Autour des trônes que j'ai vu tomber

The narrator is a princess, the eldest daughter of a once‑great monarch, whose childhood was marked by both privilege and early disappointment. Married at seventeen, she quickly discovers that courtly expectations hide deeper hardships than she imagined. Her voice is a blend of personal grief and a yearning to understand the forces that toppled the thrones around her.

She takes listeners on a tour of pre‑war Europe, recalling familiar faces in Vienna, Berlin, Munich and Sofia, and describing her capture by Hungarian Bolsheviks in Budapest. The narrative weaves together memories of the Austrian, German and Bulgarian emperors with the brutal realities of a continent at war. Through these episodes she witnesses the collapse of empires and the suffering of ordinary citizens.

Amid the turmoil, she clings to the teachings of her mother—a queen who urged her to remain a devout Christian—and to a belief in a justice beyond this world. The memoir balances bitterness toward corrupt leaders with compassion for the displaced and the wounded. It is a reflective portrait of resilience, faith, and the cost of power.