See Sissi's spectacular jewellery case here: Rau Antiques Video
NB: This doesn't seem to be working but it's easy to look up and it's worth seeing!
A ‘Tequila Sunrise’ for the Monaco royal wedding
13 years ago
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
In The Wake Of The Queen
In The Wake Of The Queen: Perfume Inspired by Marie Antoinette
When Elizabeth Feydeau, the author of A Scented Palace: The Secret History of Marie Antoinette’s s Perfumer, asked the perfumer, Francis Kurdjian to create a fragrance similar to Marie Antoinette’s, he said that it would be ‘impossible’ and ‘too expensive.’ He thought this because the perfume would have to be created with natural ingredients.
He became fascinated by the enigmatic Queen who loved luxury, however, and couldn’t resist the challenge. Feydeau knew that it would be popular amongst collectors and women who want to wear a fragrance that Marie Antoinette could have worn.
Kurdjian chose the time in Marie Antoinette’s life when she was a young mother and pictured her at the Triannon in her flowing muslin dresses, care-free and escaping from the restrictions of court life. He based the perfume on her favourite flowers – roses, irises, orange blossom and tuberoses. Marie-Antoinette once requested her perfumer, Fargeon, to create a perfume that would ‘capture Triannon’ for her (Mimi Frou Frou.com). Perhaps Kurdjian had a similar idea.
It took eighteen months of research, blending and poring over an encyclopaedia created by Fargeon, Marie-Antoinette’s perfumer, before he felt that it was correct. Kurdjian didn’t know if it was an exact reproduction of Marie-Antoinette’s perfume, but believed that it was a fragrance that she could have worn. She would not have worn just one scent, however, but many different ones because of the transient nature of the natural materials in them.
He did use all natural ingredients and the very best oils and essences to make an ‘intensely floral’ perfume. Kurdjian even used rhizomes from Tuscan irises which had been cured for five years as they were in the Queen’s day.
Perfume was stronger in Marie-Antoinette’s time and the perfumer made allowances for this. She wore fragrance mostly to mask the unpleasant smells of the court and the dreadful odour of the open sewers nearby. Although it was expensive, it wasn’t the unnecessary luxury that it is today, but regarded as a necessity by the aristocracy.
The fragrance is called La Sillage de La Reine, which means ‘In the Wake of the Queen’. has been advertised by the Chateau de Versailles as: “...a perfume with a sillage, elegant and light like the breeze blowing on a light dress. The queen's olfactory preferences have been assembled like a bouquet of confidences.”
25 ml of the fragrance costs $900.00. However, the prestige edition vials in Baccarat crystal cost over $11,000.00 each! Some have been sold to collectors and the wealthy, such as a sheik of Oman. In a nice touch, the Chateau gave Sofia Coppola, the creator of the beautiful movie, some vials.
NB: I have also published this article at www.luxuryfame.com and at Constant-Content.)
When Elizabeth Feydeau, the author of A Scented Palace: The Secret History of Marie Antoinette’s s Perfumer, asked the perfumer, Francis Kurdjian to create a fragrance similar to Marie Antoinette’s, he said that it would be ‘impossible’ and ‘too expensive.’ He thought this because the perfume would have to be created with natural ingredients.
He became fascinated by the enigmatic Queen who loved luxury, however, and couldn’t resist the challenge. Feydeau knew that it would be popular amongst collectors and women who want to wear a fragrance that Marie Antoinette could have worn.
Kurdjian chose the time in Marie Antoinette’s life when she was a young mother and pictured her at the Triannon in her flowing muslin dresses, care-free and escaping from the restrictions of court life. He based the perfume on her favourite flowers – roses, irises, orange blossom and tuberoses. Marie-Antoinette once requested her perfumer, Fargeon, to create a perfume that would ‘capture Triannon’ for her (Mimi Frou Frou.com). Perhaps Kurdjian had a similar idea.
It took eighteen months of research, blending and poring over an encyclopaedia created by Fargeon, Marie-Antoinette’s perfumer, before he felt that it was correct. Kurdjian didn’t know if it was an exact reproduction of Marie-Antoinette’s perfume, but believed that it was a fragrance that she could have worn. She would not have worn just one scent, however, but many different ones because of the transient nature of the natural materials in them.
He did use all natural ingredients and the very best oils and essences to make an ‘intensely floral’ perfume. Kurdjian even used rhizomes from Tuscan irises which had been cured for five years as they were in the Queen’s day.
Perfume was stronger in Marie-Antoinette’s time and the perfumer made allowances for this. She wore fragrance mostly to mask the unpleasant smells of the court and the dreadful odour of the open sewers nearby. Although it was expensive, it wasn’t the unnecessary luxury that it is today, but regarded as a necessity by the aristocracy.
The fragrance is called La Sillage de La Reine, which means ‘In the Wake of the Queen’. has been advertised by the Chateau de Versailles as: “...a perfume with a sillage, elegant and light like the breeze blowing on a light dress. The queen's olfactory preferences have been assembled like a bouquet of confidences.”
25 ml of the fragrance costs $900.00. However, the prestige edition vials in Baccarat crystal cost over $11,000.00 each! Some have been sold to collectors and the wealthy, such as a sheik of Oman. In a nice touch, the Chateau gave Sofia Coppola, the creator of the beautiful movie, some vials.
NB: I have also published this article at www.luxuryfame.com and at Constant-Content.)
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
The Tragic Empress Elizabeth of Austria
Beautiful Empress Elizabeth of Austria, nicknamed ‘Sissi’, became a legend in her own lifetime. The Hungarians especially loved this ‘lonely Empress’ because she helped their nationalist cause. She is also famous for being devoted to other causes and charities and her poetry. The Empress was ‘a woman of many parts’ – a Queen, an equestrian and a writer – who, sadly, had a very tragic life.
Born in the Christmas of 1837 in Munich, this daughter of Duke Maximilian and Maria Ludowika, enjoyed a carefree existence in the stunning countryside of Bavaria. Raised in Possenhofen Castle, she liked to ride, hunt, and play games with her many siblings.
This life of freedom ended soon after she met Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. Elizabeth was only 15 when she met the emperor. A marriage between Franz Joseph and Elizabeth’s older sister, Helene, had been arranged and he had come to meet her. He fell in love with the young Elizabeth instead and they were engaged a day after they met at Bad Ischl.
They married in April 1854. Elizabeth found the strict protocols of court life very difficult after living an enjoyable life in the country. She also disliked her mother-in-law, Sophie, who accused her of making many mistakes and faux-pas. Their relationship became fraught when Sophie took charge of the upbringing of the Empress’s three children, Sophie, Gisela and Rudolph. She refused to let the young Empress breastfeed the children and insisted on taking charge of their education.
Elizabeth eventually became very ill with tuberculosis and her doctor ordered her to travel to a healthier climate. She went to Madeira, Corfu and Venice.
Eventually she recovered and returned to Austria where she became very interested in the nationalist cause of the Hungarians. Empress Elizabeth learned Hungarian, became friendly with the nationalist Count Andrassy, and devoted herself to the cause. She was instrumental in the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 which gave the Hungarians more freedom. She and Franz-Joseph became the King and Queen of Hungary in 1867.
After this Elizabeth had another daughter, Maria Valerie, who became her favourite. She taught her Hungarian and raised her to love Hungary as much as she did.
Elizabeth devoted herself to the sick and injured her great beauty, and her equestrian skills. She also tried again to be a good wife to the Emperor.
Beset by tragedies, including the deaths of her parents and her sister, she soon started traveling and writing again. She loved to learn about the world of the ancient Greeks, and commissioned a palace at Corfu which she called Achilleron after her hero, Achilles. Here she wrote poetry in the tradition of her favourite poet, Heinrich Heine, and learned Greek history and mythology.
When her son committed suicide at Mayerling, the Empress blamed herself for opposing his intended marriage to Mary Vetsera. She began to dress in black and gave her daughters her clothes and jewels. Anorexic and very miserable, Elizabeth sought refuge in traveling but she wrote that she longed for death. She was killed by an anarchist on the shores of Lake Geneva.
The ‘tragic empress’ has a cult following on the Internet and many books, films and plays have been written about her. Many people know about her because of the ‘Sissi’ films starring Romy Schneider, with their splendid settings and costumes. There is even a Sissi Museum in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, which is supposed to be well-worth visiting.
Born in the Christmas of 1837 in Munich, this daughter of Duke Maximilian and Maria Ludowika, enjoyed a carefree existence in the stunning countryside of Bavaria. Raised in Possenhofen Castle, she liked to ride, hunt, and play games with her many siblings.
This life of freedom ended soon after she met Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. Elizabeth was only 15 when she met the emperor. A marriage between Franz Joseph and Elizabeth’s older sister, Helene, had been arranged and he had come to meet her. He fell in love with the young Elizabeth instead and they were engaged a day after they met at Bad Ischl.
They married in April 1854. Elizabeth found the strict protocols of court life very difficult after living an enjoyable life in the country. She also disliked her mother-in-law, Sophie, who accused her of making many mistakes and faux-pas. Their relationship became fraught when Sophie took charge of the upbringing of the Empress’s three children, Sophie, Gisela and Rudolph. She refused to let the young Empress breastfeed the children and insisted on taking charge of their education.
Elizabeth eventually became very ill with tuberculosis and her doctor ordered her to travel to a healthier climate. She went to Madeira, Corfu and Venice.
Eventually she recovered and returned to Austria where she became very interested in the nationalist cause of the Hungarians. Empress Elizabeth learned Hungarian, became friendly with the nationalist Count Andrassy, and devoted herself to the cause. She was instrumental in the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 which gave the Hungarians more freedom. She and Franz-Joseph became the King and Queen of Hungary in 1867.
After this Elizabeth had another daughter, Maria Valerie, who became her favourite. She taught her Hungarian and raised her to love Hungary as much as she did.
Elizabeth devoted herself to the sick and injured her great beauty, and her equestrian skills. She also tried again to be a good wife to the Emperor.
Beset by tragedies, including the deaths of her parents and her sister, she soon started traveling and writing again. She loved to learn about the world of the ancient Greeks, and commissioned a palace at Corfu which she called Achilleron after her hero, Achilles. Here she wrote poetry in the tradition of her favourite poet, Heinrich Heine, and learned Greek history and mythology.
When her son committed suicide at Mayerling, the Empress blamed herself for opposing his intended marriage to Mary Vetsera. She began to dress in black and gave her daughters her clothes and jewels. Anorexic and very miserable, Elizabeth sought refuge in traveling but she wrote that she longed for death. She was killed by an anarchist on the shores of Lake Geneva.
The ‘tragic empress’ has a cult following on the Internet and many books, films and plays have been written about her. Many people know about her because of the ‘Sissi’ films starring Romy Schneider, with their splendid settings and costumes. There is even a Sissi Museum in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, which is supposed to be well-worth visiting.
Prince Joachim of Denmark's Wedding: Some Photos
I’d like to start with a few happy occasions because I have a few articles to post about tragic royal lives so here are some photos from this wedding. This is ‘our Mary’, i.e. Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark at the wedding. I love Mary’s pretty blue tiered dress!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Introduction
Welcome to a rendezvous with royalty! History, scandals, titbits - I hope to write about all of these and provide some pictures as well. I will also review books about royalty. I like to read about history and royalty so I am happy to start a blog which combines these interests.
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