What little girl hasn't dreamed of being a princess? In her book Crowned in a Far Country, Princess Michael has brought to us the reality of that dream. This book is the story of eight princesses who were married to foreign grooms and had to leave their families and everything they knew.
Some of the stories are well known, and others not so much so. What these women all share is a sense of duty. Most of them married for this duty, not for love and some found happiness and others did not. This is a fascinating book that is written in a very easy style and, once started, is hard to put down. The saving grace is the book is divided into chapters by each woman because otherwise, I would have predicted a sleepless night.
Catherine the Great
Who would have guessed that this best known of the Russian Tsarinas was not born in Russia? She was actually a German Princess of Anhalt Zerbst in Prussia. When she was born in the small but proud country, no one guessed the heights to which she would rise. She was only sixteen when she married Peter the future tsar.
He was not a very appealing groom but her ambition was stronger than her aversion. He was weak-minded, and she probably saw her future even at that young age. In the end, she was crowned tsarina and he was disposed of. She made a great ruler, brought culture and arts to Russia, and is remembered today as one of the Great Russians even though in reality she was a German.
Marie Antoinette
The pretty lively little Austrian princess came to France at the age of fourteen. She married the dauphin who was a year her senior within days of touching French soil. They were a poor match, he a loner who enjoyed science, and she a frivolous girl.
Maybe if the marriage hadn't taken seven years to consummate things might have gone better. Neither one of them was in any way capable of seeing the reality of life in France. This story doesn't have a happy ending but is interesting nonetheless.
Maria Carolina
Maria Carolina was Marie Antoinette's sister. She was actually substituted for her sister Maria Johanna when Johanna died of smallpox. She married the barely educated boorish King of Naples. For twenty years in all but name, she ruled Naples wisely and fairly. The death of her beloved sister Antonia resulted in her losing her sanity. The end of her life was tragic and she died unmourned and unnoticed.
Leopoldina
Marie Leopoldina was the sister of Napoleon's Austrian wife Marie Louise. Leopoldina married Dom Pedro the heir to the Portuguese throne. Her marriage took her to Brazil. She fell in love with her husband who was incapable of fidelity and, after wearing herself out in constant childbirth, she died at only twenty-nine.
These are just some of the stories that Princess Michael brings to us in Crowned in a Far Land. Each one is interesting in its own way. The book isn't long, only 191 pages, but it includes some great photos and is very well-sourced.
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