The Battenbergs - discussion, pictures

[Maria_Pavlovna]

more pics coming soon

[jfkhaos]

Does anyone have a picture of Princess Battenberg, neé Julie von Hauke?

[elisa_1872]

I have thought of purchaseing that book. Is it in like chapter form of is it like primarily a photo book?

Hi Eddy,

This book is really great in my opinion. I like Hough's writing style, and he already knew so much about Victoria Milford Haven from his book on the correspondence between her and her grandmother Queen Victoria (GREAT book!!). It's very well researched, is full of details, and parallels the childhoods of Victoria and Louis wonderfully. I was especially pleased with the beginning of the book, as there is so much on the Hessians, and the illustrations are great, including an engraving of Princess Alice holding a baby Victoria.  It contained a lot on the later life of the Milford Haven's that i'd never seen before. But it is definitely not a photo biography, thought the photographs in it, are excellent.

PS) Oh my goodness thank you for the great Battenberg family photographs! The one of young Lord Mountbatten with his mother is especially nice.

[PrinceEddy1864]

Yes I have "Advice to my Grandaughter" and I agree that it too is a great book. I really loved reading it.

[PrinceEddy1864]

Does anyone know exactly what language would have been spoken during such meetings of the Russian and Battenberg cousins. I am sure the answer is in some book but I just cant remember. My guess is they spoke English.

[BobAtchison]

PrinceEddy - thanks for those pictures!  I wonder if there is anything in Victoria's diaries regarding this visit - I assume her diaries survive in Southampton.  Of course, that assumes she went with them.  Did she?

Bob

[PrinceEddy1864]

Yes she apparently was which is not suprising considering his age. They were both in Russia from the end of May until mid August 1908. Louis and his mother stayed with Ella for awhile. They visited the Russian cousins and spent part of the holiday at Hapsal on the Baltic. During this time Louis got to see alot of Dimitry and also apparently got to know Felix Yussupov quite well. In June Louis and Victoria stayed in St. Petersburg at Sergei's palace. Then in August they spent a week at Peterhof with Nicky, Alix, OTMAA, and this is when the first photo I posted was taken. During their visit to Peterhof VMH and Louis stayed at a villa in Alexandrine Park.

[Sarai_Porretta]

PrinceEddy,
Thank you for posting those pictures of Louis and OTMA. I had never seen them before - what book are they from? I think the second picture is rather amusing - it appears to have been a very windy day and poor Olga's skirt is blowing up on her!

[PrinceEddy1864]

Yes I always loved the bottom pic too. I love the way Anastasia looks. You can see she has her beloved camera in her hand. Both photos are from the book Mountbatten: Eighty Years in Pictures. I have been posting alot of pics from this book lately.

[elisa_1872]

PrinceEddy - thanks for those pictures!  I wonder if there is anything in Victoria's diaries regarding this visit - I assume her diaries survive in Southampton.  Of course, that assumes she went with them.  Did she?

Bob

Hi Bob!

I hope to revisit Broadlands next year, and will try and ask for details about Victoria's diaries. I assume they must have them, but im wondering whether they are private, because they are not listed among her other papers at Broadlands, Southampton. I saw only her notebooks for the books she read, kept from the period 1880s-1890s.

[BobAtchison]

I was told a long time ago that Sophie Buxhoeveden's photo albums might end up there.  Last time I heard that they were still under the bed of a descendant of a noble Russian family in Britain.

It would be verey interesting to know what's at Broadlands and what's at Southampton.  Are their Victoria diaries?  Where is her correspondence with Alix.  Do we know?

[grandduchessella]

PrinceEddy,
Thank you for posting those pictures of Louis and OTMA. I had never seen them before - what book are they from? I think the second picture is rather amusing - it appears to have been a very windy day and poor Olga's skirt is blowing up on her!

That 2nd picture is also in Richard Hough's book the Mountbattens (also called Louis and Victoria: The First Mountbattens) which was mentioned on another area. It's a really great book.

[elisa_1872]

I was told a long time ago that Sophie Buxhoeveden's photo albums might end up there.  Last time I heard that they were still under the bed of a descendant of a noble Russian family in Britain.

It would be verey interesting to know what's at Broadlands and what's at Southampton.  Are their Victoria diaries?  Where is her correspondence with Alix.  Do we know?

Hi Bob!

Broadlands has indeed some things of the Baroness, including her personal postcard book, which has many views of Livadia, some handwritten on the back to her father, others are postcards of the Tsar/Tsaritsa/Tsarevich etc. I was told they had the photo collection of her too, but strangely, i was only shown what looked to be fine copies, they certainly were not the originals.

Many many thanks Helen for this information!! I wanted to know so much about whether they had any Victoria/Alix correspondence. Perhaps Victoria's to Alix are in the Russian Archive? But in Buxhoeveden's book, letters from Alix are quoted to Victoria. How could Buxhoeveden have access to them i wonder, and where are they now?

[PrinceEddy1864]

Oh yes that book has been popping up in conversation alot as of late. Every time I hear about it someone is saying how great it is, so I really need to get it and will eventually be doing so. The pic I posted is also from one of Hough's books, "Advice to My Grand-daughter".

[Ksenia]

I purchased the book, not long ago. It old verison and was published in 1974. I bought it from a second hand book shop   There gold mines for us !