Aristocracy · Monarchies
Three Queens of Belgium: Queen Fabiola, Queen Paola and Queen Mathilde. From 2013 to 2014 Belgium was a unique monarchy with three living queens. Fabiola, the childless widow of King Baudouin, bore the title of Queen of the Belgians after the accession of her brother-in-law Albert II, while
Coming Up · Art · Monarchies · Museums
In Kazan, as part of the Hermitage Days, a most interesting exhibition is under way: "Catherine the Great. The Golden Age of the Russian Empire". It offers not only works of art that captured the Empress, but also the personal belongings of Catherine II and her grandsons, and
Aristocracy · Monarchies
In the twentieth century the royal house of the Netherlands established a curious and honourable tradition: several generations of monarchs abdicated without waiting for the infirmities of old age, and handed the crown to the young. Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1962), the only daughter of Willem III to outlive him, reigned
NB! · Monarchies · Observations · People
Princess Beatrix is 82 now, and this is roughly how she looks. A beauty 🥰
NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands and Scarlett Johansson. Although in other photos there is no such resemblance
Archive · Monarchies · Museums · Nature
In 2015 the Rijksmuseum displayed the stuffed horse of Willem II to the public for the first time. The beloved horse of the King of the Netherlands, Wexy, took part in the Battle of Waterloo together with his gallant master, and the two were wounded together. After the favourite'
Monarchies · Observations · Mores · Society
Albert II, King Emeritus of the Belgians, Queen Paola and Delphine of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Barely two weeks after her first-ever meeting with her brother, the reigning King Philippe of the Belgians, Delphine has been received in the house of the father who denied her existence for more than
Aristocracy · Monarchies · Mores · Humour
When a woman you have never met gets a court to make your father adopt her, and then comes to tea. This photograph captures, quite literally, the first meeting of King Philippe of Belgium with his sister, Princess Delphine of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the illegitimate daughter of King Albert II
Monarchies · Observations · Mores
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark blows a kiss to her sister, Princess Benedikte of Denmark, outside Christiansborg Palace on the opening day of parliament. I adore the Danish royal family for their endearing habits, charming manners and such down-to-earth views. Even during the quarantine, Margrethe II sets an
London · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
Yesterday, at an interior-design lecture, a respected lady informed us with a perfectly straight face that Queen Victoria, being an ethnic German, invented the Biedermeier style upon arriving in England. Decorators and architects are of course under no obligation to be historians and to know such things, so I
Monarchies · Observations · Mores · People
Other sources also report on the Potemkin villages, but the notorious villages of painted plywood did not lead Catherine astray: this was the ordinary practice of adorning a monarch's route, just as was the building of sumptuous wayside pavilions for the Russian empress's halts. To begin
Books · Monarchies · Observations · Mores
In light of the note on Leo Tolstoy, I recalled a passage from Daniil Granin's book "Evenings with Peter the Great", which unambiguously points to an intimate relationship between Peter Alexeyevich and Alexander Menshikov. I remember well the strong impression this episode made on me, all