Archduchess Marianne attempts to speculate about the nameless Danish envoy and his possible mission in Vienna. The name of the County of Rantzau reappears in the narrative, dropped casually by the competent Mademoiselle Juliana. It was part of the Duchy of Holstein, situated in the remote borderlands of the Holy Roman Empire, next to the […]
Thanks to the thorough information provided by Father Franz, a new understanding of the case she is investigating begins to take shape in Archduchess Marianne’s mind. It appears that three fathers are involved in their children’s unauthorised affair. Prince Schwarzenberg senior, Prince Lobkowitz, and Count Althann each view the matter from a different perspective. Every […]
At this advanced stage of her investigation, Archduchess Marianne urgently needs to learn about canon marriage law — and Father Franz, her trusted confessor, is precisely the right person to brief her on the subject. Temporarily blind and deaf to the rest of the world, the two engage in a long, focused conversation, eagerly examining […]
As the attentive reader has noticed, Countess Karolina Althann — still a rather enigmatic figure at the heart of the intrigue — was related to an even more mysterious Dane, an envoy accredited to Vienna in connection with some legal undertaking. The further circumstances of his mission — not to mention his name — remain […]
Despite Archduchess Marianne’s quiet life in Hetzendorf, the affairs of Realpolitik had not stood still. It was time, therefore, to learn what had been happening on the theatre of war. The conflict that would come to be known as the Seven Years’ War still centred on Prague. Since the battle of 6 May, the city […]
Archduchess Eleanor, later Queen of Portugal and France, was born on 15 November 1498. She was the elder sister of Emperor Charles V. Eleanor belongs to the unfortunate group of Habsburg princesses forbidden to marry their true love. In 1516, the Archduchess met Frederick, one of the sons of the Elector Palatine, at the court […]
Archduke Albert VII was born on 13 November 1559. He was the fifth son of Emperor Maximilian II and Maria of Spain. Albert grew up at the Spanish court and spent most of his life in the service of his maternal uncle, King Philip II. As a younger son, he was destined for an ecclesiastical […]
The identity of the obscure Countess Althann is about to come to light. An attentive reader may recall that this name has already appeared in the narrative, but let me make it clear at once that it referred to a different lady. The difficulty lies in the fact that, in the eighteenth century, the Althann […]
Archduchess Marianne receives the long-awaited visit of Countess Thürheim, who – quite literally – seems to have stepped out of the seventeenth century. As the author, I was intrigued by the challenge of portraying a historically authentic and believable depiction of a nearly ninety-year-old, relic-like lady. Fortunately, she turned out to be related to most […]
Among all her relatives, Archduchess Marianne felt closest to her paternal aunt, Anne Charlotte, the Emperor’s younger sister. The Princess had spent her rather monotonous youth with her ailing mother, the Dowager Duchess of Lorraine. Owing to the political situation, the family failed to find her a suitable husband, despite several attempts. After the Duchess’s […]
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