New Post Soon

I've been a bit ill for a while. I had the dreaded migraine. Now I have a cold and a sore foot.

However, I hope to write a new post soon!

The Diva and the Duke

When the famous Australian opera singer was visiting New York on one occasion, she was invited to lunch with the singer, Yvette Giblert. She sneered at the idea, saying that Gilbert might be invited to sing one of her couplets during dessert for a fee.
Gilbert replied that she understood. "I am only of humble birth", she said, "but Madame Melba is, of course, a member of the French royal family!"

This l'esprit d'escalier referred to Nellie Melba's long-ago affair with Louis-Phillipe d'Orleans, the son of the Pretender to the French throne. The lovers met in 1890. Melba and the Duc were mad about each other, even though there were many obstacles in their path. The Duc was ten years younger than the 31-year old Melba and engaged to a European aristocrat. Melba was married, but separated from her wild aristocratic husband, Charlie Armstrong. She also had a young son. The Duke was Catholic and Melba was Protestant. Even if Melba divorced, it would be impossible for them to marry.

The lovers rode through the Vienna woods and waltzed to Strauss music. The Duke had followed her to St. Petersburg, Brussels and London where they were glimpsed sharing a box at the Opera. Unfortunately, Melba's teacher's daughter, Blanche, hated her and told a journalist about the affair. The scandal broke and created an uproar. Charlie threatened to sue for divorce and Melba was told that as a divorced woman she would be banned from singing at Covent Garden. Luckily, Charlie was eventually calmed down somehow, and he obtained a quiet divorce from Texas years later.

The Duke went on safari to Africa for a few years after he and Melba separated. He eventually married an Austrian Arch-Duchess, but the marriage was unhappy. He and Melba stayed in contact during the rest of their lives. Although Melba had a few lovers, perhaps including the artist, Rupert Bunny. The Duke was the great love of her life.

New Posts

I've been very busy this week, but I hope to write new posts next week!

King Harold's Residence Found!

The ancient residence of King Harold of Denmark was discovered recently by archaeologists near the famous Jelling runic stones. Harold was called Harald Blåtand in Denmark, meaning dark-skinned and tan.

This king is well-loved by many Danes because he united Denmark and Norway and he converted Denmark to Christianity. Born in 911, King Harold was the son of King Gorm and his wife Thyra. Thyra was rather interested in Christianity but remained pagan.

When Gorm was defeated by the German king, Henry 1, he was forced to tolerate his Christian subjects. Harold only accepted Christianity when Denmark was finally defeated by Otto 1. Otto forced Harold to convert and Harold was baptized by a German with the strange name of Poppo. Harold must have taken to the new religion in the end because he built a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity and he built a monument which said that he converted the country to Christianity.

When his sister's Graafeld's husband,Erik Blood Axe, was assassinated, Harold took over Norway. He was slain himself in 986.

Harold was nicknamed 'Harold Bluetooth' and Ericsson's famous Bluetooth technology, which unites 'the worlds of computers and telecom' is named after him.

You can read more about Harold here: Harold Bluetooth's Royal Palace

The King's Secret Matter by Jean Plaidy

This is a sympathetic portrayal of Catherine of Aragon who suffered so much at the hands of Henry VIII. Plaidy paints a vivid picture of the splendour of Henry's court and the life that Catherine is forced to endure after her downfall.

Catherine is depicted as proud and determined to fight for her daughter's legitimacy. She is a very loving wife and mother, and remains very fond of Henry even when he subjects her to great trials. She is, perhaps, shown as a little bit too saintly, but Plaidy does an excellent job of making the reader feel very sorry for her.

Plaidy's character analysis of Henry is also excellent. He could be kind and loving, but quickly change to being nasty. His mercurial nature must have been extremely frightening! Henry was capable of turning against people very quickly, and the fear of death became ever-present for those close to him.

Plaidy also wrote well about Wolsey, but I got a bit tired of reading about him. He wasn't a very likeable character, and I wasn't especially interested in reading about his thoughts. Plaidy probably thought that this made the story clearer, but I am not sure that it was necessary.

I enjoyed this book and thought that it was one of Plaidy's better novels. The story is depressing and the reader knows that at the start. This probably made the novel even harder to write because many readers like happy endings. This book is worth reading if you like historical novels set in Tudor times.

Six Wives by David Starkey

This is a clearly written and interesting book in which Starkey attempts to get rid of many misconceptions about Henry VIII's wives. These misconceptions have existed for centuries. Catherine of Aragon has always been regarded as saintly, for example. Although Starkey agrees that she was very religious, he does think that she probably lied about her first marriage. She did spend a long time with Henry's brother, Arthur, who was quite healthy. It is unlikely that the marriage wasn't consummated.

He also writes sympathetically about Katherine Howard. She is usually regarded as a rather stupid tecenager, but Starkey's book shows that she really wasn't stupid. She also had a mind of her own and spoke up for some people whose lives were in danger.

I did think that Starkey got carried away by speculation at times. He writes that Anne Boleyn, for example, had her bed hung with richly embroidered crimson velvet of the 'Bed of Alancon'. He thinks that Anne may have wanted this because she got the Duke of Alancon mixed up with the French duke, Longueville, captured by the English during Henry's war with the French. Catherine had written that she would exchange the coat of the dead King of Scots, killed in the great battle of Flodden, for the Duke. Starkey thinks that Anne may have regarded the relic as a symbol of Catherine's finest hour, and appropriated it for herself. This seemed to me to be rather a stretch. Perhaps Anne just liked the beautiful fabric?

One reviewer wrote that Anne was Starkey's favourite, but I didn't think so. He annoyed me by attributing ulterior motives to her at almost every turn. The passage about the bed was just one example.

He also appeared to dislike Jane Seymour, who didn't seem to have too many qualms about Anne's death. His view of her was more understandable, I thought.

This was not a riveting book. The beginning was a bit dull but Starkey got into his stride when he started writing about Anne Boleyn and the book became more interesting. Most people who like to read about Henry's fascinating wives will enjoy it.

NB: I also posted this review at my Book Addiction blog.

Crown Princess Victoria's Wedding

Here is a pretty video of photos of : the Swedish princess's wedding. You can view many photos here and read about what all the royal ladies wore at: .Crown Princess Victoria's Wedding and the Triumph of Style.

The all-important question! What do you think of the dress?

I hope to write an article soon - it will probably be on a historical subject