Where we dare to dream…
Royal palaces gleam with grandeur, but their secrets live in the shadows. Behind velvet curtains and along candlelit corridors, the most dangerous games were not played on battlefields—but at court. Windsor, Vienna, and Versailles were theaters of power, passion, and whispered betrayal. And at the heart of these intrigues stood three women—each cloaked in diamonds,… Continue reading 3 Queens and 3 Courts: Palace Intrigue in Windsor, Vienna, & Versailles
The Game is Afoot! The chase is on! Tis the season when the wily fox outsmarts the hounds and hunters galloping across the fields in hot pursuit of their quarry. At the end of the day, riders regale their best stories of jumping a six-bar gate, clearing a stone wall, or miraculously leaping a crafty… Continue reading Fox Hunting
Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827) and Augustus Charles Pugin (1762–1832), John Bluck (1791–1819), Joseph Constantine Stadler (1780–1812), Thomas Sutherland (1785–1838), J. Hill, and Harraden. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Microcosm of London Plate 083 - Tattersall's Horse Repository. Tattersall's or "Tatts", where gentlemen could talk sports, place bets, and share stories without fear of being overheard by… Continue reading Tattersall’s Horse Repository & Betting Venue
The Rose of Bavaria: A Free-spirited Beauty Who Bathed Her Ankle-length Hair in Cognac and Eggs. Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Franz Winterhalter’s iconic 1865 portrait of Elisabeth (Sisi) at age 27, with a coquettish smile and bejeweled hair. Born on December 24th, 1837, in Munich, Sisi's story is about a beautiful,… Continue reading Sisi of Austria: A Tragic Life & Death
The Princess Who Thought She Swallowed A Glass Piano. Born in 1826, Princess Alexandra was the fifth daughter of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The lovely princess was a great beauty and could have had her pick of dashing princes. Sadly from an early age, she struggled with mental illness in one of the most… Continue reading Princess Alexandra of Bavaria
Vauxhall Gardens, established in 1729 by the enterprising businessman Jonathan Tyers, was the scene of a horrible balloon accident that took the life of Mr. Robert Cocking on July 24, 1837. Cocking Robert, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The day at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, named after a medieval manor called "Fox Hall", began with a flurry… Continue reading Vauxhall Gardens Part III: The Fatal Descent by which Mr. Robert Cocking Lost His life.
Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827) and Augustus Charles Pugin (1762–1832) (after) John Bluck (fl. 1791–1819), Joseph Constantine Stadler (fl. 1780–1812), Thomas Sutherland (1785–1838), J. Hill, and Harraden (aquatint engravers), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Vauxhall Gardens, located 3.1 miles from Grosvenor Street, was established in 1729 by the enterprising businessman, Jonathan Tyers. Considered to be highly innovative… Continue reading Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens Part II
A map of Vauxhall Gardens Samuel Wale, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Established in 1729 by Jonathan Tyers, Vauxhall Gardens was an exotic outdoor pleasure ground and social venue, the likes of which had never been seen before the Regency era. Wandering the pleasure gardens during eighteenth or nineteenth century London, one experienced a plethora… Continue reading Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens Part I
Sarah Child Villiers, Countess of Jersey (4 March 1785 – 26 January 1867), was a very prominent female figure in Regency society. As the leading patroness of Almack's Assembly Rooms, she was reverently referred to as “Queen Sarah” due to her social status and power over the members of the ton. Thomas Lawrence, Public domain,… Continue reading The Powerful & Formidable “Queen Sarah”, Sarah Child Villiers, Countess of Jersey (1785-1867)
George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 - 19 April 1824), one of the greatest British writers and poets during the Romantic Movement. Lord Byron is infamous for his love affairs and inappropriate sexual relationships, debts, and illegitimate children. Devastatingly handsome, he moved easily among the circles of London's society and earned… Continue reading Lord Byron: “Mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” The man, the legend…