We girls, born as four but live as one, Look curiously upon a world once familiar, Where we used to walk through open fields, But our souls have been taken captive.
Now all we can do is lie down and look up, Listen as the wind calls, Watch as the clouds gather.
The blue sky turns to black velvet, As the storm settles upon our Kingdom, And with our hearts and hands united We realize that it is as God willed.
It was our destiny to Love and say goodbye.
~ “OTMA”, Anna Thompson
“The Grand Duchesses were charming – the picture of freshness and health. It would have been difficult to find four sisters with characters more dissimilar and yet so perfectly blended in an affection which did not exclude personal independence, and, in spite of contrasting temperaments, kept them a most united family. With the initials of their Christian names they had formed a composite Christian name, OTMA, and under this common signature they frequently gave their presents or sent letters written by one of them on behalf of all.”
– Pierre Gilliard on the four daughters of the last Russian Emperor
Egypt is a country in North Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea, and is home to one of the oldest civilizations on earth. The name ‘Egypt’ comes from the Greek Aegyptos which was the Greek pronunciation of the ancient Egyptian name ‘Hwt-Ka-Ptah’ (“Mansion of the Spirit of Ptah”), originally the name of the city of Memphis. To the ancient Egyptians themselves, their country was simply known as Kemet which means ‘Black Land’ so named for the rich, dark soil along the Nile River where the first settlements began. Later, the country was known as Misr which means ‘country’, a name still in use by Egyptians for their nation in the present day. Egypt thrived for thousands of years (from c. 8000 BCE to c. 30 BCE) as an independent nation whose culture was famous for great cultural advances in every area of human knowledge, from the arts to science to technology and religion. The great monuments which ancient Egypt is still celebrated for reflect the depth and grandeur of Egyptian culture which influenced so many ancient civilizations, among them Greece and Rome.
One of the reasons for the enduring popularity of Egyptian culture is its emphasis on the grandeur of the human experience. Their great monuments, tombs, temples, and art work all celebrate life and stand as reminders of what once was and what human beings, at their best, are capable of achieving. Nowadays, it is still regarded as one of the greatest civilisations of human history.
During the nineteenth Dynasty a queen by the name of Nefertari ( ? – ca 1255 BCE ) was in power with Ramesses the Great. She was one of many wives, but continued to remain one of his favorites. Her birth parents remain a mystery, but it’s determined she is of royal heritage. It is however known that she had a brother by the name of Amenmose who was the mayor of Thebes during her rule as queen. She had two sons, Amonhirwonmef, Prehirwonmef and two daughters named Merytamon, and Mertatum.
Looking at all the monuments constructed it is pretty evident she was of high importance. She must have played an important role in her time. Most depictions of the queen stand with Ramesses II, which might mean she might have had a major political influence on Egypt. Ramesses II also dedicated a temple to her called Abu Simbel. This temple is located south of Aswan near the second Cataract of the Nile. This temple was designed with four large statues of Ramesses II with several small figures at his side. The temple was dedicated to the goddess Hathor and Queen Nefertari.
Nefertari was not the only Queen present during the rule of Ramesses II. In fact, Ramesses had a harem filled with many queens. His children were estimated at one hundred or more. Ramesses refers to her as the most beautiful one though.
Her disappearance remains a mystery. Experts aren’t sure if she died, or just remained part of the great harem. Her tomb has been found and it remains a precious treasure of Egypt. Her tomb is said to be one of the more extraordinary tombs found to date. It’s located in The Valley of the Queens. ( for @anastasiasromanovs ❤ )
Rome (Latin: Rōma),is the capital of Italy and its history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The city’s early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded as the birthplace of Western civilisation and by some as the first ever metropolis. It was first called The Eternal City (Latin: Urbs Aeterna) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the “Caput Mundi” (Capital of the World). The origin of the city’s name is thought to be that of the reputed founder and first ruler, the legendary Romulus. It is said that Romulus and his twin brother Remus, apparent sons of the god Mars and descendants of the Trojan hero Aeneas, were suckled by a she-wolf after being abandoned, then decided to build a city. The brothers argued, Romulus killed Remus, and then named the city Rome after himself.
Ancient Rome grew from a small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. Among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the widespread use of the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) derived from Latin, the modern Western alphabet and calendar and the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion. After 450 years as a republic, Rome became an empire in the wake of Julius Caesar’s rise and fall in the first century B.C. The long and triumphant reign of its first emperor, Augustus, began a golden age of peace and prosperity.
Rome eventually collapsed under the weight of its own bloated empire and the incompetence of its emperors, losing its provinces one by one. Attila and his brutal Huns invaded Gaul and Italy around 450, further shaking the foundations of the empire. In September 476, a Germanic prince named Odovacar won control of the Roman army in Italy. After deposing the last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, Odovacar’s troops proclaimed him king of Italy, bringing an ignoble end to the long, tumultuous history of ancient Rome.
● June 21, 1529 – Catherine of Aragon’s famous speach at Blackfriars.
↳ Following King Henry’s declarations, Queen Catherine walked over to her hasband and threw hersef on her knees demostrating a posture of submission, to speak directly to him. The Speech was recorded by George Cavendish:
“Sir, I beseech you for all the loves there hath been between us, and for the love of God, let me have justice and right, take of me some pity and compassion, for I am a poor woman and a stranger born out of your dominions. I have here no assured friend, and much less indifferent counsel. I flee to you as to the head of justice within your realm. Alas! Sir, wherein have I offended you, or what occasion of displeasure have I designed against your will and pleasure? Intending (as I perceive) to put me from you, I take God and all the world to witness that I have been to you a true, humble, and obedient wife, ever conformable to your will and pleasure, that never said or did anything to the contrary thereof, being always well pleased and contented with all things wherein ye had any delight or dalliance, whether it were in little or much. I never grudged in word or countenance nor showed a visage or spark of discontentment. I loved all those whom ye loved only for your sake, whether I had cause or no and whether they were my friends or my enemies. This twenty years have I been your true wife, or more, and by me ye have had divers children, although it hath pleased God to call them out of the world, which has been no fault of mine.And when ye had me at the first, I take God to be my judge, I was a true maid without touch of man; and whether it be true or no, I put it to your conscience. If there by any just cause by the law that ye can allege against me, either of dishonesty or any other impediment to banish and put me from you, I am well content to depart, to my great shame and disparagement; and if there be none, then here I most lowly beseech you let me remain in my former estate and receive justice at your princely hands. The king your father was in the time of his reign of such estimation through the world for his excellent wisdom, that he was accounted and called of all men the second Solomon; and my father Ferdinand, King of Spain, who was esteemed to be one of the wittiest princes that reigned in Spain many years before, were both wise and excellent kings in wisdom and princely behavior. It is not therefore to be doubted but that they elected and gathered as wise counselors about them as to their high discretions were thought meet. Also, as me-seemeth, they had in their days as wise, well-learned men, and men of good judgment as be at this present in both realms, who thought then the marriage between you and me good and lawful. Therefore is it a wonder to me to hear what new inventions are now invented against me, that never intended but honesty. And cause me to stand to the order and judgment of this new court, wherein ye may do me much wrong if ye intend any kind of cruelty; for ye may condemn me for lack of sufficient answer, having no indifferent counsel but such as be assigned me, with whose wisdom and learning I am not acquainted. Ye must consider that they cannot be indifferent counselors for my part which be your subjects, and taken out of your own council before, wherein they be made privy, and dare not for your displeasure, disobey your will and intent, being once made privy thereto. Therefore, I most humbly require you, in the way of charity and for the love of God, who is the just judge, to spare the extremity of this new court until I may be advertised what way and order my friends in Spain will advise me to take. And if ye will not extend to me so much indifferent favor, your pleasure then be fulfilled, and to God I commit my case.”
June 1st, 1533 | Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England
Preparations for the coronation began after the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was pronounced invalid by Archbishop Cranmer on May 23rd 1533. The lavish celebrations which led up to Anne Boleyn’s coronation lasted an incredible four days and included a procession of barges, said to be 4 miles long, along the Thames from Greenwich to the Tower of London. The barge which carried Anne was dressed in luxurious gold cloth and as Anne disembarked 1,000 guns were fired from the Tower and other guns were fired from ships and the Limehouse.
After what must have seemed a lifetime of waiting, Anne Boleyn entered Westminster Hall ready to be crowned Queen of England. The procession then walked the 640m to the high altar of the abbey where Anne took her place on St. Edward’s Chair and cemented her spot in history.
She was about six months pregnant and had been married to the king since their official, but secret, ceremony on 25th January 1533. Their marriage had been proclaimed valid just four days before the coronation and this coronation ceremony was the couple’s moment of triumph after the years of waiting and legal wranglings. (source)
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