NB! · Monarchies · Mores · People

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, aged 82, celebrated fifty years on the throne by riding the roller coaster at Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens

NB! · Archaeology · Architecture · Mores

What a Historian Means When He Asks the Builders for Underfloor Heating

Books · Mores · Saint Petersburg

I Knew Two Lovers Who Lived in Petrograd in the Days of the Revolution and Did Not Notice It

Boris Pasternak

Art · Books · Mores

The tragic tale of the lovers Paolo and Francesca, slain by his brother and her husband Giovanni, who surprised them together, is known to us thanks to Dante, who placed the story of real historical figures, Francesca da Rimini, Gianciotto and Paolo…

The tragic tale of the lovers Paolo and Francesca, slain by his brother and her husband Giovanni, who surprised them together, is known to us thanks to Dante, who placed the story of real historical figures, Francesca da Rimini, Gianciotto and Paolo Malatesta, in Canto V of the "Inferno&

Aristocracy · Archive · Monarchies · Mores · Saint Petersburg

The Heir in a Falconer's Costume at Count Sheremetev's Costume Ball

For the 1894 fancy-dress ball at Count Sheremetev's, the Tsarevich Nicholas came as a falconer. In his diary the heir wrote: "In the evening I put on the kaftan of a 'falconer' from the time of Alexei Mikhailovich; Xenia dressed as a boyar'

London · Monarchies · Mores · Humour

The English Royal Family Prefers to Travel by Helicopter

If you need to get from one castle to another, deliver a basket of pies to Grandmamma, or attend a charity event in aid of widowed knitters in the depths of the countryside, the helicopter really is the finest means of transport. A helicopter is most convenient for setting down

London · Monarchies · Observations · Mores · Humour

Dinners in honour of Elizabeth II in 2002 and 2012 and the table manners of guests

Every ten years a gala luncheon is given in honour of Elizabeth II for heads of state: in 2002 with the leaders of Europe, in 2012 with the rulers of the world. And in any company, of course, there will turn up certain characters who plant themselves with their shanks

NB! · Archive · Mores · Humour

Do you know how to spot the prostitute in this contest, open to both men and women, in a sixteenth-century German manuscript?

Do you know how to spot the prostitute in this contest, open to both men and women, in a sixteenth-century German manuscript? She is the only one in her underwear

Mores · Society · Paris

Investiture ceremony of French presidents and the chain of the Legion of Honour

A compulsory part of the inauguration of French presidents is the Investiture ceremony, held since 1881. The president is solemnly presented with the symbol of supreme state power, the collar of the Grand Master of the Legion of Honour, to the words: “We recognise you as Grand Master of the

Film still: guests in eighteenth-century costume at a laden table with a roast pig, greenery and glasses, one lying face down on the table.

NB! · Cinema · Mores · Humour

A Breton Feast of the Time of Louis XV in Bertrand Tavernier’s film “Let Joy Reign Supreme”

How do you prefer it: at the table, on the table or under the table? A typical Breton feast of the days of Louis XV in Bertrand Tavernier's film "Let Joy Reign Supreme"

NB! · Archive · Books · Mores · People

This Is What a Sixteen-Year Age Gap Looks Like

This is what a sixteen-year age gap looks like. Lev Nikolayevich and Sofya Andreyevna Tolstoy

Old black and white photograph of a long laid table with flowers and rows of chairs in a hall with suits of armour and busts along the walls.

Archive · London · Monarchies · Mores

St George's Hall at Windsor Castle prepared for a banquet in 1902

The table is laid for a very small company: let us sup quietly, en famille. Banquet in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in 1902