The Lovely Norwegian Royal Family

These are pictures of the Norwegian royals from my own collection. Some are obviously contemporary, form modern-day magazines, while the black and white pictures are from an old Silver Jubilee commemoration book from King Haakon VII's reign, which I bought in an antique store a decade ago.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

Princess Mette-Marit in a beautiful Amethyst and diamond parure, which Princess Martha Louise, her sister-in-law, also sometimes wears.

King Haakon of Norway, the first king of independent Norway, who took the throne in 1905.

The cover to a souvenir book, commemorating the silver jubilee of Haakon  VII.

A young picture of King Haakon VII, then known as Prince Carl of Denmark.

The current Crown Prince and Princess of Norway.

Queen Maud as a little girl. Maud was Haakon VII's consort, and she was a daughter of Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII of Great Britain.

The wedding of Queen Maud and King Haakon.

A picture of Queen Maud on the grounds of a Norwegian palace.

An old postcard of Queen Maud, in a beautiful beaded gown, and a diamond tiara, which Queen Sonja and Princess Martha Louise often wear, although it has been altered in recent years.

Queen Maud, King Haakon, and their son, Crown Prince Olav, who later became King Olav V of Norway.

A Norwegian postage stamp of Queen Maud.

A formal picture of Queen Maud, who died in 1938.

The Russian Imperial Family

From an old commemorative book on the reign of King Haakon VII of Norway, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna of Russia arrives via Christiania Port.

The Tsarevich Alexei and his mother, Empress Alexandra Fedorovna of Russia.

Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, wife of Tsar Nicholas I. This painting was in a special Hermitage Exhibition at an art museum in Seattle over 7 years ago now, and it stands about 10 feet tall.

A postcard of Tsar Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, Grand Duchess Ella, and the Tsar's two youngest Daughters, Olga and Maria.

The Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, wife of Tsar Alexander II, and mother-in-law to Empress Maria Fedorovna.

A lovely, simply picture of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fedorovna.

The Grand Duchess Elizabeth, who became a nun after the assassination of her husband, the Grand Duke Sergey, who was the Governor General of Moscow. 

The Empress Maria Fedorovna, wearing a large diamond kokoshnik tiara, and a necklace, which also converts for wear as a tiara.

The family of Tsar Alexander III.

Alexandra Fedorovna and Tsar Nicholas, at  the time of their engagement.

Tsar Nikolai II and his son, the Tsarevitch Alexei.

Tsar Nikolai, with his four daughters, from left to right: The Grand Duchesses Anastasia, Olga, Tatiana, and Maria, with Alexei in front. 

The Japanese Imperial Family

These pictures are from special commemorative souvenir books, from when the Japanese Emperors visited the United States.

Crown Prince Akihito of Japan and King George V of England.

The beautiful Empress Michiko and Emperor Hirohito of Japan.

Empress Michiko wearing a beautiful dress and tiara, pictured with her husband, the Emperor Akihito and Mr and Mrs Eisenhower.

Empress Michiko with a large, fake stuffed tiger.

Empress Michiko and her husband, Akihito.

The Empress Nagako Kojun, pictured at her coronation in an elaborate kimono.

The Empress Nagako Kojun in a diamond tiara.

The Monegasque Princely Family

These are from my own collection of Grimaldi memorabilia.

A postcard of Grace Kelly, before she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

A magazine cover showing the wedding of Grace and Rainier.

Princess Caroline, daughter of Grace and Rainier.

A beautiful Life magazine with Princess Caroline on the cover, dating from 1986. The article contains photos of her and her husband, Stefano Casiraghi, who died shortly afterwards.

The newly made Princess of Monaco, Charlene, the consort to Prince Albert II, Grace's son.

A picture from Life magazine, where Grace is greeted by photographers outside of her hotel. This was shortly before her marriage.

Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly.

A Life magazine with an article on Grace Kelly, dated from April 9, 1956, which was right before her marriage to Rainier.

Top, stamps commemorating the birth of Princess Caroline, Grace's first child. Bottom, Monaco stamps commemorating the marriage of Grace and Rainier, and featuring their intertwined monogram.

My favorite Grace Kelly stamp, which features a lovely engraving of Grace Kelly, and the US released it as a joint issue with Monaco.

A fairly recent photo of Princess Stephanie, Grace's youngest daughter, with her own daughter, Pauline.

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger of Russia

A postcard I bought of the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger. She was only 18 when she was forced to marry a Swedish prince for political reasons.

Grand Duchess Marie with her grandma who was Queen Olga of Greece, her great grandma, and her son, Prince Lennart.

Grand Duchess Marie of Russia with her son, Prince Lennart of Sweden.

Marie with her first husband, Prince Wilhelm of Sweden.

Grand Duchess Marie on her wedding day in 1908. She is wearing the Romanov nuptial tiara, large cherry drop diamond earrings, a large diamond necklace, and the Romanov nuptial brooch.

Marie and Wilhelm.

Grand Duchess Marie in 1930.

The parents of the Grand Duchess, her father being the Grand Duke Pavel of Russia, pictured with her grandma, Queen Olga of Greece. Her mother died when she was very little, and she had no recollections of her.

Grand Duchess Marie at the age of 6. 

Marie in traditional Swedish dress.

Grand Duchess Marie in a nurse uniform during World War I, where she worked tirelessly helping soldiers.

The Russian Imperial Family on the balcony of a palace. To the far left is Grand Duke Pavel, father of the Grand Duchess Marie. Empress Alexandra Fedorovna and Tsar Nicholas II are center left, and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the older is just to the right of them.

I own Grand Duchess Marie's first volume of her autobiography, Education of a Princess, which details her life in Russia. The Seattle Public Library owns a copy of her second volume, Education in Exile, which details all the struggles she met with when she left Russia, living in France, England, and finally, in America. Sadly, all the photos were torn out of the book, which is such a shame, as the book is from the 1930's, and is a rarity to find.