Old Time Royals

"In Darmstadt, it's customary to bake anise gingerbread for Christmas. The Grand Duchess loved them very much. Louise Beger brought them for the Grand Duchess every year for Christmas. Later, they began to be baked in the court confectionery, but the Grand Duchess found them less well-made."

A.I. Yakovleva

Anise gingerbread or Baden hooves:

250 g flour, 200 g granulated sugar, 2 eggs, 1 packet of anise, 1 pinch of baking soda quenched with vinegar.

Beat the sugar and eggs for 15 minutes until fluffy. Mix the anise and baking soda with the warmed flour and, adding the egg mixture, knead the dough. Roll the gingerbread into round sticks about the thickness of a finger and 5 cm long. Make 4 slits in the sides, bend them into a horseshoe shape, and place them on a greased baking sheet.

"In Darmstadt, it's customary to bake anise gingerbread for Christmas. The Grand Duchess loved them very much. Louise Beger brought them for the Grand Duchess every year for Christmas. Later, they began to be baked in the court confectionery, but the Grand Duchess found them less well-made."

A.I. Yakovleva

Anise gingerbread or Baden hooves:

250 g flour, 200 g granulated sugar, 2 eggs, 1 packet of anise, 1 pinch of baking soda quenched with vinegar.

Beat the sugar and eggs for 15 minutes until fluffy. Mix the anise and baking soda with the warmed flour and, adding the egg mixture, knead the dough. Roll the gingerbread into round sticks about the thickness of a finger and 5 cm long. Make 4 slits in the sides, bend them into a horseshoe shape, and place them on a greased baking sheet.

Princess Evgenia Maximillianovna of Leuchtenberg.

Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark with her Danish/British relatives

featured in the first photograph from left to right are: prince andrew of greece and denmark, queen louise of denmark, princess maria of greece and denmark, queen alexandra of the united kingdom, princess alexandra of greece and denmark, king christian ix of denmark, princess maud of wales, top row: prince nicholas of greece and denmark, princess louise of wales, princess victoria of wales, king constantine i of the hellenes.

Sisters Alexandra & Dagmar.

"Certainly in her late teen years Alix exuded a happy spirit and tranquil personality. Minnie, three years younger, on the other hand, was already the epitome of high-spirited fun and full of mischief. She would sew the pockets of her brothers' trousers closed so when they would reach to put a small treasure inside, they could not. Minnie would also spend time making special dishes for them, knowing that she had heavily laced her concoctions with salt. She once found a mouse in her bedroom just before going to bed and quickly placed it inside Alix's pillow, waiting in the dark for her sister to scream when the rodent began to move." "Of the two sisters, Minnie was the more adventurous. Alix was always timid outside the home. It was Minnie who proposed the two should dress alike - at least in the same colours and patterns. Alix always aimed to please and readily agreed to Minnie's impulsive ideas. Alix secretly admired Minnie for her sense of fun and her willingness to try new things."

“The eldest, the wonderfully beautiful fair Marie, had a hot, ungovernable heart, which neither the sweet temper of her mother nor the severity of her father could tame.”

Kaiser Wilhelm II around 1910 while studying files on the terrace of the Achilleion.

“I spent an evening with the Grand Duchess, who seemed charming to me in all respects, a charming face together with the finest expressiveness, the speech is lively, inspired, rich in meaning and expressiveness - it amazes and captivates you. The Grand Duchess knows how to touch on any topic with the same ease… she always begins a conversation with the desire to sincerely convey everything she thinks, so imbued with honesty. Over time, she will either become a great woman or an unhappy woman if her spiritual impulses and aspirations of the mind are somehow to be suppressed.”

Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz, 1870s.