‘Where is Pollie?’ (Lotte Hofmann-Kuhnt,
Briefe der Zarin Alexandra von Russland an ihre Jugendfreundin Toni
Becker-Bracht, 2009). Princess Alix of Hesse paused to add these
words, almost as an afterthought, to a letter to her close friend,
Toni Becker-Bracht, from Balmoral, on 27 September 1892. With these
words, Princess Alix most probably refers to her friend, Marion
Louisa…
Depicted by many a story and film
presentation in years past and present, Cleopatra has represented
the epitome of feminine beauty. Many ascertain her as an example to
look up to when in need of advice to accomplish a well-maintained
life of beauty and romance. But who…
Frederick II, King ‘in’ Prussia, upon
whom was bestowed the celebrated sobriquet of ‘the Great’ in his
lifetime, was in his own words ‘a philosopher and want[ed] to be
buried as such…” This was eventually carried out in 1991, in
accordance with his wishes…
The marriage of Harald and Sonja of
Norway on August 29th 1968 was a groundbreaking royal wedding. But
the bride chose some very traditional blooms for her bouquet while
the church where she said ‘I do’ was decked with popular flowers
and foliage. As Sonja Haraldsen walked into Oslo Cathedral, she
carried a bouquet of white flowers arranged in a simple design.
Amongst her posy were freesias…
This month, King Harald and Queen Sonja
of Norway celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. The then
Crown Prince of Norway married Sonja Haraldsen on 29 August1968 at
Oslo Cathedral. Their wedding, attended by royalty from around
Europe, came five months after the…
Today marks 50 years since then Crown
Prince Harald married Sonja Haraldsen, and she became Crown
Princess of Norway. The day will be celebrated today with a
service in the same church as the wedding took place 50 years ago.
However, you could not have a proper royal…
In the last days of August 1968, the
Royal Family made a sad and surprising announcement. Princess
Marina, Duchess of Kent’s health was ”giving rise to anxiety”
following the diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumour. There
was sympathy for the duchess, a popular member of the House
of Windsor for over three decades, and good wishes began to pour
in. However, surprise turned to…
Queen Victoria kept her journals from the
year 1832 up until around two weeks before her death in 1901. Her
voluminous correspondence is well known; indeed, it was averaged by
the author Giles St Aubyn that the Queen wrote up to some 2,500
words per day (Christopher Hibbert…
‘Islay [a pet dog] is still plagued by
him [Lord Melbourne] every evening—a thing which he much enjoys—and
constantly begs for the spectacles. I forgot to tell you that Karl
has given me a pretty little Rowley, who likewise lives in the
house. The multitude of dogs is…
Caught forever in a moment of time, they
are the tragic family whose terrible end in World War One still
appals and fascinates today. The children of the last Tsar of
Russia died alongside their parents in Yekaterinburg one hundred
years ago this summer. And yet Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and
Alexei had lived most of their lives in imperial splendour. They
had been born to Nicholas II, Tsar…
