Kings and queens I have known

Drawing on personal encounters at Europe’s royal courts, this reflective memoir offers intimate portraits of kings, queens, emperors, and other prominent figures of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The author writes not as a distant historian, but as an attentive observer, capturing fleeting conversations, gestures, impressions, and the atmosphere surrounding each sovereign.

The book begins with Queen Elizabeth of Romania, known as Carmen Sylva, whose influence on the author reaches far beyond the ceremonial world of royalty. Poet, thinker, nature lover, and patron of beauty and learning, she emerges as a richly layered personality viewed through years of friendship and admiration. Later chapters turn to figures including King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, the Austrian and German emperors, the Russian imperial couple, Italian and Spanish royalty, Queen Wilhelmina, the rulers of Serbia, Pope Leo XIII, and Queen Victoria. Together, these sketches present monarchy through personality and private encounter, revealing the human qualities behind the titles.