Primus Inter Pares

 Isabel of Brazil in 1870

"If I had a thousand thrones, a thousand thrones I would give to free the slaves of Brazil"

In 1888, during her father's, Emperor Pedro II, absence abroad, Princess Isabel, heir to the throne, acted as regent and signed the Golden Law, a law emancipating at once all slaves in Brazil. This action would ultimately lead to the end of the Empire of Brazil.

- Isabel, Imperial Princess of Brazil

Casual Friday

Emperor Franz I of Austria in Coronation Robes. Friedrich von Amerling. 1832

Que l'Enfer Applaudisse

 " The Gates of Hell ". Rodin. Details


"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here"

- Dante Alighieri,The Divine Comedy 

Magister Dixit:

"It is not possible for a man to be elegant without a touch of femininity." 

- Vivienne Westwood 

High Profile

A Very Stylish Girl

Winter Finally

Heads Up

Europa Nostra

Russian Grand Duchesses hosting the Duchess of Connaught , Queen Victoria's representant  to the festivities of the coronation of Nicholas II.  Moscow, 1896.

Tempus Fugit

Karate Kids

The King of Spain and  the King of Greece

Les Amoureux

 Estoril, Portugal, 1940

Real Love:

"Karl preferes Coca-Cola and chocolate cake to love. They 're his, they're there in the refrigerator and always accessible".

- Jacques de Bascher

Last Days of Rome

Marie-Hélène de Rothschild wearing her antlers at the start of her Surrealist Ball.

"In 1981 President Miterrand nationalised the 100 years old Rothschild family bank, provoking Guy de Rothschild to move to New York, come out of retirement and set up business there. His wife Marie-Hélène followed him and transfered her ancien régime socialising from the Hôtel Lambert to Lexington Avenue instead, leaving a vacuum in Paris high society. (...) Kim d'Estainville spoke for all the beau monde when he said, "The old order is now gone"".

- Alicia Drake

Portraits of Power

 Wedding of Emperor Barbarossa and Beatrix of Burgundy

Bishop Herold's investiture with the duchy of Franconia 

Les Amoureux

Magister Dixit:

"I was no Marie Antoinette. I was not born to nobility, but I had a human right to nobility."

- Imelda Marcos

Princess Yvonne und Prince Alexander  by their mother, Princess Marianne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. 1955 

Piercing Eyes

Masters and Slaves

Life Imitating Art

La Salle Ronde, Adolph von Menzel

"At the age of seven i had a total coup de foudre before a reproduction of a painting by Menzel representing Frederick the Great surrounded by friends, one of whom was Voltaire, and receiving them at Sans Souci. I immediately decided that this elegant and refined scene represented the life that was worth living, a sort of ideal that I have since endeavoured to achive."

- Karl Lagerfeld

Strike a Pose