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On 5 November 1605 the plotter against James I, Guy Fawkes, was seized; his name became a byword for conspiracy and, in time, a word for young men. The word "guy" derives from the name of Guy Fawkes
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A hairy knight from a fourteenth-century Bible made for Wenceslaus, King of Germany and Bohemia. In his hands the knight holds a gules shield with a silver lion, the ancient coat of arms of Bohemia
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On the one hand, the position is correct and profound; on the other, after such pronouncements one cannot help thinking: "what if Nicholas really would have been better off with Mathilde?" Ps I rather like the formula in general, and I sometimes blackmail my own parents in the
Aristocracy · Cinema · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
When in Matilda Nicholas II faints during the coronation, the lady sitting next to me exclaimed: "I don't remember such a historical fact" Nor do I, for that matter. If anyone fainted at that coronation, it was the Senior Master of Ceremonies, Saltykov. But that is
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By the favouring mercy of God, We, Alexander the Second, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod; Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of the Tauric Chersonese, Tsar of Georgia; Sovereign of Pskov and Grand Duke of Smolensk,
Monarchies · Observations · Mores
In the Russian Empire, heirs to the throne received the Order of Saint Andrew the First-Called at birth, male members of the imperial family at baptism, and princes of the imperial blood on coming of age. Grand Duchesses received the Order of Saint Catherine, First Class, at baptism, and
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Portrait of the Grand Dukes Alexander Pavlovich and Konstantin Pavlovich as children. Artist: Heyde. 1790
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The Soviet plenipotentiary Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai gravely offended the Queen of Norway on 7 March 1928 by turning up at a reception without gloves. She mentions this incident, and her strained relations with Nicholas II's cousin, Queen Maud of Great Britain, in her diary: "At the dinner
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Alexander I invited Jeremy Bentham to court, corresponded with him and took his advice. Bentham devised the secret ballot for Parliament, but Karamzin said it would never take root in Russia, and a good idea was quashed.
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Incidentally, both of the Empress's dresses are rather instructive as facts in the history of fashion. The first is of silver brocade with silver and gold embroidery. Over it Catherine wore a gold brocade mantle with black eagles. It was the first dress in history whose principal decorative