Your Personal Top Ten Favorite Royal List

[TampaBay]

Drumroll & Bagpipes please:

1.  Missy, Queen Marie of Romania-got lemons and made lemonade
2.  Alix, Queen Alexanda of Great Britian-looked beautiful and 30 years old until the day she died
3.  Sarah, Duchess of York-a survivor
4.  Wallis, Duchess of Windsor-style & wit
5.  Old Emerald & Diamond Drawers May, Queen Mary of Great Britian-the most devoted royal to the Monarchy and for her taste in jewels
6.  Miechen, Marie Grand Duchess Vladimir of Russia-wit, style and ambition
7.  Bertie, Edward VII of Great Britian-very underated King.  The world would be very different if he had lived to 1920
8.  Fat Mary, Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck-my kind of gal with great taste & style in jewelry and she gave us Old Diamond & Emerald Drawers
9.  Leopold, Duke of Albany-intelligence!  Would have made a great King or Prime Minster
10. Victoria, Marchioness Milford Haven-becuase of her pure common sense and intelligence.

QEII is not on my list because she is in a class all her own.

TampaBay

[Prince_Christopher]

Oh, what a good idea, TampaBay!

I think I read that VMH dropped her own titles after the name change and became Victoria, Marchioness of Milford Haven, using only her husband's titles....

[bookworm857158367]

Hmmmm.

On personality alone:
1. Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna "Ella," because she is a saint and did so much for the poor.
2. Victoria, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, later Empress of Prussia, because she was intelligent and interesting.
3. Victoria, Marchioness of Milford Haven, because she had a brain.
4. Queen Victoria -- she certainly had her faults, but she is an interesting character. Very alive across the centuries.
5. Victoria Melita "Ducky," because she had the guts to divorce Ernie and marry Kyril for love.
6. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, a Russian princess who had the gumption to make something of her life after the Revolution. She didn't sit around accepting handouts like other members of the family did.
7. K.R., Grand Duke Konstantin, the author, because he was bright and more insightful in his writing than others in the family.
8. Queen Marie of Roumania "Missy," mainly due to her bright writing and her very artistic, theatrical photos.
9. Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch, because he had the nerve to escape Nicholas's guards and married Natasha for love.
10. Prince Leopold, because he had a brain.

There are some I enjoy looking at picture-wise more than others. Those would be Missy and her children because of their theatricality.

[Prince_Christopher]

Bookworm, I so agree with you about Olga Alexandrovna.  Most of her family could have learned a good lesson from her....

[grandduchessella]

I don't know if I could do it. I need 10 Top 10 lists.   Top 10 British Royals, Top 10 Russian Grand Duchesses, etc...

[TampaBay]

I don't know if I could do it. I need 10 Top 10 lists.   Top 10 British Royals, Top 10 Russian Grand Duchesses, etc...

Post whatever lists you would like to post-the more the merrier.  I am very interested (read nosy) in seeing your rankings.

TampaBay

[grandduchessella]

LOL I'll try to make some up then.

Top 10 British Royals  (female)
1. Queen Mary (long list of reasons but I admire a good number of her qualities and think she's more complex than given credit)

2. Princess Alice of Athlone (sense of duty combined with a great sense of humor--a real pip)

3. Princess Patricia of Connaught (stylish, artistic, fought to marry for true love)

4. Queen Victoria (really too many reasons)

5. Princess Mary Adelaide (humor and duty--along with QM's sense of duty I think she more than the Queen Mum helped to start the modern monarchy)

6. Princess Louise (Argyll) (witty, artistic, sharp-tongued but could also be very kind)

7. Queen Alexandra ( a lot about her drives me nuts but she had such a kindly, charitable nature and was so lovely inside and out)

8. Alexandra of Fife (hard to explain since she's less well-known but she always interested me)

9. Helen, Duchess of Albany ('took on' Leopold despite his illness and gave him the love he long looked for and mourned him sincerely but carved a successful place for herself as widow)

10. Princess Victoria of Wales & Margaret Grosvenor (who was Duchess of Teck) (Toria I can often dislike for how she treated QM but feel for the position she was placed in and I think she had many qualities which would've come to the fore if she'd been allowed to flourish; Margaret because of reading lately about what a down-to-earth person she was among other qualities)

(male) This is harder since I'm more female royalty oriented.
1. Arthur Duke of Connaught (good, upright prince who did his duty faithfully to his country up until he was about 90; good husband and father; military man   )

2. Edward VII (despite faults had a good heart, charm and personality)

3. George V ( I go for the gruff types I guess   ; I admire the devotion to his country, his wife and understand his faults; like QM I think underappreciated for what he contributed to his country; outpouring at his Jubilee & funeral were immense even by today's standards)

4. Prince Leopold (artistic; tragic life but fought self-pity and the pity of others)

5. Louis Battenberg (well, he IS a Battenberg; his relationship with his wife & family; his devotion his profession and his adopted country)

6. Prince Arthur of Connaught (dedication; the kind of prince who flies beneath the radar but devoted his life to Britain)

7. Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein (same as above)

8. Prince Albert, Prince Consort (his brains; his relationship with Vicky; his contribution to his adopted country)

9. 'Alge' Athlone (good husband & brother; devoted public servant)

10. George, Duke of Kent (artistic; brought out the softer side of QM; complex)

[Prince_Lieven]

Ok, Duchess - here we go.

Top 10 British Royals:
1. Vicky, Princess Royal, Crown Princess of Prussia and German Empress Frederick - An amazingly compassionate and intelligent woman. He good points easily outweigh the bad ones.
2. Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of Great Britain - beautiful, charming and amiable
3. Marie of Edinburgh, Queen of Romania - her dramatic personality is highly endearing.
4. May of Teck, Queen Mary - a formiddable and interesting woman, but with a heart underneath
5. Queen Victoria - what you might call 'a real character
6. Edward VII - such an affable man, and a good king
7. Maud of Wales, Queen Maud of Norway - a very likable and conscientious woman.
8. Victoria of Hesse, Marchioness of Milford-Haven - a thoroughly sensible woman
9. Leopold, Duke of Albany - intelligent and gentle, strived for a normal life
10. Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester - easily the most likable of George III's 13 surviving children

Now, all the others!
1. Maria Theresa, Empress of the HRE and Queen of Hungary - what a woman! Fearless in the face of danger, and never gave up
2. Dagmar of Denmark, Tsarina Marie Feodorovna - a very good Empress
3. Sophie of Prussia, Queen of Greece - her story is so sad, but she had guts, and definite personality.
4. Carl of Denmark, Haakon VII of Norway - took to being king exceptionally well
5. Marie of Mecklenburg, Grand Duchess Vladimir - a woman of definite character
6. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands - the only woman that Churchill confessed to be 'a little afraid of'
7. Juan Carlos I of Spain - has done great work in ridding Spain of fascism
8. Franz Josef of Austria - I've always felt kinda sorry for the poor old guy
9. Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia - I appreciate the keen sense of dept she felt towards her English relations
10. Madam Royal, Princesse Marie-Therese of France - Another poor unfortunate I feel sorry for, but admire for pulling herself together after the revoltuion

[grandduchessella]

Top 10 Romanovs

Grand Duchess Division
1. Ella (natch) (beautiful inside & out)

2. GDss Marie N. (my favorite of OTMA when I was a child--still holds the appeal; sweet nature)

3. Olga N. (the smartest who probably would've made a good Tsarina in her own right)

4. GDss Tatiana (elegance)

5. GDss Alexandra (nee Greece) (soft spot for lovely princesses who are well-loved by everyone and who die tragically young)

6. GDss Alexandra Iosifovna (flighty princess who matured into a strong matriarch)

7. Ducky (a lot to dislike but holds interest as well)

8. Miechen (same as above; had a lot of charm and culture as well)

9. Xenia (hard to put finger on but partly due to the kindness she always tried to extend to AF)

10. Olga A. (reasons others have named--not the 'fairytale' type but tough and resilient)

Top 10 Female Consorts

1. Vicky (brains, culture, great love affair, would've done great things if she'd been allowed)

2. Queen Mary (listed previously)

3. Queen Olga (kindly, strong, who else called GV 'tootsums'?   )

4. Queen Marie of Romania (beautiful, vain, kindly, artistic, left a great set of memoirs)

5. Queen Maud (really blossomed as a reluctant Queen Consort of a brand-new country)

6. Queen Ena (pretty little princess who overcame adversity--especially in her marriage & family life--to become a strong, confident, stylish woman)

7. Queen Sophie of Greece (devotion to Vicky; could've done a lot for Greece if given the opportunity; rose above adversity)

8. Queen Amelie of Portugal (strong, resilient, I mean pictured sitting on a bull--what's not to like?)

9. Queen Louise of Sweden ('ugly duckling' princess who was given the opportunity as Crown Princess and Queen to really shine--even if she did replace one of my all-time favorites, Daisy)

10. Queen Alexandra (reasons listed previously)

German Royals
1. Vicky (see above)

2. GDss Alice Hesse (could be a bit mopey for my tastes but her contributions to her adopted country and the mark she left on her children were great; had a sensitive and inquiring nature)

3. Victoria Hesse (as someone said--what a character!; fellow military wife)

4. Irene Hesse (gentle nature; helped Vicky as her DIL (unlike Dona); like VMH a real survivor of the family tragedies as well as ones of her own with the hemophilia)

5. Crown Princess Cecile ('bright young thing' who matured into a strong mother; care for her Down Syndrome child; possibly would've been a good successor to Vicky if possible)

6. Victoria Louise (romantic love story--gets me all the time; brought out the softer side of her father)

7. Moretta (tragic princess personified but never lost her kind nature)

8. Mossy (another of Vicky's supports; strong to survive such family losses)

9. GDss Anastasia of Mecklenberg-Schwerin (like VMH--what a character; flamboyant but loved her children)

10. CPss Antonia of Bavaria (lovely princess who survived concentration camp)

[grandduchessella]

Top 10 QV's Grandchildren (female) (reasons mostly given prior)
1. Ella
2. Alice Athlone
3. Ena
4. Daisy Connaught (lovely inside and out; tirelessly worked on behalf of relatives and prisoners during WW1; universally beloved by family & country)
5. Victoria Hesse
6. Sophie Greece
7. Patsy Connaught
8. Queen Maud
9. Missy
10. Empress Alexandra (difficult to warm up to for me but always an interest)

(male)
1. George V
2. Arthur Connaught
3. Ernie Hesse (cultured; artistic; sensitive but found peace with his 2nd family)
4. Henry Prussia (like GV gruff but had many good qualities and was a good son to Vicky in the end--mostly due to Irene's influence; devoted to service)
5. Eddy (I'm not the fan many are but think he's been given a very bad rap; brought out GV's soft side)
6. Christian Victor
7. Leopold Battenberg (like his namesake uncle, a promising, artistic prince whose life was cut short by hemophilia)
8. Maurice Battenberg (strong, intelligent prince cut down in war)

[Louis_Charles]

(1) Wallis, Duchess of Windsor. Someone in the family had to know how to dress.
(2) Marie-Therese, Duchesse d'Angouleme. She survived, and she did it with grace.
(3) Elizabeth I.
(4) Anne of Cleves. She beat the odds.
(5) Olga Alexandrovna. She could give lessons about survival and grace.
(6) Charles II
(7) Ella. Saintliness counts.
( Nicholas and Alexandra.
(9) Mary Tudor
(10) Catherine the Great.

[Prince_Lieven]

I notice that George VI and the Queen Mother are not on anyone's list . . . interesting.

[TampaBay]

I notice that George VI and the Queen Mother are not on anyone's list . . . interesting.

Neither is Lady Diana!

TampaBay

[amani]

Mine would have to be:

1) Maud (of course)
2) Margaret of Connaught (of course)
3) Margaretha of Sweden (later Princess Axel of Denmark)
4) Xenia Alexandrovna
5) Alexandra of GB
6) Astrid of Belgium
7) Vicky, Princess Royal
Marie of Romania
9) Victoria of Milford Haven
10) Sissi (although she wasn't exactly saintly, something about her just draws me)

[Martyn]

Here is mine.......in descending order.....

Diana, Princess of Wales, for beauty grace and her humanity
Katherine Duchess of Kent, for her kindness, compassion and sense of duty
HM the Queen, for her professsionalism and selfless devotion to her rôle as monarch
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, the most beautiful and talented of QV's daughters
Princess Alice, the most complex and fascinating of QV's daughters
Victoria Milford Haven, for her wonderful character and incisive mind, not to mention her utterly endearing eccentricity
Queen Mary, for her sheer passion for all that is beautiful and fine, and for her unshakeable belief in the concept of royalty
Queen Alexandra, for her fierce love for her British and Danish families, and for her unique and totally individual charm and beauty
Queen Maud of Norway, for her success as queen in a new monarchy, and for her rich legacy of period fashion
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, if the USA had royalty she would certainly qualify anyway, and for the fact that she had more style and savoir faire than the woman who mounted the throne by default.......

Hope that I haven't forgotten any of my Brit faves.....Sarah, Duchess of York would come in at number 11, just because I admire her phoenix-like quality.......