation |
| XXXII | Glasgow | 2016 | 10-14 August | Dr Joseph Morrow, Lord Lyon | Origins and Evolution |
| XXXIII | Arras | 2018 | 2-5 October | HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco | Genealogy and Heraldry, between War and Peace |
| XXXIV | Madrid | 2020 | 20-23 October | HM King Felipe VI of Spain | |
| XXXV | Cambridge | 2022 | 15-19 August | HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex | Reformation, Revolution, Restoration |
| XXXVI | Boston | 2024 | 24-28 September | Baron Brim-DeForest of Balvaird | Origins, Journeys, Destinations |
| XXXVII | San Marino | 2026 | tba | HE Captain Regent of San Marino | |