Following up on yesterday's "
First World War Centenary: the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand, as it Happened" we have a bit of historical ephemera:
Although most of the European royals were related, the familial connections between George and F.F. escapes me so this is probably just an empire to empire thing. See also, from our April post "
1914: The Gold Standard Is A Dying Regime":
1914
marked the end of the 100 year Pax Britannica, the régime best
exemplified in this very, very rare photograph from a few years
earlier:
Nine Kings 1910*
*Probably the only time in history the protocol peeps were able to get
this many roi boy** types to agree to the order of precedence.
**(pronounced rwa bwas)
May 1910: Nine Kings assembled at Buckingham Palace for the funeral of
Edward VII, the Father of George V (centre). From left to right, back
row: Haakon VII of Norway, Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, Manuel II of
Portugal, Wilhelm II of Germany, George I of Greece and Albert I Of
Belgium. Front row: Alphonso XIII of Spain, George V and Frederick VIII
of Denmark. The funeral on 20th May was the largest gathering of the
European royalty–and its last hurrah, too. Also present at the funeral
was Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination four
years later would spark the WWI–which collapsed many royal dynasties of
Europe. Manuel of Portugal would be driven from his throne by
revolutionaries within months of this picture. George would
be assassinated. Alphonso, Wilhelm and Ferdinand lost their thrones.-Source
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