Lecture
List
All these lectures last one hour and are accompanied
by 80 – 100 slides.
The Garden in History
“The Empress Josephine at Malmaison”
Born in Martinique, she introduced to France
many plants and flowers from the Caribean, had
Napoleon send ships to newly discovered Australia,
and in her greenhouses at Malmaison, developed
the perpetually-flowering rose. She was the
patron of Redouté and created the greatest
horticultural garden in France at the time.
“The Winter Queen at Heidleberg”
Elizabeth Stuart, beautiful older sister of
King Charles I, created at her husband’s
capital Heidleberg, gardens known then as a
Wonder of the World. Married to the Elector
Palatine Frederick V, their rash acceptance
of the throne of Bohemia began the Thirty Years
War.
“Marie Antoinette in the Garden”
Much
happened to this tragic queen in the gardens
of Versailles – not least the scandal
of the Diamond Necklace which was ultimately
the scandal that led directly to the Revolution.
“Sixty Years of Royal Gardening:Madame
de Pompador, Marie-Antoinette, Empress Josephine”
This talk encompasses the changes from the formal
terraces of Madame de Pompadour’s houses
and her greenhouses where she mixed Sévrès
porcelain flowers with nature, to the influence
of Rousseau on Marie Antoinette who introded
the cottage garden, to the innovative experimentation
of Josephine with the unknown plants and trees
brought from the New World.
“Louis XIV and the Gardens of
Versailles”
Louis
made the gardens first, great open green rooms
where he entertained his guests before there
was a chateau large enough. He held his famous
fêtes champêtre there especially
during the short season of the rose’s
flowering, magnificent open air banquets and
concerts before the guests were obliged to find
a cottage or stable to sleep the night.
“The Winter Queen of Bohemia”
– 16th Century
In 1613, Elizabeth Stuart, beautiful daughter
of King James I of England, married Frederick
V of the Palatine, leader of the Protestant
Union of Princes. Their blissful existence at
their capital of Heidelberg came to an end when
they accepted the throne of Bohemia and were
crowned in Prague as king and queen. When Bohemia
ceded from the Catholic Holy Roman Empire, the
emperor predicted that the new king and queen
would last just “one winter”. In
1620, the Protestant forces were indeed defeated
at the Battle of the White Mountain and the
Thirty Years War began. In the summer of her
youth, Elizabeth was called “The Queen
of Hearts”. Thereafter she would forever
be known as “The Winter Queen”.
[Elizabeth Stuart is also the subject of Princess
Michael’s book-in-progress to be called
“Summer Princess: Winter Queen”.]
“Royal Power: The Substance and
the Show”
(various topics, 17th, 18th and 19th century
- royalty and politics)
“Monarchy and Motherhood: The
Road to Power”
(great royal mothers and the success and failure
of their offspring - Victoria, Maria Theresa
etc.) Princess Michael presented this to the
YPO in Salzburg in 2000.
“Francois I and the French Renaissance”
(16th C)
Known as the Salamander King, Francois brought
the Rrenaissance to France and built many of
the glorious chateaux of the Loire to hunt and
entertain his court.
“Life at the Court of Francois
I”
More of the above.
“Diane de Poitiers and the French
Renaissance”
Eighteen years older than the King Henri II,
Diane de Poitiers shaped the culture and mystery
of the French court in the early sixteen century.
“Diane de Poitiers – The
King’s Mistress”
How she became the most powerful and influential
woman in France at the time.
“Diane de Poitiers and Catherine
de Medici: Rivals for the King’s Love
“
Catherine was Queen and did all she could to
win the love of her husband from Diane de Poitiers
even resorting to witchcraft.
“Francois I and the Chateaux of
the Loire”
“Catherine de Medici, Machiavellian
Queen and Regent .“
“The Power behind the Throne”
Catherine de Medici, Queen Mother and Regent
to Three Kings of France.
“The Revenge of Catherine de Medici”
As long as her husband the king lived, she could
never make a move against his mistress Diane
de Poitiers. His tragic death gave her the power
and the opportunity to revenge herself and assume
her rightful place as Queen Regent.
“Catherine de Medici – mother
of Three French Kings”
“Henri IV - Protestant and Catholic
Turmoil in France”
The first Bourbon king of France inherited the
chaos created by the terrible wars of religion
under the last of the Valois.
“The Private Life of Henri IV,
King of France and Navarre”
One of the most attractive kings to ever sit
on the throne of France, Henri IV indulged in
a most varied private life.
“The Rennaissance Courtesans of
Venice”
Only courtesans posed for the great portraits
of classical heroines of Renaissance times and
the most beautiful were in Venice, known as
the brothel of the world.
“Nell Gwyn - Favourite of Charles
II of England”
Born in the gutter, Nell Gwyn rose to become
a loved commedienne
on the London stage until she captured the heart
of England’s best loved king. However,
she was not alone.
“Charles II and the Restoration
Court in England”
A young king surrounded by a young court at
last able to enjoy life after years of hardship
in exile. Life was bawdy and full of risks,
but rewards were great in every field of endeavour.
“Machiavellian Monarch: Life and
Politics in Charles II’s England”
A restored monarch dependent for funds on Parliament,
secretly negotiating with Louis XIV of France,
and warring with the Dutch, Charles II managed
to become the best loved king England ever had.
“Nell Gwyn and her Rivals in Love
for Charles II”
Known affectionately as ‘the Protestant
whore’ of Charles II, Nell fought tenaciously
to keep the king’s love for herself and
her sons, through her wit and honesty. Only
at Nell’s house could the king be sure
there were no spies.
“Charles II: The King and The
People”
His father had lost his head, Charles II was
going to see he kept his. With charm and good
sense as well as courage especially during the
Great Fire and The Plague, Charles II became
the best loved king England ever had.
”The Sport of Kings: The Early Days of
the Thoroughbred during the Reign of Charles
II” – England and In America.
Horse racing took on a new dimension under Charles
II with the start of Newmarket as a course for
racing. Bloodstock was refined and the thoroughbred
became official, exported to the New World by
the younger sons of the English aristocracy.
“Louis XIV: The Substance and
the Show”
In creating Versailles, Louis XIV was able to
keep his nobles so occupied with frivolity and
powerless privilege that they had no time to
plot rebellion.
“The Sun King, Louis XIV”
Life and Politics of 17th Century France
"Louis XIV and the Arts of 17th Century
France"
Versailles became a showpiece of art and architecture
in France which the kings and princes of Europe
rushed to imitate.
“The Arts of mid-18th Century France”
“Life at the Court of Louis XV”
Rousseau and Les Philosophes were changing the
thinking of the mid-eighteenth century not only
in politics and literature, but also in everyday
life, theatre, fashion, gardens, and the Court
led society.
“La Douceur de Vivre”
Life in France 50 years prior to the Revolution.
“Madame de Pompadour and the Sévrès
Factory”
In order to amuse the King, his mistress moved
the loss making royal factory of Vincennes to
Sévrès near her beautiful house
Bellevue and under her tasteful eye.
“Madame de Pompadour – Mistress
of Taste”
She was the most cultured and clever woman of
her time, influencing the arts and decorative
arts until they reached a perfection not known
before or since.
“Italy and the Grand Tour”
With peace in Europe, the young English scions
of the nobility were sent to Italy for two or
three years to complete
their classical education with their tutor.
It was not all work and no play.
“Venice and the Grand Tour”
More focus on Venice, the Serene Republic.
“The Rise to Power of Catherine
the Great”
Born an obscure German princess, this dynamic,
ambitious woman became one of the great monarchs
of her time, writing laws, acquiring huge territories
and entire collections of art. She won wars
and hearts with equal ease.
“Catherine the Great: Love, War
and Work”
She rose early each day and accomplished more
than anyone who worked for her, though, as she
herself said, she could not live a day without
love. Prince Orlov and Prince Potemkin have
retained their position in her legend.
“Catherine and her Architect Cameron”
Cameron built and decorated Catherine’s
greatest palaces, inventing a new personal for
himself as did the empress in this fascinating
country.
“Catherine the Great and the Arts
in 18C Russia”
”Lola Montez: Her Life and Times”
Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets’ ran the
song, and it was true. With her beauty and charm
she won the hearts of most of the crowned heads
of Europe until in 1848, the Year of Revolutions,
she lost King Ludwig of Bavaria his throne.
“Lola Montez and the King of Bavaria”
Lola could do anything with the king but the
king had trouble doing anything with Lola who
caused riots among the students fraternities
and society.
“Lola Montez - the Great Adventuress”
Once expelled from Bavaria, and with her reputation
in tatters throughout Europe, Lola left for
the New World, America and Australia and continued
in her original though ultimately destructive
way.
“The Eagle and the Dove – Napoleon
and Marie Walewska”
The conqueror of the West fell in love with
this simple Polish countess who gave him a son
and proved he could sire a dynasty. Once Napoleon
divorced Josephine, his star began to wane.
“The Empress Josephine at Malmaison”
They bought the house together and here Napoleon
and Josephine shared their greatest triumphs.
Here she created her famous gardens and zoo
of rare animals. Here Napoleon divorced her.
"Napoleon and Josephine –
Love in the Shadow of Revolution”
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