This book has more details on Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna’s flirtation with Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine. What juicy secrets did I learn? Find out in this post, available exclusively for Patreon supporters.
The Habsburg empire gave us our fair share of well-known royal women, from Empress Maria Theresa to her daughters, Marie Antoinette and Maria Carolina. But there’s plenty more you haven’t heard about, like the formidable Archduchess Isabella and her gentle daughter, Maria Anna.
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria’s Tiara
Meet Maria Anna, the Austrian archduchess who got to wear Marie Antoinette’s jewelry…and had one hell of a collection of her own. Her name came up frequently during the 2018 Sotheby’s auction of the Bourbon-Parma family jewels. It set me on a quest to figure out who she was, and why I’d never heard of her. Turns out, her family’s story is fascinating.

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