Elizabeth (daughter of Ernie)

[Romanov_fan]

Yes I thought it looked Russian/ Roumanian as well. Not that that means it is. Elizabeth was a lovely child, very pretty in these sorts of things.

[rita]

Yes, Thomas, I have seen it in Wolfsgarten. It is a typical "Hessische Tracht". More of this are exhibited at the Veste Otzberg, very intereting.
Dear Imperial angel I don't understand what you mean.
LG
rita

[Romanov_fan]

I was saying she was very beautiful in that outfit, but that I agreed with the last poster who said what it looked like.

[Romanov_fan]

Was the first one a postcard? It looks like it was hand coloured back then, or was it hand coloured then? I, for one for one, can never get enough of the pictures of this beautiful princess. Does anyone know if she liked horse back riding, or if that was more of a pose, for a picture?

[Aliss_Kande]

In all the photos I have of her, none of them are on a horse.  Most likely, being a princess, she had horseback riding lessons.  Whether or not she liked it is a different story, but what little girl has not wanted a pony?

[Romanov_fan]

I had never seen her on a horse either- that's why I wondered. I am sure she might have liked horses, you right. Most princesses back then did have riding lessons. But I think however much she liked horses, or was familiar with them, that photo seems rather posed.

[Penny_Wilson]

The pony in the second picture is the Shetland that Queen Victoria gave Elisabeth. I forget his name. It was her "best friend," and she would bring it up the steps and try to get it into the house.  This according to information at the Staatsarchiv.

I don't recognize the pony in the first photo, but she looks older there, so it's possible it was a bigger one for riding.

By all accounts, Elisabeth inherited her love of horses and riding from her mother, who had -- while she lived in Darmstadt -- a large black horse called Bogdan.

~Penny

[princessalice]

Ms. Wilson, It's so great to see you posting on the forums!  so many of us out here love your writing, and that of Mr. King's as well!  i read your article in the recent magazine, too, on the Princess Elizabeth, so touching and beautifully written!  my most beloved person in royal history would be her grandmother, the Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse.

my husband and I plan a trip to Germany in 4 yrs on our 25th anniversary.  i hope to be able to visit the area of Darmstadt, and the surrounding countryside, to see all of the places i have loved for so many years.

i'm really looking forward, too, to your biography on the Grand Duke Ernest, "Ernie."  there is nothing i have found on him really, except the one book in German!  i am learning the language now, but have a long way to go!!

many best wishes,

joanna backman

[grandduchessella]

Was the first one a postcard? It looks like it was hand coloured back then, or was it hand coloured then? I, for one for one, can never get enough of the pictures of this beautiful princess. Does anyone know if she liked horse back riding, or if that was more of a pose, for a picture?

The first looks as if it could be a composite--at least she's wearing the same, distinctive, hat that she wore in a series of photos taken with her mother.

[Romanov_fan]

That's what I thought. Thanks so much as well, to the person who posted that info on Elizabeth and horses. Wasn't it said as well, about Ducky and her horse, that she spent more time riding around Hesse on horseback than paying attention to her duties as wife of the Grand Duke? I thought I read that somewhere, or maybe not...

[tatianolishka_1]

Where did Elizabeth live when she was with her father? Did she live in the same palace her father lived as a boy with his family? Thanks!

[Olishka~ Pincess]

  Some romours say that Elizabeth had ate a poisoned dish plate that was for the tsar. I dont known if its true or not? Her early death at eight years old was rumored to be a result of poison meant for her uncle, Tsar Nicholas II, but the court physician said she died of virulent typhoid.
 

[Aliss_Kande]

I think this had been talked about earlier on the thread, but Elisabeth did die of typhoid.  She did not ingest poisen for the tsar.  I don't remember where that rumer started, but is has persisted, obviously, to this day.

[grandduchessella]

The rumor started almost immediately. It mostly came about due to the fact that Elizabeth was with the Tsar and his family (and there were always fears of assassination) and went from being such a healthy girl to sickening and dying almost overnight. There doesn't seem to be anything more to the possibility of poisoning than that--just the coincidence in the timing and location of her death.

[Marie Valerie]

Here they are again: