‘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 really terrible!’ (ed. A. C. Benson
& Viscount Esher, The Letters of Queen Victoria, Vol 1, 1837-1843,
204). So the…
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…
Royal weddings bring all kinds of
expectations and among them is one filled with sparkle and glitter.
For we all assume a royal bride will arrive for her marriage
wearing a tiara and when the wedding will result in them becoming a
consort or consort in waiting, the…
“For centuries the Tsars of Russia have
been waging wars simply for the lust of territory and for the glory
of Autocracy. The rulers of Russia have sown the wind and they are
now beginning to reap the whirlwind.” -Carl Joubert The story of
Russia’s last Tsar and his family is perhaps one of the most tragic
royal stories to unfold. The Communist uprising led to the death of
Tsar Nicholas…
The personal jewellery of the last Tsarina, Alexandra Feodorovna
14th August 2018
The personal jewellery of the last
Tsarina of Russia, Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918) provides a
living, tangible timeline of her private life, quite apart from the
glittering jewels which she would have worn as a Romanov bride.
Inevitably though, the public life and the…
‘Never, never can I forget this brilliant
year… so full of marvellous kindness, loyalty & devotion of so many
millions which I really could hardly have expected’. (Quoted in
Christopher Hibbert, Queen Victoria, A Personal History, 379). With
these words, Queen…
The visit of the future Tsar Nicholas II
to Queen Victoria in the summer of 1894 has a fabled quality; it
took place a mere two months after his engagement to Princess Alix
of Hesse in Coburg. This visit has a special poignancy when viewed
through later eyes; we know of course, that far from enjoying a
period as Tsarevich and Tsarevna of Russia, Nicholas and Alix
would, in fact, marry in November…
Queen Victoria began her journal in 1832
at the age of thirteen and continued to keep it until old age, with
the last entry made just nine days before she died, constituting,
therefore, a remarkable royal record. She took her journal with her
wherever she went on her…
The Queen arrived at Balmoral Castle on
Monday to officially begin her summer holiday. Each year, Her
Majesty invites some specially chosen guests to spend a
few days with the monarch at her summer retreat. As the
92-year-old’s time at Balmoral is in a private…
‘What sorrows this last year brought us,
what endless anxieties, what worries and losses – God grant the new
year may be a calmer and happier one for the whole of dear Russia.
Sleep well and peacefully…’ With these words, Tsarina Alexandra
Feodorovna (1872-1918) closed a letter on New Year’s Eve 1900 to
Princess Marie Bariatinsky, one of the few close friends of her
early years as…
