by Molly Owen | Jan 14, 2012 | Angelyn Schmid, Blog
—quoted from a letter written by Victoria, Crown Princess of Prussia of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary
So much has been written about Sisi that she has been practically elevated beyond the realm of reality. Some call this phenomenon a cult of personality. When we are confronted with this circumstance, it becomes almost imperative we know something more personal, more intimate about the celebrity to bring us closer to them. We want to see the inside of their house, read their letters, touch their clothes. Then we can take away that comforting notion that we are intimate with that person and even, perhaps, that we’ve found in their life a parallel to our own.
So it is with those who still, to this day, adore Sisi. And we are fortunate to have two sources that bring us closer to the woman famous for holding a fan in front of her face whenever photographers were present.
It was customary in the latter half of the nineteenth century for royals to visit one another. This was seen as an excellent means of promoting goodwill among European countries, primarily by the principals themselves. Of course, the advent of World War I disproved this delusion but at least we have some letters that survive describing in contemporary terms what these people were like.
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by Molly Owen | Dec 14, 2011 | Angelyn Schmid, Blog
Heaped up upon the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam.
–Stave Three, the Second of the Three Spirits — A Christmas Carol
This beloved work of Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) was written in 1843 when Twelfth Night was still the primary winter holiday in England. January 6th, and not December 25th, was the focus of the Season. Christmas Day was a very simple, almost unnoticed affair when church services were the highlight of the day. In contrast, Twelfth Night involved feasting, games and the traditional cake–an elaborate affair that contained a dried bean and a dried pea. Their discovery conferred royalty status on the finders, even if they were ordinary servants.
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by Molly Owen | Nov 14, 2011 | Angelyn Schmid, Blog
Jane Maxwell, Duchess of Gordon and son
“She kiltit up her kirtle weel tucked/To show her bonie cutes sae sma’
And walloped about the reel/The lightest louper o’ them a’!
While some, like slav’ring, doited stots/Stoit’ring out thro’ the midden dub, Fankit their heels amang their coats/And gart the floor their backsides rub.
Gordon, the great, the gay, the gallant/Skip’t like a maukin owre a dike, Deil tak me, since I was a callant/Gif e’er my een beheld the like!”
—On the Duchess of Gordon’s Reel Dancing (published March 27, 1789 – London’s Star newspaper, Peter Stuart, ed.)
Much has been written on Jane Maxwell, Duchess of Gordon (1749?-1812). I shall not attempt to review it all in this post, but suffice it to say she was born in Scotland, either in Edinburgh or her family estate at Myrton, and made a brilliant marriage to the Duke of Gordon. She was alleged to have been desperately in love with a Fraser lad who she thought had died. Sadly, she was already ensconced in the Bog-of-Gight stronghold of Gordon Castle when her lover resurrected–too late for her to accept his proposal of marriage.
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by Molly Owen | Oct 18, 2011 | Angelyn Schmid, Blog
La Peregrina is one of the most famous pearls in the world. Found by a slave in the Spanish colony of Panama, circa mid-sixteenth century, it was delivered to King Philip II of Spain. At that time, the jewel was the largest pearl ever discovered, pear-shaped and weighing nearly fifty-six carats. The king gave it to his affianced wife, Mary I of England, (shown above) sometimes called “Bloody Mary.”
Quite the blushing bride, isn’t she?
The pearl was eventually returned to Spain upon Mary’s death. This is astonishing, given her sister-successor’s penchant for fine jewelry. You may recall Elizabeth was to later bid against the Queen Mother of France, Catherine de Medici, over the spoils left behind by Mary Queen of Scots. Some of those spoils included rare black muscades–pearls of a deep purple color. La Peregrina, in contrast, went back to Phlip “The Prudent” and became part of the Spanish queen consorts’ collection, until she began the second leg of her eventful journey.
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So much has been written about Sisi that she has been practically elevated beyond the realm of reality. Some call this phenomenon a cult of personality. When we are confronted with this circumstance, it becomes almost imperative we know something more personal, more intimate about the celebrity to bring us closer to them. We want to see the inside of their house, read their letters, touch their clothes. Then we can take away that comforting notion that we are intimate with that person and even, perhaps, that we’ve found in their life a parallel to our own. 
