In the midst of the Terror, at a time when Parisians were laying low, afraid of falling victim to the revolutionaries, when a heavy atmosphere weighed down on the city and dread and anxiety suppressed all amusement, when shortages grew ever more dramatic and severe, there was at Charenton, a refuge, a haven where all the…
The life of Louis Philippe I, King of the French, reads like a novel. Born in 1773 during the reign of Louis XV, the young prince saw the Court of Versailles, Louis XVI, and Marie Antoinette. He joined the ranks during the Revolution and became the youngest general in France. The son of a regicide, his…
On one of my trips to India, I met a rather exceptional maharani. Her husband owned the most beautiful library in India, filled with ancient manuscripts dedicated to the study of medicine and botany. The maharani herself was short and round. She wore the garlands of an actual Christmas tree as a necklace, and on…
The House of Orléans in England, their place of exile. Fom left to right, standing, unknown, the Duke of Aumale, Prince Henry of Orléans, the Princess of Joinville, Princess Marguerite of Orléans, my grandfather Prince Jean of Orléans, the Prince of Joinville, and the Count of Paris. Seated, unknown, unknown, the Countess of Paris with…
Since first discovering Scotland, when I was sent there during my adolescence to learn English, I have felt attached to the country. Scotland has everything I love: romantic monuments, ghosts by the dozen, charming cities, and a countryside amongst the most beautiful in Europe. Scotland reminds me of Greece, but with different colors. Greece is…
King Leopold II of Belgium, the first cousin of my French great-grandparents, is the subject of this exceptional photograph, dressed in a costume from the Court of Louis XIV. He earned a terrible reputation owing to his treatment of the indigenous population of the Congo, which he made his personal property. For a long time,…
Helen of France, the Duchess of Aosta, returned from one of her African expeditions with two children bought from a slave market. The children became her pages at the Capodimonte Palace in Naples. One day, while the duchess was away from home, her elder sister, Queen Amelie of Portugal, had the children baptized. After informing her sister,…
The baptism of Princess Marguerite of Savoy Aosta at the Capodimonte Palace, Naples, Italy, in 1930. From left to right, Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Aosta, Queen of Italy Elena of Montenegro, whose hand my father, Prince Christopher, is kissing. Next to him, Anne of France, the future Duchess of Aosta and mother of the newborn,…
In 1962, General de Gaulle and his wife made an official visit to Athens. King Paul, Queen Frederica, Crown Prince Constantine, Princess Irene and myself welcomed them at the airport. This visit was unforgettable for all, beginning with myself. A pavilion built for a charity ball in the gardens of the Orléans House outside London….
The patron of the epoch who built the grandest palaces was without a doubt Catherine II of Russia. With unlimited resources at her disposal, she could build colossal homes, grander than all the palaces of Europe. In fact, Catherine was only imitating her predecessor, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great. The latter was…