𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚁𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 👑✨🍫

(𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟺 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝟺)

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Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood and Princess Royal.

Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia, née Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse, née Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich.

Empress Eugenie of France, née Eugenie de Montijo.

Princess Marie Louise of Baden, née Princess Marie Louise of Hanover.

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna

5th May 1912 part 1/2

Photo 1-2 : Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna and Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna in Oreanda, 5th May 1912.

Photo 3 : Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse and by Rhine and Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine in Oreanda, 5th May 1912.

Photo 4 : Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna at the ruins of the Oreanda palace, 5th May 1912.

Photo 5 : Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna at the ruins of the Oreanda palace, 5th May 1912.

Photo 6 : Tsar Nicholas II at the ruins of the Oreanda palace, 5th May 1912.

Photo 7 : Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna in Oreanda, 5th May 1912.

Photo 8 : Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna and Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna in Oreanda, 5th May 1912.

"5th May. Saturday. With A[unt] and T[atiana] rode on horseback to Oreanda on the Cross Hill. Zlebov and Kublitsky had breakfast with us. In the afternoon, all together and with Mama went to Oreanda and from there we 2 with Aunts, Papa and Uncle went to Harax for tea. The weather was wonderful. Was at vsenoshchnoy. Had dinner on the balcony. There was a thunderstorm."

1912 Diary of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna

Photos from: Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna's 1912-1916 Album/ Pages 9&9b - photo 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 132 Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna's 1910-1912 Album/ Page 25b - photo 384, 385

Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse and by Rhine, Prince Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his wife, Hereditary Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine and Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine at the Bayreuth Festival in 1932.

Hesse Strawberry Leaf Tiara, Garrard, circa 1861

Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse (1871)

Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Grand Duchess of Hesse (1898) /

Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, Grand Duchess of Hesse (c.1910)

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse (1937)

Prince Louis of Battenberg, Princess Louise of Battenberg, Prince Waldemar of Prussia, Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse, Princess Irene of Prussia and Grand Duchess Olga onboard the Standart, 16th July 1909

Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse (1868 - 1937) and his children

Ernst Ludwig was the son of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and By Rhine, and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. His four sisters were Victoria (mother to Alice Mountbatten and, therefore, grandmother of Prince Phillip,) Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, a martyr of the Russian Revolution and a saint, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, and Princess Irene (she was known as Princess Heinrich because she married Prince Heinrich, the brother of the Keiser.)

He suffered many painful losses throughout his life, including that of his beloved firstborn, daughter Elizabeth, whom he fathered with Victoria Melita, Princess of Edinburgh. The beautiful girl died two years after the couple divorced. Subsequently, he entered a second marriage with Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (the family called her Onor.) He had two sons with Onor, George Donatus (George Donatus married a sister of Prince Phillip) and Louis.

Ernst Ludwig adored children all his life and was always ready to romp with his own, his sisters' children (OTMAA), and later with his grandchildren. He never got over the death of his beautiful little daughter.

Here are several pictures of him with his boys and an unidentified little girl and a picture of the Duke with his beloved daughter.

Hi! Where do you read letters and diaries of NAOTMAA? Do you read it online and if not where do you buy books? I luv ur blog sm ❤️‍🩹🙃

Hello! Thank you for your question and compliments!

I read the diaries and letters from physical books. A few books are online, and Olga and Tatiana's diaries are online, but require institutional access - you can see more about that here.

If you have an amazon prime account or free trial, you can read some online using the kindle app.

The most prolific translator is Helen Azar, who collaborates often with George Hawkins and Nicholas B. A. Nicholson.

I am going to list all the books that I am aware of that are dedicated purely to translations:

1895 Diary of Tsar Nicholas II, Lottie Bailey 1913 Diary of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna: Complete Tercentennial Journal of the Third Daughter of the Last Tsar, Helen Azar, Amanda Madru A Lifelong Passion, Andrei Maylunas, Sergei Mironenko (this book is huge, almost 800 pages, and has translated letters and diaries from Nicholas and Alexandra, some of OTMA's notes, and extended family) Alexei: Russia's Last Tsesarevich - Letters, diaries and writings, George Hawkins Anastasia Romanov: The Tsar's Youngest Daughter Speaks Through Her Writings, Helen Azar, George Hawkins Correspondence of the Russian Grand Duchesses: Letters of the Daughters of the Last Tsar, George Hawkins In the Steps of the Romanovs: Final Two Years of Russian Imperial Family (1916-18), Helen Azar Journal of a Russian Grand Duchess: Complete Annotated 1913 Diary of Olga Romanov, Eldest Daughter of the Last Tsar, Helen Azar MARIA and ANASTASIA: The Youngest Romanov Grand Duchesses In Their Own Words, Helen Azar MARIA ROMANOV: THIRD DAUGHTER OF THE LAST TSAR. Diaries and Letters 1908-1918, Helen Azar, George Hawkins Romanov Family Yearbook: On This Date in Their Own Words, Helen Azar, Amanda Madru Russia's Last Romanovs: In Their Own Words, Helen Azar Tatiana Romanov, Daughter of the Last Tsar: Diaries and Letters, 1913–1918, Helen Azar, Nicholas B.A. Nicholson The Complete Wartime Correspondence of Tsar Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra, April 1914-March 1917 (Documentary Reference Collections), Joseph Fuhrmann (at a whopping 800 pages, this book went out of print several years ago. It not sells for over $100 regularly, though you can get it cheaper second hand. It is the only completely uncut edition of all of Nicholas and Alexandra's telegrams and letters during WWI.) The Correspondence of the Empress Alexandra of Russia with Ernst Ludwig and Eleonore, Grand Duke and Duchess of Hesse. 1878-1916, Petra H. Kleinpenning (includes both the original German letters and English translations) The Diary of Grand Duchess Olga Nicholaievna - 1913, Marina Petrov, Reagan Baker The Diary of Olga Romanov: Royal Witness to the Russian Revolution, Helen Azar The Last Diary of the Tsaritsa Alexandra, Vladimir Khrustalev, Robert K. Massie

Diaries and letters are occasionally quoted by historians in their books, but books solely dedicated to these writings tend to not be online for free reading unfortunately. However, here are a few:

Nicholas's 1917-1918 diary is translated and available to read for free here!

A Lifelong Passion is available to read for free here!

Anna Vyrubova includes a few letters from Alexandra, which you can read for free here!

My recommendations if you are just starting to get into the Romanovs and their writings would be either A Lifelong Passion, Correspondence of the Grand Duchesses, and the diaries and letters of OTMAA. Note that some of the other books by Azar have letters from other members of the family, rather than being focussed on just one member, so expect repeated letters and diary entries if you decide to purchase all of her books. For example, letters published in Maria's book are also published in the book dedicated to Maria and Anastasia.

In terms of where I buy them, I like to get my books second hand - helps out the planet and also means that you usually can get a good discount!! Translated books often aren't cheap, because of the time and money spent visiting archives and translating each piece of writing individually. For example, I managed to get a book almost 70% cheaper than the retail price by buying it second hand. I use websites like eBay, WOB (world of books), and abebooks.

I hope that this was helpful!

Ernest Louis, last Grand Duke of Hesse, with his second wife Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich and their two sons Georg Donatus and Louis, ca. 1910.

THE GRAND DUCHESS

H.R.H. Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse and The Rhine, née Princess zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich  (1871-1937)

Moonstone Tiaras

Meander Moonstone Tiara, circa 1900

Cow Horn & Moonstone Tiara by Frederick James Partridge, circa 1900

Moonstone Tiara by Josef Hoffmann, circa 1905

Hesse Turquoise & Moonstone Tiara, circa 1905

Dragonfly Moonstone Tiara by Tiffany & Co., 1998

Midnight Tiara by Charlotte Lynggaard, 2009

White Topkapi Tiara by Lydia Courteille, circa 2017

Tiara Materials 7 of ∞

Grand Duke Ernest Louis and Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse and by Rhine, 1910s.

Eleonore of Hesse, Olga Nikolaevna and other Grand Duchesses at the Khan's cemetery of the Bakhchisarai Palace; 1912.

(source: V.K)

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna in the Mauve Room at the Alexander Palace, 21st - 24th March 1908. Photo 2 : Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse "Uncle Ernie" and Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse "Aunt Onor"

"21st March. Friday. In the morning, walked with S.I. Had breakfast with Papa and Mama. In the afternoon, walked again with S.I. Drank tea too. 1/2 7 Uncle Ernie and Aunt Onor arrived."

"22nd March. Saturday. In the morning, walked with S.I. In the afternoon too. Had breakfast with Papa and Mama. Drank tea with Papa and Mama. In the evening, was at vsenoshnaya."

"23rd March. Sunday. In the morning, we all walked together, and then were at the Consolidated Guards Regiment parade. Had breakfast in the nursery. Drank tea with Papa and Mama. In the afternoon, walked and played in the garden with Papa and U[ncle] Ernie."

"24th March. Monday. In the morning, walked with S.I. In the afternoon too. Had breakfast with Papa and Mama. Drank tea too. Today A[unt] Onor and U[ncle] Ernie left for Moscow. Was at vsenoshnaya." (1908 Diary of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna)

Photos from: Empress Alexandra Feodorovna's 1903-1918 Album

Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse and by Rhine with his wife Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse and by Rhine and their son Georg Donatus Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his wife Cecilie Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine In front of the town church Langen 1933

Princess Irene of Prussia, Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Princess Victoria of Battenberg, and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna in Wolfsgarten, 1910