Empires, kingdoms, royalty, unusual jewelry, etc. @augustus-rus - Tumblr Blog

Prince Joachim of Denmark, Princess Marie of Denmark, Count Felix of Monpezat, Count Henrik of Monpezat and Countess Athena of Monpezat with their dog Cerise, pose for an official portrait in January 2026, to celebrate Count Felix's 24th birthday, in Denmark -July 22nd 2026.

📷 : Jakob Kirk/Det Danske Kongehus.

tradlads

Holkham Hall, Norfolk

royalty-nobility

Queen Marie Antoinette of France and two of her Children Walking in The Park of Trianon

Artist: Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller (Swedish, 1751–1811)

Date: 1785

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: National Museum, Stockholm, Sweden

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette (1755 – 1793) was Queen Consort of France as the wife of Louis XVI from 10 May 1774 until the abolition of the French monarchy in 1792 during the French Revolution.

Born in Vienna as the fifteenth child of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa, she was selected for a diplomatic marriage to the dauphin Louis-Auguste to strengthen Franco-Austrian ties. The union occurred on 16 May 1770, when she was fourteen and he fifteen, marking her entry into the rigid etiquette of the French court at Versailles.

Upon Louis XVI's accession in 1774, Marie Antoinette assumed the role of queen amid a kingdom burdened by debt from prior wars and inefficient taxation, yet she rapidly became the target of pamphlets and caricatures decrying her as frivolous and foreign-influenced. Her early years featured childlessness for seven years, straining the marriage until the birth of four children, including the dauphin Louis-Joseph (who died young) and later Louis Charles, the titular Louis XVII.

Accusations of extravagance, such as the fabricated "let them eat cake" remark - actually referenced earlier by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in describing an unnamed princess - exemplified the propaganda that scapegoated her for broader economic woes unrelated to her personal habits.

Events like the Affair of the Diamond Necklace in 1785 further eroded her popularity, despite her innocence in the scandal orchestrated by fraudsters. As revolutionary fervor escalated, Marie Antoinette urged resistance to radical demands, contributing to the family's failed Flight to Varennes in 1791, after which they were imprisoned in the Temple.

Deposed in 1792 following the storming of the Tuileries, she faced trial in 1793 on charges including treason and fabricated incest, defending herself with composure before her execution by guillotine on 16 October at the Place de la Révolution.

Her steadfast demeanor in captivity and death transformed her into a symbol of monarchical martyrdom, with later scholarship debunking many calumnies to reveal a woman navigating political intrigue, personal tragedies, and systemic collapse rather than a primary cause of France's turmoil.

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On top of inheriting an already burdened economy, King Louis XVI was talked into spending even more money on the fledgling US War of Independence from France’s arch-enemy, England. This crippled his economy recovery and unfortunately led to the French Revolution. He needed to raise taxes and called an assembly, the Estates-General, which led to revolt and Revolution.

In retrospect, he never should have agreed to help fund the American War of Independence. He didn’t have the money and the world hasn’t been the same since.

#queen marie antoinette of france #group portrait #queen consort of france

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#Instagram

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#World Cup celebrations with Spanish royals #Instagram

Spanish royals at the World Cup and at a movie theater. Spain won the World Cup 1-0 over Argentina.

#king felipe vi #queen letizia #infanta Leonora #infanta sofia

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Napoleonic era jewelry.

#enamel #gold #diamonds #silver

On July 17, 1918 the Russian Imperial Family was led into a basement of Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg and brutally murdered by Bolshevik thugs. They later disposed of the bodies by trying to incinerate them, then throwing them into an abandoned mineshaft. Finally, they were thrown into a hastily dug pit when the truck the bodies were being transported on got stuck in the mud.

#imperial russia #damn all revolutionaries #perhaps they were first drugged at dinner then killed in their bed?#many secrets still hidden

https://fb.watch/ImQtZRRYGM/?

“Empress Constance of Sicily’s kamelaukion was based on a Byzantine design and made by Eastern Roman/Byzantine artists for the Norman king Roger II. Roger believed it would put him on the same level as the Eastern Roman emperors. The kamelaukion first appeared under the Komnenians, was treated as a true crown alongside other gold crowns, and was even worn at receptions for foreign envoys Roger’s envoys among them prompting Roger to have a matching crown made.”

Credits: @byzantine_history.

Prince Rostislav Romanov with his aunt.

"Their Serene Highnesses Prince Rostislav Romanov and Princess Olga Andreevna Romanov💙💙🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺"

From FB.

#imperial russia #Insidethe Winter Palace in St. Petersburg #Russia.

Stunning carved ivory and coral statuette.

#i love ivory and coral

The Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg, Russia.

#imperial russia #Catherine Palace

“The Pink Fairytale of St. Petersburg 💗🇷🇺

With its pink-and-white Gothic details, Chesme Church looks like a palace from another world. Built under Catherine the Great, it remains one of St. Petersburg’s most unusual historic churches. ✨⛪”

From FB

Coronation mantle of Empress Alexandra of Russia, worn in 1896. Now housed at the Kremlin Museum. It made of ermine fur, white silk brocade and embroidered gold cloth.

#imperial russia #empress Alexandra of Russia

artifacts-and-arthropods

Rock Crystal Flask from Ancient Rome, c.25 BCE: this tiny flask measures just 5.7cm (2.25 inches) tall, and it was carved from a piece of quartz more than 2,000 years ago

This miniature vessel, also known as an amphoriskos, was likely used as a vial for perfumed oils.

Above: close-up of the flask

Vessels made of rock crystal (which is an exceptionally clear, glassy variety of quartz) were rare and highly treasured throughout the Roman world.

As the Getty Museum explains:

Due to the limited sources of the material and the labor-intensive process of making the vessels, rock crystal vessels were rare and expensive luxury items in the Roman world. A small amphoriskos such as this one probably contained expensive perfumed oils. This form of flask, with angular handles and a bottom knob, was also popular in ceramic vessels of the late first century B.C.

Above: the same vessel viewed from the side

Rock crystal was also prized for its natural beauty, resilience, and mystical significance:

Like the Greeks before them, the Romans believed that rock crystal was ice that had been hardened through intense freezing. Fittingly, such a miraculous stone was believed to have the powers of an amulet and was highly valued.

The stone's hardness made it difficult to work but also highly desirable because the finished piece possessed a glossy finish and was resistant to scratches. To hollow out the vessel, an artisan used ground emery as an abrasive. Small vessels like this multi-faceted amphoriskos took advantage of the natural elongated, hexagonal structure of the quartz mineral.