European Royalty

Princess Elizabeth Comes of Age (Click Magazine, 1944)

The attached article was about the Spring of 1944 and why it was such an exciting season for Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of England (b. 1926): the twenty-first of April marked her eighteenth birthday and her country was entering the last year of their bloodiest war, while the princess herself held two positions that she took quite seriously: Patrol Leader of the Buckingham Palace Girlguides, as well as Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards. There were also times when she was required to join her father when he was in conference with his ministers.


Also addressed in these pages was the royal concern as to who was suitable to be her mate; a list of names was provided.

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The Coronation of George VI (Stage Magazine, 1937)

An article by Rebecca West (1892 – 1983) in which she listed an enormous number of reasons as to why May 12, 1937 (the coronation date for George VI) will not be a good day to be in London. From time to time throughout the article she throws-in some bon mots:

This is a crucifixion as well as a coronation. The best kings we have ever had have been Queens, and every year Kingship becomes less and less suitable for a man. A constitutional monarch has constantly to behave as if he were a mindless puppet in circumstances which would prove fatal to everybody, including himself, if he really were a mindless puppet.

The King’s Speechstyle=border:none

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The Coronation of George VI (Stage Magazine, 1937)

An article by Rebecca West (1892 – 1983) in which she listed an enormous number of reasons as to why May 12, 1937 (the coronation date for George VI) will not be a good day to be in London. From time to time throughout the article she throws-in some bon mots:

This is a crucifixion as well as a coronation. The best kings we have ever had have been Queens, and every year Kingship becomes less and less suitable for a man. A constitutional monarch has constantly to behave as if he were a mindless puppet in circumstances which would prove fatal to everybody, including himself, if he really were a mindless puppet.

The King’s Speechstyle=border:none

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The Death of Edward VII and the Accession George V (Review of Reviews, 1910)

This two and a quarter page article discusses the probable effect [that] the change of sovereigns will have upon the present so-called constitutional crises. The writer also concentrates on the subject of Edward VII as diplomat, his thoughts on the entente, his popularity and his unique relationship with the French. The character of the incoming George V is examined as it relates to the constitutional controversy of 1910.

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The Czar Abdicates (The Atlanta Georgian, 1917)

Attached is a news report from a 1917 issue of THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN announcing:

Czar Nicholas decided to abdicate the Russian throne only after he had been held up by soldiers and the necessity for such action impressed upon him, according to a dispatch printed in DIE FRANKFURTER ZEITUNG…


Also included in the report were the text of a speech delivered by the Czar which called for national unity.

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Her Favorite Movies (Photoplay Magazine, 1937)

The cinematic tastes of ER II are, like the sovereign herself, deep and complicated. A vast number of geeks employed by this website were sent forth far across the deep green sea in order to find out what her favorite movies are, and we were not at all surprised to learn that she favors the James Bond films. Contrast those movies with the earliest of her film choices and you will be able to trace her development through the years – another article on this page makes clear that she enjoyed the Shirley Temple series – but hold the phone: the attached article from THAT SAME YEAR indicates that she enjoyed A DIFFERENT MOVIE AS WELL!

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