When Maria Alexandrovna died of a sudden heart attack at just 67, some considered it a mercy. Her fairy tale life ended up being more like a horror story.
From a childhood spent under her domineering mother’s thumb to her eventual rebellion, the life of Princess Beatrice was more horror story than fairy tale.
From West African princess to captive to Queen Victoria’s goddaughter, Sarah Forbes Bonetta makes the lives of Henry VIII’s wives look like child’s play.
Thanks to her disastrous marriage and the even more controversial aftermath, many consider Princess Victoria Melita the first modern royal scandal-maker.
