Being a royal isn't just ribbon-cutting, pomp and
circumstance, or royal visits. There
were also royals who were intellectuals, artists and authors. We have gathered
ten popular royals who a lot of you may not know also penned critically
acclaimed memoirs, touching stories, and eternal poems.
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (1902-2004)
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, was actually born the
daughter of a Scottish duke, the 7th Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, who was
then the largest landowner in Scotland. She married Prince Henry, Duke of
Gloucester, in 1934 and bore him two sons, Prince William, who died in a plane
crash in 1972, and Prince Henry, who inherited his father’s title upon his
death in 1974. One of the most popular royal figure during her lifetime, she
was also the longest-living member of the British Royal Family. She died at the
age of 102. She penned her memoirs, The
Memoirs of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, which was published in
1981. Ten years later, the revised edition, Memories
of Ninety Years, was published. However, it was noted that her book
contained no depth and lacked in details with regards to what happened in her
life and her family. One reviewer wrote: “You walked away from each chapter
with questions that were never answered.”
Queen Elisabeth of Romania (1843-1916)
Born a German princess, her father was Hermann, Prince of
Wied. Her artistic leaning, which bound to eccentricity, has been noticeable
since childhood. Using the penname Carmen Sylva, Elisabeth was a prolific
author in German, Romanian, French and English, ranging from poems, plays, and
novels to short stories, essays and aphorisms. Her most critically works
included: "Sappho" and
Hammerstein," which appeared in Leipzig (1880), Les Pensees d'une reine (1882), which
was honored by the Académie française with the Prix Botta, and Cuvinte Sufletesci, religious
meditations in Romanian (1888).
Infanta Eulalia of Spain (1872-1952)
Infanta Eulalia of Spain was perhaps made famous for her
controversial books rather than being a royal blood. The youngest child of
Queen Isabella II of Spain, she authored provocative works under the pseudonym
comtesse de Avila. Her work Au fil de la vie (The Thread of Life, 1911) wrote
her views education, the independence of women, the equality of classes,
socialism, religion, marriage, prejudices, and traditions, issues that were
deemed too liberal during her time. In 1925, she wrote Courts and Countries After The War (1925), which discussed world
political situation, with emphasis on the never-ending conflict between France
and Germany. Her memoir, Mémoires de
S.A.R. l'infante Eulalie, 1868-1931 was published in French in 1935 and in
English in 1936.
Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (1846-1923)
Princess Helena of the United Kingdom was the third daughter
and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
Considered as the most active member of the British Royal Family during her
mother’s reign, Princess Helena was hailed for taking up a hectic schedule of
royal engagements in a time when it was not customary of royals to appear in
public. Her marriage to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1865) was known
to be a happy one and four of their five children survived through aduldhood:
Prince Christian Victor, Prince Albert, Princess Helena Victoria and Princess
Marie Louise. Princess Christian, as what she was known from the time of her
marriage, was an avid translator of German works, including the first biography
of Prince Albert (1867), The Memoirs of
Wilhelmine, Margravine of Bayreuth (1887), and First Aid to the Injured (1882). Sir Charles Grey praised the
princess for the “suprising fidelity” of her work, while Saturday Review wrote that her work was “thoroughly alive, with a
sound dictionary translation and a high accuracy in spirit.”
Princess Marie Louise (1872-1956)
Princess Marie Louise is the second daughter of Princess
Helena of the United Kingdom and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. She
was married to Prince Aribert of Anhalt, third son of Frederick I, Duke of
Anhalt, in 1891, although the marriage proved sad and was annulled in 1900. An
active member of the British Royal Family, she documented her life in her
memoirs, My Memories of Six Reigns (1956),
from the reign of her grandmother, Queen Victoria, to that of her niece, Queen
Elizabeth II. Her work was praised for her vivid descriptions of the events in
her life as well as for the historical value that it rendered.
Queen Marie of Romania (1875-1938)
Queen Marie of Romania was the second child and eldest
daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, second
son of Queen Victoria, and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia,
only daughter of Czar Alexander II. Married to Prince Ferdinand of
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, the couple ascended as King and Queen of Romania in
1914. Her biographer, Diane Mandache revealed that she published 34 books and
poems both in Romanian and English, the most popular of which was her
three-volume autobiography, The Story of
My Life.
Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (1861-1929)
Grand Michael Mikhailovich of Russia was the third child and
second son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich, a son of Czar Nicholas I. Her
morganatic marriage to Countess Sophie von Merenburg caused his banishment from
Russia. His resentment to the Imperial Family was his inspiration of why he
wrote the novel, Never Say Die. In
the preface he wrote:" Belonging, as I do, to the Imperial Blood, and
being a member of one of the reigning houses, I should like to prove to the
world how wrong it is in thinking - as the majority of mankind is apt to do -
that we are the happiest beings on this earth. There is no doubt that we are
well situated, but is wealth the only happiness in the world?"
Prince Michael of Greece (1939-)
Prince Michael is the only child of Prince Christopher of Greece, youngest son of King George I of Greece. His father died when he was just one year old. A contributor to the magazine Architectural Digest, Prince Michael’s royal status enabled him to write about historical fictions, including The White Night of St. Petersburg, his first novel, The Empress of Farewells: the story of Charlotte, Empress of Mexico (2002) and Le Rajah Bourbon (2007)
Princess Michael of Kent (1945- )
Princess Michael of Kent is the wife of Prince Michael of
Kent, youngest child of Prince George, Duke of Kent, fourth child of King
George V. She was the daughter of the Bohemian nobleman, Baron Gunther von
Reibnitz and the Hungarian Countess Marianne Szapary. A professional interior
designer and lecturer, Princess Michael penned historical non-fictions and
fictions: Crowned in a Far Country:
Portraits of eight royal brides (1986), Cupid
and the King (1991), The Serpent and
The Moon: two rivals for the love of a Renaissance king (2004) and The Queen of Four Kingdoms (2013).
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhaelovich of Russia (1859-1919)
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhaelovich is the elder brother of
Grand Duke Michael Mikhaelovich. A popular Russian scholar and historian, he
was also an expert in botany. His published works included the 10-volume Discussions on the Lepidopterae, The Princes Dolgoruki, Collaborators to
Emperor Alexander I and many more.
