This enchanting, unique collection of postcards recovers an old world
swept away and forgotten over the decades. The lost royals captured here
have not been misplaced or gone missing--what has been lost is the very
foundation of their royalty. Collected here are royal figures from
around the world who lost their titles and were displaced as a result of
World War I and other early twentieth-century political movements.
The royal houses of Europe, Africa, and Asia once ruled a continent and
held dominions beyond the seas. Today, just ten monarchs still reign in
Europe, and those with only limited powers. Captured in these
distinctive postcards held in the collection of the Bodleian Library are
these lost emperors, kings and queens, czars and czarinas, princes and
princess, and grand dukes and duchesses, who were left behind by the
sweep of history. Featuring monarchs from the Balkans to the Iberian
Peninsula, from Ethiopia to Korea, these portraits include members of
the Russian imperial family, and royals from Romania, Bulgaria, and
Germany, among others. But this is more than just a picture book; it
provides a narrative snapshot of world history--alongside each postcard
is an intriguing mini-biography of the pictured royal that provides a
gripping account of his or her story.
Reminiscent of a forgotten era of glamour, grace, and regal power,
Postcards of Lost Royals brings history to life and distills the
essence of a long-vanished world of royalty.
