Here are handy links to all the content I posted about on Instagram - one easy source to find everything. If you’re on Instagram, say hello! I’m at @girlinthetiara.
In some posts, I mention cool extras that I offer my Patreon subscribers. Click or tap here to visit my Patreon page.
The Story of Princess Ka‘iulani of Hawai‘i - Part 4
Published: January 14, 2021
Length: 44 minutes
A famous fire, a secret betrothal, and a fateful ride with tragic consequences.
The Story of Princess Ka‘iulani of Hawai‘i - Part 3
Published: December 8, 2021
Length: 50 minutes
A revolution, a race, a proposal, and one of the world’s worst transcription errors.
The Story of Princess Ka‘iulani of Hawai‘i - Part 2
Published: November 10, 2021
Length: 39 minutes
A princess in training, a surfing legend, Dr. Jekyll, and Sherlock Holmes. Bet you didn't expect those last two, right?
The Story of Princess Ka‘iulani of Hawai‘i - Part 1
Published: October 25, 2021
Length: 41 minutes
Princess Ka‘iulani of Hawai‘i's story is one of hope and betrayal, of deception and revolution, of surfing and painting and incredible tenacity and bravery.
The Princess on the Witness Stand: Irina Yusupova vs. MGM
Published: July 30, 2021
Length: 45 minutes
How much does it cost to blur the line between truth and fiction? A lot, as it turns out.
Alexandra of Mecklenburg-Schwerin's Tiara: Part 3
Published: July 9, 2021
Length: 26 minutes
A robbery, an arrest, another arrest, and the threat of nuclear war. No big deal, right? Luckily, I can promise a happy ending for Alix and her tiara. 💜
Alexandra of Mecklenburg-Schwerin's Tiara: Part 2
Published: June 25, 2021
Length: 22 minutes
A putsch, a Reich, a war…and all the Mecklenburg-Schwerin family drama that went on in spite of and because of it. Long story short: Alix survived and persevered. But at what cost?
Alexandra of Mecklenburg-Schwerin's Tiara: Part 1
Published: June 10, 2021
Length: 38 minutes
This was supposed to be a story about a pretty hat made of diamonds. Instead, it took me to some of the darkest places of the 20th century. War, revolution, grand theft Hanover, a ghost, a grudge, a fire - and the woman who survived it all.
Marie Louise: The Princess of Nowhere
Published: April 23, 2021
Length: 35 minutes
Her disastrous marriage set the stage for a remarkable comeback, leaving her one of the British monarchy's most beloved representatives of the 20th century.
The Princess in the Asylum: Louise of Belgium
Published: February 18, 2021
Length: 28 minutes
A story of love, hate, betrayal, and one of the world’s largest inheritances.
Catherine the Great's Home Remedies for Zits & Sunburn
Published: December 23, 2020
Length: 8 minutes
Better living through 18th century chemistry!
The Story of Betsy Bonaparte
Published: November 23, 2020
Length: 13 minutes
This is the video version of the Medium post, with me narrating Betsy’s story.
Queen Sophie’s Epistolary Smackdowns
Published: September 27, 2020
Length: 12 minutes
This is the video version of the Medium post, with me narrating Sophie’s smackdowns! Good times.
The Story of Princess Xenia Georgievna
Published: July 28, 2020
Length: 15 minutes
This is the video version of the Medium post. There's a lot more to Xenia’s story than Anna Anderson!
The Woman Behind Talleyrand
Published: February 2, 2021
Reading Time: 9 minutes
Meet the last — and probably greatest — love of Talleyrand’s life.
The Princess Who Married a Monuments Man
Published: January 19, 2021
Reading Time: 8 minutes
A missing painting, a refugee princess, and a boy from Oklahoma — all the ingredients for a wartime love story.
Imperial Germany’s Romeo & Juliet
Published: January 4, 2021
Reading Time: 7 minutes
What happens when a conqueror’s granddaughter falls for the heir to the kingdom her family stole?
The Dentist Who Saved an Empress
Published: December 15, 2020
Reading Time: 8 minutes
How to win friends, influence empires, and prevent cavities.
The First Lady Mistaken for Napoleon's Sister
Published: December 1, 2020
Reading Time: 8 minutes
Deception is your friend when the world’s most notorious prisoner interrupts your travel plans.
The First Lady Who Charmed a Tsar
Published: November 23, 2020
Reading Time: 8 minutes
Come for the royal protocol, stay for the accusation of pimping and prostitution.
The Princess with a Punching Bag
Published: November 16, 2020
Reading Time: 8 minutes
Her marriage ended with a scandal so embarrassing Queen Victoria had to do damage control. It also left her free to become a model for today’s working royals.
The Russian Princess Who Changed the Film Industry Forever
Published: November 5, 2020
Reading Time: 7 minutes
How much did it cost Hollywood to blur the line between fiction and reality?
The Princess in the Asylum
Published: October 27, 2020
Reading Time: 8 minutes
Was Louise a victim, as she claimed, or her own worst enemy?
The Worst Royal Blind Date Ever
Published: October 20, 2020
Reading Time: 7 minutes
It helps when everyone involved actually knows it’s a date.
That Time Hitler Tried to Fix Up the Prince of Wales
Published: October 14, 2020
Reading Time: 6 minutes
There’s a reason “dictator” and “matchmaker” are two separate career paths.
Catherine the Great's Remedies for Zits & Sunburn
Published: October 7, 2020
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Better living through 18th century chemistry.
What It Was Like to Attend the Imperial Viennese Hofball
Published: October 1, 2020
Reading Time: 9 minutes
Every January, the Viennese court put on its finest to party at Emperor Franz Josef’s Hofburg Palace. But some people just bitched about the food.
Empress Maria Theresa and the 18th Century Vampire Panic
Published: September 24, 2020
Reading Time: 7 minutes
Yes, vampires once posed an existential threat to the Habsburg empire.
Here’s how it became Maria Theresa’s problem...and what she did about it.
The American Who Married Napoleon’s Youngest Brother
Published: September 16, 2020
Reading Time: 9 minutes
She spent decades fighting for recognition from a jerk, his brother, and their empire.
Picture the most painful run-in with your ex-boyfriend ever. That’s what happened to Betsy Patterson Bonaparte.
A Dutch Queen's Epistolary Smackdowns
Published: September 9, 2020
Reading Time: 8 minutes
This 19th century drama queen knew everyone…and probably hated them
When I read what Sophie wrote about fellow royals like Queen Victoria and Empress Eugenie, I just had to shout “BURN” like Ashton Kutcher’s character on That 70s Show.
How to Prank Tsar Nicholas I
Published: August 26, 2020
Reading Time: 5 minutes
...if you, know, you’re fond of Siberia and don’t value your life
When you prank the guy who rules one-sixth of the earth’s surface, you either have balls of steel or you’re clinically insane. In case that’s you, here’s how it’s done.
The Gilded Age Heiress Who Refused to Marry Royalty
Published: August 20, 2020
Reading Time: 9 minutes
This is the story of Mathilde Townsend, who refused to play the “dollar princess” game.
Find out which royal wanted to marry her, why she said no, and who she *did* marry.
The Princess Who Married the World's Richest Boy
Published: August 12, 2020
Reading Time: 10 minutes
This is the story of Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia, best known for her entanglement in the longest-running royal mystery of the 20th century. We’ll get to that hot mess, but I think the rest of her life is way more interesting.
Xenia’s story has a little bit of everything: tragedy, romance, scandal, drama, and speedboats. Yes, speedboats.
That Time Prince George Attended a Rodeo in Hollywood
Published: August 5, 2020
Reading Time: 9 minutes
Britain’s youngest prince made a splash when he visited California in 1928. But did he cause as much trouble as the press said he did?
Find out what happened to George when he visited California...and his path crossed with French actress Lili Damita.
A Brief History of the Russian Kokoshnik Tiara
Published: July 28, 2020
Reading Time: 8 minutes
There were political undertones at play when Russian royals co-opted this peasant style.
This post adds more depth to the topic of kokoshnik tiaras, which I covered in my post 5 Types of Kokoshnik Tiaras. Specifically, you’ll find out how Russian court dress originated...and the surprising political motive behind the move. Plus, there are lots of pretty tiara photos to drool over!
2022 Royal Reading List
in alphabetical order
Ambition and Desire | Becoming a Romanov | Caught in the Revolution | Christian IX | The Crimean War | Daisy Princess of Pless | Darling Loosy | Die Herzen der Leuchtenberg | Dorothea Lieven | Embassies of Other Days, Vol 1 & 2 | Emperor Francis Joseph | Grand Duchess Maria Nikolayevna and Her Palace in St. Petersburg | In Napoleonic Days | In the Shadow of the Empress | The Lost Queen | The Lost Tudor Princess | Love, Power and Revenge | Marie Antoinette and Count Fersen | Metternich | Nicholas I | Prince Alfred & Grand Duchess Marie 1874 | Princess Alice | Princess Olga | Queen Mary | Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera | Queens of the Crusades | The Quest for Queen Mary | Return of the Swallows | The Romanovs | A Royal Experiment | Royal Subjects | Society’s Queen | Storms over Luxembourg | Sunlight at Midnight | Talleyrand | The Tsar's Doctor | Thunder at Twilight | The Vanquished | Die württembergischen Königinnen
2021 Royal Reading List
in alphabetical order
At the Court of Napoleon | The Betrayal of the Duchess | Blood & Banquets | A Castle in Wartime | Correspondence of the Russian Grand Duchesses | The Countess from Iowa | Crime at Mayerling | Dearest Missy | Fanny Lear | Go-Betweens for Hitler | A Habsburg Tragedy | Hitler and the Habsburgs | I Live Again | Jennie: The Mother of Winston Churchill | Kaiulani | Kaiulani of Hawaii | The King in Love | Lost Kingdom | Maria Walewska | Mayerling | Memoirs of the Crown Princess Cecilie | Napoleon and Marie Louise | Not All Vanity | Princess Auguste | Princess Ka‘iulani | Princess Mary | Queen Victoria’s Grandsons | Rasputin in Hollywood | Red Princess | The Romanovs: The Way It Was | Rudolf | The Russian Court at Sea | Tatiana: Five Passports in a Shifting Europe | The Wandering Princess | Women of the Baden Court
2020 Royal Reading List
in alphabetical order
Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth | Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies | Beloved and Darling Child | Beloved Mama | Berlin Diaries | Bernadotte | The Buchenwald Report | Chaumet in Majesty | Crowns in Conflict | Daisy, Princess of Pless | Darling Child | Daughters of the Winter Queen | Diamond Jewelry | The Duchess of Windsor | The Empress of Farewells | Enchantress | Erzählungen aus Meinem Leben | The Fall of Berlin 1945 | The Fall of the House of Habsburg | For a King's Love | The Golden Bees | A History of France | Journal of a Russian Grand Duchess (Olga) | The Kaiser | Käre prins, godnatt | The Last German Empress | The Last Palace | Mafalda di Savoia | Marie Antoinette’s Confidante | Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino, vol 1 | Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino, vol 2 | Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino, vol 3 | The Mistress of Paris | The Monuments Men | My Memoirs (Victoria of Prussia) | My Own Affairs (Louise of Belgium) | Napoleon’s Other Wife | A Nervous Splendor | Prince Albert | Prince Henry of Prussia | Princess Helena | Queen Victoria’s Cousins | Queen Victoria’s Youngest Son | Queenship in Europe, 1660-1815 | Ravensbrück | The Rothschilds | The Sancy Blood Diamond | Secrets of the Gotha | A Woman’s Life in the Court of the Sun King | Your Dear Letter
Marie Louise: The Princess of Nowhere
She was a wife without a husband. A princess without a country. And quite possibly, the only person drunk at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. Meet Princess Marie Louise, a woman who lived life on her own terms.
Eleonora von Schwarzenberg: Vampire Princess?
When you google someone’s name and a bunch of vampire references come up, you stop what you’re doing and you investigate. If you’re me, and it’s during quarantine, you stop at nothing to figure out if said google subject is really a vampire princess.
The Yusupov Black Pearl Necklace
The Yusupov black pearl necklace belonged to Catherine the Great. From there, it’s a tale of incest, true love, revolution, robbery, and infidelity…with a special guest appearance by the HMS Titanic.
What’s Next?
Check out the blog for fascinating stories about royal women and their tiaras. And don’t forget to join my mailing list to get Grand Duchess Louise of Baden’s meatloaf recipe! It’s finger-lickin’ good.
