Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year
Power, pageantry, and pride

Queen Victoria ruled the most powerful empire the world has ever seen, covering one fourth of the earth's land surface, reigning over subjects on every continent, and exercising undisputed mastery of the oceans in between. She was the "Grandmother of Europe," with descendants occupying the thrones of half a dozen nations, and more to come. The very era in which she lived already bore her name. In June 1897, her proud and prosperous nation marked her sixtieth year on the throne of England with the most lavish display of pomp, circumstance, wealth, and affection in its history.

Twilight of Splendor presents a breathtaking portrait of a sovereign and her empire at the height of their global power. Focusing on the spectacle of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, it combines a thrilling account of that massive celebration with an intimate exploration of Victoria's world--her splendid palaces and possessions, the grand banquets and balls she hosted, her immense wealth, the politicians and courtiers who did her bidding, her confidence and assertiveness as a ruler, her surprising personal humility, and her perpetual state of mourning for her beloved husband, Prince Albert.

Based on hundreds of published and unpublished sources from the period, including Queen Victoria's private correspondence and personal journals, Twilight of Splendor is must reading for Anglophiles, Victorian-history buffs, and anyone interested in the golden age of monarchy.

* The first book to portray the queen and her court in the last years of her reign
* Contrasts the queen's private and public images in her efforts to solidify the monarchy
* Exposes the queen's difficult relations with her children
* Explores the queen's relationship with her extended European royal relatives
* Draws together for the first time hundreds of disparate sources
* Includes a number of rare photographs complementing the text

1008226404
Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year
Power, pageantry, and pride

Queen Victoria ruled the most powerful empire the world has ever seen, covering one fourth of the earth's land surface, reigning over subjects on every continent, and exercising undisputed mastery of the oceans in between. She was the "Grandmother of Europe," with descendants occupying the thrones of half a dozen nations, and more to come. The very era in which she lived already bore her name. In June 1897, her proud and prosperous nation marked her sixtieth year on the throne of England with the most lavish display of pomp, circumstance, wealth, and affection in its history.

Twilight of Splendor presents a breathtaking portrait of a sovereign and her empire at the height of their global power. Focusing on the spectacle of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, it combines a thrilling account of that massive celebration with an intimate exploration of Victoria's world--her splendid palaces and possessions, the grand banquets and balls she hosted, her immense wealth, the politicians and courtiers who did her bidding, her confidence and assertiveness as a ruler, her surprising personal humility, and her perpetual state of mourning for her beloved husband, Prince Albert.

Based on hundreds of published and unpublished sources from the period, including Queen Victoria's private correspondence and personal journals, Twilight of Splendor is must reading for Anglophiles, Victorian-history buffs, and anyone interested in the golden age of monarchy.

* The first book to portray the queen and her court in the last years of her reign
* Contrasts the queen's private and public images in her efforts to solidify the monarchy
* Exposes the queen's difficult relations with her children
* Explores the queen's relationship with her extended European royal relatives
* Draws together for the first time hundreds of disparate sources
* Includes a number of rare photographs complementing the text

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Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year

Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year

by Greg King
Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year

Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year

by Greg King

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Overview

Power, pageantry, and pride

Queen Victoria ruled the most powerful empire the world has ever seen, covering one fourth of the earth's land surface, reigning over subjects on every continent, and exercising undisputed mastery of the oceans in between. She was the "Grandmother of Europe," with descendants occupying the thrones of half a dozen nations, and more to come. The very era in which she lived already bore her name. In June 1897, her proud and prosperous nation marked her sixtieth year on the throne of England with the most lavish display of pomp, circumstance, wealth, and affection in its history.

Twilight of Splendor presents a breathtaking portrait of a sovereign and her empire at the height of their global power. Focusing on the spectacle of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, it combines a thrilling account of that massive celebration with an intimate exploration of Victoria's world--her splendid palaces and possessions, the grand banquets and balls she hosted, her immense wealth, the politicians and courtiers who did her bidding, her confidence and assertiveness as a ruler, her surprising personal humility, and her perpetual state of mourning for her beloved husband, Prince Albert.

Based on hundreds of published and unpublished sources from the period, including Queen Victoria's private correspondence and personal journals, Twilight of Splendor is must reading for Anglophiles, Victorian-history buffs, and anyone interested in the golden age of monarchy.

* The first book to portray the queen and her court in the last years of her reign
* Contrasts the queen's private and public images in her efforts to solidify the monarchy
* Exposes the queen's difficult relations with her children
* Explores the queen's relationship with her extended European royal relatives
* Draws together for the first time hundreds of disparate sources
* Includes a number of rare photographs complementing the text


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Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781620458600
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Publication date: 06/01/2007
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 337
File size: 8 MB

About the Author

Gregory King is the author of the UK bestseller The Duchess of Windsor: The Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson, as well as several books on Russia's Romanov era, including The Court of the Last Tsar and The Fate of the Romanovs (with Penny Wilson). A frequent on-screen commentator for royal television productions, he has worked with the BBC and ITV in the UK, the CBC in Canada, and with National Geographic, the Learning Channel, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and A&E in the United States.

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Table of Contents


Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction     1
Prologue: London, 1897     15
The Widow of Windsor     25
A Family on the Throne     45
The Court of St. James's     65
Spring at Windsor     81
A Day in the Life     99
Life below Stairs     117
The Wayward Heir     133
Autumn at Balmoral     153
"The Russian Occupation"     165
Christmas at Osborne     177
Easter in France     191
Summer at Buckingham Palace     207
A Day at Buckingham Palace     223
A Night at Devonshire House     237
Triumph     257
Epilogue: The Twilight of Splendor     273
The Royal Household     287
Notes     291
Bibliography     309
Index     317
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