The Royal Dispatch
New royal portraits and Japan's imperial family gather for a funeral
Happy Sunday, Royal Clubbers, it’s Millie here with the latest edition of The Royal Dispatch. If you missed the last one, you can read it here. And I would be remiss not to mention The Royal Romantic, Isabelle’s brand new monthly newsletter which debuted yesterday with a romance so passionate it would make Jilly Cooper blush…
Back to the week just gone and Japan’s royal family mourned the death of Princess Yuriko aged 101, King Charles hosted diplomatic visits at Buckingham Palace. Prince William made a brief return to military life, and a world-famous photographer was invited into a royal palace.
Before we go into the royal pictures of the week, it’s time for some royal history.
On this day in 1825, Alexander I of Russia, known as Alexander the Blessed, died of typhus while in the south of Russia.
While his reign was mostly defined by Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, a less-known fact is the murkiness surrounding his death.
According to reports, he displayed symptoms of schizophrenia towards the end of his life, becoming withdrawn, reclusive and apathetic. He had a mistress for 13 years but left her to return to his wife in the last years of his reign, and it was when travelling with her that he died unexpectedly.
However, claims widely circulated that the tsar faked his own death, reappearing years later as a spiritual leader in the Russian Orthodox church called Feodor Kuzmich.
Feodor was arrested in 1836 as he had no documents, and claimed not to remember his childhood. As a result of this, he was taken to Siberia.
When asked about his early life, he responded: “Now I have no grief and disappointment, because I do not depend on anything earthly, nor on anything that is not in my power. You do not understand what happiness is in this freedom of the spirit, in this unearthly joy. If you would restore me to the former position and make me again the guardian of earthly wealth, perishable and now altogether unnecessary to me, then I would be an unhappy man. The more our body is pampered and groomed, the more our spirit becomes weaker. Every luxury relaxes our body and weakens our soul.” (Best not show him our guide to shopping like a royal over the Black Friday weekend then)
The main evidence for Feodor and Tsar Alexander being the same man were that the Emperor died suddenly, far from home, and his coffin was quickly sealed. There were physical similarities between the men as well as matching timelines.
The Soviet government added fuel to the theory by claiming that Alexander’s coffin was empty when it had been reopened in the 1920s.
What do you think? Is Feodor actually a lost tsar of Russia?
If royal history is your thing, then don’t forget to read this month’s The Royal Archive, where I look at a selection of royals who fought in wars – some more successfully than others.
Take a look at the highlights from the week below and scroll to the end for next week’s royal diary…
Best Royal Pictures of the Week
King Felipe and Queen Letizia
Both King Felipe and Queen Letizia were composed and regal in two new official portraits, taken by celebrated American photographer Annie Leibowitz. Both royals pose inside the Gasparini Hall of the Royal Palace in Madrid.
The portraits make a diptych, meaning they match perfectly when hung together.
King Charles
The King met Chad’s ambassador to the UK on Tuesday in a private audience at Buckingham Palace. He also received the ambassadors for Botswana and Cyprus.
Princesses Beatrix and Irene
The Netherlands’ Princess Beatrix and Princess Irene were all smiles on Monday at the award ceremony of the Erasmus Prize to Indian writer Amitav Ghoshat at The Royal Palace in Amsterdam. It is awarded for "exceptional contribution to the humanities, the social sciences or the arts, in Europe and beyond”.
Prince William
The Prince of Wales appeared excited and engaged as he flew a drone during a visit to 1st Battalion Welsh Guards at Salisbury Plain on Tuesday, speaking to troops about the ‘reality’ of drone warfare. He also tried his hand at a sniper rifle and machine gun.
Princess Yoko
Princess Yoko paid her respects on Tuesday at the funeral ceremony for Princess Yukiro at Toshimaoka Cemetery in Tokyo. She was the great-aunt to the Emperor and the oldest of the Japanese imperial family.
Prince Hisahito and Princess Kato, the son and daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, made up part of the solemn procession.
Royal Diary: What’s coming up this week?
Royal Clubbers, we are set for a bumper week of royal watching, with an upcoming state visit and a very festive soiree.
Read on to find out more…