Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, 1887.

'She had besides a special talent for wearing her clothes, in a way quite her own. Of course everything suited her, for she was tall, slim and incredibly graceful, and no blush rose could have competed with her complexion. There was also something of a lily about her; her purity was absolute ; one could never take one’s eyes off her, and when parting from her in the evening one longed for the hour when one would behold her again next day.' Queen Marie of Romania

The bridesmaids of Victoria, Princess Royal by Herbert Luther Smith, 1858. (x)

Lady Emma Stanley | Lady Cecilia Molyneux | Lady Katherine Hamilton | Lady Constance Villiers | Lady Celia Gordon-Lennox | Lady Susan Murray | Lady Victoria Noel

so yesterday i might i've bought a ticket for one of the buckingham palace east wing tours this summer ✨

Princess Alice with her sister Victoria, Crown Princess of Prussia, Berlin, 1865.

Alice to Queen Victoria, Berlin, January 29, 1865 | The journey went off very well, and we are so happy to be here. Vicky and Fritz are kindness itself, and Vicky so dear, so loving! I feel it does me good, that there is a reflection of Papa's great mind in her. He loved her so much, and was so proud of her.

Alice to Queen Victoria, Berlin, February 4, 1865 | I have not been sight-seeing anywhere, as it is too cold for that. We drive in a shut carriage, and then walk in the Thiergarten. We spend the whole day together, which is a great enjoyment to me, and of an evening we go out together. It is pleasant to have a sister to go out with, and all the people are so kind and civil to us.

Alice to Queen Victoria, Berlin, February 14, 1965 | We leave next Saturday. I shall be so sorry to leave dear Vicky, for she is often so much alone. Fritz is really so excellent, it is a pleasure to look at his dear good face; and he is worked so hard - no health can stand it in the long run.

Alice to Queen Victoria, Berlin, 17 February 1865 | This will be my last letter from here, and I only regret leaving here on account of parting with dear Vicky and Fritz, whom we see so rarely, and usually but for a short time. I have spent such pleasant hours with dear Vicky: that is what I shall look back to with so much pleasure and satisfaction.

TITANIC costumes appreciation: ― Rose’s boarding suit (costume design by Deborah Lynn Scott)

Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna on a swing photographed by her daughter Xenia, 1912.

(x)

In the Arctic, by William Bradford (1823-1892)

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Princess Alix of Hesse, Grand Duke Louis IV, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Prince Ernest Louis, 1888.

FAVORITE OTMA PHOTOS: TATIANA She's a Grand Duchess from head to toe, so aristocratic and regal. Her face is pale matte, and only the cheeks are slightly rosy, as if pink satin is trying to escape from her skin. Her profile is flawlessly beautiful, as if cut from marble by a great artist. She laughs more rarely than her sisters. On the pale outlines of her face are traces of deep thoughts and sometimes even sadness. Without any words I feel that she is special, different from her sisters. I feel hers—is a wholly secluded and unique world. - Sofia Ofrosimova

The Dreamer (detail). By Jean Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725-1805)

A letter from 11-year-old Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, addressed to her aunt Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fyodorovna.

“Dear Aunt Ella, thank you so very much for your dear gift, my doll and dress. And for the lovely greeting card and the adorable flowery blouse. Your loving Olga "

- Tsarskoye Selo, 1906

(shared by Paul Gilbert on FB)

Louis IV Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine with his two eldest daughters Princess Victoria and Princess Elizabeth, 1883.

The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York en route to Australia 1901.

‘We have only heard yesterday that our visit to Australia is to come off after all,’ wrote May on 8 February 1901.

The display of lachrymosity over the departure of George and May on their voyage on Ophir were exceptional even by royal standards. When the King proposed their health at a farewell dinner on 16 March he broke down altogether, and 'only suppressed sobs were heard'. Aunt Augusta remarked: 'I would not have believed he could have been so very low & upset'. George was so affected that he 'could hardly speak' in reply.

The next day Ophir steamed out of Portsmouth, passing the King and Queen as they waved from the royal yatch. After this poignant moment, wrote George, 'May & I came down to our cabin & had a good cry & tried to comfort each other'. Aunt Augusta paid Alix a visit soon afterwards, 'when she told me all about it, crying all the time.' As for May, she confessed that 'those dreadful farewells nearly killed me, & I was obliged to take to my bed & do nothing but rest’, staying there until Gibraltar. 'The pent up emotions of the last days had much upset me, particularly havin to keep one's feelings under control, so no wonder I collapsed.’

George V : Never a dull moment by Jane Ridley

They Did Not Expect Him by Ilya Repin was painted between 1883 and 1888. It depicts the return of a political prisoner from exile and his family's reaction. The image on top is the first version, which was later altered several times to become the final version at the bottom.

'Serpent', a scent bottle, no.

502, designed 1920. René Lalique.

Clear, frosted and sepia stained glass.

huge props to whatever ancient roman in pompeii was out there with a painting of a charcuterie board on their wall

St. Petersburg 1865

Grand Dukes Alexander Alexandrovich, Vladimir Alexandrovich with their cousin Prince Nicholas Maximilianovich and Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg.