To many people, Elisabeth of Austria was a free spirit – a woman longing for independence who chafed at the restrictions of court life in Vienna in the 19th century. Wild and beautiful, they think of her roaming Europe in search of fulfillment on a physical and spiritual plane she just couldn’t reach with her courtiers, subjects, family, children, or …
Tiara Tuesday: Grand Duchess Adélaïde’s Tiara
Made with diamonds set in white and yellow gold, the Grand Duchess Adélaïde tiara features a removable cushion-cut sapphire in its center. The diamond motifs are leaves and berries crafted of brilliant-cut and rose-cut diamonds. There’s also a removable row of big-ass diamonds along the base, for those times when you need to let people know you mean business. Here’s …
Tiara Tuesday: Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna’s Emerald Tiara
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna’s emerald tiara was made by the Russian court jeweler Bolin in 1884. It was part of Ella’s wedding gift from Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, who’d inherited the emeralds from his mom, the wife of Tsar Alexander II. The tiara’s frame is made of gold and silver, set with diamonds and seven domed emerald cabochons. Beneath the …
The Dueling Princess: Pauline Metternich
UPDATE: Thanks to a comment from Dutch historian Ignaz Matthey, it looks like we can debunk the story of this duel. I fell for the fake news! So embarrassing, right? If this is your first visit, read the story of the duel below as I originally wrote it, then stick around for a little debunking at the end. If you …
The Princess in the Concentration Camp
I came across this story while researching a post for Tiara Tuesday. And now that I know it, I can’t forget it, so I’m going to share it with you. It’s about Mafalda of Savoy, an Italian princess who died in a concentration camp during World War II. Before the Storm Princess Mafalda of Savoy was born in Rome in …
How to Work Full Time and Fail at Everything Else
How do you know you’re on the right path in life? I’m not sure, but I can tell you how you know you’re not. It happens when you start feeling small and insecure and angry and on the verge of tears because the one thing you need is the one thing you can’t buy more of: time. This is the …