Royalty Digest Quarterly no. 2, 2011

Royalty Digest Quarterly no. 2, 2011 arrived in my mailbox while I was on vacation for three weeks in July. After I had I returned to Oslo I wrote 3 new blog articles (1, 2 and 3), but then got too busy to follow up until now. In other words, my traditional presentation of the contents of Royalty Digest Quarterly comes a bit late this time, but as they say, better late than never.

To start with the photo on the front cover, it shows Princess Clémentine of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, née d'Orléans (1817-1917), with her daughter-in-law Queen Marie Louise of the Bulgarians (1870-1899) and grandson (later King) Boris (1894-1918-1943) in 1895.

Following the Editor's Corner the historian Trond Norén Isaksen opens the ball with his article Young Ingrid. Queen Ingrid of Denmark's early years in Sweden.

The periodical's historical consultant Charlotte Zeepvat returns with yet another family album, this time Saxe-Coburg and the Saalfeld and Kohary branch is covered. The presentation of the branch could perhaps have been expanded a bit, but the portraits and other photos - 85 in all - are certainly worth a look. In addition you get 2 pages with family tables.

The third article, More Than Just a Tutor, written by the author Coryne Hall, deals with the German-Swiss Marc-Ferdinand Thormeyer (1858-1944), who served as a tutor to the children of Emperor Alexander III of Russia.

As promised at the Royalty Weekend in Ticehurst, East Sussex, in April this year, Charlotte Zeepvat's excellent lecture titled Diddo, Arnold .. and the URGE was to be converted into an article in the RDQ, and in the current issue we are treated with Part 1: Diddo goes to Austria. The article is based on letters the British governess Edith Greer ("Diddo" sent home from Schloss Sonnberg in Austria, where she worked for Archduke Anton of Austria ("the Urge") and his wife Ileana, née Princess of Romania ("Arnold"). A wonderful article, and I am already looking forward to the second part in the next issue.

Zeepvat's third contribution this time is her review of the book Honour and Fidelity. The Russian Dukes of Leuchtenberg by Zoia Belyakova (St. Petersburg: Logos Publishers, 2010). I bought the book at the Royalty Weekend back in April, but have still not found the time to read it.

The column The World Wide Web of Royalty gives the latest news of the royal and princely families, while on the 2nd last page we get a presentation of Diana Mandache's forthcoming publication Dearest Missy. The Letters of Marie Alexandrovna, Grand Duchess of Russia, Duchess of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and of her daughter, Marie, Crown Princess of Romania. The first part covering the period 1879-1900 will be published by Rosvall Royal Books in September 2011.

Royalty Digest Quarterly is published by Roosvall Royal Books, which can be contacted by e-mail royalbooks[at]telia.com.

See earler presentations of RDQ here.