Archive · Books · Monarchies · Mores

Mirror divination on the day of the Tilsit meeting of Alexander I and Napoleon

Pogodin has a tale, told by Countess A.D.B., of a strange divination that took place in a landowner's house, in the company of friends E.O. The young ladies fell to talking of divination by mirror, and the daughter of the house agreed to try it

Art · Monarchies · Humour

Napoleon Converses with Francis II after the Battle of Austerlitz

Napoleon converses with Francis II after the Battle of Austerlitz. Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, 1809. A pity that no one ever told him those breeches fit dreadfully

NB! · Archive · The East · Monarchies · Ethnography

Men's Fashion and Ceremonial Dress of the Ottoman Empire from an Album Presented to the Future Emperor Alexander III in 1867

NB! · Art · Monarchies · Paris

Tureen with cabbage and crayfish from the silver dinner service of Louis XV, the work of the celebrated French goldsmith and engraver Jacques Roettiers III

Art · London · Monarchies · People · Humour

King Charles Admires David Hockney's Outfit at the Buckingham Palace Luncheon Where One of the Greatest Living Artists Received the Order of Merit

“Your yellow clogs are a splendid choice,” the British monarch said, glancing at the Crocs of the 85-year-old Hockney.

NB! · The East · Cinema · Monarchies · Observations · Mores

The Netflix series “Blood, Sex and Kings” is rather good, only one would note that in 1523 the Tudors had no Oriental carpets on their floors, nor could they have had: such a treasure could be found only on a table

Art · Books · Monarchies · Observations · Science

Pareidolia from Arcimboldo's portrait of Rudolf II to the divination of Natasha Rostova

I propose we recall Giuseppe Arcimboldo and his portrait of Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus, on the occasion of my having taken a closer look at my grandmother's blanket. The phenomenon itself, in which people see the outlines of faces and creatures in the patterns, stains and details

Aristocracy · London · Monarchies · Observations · Mores · Humour

Most Peculiar

Most peculiar. The former husband of England's Queen Consort Camilla, the retired Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles, was recently the Queen's official representative at the funeral of a distant relation of the royal family, John Bowes-Lyon, a second cousin of the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.

Archive · Books · Monarchies · Moscow

Alexander I’s biscuits in “War and Peace” and Vyazemsky’s objections to the episode

The phrase “If they have no bread, let them eat cake!” was pinned on the unfortunate Marie Antoinette. The original goes back to a text by Rousseau. But the Russian Emperor Alexander I also found himself entangled in an unpleasant story, when he threw biscuits to the crowd, and people

Architecture · Faith · Monarchies

The Church of St Mary Magdalene at the royal residence of Sandringham is best known for its part in the life of the British royal family: Princess Eugenie and Charlotte were christened here, the royal family's Christmas services are held here, and memoria

The Church of St Mary Magdalene at the royal residence of Sandringham is best known for its part in the life of the British royal family: Princess Eugenie and Charlotte were christened here, the royal family's Christmas services are held here, and memorial tablets to departed members of

NB! · Archive · Monarchies · People · Humour

A Selfie Taken by Nicholas II

NB! · In the Press · London · Monarchies · Humour

In 1992 the Daily Mail published police-made photofits of how Princes William and Harry might look in their early thirties

In 1992 the Daily Mail published police-made photofits of how Princes William and Harry might look in their early thirties. William, for some reason, is the spitting image of Boris Johnson, while Harry is a bleached Ellen DeGeneres