I received the first issue this year of Royalty Digest Quarterly last Friday just before I left for Mandal in Southern Norway. I had planned to take some days off from my blog activities and not start writing again until the British Royal Wedding, unless something extraordinary took place. It really feels good to relax a few days with family and friends, and there are plenty of family events to take part in, including 70th birthday celebrations, a christening and a confirmation. But I don’t want my traditional summary of RDQ No. 1/2011 to turn into too old news, so I will make this blog article an exception to my original plan.
The cover shows a photo from the 1890s of Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1819–1860–1904), his son, the later Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich V (1848–1904–1914) and his daughter-in-law, the later Grand Duchess Elisabeth (1857–1933), who was born Princess of Anhalt. The photo is linked to RDQ’s historical consultant Charlotte Zeepvat’s photo article Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A Family Album, which besides a presentation of the grand ducal house contains 19 pages with photos of the family members (71 photos in all) and a 3 pages’ long genealogical survey. Later in the magazine she has also contributed to another article, Chère Hélène [Or, keep your eyes peeled, you never know what you might find]. It deals with two postcards – the first, dated 1902, had the portrait of Prince Friedrich Günther of Schwarzburg(-Rudolstadt) (1901–1971), the other, which was undated, also including his father Prince Sizzo, mother Alexandra, née Princess of Anhalt, and sisters Marie-Antoinette and Irene. It is nice when such lesser known princely houses are in focus! The postcards were written by a governess to a friend.
And if that was not enough, Zeepvat is also author of another photo article, Of such magnificence, covering a costume ball during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
In his Editor’s column the publisher Ted Rosvall comments on the future wedding between the head of the Prussian Royal Family, Prince Georg Friedrich, and Princess Sophie of Isenburg. He points out that also her two sisters Katharina and Isabelle have married within the Gotha, and wonders if this is the start of a revival of equal marriages. Probably not, he adds, as I would also have written! But a nice union it is, nevertheless. As it has turned out, I am going to Berlin on a work trip the last weekend of August this year, and that is when the royal wedding is taking place. I will not be able to Potsdam on the wedding day, though.
Robert Prentice has written a nice presentation of Princess Mary of the United Kingdom, Princess Royal (1897–1965), the only daughter of the then Duke and Duchess of York, later King George V and Queen Mary. She married Viscount Lascelles, later the 6th Earl of Harewood, in 1922 and had two children – George and Gerald.
Michael L. Nash has contributed with an article on The 1911 Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary, while Marion Wynn takes a look at the British Gardeners at the Russian Court.
Alberto Penna Rodrigues and Janet Ashton are co-authors of the article A difficult relationship… Queen Maria Pia and Dona Antonia, referring to King Luiz’ consort and his younger sister. The former was the daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele II, the latter married Prince Leopold of Sigmaringen.
In addition you will as usual find book reviews and a short news column. If I dare to make a suggestion for the RDQ, it would be to include a short presentation of the authors ot the various contributions. It would be nice to learn a few basic facts to know their background.
Royalty Digest Quarterly is published by Roosvall Royal Books, which can be contacted by e-mail royalbooks[at]telia.com. Subscriptions for 2011 are SEK 440 within Europe and SEK 480 outside Europe.
For earlier presentations of Royalty Digest Quarterly, go here.
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