Memory Monday (Style Icons Part 4 Princess Kirsten Youssopoff)

We finally return to our "Style Icons" for the first time in over a year with today's installment. We might not share one every week but plan on doing a few over the next few weeks.

Her Royal Highness Princess Kirsten, the Princess Youssopoff may truly be considered a style icon. She joins our list among our previous notaries, Queen Maria of Hispania, Princess Augusta and Princess Xenia of Wallachia. We aim with these posts to give a broad view over several years of the particular Royal's individual expression of identity through their unique taste in fashion.

As a young Princess, Kirsten was born to wealth and privilege as a member of the ruling House of Hanoveria. One might say she was born to style and good taste with nothing to prove as well being a high ranking Royal in her own right. She had the freedom and means to be who she felt like being and her sense of duty and the responsibility of setting an example was clear. In the above pictures we see the young Princess as she stepped out into the public scene. As left the 2009 engagement of her cousin the Crown Prince Imperial and at left the wedding of the same saw her wearing family jewels and keeping within the bounds of moderation and dress code. During these early years she did not make big splashes but also did not fail to turn the odd head. Her style was fresh but did not take any risks. 

Not unscathed by tragedy, the Princess faced the hardship of losing her father to an assassin's bullet and herself required plastic surgery a few years later after surviving one herself. With a help of the surgeons knife and her own coming of age gave us a Princess with  radiant beauty and a seemingly new found defiant confidence. These years before her eventual marriage saw the Princess attack the red carpet with a vengeance and she was quoted to say: "A bullet cannot hit its mark in the face of a blinding glare'.  Her style obviously bolder style became more sophisticated but remained within the bounds of good taste.

The inevitable came in the form of one of the wealthiest Royals in the world. Prince Felix Youssopoff, and his vast resources, was what it was going to take to harness Kirsten. The loving and exuberant match was obvious for all to see and the engagement and wedding took place in 2011. Even though her wedding dress was more "poofy princes" than expected, the effects of her marriage on her fashion sense was to make more than a few ripples on the style Richter scale.

The first event attended by the new Youssopoff Princely Couple was diplomatic, official and a front page affair. The Investiture of Queen Gloria of Normandia saw Princess Kirsten and her husband representing the Ruskian Imperial Dynasty. This required strict protocol adherence but also afforded her an opportunity to be put on the map like never before. Kirsten dropped a style bomb that hit the sweet spot like none other. With this gold Barbie International couture design and the sleek Youssopoff Comet Parure she was second only to Queen Gloria as an attention grabber. A total slam dunk as upstaging the Queen would have been insulting.

Since then Princess Kirsten has supported her husband and the Ruskian Empress in pretense at many official and otherwise gala functions. Her look is young, sleek and attention grabbing without overstepping bounds.

At less formal affairs we can see the Princess taking more risks with colour, hemlines and more "risque" designs.

A combination of Youssopof and Hanoverian family jewels allows the Princess to pull all the stops when necessary but she remains confident in her "nothing-to-prove" mode allowing for a cleaner, sleeker look.

She is also not beyond wearing outfits more than once as this photo in comparison with the one above, second from right, proves.

From bold black and white at the 2012 Christmas Ball (top left), to traditional princess at the Syldavian Investiture 2012 (top right), to sassy pink  and then sexy silvery sleek at the 2013 Christmas Ball, Princess Kirsten flicks that Richter scale every time albeit sometimes less and sometimes more.

At the 2013 funeral of Empress Crystobel, her aunt, the Princess was obviously toned down but her true nature as remained undiminished under hat and with diamonds.

Her undeniable glamour and the spectacular Youssopoff diamonds (seen above) will always draw a crowd and the media. This factor she has unfailingly harnessed in favour of the many charities she support as was seen at this year's charity auction of a sapphire parure.

The Princess is one of the few who has experimented with her look but always with success as this stylish outfit proves. Worn a few weeks ago it was her latest red carpet appearance to date and we look forward to many more as she keeps up the good fight of inspirational shining in the face of predjudice. May this Princess inspire the Princess in whichever heart it may be found.

"To be or not to be" Thursday (Imperial and Royal Families 4 The House of Romanov)

Currently there are no countries that are active Empires but two accepted Imperial Dynasties in pretense in Europa. Today we will discuss the Imperial House of Romanov that claims the throne of the former Empire of Ruskiana, ousted in the Great War around 100 years ago. 

The Imperial Crest of the House of Romanov that ruled over Ruskiana for just over 300 years is pictured above.

At its apex this Imperial Dynasty was the wealthiest, most prestigious and most influential in the world. Not withstanding the very large family was also dynastically linked to all the others in Europa through marriage. The irony is that very few members of this most illustrious dynasty are left today  as almost all were killed in the revolution that followed the Great War.

The head of this Imperial Family and pretender to the Ruskian throne is Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna Romanov. Her family who lived in exile in the Empire of Scot-Britania were almost all  murdered during the 96 Revolution. Earmarked as foreign freeloaders they were earmarked by revolutionaries but fortunately the Grand Duchess and her young sister escaped. Her great grandfather was the last true Emperor or rather Tzar of Ruskiana. Grand Duchess Xenia remains unmarried. 

Grand Duchess Xenia has a sister with whom she used to be very close. However a dispute over her sister marrying outside of the House Laws of Succession led to them becoming estranged. Grand Duchess Alexandra was last seen officially at a Royal event in 2009. representing her family at the wedding of Infanta Isabella of Hispania. Grand Duchess Alexandra is purportedly living in South Americania. 

Grand Duchess Xenia's mother is the sister of the current Grand Duke of Hanoveria's father and as such he and his sisters, Queen Maxima and Princess Kirsten Youssopoff  are her first cousins. This does not make the Hanoverians part of the Romanov Dynasty however. A twist of marriage however did make Princess Kirsten an extended member. The photo above shows the Grand Duke of Hanoveria in the center standing in between his mother in green and his wife. Queen Maxima is in dark pink next to her husband King Nikolas of Syldavia. In light pink is Princess Kirsten next to her husband Prince Felix Youssopoff.

Princess Kirsten is married to Prince Felix Youssoupoff . He is an extended member of the Romanov Family. The Prince is the second cousin in the Romanov line to Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna due to his grandmother being the sister of the Grand Duchess' father. There are no other close relations in the current dynasty of the Romanov Imperial Family. 

Financial Friday (Royalty in Business)

In former centuries being Royal was the only occupation of Royalty as their class afforded them the responsibility of "ruling". All that meant was that they had to make all the decisions concerning their country's internal and foreign affairs. These days not even the reigning monarchs really rule and when they do it is very similar to the very real job of directing a massive corporation. As such many monarchs and especially their extended family members have grown accustomed to actually running a business or working in some form or another. Thus the role of "being Royal" has almost become a ceremonial icing on the cake of an actual job. 

Let us take a look at some of the business ventures Royal are involved with these days.

The International powerhouse Arc International has become a household name due to its global influence and outright financial force. It is wholly owned and managed by Lady Arcwhite in her private capacity. This however remains a technical reality as she obviously works with a board of directors and international branch managers. She also has to juggle the many responsibilities with her ceremonial role as ruler of the islands of Arcwhite. 

Arc International has many diverse holdings of which the three main branches are; media in the form of MINE Magazine, computers in the form of Hayz International and state of the art power plants.

The first natural gas power plant owned by Arc International was erected in the province of Serbieski in Syldavia and was the cause for a still raging controversy. 

Hayz Computers is a household name. The company reached its apex under the direction of the very young computer whizz Viscount Hayz who also holds a title of Nobility. He amalgamted his holding with that of Arc International a few years ago and has also taken up the role of official spokesperson for the international conglomerate. 

Lady Arcwhite will mostly let Lord Hayz do the talking while she makes the decisions and signs the cheques. 

The Duke of Swann is one of the richest people in the world and this is not due to his Royal status but rather to business. As reining Duke, His Royal Highness is obviously into agriculture, mining, tourism and city property development but has seen the gap to boost business in these fields to benefit his country and his profit margins. 

Swann International is the parent company that owns all the Duke's various business interests and has served to only boost the Principality of Swann's gross national profit. One of the many branches of Swann International deals with the media as Europa's most circulated newspaper, The Proclaimer is owned by the company.

Art and art trading is somewhat of a hobby of the Duke who is also an accomplished artist himself. He not only funds the arts where possible but makes an effort to exhibit his own work and then funnels the money into national art development programs. Jewellery design and manufacture is another such field of interest that also receives effort from Swann International especially in 3rd world countries like South Africa.

Often considered a frivolity, the Duke of Swann is also a co-owner of the nightclub Dark Star in the Swann Capital.

Sorgenfrei Castle was recently acquired by the Crown Prince Imperial. It is situated high on a mountain top in the city of Muren, the Crown Prince Imperial's wife's hometown. This Castle does not just serve as a royal residence but also as a museum and a wedding/conference venue and guest house. In that capacity the castle is a very lucrative business. Sorgenfrei's large property also includes the Crown Princess Imperial's family farm.

Odelia Sorgenfrei, now the Crown Princess Imperial of the United Empire of Scot-Britania grew up on a diary farm that she still owns and forms part of the Sorgenfrei Castle Estate. The dairy farm has been operating successfully and profitably for more than five generations and the Princess insists on managing her inheritance properly.

Princess Augusta is a world famous historic jewellery trader. She specializes in dealing with historic antiques, restorations and auctions.

Princess Augusta has played a major role in restoring old Royal jewellery that has been worn over centuries. This job has done much for historic preservation. She has also served as curator/consultant to many International History Museums.

Princess Augusta's special expertise and close Royal Familial ties had her presiding over several majorly historic jewellery auctions like the famous D'Pont Du Lac Sapphire sale pictured above.

Madame Frumsetta may be considered at the forefront of contemporary fashion and couture design. her world wide renowned style has become a veritable household name and a red carpet can almost not be counted unless one of her designs are featured. As an entitled Royal she eschews the traditional privileges it comes with but prefers to pursue her artistic drive through hard work. This has proven to be a very successful formula.

Madame Frumsetta however uses her close links to Royalty to serve her Royal clients with the sensitivity of somebody on the "inside". She does not however lose her head in the castles in the sky but prefers backstage to the red carpet in her private capacity.

Gloria Van DerBilt, was once a wealthy media, movies production, magazine, education and transport heiress. She never lost that privilege but has gained the title of Queen of Normandia. She has amalgamated her family business obligations with that of head of state to the benefit of both. Her international business empire  has boosted the economy and skills development of her adopted kingdom and it in turn has welcomed her with equally accepting fervor and hard work. It seems that when Royalty and business combine it can lead to new heights of prosperity and harmony. 

One of the greatest of these synergistic successes is that of the Youssopoff Princely Family and their relationship within the former Empire of Ruskiana. Although the country ousted its monarchy and discontinued the use of titles, the Youssopoffs were invited back after generations to manage their former holdings, with momentous results.

Prince Felix Youssopoff is the managing director of the company that is responsible for all the mining, timber and sheep farming associated with the Youssopoff family. He also manages vast tracks of land that includes entire towns and tourism. As such he strictly speaking does not own anything of what originally was his family's property but has turned such a profit that he has become one of the wealthiest business men in the world. Due to this he has been able to buy significant shares in the company and through that now owns some property linked with his heritage. 

The small Grand Duchy of Reichenthal has always been associated with carpenters, artisans and wine farming. The reigning Grand Duke has his finger in every pie and is considered a very hands-on Royal. He serves on all major boards that regulate and manage the practical affairs of his region's world renowned produce. His people see him as setting the pace and benchmark for Reichenthalian quality especially in the field of wine making, that he himself also greatly enjoys doing.

Yes, Royalty can and indeed do also actually work. As if their duties as a national symbols are not enough they can also turn a successful buck.

"To be or not to be" Thursday (Imperial and Royal Families 4 The House of Hanoveria)

It has been many months since we had an installment discussing  the Dynastic Houses of Europa. Today we will deal with the ruling Grand Ducal House of Hanoveria. This Dynastic House, albeit referred to as Grand Ducal by virtue of the title of the head of the house, is strictly speaking a Royal House on par with others in Europa. This Royal House also shares the name of the country it reigns over as the original rulers took the name of the region as their own.

The current head of the dynasty is His Royal Highness Grand Duke George III of Hanoveria. In this State portrait we see the Royal Crest and Crown of the Dynastic House of Hanoveria that has ruled over the regions known as Hanoveria for hundreds of years. 

The Grand Duke, at left is a first cousin of the Crown Prince Imperial and the Duke of Swann at right. This relation comes through his mother, a Princess of Scotney and sister of Empress Crystobel and Duchess Elizabeth of Swann. As such these cousins do not share in being of the Hanoverian Dynasty, but are as close as brothers.

The Grand Duke's paternal aunt married into the Ruskian Imperial Family in pretense and as such the current pretender to the Imperial Throne of Ruskiana, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, is a member of the House of Hanoveria.

This photo shows the Grand Duke with his mother at right and his wife at left dressed in gold. The current Grand Duchess of Hanoveria is the sister of the Baron D'Rothchild and brings Franconian Royal blood into the House of Hanoveria.

Here we see the entire current Royal Family of the House of Hanoveria and their spouses, from left King Nikolas III of Syldavia who is married to Queen Maxima nee Princess of Hanoveria, the Dowager Grand Duchess of Hanoveria, mother of the current Grand Duke, The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hanoveria, Princess Kirsten Youssopoff, nee Princess of Hanoveria and wife of Prince Felix Youssopoff.

What's Up Wednesday (Youssopoff Jewellery Auction)

Last weekend saw a glittering auction organized by Princess Kirsten Youssopoff in aid of Ruskiana orphanages. The Princess, a passionate defender of widows and orphans, decided to put her wealth behind supporting children who have been adversely affected by the mining in the regions surrounding the Youssopoff traditional holdings in Ruskiana. The Prince and Princess own a spectacular Sapphire Parure made from sapphires mined from the Youssopoff mines especially for Princess Kirsten in 2012. They are considered to be some of the best quality gems in the world. The Princess, who originally accepted the jewelry to market Ruskian mining and craftsmanship, decided to take it a step further two years later by auctioning the jewels off to raise funds and awareness towards the plight of orphans.

The Princely couple was enthusiastically supported by the local mining community and the red carpet event went off with a bang last week Saturday evening seeing many of the world's big business tycoons joining the Royal couple. 

The Youssopoff Palace Ball Room was the venue chosen to host the glittering soiret. 

The arrival of the stylish couple proved once again that wealth and charity can make for a spectacular collaboration.

The uncontested star of the evening was the Youssopoff Sapphire Parure to which the Ruskian Mining Corporation added a brand new pair of earrings as their contribution to the fund raiser. The set of sapphires eventually sold after a 20 minute bidding war to a wealthy philanthropist from Romagna who chose to remain anonymous.

Here we see Princess Kirsten in 2012 as she wore the sapphires for the only time in her life to the Investiture of the King of Syldavia. Her wearing of the jewelry to this internationally important political event thrust Ruskian mining and sapphire jewelry onto the world stage.

The Mine Magazine added to the publicity surrounding the sale of the jewels.

"To be or not to be" Thursday (Imperial and Royal Families 1 The House of Aldarian)

For the next few installments on a Thursday we will list, for your understanding, the various Royal Houses and their closest members up to the level of parents, cousins and grand children of the respective dynastic heads. See if you can make sense of it and all the various characters who's stories are on this blog. 

The Royal and Imperial House of Aldarian is the Dynasty in pretense to the Imperial throne of Scot Britania and the separate Royal thrones of Scotney and Britania. The current members of the Family in order of descent is as follows. 

The Imperial Crest of the House of Aldarian.

The head of this dynasty and pretender to the throne of the Empire is His Imperial Highness Prince Christian-Victor, the Crown Prince Imperial of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. He is the son of the last Empress who was assassinated in July 2013 after having been invited out of exile to tour the now Democratic Republic of Britannia. He may claim the title of Emperor only if the monarchy is restored but the current tensions allows for the topic to not even be mentioned. The Prince is married to Odeliah Sorgenfrei who hold the title of Crown Princess Imperial by marriage. 

The only other direct member of the Britanian Royal line of Aldarian is the Crown Prince Imperial's Aunt, Princess Augusta of the United Empire of Scot Britania. She is the sister of the Prince's father who was King of Britania and the first Emperor and co-Regent of the United Empire. She never married and has no issue. 

Due to the 96 Revolution, many dynastic houses have been reduced to almost nothing but due to some pre-revolution marriages many houses that survived have also been linked and is now very evident among their diminished members. With the foundation of the United Empire of Scot-Britania, the Royal House of Aldarian was linked by marriage to the Royal House of Stewart that ruled Scotney. As such the members of the Royal House of Stewart were declared part of the extended Imperial House of Aldarian and may, if not members of their own dynasty use the name Stewart-Aldarian.

The current Duke of Swann and his sister Princess Marie-Elizabeth, cousins of  the Crown Prince Imperial, fall under the Imperial, Stewart-Aldarian line due to their mother being a sister of the last Queen of Scotney who married the King of Britania and became Empress Crytobel I and co-Regent of the United Empire. They do however preeminently belong to the Dynastic House of Swann. 

Princess Beatrice, the youngest sister of Empress Crystobel narried the Grand Duke of Hanoveria and is thus the mother of the current Grand Duke who thus is also a cousin of the Crown Prince Imperial. He and his two sisters also fall under the Imperial, Stewart-Aldarian line but preeminently are members of the Dynastic House of Luneburg-Hanover. It goes further now that Princess Maxima, the Grand Duke's sister, has married the head of the Electorate House Von Bismarck. Princess Kirsten, the youngest Hanoverian sibling, has married the Head of the Princely House of Youssopoff.

From left; King Nikolas III of Syldavia and  Head of the Electorate House Von Bismarck with his wife Queen Maxima. Princess Beatrice, the Dowager Grand Duchess of Hanoveria. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hanoveria. Princess Kirsten Youssopoff and the Prince Youssopoff. 

There are more extended members of the House of Aldarian but we will cease at the cousin level as second cousins, great grand children etc will end with us mentioning the whole planet. It is a nice thought though to consider that everybody in some way or another may have Royal blood in their veins to some degree. We hope that this and the next few Thursday post will assist our fans in seeing the broad spectrum of Royals in context to the story as a whole.

Fascinating Fridays (Wealthiest Royal and Noble Families)

For today's post I decided to get a bit juicy and discuss the wealth of the Royals and Nobles. People are always interested in who has the most money and where and how they got it. 

Please remember that wealth on the level that we discuss here is sometimes so vast that it can only be based on averages and relative speculations. It is based on income per annum and also based on assets owned. Another consideration is what percentage of the wealth is owned in the person's private capacity and what is tied as a "budget" granted to the office. The latter obviously only applies to reigning monarchs or members of reigning Royal families that are afforded a state income. 

Let's begin with the top 5 wealthiest families. 

6: The Baronial House of D'Rothchild

This Franconian Noble House founded its banking empire during the reign of the last two Franconian Kings. They became so wealthy that they even financed the government budget. After the Franconian Revolution they lost a lot but enough stayed with the family due to foreign investments that to this day they remain one of the wealthiest families in the world and also manages the largest banking network in Europa

5: The Princely House of Youssopoff 

Farming, mining and property lead to their wealth, war and revolution threatened generations worth of accomplishment but Ruskiana's wealthiest Noble family has been invited back. The modern democratic government has asked Prince Felix the current head of the family to return and to breathe life back into what initially became the derelict Youssopoff financial empire but what could now become a renewed business, sanctioned by the government in order to serve the local communities. Prince Felix invested what was left of his inheritance and has become the director of the fastest growing mining firm in the world.

Prince Felix Youssopoff and his wife Princess Kirsten

4: The Royal House of Castelano y Alba

The reigning Royal Family of Hispania have grown their wealth steadily over many centuries of rule, conquest, investment, collecting and inheritance. The wealth is inextricably linked to the state however and if these were ever to separate the family would not be counted as much more than an average millionaire.  

Her Majesty Queen Maria of Hispania wearing spectacular Pink Topaz Jewellery. 

3: The Royal House of Swann

The Duke of Swann's private fortune combines with his country's wealth and tax haven status to make his family the third wealthiest Royal family in the world. Offshore oil, art collections, jewellery and art trading and tax haven benefits make the Principality of Swann an economic force to be reckoned with. The Royal Art Gallery houses the largest historic and modern Art collection in the world and investments in art, design, media, entertainment etc exceeds any other country in the world by at least 20%

The Public Face of the Royal House of Swann. In the fore ground from left, Prince Dillon, The Duke of Swann and Princess Marie-Elizabeth. The Duke's brother Prince Dennis and father of Prince Dillon avoids the media eye and has no official duties. 

2: The Royal House of Van der Bilt

The Van der Bilts are independantly wealthy media, property and transport magnates and Gloria van der Bilt was the heir of headship of the family as well as the main shareholder in the family's international holdings. To top this Gloria has now become Queen Regent of  the Kingdom of Normandia, a first world economy nation with one of the fastest growing economies in Europa.

The Van der Bilt cousins. At left, Victoria Van der Bilt the Duchess of Roswind and  right, Gloria Van der Bilt the Queen of Normandia.

1: The Imperial House of  Aldarian

The House of Aldarian that ruled over the Kingdom of Britania, colonized Canadium and eventually joined with the Kingdom of Scotney to form the United Empire of Scot-Britania with even Swann as a vassal state has for centuries been a very powerful and wealthy family. They ruled the most powerful seafaring nation the world has ever known and drew the world's wealth to them through conquest, colonization and trade. Voracious collectors they patronized the arts and filled their palaces with treasures beyond belief. Joining with the ancient House of Stewart that ruled Scotney brought that family and country's wealth into a collective pot that was so stupendous that if the revolution of 1996 did not halt it, it would have been the pinnacle of man's achievement. The Empire fell however but the family miraculously survived and due to foreign investments, jewellery and art collections beyond the borders coupled with some dumb luck the private fortunes of Empress Crystobel, the Crown Prince Imperial and Princess Augusta combine to form the wealthiest family trust known to man.

Obvious wealth on display as the Imperial House of Aldarian's members are photographed at the annual Knight's Meeting in 2010. In the fore ground from left; Princess Augusta, Empress Crystobel, The Crown Prince Imperial and the Crown Princess Imperial.

Next week we will discuss the wealthiest individuals in their own right and the monarchs with the highest budgets ascribed to their offices.