Historical Photo Poll of 2007

ysbel · #1 07-06-2007, 12:05 AM

Welcome to The Royal Forums Historical Picture Poll of 2007

This summer we will highlight some pictures of some signficant royals of the past - including royals from some non-reigning monarchies like Russia, Germany, Austria, etc.

These pictures highlight the royals in the years prior to and during World War I, the war where many monarchies were overturned.

We hope you enjoy the Historical Picture Poll and perhaps are inspired to learn more about a Historical Royal you see here.

This month, our Picture of the Month representatives had help in selecting their images with a small committee of their choosing. Below, you can see each royal house's representative (in bold) followed by their chosen committee members. Some individual members also gave their time and effort to choose picture from the non-reigning houses.

Belgium: Danielle - Dennism, mathilde16

Britain: Avalon - milla Ca - CasiraghiTrio

Brunei: Humera - Warren

Denmark: dazzling

Japan: dragonsfire8

Jordan: Humera - Little_star

Luxembourg: suturegeisha - drimal

Monaco: Iceflower - Ianna, Michelle, tbhrc

Morocco: Humera – Warren

Norway: Her_Majesty - KikkiB, carlota

Spain: LaChicaMadrilena - Anna_R

The Netherlands: The Watcher - Marengo, Maxie

Germany: Warren and suturegeisha

Russia: Avalon

Austria: stefan and Her_Majesty

Italy: Lady Jennifer and Tosca

Portugal: Elsa M

Brazil: Anna R

France: Avalon

Romania: Warren

Hungary: Warren

The pictures of this poll reflect historical royals. The poll will be open for three weeks. It will close on July 31. During these three weeks, we ask that no one state whom they've voted for so as not to influence other members as they make their choices. For the final week of the month, you can discuss as much as you'd like about which image you voted for and why.

Please note that the links in the above poll have been posted in the order in which they were received and do not reflect the opinions of the moderating team.

ysbel · #2 07-11-2007, 09:22 AM

A. DENMARK

Frederik VIII (1843-1912) ~ Louise (1851-1926)
Note: two children are missing

Back row, left to right:
Crown Prince Frederik (later King Frederik VIII of Denmark), Prince Christian (later King Christian X of Denmark), and Prince Carl (in 1905 elected king of Norway, under the name of Haakon VII).
Front row, left to right:
Princess Ingeborg (later the mother of Crown Princess Märtha of Norway and Queen Astrid of Belgium, Princess Louise, Princess Thyra, Crown Princess Lovisa, Prince Harald.
(source)

B. NORWAY

Caption: Portrait of Queen Maud of Norway and her son Prince Olav (later King Olav) in 1906.
source: Karl Anderson

C. ITALY

The picture was an official portrait of Queen Margherita by the D'Alessandri brothers, and dates back from 1882.

D. MONACO

- The first Prince Albert in the succession to the throne in Monaco - Prince Albert I (1848-1922) , forebear of today's Prince Albert II, pictured in 1898.

E. Saxe-Coburg & Gotha

Duchess Marie (neé Grand Duchess of Russia and Duchess of Edinburgh) at the 1896 coronation of Nicholas II in Moscow, with her daughters Marie (later Queen of Romania), Victoria Melita (Grand Duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt), and Alexandra (later Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg).

F. Prussia

Princess Victoria (daughter of Queen Victoria and wife of Prince Friedrich of Prussia) at the coronation of her father-in-law, King Wilhelm I of Prussia (1860s).

G. Hungary

1916 Coronation of the Emperor Karl and Empress Zita of Austria as King and Queen of Hungary, with Crown Prince Otto (who is still alive today, and is the Head of the Imperial House of Habsburg).

H. Romania

Queen Marie, taken about 1914. During WWI the Romanian jewels were placed in a Moscow bank for safekeeping. They were subsequently seized by the Bolsheviks, and never seen again.

I. BRITAIN

The three sibllings

The portrait features three important figures in the British History – Princess Mary, later The Princess Royal, Prince Albert, later King George VI and Prince David, later King Edward VIII (the Duke of Windsor). But in this picture taken in 1901 they are just three innocent and sweet siblings, heads put together in a loving gesture. Future had unpleasant surprises for each of them – Prince David became a King, only to abdicate in order to marry the woman he loved, as a result Prince Albert got the throne he never expected or wanted and Princess Mary always remained loyal to her brothers, especially to David, whom she never left in times of trouble – but back then, the only wish they had was stay together, shoulder to shoulder.

Date – 1901, source - Getty, Link

J. RUSSIA

The Imperial Family

The portrait from 1907 shows the family of last Tsar of Russia, Emperor Nicholas II. This happy portrait of Emperor Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, Grand Duchesses Tatiana, Olga, Maria and Anastasia and Tsarevich Alexei does not alert of the future murder of the whole family ten years later, canonization by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1981 and 2002, and the controversy that surrounds the unfortunate family up to this day, especially connected with claims and hopes, however frail, that either Maria, Anastasia or Alexei might have survived the tragedy.

Date – 1907, source – Russian Archives, Link

ysbel · #3 07-11-2007, 09:30 AM

K. FRANCE

Empress Eugenie

This portrait from 1878 shows Empress Eugenie, the last Empress of France and wife of Napoleon III of France. The marriage between Eugenie de Montijo and Napoleon III was regarded controversial; however the Empress won over the public by her beauty, elegance, and charm of manner and contributed greatly to the brilliance of the imperial regime. When the Second French Empire was overthrown, the family took refuge in England. After the death of her husband 2 years later, Eugenie never wore anything but black ever again.

L. IRAN

The boy who wept at becoming “King of Kings” – Sultan Ahmed Shah Qajar, around ten years old in this photo, was declared Shahanshah (King of Kings) of Persia in July 1909 at the tender age of eleven. The little boy is said to have wept bitterly when he was told that his father Muhammad Ali Shah had been forced into exile, leaving him to rule Persia under regency. In 1923 Reza Khan, an officer in the army overthrew Sultan Ahmed Shah in a coup d’etat masterminded by the British, thus putting an end to nearly 150 years of Qajar rule over Persia. Ahmed Shah died in exile in France in 1930 at the age of 32, he is buried in his family crypt in Iraq.Submitted by Avalon and Humera

M. MOROCCO

Sultan Moulay Youssef, on his white horse and surrounded by a retinue, returns afters performing prayers at the mosque around 1912. Sultan Youssef ruled the French Protectorate of Morocco from 1912 until his death in 1927.

N. BELGIUM

engagement photo of the later Queen of Belgium, Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria and then Prince (later King) Albert. ca 1899/1900.

O. BRAZIL

D. Pedro II and D. Teresa, Emperor and Empress of Brazil, at the garden of the Imperial Palace in Petropolis which was the Summer residence of the Imperial Family. Before 1891

P. SPAIN

(circa 1910) Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain (1887 - 1969), wife of Spanish King Alfonso XIII whom she married in 1906, poses with her children. From left, Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907 - 1938), Infanta Beatriz (1909 - 2002), and Infante Jaime (1908 - 1975). Source: Getty Images

Q. NETHERLANDS

Queen Wilhelmina with Princess Juliana. Source: Geheugen van Nederland.

R. JAPAN

Empress Teimei, the consort of Emperor Taisho, dressed for her coronation in 1912. Her outfit, an updated version of the juni hitoe worn by Heian nobility in the 11th century, is the same as the wedding outfits of the modern Japanese royal ladies inccluding Crown Princess Masako and Princess Kiko.

S. LUXEMBOURG

Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg 1916

T. AUSTRIA

Archduke Karl and Archduchess Zita shortly after their marriage in 1911.

ysbel · #4 07-11-2007, 09:47 AM

U. PORTUGAL

King D. Manuel II of Portugal and his bride, Princess Augusta Viktoria von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The wedding took place on September 4th 1913

V. SWEDEN

Queen Louise (Princess Louise of the Netherlands) in her state robes.

W. GREECE

P.Olga (1903-1997), P.Elizabeth (1904-1955) & Marina (1906-1968) daughters of Prince Nicholas of Greece.

ysbel · #5 07-13-2007, 08:43 AM

On behalf of all the PoM Reps and members who have chosen pictures for this poll, thanks for waiting for the Historical Poll.

We hope you enjoy it!

ZandraRae · #6 07-13-2007, 10:25 AM

Wow!!! That is all I can say. Thanks guys. This is by far the best poll and the hardest to make a decision! I'm gonna have to think.

bbb · #7 07-13-2007, 10:38 AM

FABULOUS what fantastic finds. thanks for the time and effort and work on this poll. all of them are interesting to see (black and white certainly brings out details you wouldn't notice in color)
prince olav's wild hair and bare feet is precious, princess victorias coronation dress looks too heavy to walk in, but what a gorgeous shot. i love little ottos outfit, look at the shoes they're trimmed in ermine. am i the only one amazed at the tiny waists of these ladies OMG i'm glad we don't have to wear corsets and whalebone stays to have 19" waist. what a shame about the romanian jewels, that crown is magnificent. they used to be wrapped in pearls didn't they, you don't see such pearls anymore, especially like these. thanks so much i've really enjoyed looking at the photos.
.

morhange · #8 07-13-2007, 11:48 AM

It's really cool to look at these pictures, especially with the smaller children in them, and see the resemblance between these royals and the royals of today!

Princess_Beatrix · #9 07-13-2007, 03:43 PM

This is a great idea for a poll! It is good to see former monarchies like Austria and Prussia.

It was a really hard choice because all the pictures are so fantastic.
Three pictures look very similar (mother child moments or family moments) which made the choice even harder. or then there are the portrait of the royal women with their giant balldresses: so impressive.
This was so hard to decide!

Mandy · #10 07-13-2007, 04:37 PM

All comments are welcome, but please refrain from stating for which picture you voted or your post will be deleted without notice.

Thanks,

Mandy
Royal Forums Administrator

Amira · #11 07-13-2007, 04:41 PM

lovely pictures , very hard choice to make ...

**LadyK** · #12 07-13-2007, 05:01 PM

I'm not saying who I voted for, but I did have a question:
In picture N (the Belgian picture), what is the man holding on his knee? It kind of looks like hair...?

Great job Picture of the Month people- so many pictures, so many royals! And extra points for adding those little stories about the pictures or about the royals in them those of us who don't remember one historical royal from another!

edit: thought of another question- where is Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and when did it become not a sovereign state?

crisscross1 · #13 07-13-2007, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyK

I'm not saying who I voted for, but I did have a question:
In picture N (the Belgian picture), what is the man holding on his knee? It kind of looks like hair...?

I think it is actually the lady who is holding a fan. If you look closely you can see she has the handle in her hand and the beautiful feather is draped across their knees.
The pictures are all wonderful...... Great job

**Lady Jennifer** · #14 07-13-2007, 06:47 PM

So many wonderful choices.....only one vote though. It'll be tough.

ysbel · #15 07-13-2007, 06:51 PM

We're glad you all are enjoying the pictures!

Vanesa · #16 07-13-2007, 07:35 PM

I wish we have more "Historical Polls" coming! I loved this one. The photos are very rare , real gems, people.

But I must confess it was HARD for me to vote, for all the pics were important for some historical reason, and all these reasons are important too. Is for that, that I'm not a big fan of polls. Nowadays, we have a taste for classifying things from most important to less important, and all things are important in their own.

But, oh well..I already voted, and I quite happy with my personal choice, even if I know that it will not win!

Vanesa.

**LadyK** · #17 07-13-2007, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crisscross1

I think it is actually the lady who is holding a fan. If you look closely you can see she has the handle in her hand and the beautiful feather is draped across their knees.
The pictures are all wonderful...... Great job

Well, now it you look really, really carefully, I guess you can see it. But I still think that it looks like wig..

It's too bad that those Romanian jewels have disappeared- they look so beautiful!

RhapsodyBrat · #18 07-14-2007, 01:41 AM

i have to agree with everyone here. it's just wow. double WOW! amazing finds. i love looking at historical photos of royalty. i think this is what pushed me to get to know more about the royal houses.

i thought voting would be easy, but when i looked at the photos i knew it will be hard.

big thank you and kisses to the committees!