Although the British royal family has dominated newspaper headlines over the past few months, we’re turning our heads to past coverage of other royal families from around the world.
We’ve trawled through the digital archives and dug up four fascinating articles on royal life and history not only in Britain, but Spain, Saudi Arabia and Denmark. Enjoy!
Country & Town House — May 2016
The May 2016 issue of Country & Town House featured interesting insights from the artists who have been commissioned to paint portraits of members of British royal family.
How does it feel to be invited to Buckingham Palace to capture a monarch on a canvas? Contemporary artist Christian Furr (who was only 28 when he painted the Queen!) shared:
“When the Queen came in she was carrying a blanket and put it on the side of her chair. I included it because she’s a human being and I felt it showed an element of vulnerability.”
Read the rest of Christian’s story as well as those of the Nicky Philipps, Hugo Rittson-Thomas, Isobel Peachy & Chris Levine here.
Prospect Magazine — January 2013
In the January 2013 issue of Prospect Magazine, the article ‘Sovereign Debts’ discusses the fate of the Spanish monarchy amidst the country’s economic crisis and whether the royals beloved family will survive.
“In the 1970s, after the death of the longstanding dictator General Francisco Franco, the king presided over Spain’s fledgling democracy. His pivotal role in the transition from fascism to democracy made the Spanish monarchy into a treasured national institution, almost beyond criticism.”
Read the whole article here.
New Internationalist — August 2000
New Internationalist’s ‘Worldbeaters…’ feature (a monthly meander around the morals of the rich and famous) in the August 2000 issue focussed on ‘The House of Saud’.
“The Saudi royal family is well known for its ostentatious and profligate displays of wealth. King Fahd is said to owe billions to Saudi banks — $1.5 billion to the National Commercial Bank alone.”
Read the whole article here.
Extraordinarily unique in both its particular imagery and provenance, this ‘Marasali’ Shirvan rug depicts Alexander III and Danish princess Marie Dagmar in full imperial regalia at the moment of their coronation (as featured in the November 1997 issue of HALI).
“Marie, a princess of the Danish royal family, had made a brilliant match in 1866 by marrying the Russian Tsarevich, who became the Tsar Alexander III in 1881 and inherited the largest kingdom on earth. But after Alexander’s death in 1894, Marie […] lived on to witness the end of the Romanov dynasty.”
Her son and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg in 1918, and it was only due to a lack of revolutionary solidarity that she was allowed to escape (with one of her favourite oriental rugs).
Quite the story! Read the whole article here.
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If you’d like to explore any of these titles’ archives, head over to the Exact Editions online shop and purchase a subscription, which offers unlimited access to a treasure trove of content.
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