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Royal Jewels
- Thread starter LadyAmythyst69
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I have not looked up The Crown of Mexico, but I did look up The Reluctant Empress. I became distracted by some of the content in the book reviews and ended up reading a bit about the life of Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi), not just about her biography. I do not think that I will be following your example and reading about the lives of the Hapsburgs, however. What your posting did lead me to, however, was a book in a field that interests me more than the Hapsburgs do and that I did not know existed. The book is another one penned by Brigitte Hamann, the author of The Reluctant Empress. It is Hitler's Vienna: Portrait of the Tyrant as a Young Man. As it is about Vienna and Hitler's origins, I suspect that Dr. Hamann must specialize in Austrian history (although I did not look her up). I am planning to read her book on Hitler, although I have no idea when I will get to it. It received excellent reviews.
I have posted before that all the books I currently read seem to come from recommendations that I receive on Pricescope! Usually these come from threads about books, but if I get one in a thread on royal jewels, I will take it! Thank you, Vesper!
Deb
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I think Daisy's husband has gone off the deep end. Was he always crazy or did this just come upon him recently? This is from "Newser" (today).
"The husband of Denmark's Queen Margrethe is so fed up with what he sees as unequal treatment that he has rejected a royal burial spot next to his wife. Prince Henrik, 83, has been married to the Danish royal for 50 years, gaining the title prince consort, but he has always craved the title of king and equal treatment to his wife, the New York Times reports. Royal authorities announced this week that in protest, Henrik has decided not to be buried alongside his wife in a specially designed glass sarcophagus to be installed at the country's Roskilde Cathedral. Henrik, a French-born diplomat formerly known as Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, will be buried at another location in Denmark. ' "It is no secret that the prince for many years has been unhappy with his role and the title he has been awarded in the Danish monarchy,' the Royal Danish House's director of communications says. 'For the prince, the decision not to be buried beside the queen is the natural consequence of not having been treated equally to his spouse.' The practice of not making him king, however, is in line with that of other European royal families, including Britain's. Henrik, who fathered two sons with the queen, retired from public duties last year, the BBC reports. Queen Margrethe, who became the country's first female monarch in centuries after the constitution was changed in 1953, has reportedly accepted the decision.
Deb/AGBF
"The husband of Denmark's Queen Margrethe is so fed up with what he sees as unequal treatment that he has rejected a royal burial spot next to his wife. Prince Henrik, 83, has been married to the Danish royal for 50 years, gaining the title prince consort, but he has always craved the title of king and equal treatment to his wife, the New York Times reports. Royal authorities announced this week that in protest, Henrik has decided not to be buried alongside his wife in a specially designed glass sarcophagus to be installed at the country's Roskilde Cathedral. Henrik, a French-born diplomat formerly known as Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, will be buried at another location in Denmark. ' "It is no secret that the prince for many years has been unhappy with his role and the title he has been awarded in the Danish monarchy,' the Royal Danish House's director of communications says. 'For the prince, the decision not to be buried beside the queen is the natural consequence of not having been treated equally to his spouse.' The practice of not making him king, however, is in line with that of other European royal families, including Britain's. Henrik, who fathered two sons with the queen, retired from public duties last year, the BBC reports. Queen Margrethe, who became the country's first female monarch in centuries after the constitution was changed in 1953, has reportedly accepted the decision.
(snip)"
Link to article...http://www.newser.com/story/246712/...urce=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_top
Deb/AGBF
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If you are a fan of WWII and then you might actually like reading on the Hapsburg empire. I did not really "get" WWI until I started to read up on all of the royals and the insane cluster or family members who were spread across Europe. Once I felt like I really understood WWI it made much of WWII clearer.
Empress Elizabeth was basically the saddest girl in the world. She wanted to die. She would even tie herself to the mast of ships in storms "to feel alive." She was very anorexic and hated anything of the flesh (hold hands, sex, hugging) and isolated herself. She only wanted to be around pure people. When her youngest daughter married she was despondent that she would no longer be a virgin and be "of flesh." It is one of the reasons why she loved her celibate cousin King Ludwig II of Bavaria who was gay but strongly believed he should not act on it. Some people say they had a thing but considering how much each of them liked physical touch I doubt it. I think they were both mad (he was called the mad king and later killed himself,) wistful and did not want to rule.
She felt pressure to be pretty and thin and spent hours a day making sure she looked good. What is interesting is she had a massive collection of lovely gems and such. After her son killed himself she started to give it all away and started to really believe in the "power" stones and nature had. So all of the sudden she thought black pearls were bad luck, so she gave them all away.
At her coronation she wore a Hungarian style dress to try and bring unity to Austria and Hungary. The only remotely political thing she accomplished or cared about was Hungarian independence. The learned Hungarian and only spoke it with her youngest daughter. She pushed Franz Joseph to kind of set up a slightly independently functioning state.
She was most well known for a set of stars that she wore in her hair:
Here is a reproduction of another one of her most famous sets. It was lost when the empire fell in 1918 (leading to unrest and WWII, since that is your thing.)
Here is a diamond and emerald set that also went missing (a good chance she just gave it away.)
Anyway, like I said, she never was the same after the loss of her son and only wore black , jet and a ruby cross.
Here is some of her mourning pieces and fans she owned. She always had a fan so she could cover her face. She did not want people to see how much she had aged. It is said her skin was very bad from her eating disorder (it caused many issues with her health and mobility) and spending hours riding horses in the sun.
Eventually she switched to a leather fan that would obstruct her face and not allow people to take her picture. Ultimately she was stabbed and died on a boat. Her life was only prolonged due to how tight her corset was and it acting as a tourniquet. Over all she was very lovely, very smart and extremely sad AND worth reading about.
Empress Elizabeth was basically the saddest girl in the world. She wanted to die. She would even tie herself to the mast of ships in storms "to feel alive." She was very anorexic and hated anything of the flesh (hold hands, sex, hugging) and isolated herself. She only wanted to be around pure people. When her youngest daughter married she was despondent that she would no longer be a virgin and be "of flesh." It is one of the reasons why she loved her celibate cousin King Ludwig II of Bavaria who was gay but strongly believed he should not act on it. Some people say they had a thing but considering how much each of them liked physical touch I doubt it. I think they were both mad (he was called the mad king and later killed himself,) wistful and did not want to rule.
She felt pressure to be pretty and thin and spent hours a day making sure she looked good. What is interesting is she had a massive collection of lovely gems and such. After her son killed himself she started to give it all away and started to really believe in the "power" stones and nature had. So all of the sudden she thought black pearls were bad luck, so she gave them all away.
At her coronation she wore a Hungarian style dress to try and bring unity to Austria and Hungary. The only remotely political thing she accomplished or cared about was Hungarian independence. The learned Hungarian and only spoke it with her youngest daughter. She pushed Franz Joseph to kind of set up a slightly independently functioning state.
She was most well known for a set of stars that she wore in her hair:
Here is a reproduction of another one of her most famous sets. It was lost when the empire fell in 1918 (leading to unrest and WWII, since that is your thing.)
Here is a diamond and emerald set that also went missing (a good chance she just gave it away.)
Anyway, like I said, she never was the same after the loss of her son and only wore black , jet and a ruby cross.
Here is some of her mourning pieces and fans she owned. She always had a fan so she could cover her face. She did not want people to see how much she had aged. It is said her skin was very bad from her eating disorder (it caused many issues with her health and mobility) and spending hours riding horses in the sun.
Eventually she switched to a leather fan that would obstruct her face and not allow people to take her picture. Ultimately she was stabbed and died on a boat. Her life was only prolonged due to how tight her corset was and it acting as a tourniquet. Over all she was very lovely, very smart and extremely sad AND worth reading about.
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I am rushing out to the drycleaners, but will return to reread your posting, Vesper! What you are saying about the Empress Elisabeth was said in different ways in the material I already read earlier today. For example, you say that she suffered from anorexia; I read in another place that she kept herself slim using various means (which were detailed). The methods were explained in detail and her height (5' 8") and weight (110 pounds) were given, but no modern labels like "anorexia" were affixed to her. The matters of her toilet and physique were simply chronicled.
And other things you wrote were written in other sources I read written in a different manner. Her relationship with Hungary is one of them. I read elsewhere of how she studied foreign languages (including ancient and modern Greek as well as English, French, and Hungarian, and how she and grew to love Hungary). You added details about which I had not read, however.
I majored in History in college and also have an MA in Modern European History (which starts in 1789 with the French Revolution at my university), so I actually have studied a bit about The Hapsburg Empire and World WarI! It is just that I was always more interested in the period between the two World Wars than in the nineteenth century. Even that is not actually true. I studied The Progressive Era in the United States, which is tied to the robber barons and The Gilded Age at the end of the nineteenth century. But I really need to go now. I have become addicted to talking with you, so I will be back!!!!
Hugs,
Deb
And other things you wrote were written in other sources I read written in a different manner. Her relationship with Hungary is one of them. I read elsewhere of how she studied foreign languages (including ancient and modern Greek as well as English, French, and Hungarian, and how she and grew to love Hungary). You added details about which I had not read, however.
I majored in History in college and also have an MA in Modern European History (which starts in 1789 with the French Revolution at my university), so I actually have studied a bit about The Hapsburg Empire and World WarI! It is just that I was always more interested in the period between the two World Wars than in the nineteenth century. Even that is not actually true. I studied The Progressive Era in the United States, which is tied to the robber barons and The Gilded Age at the end of the nineteenth century. But I really need to go now. I have become addicted to talking with you, so I will be back!!!!
Hugs,
Deb
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Hi AGBF, I thought I read something years ago that this tradition is at risk because the mine the royal Welsh gold has come from is essentially empty. Do you know if this is true or not?
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kgizo, you are right that the Welsh gold was reported to be in low supply! Nonetheless, there is apparently enough for a ring to be made for Prince Harry's bride. That, at least, is what I have read. I do not stand behind that research, however! (I recently heard that new students at schools of journalism are told that if their mothers tell them they love them they should go get a second source. I am bit like that when throwing around assertions about things I "hear" or "read" once or twice "somewhere"!)
Vesper, thank you for the rich, illustrated posting above. I found it very enlightening. Elisabeth was truly stunning. I can imagine why Franz Josef fell in love with her "at first sight". I very much understand why she would have held a fan, too, given that I am struggling with the same issues with which she did! Aging is not easy on women.
You mentioned that The Hapsburg Empire fell in 1918 leading to World War II. Indeed World War I put an end to The Hapsburg Empire. Historians tend to look at it like this: the aging empires of Russia and Austria-Hungary were collapsing by 1914, the year of the assassination of the Archduke Franz-Ferdinand in by a Serb in Bosnia. When Serbia became involved in a war with Austria-Hungary, Russia got dragged in, too, on Serbia's side. (And, as we know, Russia brought in France and Great Britain) So the two aging empires were pulled into the war by little Balkan conflicts. Russia underwent a revolution in 1917 and dropped out of World War I entirely. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had dragged its ally Germany into the war, simply fell apart. By the time of The Paris Peace Talks, the entire world was up for grabs and the victors (France, Great Britain, and the United States) ended up carving up a lot of the world. New countries were created out of groups that had had little in common. For example, Yugoslavia was out together as if with glue. None of the groups got along at all. They were put together as if by whim. in the Middle east new countries were created and given to France and Britain as "mandates". And, of course, Germany was forced to give up land and to pay war reparations, something that Hitler was to use to unify Germans against foreigners in the 1920's.Yes, the way was paved for World War II. Germany was aggrieved by The Versailles Treaty and the war reparations.
Deb
Vesper, thank you for the rich, illustrated posting above. I found it very enlightening. Elisabeth was truly stunning. I can imagine why Franz Josef fell in love with her "at first sight". I very much understand why she would have held a fan, too, given that I am struggling with the same issues with which she did! Aging is not easy on women.
You mentioned that The Hapsburg Empire fell in 1918 leading to World War II. Indeed World War I put an end to The Hapsburg Empire. Historians tend to look at it like this: the aging empires of Russia and Austria-Hungary were collapsing by 1914, the year of the assassination of the Archduke Franz-Ferdinand in by a Serb in Bosnia. When Serbia became involved in a war with Austria-Hungary, Russia got dragged in, too, on Serbia's side. (And, as we know, Russia brought in France and Great Britain) So the two aging empires were pulled into the war by little Balkan conflicts. Russia underwent a revolution in 1917 and dropped out of World War I entirely. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had dragged its ally Germany into the war, simply fell apart. By the time of The Paris Peace Talks, the entire world was up for grabs and the victors (France, Great Britain, and the United States) ended up carving up a lot of the world. New countries were created out of groups that had had little in common. For example, Yugoslavia was out together as if with glue. None of the groups got along at all. They were put together as if by whim. in the Middle east new countries were created and given to France and Britain as "mandates". And, of course, Germany was forced to give up land and to pay war reparations, something that Hitler was to use to unify Germans against foreigners in the 1920's.Yes, the way was paved for World War II. Germany was aggrieved by The Versailles Treaty and the war reparations.
Deb
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kgizo-
After I finished writing about Austria-Hungary I went back to look up Welsh gold. Here is a link to a website I thought was very helpful. It appears to say that although the Welsh gold from the first mine that provided it to Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, who started the fashion of using Welsh gold for wedding rings, may be depleted, that The Royal family has received Welsh gold from other Welsh mines and held onto it. The Royal family is also pretty reticent about whose rings are made from gold from each mine. They prefer that people just know it is all Welsh gold (which is not any different from any other gold anyway).
Link...http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-13196514
Deb, gold fiend
prince.of.preslav
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Hey guys,
Just wanted to say I'm fine, but have much time posting here, as I did several years ago.
It's great to see that there have been some new contridutions in the thread. Vesper's contributions are great and I really enjoyed the pictures of Emplress Elizabeth and Empress Carlota (just recently I was fascinated by her story and Miramare castle in Trieste, while doing a research on her jewels).
Vesper (my fav Bond girl, BTW), here's a link to a thread on non-royal tiaras I opened back in 2010. You might find it interesting and you can also see Lady Maria's tiara collection.
Lady Maria, congratulations on wining yeat another award! I'm sure it was well-deserved and you've made everyone around you really proud! The new tiara looks great on you, you're our own royal LADY!
Just wanted to say I'm fine, but have much time posting here, as I did several years ago.
It's great to see that there have been some new contridutions in the thread.
Vesper's contributions are great and I really enjoyed the pictures of Emplress Elizabeth and Empress Carlota (just recently I was fascinated by her story and Miramare castle in Trieste, while doing a research on her jewels).Vesper (my fav Bond girl, BTW), here's a link to a thread on non-royal tiaras I opened back in 2010. You might find it interesting and you can also see Lady Maria's tiara collection.
Lady Maria, congratulations on wining yeat another award! I'm sure it was well-deserved and you've made everyone around you really proud! The new tiara looks great on you, you're our own royal LADY!
LadyMaria
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August 28, 2017
It was fabulous to see you posting again, Bobby! I am glad that you still come by. You are so important to everything that this thread was.
Lady Maria, how has the school year gone so far? It is hard to believe that you have been there for a week already. We never used to start school until after Labor Day, which here in the US is always in September!
Deb
It was fabulous to see you posting again, Bobby! I am glad that you still come by. You are so important to everything that this thread was.
Lady Maria, how has the school year gone so far? It is hard to believe that you have been there for a week already. We never used to start school until after Labor Day, which here in the US is always in September!
Deb
LadyMaria
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When I lived up north, we started after Labor Day too. Down here in the south, they tend to start earlier so we can get out of school by Memorial Day. It's been fast paced start to the school year with the big Solar Eclipse on the first day and Hurricane Harvey. We don't cover hurricanes in class officially until October, but there is no way I'm not going to talk about a current event in science just because some administrator says it's not in the current scope and sequence!! Honestly, sometimes this "data-driven" and "standardized testing preparation" stuff is just nonsense. Perhaps my next tiara should be the Rani of Rebellion!!
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"Jeez o petes" is something we say in PA. BlingmeupScotty, are you in PA???????
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I didn't even know what "withf" stood for! I can figure out "wtf" or "wth", although I do not text, but "withf" has too many letters! Is that a Pennsylvania thing, too, stracci?
Deb
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I didn't even know what "withf" stood for! I can figure out "wtf" or "wth", although I do not text, but "withf" has too many letters! Is that a Pennsylvania thing, too, stracci?
I agree, I don't know about "withf" means either!
However, "Jeez o' pete's" is an exclamation of dismay, most certainly a contraction of "Jesus and Peter"
Western PA has it's own weird accent and vocabulary. We also like to drop the ends of words, and generally butcher the English language. I moved away some years ago, but when I come back to visit, it's like music to my ears!
Deb
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I have fallen in love with the pearl and diamond collection of Princess Therese of Saxe-Altenburg (hopefully pearls are okay here and as far as I know she was Peer-less.)
I have also fallen in love with her daughter's (Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovan of Russia) diamond choker.
I so in love with her necklace here. It looks like it could be one of the ones from above.
Oh her emeralds. She is dripping in them.
(former so does she count?) Queen Anne-Marie of Greece now has them.
I have also fallen in love with her daughter's (Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovan of Russia) diamond choker.
I so in love with her necklace here. It looks like it could be one of the ones from above.
Oh her emeralds. She is dripping in them.
(former so does she count?) Queen Anne-Marie of Greece now has them.
LadyMaria
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prince.of.preslav
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Ahhh... The marvellous pearls of Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna! I love them, too, Vesper! And I often wonder what happened with her fabulous collection, of which I know very little.
Queen Olga's diamonds are also astonishing! It is known that she left jewels to each of granddaughters and it's believed the necklace of large diamonds went to Olga, later Princess of Yugoslavia. It appeared at auction some time ago.
Note the chain that has been used to extend the necklace:
Queen Olga's diamonds are also astonishing! It is known that she left jewels to each of granddaughters and it's believed the necklace of large diamonds went to Olga, later Princess of Yugoslavia. It appeared at auction some time ago.
Note the chain that has been used to extend the necklace:
LadyMaria
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Ahhh... The marvellous pearls of Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna! I love them, too, Vesper! And I often wonder what happened with her fabulous collection, of which I know very little.
Queen Olga's diamonds are also astonishing! It is known that she left jewels to each of granddaughters and it's believed the necklace of large diamonds went to Olga, later Princess of Yugoslavia. It appeared at auction some time ago.
Note the chain that has been used to extend the necklace:
Astonishing doesn't even touch the size of that necklace Bobby!!
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Queen Olga's diamonds are also astonishing! It is known that she left jewels to each of granddaughters and it's believed the necklace of large diamonds went to Olga, later Princess of Yugoslavia. It appeared at auction some time ago.
Note the chain that has been used to extend the necklace:
I would love to know what lucky person ended up with that necklace. I can't even imagine betting to be in the same room as something so stunning. How large do you think each stone is?
prince.of.preslav
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I always find it difficult to say what the carat wight of a stone is based on old photos alone, but maybe about 7 carats? Don't know really...
If you're into a few more details, here are the lot notes from the auction: AN IMPORTANT ANTIQUE DIAMOND RIVIÈRE, FORMERLY THE PROPERTY OF QUEEN OLGA OF GREECE (1851-1926)
And if you thought the sight of Queen Olga with her jewels was impressive, here's a picture of princess Olga wearing her diamond rivières and Boucheron tiara + impressive diamond and emerald Art Deco bracelet:
If you're into a few more details, here are the lot notes from the auction: AN IMPORTANT ANTIQUE DIAMOND RIVIÈRE, FORMERLY THE PROPERTY OF QUEEN OLGA OF GREECE (1851-1926)
And if you thought the sight of Queen Olga with her jewels was impressive, here's a picture of princess Olga wearing her diamond rivières and Boucheron tiara + impressive diamond and emerald Art Deco bracelet:
prince.of.preslav
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At last, Queen Letizia wore her new tiara at a banquet to celebrate Queen Margrethe of Denmark's 75th birthday.
It is reported to be a brand new piece made by the jeweller Ansorena as a gift from her husband to commemorate their 5th wedding anniversary.
The centre piece can be detached and worn as a brooch and she had done that in the past, however, this was the tiara's first public outing in its entirety since it was mentioned in the ROSS blog back in Nov 2011.
As queen, she would have other Spanish tiaras at her disposal, however, I guess this one is likely to have more sentimental value as it is made especially for her and is a gift from her husband.
DK
I like it/don't like it. I love the fleur de lis. I guess it is a more casual tiara
which she may have wanted. I can see needing one.
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I think Daisy's husband has gone off the deep end. Was he always crazy or did this just come upon him recently? This is from "Newser" (today).
"The husband of Denmark's Queen Margrethe is so fed up with what he sees as unequal treatment that he has rejected a royal burial spot next to his wife. Prince Henrik, 83, has been married to the Danish royal for 50 years, gaining the title prince consort, but he has always craved the title of king and equal treatment to his wife, the New York Times reports. Royal authorities announced this week that in protest, Henrik has decided not to be buried alongside his wife in a specially designed glass sarcophagus to be installed at the country's Roskilde Cathedral. Henrik, a French-born diplomat formerly known as Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, will be buried at another location in Denmark. ' "It is no secret that the prince for many years has been unhappy with his role and the title he has been awarded in the Danish monarchy,' the Royal Danish House's director of communications says. 'For the prince, the decision not to be buried beside the queen is the natural consequence of not having been treated equally to his spouse.' The practice of not making him king, however, is in line with that of other European royal families, including Britain's. Henrik, who fathered two sons with the queen, retired from public duties last year, the BBC reports. Queen Margrethe, who became the country's first female monarch in centuries after the constitution was changed in 1953, has reportedly accepted the decision.
(snip)"Link to article...http://www.newser.com/story/246712/...urce=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_top
Deb/AGBF
He has dementia
http://www.startribune.com/danish-queen-s-husband-henrik-is-suffering-from-dementia/442862923/
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You have sent me down a google hole looking at jewels. I am in love with these orange blossom hair ornaments (an official name, not mine) on Princess Marina and Princess Alexandra. They remind me so much of Empress Elizabeth's star hair pins.And one more with her sister Marina and her own set of impressive baubles:
By the way, I adore diamond collet necklaces (rivières) as much as I adore fringe tiaras... (Just random facts LOL)
I also love this photo of Alexandria holding a koala while dripping in diamonds. Talk about a life goal.
prince.of.preslav
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Haha, I sometimes do that to myself and spend hours on Google and/or Pinterest looking at jewels.
Orange blossom hair ornaments were popular with Victorian brides and Queen Victoria herself had a parure of porcelain orange blossoms. See here for pics and more info - Link
I'm pretty sure that Marina and Alexandra are wearing actual diamonds stars in their hair (also popular in Victoria's time), nor blossoms. It's been speculated that these come from Queen Alexandra's collection, but nothing is really known about them and it seems they suddenly disappeared.
Love the photo of Alexandra with the koala. There is a similar one of the Queen Mother, but it was during the day and with less diamonds.
Bobby
Orange blossom hair ornaments were popular with Victorian brides and Queen Victoria herself had a parure of porcelain orange blossoms. See here for pics and more info - Link
I'm pretty sure that Marina and Alexandra are wearing actual diamonds stars in their hair (also popular in Victoria's time), nor blossoms. It's been speculated that these come from Queen Alexandra's collection, but nothing is really known about them and it seems they suddenly disappeared.
Love the photo of Alexandra with the koala. There is a similar one of the Queen Mother, but it was during the day and with less diamonds.
Bobby
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Vesper recommended a book entitled The Reluctant Empress by Brigitte Hamann (above in this thread) which led me to purchase another book by the author (on Hitler). My husband, who lives in another state from me, came up to support me during a procedure I was having and picked up that book. He is a true intellectual, unlike me. (He is currently reading Casanova's memoirs translated by Willard Trask in twelve volumes.) He was so impressed by the scholarship in that book that he put down the Casanova memoirs and borrowed my book, starting to read it at the hospital the day I had my brief procedure! I bragged to him that I had discovered this book through "my diamond group".
Thank you, Vesper. Thank you, everyone, for being such lively and interesting informants on so many topics!
Deb/AGBF
Thank you, Vesper. Thank you, everyone, for being such lively and interesting informants on so many topics!
Deb/AGBF
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