The story of poison is the story of power. For centuries, royal families have feared the gut-roiling, vomit-inducing agony of a little something added to their food or wine by an enemy. To avoid poison, they depended on tasters, unicorn horns, and antidotes tested on condemned prisoners. Servants licked the royal family’s spoons, tried on [read more]
Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis was born on 11 August 1706 as the daughter of Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince of Thurn and Taxis and his wife Maria Ludovika Anna Franziska, Princess of Lobkowicz. She grew up in the Austrian Netherlands until the family moved back to Frankfurt. She married Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg-Winnental (later Duke of Württemberg) [read more]
Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau was born in Cleves on 16 August 1666 as the daughter of John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and Henriette Catherine of Nassau. She spent her youth at the palace of her parents in Dessau. Her education consisted of history and languages, amongst other things. In 1683, Henriëtte Amalia was visited by her [read more]
A black silk and velvet evening gown embellished with beads and sequins that used to belong to Alexandra of Denmark, who became Queen of the United Kingdom as the wife of King Edward VII, has been discovered hidden away in a private collection. The dress date to around 1908-1910. It was designed for Queen Alexandra [read more]
Empress Elisabeth of Austria was an icon during her lifetime, and her tragic death only enhanced the magic. In the summer of 1898, Elisabeth met with her husband in Bad Ischl, where they were joined by their daughter Archduchess Valerie. Elisabeth was “in low spirits, as always.” Elisabeth then departed for Bad Nauheim while Valerie [read more]
This article was written by Hannah Pym. A particularly interesting example that demonstrates the unstable and calculating nature of arranging marriages of royal daughters was that of Isabella, eldest daughter of Edward III. Isabella defied all common stereotypes of a princess’s marriage by not becoming married until she was thirty-three. She also married a man [read more]
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