Topics

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Tsarevich Alexei Nicholaievich / Not allowed to be Tsar?

« on: February 14, 2007, 02:18:29 PM »

I was in class last week and my World Civilizations professor and I were discussing different royals. We got on the subject of the Romanovs and he mentioned that because Alexei had hemophilia a document was drafted a few years after his birth that said that he could never be Tsar. I've never heard anything about that and since he's been wrong before about royals (saying hemophilia was in every royal house in Europe thanks to QV) I'm taking this with a grain of salt unless someone can tell me for sure one way or the other. So can anyone properly refute this?

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Having Fun! / Royals who were the best/worst at being royal

« on: October 21, 2006, 05:19:29 AM »

I thought it would be interesting to discuss who you think were/are the best and worst royals at actually being royal. By royal, I mean your own personal qualifications for a good monarch/prince/princess, etc. and not just someone's who is likeable or unlikeable. Someone who has done the job well.

As far as best goes I would have to say for starters:
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert - brought dignity back, which was practically impossible after all the embarassing things her uncles had done.

Queen Mary - she with the morganatic descent is the most royal of all as far as I'm concerned. Complete devotion to duty that she thankfully passed down to her granddaughter.

Elizabeth II - every inch the grandchild of Queen Mary. She's done it right for over fifty years. I can't think of another monarch who has really had to endure so much change as she has.

Marie Feodorovna - while I'm no fan of her as a person, she got it right for a consort. She was exactly what Russian society wanted in an Empress: beautiful, charming, a social butterfly.

And some of the worst:
Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna - I really like them as people, but he wasn't a particularly good ruler and she was too shy, serious and withdrawn to be the Empress that Russia needed/wanted.

William IV - I actually do like him as a person, but he wasn't cut out to be a king. It wasn't his fault. His older brothers should have produced some legitimate heirs somewhere along the way.

The Duke of Windsor - Obviously, no real devotion to duty there.

Stephanie of Monaco - Ditto.

Princess Michael - beautiful woman, but it doesn't take a genius to know that you never publicly say anything bad about your husband's family -especially if that family includes the Queen! And even if you do it once, you should learn not to keep doing it. Over and over and over.

Sarah, Duchess of York - I think if she had it to do over she'd do things differently. It would be lovely, now that she and Andrew are older, if she was given another shot. 

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Having Fun! / Myspace Romanovs

« on: September 30, 2006, 04:17:54 PM »

Lately I've noticed a trend on myspace: people roleplaying as various members of the Romanov family and other royals. It's kind of cute actually, seeing them comment on each other's pages. Here are some examples:

Xenia: http://www.myspace.com/84050885
Felix: http://www.myspace.com/103751018
Nicholas II: http://www.myspace.com/48558701
Alexandra: http://www.myspace.com/99807455
Olga Nikolaievna: http://www.myspace.com/olgaromanov
Tatiana Nikolaievna: http://www.myspace.com/tatianaromanov
and various and sundry other royals that you can see on their friends lists....

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Having Fun! / Royals That You Feel Sorry For

« on: September 11, 2006, 01:42:24 PM »

I thought it would be interesting, while we are discussing those we like and dislike, to also discuss those royals that we pity or feel sorry for. I know that when I was thinking of royals to include on the other lists there were some I could neither like or dislike. Instead, I just kind of felt sorry for them.

-Almost anyone who ever knew Henry VIII. His wives, children, etc. Though they are different religions and personalities and ages, there is one unifying factor: that man pretty much treated them all terribly. The argument could be made that he was nice to Jane Seymour, but I think that if there had been time he would have turned on her as well.

-Moretta: She was not allowed to marry Sandro, whom she loved. She wanted marriage and babies, but only got one: marriage. Then she died broke because her second husband stole her money.

-Louis Battenberg. I both respect and feel sorry for him. He accomplished many things, but was forced to resign from the navy because of his German heritage. He had to give up the career he loved, but also his name and title.

-Empress Alexandra. Position conscious, but just didn't have the right personality for the job. I can totally relate to the fact that people mistook her shyness for arrogrance and aloofness. She really only had one job to do, but everyone gossiped about the fact that she hadn't produced an heir. And then when she finally did he was sick and had to be constantly watched and protected.

-Lady Jane Grey. The ill-fated pawn of her ambitious father and father-in-law.

I know I'll think of more later!

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Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna / Ella on Ernie's Alleged Homosexuality

« on: September 09, 2006, 11:10:44 PM »

I know that such things really weren't talked about in polite society back then, but did Ella ever comment on her brother Ernie's alleged homosexuality and if so, what did she say? I apologize if this has been covered before, but I've never seen it addressed.