All About Royal Families

23 March 1887 marks the birth of Prince Felix Yusupov. He was born at Moika Palace in Saint Petersburg. Family His father was Count Felix Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston, the son of Count Felix Nikolaievich Sumarokov-Elston. Zinaida Yusupova, his mother, was the last of the Yusupov line, of Tatar origin, and very wealthy.  For the Yusupov name not to die out, his father (1856, Saint Petersburg – 1928, Rome, Italy) was granted the title and the surname of his wife, Princess Zinaida Yusupova, on 11 June 1885, a year after their marriage, but effective after the death of his father-in-law in 1891. The Yusupov family, one of the richest families in Imperial Russia, had acquired their wealth generations earlier. It included four palaces in Saint Petersburg, three palaces in Moscow, 37 estates in different parts of Russia, on the Crimea (at Koreiz, Kökköz and Balaklava), coal and iron-ore mines, plants and factories, flour mills and oil fields on the Caspian Sea.  Youth Felix led a flam...

The fourth daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, Sophie was born on 26 June 1914 at Mon Repos , a palace in Corfu that her parents inherited after the assassination of King George I in 1913.  Nicknamed "Tiny" by her family, the princess grew up within a united household, together with her elder sisters Margarita (1905–1981), Theodora (1906–1969),   and Cecilie (1911–1937).  With their mother, Sophie and her sisters communicated in English, but they also used French, German, and Greek in the presence of their relatives and governesses. Childhood Sophie's early childhood was marked by the instability that the Kingdom of Greece experienced due to the First World War. The conflict divided her family into opposing branches, and Greece eventually set aside its neutrality due to the Triple Entente.  Sophie and her sisters were in the royal palace of Athens when it was bombarded by the French Navy during the battle in the capi...

Yes! I've finished another very interesting book: The Countess, Napoleon and St. Helena. It is written by a wonderful author: Lally Brown. Readers of the Allaboutroyalfamiliesblog already know that I've a 'small' fascination about Napoleon Bonaparte, an ordinary man who became Emperor of France. On Twitter I've 'met' several years ago a lovely author: Lally Brown. We started to talk about my other passion gardening and about her amazing roses. Via Twitter and Lally I discovered her fascinating books: - The Volcano, Montserrat and me; - High and dry in the BVI; - The Countess, Napoleon and St. Helena. When reading books, I always love two important things: the style of the author and the fact if the book is written chronologically. For me the latter is very important in history works. Lally Brown, took me back to 1815. After the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated and he was forced to exile to St. Helena. So the Co...