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f2c732c He didn't marry you to become king. He became king because he wanted to marry you. marriage love eugenides royalty Megan Whalen Turner
9a89164 I wish I wasn't an imperial highness or an ex-grand duchess. I'm sick of people doing things to me because of what I am. Girl-in-white-dress. Short-one-with-fringe. Daughter-of-the-tsar. Child-of-the-ex-tyrant. I want people to look and see me, Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, not the caboose on a train of grand duchesses. Someday, I promise myself, no one will be able to hear my name or look at my picture and suppose they know all about me. Someday I will do something bigger than what I am. life inspirational otma romanovs tsar-nicholas russian-revolution royalty self russia Sarah Miller
607677d Phresine showed him where he could sleep, in an interior room with no windows, a narrow bed, and a washstand. There were chests stacked along one wall, and Costis guessed the dismal spot was probably a closet cleaned out to make room for him. Hard to believe the royal apartments, so lavish elsewhere, would otherwise have such a plain corner. Expecting better of royal closets, Costis went to bed disappointed. royalty Megan Whalen Turner
d04498a You can't treat royalty like people with normal perverted desires. royalty perversion Tom Stoppard
c0087d6 We kings do develop a certain ability to recognize objects under our noses. observation royalty Robin McKinley
a2a6e2d "We should be used to it," Tatiana reasons. "There have always been lines separating us from the rest of the world, whether they were satin ribbons or iron rails." romanovs tsar-nicholas russian-revolution royalty russia Sarah Miller
4fb4ce7 In this martial world dominated by men, women had little place. The Church's teachings might underpin feudal morality, yet when it came to the practicalities of life, a ruthless pragmatism often came into play. Kings and noblemen married for political advantage, and women rarely had any say in how they or their wealth were to be disposed in marriage. Kings would sell off heiresses and rich widows to the highest bidder, for political or territorial advantage, and those who resisted were heavily fined. Young girls of good birth were strictly reared, often in convents, and married off at fourteen or even earlier to suit their parents' or overlord's purposes. The betrothal of infants was not uncommon, despite the church's disapproval. It was a father's duty to bestow his daughters in marriage; if he was dead, his overlord or the King himself would act for him. Personal choice was rarely and issue. Upon marriage, a girl's property and rights became invested in her husband, to whom she owed absolute obedience. Every husband had the right to enforce this duty in whichever way he thought fit--as Eleanor was to find out to her cost. Wife-beating was common, although the Church did at this time attempt to restrict the length of the rod that a husband might use. marriage feminism slavery history politics life serfdom eleanor-of-aquitaine medieval medieval-history royalty oppression Alison Weir
62a03ba You never know what to expect on encountering royalty. I've seen 'em stark naked except for wings of peacock feathers (Empress of China), giggling drunk in the embrace of a wrestler (Maharani of the Punjab), voluptuously wrapped in wet silk (Queen of Madagascar), wafting to and fro on a swing (Rani of Jhansi), and tramping along looking like an out-of-work charwoman (our own gracious monarch). royalty George MacDonald Fraser
53a8c23 Court life for a queen of France at that time was, however, stultifyingly routine. Eleanor found that she was expected to be no more than a decorative asset to her husband, the mother of his heirs and the arbiter of good taste and modesty. history eleanor-of-aquitaine medieval medieval-history royalty Alison Weir
af228f2 For dogs we kings should have lions, and for cats, tigers. The great benefits a crown. royalty Victor Hugo
0f80023 "I am a queen" she observes. "It is natural that men are going to gather round me, hoping for a smile." the-lady-of-the-rivers the-cousins-war royalty queen Philippa Gregory
a2ce3f2 He is fragile, like a prince of ice, of glass. royalty fragility Philippa Gregory
dd763dc What infinite heart's-ease Must kings neglect, that private men enjoy! And what have kings, that privates have not too, Save ceremony, save general ceremony? And what art thou, thou idle ceremony? What kind of god art thou, that suffer'st more Of mortal griefs than do thy worshippers? What are thy rents? what are thy comings in? O ceremony, show me but thy worth! What is thy soul of adoration? Art thou aught else but place, degree and form, Creating awe and fear in other men? Wherein thou art less happy being fear'd Than they in fearing. What drink'st thou oft, instead of homage sweet, But poison'd flattery? O, be sick, great greatness, And bid thy ceremony give thee cure! Think'st thou the fiery fever will go out With titles blown from adulation? Will it give place to flexure and low bending? Canst thou, when thou command'st the beggar's knee, Command the health of it? No, thou proud dream, That play'st so subtly with a king's repose; I am a king that find thee, and I know 'Tis not the balm, the sceptre and the ball, The sword, the mace, the crown imperial, The intertissued robe of gold and pearl, The farced title running 'fore the king, The throne he sits on, nor the tide of pomp That beats upon the high shore of this world, No, not all these, thrice-gorgeous ceremony, Not all these, laid in bed majestical, Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave, Who with a body fill'd and vacant mind Gets him to rest, cramm'd with distressful bread; Never sees horrid night, the child of hell, But, like a lackey, from the rise to set Sweats in the eye of Phoebus and all night Sleeps in Elysium; next day after dawn, Doth rise and help Hyperion to his horse, And follows so the ever-running year, With profitable labour, to his grave: And, but for ceremony, such a wretch, Winding up days with toil and nights with sleep, Had the fore-hand and vantage of a king. The slave, a member of the country's peace, Enjoys it; but in gross brain little wots What watch the king keeps to maintain the peace, Whose hours the peasant best advantages. mankind equality satisfaction humanity work life ceremony empty-form exaltation feudal-society honors pomp burdens fulfillment purpose-in-life peasants meaninglessness emptiness royalty kings flattery society values William Shakespeare
67c962e If a queen comes to America, crowds fill the station squares, and attendant British journalists rejoice, 'You see: the American Cousins are as respectful to Royalty as we are.' But the Americans have read of queens since babyhood. they want to see one queen, once, and if another came to town next week, with twice as handsome a crown, she would not draw more than two small boys and an Anglophile. Americans want to see one movie star, one giraffe, one jet plance, one murder, but only one. They run up a skyscraper or the fame of generals and evangelists and playwrights in one week and tear them all down in an hour, and the mark of excellence everywhere is 'under new management'. novelty royalty satire Sinclair Lewis
8f3d166 If the Bahreini royal family can have an embassy, a state, and a seat at the UN, why should the twenty-five million Kurds not have a claim to autonomy? The alleviation of their suffering and the assertion of their self-government is one of the few unarguable benefits of regime change in Iraq. It is not a position from which any moral retreat would be allowable. morality autonomy bahrain kurdistan royalty statehood kurdish-people iraq iraq-war Christopher Hitchens
d95de0b Giraldus claimed that he had heard about Eleanor's adultery with Geoffrey from the saintly Bishop Hugh of Lincoln, who had learned of it from Henry II of England, Geoffrey's son and Eleanor's second husband. Eleanor was estranged from Henry at the time Giraldus was writing, and the king was trying to secure an annulment of their marriage from the Pope. It would have been to his advantage to declare her an adulterous wife who had had carnal relations with his father, for that in itself would have rendered their marriage incestuous and would have provided prima facie grounds for its dissolution. history annulment eleanor-of-aquitaine divorce royalty infidelity Alison Weir
0c069e3 Wolsey always said that the making of a treaty is the treaty. It doesn't matter what the terms are, just that there are terms. It's the goodwill that matters. When that runs out, the treaty is broken, whatever the terms say. It is the processions that matter, the exchange of gifts, the royal games of bowls, the tilts, jousts and masques; these are not preliminaries to the process, they are the process itself. royalty Hilary Mantel
efefd8a They inhabited a lost world of splendour and brutality, a world dominated by religious change, in which there were few saints. history women-s-history non-fiction royalty Alison Weir
55f96b2 Don't touch me. Don't tell me how beautiful my eyes are, how soft my hair is, how you love to hear my voice. Don't. Don't pretend you are falling in love with me. I know you are lying, and every word you say hurts even more. Let us just be friends, if we can start there. Can't we? Can't we at least be friends? Get to know each other a little? Before the wedding, and the bedding, when I will have to take you as my lord and husband? marriage fiction love empire historical-fic marie-victoria the-ring-and-the-crown royalty princess kingdom prince teens ya melissa de la cruz
a3c8e0b Perhaps the Queen's prayers, and those of Bernard, had been efficacious, or perhaps Louise had been more attentive in bed, for during 1145--the exact date is not recorded--she bore a daughter, who was named Marie in honour of the Virgin. If the infant was not the male heir to France so desired by the King--the Salic law forbade the succession of females to the throne--her arrival encouraged the royal parents to hope for a son in the future. Relationships between aristocratic parents and children were rarely close. Queens and noblewomen did not nurse their own babies, but handed them over at birth into the care of wet nurses, leaving themselves free to become pregnant again. history women royalty pregnancy Alison Weir
4737afa But the magic moment when he walks alone has not yet happened, and I was praying he would do it before I have to leave. Now he will take his first step without me. And every step thereafter, I know. Every step of his life, and me not there to see him walk. motherhood royalty Philippa Gregory
a563f28 Like Princes crowned they bore them-- Like Demi-Gods they wrought, When the New World lay before them In headlong fact and thought. Fate and their foemen proved them Above all meed of praise, And Gloriana loved them, And Shakespeare wrote them plays! . . . . . . . Now Valour, Youth, and Life's delight break forth In flames of wondrous deed, and thought sublime--- Lightly to mould new worlds or lightly loose Words that shall shake and shape all after-time! Giants with giants, wits with wits engage, And England-England-England takes the breath Of morning, body and soul, till the great Age Fulfills in one great chord:--Elizabeth! poetry royalty england Rudyard Kipling
eb29924 The king is a saint and cannot rule, and his son is a devil and should not. war history royalty Philippa Gregory
e5c8e4b Until quite recently women's histories were largely overlooked but in the wake of feminism there has been increasing interest in retrieving them. feminism history women-s-history non-fiction royalty Alison Weir
f107b0c Once home [in 1838], Albert prepared a small album of scenes he had drawn on the journey, a dried 'Rose des Alpes, and a scrap of Voltaire's handwriting he had obtained from an old servant of the philosopher at Verney, and posted the souvenir to Victoria. Years later she attested it was 'one of her greatest treasures. love itv-victoria pbs-victoria prince-albert queen-victoria romance-quotes the-young-victoria vicbert royalty Stanley Weintraub
e155011 The next day she (Victoria) pulled down some of her old diaries, perhaps to recall Lezhen's part of her life, and came to a passage in 1839 where she had written of her 'happiness' with Melbourne. Now, with both Melbourne and Lezhen gone she noted '1st October, 1842. Wrote & looked over & corrected my old journals, which do not now awake very pleasant feelings. The life I led then was so artificial & superficial, & yet I thought I was happy. Thank God! I now know what real happiness means. love itv-victoria pbs-victoria prince-albert queen-victoria romance-quotes the-young-victoria vicbert royalty Stanley Weintraub
15c9943 "Albert wrote to his 'dearest cousin' on 26 June to offer his 'sincerest felicitations on that great change which had taken place in your life'. It was a difficult letter to compose. Now that she was 'Queen of the mightiest land of Europe', he went on, 'the happiness of millions' lay in her hands, and he trusted that Heaven would assist her in 'that high but difficult task." He hoped for a long and happy - and glorious - reign, in which she would achieve the 'thankfulness and love' of her subjects. He wished neither to be indiscreet nor to 'abuse' her time, but, he closed, 'May I pray you to think likewise sometimes of your cousins in Bonn, and to continue to them that kindness you favoured them with till now.' And he signed it as 'your Majesty's most obedient and faithful servant, Albert'." love itv-victoria pbs-victoria prince-albert queen-victoria romance-quotes the-young-victoria vicbert royalty Stanley Weintraub
dc7d00d Therese of Austry would have made a great treasure hunter if she hadn't been born the daughter of an Emperor. young-adult fantasy strong-women treasure-hunting portal-fantasy young-adult-fantasy leaders royalty queen Cornelia Funke
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