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being a symbolism enjoyer should humble you because at the end of the day no matter how eloquently you articulate it youre essentially saying "i love it when things have meaning"

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art will save you, being unreasonably passionate about something niche will save you, letting past sources of joy show you the way back to yourself will save you, earnestness over composure will save you, the natural world will save you, caring for something bigger than yourself will save you, daring to be seen will save you, kindness not as a whim but a principle will save you, appreciation as a practice will save you, daring to try something new will save you, grounding will save you, love will save you, one good nights sleep will save you

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June 23, 2025 | During a musical piece at the Te Deum for the National Day, which also marks 25 years of his reign and his last as the head of state, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa are moved to tears at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg.

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Grand Duchess Maria Teresa shared these „behind the scenes“ photo of her daughter-in-law, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie and herself, on Instagram.

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If you've been following me for a bit, you're probably aware that I'm writing a book series about a prince who falls in love with and marries a billionaire heiress (not necessarily in that order).

He's the heir to the French throne, in an alternate world where the Second French Empire didn't fall and the Bonapartes still reign.

She's super rich with the accompanying dubious ethics, which obviously causes tons of problems.

Plus! There's blackmail, meddling relatives, smut, an assassination attempt, and many tiaras described in loving detail.

The first book officially has a title: The Princess Arrangement.

It also has a cover. Here, have a sneak peek:

I'm revealing the full cover in my newsletter on Friday.

Trust me, you do NOT want to miss it.

Sign up at the link below to get the cover delivered straight to your inbox, along with explanations of real royal history, information from my recent Paris trip (I still need to write about the Château de Compiègne!), Evie's outfits (which I need to upload to my website, oops), and more!

You can also read a few old newsletters which I've actually added to my website, for a taste of what the content is like.

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Princess Ingrid Alexandra yesterday

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On 23 June 47 BCE, just as the Nile's rise heralded a season of plenty, Cleopatra VII gave birth to a boy. According to a demotic inscription on a Serapeum stele said to have been written on his birthday, straight away he was addressed as "Pharaoh Caesar". The message was clear: Cleopatra's son was a future pharaoh and the heir of Julius Caesar too, and henceforward he was Ptolemy XV Caesar. In the Egyptian hieroglyphic titulary he was frequently called "Ptolemy named Caesar," and in Greek nomenclature he was "Ptolemy and Caesar," although since Caesar was one of Ptolemy XV's official names, he was also addressed by that term alone (Cicero, for instance, in a letter dated 11 May 44 BCE, referred to him as 'Caesar ille,' 'that Caesar'). But in Egypt, where the hieroglyphic monuments proclaimed loudly that Caesar was the father of the boy, the Alexandrians expressed his paternity with the affectionate patronymic Caesarion ('son of Caesar').

The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt - Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

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Pre-Royal Days | Catherine Middleton and her mother Carole for her Graduation Day from St Andrew’s University, 23 June 2005.

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Photos released by Kongehuset taken during the reception in honor of the French president at the Royal Palace of Oslo | June 23, 2025

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you ever get assigned something as a project in school and for the rest of your life you have a strange attachment to the subject. in like seventh grade i had an assignment to make a poster about the elemental propoerties of osmium and to this day everytime someone mentions it im like 'YEAAAAAAH OSMIUM MENTIONED!!!!!!!!'

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Those "modern fairy tales where the princess saves herself" types of books not only misrepresent the gender roles in fairy tales (there are tons of stories where girls get to save the day), but they fundamentally misunderstand the entire genre.

Fairy tales aren't about saving yourself.

These aren't epic myths or heroic legends about the great warriors who slay every monster in their path because they're so awesome. Fairy tales are almost always about ordinary, even incompetent, people who get thrown into strange situations where they only succeed because of the help of others.

It's not a gendered thing. The boy who goes off to seek his fortune is usually the dim-witted third son whose older brothers are the strong, smart ones. The third son succeeds because he is kind to the magical helpers who then complete the tasks for him--and the exact same thing happens when a girl is the main character.

The characters in a fairy tale rarely succeed because they embrace their own strength and take their own path. Much more often, they are told step-by-step what to do, and they succeed because they obey--respecting the wisdom of others.

The core virtue of a fairy tale is not pride, but humility. It's not a story about the strong, but those who are weak, small, helpless. The people who can't do it all on their own, but can recognize the worth and wisdom of others.

Turning this story into a "girl power" (or even a "boy power") story warps it into something that is fundamentally the opposite of a fairy tale, and it has nothing to do with the gender of the main character.

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The UK'S Royal Mail captures the four eras of girlhood in its latest stamp release, Myths and Legends.

Issued March 27, 2025. Art by Adam Simpson.

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June 21, 2025 | Members of the Grand Ducal Family attend the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Grand Duke Henri's reign, hosted by the City of Luxembourg.

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British Royal Family - Happy 43rd Birthday Prince William! (b. 21st June 1982)

Kensington Palace released a new photo of Prince William. He is pictured with the family Cocker Spaniel, Orla, and her adorable new puppies. The image was taken by The Princess of Wales earlier this month in Windsor. Orla had 4 puppies. | June 21, 2025

Happy birthday! Love C, G, C, L, Orla and the puppies! 🐾