I’ve been meaning to read Imperial Requiem: Four Royal Women, The Fall of the Age of Empires by Justin C. Vovk for a while now. It’s not exactly a new book, having been first released in 2012. This book concentrates on four women and the role they played in the age that saw the downfall of the empires of Germany, Russia and Austria and the survival of Great Britain.
These four women are:
- Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein
- Mary of Teck
- Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)
- Zita of Bourbon-Parma
Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein
Alexandra Feodorovna
Mary of Teck
Zita of Bourbon-Parma
Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein was the wife of Wilhelm II, German Emperor. Mary of Teck was Queen of Great Britain as the wife of George V. Alexandra Feodorovna was the last Empress of Russia as the wife of Nicolas II and Zita of Bourbon-Parma was the Empress of Austria as the wife of Charles II of Austria. All four women led very different lives and the outcome after the First World War was very different for all of them.The book does have quite a bit of backstory, and I really enjoyed that. All four women suffered their tragedies, but their fates always seemed linked. I’m glad this includes the perhaps lesser known Zita of Bourbon-Parma, as she always seemed overshadowed by her predecessor, Elisabeth of Bavaria. I will not get into their stories here, as that would be a bit much!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I do highly recommend it. These four amazing women have certainly won a place in history, though perhaps not always for the right thing. (UK & US)
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