When EUROHISTORY began printing books back in 2001, our founder envisioned a major work dedicated to each of Europe’s ruling and non-ruling royal houses. This, needless to say, was an ambitious and grand plan that would require decades of research, investigations, interviews, and dedication.
In the meantime, EUROHISTORY also published myriad books about the Russian Imperial Family, which remains among the most popular historical dynasties for our readers. These books included three volumes of a quartet on the Romanovs (The Grand Duchesses, The Grand Dukes, and The Other Grand Dukes…and upcoming The Other Grand Duchesses, which is in writing stages at the moment); biographic works such as Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna Sr.; Russian Riddle: Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich; Ella: Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna; Prince Oleg Konstantinovich; and A Poet Among the Romanovs: Prince Vladimir Paley. The study of the first stages of the reign of Tsar Nicholas II produced A Life for the Tsar, a detailed, comprehensive, and expertly researched analysis of all aspects of the Coronation of Nicholas II (1896).
Another magnificent book, Russia and Europe: Dynastic Ties, authored by noted Russian historians Galina Korneva and Tatiana Cheboksarova, studied the intricate dynastic relations established by the Romanovs with other European dynasties.
Mr. Beéche’s ties to the descendants of historically important royal figures also allowed him to publish books on the Greek Royal Family: Royal Hellenic Dynasty (co-authored with Prince Michael of Greece), My Fifty Years (by Prince Nicholas of Greece), and Dear Ellen (the photographic collection of Grand Duchess Helen Vladimirovna).
For nearly twenty-five years, Mr. Beéche has been a close friend of Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. This friendship has allowed them to cooperate on exhibitions held in Coburg, as well as on various publications: The Coburgs of Europe, I did it my way (Prince Andreas’ memoirs), and From Tyranny to Freedom (the memoirs of Countess Viktoria Luise zu Solms-Baruth, mother of Prince Andreas).
A unique cooperation with notable royal historian Bobby Golden led to the publication of ALBANY: The Descendants of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.
Cooperation with noted royal biographer Coryne Hall produced several co-authored books: APAPA: The Descendants of King Christian IX of Denmark; Royal Collections I: Great Britain; Royal Collections II: The Romanovs; and Royal Collections III: The Royal House of Bavaria, Volume I.
Other EUROHISTORY books have included dynastic studies of The Nassaus of Luxembourg, as well as a rare and exquisitely researched biography of a little-known Portuguese queen consort: Queen Maria Pia of Portugal. With royal historian David McIntosh, Mr. Beéche coauthored Royal Exiles in Cannes: The Bourbon-Two Sicilies of the Villa Marie Thérèse. Another rare biography, King Michael I of Romania, was published in 2001 to coincide with His Late Majesty’s 80th birthday.
Over the years, Mr. Beéche formed an important writing co-team with Professor Ilana D. Miller, a noted specialist on the Hesse and by Rhine family. This cooperation began with the publication of myriad articles inside the pages of EUROHISTORY (The European Royal History Journal), which Mr. Beéche has published since 1997. In due course, the company published Ms. Miller’s excellent biography of Queen Victoria’s hessian granddaughters, The Four Graces. Since then, Ms. Miller and Mr. Beéche have collaborated on a series of photo albums titled: Who is in the Photograph: Volume I and Volume II. The third installment on this unique concept is in writing stage.
This finally brings us to the latest Miller & Beéche collaboration, Royal Collections IV: The Grand Ducal House of Hesse. The book begins in 1567, when upon the death of Landgrave Philipp the Magnanimous of Hesse, his vast landholdings were divided by his sons, Hesse-Darmstadt being one of the new sovereign states that emanated from that territorial and political division.
The Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt settled in the Rhineland city of Darmstadt, from where they ruled their conglomerate of estates near and far. through several generations, members of this branch of the Hessian dynasty established important dynastic connections with most of Europe’s principal ruling families. By the 19th-century, Hesse-Darmstadt had become a place where Romanovs found brides. Tsar Paul I’s first wife was a princess from this house, for example. A second Hessian princess to marry into the Russian Imperial Family was Marie, daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig II. She was the long-suffering wife of Tsar Alexander II, and this mother of Alexander II and grandmother of Nicholas II. This sad alliance, was not to be the last one between Romanov and Hesse as both a son and a grandson of Alexander II and Marie found their wives in Darmstadt: Sergei Alexandrovich married Princess Elisabeth, while her sister Alix (Alexandra Feodorovna) married Tsar Nicholas II.
The narrative followed by the authors does not end there. In fact, they painstakingly continue the storyline through the other siblings of Elisabeth and Alix: Victoria, Irene, and Ernst Ludwig. Their stories and those of their descendants are gripping, tragic, sad, and jubilant, including a harrowing airplane accident, an assassination, and the end of a long line of Hessians.
Readers of The Grand Ducal House of Hesse will not be disappointed as this latest collaboration between Ms. Miller and Mr. Beéche. The publication promises to deliver expectations built around the book and its subject matter. We anticipate that this book will sell out, as did many of Mr. Beéche’s previous books. Do not delay…you will not be disappointed!
You can easily order a copy of the book by clicking on the link below:
Or by contacting us at:
Eurohistory & Kensington House Books
6300 Kensington Avenue
East Richmond Heights, CA 94805
USA
Phone: 510.236.1730
