Let's continue the tradition of looking back at your favorite posts from the last year. Here is a countdown of your top 15 Princess Palace posts from 2017:
#15 ROYAL ENGAGEMENTS
Posted on the day of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement announcement (between the morning photocall and the afternoon interview), this post looks at the last several royal engagement announcements in the UK.
#14 THE COUNTESS-NOT COUNTESS-COUNTESS ALMOST QUEEN OF ENGLAND
The story of bad King John's neglected first wife Isabella of Gloucester really caught your attention. Not much is known about her, but like her later successor Anne of Cleves, she kept her head down, didn't protest her maltreatment and managed to survive what otherwise might not have been a survivable marriage.
#13 ABDICATING QUEENS
No one seriously thinks that Queen Elizabeth II would ever abdicate no matter what great age she reaches. However, many other reigning queens have surrendered their thrones at far earlier ages and for a variety of reasons. 2017 marked the 450th anniversary of the first queenly abdication, that of Mary Queen of Scots. This post takes a look at all of them.
#12 THE WEDDING NO ROYAL WOULD ATTEND
When King Edward VIII surrendered his throne to marry Wallis Simpson, he did not imagine that he would spend the rest of his life in gentile exile. The reality of his situation dawned on him slowly, beginning with the tremendous snub he received upon his wedding: absolutely no member of his family was permitted to attend.
#11 ROYAL LADY FLASHBACK: CHRISTA VAN PREUSSEN
The brief but popular Royal Lady Flashback included this much-read many profile of Princess Christa, great-granddaughter of the last German Kaiser. Since the Royal Lady Flashback seems to have interested so many readers, I have decided to revive it as a weekly feature in 2018.
#10 AN EARLIER AMERICAN PRINCESS: ALICE HEINE OF NEW ORLEANS
Everyone knows that Meghan Markle will not be the first American to marry a prince. However, they mostly know this because they are familiar with Princess Grace of Monaco, formerly Grace Kelly. But, many other American ladies found real princes to wed, including this even earlier Princess of Monaco.
#9 BIRGITTE'S 45 ROYAL YEARS
One of the most dedicated, but least well known working members of the British royal family is the Danish lady who married The Queen's cousin, Prince Richard of Gloucester in 1972. In 2017, she celebrated her 45th wedding anniversary, which, of course, also marked her 45th year as a royal lady.
#8 HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAZMIN
Speaking of American princesses and of landmark dates, the lovely Jazmin Grace Grimaldi turned 25 in 2017. Although technically not a princess because she is illegitimate, she is the first-born child of Prince Albert II of Monaco. She was born and raised by her American mother in California, but today has an active relationship with her princely father and half-siblings.
#7 SPANISH PRINCESS ACQUITTED, HUSBAND SENTENCED TO JAIL
Following a multi-year trial for corruption, the Spanish King's sister Infanta Cristina was finally acquitted of all charges in the Noos case. Her Olympian husband, however, was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison plus fines. Despite Cristina's official innocence, her brother had already stripped her of her ducal title, but she was able to retain her royal status.
#6 A LONG HANOVERIAN TRADITION
The 2017 wedding of Prince Ernst August (the younger) of Hanover drew attention to the feud between him and his father, but this is certainly nothing new in the royal house of Hanover. In this post, we decided to ignore the feud and celebrate the Hanoverian brides who came before.
#5 IF THE QUEEN HAD NOT BEEN BORN
In this speculative, what-if post, we explore the question of who would rule if none of today's reigning monarchs had been born. In some countries, the answer is very straightforward, but in several the answer is someone that you may not have heard of before.
#4 ROYAL BABY #3
We celebrated the announcement of The Duchess of Cambridge's third pregnancy in our usual way -- by placing it in historical context with a look at other royals around Europe who are the third-born children in their families. From the baby's Great Uncle Andrew to Monaco's "Wild Child" to Sweden's Princess Madeleine (who is now expecting her own third child), there are a lot of third babies that the new Baby Cambridge could look to for example, whether for good or bad!
#3 IN MEMORIAM: HM QUEEN ELIZABETH
In honor of the 15th anniversary of her passing, we profiled the late Queen Mother for the very first time on Princess Palace. Born the youngest daughter of an ancient Scottish noble house and married to a younger royal son, she was set to have a life that would have only been remarkable to her family and friends. But, fate intervened to make her the Queen that the UK needed in World War II and to give the British people a grandmotherly figurehead who was widely respected and beloved.
#2 THE REVERSE FAIRYTALE OF LOUISE OF AUSTRIA
One of the guiding intentions of this blog is to demonstrate that the lives of princesses are often far removed from our fairytale imaginings. The story of Louise of Austria seems an almost perfect example of this. An Italian-born member of the extended Hapsburg dynasty who became a crown princess of a German kingdom, Louise ended her life living in the streets of Belgium. Along the way, she encountered (engendered) scandals galore in her fruitless search for happiness and love.
#1 THE ROYAL LADY WHO PASSED DOWN HER NAME
One day, I happened to notice that A LOT of today's royal ladies bear some form of the name Sophia. As I started to look at this, I realized that this mostly coincidental, except within one royal family that bridges the thrones of Germany, Greece and Spain. You all seemed to have liked the story of how "Sofia" became a widespread royal name, because it is the most viewed Princess Palace post of 2017.
Thanks for reading and supporting the Princess Palace. Happy New Year!!
#15 ROYAL ENGAGEMENTS
Posted on the day of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement announcement (between the morning photocall and the afternoon interview), this post looks at the last several royal engagement announcements in the UK.
#14 THE COUNTESS-NOT COUNTESS-COUNTESS ALMOST QUEEN OF ENGLAND
The story of bad King John's neglected first wife Isabella of Gloucester really caught your attention. Not much is known about her, but like her later successor Anne of Cleves, she kept her head down, didn't protest her maltreatment and managed to survive what otherwise might not have been a survivable marriage.
 |
| Mary Queen of Scots |
No one seriously thinks that Queen Elizabeth II would ever abdicate no matter what great age she reaches. However, many other reigning queens have surrendered their thrones at far earlier ages and for a variety of reasons. 2017 marked the 450th anniversary of the first queenly abdication, that of Mary Queen of Scots. This post takes a look at all of them.
#12 THE WEDDING NO ROYAL WOULD ATTEND
When King Edward VIII surrendered his throne to marry Wallis Simpson, he did not imagine that he would spend the rest of his life in gentile exile. The reality of his situation dawned on him slowly, beginning with the tremendous snub he received upon his wedding: absolutely no member of his family was permitted to attend.
#11 ROYAL LADY FLASHBACK: CHRISTA VAN PREUSSEN
The brief but popular Royal Lady Flashback included this much-read many profile of Princess Christa, great-granddaughter of the last German Kaiser. Since the Royal Lady Flashback seems to have interested so many readers, I have decided to revive it as a weekly feature in 2018.
#10 AN EARLIER AMERICAN PRINCESS: ALICE HEINE OF NEW ORLEANS
Everyone knows that Meghan Markle will not be the first American to marry a prince. However, they mostly know this because they are familiar with Princess Grace of Monaco, formerly Grace Kelly. But, many other American ladies found real princes to wed, including this even earlier Princess of Monaco.
 |
| TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester |
One of the most dedicated, but least well known working members of the British royal family is the Danish lady who married The Queen's cousin, Prince Richard of Gloucester in 1972. In 2017, she celebrated her 45th wedding anniversary, which, of course, also marked her 45th year as a royal lady.
#8 HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAZMIN
Speaking of American princesses and of landmark dates, the lovely Jazmin Grace Grimaldi turned 25 in 2017. Although technically not a princess because she is illegitimate, she is the first-born child of Prince Albert II of Monaco. She was born and raised by her American mother in California, but today has an active relationship with her princely father and half-siblings.
#7 SPANISH PRINCESS ACQUITTED, HUSBAND SENTENCED TO JAIL
Following a multi-year trial for corruption, the Spanish King's sister Infanta Cristina was finally acquitted of all charges in the Noos case. Her Olympian husband, however, was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison plus fines. Despite Cristina's official innocence, her brother had already stripped her of her ducal title, but she was able to retain her royal status.
#6 A LONG HANOVERIAN TRADITION
The 2017 wedding of Prince Ernst August (the younger) of Hanover drew attention to the feud between him and his father, but this is certainly nothing new in the royal house of Hanover. In this post, we decided to ignore the feud and celebrate the Hanoverian brides who came before.
 |
| If King Willem-Alexander had not been born, would his mom still be Queen? |
In this speculative, what-if post, we explore the question of who would rule if none of today's reigning monarchs had been born. In some countries, the answer is very straightforward, but in several the answer is someone that you may not have heard of before.
#4 ROYAL BABY #3
We celebrated the announcement of The Duchess of Cambridge's third pregnancy in our usual way -- by placing it in historical context with a look at other royals around Europe who are the third-born children in their families. From the baby's Great Uncle Andrew to Monaco's "Wild Child" to Sweden's Princess Madeleine (who is now expecting her own third child), there are a lot of third babies that the new Baby Cambridge could look to for example, whether for good or bad!
#3 IN MEMORIAM: HM QUEEN ELIZABETH
In honor of the 15th anniversary of her passing, we profiled the late Queen Mother for the very first time on Princess Palace. Born the youngest daughter of an ancient Scottish noble house and married to a younger royal son, she was set to have a life that would have only been remarkable to her family and friends. But, fate intervened to make her the Queen that the UK needed in World War II and to give the British people a grandmotherly figurehead who was widely respected and beloved.
#2 THE REVERSE FAIRYTALE OF LOUISE OF AUSTRIA
One of the guiding intentions of this blog is to demonstrate that the lives of princesses are often far removed from our fairytale imaginings. The story of Louise of Austria seems an almost perfect example of this. An Italian-born member of the extended Hapsburg dynasty who became a crown princess of a German kingdom, Louise ended her life living in the streets of Belgium. Along the way, she encountered (engendered) scandals galore in her fruitless search for happiness and love.
#1 THE ROYAL LADY WHO PASSED DOWN HER NAME
One day, I happened to notice that A LOT of today's royal ladies bear some form of the name Sophia. As I started to look at this, I realized that this mostly coincidental, except within one royal family that bridges the thrones of Germany, Greece and Spain. You all seemed to have liked the story of how "Sofia" became a widespread royal name, because it is the most viewed Princess Palace post of 2017.
Thanks for reading and supporting the Princess Palace. Happy New Year!!
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