Royalty in History

[Karen]

Apr 2, 2015 13:12:06 GMT -4 carrier76 said:

At my current point in the book, they are starting to cut ties with people who are openly critical of him. The girls' governess was let go, after she and Nicholas had had a discussion regarding Rasputin. The governess told Nicholas her opinion, that she thought Rasputin was detestable, and Nicholas said something to the effect of, "The only reason I have survived these difficult years is because of him." Eek. I know that his hold over Alexandra gets even more insane as time goes on.

I have the book too. The saddest falling out may have been between Alexandra and her sister, who'd become a nun to help the poor in Moscow: the last time they ever met (the sister was also murdered by the Bolsheviks) they disagreed over Rasputin.

The war years in particular are a deeply frustrating read. Endless demonstrations of a failure to understand that criticism can be constructive and patriotic. If someone says something bad about Rasputin or the Tsar, they're enemies. That simplistic division into good people and bad people does a lot to explain why the government became a mess in the last war years when Nicholas went to the front as commander and Alexandra became more confident taking part in politics. One minister was said to have gotten his post because Rasputin liked his gypsy songs, another who was nearing his 80s was summoned back to work because he was utterly devoted to autocracy. Alexandra telling Nicholas to use a comb blessed by Rasputin for help when he has to make a decision is the kind of thing that really doesn't look good in 2015.

So yeah. Nicholas and Alexandra adored each other and their family, but I find that less romantic now than when I first read a Romanov biography. Their sad story shows how dangerous absolute monarchy can be when well-intentioned people just aren't up to the job. It's a shame Alexandra learned the wrong lesson (isolation) from her grandmother Victoria and seemingly none of the good ones.

[celerydunk]

Apr 2, 2015 14:16:48 GMT -4 Auroranorth said:

Part of her problem by that point was that her son's hemophilia came from her side of the family. I think she really blamed herself and couldn't get over it.

She had one job to do - produce an heir and it took her five tries to do it. After four healthy children, the only one that counts is sickly. I do have some sympathy for the pressure she must have felt. But I read about the political moves she and the Tsar made and I find myself muttering under my breath.

[Auroranorth]

Oh, I'm sure that having the girls one after another didn't help- there was a comment allegedly from Empress Marie about Alexandra spending all her time looking after little girls who would never take the throne. And people blamed her, because generally women do get blamed in these situations. But yeah, I find her infuriating. Nicholas would have made an passable constitutional monarch, but as an autocrat he was a disaster.

[chonies]

From the Daily Beast: Meet the Romanian Prince Who Will Never Be King.

The fact that Romania is actually a republic and has been since 1947 when the Soviets deposed Michael (then just 26), is a mere side note to this intriguing European power struggle.

[americanchai]

From what I've read on other websites, Radu Duda, his aunt's husband, is behind a lot of this. I find it hilarious because - who cares? Most Romanians don't care. I love when exiled royals make statements that only those who follow titles and have a hierarchy of successions in their heads care about.

[chonies]

OMG, I know! Trashy, deposed royals are the best. It's literally an alternative history.

[Mouse]

Ugh. Prince Nicolae sounds like a good guy. Hope he takes all this in stride and has a happy, productive life regardless.

You look at these deposed royals and you think, "Give it up, guys. Nobody's giving you your job back."

[chonies]

I was meeting with a Romanian colleague this afternoon, and I mentioned that I just happened to have read something about the Romanian royal family this morning. Her head practically exploded in rage--I didn't even say what I'd read! Anyway, she hates King Mihai for a lot of reasons, mostly involving being a punk-ass German who plays at being Romanian and having accepted an award from Stalin at some point. What I don't know about Romania is quite incalculable, so I have no idea where this positions her sociopolitically, but I was delighted to be able to use this thread as an ice-breaker.

[chonies]

I think we might need a thread for this kind of royal: Elisabeth TNT Finds Bucolic Bliss in the English Countryside. I mean, the von Thurn und Taxis family fascinates me, but this probably the most pointless thing I've ever read.

[boxofrocks]

"Useless, Name-Dropping Royals?"

This brings to me another question...over generations, the wealth of these provincial and/or former royals gets more and more diluted. How do they maintain their wealth? Or do they? Surely, they can't all be getting capital infusions by marrying rich commoners Downton Abbey-style.