Grand Duchess Elizabeth & Other Stories
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First we had Queen Victoria's bloomers for sale:
On July 7th 1908, my grandmother, then a young child, joined thousands of her classmates in welcoming King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to Leeds - a visit during which, as my grandmother recalled, the children waved flags and sang,
Other members of his family were far more impressed. Queen Victoria, Alice and Lenchen were delighted by the welcome they received here when, in 1856, the Queen came to open the Town Hall. This was Alice's first official public appearance and she was filled with admiration for the efforts to which the people had gone to show their loyalty to the Queen and her family - even decorating arches with flowers in which were written all the royal children's names. Alice connection to Leeds did not end there, for her first evening with her future husband was spent listening to a concert performed by the Yorkshire Choir and conducted by the chief organist from Leeds Parish Church.
What a brilliant opening episode to the new BBC Drama series “The Crimson
Field” – a story of the volunteer nurses in the First World War. So little has
been presented in the past about these women, many of whom came from backgrounds
that left them ill-prepared (but then who could be prepared for such horror?)
for the work they were about to undertake. I had never thought before of the
resentment felt towards these volunteers by the trained nurses who were already
working in the field, and the entire programme rather reminded me of the amazing
work of the little-known Marie Simon, a woman from Dresden who overcame a great
deal of opposition from the military authorities to establish female nurses in the base
hospitals during the Franco-Prussian War. History is written by the victors, but
much of history was, in the past, also written by men who often overlooked the
part played by courageous women in major events. This series
looks set to be absolutely enthralling – thank you to the writers, the
actors and to the BBC for such a wonderful programme!  |
| Available Here |
I just received a wonderful gift of an original article from the Strand
Magazine from 1895, which is an interview with Empress Frederick (Vicky) about
her beautiful home at Kronberg (as in the previous post). Every one of the books
on the library shelves, it says, was placed there only after the Empress had
read it, and there is, too, a wonderful description not only of the many
charitable works she carried out virtually unnoticed but also of her appearance
and voice. 
“Her Imperial Majesty’s appearance is not now so familiar in England as
that of other members of the Royal Family; and, in my opinion, photographs do
not do justice to her. She possesses a charming geniality of expression and a
particularly kindly look about the eyes in which respect she resembles the
Prince of Wales. When moved by the recital of some sorrow or trouble, sympathy
imparts great pathos to her voice – at all times a pleasant tone.” 
Following the untimely death of her husband, German Emperor Frederick III, Queen
Victoria’s eldest daughter Vicky purchased a home for herself, Villa Schonberg
in Kronberg in the Taunus Mountains, and was later presented with the old
Schloss Kronberg by her son, Kaiser Wilhelm II. An aesthete and avid collector
of art and furniture, Vicky delighted in her new home, filling it with beautiful
artistic treasures. Today, the property remains in the hands of her descendants
but is now a luxury hotel, which clearly, from these images and descriptions
maintains the sort of atmosphere which Vicky created and would still deeply
appreciate. What a wonderful experience it must be to stay there, taking tea in
the library, which is still filled with her books...
Helen Azar, author of the "The Diary of Olga Romanov Royal Witness to the Russian Revolution", who kindly agreed to be interviewed here last summer, has recently been interviewed by Peter Sullivan on his radio programme. It is a very interesting interview, which can be listened to, here:
I believe that the First World War was started for the specific purpose of
overthrowing the Russian, German & Austro-Hungarian monarchies/autocracies,
and, despite the self-righteous response of Britain to the invasion of Belgium,
certain members of the British Government, in league with other shady
characters, were eager to find an excuse to participate in the war.
Of course, it is important to have experts in particular scientific fields.
If a person breaks a bone, they don’t want an amateur fixing it, any more than
they want a tinkerer to mend a broken engine. All the same, when it comes to
arts subjects, I have my doubts about so-called experts. By what authority does
someone assume that title? Art and music are so subjective that, while a
specialist might appreciate the artist’s musical or artistic achievements more
than a layperson would, so much depends on taste so one cannot say ‘this is
good,’ or ‘this is bad’ – the only criteria by which it can be judged is
whether or not the artist achieved what s/he set out to achieve, and whether or
not it appeals to someone else.
St Therese of Lisieux intrigues me. I read her autobiography several times
in my youth and, whereas others found it inspiring, it seemed cloying to the
point of nausea to me and she was not a saint I would have chosen to imitate (although her 'little way' was very appealing). 
Many years ago, I spent the summers working in Lourdes. The first time I
went to work there, I was just eighteen and had not been abroad alone before.
Being the only English person in the place where I was working, I initially felt
extremely lonely and wondered how I would get through another 2 1/2 months of
it. I wandered, almost by chance, into the underground basilica where there is a
small chapel dedicated to Therese and I sat there for a few minutes, just
looking at her picture and thinking how lonely I was. Five minutes later, as I
left the basilica, a group of Italian people from the place I was working
happened to be passing and they asked me to go with them for a walk. All the way
there they spoke in English (simply because I was English and didn’t speak
Italian – how delightful the Italian people are!!) and laughed and laughed about
all kinds of things and within 10 minutes I could not imagine how I could have
felt at all lonely. From then on, I absolutely loved every moment that I worked
there – it was one of the happiest times of my life and I often think back to
it, and how truly miraculously my whole attitude changed after just 5 minutes or
so in Therese’s 'company.'
It is a great pity and a travesty of the truth that Prince Albert has come down through history as a rather dour person when, in his lifetime, he was known for his great sense of humour. 
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The beautiful letter from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria, which is to go
on display at Windsor Castle, surely contradicts all the nonsense written about
the Prince being forced into the marriage, and the idea that he was simply some
kind of control-freak who wanted to rule everything! So much is written about
Queen Victoria’s adoration of her husband, yet so little is mentioned of his
feelings for her, and this letter demonstrates that their love was mutual and
passionate. Far from being the dull prude of popular imagination, it
demonstrates, too, that Prince Albert was a passionate man whose fidelity to his
wife sprang not only from his high moral values but also from his genuine love
for the Queen.
I love New Year more than Christmas as it creates such a feeling of
optimism and newness and, although there are many weeks to go, it feels like the
winter has turned and spring is on its way. It’s the same feeling as starting a
new project as a child – having a new file, exercise book, pencil, ruler and
pencil case – and even though you know that within a matter of weeks, the
exercise book will be as filled with mistakes as the last one, there are still
endless opportunities for something entirely new. 
