#german nobility

[tiaramania]

TIARA ALERT: Princess Eugenia of Hohenzollern wore the Couteulx Diamond Tiara as a hairpiece for Le Bal des Débutantes at the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris, France on 29 November 2025

[diemelusine]

Portrait of the Hon. Frances Bard (c. 1646 - 1708) by Peter Lely. Private collection.

[royalty-nobility]

Duchess Amalie of Saxe-Altenburg

Artist: Joseph Karl Stieler (German, 1781–1858)

Date: 1847

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Altenburg Castle And Playing Card Museum, Altenburg, Germany

Description

Depiction of Duchess Amalie of Saxe-Altenburg, née Prince of Württemberg (1799-1848), of Altenburg.

[paintingsandhistory]

Portrait of Magdalena of Saxony, Wife of Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg

Artist: Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, 1472–1553)

Date: ca. 1529

Medium: Oil on panel

Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States

Magdalena of Saxony

Magdalena of Saxony (1507 - 1534) was a princess of the House of Wettin, the daughter of Duke George the Bearded of Saxony and his wife Barbara Jagiellon, and by marriage Margravine of Brandenburg as consort of Joachim of Brandenburg, who succeeded as Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg in 1535.

She married Joachim on 6 November 1524, linking the prominent Saxon and Brandenburg dynasties during the early Reformation era. The couple had one son, John George, who later became Elector of Brandenburg. She is primarily known through Renaissance portraiture, including a notable painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder dated around 1529, which captures her in opulent attire symbolizing her noble status and the artistic patronage of the period.

As a figure in 16th-century German nobility, Magdalena's life reflected the political alliances and cultural exchanges among electoral houses, though her early death limited her direct influence on court affairs.

[uwmspeccoll]

Milestone Monday!

Crowning Love 💒💍

On this day, February 10, 1840, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha at the Chapel Royal in St. James's Palace. This marriage was significant because it united the British monarchy with the German nobility since Albert was a German prince. The two shared a deep and loving relationship, characterized by a strong partnership. Victoria was just 20 years old at the time, while Albert, her first cousin, was 21.

This royal wedding established traditions that continue to be practiced today. Departing from the previous custom of private nighttime ceremonies, Victoria wanted her subjects to witness the bridal procession, so she held hers during the day. This led to the highly publicized royal weddings we see today. She also wore a white satin dress at a time when the norm was to wear a variety of colors, ranging from red or pink to brown or black.  This sparked a surge in white wedding dresses, ultimately contributing to the established tradition we see in modern weddings today.

The couple had nine children, and their offspring married into various European royal families, earning her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe." After Albert's premature death in 1861, Victoria mourned deeply and wore black for the rest of her life, contributing to her public image as a figure of mourning and loss. Their love story remains one of the most romantic in royal history.

--Melissa, Special Collections Library Assistant

The images featured come from:

The Enchanted Dolls’ House Wedding by Robyn Johnson was published in New York by Handprint Books in 2007. Our copy is a 1st American edition. This adorable pop-up book presents the fashions, customs, and traditions of weddings held in Victorian England. 

The Queen’s Tact, a humorous poem written by New Zealand author and biographer Hector Bolitho, was published in London by Nicholson & Watson in 1938. It was produced by William Clowes and Sons, who were known for developing the use of steam-powered printing presses. The mounted illustration was created by British artist Steven Spurrier. 

[tiarascrowns]

BELLE ÉPOQUE DIAMOND BARRETTE

PROPERTY FROM THE ROTHSCHILD FAMILY

BELLE ÉPOQUE DIAMOND BARRETTE, HENRI VEVER Designed as a butterfly, marquise, old and rose-cut diamonds, platinum, 3 ¼ ins., circa 1910, signed Vever, Paris, no. 2767

Christie's

[empress-alexandra]

Mary Theresa Olivia (Daisy) Cornwallis-West, Princess of Pless - society beauty and social reformer, early 1900s.

[victusinveritas]

Andreas Michael Friedrich Hans Armin Siegfried Hubertus Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha Herzog von Sachsen has died, presumably of oxygen deprivation after saying his full name three times in a row.