"Say Gorgonzola!" Mopping Up

Yes, well, as the title may suggest, this is just a pile of photos I've recently discovered and want to share with the nation, complete with my (haphazard) dating system (called A Brain) and comments as per usual. So, from 1910 last post, here we zoom right back to...um...well here really:




I think that this was taken in about 1850, but for reasons I'll tell you in a minute. First I'd better explain the photo, or rather lack of a head in Queen Victoria's case. This is because she closed her eyes at the wrong moment and so a pretty unflattering photo was the result, so she rubbed out her face using her thumb. As for the childrens, they are as follows: Alice (it could be Vicky, but you'll see why I think it's her in a minute), Bertie, the Queen, Helena (head on Victoria's knee), Vicky, Affie. So ta and da about that one and let's skedaddle onto the next one, taken in the same year.



Before anything, I just have to say how much I love Bertie's expression in this photo. There, done, now the explanation about the first photo. I think that Vicky looks like the one I've labeled Vicky in the top one (which is why I did it) and Alice looks like Alice (as opposed to Wordsworth or someone.) Again, Helena appears to have collapsed on her mother's knee, but this time Affie's noticed and looks confused. No danger of any unflattering eye-closing in this one for the queen, as a bonnet's obscured her face completely from view. Left to right: Alice, Helena, Affie, the Queen, Bertie, Vicky. Onwards we go then.



I had to include this one, as it's gone down in my head's history as "The White Top Hat Photo" and I don't know why, but it just makes me laugh. I think it's a combination of the hat, stance and Albert's grumpy expression. I'd date this at about 1854, but it could be a few years earlier...or later...well that was good dating wasn't it? Anyway, on to the photo that made me sing with happiness when I found it.




Hahahahaaa!!! It's the famous degeurrotype I've heard about so many times in books, but never actually seen, as all my searches were in vain. However, it suddenly sprang from nowhere when I was looking for something completely different and very nearly made my day. Anyway, I was very excited and then my new book arrived from Amazon. With this photo in. To spare anyone else out there the angst of trawling all the photo websites they can think of looking, here it is. This is, of course, the photo taken before Vicky (the Princess Royal's) wedding. According to the queen, she was so nervous and shook so much that she was blurred on the final picture. Vicky looks understandably nervous (she was only 17 and younger than me, me who can hardly walk down a corridor without crashing into walls) but Fritz (the Crown Prince of Prussia) was a good man and they both adored each other. Well, let's dash through the snow to 1859 (this is 1858 by the way.)



Yet another 1850s photo where Albert looks fed up with life in general and Victoria isn't facing the camera. Again, the shrubbery has excelled itself and is almost dominating the photo. This is, I think, part of the set that Lady Day took in the Isle of Wight (see another photo thread for one of the other photos in the set) in 1859. There isn't a lot more to say about this one to be honest, but again it's domestic and rustic and...other words ending in "tic".



In the same Set of Dreams, we have this one of Victoria on her own. She looks pretty distracted by something (Lord Palmerston playing 'I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts' on the harmonica perhaps?) but it gives us a good view of her dress. Another relatively pretty one (though I don't know the actual colour) and isn't as enormously crinoliney as the others (yes spellcheck, it's a word.) Well shall we continue? Very well, on we go.



Here we have Victoria and her youngest daughter, Beatrice. As this is 1859, 'Baby' would have been about two, which again gives us food for height thought. It looks to me as if the Queen's telling Beatrice to keep still, as she's balanced on a rather groovy chair (all right, probably without the "groovy") and an even gaudier carpet. This is, again, one of a set, which I didn't know when I first saw it, but (as you'll see) I do know now. Well, let's go to the next one.



Et so we come to le end of this particular "Mopping Up" post, but if I find anything else, expect something to come soon. Now this photo was also taken in 1859 at the same time as the one above it. I had never seen this photo before and I rather like it, despite the fact that both of them look pretty scared, which is very excusable when you notice the Giant Pork Pie creeping out from behind the Queen and the really, really uneven floor (could it be carpet-covered lava?) Well no, it couldn't, otherwise they wouldn't still be sitting there (stop talking brain, stop typing fingers.)

And there we have it folks, or rather "folk". This may be the end of this particular foray through time, but they'll certainly be more, starting (I think) with a selection of dresses and then...well who knows? The world is my lobster as far as this blog's concerned (yes, yes I know, but I don't like oysters.)

Toodle-oo for now.
: )

"Say Cheese!" Part 5

Hello there, ich habe returned (see, my German's even worse than my French) along with some photos of the very last years of the Victorian Era. So, without further ado, let's jet off to the 1890s and this photo.



Well here we have George V's children (some of them) in about 1897 with their Great-Grandmother. From left to right: Bertie (future George VI), David (future Edward VIII), Mary (the Princess Royal) and Queen Victoria. I quite like this photo (I know I say that a lot, but it's true) especially as it's sort of an "action shot". Oh yes, and does anyone else think that the queen's wearing glasses? I know that her eyesight was very bad by this point and there are a few photos hanging around where she's wearing them, but it's a bit hard to tell in this one. I know it looks like Bertie's wearing a skirt and that's simply because he is. Boys wore skirts in those days for reasons best kept to themselves and I knew this fact at the very young age of six. I know this because I recently found an old school exercise book of mine with the title: "The Victorians" and all I had written, in very large letters, was: "THE BOYS WORE DRESSES!!" so there we are. Now, on with the show and the next photo.



Now here we are, a little more grown up and you'll be glad to know that Bertie's come out of the cross-dressing stage and into the Sailor Suit Era. From left to right: Bertie, Mary, David, Henry, the Queen. This was taken in 1900 (according to a book I can't remember the name of and assorted date calculations.) An interesting thing about this photo, which I read in another book I can't remember the name of, was that there's someone else in this picture, but we can't see them. Apparently, Queen Victoria was so frail (she was getting on a bit after all) that she daren't hold her great grandson in case she dropped him, so a lady in waiting (I can't remember which one) hid behind her chair and held her elbow so she didn't drop Henry. That's probably why he looks somewhat confused. I know that Bertie looks bigger than David, but they're definitely labeled right, as David's wearing long trousers, which Bertie wouldn't be old enough to (another odd Victorian boy-dressing thing.) Now, I think I should put a warning about the next two photos: MORBID WARNING, ACHTUNG, MORBIDITY, which is surprisingly a word. Let's go to 1901 now.








Now it's pretty safe to say that this is the last ever photograph taken of Queen Victoria. She died on 22nd January 1901 surrounded by her children and grandchildren (as the famous bulletin reads.) It's quite sad, but in a way it's rather nice, as she'd wished for her death in the early 1860s so she could be with Albert and now she is. Note the two pictures of Albert: the one on the wall behind the bed is of him on his deathbed and I don't recognise the other one, but it could be by Winterhalter. She was dressed in her wedding veil and surrounded by momentos, not to mention flowers.

The new king, Edward VII only outlived her by nine years and died on the 6th May 1910. There's a deathbed picture of him too and it's only really from this angle that you can see how much he and his mother looked like each other (in the nose especially) which is why I have these pictures on my computer.





And so our little voyage through the photographic history of Queen Victoria comes to an end. There will be one more post with extra photos that I've found recently, but couldn't put in before now from assorted eras and also some of dresses I found on Getty Images. So until then, have a nice day and I hope you've learnt something from this little lot - I've become quite attached to them, so much so, in fact, that occasionally I forget they're dead...that can be awkward.

: )

"Say Cheese!" Part 4

Je back again (please note the wonderful French...yup, that A was a fluke.) Anyway, I thought that I had all the photos from the early 1860s, but it magically turns out that I've found two more from some time in the 1860s (possibly 1870 if Getty Images is to believed) so here they are. Enjoy. : )



Well here we have another grandson/daughter one. This time it's a thrilling mix of Waleses (I know that's not a word, but oh well) and two Hesse sisters. From left to right: Eddy, Victoria (no points for guessing her, sorry), George, Victoria, Ella (sitting down.) I think that's right, but my copy's very, very small, so it's hard to tell and if I'm wrong, spear me on an avocado and be done with it. From what I can see of this one, it's quite nice and a bit unusual, as it's quite rare that the queen invited more than one set of grandchildren to stay with her (according to a book by Miranda Carter anyway and she's a proper historian, so she should know.) If I find out properly when this photo was taken, I'll bung it in here, so bear with my for a while. Yes, I have found out: 1871, according to Whyte Fairy, whom I trust in these matters and the same for the other one. Onwards and...downwards...



Well doesn't everyone looked chuffed to be there? Honestly, I know they're royalty, but SMILE for once. Hmph. Well, enough of the Great Grin Debate, on to the photo. Well this one's quite obviously from the same set as the one above, but people have moved a little bit. Ooh yes, and doesn't Victoria of Hesse look EXACTLY like her mother in this one and the one before?? It's quite uncanny... Ho hum, well let's dash off to another decade. Ta ra 1860s/1870s.



Ah, now while this isn't a brilliant photo quality-wise, I think it's quite a nice one because of the comparative jocularity of all involved. From the left: the Queen, Princess Beatrice, Victoria of Hesse (now Princess Louis of Battenburg) and Princess Alice of Battenburg (Prince Phillip's mother.) Quite a nice one again, but not a great deal more to say, except I think it's from 1885, as that's the year Alice was born.



This is a nice one isn't it? This is Victoria with her granddaughter, Margaret of Connaught, who would later go on to become the Crown Princess of Sweden, but would unfortunately die before she could become Queen. Well this photo is part of a series, so there'll be another one in a minute, but this one's particularly sweet in my view. I've got the date as 1886, which would make Margaret (or "Daisy" as she was known) about four. Onto the one with her brother...




Another sweet one, I hope you'll agree. This was taken at the same time as the previous one, so it's from 1886 again, but this time includes Arthur of Connaught (the younger, I must add - the older one had a moustache by this point) and a rather attractively carved desk. These two are quite common photos, but I had to include them, as they're both rather lovely. :)



I was quite excited about this one (and no, I don't have a life before you even ask) as I'd never seen it before. It's from 1887, the year of the Queen's Golden Jubilee and this is either on the day or just for a formal photograph. Despite the fact that there appears to be a concealed CCTV camera in the urn to the right of the picture and both the queen and the random paige boy have got distracted by something off camera (Mr Gladstone doing his famous rendition of 'Camptown Races' on the banjo perhaps?) I like this photo. I know it emphasises how short she was, but you must admit that the queen's dress is certainly something special with all that lace and...polka dots... Oh yes, and I hadn't made up that aforementioned song and Prime Minister combination, he really did that once in front of the Prince and Princess of Wales and received many an encore.



Ok, here we are in 1886 (or around then anyway) just before the Golden Jubilee. The small child in this one is Alexander of Battenburg, son of Princess Beatrice and Henry of Battenburg (he of the wonderful moustache). By now (as my loyal follower, Whyte Fairy so brilliantly put it) Victoria is more of "a potato in a dress", though it is a rather stripy number (exciting isn't it?) and matched with that funky hat/bonnet thing...well it's not as nice as some of the past dresses, but it's...different shall we say? Onto the next photo:



Now the famous 'Four Generations' photo, but this one's a tad different, as Bertie appears to be in the middle of lunging for a cigar and George is giving the camera a somewhat startled look, perhaps suggesting more alarming political antics (Lord Salisbury playing 'Oh I do Like to be Beside the Seaside' on a portable organ on wheels perhaps?) Yes, I did make that one up. Well, other than the curtains and the carpet/tiles (but I think carpet) this isn't too bad on the eye. My spider senses tell me to hang upside down from the ceiling on a web, so I'll ignore them and tell you that I think it's from about 1894.



And now, the ladies. The baby, I forgot to mention, is the future Edward VIII, who goes down as probably my least favourite royal, but there you are. The lady with the AMAZING hair is Alexandra, the Princess of Wales, the other lady (with sadly more dissappointing hair) is the future Queen Mary and Victoria is...well...herself. This one's also from 1894. Yay.

Well, as I must fly now (not literally, otherwise I'd be on the news by now) so I'll stop here for today, but stay tuned to go right to the end and then some 'mopping up' with photos I've recently found, but can't put in the right order. HENJOY.

:)

"Say Cheese!" Part 3

I'm finally back again, with another small pile of photos, this time from 1862 until...um...sort of later. Well you look and decide.

First up, a terribly sad one of Queen Victoria in 1862:



Some of you might bellow: "Wheeeeere is Albert then, eh?" Well, pray do note the INTENSE mourning and her terribly sad expression. Yes, that's right, Albert died on 14th December, 1861 (for a wonderful account of this sad occasion, see the blog Writer of Queens and search for it there) of typhoid. Understandably, Victoria went into a state of prolonged mourning (when I say prolonged, I mean 39 years...) and because pretty much a recluse. However, she continued to have photographs taken of herself and this (unless I am very much mistaken) is one of the first. It's interesting to note how surprisingly young she looks here compared to other photographs the year before. Lots of people at the time said how childlike she looked in mourning clothes (at first anyway) and I think this is a terribly poignant picture.

Now, I'm having a stab at guessing dates again with this one (and there are two similar ones, so this took major effort.) Firstly this one:



I think that this one comes from 1863ish, as the small child is Victoria of Hesse (older sister of the ill-fated Alix) and she was born in 1863. Victoria's still wearing her enormous bonnety hat thing, so it must still be the early 1860s. Well this looks suspiciously like Osborne House (not that I've been there, but this summer... fingers crossed) from the colour of the wall (see the one of V&A at Osborne in the last post) and the fact that it's the place that Victoria escaped to after Albert died. Well, another interesting fact here is that we're looking at Prince Phillip's grandmother as a baby (she later married Prince Louis of Battenburg and I'll go on about the Battenburgers later I should think.) Well, onto the next hard to date one methinks.




This is Victoria again with a grandson this time, namely Eddy, Duke of Clarence (well, Albert Victor, but there were so many Alberts by then that everyone called him Eddy.) I think this is a really nice photo, don't you? That sofa though...well I'm glad these are in black and white, that's all I'll say... Victoria made a point of never looking at the camera, but this one's particularly nice, as both of them look intrigued with the other. : ) I think this one's 1864, as that's when Eddy was born and I don't think he looks more than one (mind you, I share Victoria's opinion of babies - I sometimes applaud her description of them as "froglike" before the age of four months or so, so I wouldn't be the best person to age a baby.) Well I think that's that just about wrapped up - on to the next photo of confusion...



Well I think I'd put this one as 1864 as well, due to Victoria's clothing (that infernal bonnet/tea towel thing) and the fact that I've just been told. Also, the boy is Willy, the future Kaiser Wilhelm II and he was born in 1859, so I think he looks about four or five here. Well, I'd never seen this photo (or the others) before, so I hope they're new to you as well. I don't think this one's as sweet as the other two, especially as Victoria seems to have inherited Albert's laser eye-beams from the last post and is trying them out on Willy's hat and he doesn't look exactly thrilled to be there either. Onto the next one maestro (well, me in a different hat.)



Now, I might've got this one really, really wrong, but I reckon that this one's a little later than the other two for a few reasons. Namely the lack of the big black bonnet, replaced with the white widow's cap and veil we're used to seeing on Victoria. She's also wearing the order ribbon (of the garter I should think), as well as gloves and a fan, which constitutes to dressing up a bit back then. Colouring the photo gives us an eye-watering view of the carpet and some rather pretty flowers and, in the background a...well it looks like a portable conservatory view, but I doubt it somehow. It also removes some of the detail, particularly on her face, which is why this one's quite hard to date. I hadn't seen it before, though, so in it goes. :)


Well I've got a ton of other photos, but it's getting dark now and my lamp's committed bulb suicide, so it's quite dark and my eyes hurt, so I'm off now, but I'll be back tomorrow or the weekend with more right up to Victoria's death. See you all then (well, one person anyway :))

}: )> A viking. Yay.

"Say Cheese!" Part 2

I'm back again with yet more photos that most people will think are very boring and dull, but I think they're interesting, so I'm going to inflict them upon the general public anyway.

First, let's toddle back to the wonder that is 1859. Hoorah.



Right, this is a photo taken to celebrate Queen Victoria's 40th birthday...so she's pointedly ignoring the camera and seems to be trying to hypnotise Beatrice...
Yes, well, from left to right we have: Leopold (future Duke of Albany), Louise (future Duchess of Argyll), Victoria, Arthur (future Duke of Connaught and looking frankly disgusted with life in general), Alice (I think, it's a bit hard to tell with that hat...), Vicky, Beatrice (future Princess Henry of Battenberg), Albert and Helena (future wife of Christian of Schleswig-Holstein.) Well that's that bit done I suppose and now for the comments: um... well I quite like the parasols...and Leopold's socks...but oh well, next photo - quick.




Well there are (hopefully) two photos here for you to peruse, both obviously from the same sitting...thing...whatever it's called. It's 1860 now (not literally, I mean in the photos) so V&A (yay!) are both 41. Other than that carpet giving me serious eye trouble (thank goodness they're not in colour...) these two are pretty good, pretty normal royal photos of the time (e.g- looking serious, bored or asleep and not dressing up poshly) so some merriment there. Ok, the right hand one. Well despite the fact that Victoria looks as is she's dozed off and Albert's trying to wake her with lazer eye beams (that unfortunately don't show up in early photography) I think that this photo's...all right...nothing wonderful but very nice and domestic and rather middle class. The second photo too is pretty much the same, but this time they've swapped places (please note the difference in height :)) Victoria seems to have gone to sleep standing up again and Albert looks pretty cross that his Massive Book from earlier's been swapped for something of a far more sensible size. Rather nice dress though (for the times anyway) and another general picture of marital bliss (albeit one with lots of sleeping and book-related anguish.) Time to zoom on to another posing....pose...





Another from the same series, but this one looks far more...dynamic (well everyone's awake for a start) and slightly less rigidly posed. It seems that the contents of the Small Book is rather alarming judging by their expressions and the fact that Victoria's abandoned her sewing to listen. Not a lot more to say about this one, but it's still rather nice and domestic. :) Next one please.



Well another 1860 one, but with a few more stripes. According to some people back then who coloured this photo, the predominant colour is purple. Mmmm. Well, this one certainly gives you a very good idea of how small Victoria was. Especially when you know that she's standing on a raised platform (useful things crinolines) and Albert's leaning on a pillar. Anyway, that's one very funky waistcoat and (as long as it stays in that century) a reasonably nice dress (if you like what looks like gingham stripes of purple anyway.) You'll see the colours in the next picture, which is below (as opposed to over there, turning left at Cromer and taking the third bridleway on the right to finally reach a tree, in which there is a small metal Paddington Bear lunchbox containing the next photo...but I digress.)



Well here's yet another photo of them both looking thoroughly miserable, though it would be a very nice one if they looked even a tiny bit happier. You can see the lovely colours here too and the fact that stripes were evidently all the rage (in the palace/castle at least.) Well, I think we should move on to the next (very famous) one now.



Now this one, taken either in 1859 or 1860, depending on which book you believe, was taken at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight (where I desperately want to go in the summer) by someone called Lady Day. No one has any idea who on earth she was, but she took this photo (along with a few others which I couldn't find when I was searching yesterday.) Well this photo, I think, pretty sums up the 1850s and 1860 with regards to V&A (yay!) Just look at Victoria's face: adoration methinks. Not to mention the somewhat incredible top hat that I've just noticed (and the attention-seeking shrubbery on the far left.) Well I really like this photo and I'll leave you to look at it for a bit longer. I'll be waiting. That sounds creepy, but it's not meant to. :)



Ah yes, now I found this photo the other day, but it didn't have any information with it, so I've been trying to date it (I'm not very good, so if you know better than me, please tell me when it was taken.) I think it was taken (if it's a photo...it could be a coloured in photo or just a very good drawing...oh well, I'll try and work out when it was drawn or made or whatever anyway) in 1861 between March and December. My reasons are thus (hee hee, clever words) firstly, Victoria's wearing a black dress, indicating mourning, but she's also wearing jewelry, a crown and all that jazz, which implies that it can't be after Albert died, as she wore more black and a headdress thing (see the next photo post.) Therefore, I think it's after the Duchess of Kent died (Victoria's mother by the way) but before Albert died. I think it's before a court function (which explains the crown, order of the garter ribbon [I think], the fan and the rather low-cut dress) but that's about all I can guess really. It's quite a nice photo/drawing though isn't it? On to the final two then.




Very interesting one now, as this is the first photo in which Victoria properly looks like a Queen and rather splendid as well. I think that the dress is absolutely INCREDIBLE, not to mention the wonderful crown. Well it's 1861 and only a few months before Albert's death (another box of Kleenex required) and I do actually really like this photo. We're used to seeing Victoria in the Jubilee photos in all her finery, but that's not for another 26 years for the Golden one and 36 for the Diamond Jubilee. So here we have a relatively young Victoria (she's still only forty two) and that very nearly concludes this part of the photo post, but we've got just one more.



And finally, here's the whole family. Now, those of you with even worse eyesight than me will probably also be able to spot the fact that this really isn't just one photo - it's lots of them cut out and stuck together to make a family photo (which explains the casually scattered plinths and columns hanging around.) Before you start yelling "Swizz! O tempora! O mores! I want my money back, I'm leaving this blog, never to return," let me tell you that this was normal (and understandable) back then, as it was very hard not only to fit eleven people and all those crinolines into one shot, but with nine children, it was also pretty difficult to gather them all together for a photo. As Bertie was away in the army around this time, Affie was sailing to distant shores in the Navy, Vicky had married Fritz and was living in Berlin, Albert was generally away on business and...well you get the picture. This was therefore far easier than dragging people from all corners of the globe to pose stiffly for a few minutes and then send them all back again. Left to right: Helena (I think), Vicky, Bertie, Albert, Leopold, Beatrice, Louise, Victoria, Affie, Arthur, Alice.

There we are, another post nicely wrapped up in sparkly silver paper and a bow. Just one more thing, not related to anything except the name Vikipedia: hello Shaminder if you're reading this...oh yes and it's currently Obama time. ;)

Say "Cheese!"

Hello there. I thought I'd 'ave a bit of a natter about photography next, certainly including the Victorian era and maybe even going further than that - in the royal family of course. Well here we are, a few photos and my descriptions, critical judgments of and comments on them.

Right, first photo, taken in 1842 of Prince Albert:




Pretty good photo, non? At this point, Victoria and Albert had only been married for two years and had two children (Vicky and Bertie - the future Empress Frederick of Germany and Edward VII respectively) just to fill you in on the goss. It's quite strange to think that this photo was taken 168 years ago isn't it? Well it is to me anyway. Remember this photo, as the next time you see Albert he'll be looking a lot older (well English cooking can do that to a man...I'm English by the way, so I'm ALLOWED to say that.)





Fast forward two years and now it's Victoria and Vicky's turn to be photographed. This is the earliest photo ever taken of Queen Victoria and she's only 25. Vicky looks a bit creepy I'll admit and she's been confused with her brother a lot in this picture, but I think it's a rather nice one, don't you? I will say though that the fashion of the times ages people ridiculously, but I rather like Victoria's hair in this one, not to mention the dress. You'll notice the lack of crowns, orders of the whatever or anything royal at all. This is because V&A (yay!) wanted to portray themselves as normal folk (albeit very rich ones with palaces and stuff, but normalish anyway) and this appealed to the new middle class and everyone was happy.




Next photo, taken in 1854 (apparently) and this one reveals an ongoing royal hobby: pretending to be Scottish. Personally I think they've done it rather well in this photo - if I hadn't said that the lady in the tartan shawl was Queen Victoria you probably wouldn't have realised. Well these are the oldest children (four of nine, yes NINE, yet Victoria's gone down in history as a prude) from left to right: Bertie, Vicky, Alice (future wife of Louis IV of Hesse), Victoria and Affie (Alfred really, but the future Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.)




Ah now, I really, really, really do like this photo for a number of reasons. Another 1854 one (there are tons from that year for some reason) in case you're interested. Well, firstly isn't that dress just AMAZING? If you don't think it is then just look closer at the flower...things... and all the flowery...things...yeah... well it's terribly pretty anyway so there. Also, this photo is also interesting, as it's one in the 1850s without Albert in it, but (unless I'm very much mistaken, in which case feel free to throw chives at my head) on her wrist is the bracelet that Albert gave her on their engagement and which she wore for the rest of her life, which has a miniature of Albert on it, so technically he's there in spirit.



This one's caused me a lot of anguish (not to mention sore throats) as it usually makes me scream very loudly at the computer/book I'm perusing and bellow irately: "You're wrong! WRONG I TELL YOU! WROOONNNNNGGGG!!" Well you get the picture. This is because this photo has been labeled too many times as Queen Victoria and Albert's wedding photo. As there was no opportunity to photograph the wedding (it was a pretty new-fangled invention back then and wasn't common with royalty) and this photo was taken by John Edwin Mayall (or Roger Fenton - I'll check) in 1854, but they were married in 1840, this is certainly not their wedding photograph. Anyway, please note the dress - it's the same one as the last photo and this one gives a better view of the veil. One handy caption said that this was taken before a court function, which would explain the breechy-things and formalness. I know they both look a bit fed up, but photography took longer then, so no grinning allowed.



Ok, we're STILL in 1854, but probably a different bit of it. Back to non-royalness you'll note and this time including the thrills and spills of an enormous book and what looks like a leopard-print chair, but can't be (it's probably chintz.) Both are in their mid-thirties, but by now poor Albert's looking older (and it's only partly thanks to beef stew and toad in the hole), as he completely wore himself out with work, work and yet more work and died very young. Mind you, he did leave behind a rather incredible legacy, including keeping Britain out of the American Civil War, the Great Exhibition of 1851 (which I HAVE TO write about, as it's just so amazing) and pretty much saving the British royal family from going the same way as almost all the others at that time (for example....France) so you could say that it was worth it.




Still in 1854 I'm afraid and again a different pose from the same series as before. It looks like Victoria didn't exactly love the contents of the aforementioned Massive Book, as she looks pretty grumpy here. Either that or she's got a spider in her hair and Albert's recoiling in horror. Well it would explain why he's rolled up the paper to swat it. Or a frog. Both of them were scared of frogs as a matter of fact (especially Albert) and a cousin of his once got revenge on him for filling her pockets with cream cheese (which is pretty funny actually) by hiding one in his bed. I would scream too and I like frogs. Ahem, sorry for getting sidetracked, back to the photo. Well I think that wraps it up actually - on to the next one Bob the Meerkat.




I promise we'll be out of 1854 soon, really. First, however, there is this photo. It shows a delighted (!) engagement party, as Vicky (on the far right) has just become engaged to Crown Prince Fritz of Prussia (second from left) at the age of 14 at Balomoral. They wouldn't be married for another four years, but this is the beginning and also shows just how short everyone was back then (except Albert, but he was still normal at 5ft 10) oh yes, and Victoria's sitting down by the way in case you were confused. She was short, but not that tiny. From left to right: Affie, Fritz, Alice, Bertie (looking rather camp I must say), Victoria, Albert, Vicky.


Well, there ends the first little expedition into photos and V&A (yay!), but I'll be back soon(ish) with more from the following few years up to 1861 and then some more after that. See you then. : )

The Last Tsar vol.III (it's the end)

Back again now for the final installment of the Romanov's story. This is the one where you'll really need the tissues, as it's unbelievably sad.

I left you last time on the not very cliffhangery cliffhanger that is the February Revolution of 1917. Nicky tried to stop the uprisings, mutinies and desertions that were occurring all over Russia by dissolving the Duma. Again. Unfortunately, when soldiers were sent in to sort out those who were rising against the Tsar, they joined the rebels and the Petrograd Soviet was created. The Soviet then informed Nicholas that he was going to have to abdicate, thus bringing a three hundred year dynasty to an end. Nicky also abdicated on behalf of Alexei, as he wanted to keep the family together and was quite understandably worried about his son if he was left as Tsar. Nicky's brother Michael was offered the throne but sensibly wouldn't touch it with a barge pole (George, the middle brother, had died of TB in 1899, so was mercifully spared the revolution.)

Therefore plain Nicholas Romanov and his family were sent to Tobolsk in Siberia by the Provisional Government (headed by Kerensky) and remained there until the October Revolution, also of 1917. Then, now that the Bolsheviks were in charge, they were transported to the Ipatiev house in Yekaterinburg where they would later meet their fate.

Meanwhile, back in England, Nicky and Alix's first cousin George V was all for rescuing his cousins and bringing them to safety in his country. However, as the government and his secretary reminded him, not only were the Russians unpopular in England (ever since the Crimean War of 1854-1856.....well we have long memories I suppose) but Britain needed to appease the new Bolshevik government, as the war was still raging and if Russia pulled out, that would leave Germany's entire army free to sweep around to the Western Front and even win the war. George was also understandably worried about his own throne, as Nicholas had lost his crown, but Willy was soon to lose his, as was the Emperor of Austria-Hungary and almost all the rulers of the German states. Therefore, no rescue came from England and, despite Willy's claims that he had planned to help, none came from any other countries either.


Therefore, Nicky, Alix, Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and Alexei, along with their doctor, a maid and other companions, were woken early in the morning on 17th July 1918 and told to go to the basement, supposedly to wait for a car to take them elsewhere. After a short wait, soldiers entered the room and made the family (including the ill Alexei) to stand and then Nicky uttered his last word - one of surprise: "What?" before he was shot, Alix had to watch her husband and others die before she was murdered before she could finish forming the sign of the cross and Alexei and the girls were shot too, but the girls had to be stabbed repeatedly with bayonets, as they had sewn jewelry into their underclothes to deflect bullets. Alix was stabbed so violently that one of her vertebrae was chipped.

Their bodies were taken to a mineshaft at first, but later they were removed and destroyed beyond all recognition with acid and then all but two children were buried under railway sleepers. Though these two bodies were not found for many years, in 2008 it was revealed that the bodies of Alexei and Marie had been discovered and identified.

Nicholas was 50 years old , Alix was 46, Olga was 22, Tatiana was 21, Marie was 19, Anastasia was 17 and Alexei was 13 when they were murdered. In 2000, all were officially canonised, along with Alix's sister Ella, who was also killed in the revolution, and other friends. They were also buried together in 1998 in St Petersburg, though without Marie and Alexei.

Though I generally try to make light out of situations, I would never do that with something so tragic, so this last post has been probably one of the more serious ones of the blog.

For more information on Nicky, Alix and the whole Imperial Family, go to http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/, as it has full biographies of all the people I've mentioned and a whole wealth of other information.

The Last Tsar vol. II (sniffffff)

Hello, it's me again. Well, you'd be a bit worried if it wasn't to be honest, but oh well and I think that's enough waffle to serve as a frankly useless introduction, don't you?

Well, when we last left Nicky and Alix, the long-awaited Tsarevich had just been born and things were starting to look up for them again. However, two things overshadowed the birth of little Alexei for both Russia and the Imperial Family, namely the Russo-Japanese war and the disease haemophilia. I'll probably post an essay about haemophilia on here later, but it's basically a heriditary disease passed through the female line of the family, but only affecting males. It prevents the blood from clotting and so sufferers often bleed to death from seemingly trivial cuts and blood can also build up in the joints, causing intense pain and swelling. It's a horrid disease and, unfortunately for the Romanovs, Queen Victoria passed it onto her son Leopold and two of her daughters: the ill-fated Alice (see the previous post for a little about her) and Beatrice. Therefore, Alix was also a carrier and Alexei, who appeared to be the future Tsar of all Russia, inherited the disease.

The other problem was the ongoing war with Japan, that began in 1904 and ended the next year. Extremely simply, Russia and Japan were both trying to build up their empires and, as Russia wanted an ice-free port and Japan wanted to keep its dominance in Korea, both countries chose war instead of more inconclusive negotiations. Now, Russia was a vast country with an army of around one million men, a reasonably large navy and looked as if it should easily wipe out the entire Japanese fleet in seconds and be back home in time for tea and cake (or whatever the Russian equivalent is.) Unfortunately for Russia, Japan had quietly been modernising herself and so what pretty much everyone thought would be an easy victory turned into a humiliating defeat...for Russia.

Naturally, there were howls of outrage from absolutely everyone and, when a peaceful march to ask the Tsar for better factory conditions, led by Father Gapon, a priest, turned into "Bloody Sunday" that was enough to spark a revolution. Not THE revolution, I hasten to add, as this one was stopped by a number of factors, primarily the October Manifesto and the creation of the Duma, Russia's first parliament (though it had almost no power and was dissolved at random intervals when it got too effective, it was still a parliament.) However, just twelve years later, there would be another revolution and there would be no stopping it that time.

Well, we're getting ahead of ourselves at this point, so let's get back to Nicky and Alix. As Alexei was destined to be the ruler of such an enormous and powerful country as Russia, his illness had to be kept a secret from the "dark masses" as Alix called the people (read on and you won't blame her either.) Therefore, no one but the family's closest friends and associates were told about his disease and Alix was driven half out of her wits worrying about him, as Alexei was a spirited boy who liked to play terribly lively games, which then resulted in bleeding and being bedridden for weeks at a time.

Therefore, when a monk called Gregory Rasputin (see to the left somewhere) turned up in St Petersburg, claiming to have healing powers, Alix immediately wanted to know whether he could have any more effect in curing her son than the doctors, other religious men, healers and all the many people she'd enlisted to try and help Alexei. It turned out that Rasputin could actually stop the bleeding when Alexei cut himself, though whether this was down to simply calming Alix (and therefore Alexei) or actual magical powers will probably remain a mystery. Either way, Alix quite understandably didn't want to send away the one man that could stand between her son and death, so his influence in Russia grew and grew.

In 1914, war broke out in Europe. Involving very complicated matters involving Austria annexing the Balkans, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Germany threatening war if Russia fully mobilised her army to get rid of Austria in the Balkans, this would become known as The War To End All Wars.....until the Second World War at least. At first, the war meant a burst of patriotism in all countries involved and in Russia the people looked to the Tsar to lead them through this war a bit better than the one against Japan.

Sadly, after a few victories at the start of the war, more and more defeats befell Russia and Nicky decided that enough was enough and that the generals were incompetent (which most of them admittedly were) and that he would not take sole control of the army. So, in 1915, that's just what he did and...there were even more defeats. Unfortunately for Nicky, he had just given the people a scapegoat for all their troubles in himself and so he was even more unpopular than before. He had also made the fatal error of ignoring the Duma, which had originally supported the war and the Tsar but, after Nicky disbanded it again at the start of the war, it lost faith in him and thoughts turned to revolt.

Even worse, while Nicky was away on army business, Alix was left basically running the country. Fine, you might think, she'd probably do a reasonable job and all would be fine and dandy. Alas no. The Russian people immediately pounced upon the fact that Alix was German and, due to her acute shyness being mistaken for aloofness and a cold demeanour, what little popularity she had gained vanished. As if things couldn't get any worse for the poor family, another person, even more unpopular than Alix, was also running the country: Rasputin. As he could keep her son alive, Alix trusted him and listened to him so that eventually generals that Rasputin approved were appointed, as were ministers and he held more power in Russia than the people could stand for. In 1916 he wad murdered, but had to be poisoned, shot and then thrown into the river Neva before he actually died. Though this removed one threat to the Romanov dynasty, the damage had been done.


In February 1917, everything went wrong for Nicky and Alix. This time no manifesto or Duma would save them. However, I must stop here, as this post is becoming very long, but there will be one more post recounting the fate that befell Nicky, Alix and the children.