#about : duke salvo

[nepoupdates]

Any potential couples you can see? 👀

josie  ,  rosalind  and  teagan  .  the  potential  is  right  there  .  they  showed  up  as  each  other's  dates  to  the  valentine's  day  ball  .

lulu  and  sofia  .  i  think  they'd  be  cute  .  their  personalities  compliment  one  another  so  i  can  see  something  there  .

duke  and  tomas  .  it  seems  random  ,  i  know.  they'd  get  along  purely  because  they  don't  get  along  with  a  lot  of  people  .  i  will  not  be  elaborating  any  further  .

  (  @delicatlueur  ,  @rosalindisms  ,  @teagvns  ,  @racingfm  ,  @flowcrbcds  ,  @jaspersalvo  ,  @elitisms  )

[queerlyvictorian]

Oh god I was thinking through typing in the tags of a reblog when it suddenly hit me that I should make this its own post. I haven't seen anyone discussing what the level of technological advancement means re: what era in IRL history could Brennan be drawing inspiration from.

A least one (colonizing) power, at war with two other seemingly great and influencial nation-states of some kind (they at least havd their own languages and nationalities). We have spell engines and mass production, but also a dirigible. Chocking the dirigible to aesthetics, and possibly assuming it's tech that's existed for a while, I'm thinking...

Is this a World War I parellel? Considering that it seems to have been going on for multiple years (maybe since Suvi was young), we could be bleeding into WWII territory technologically. IDK, something about large nation-states going to war for no discernible reason than the glory of it... that hits for me. Given that each represents a different type of mage, the battle is probably ideological, but like... why does it matter who is the best? What do any of them have to gain by warring with each other?

Alternatively, I do wonder if we're going to find out the Empire is the aggressor, despite the horror of Suvi's Prelude. If that was part of the current war, or its opening salvo, or a retaliation on the part of Rhuv or Galthmei or both...

Side note: given that Galthmei is presumably the protectorate, this does imply that it is subordinate to another country, and my best bet is Rhuv. I think there might only be two sides to the conflict, with the Rhuv and Galthmei not at war with each other and only with the Empire. This is only speculation based on the definition of the word "protectorate," so I could be wrong. I digress.

In any event, we know so little about this conflct and what it actually means for the state of the world and its possible historical influences. Here's hoping Arc 2 in the Citadel is super enlightening. This is just my theoretical rambling based on the information we have so far.

I want to know what started this war, but I think it would be interesting if the reason was very silly or an obvious excuse. This isn't WWI in the sense that it is based on an endless web of alliances, but I think it could potentially be (at least two) nation-states who had been conquering other lands with less defensive potential finally duking it out with each other.

(Also, I can't wait years from now, when something draws us behind ememy lines and we see one of these other powers. I need to know how much of them is Empire propaganda. Our time at the Citadel will be a great build-up for the Empire's own self-image and its vision of its enemies)

[the-empress-7]

Talking about zero self awareness, excerpt from the DM:

“During the interview, Harry was asked about his 'consistently scathing' comments in his book about his father's wife, Queen Consort Camilla, and his claims that his 'interests were sacrificed on her PR altar'.

Narrating excerpts from his memoir, Harry recounted how he and his brother Prince William begged their father not to marry the now Queen Consort Camilla, but claimed their pleas fell on deaf ears and the former Mrs Parker Bowles began a 'campaign aimed [at] marriage, and eventually the Crown, with Pa's blessing we presumed'.

The duke added that 'she began to play the long game' with the brothers by holding private summits with them, before accusing her of leaking stories about them to the media.

'Stories began to appear everywhere in all the papers about her private conversation with Willie, stories that contained pinpoint accurate details, none of which had come from Willie, of course. They could only have been leaked by the other one other person present,' Harry said.

He adds in the interview that Charles 'seemed to be very, very happy' with Camilla and insists that all he and William wanted was their father to be happy. But despite his salvo of attacks on his stepmother, the Duke of Sussex insisted there was 'no part of any of the things that I've said are scathing towards any member of my family, especially not my stepmother'.

'I get how irritating the younger sibling can be to the older sibling.

🤦‍♀️

[jaspersalvo]

alex fitzalan.     he/him.     male.      ›spotted   at   the   met   steps   ,   jasper “duke” salvo   ,   most   likely   listening   to   saints of the sinners by the faim   with   their   airpods   pro   .   the   twenty five   gained   quite   a   reputation   ,   known   to   be   -temperamental  yet   +loyal   to   anyone   who   knows   them   .   you'll   easily   spot   them   when   you   hear   about   smoothly delivered excuses, obnoxiously patterned socks and ties, a permanent smirk, the sound of ice clanking around a cocktail glass   ,   followed   by   dior sauvage mixed with a lingering waft of the morning’s espresso   .   latest   nepoupdates   article   talks   about   how they broke into and trashed their ex’s apartment     ,   but   i   guess   any   reputation   is   good   reputation   . 

About:

Name: Jasper Nicholas Salvo 

Nickname: Duke, but he’ll respond to Salvo

Age: 25

Hometown: Ridgewood, New Jersey

Height: 6’0

Sexuality: Bisexual

Job: Sales Director at Apeti Restaurant Group

Sign: Aries

Positive Traits: Outgoing, Sociable, Resourceful, Perseverant, Enticing, Effervescent, Organized

Negative Traits: Duplicitous, Temperamental, Capricious, Cunning, Conceited, Rash, Crafty

TLDR: Duke Salvo, synonymous with snake, player, and trickster. A sales director at his parents’ company, he lives life like everyday is a party. Consequences? Never heard of em. Drugs TW, Alcohol TW

Is it possible to have a head start on life before you’re even a concept in your parents’ mind? That’s what Jasper had in his hand. The third child of Nicholas and Amarie Salvo (nee Windsor, in his mother’s case) – success was a given, and the money was always raining down. Jasper’s fully convinced that Windsor, his mother’s surname links them to the royal family… Doubtful, but he goes with it.

 Together his parents founded the Apeti Restaurant Group. A restaurant collection and consulting service that worked alongside hotels. All it took was becoming the flagship restaurant team for a couple of major hotels over in the City, and they were off. Money was always flowing in and their business was ready to go. They flew around the world, bringing their creative minds and menus to everything from boutique hotels to large conference centers. 

Eventually, they decided to settle down in Ridgefield. A suburb about an hour from New York City proper and filled with other successful families who wanted to be close to the city without being right inside of it. Oh, and it was one of the wealthiest towns in the country. No big deal. They wanted a family for selfish reasons – to keep their name and their dream alive. To prepare their heirs to take over the company – as antiquated as that was.

Being the youngest, and the only boy, he was given what little energy his parents had to devote to actually being well.. parents. They coddled him, showered him with compliments, treated him like he was the future of the Salvo family and Apeti empire… To say it gave him an ego was an understatement.

Jasper’s older siblings, Flora and Chloe, both want nothing to do with the business. They didn’t want to live in the shadow of something that was created for them. Flora fled to the West Coast, and Chloe to give entire being to academia. Jasper didn’t pay much attention to what she was studying, only knew it was way out of his league.

So once he was old enough, the path was basically picked out for him. Business school or bust. Luckily, his grades (and the money that came along with his enrollment) got him into the business program at Cornell University.

And of course, he took college for all it gave him – parties, sex, drugs. You name it… not a lot of learning business, but time learning other things.

It was where he picked up on the tricks of acting like you knew what you were doing, the power of a smile and a pretty face. The power of playing the game. He’d seen it in action with his parents. You could get whatever you want if you threw a smile and some big words on…so that became his calling. Getting everything he wanted without working for it. Did he deserve the opportunity? Probably not. Was he good at it? Absolutely.

Now, Jasper wasn’t exactly mean. He was cunning, a bit of a player, but he didn’t get by with backstabbing. He got by with genuine compliments and kind words – overdoing them to a point it was saccharine, but they were real.

That was where the “Duke” nickname came from. Somewhere between his first days at Cornell and his position as a center forward on the soccer team, he realized that he liked power. He liked how he was treated when people saw him as in power… So he pulled in that good ole Windsor name and picked out a nickname that was royal and important. Plus it sounded cool, and people accepted it.

Unfortunately, with the little wins came the bad. Jasper got power hungry. He realized that just as easily as he could get by with the truth, he could get by with a loophole. They weren’t lies, but they weren’t real… and it was his chance to live the little rebellion that every rich kid wanted.

Gambling, joy rides, bets… He picked up on the con-artist life. It gave him a rush and in his mind, it was harmless. Sure, people could lose money. But no one got hurt… that much.

After graduation, his way with words and pretty face spelled out one clear path: sales. Winning contracts and bids like no other for his parent’s company. Because why bother applying anywhere when you have a job set up for you? They put him high up in the ranks from day one, and he’s now the Sales Manager for Apeti. Does he work hard? Not much, but his office is pretty sweet.

Headcanons:

“Duke” is Jasper’s nickname due to an heir of self-importance. The moniker, chosen by himself, alludes to royalty and the dominance that he thinks he has over his friends and his coworkers. He’s always thought of himself as the crème de la crème, and there’s nothing that can change his mind. Does that mean that he thinks he deserves more than he has? Absolutely. If he could get people to bow and kiss at his feet, he absolutely would.

Jasper has a temper underneath everything. He’s so used to winning people over, being the best of the best, so on and so forth, that when he hits a wall – he cracks (the occasional lines and pills don’t help either – but that’s business, baby!). 

 He’s a bit of a snake and con. He doesn’t do it enough to get himself in trouble, but he isn’t afraid to find those little loopholes and bend them large enough until he’s able to crawl through. Making a bet to get some extra drinks but playing with a stacked deck of cards. “Stealing” but justifying it by saying he’ll bring it back eventually. Saying things that sound one way but have a hidden meaning. It’s why he threw in a philosophy minor – only instead of learning morality, it was all amorality. Besides, what’s life without breaking the rules?

He’s quiet about it, but due to his family’s industry, he grew up knowing how to cook and how to cook well. It’s on the down low because he doesn’t want to get himself wrapped up in being the go to cook. 

He’s got a thing for watches and cuff links, both shiny and overly expensive objects that he’s amassed a collection of… how he gets them? Well, he’ll never tell.

Like any good future business bro, he likes showing off his personality with brightly printed and patterned socks and ties, and the occasional goofy short-sleeved collared shirt. 

[archduchessofnowhere]

Lost in contemplation of the beauty of the scene she had not at first noticed the steam-launch which was approaching, but the next moment she was beaming with pleasure. Francis was standing up in the boat in his fine hussar uniform. She knew him at once from his picture, and found him more attractive than she had expected to do.

She stepped forward to the gangway to meet him, and with the most natural womanly grace, held out her hand, saying: "Bounjour François!" He took both her hands in his, kissed her on the brow, and said timidly: "Bonjour Marie!" The Queen embraced the young bride, and presented the Princesses to her. Maria asked feelingly after the King's health, and expressed her regret that he was unable to be there to receive her. She then questioned her new relations about the coast lying before her, about the town they were approaching, about the ships in ther harbour, and about everything she saw from the vessel.

The bridegroom stood almost silent by his stepmother's side, finding only disconnected words to stammer in response. The agitation in which he found himself, the pleasant surprise of discovering Maria to be handsomer and more fascinating than he had dared to imagine, made him more shy and awkward than ever.

(...) The Queen conducted her to her rooms, and Nina Rizzo changed her travelling costume for a bridal robe, which was thrown over the large crinoline which all ladies were obliged to wear at that time, in accordance with the dictates of fashion. A wreath of orange-blossom and a veil of beautiful lace, which she had brought with her from her home, were fastened to her mass of hair — that characteristic of the Wittelsbach sisters. The bridal veil, falling in wide folds about her, reached almost to the ground. An altar had been erected in a large room of the palace used for festivities. Above the altar and along the walls were hung pictures of the Holy Virgin. A throne had also been constructed, and was covered with velvet and gold embroideries. Beside the throne were arm-chairs for the Princes and Princesses.

The bishops and most of the distinguished company had taken their places. The solemn function was about to begin. But many of those assembled had difficulty in restraining their laughter, and several smiled outright, although they tried all in their power to keep a countenance of decorum. The Crown Prince's second stepbrother, Alphonso, Count of Caserta, though at that time eighteen years of age, was as wild as a schoolboy in the holidays. He had managed to fasten a long train of paper to the uniform of one of the highest of the court functionaries. The courtier was in absolute ignorance of the Prince s schoolboy trick, and the air of importance with which he performed his duties added to the absurdity of the situation. In the end a gentleman succeeded in detaching the train without the victim having noticed it. The bride and bridegroom entered the apartment, and were conducted to their places before the altar. The bishop gave a forcible address in the flowery Italian language, concluding by calling down the blessing of God on the young couple. The Te Deum was sung, and the orchestra played the national anthem. The newly married couple then went to the King's bed-chamber to receive the paternal blessing. Salvos of artillery announced to the people that the marriage ceremony was at an end.

Tschudi, Clara (1905). Maria Sophia, Queen of Naples: A Continuation of “The Empress Elizabeth” (translation by Ethel Harriet Hearn)

ON THIS DAY, IN 1859, DUCHESS MARIE SOPHIE IN BAVARIA ARRIVED TO NAPLES AND MARRIED PRINCE FRANCESCO, DUKE OF CALABRIA IN PERSON. They'd had a proxy ceremony on January 8. Marie was the sixth child and third daughter of Duke Maximilian in Bavaria and his wife Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. Francesco was the only child of King Ferdinando II of the Two Sicilies and his first wife Princess Maria Cristina of Savoy.

Marie had left for Naples on January 13, but news of King Ferdinando's grave illness caused her to delay her journey and stay in Vienna with her sister the Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She was able to set forth again on the 30, accompanied by Elisabeth, and arrived in Trieste the next day, from where she finally sailed February 1 to Bari.

Ten years after getting married Marie and Francesco had their only child, Princess Maria Cristina of the Two Sicilies, who died aged three months old.

[nepofm]

spotted   at      met      steps     ,   wearing      last      season’s      jimmy      choo      ?      i’d      leave      the      steps      in      the      next     24      hours   before      nepoupdates      catches      them      &      if      it      were      me     ,     i’d      definitely      go      back      to      the     checklist    of      golden      rules     .

alyssa  “lys”  lally  simone  ashley  ,  muse  n

jasper  “duke”  salvo  alex  fitzalan

sabine  lemieux  madelaine  petsch

briar  kwon  park  chaeyoung  ,  josette’s  co-stars  wc

simone ashley.     she/her & they/them.     demigirl.      ›spotted   at   the   met   steps   ,   alyssa “lys” lally   ,   most   likely   listening   to   perfect places by lorde   with   their   airpods   pro   .   the   twenty four   gained   quite   a   reputation   ,   known   to   be   -flighty   yet   +eclectic   to   anyone   who   knows   them   .   you'll   easily   spot   them   when   you   hear   about   the soft blush of your cheeks after the wind, painstakingly perfect manicures, top spots on the waitlist for the newest birkin   ,   followed   by   soft, powdery laundry detergent and crushed rose petals   .   latest   nepoupdates   article   talks   about   how they got their current gallery deal by sleeping their way to the top   ,   but   i   guess   any   reputation   is   good   reputation   .

alex fitzalan.     he/him.     male.      ›spotted   at   the   met   steps   ,   jasper “duke” salvo   ,   most   likely   listening   to   saints of the sinners by the faim   with   their   airpods   pro   .   the   twenty five   gained   quite   a   reputation   ,   known   to   be   -temperamental  yet   +loyal   to   anyone   who   knows   them   .   you'll   easily   spot   them   when   you   hear   about   smoothly delivered excuses, obnoxiously patterned socks and ties, a permanent smirk, the sound of ice clanking around a cocktail glass   ,   followed   by   dior sauvage mixed with a lingering waft of the morning’s espresso   .   latest   nepoupdates   article   talks   about   how they broke into and trashed their ex’s apartment  ,   but   i   guess   any   reputation   is   good   reputation   .

madelaine petsch.     she/her.     ciswoman.      ›spotted   at   the   met   steps   ,   sabine   lemieux  ,   most   likely   listening   to   just   a   girl   by   no   doubt   with   their   airpods   pro   .   the   twenty   seven   year   old   gained   quite   a   reputation   ,   known   to   be   -finicky   yet   +independent   to   anyone   who   knows   them   .   you'll   easily   spot   them   when   you   hear   about   long   black   stiletto   nails   ,   high    end   makeup   covering   every   inch   of   a   marble   bathroom   counter   ,  quietness   that   should   not   be   taken   as   weakness   ,   followed   by   angels   share   by   kilian   .   latest   nepoupdates   article   talks   about   rumors   that   she   stole   her   latest   makeup   collection   from   a   small   indie   brand   ,   but   i   guess   any   reputation   is   good   reputation   .   

park chaeyoung.     she/her.     ciswoman.      ›spotted   at   the   met   steps   ,   briar   kwon   ,   most   likely   listening   to   hype   boy   by   newjeans   with   their   airpods   pro   .   the   twenty   five   year   old   gained   quite   a   reputation   ,   known   to   be   -indecisive   yet   +resilient   to   anyone   who   knows   them   .   you'll   easily   spot   them   when   you   hear   about   wavy   waist   length   blonde   hair,   perfectly   pouty   glossed   lips, �� fluffy   selkie   dresses   ,    followed   by   delina   la   rosee   by   parfums   de   marly   .   latest   nepoupdates   article   talks   about   an   anonymous  source   leaking   pictures   of   her   smoking   out   of   a   bong   when   she   was   supposedly   still   starring   on   the   disney  channel   ,   but   i   guess   any   reputation   is   good   reputation   .  

[stark-illerbase]

Listen Here and Listen Well, Wally

(Mini Fusehound Fic, in which Maggie gives surprsingly good advice during a Game) SFW !!

Read below OR Now on AO3:

The game could not have started off worse. Fuse was assigned to a squad with Mirage and Maggie- and Elliot was Jumpmaster. The kid decided to hot drop them right into the center of two other teams got himself eliminated within the first 30 seconds. Leaving Walter and Maggie a long road ahead of them to make it to zone.

His head and his heart hurt, thinking about his earlier conversation with Hound...If it could even be called that. There wasn't many words exhanged between them since Vantage had put them on the spot. Walter knew that they needed time and he was willing to give them all the time in the world if they asked...but it was hard.

It was hard not knowing where they stood, not to mention awkward. He had stumbled over calling them 'mate' several times because that's just what he called EVERYONE but now it had a different meaning, and it left a bad taste in his mouth to think he could ever make Houndy uncomfortable.

It was hard to dial back the smug flirtations. Keeping his mouth shut was never something he was good at... and most of it started off as jokes- it was so easy to flow into that kind of banter with Hound, they had been friends for so long now it felt like Fuse had known them for years, like they were kids back on Salvo together....like he and Mags used to be.

"Oi! Wally!"

His squadmate's voice cut through his thoughts.

"You gonna stand there staring at the clouds all day? Or are you gonna put those frags to good use?"

Fuse stopped walking to glare at her. "I could think of a few good uses for em' actually."

The Salvo women laughed, loud and obnoxious and clapped her former friend on the shoulder, rougher than most would find appropriate.

"There's the Walter I know."

"Piss off-"

"Well! Whats got YOU all up in a tizzy?" Maggie snickered. "Things go south with your little pup?"

When Fuse didn't respond Maggie's smirk grew, but was quickly replaced by a look of faux sympathy.

"I thought you two seemed less snuggley than usual last match. Poor Fusey It's not fun when your best mate gets tired of ya is it?"

"That's NOT-" Fuse erupted only to cut himself off and hold the bridge of his nose. He wouldn't let her rile him up like this. Not here. Not now in front of the all the cameras.

"Its none of your buisness what goes on between me and Houndy. You lost that right years ago."

"Oooh. Struck a nerve did I? Ol' Maggie can see right through ya. Just like old times. You scrunch up your nose when you're down in the dumps"

"I do not!"

"Do too" She echoed childlishly

"Mags-" Fuse began, his good eye twitching with bubbling annoyance. "We have better things to worry about."

"Oh Rubbish. Theres seven squaddies still here! Let them duke it out while you blubber about your crumbling love life"

Walter took a deep breath. He hated that Maggie was the genuinely best option he had to open up to. Maybe Chey would listen over a drink after the game. She'd probably have pretty sound advice too but... they weren’t mates like that.

"For starters-" He flopped down against the rock they were using for cover. "Houndy isn't-...We're not-"

"Not shagging in the drop ship when nobody's around eh?"

"Bloody Hell Mags- No!" Fuse could feel his cheeks flush at her obvious teasing. "I've barely ever seen them without their mask- We've never-" He shook his head, red as a beet.

"So if you're not swapping spit-" She paused when Walter glared again. "Not... seeing each other 'IntIMaTely"

"The other day that new Vantage pup showed up while Houndy and I were packing things... said Witt had sent her on a quest for friendship and she wanted advice"

"She went to the wrong place for that" Maggie snarked, but Fuse continued.

"She made a point to say that she wanted PLATONIC advice, not... 'Whatever me and Hound had going on' "

"-Get to the point Wally."

"Houndy got all jumpy- Swearing up and down that we were 'just' What the hell does "just" Mean?"

Fuse felt all the panic of that moment come flooding back, he ran his mechanical hand through his hair then down his face.

"I thought we really had something...If Houndy doesn't see it like that-"

"Well did you ask them about it? You bloody Walnut." Maggie yelled with a dramatic wave of her arms.

"I tried! They told me...told me they needed more time."

"Thats it?"

"Thats it. I know they're still figuring things out after their last partner and thats all well and good but-"

"But nothing-" Maggie turned and gripped both of his shoulders tightly. "Listen you big idiot. They didn't say NO. They said not yet. And don't you do what you always do and run in bombs blasting and screw the pooch you hear me?"

"I-...what?" He genuinely wasn't expecting her to have such a strong reaction- or to offer any sort of legitimate help either.

"If what you said is true? That pup has a lot to sort out before they are ready to let someone else in again. Between their own feelings and everything Hammond's been doing to Talos they've got it twenty times worse than your sorry sack"

"Mags..." Fuse spoke gently then shook her arms off and punched her just as hard as she had done before "Now who's going soft?"

The Salvonian woman's expression turned to a snarl and she lunged forward pushing Fuse into the dust. She wrestled herself to her feet and stood over him threateningly, her boot on his chest. "You listen to me Walter Fitzroy and you listen bloody well- If i hear you do that pup the way you done me I'll rip your tongue out your head and hang you by it myself. They don't deserve that."

"Maggie..." Walter stared up at her with his eyes getting wet. "I'm sorry-"

She shifted her boot higher to shut him up. "And if you ever call me soft again. I'll add your other arm to my collection."

Then she stepped off of him and stuck her hand out to him as the ring timer went off a second time. The automated announcement sounded above them signaling 4 squads remaining and Fuse couldn't help but chuckle.

"I believe you."

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

Camilla Tominey Telegraph, "She wanted drama"

Jump to navigation

'She wanted drama': The inside story of the rift between Harry and Meghan and The Firm

As the Sussexes give their tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview, royal insiders reveal the 'other side of the story'

By Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor 5 March 2021 • 9:00pm

There was something distinctly familiar about the Oprah Winfrey teaser in which Prince Harry declared: "My biggest concern was history repeating itself."

The words, due to be aired during the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' tell-all interview on Sunday night, bore an uncanny resemblance to the statement released by Harry's communications secretary, Jason Knauf, in November 2016 after the Sunday Express had revealed that the Prince was dating the American actress.

Confirming that "his girlfriend Meghan Markle" had been "subject to a wave of abuse and harassment", the statement criticised the "racial undertones" of newspaper coverage, adding: "Prince Harry is worried about Ms Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her. This is not a game – it is her life and his."

The unprecedented salvo created two important narratives around the former Suits star – it formally confirmed her status as the woman in Harry's life but also positioned her, in the eyes of the palace and the public, as the victim at the heart of a media "storm". As the statement suggested, a line had been "crossed".

But the tirade "by the Communications Secretary to Prince Harry" also put Mr Knauf in a compromising position. How was the former director of corporate affairs for the Royal Bank of Scotland going to be able to handle media relations for a couple when the Prince had so publicly made plain their deep hostility towards the press?

Almost exactly two years later, the 39-year-old spin doctor would submit a a bullying claim accusing Meghan of driving two personal assistants out of the household and undermining the confidence of a third staff member.

The Sussexes have denied that Harry pleaded with Mr Knauf not to pursue it, claiming the couple are the victims of a calculated smear campaign based on harmful misinformation. They said the Duchess was "saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma".

Those highlighting the "outrageous bullying" say they want to "tell the other side of the story" to the picture expected to be painted by the Duchess  on the Oprah special of her "almost unsurvivable" time in the Royal family. "Anyone who is a victim can't bear to watch it," said one.

The couple's lawyers insist Buckingham Palace is manipulating the press to peddle a "wholly false narrative" –notwithstanding the fact that the complainants no longer work in the royal household and the lack of palace action has now prompted an internal inquiry.

The Telegraph has spoken to a number of well-placed insiders who witnessed first-hand the turmoil within the royal household from Meghan's arrival as Prince Harry's girlfriend to the couple's decision to stand down as working royals last year.

All spoke on the condition of anonymity amid claims they had been operating in a "climate of fear", where employees were routinely "humiliated" in front of their peers and repeatedly subjected to "unreasonable demands" by both Meghan and Harry.

Unwilling to play a supporting role

It was not until October 2017, a year after Mr Knauf's unprecedented statement that Meghan gave an interview to Vanity Fair in which she declared of her relationship with Harry: "We're in love. I'm sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but what I hope people will understand is that this is our time."

The public did not have to wait long. Just a month later, the couple announced their engagement with a photocall in the sunken garden at Kensington Palace and an interview with the BBC's Mishal Husain in which Harry described his fiancee as "another team player as part of the bigger team".

Yet behind palace gates, it was quickly becoming apparent that Meghan had no intention of she and Harry being seen as the "supporting act" to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, despite their seniority in the royal pecking order.

That Christmas, determined to walk side by side with William and Kate to Sandringham's St Mary Magdalene Church, rather than several steps behind, they were pictured together as the so-called "Fab Four".

United front: The 'fab four' attend the Christmas Day service at the at Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate Credit: Getty Images Europe

The Cambridges invited the Sussexes to spend the festive period at their nearby bolthole, Anmer Hall, an experience Meghan spoke of fondly afterwards. "Meghan was very positive about it," said a former aide.

Two months later, the quartet appeared at their first official event together at the inaugural forum of their Royal Foundation – a highly choreographed event described by one royal insider as "designed to send a message that they would be working as a team. It was all very carefully rehearsed beforehand".

Disagreements with the Cambridges

After Meghan showcased her years of previous work with "larger NGOs and smaller grassroots organisations", both William and Harry acknowledged that working so closely with loved ones had led to "healthy disagreements" over how to best guide the foundation's work.

"Working as a family does have its challenges, of course it does," Harry said. "But we're stuck together for the rest of our lives."

By now, Kensington Palace staff had already become familiar with a mantra that would come to characterise the run-up to the Sussexes' wedding in May 2018.

"Want Meghan wants, Meghan gets" may have been shouted by Prince Harry to Angela Kelly, the Queen's personal assistant, following a row over a tiara – but royal aides were already well acquainted with the importance of meeting the Duchess's exacting standards.

"Everyone wanted her to be happy because they knew that would make him happy," said one. "Do whatever it takes to make it work for Meghan was the mantra. We all cared deeply about Harry. Contrary to this idea that they weren't supported, we were going to great lengths to accommodate their needs."

'We all cared deeply about Harry,' said one royal aide Credit: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP

So much so that there was an extraordinary incident during the couple's first tour of Scotland when members of the palace PR team "body blocked" Meghan's former adviser Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne during a visit to an Edinburgh cafe in what one former aide described as "the most embarrassing moment of my professional career".

The Duchess had apparently expressed "a reluctance to make eye contact" with Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne, who was reduced to having to post an Instagram shot of her former close friend and client visiting the Social Bites cafe from a considerable distance. "Anyone from the past was a problem," observed the former aide.

Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne's name would later reappear in court documents accusing Meghan's close friend and stylist Jessica Mulroney of "putting pressure on her [Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne] to withdraw or change statements" she had made in an April 2018 interview with the Mail on Sunday.

The defence documents claimed the Sunday newspaper's features editor complained about the intervention to Mr Knauf, who allegedly responded by saying he would ensure "this does not happen again". In the piece, Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne described Meghan as: "Picky, not only when it comes to her clothes but also her colleagues, instantly dismissing those who didn’t share her 'vision'."

Describing how the Duchess had "given me a bit of a difficult time" after meeting Harry, she added: "Meghan likes to move on".

When contacted by The Telegraph, Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne declined to comment on the incident.

'Email bombardments'

As the world was gearing up for what the LA Times had billed as "a royal wedding for the 21st century", behind palace gates the atmosphere was becoming fraught.

Staff had grown used to "email bombardments" by Meghan and Harry, with one describing how "the last thing we'd do before going to sleep is reply to their messages and the first thing we'd do in the morning is reply to their messages. Weekends, holidays – there were no boundaries. They live on their phones all the time".

Despite publicly claiming they largely ignored the press coverage, in reality the couple were often consumed by it. "They're both very thin-skinned," said one former employee.

Meghan's supporters say staff members "who preferred a more genteel pace" could not keep up with the Duchess's "American work ethic" – with one close friend now suggesting the criticism was racially motivated. "Find me a woman of colour in a senior position who has not been accused of being too angry, too scary, too whatever in the workplace," the friend said.

Yet it was not just palace employees who found themselves on the receiving end of "inescapable screaming and shouting".

Much has been written about the bridesmaids' dress fitting, first revealed in The Telegraph in November 2018, that left the Duchess of Cambridge in tears.

Contrary to subsequent reports that the row concerned Princess Charlotte's tights, what actually happened was that the dress itself did not fit Kate's then nearly three-year-old daughter. According to a well-placed source, "demands were made about when subsequent fittings would be, and Kate left sobbing".

While Meghan's allies suggest that Kate did not make enough of an effort to welcome her future sister-in-law into the royal fold, allies of the Cambridges suggest she "tried to arrange social things" and invited her to watch tennis together but "there was a sense that Meghan never really wanted to be friends".

The Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex at Wimbledon in 2019. Meghan appeared not to be interested in being the friend of her sister-in-law, insiders say

Those inside the palace concede, however, that the Cambridges can "appear standoffish" and are "often out of contact for extended periods".

Another former royal aide claimed the Duke, particularly, appreciated the "deflection" from his own occasionally demanding behaviour. "Bullying is endemic across all the households," the former aide added.

"The Meghan thing is a disgrace, but it's not in isolation. They cut you out, undermine you, talk down to you. One minute you're in – the next you're persona non grata. Some staff have special protection. I've never witnessed behaviour like it before. I wish I'd never seen behind the curtain."

A reprimand from the Queen

One member of staff afforded "special protection" is Angela Kelly, who has served as the Queen's closest aide since 2002. Rumours of Meghan being dubbed "Duchess Difficult" began to surface around the time it emerged that the Liverpudlian docker's daughter had been given a tongue-lashing by Harry.

Yet what was never accurately reported around the time of "Tiaragate" was that far from being denied the item from the Crown Jewels she wanted, Meghan was in fact given her first choice.

The argument erupted after the Duchess demanded that Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau Tiara be produced for an unscheduled hairdressing appointment.

"Angela told Harry it was priceless and couldn't suddenly be handed over at short notice. He was furious and shouted: 'What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.' Suffice to say it didn't go down too well." So badly, in fact, that the no-nonsense 53-year-old, who has her own fearsome reputation among colleagues, reported the incident to the Queen, prompting a grandmotherly telling off for Harry.

Little did the Prince know at the time that staff had also given him a nickname: "The hostage".

According to one person with first-hand knowledge of the events: "They insisted that they had the same inflation-adjusted budget for the wedding as William and Kate – she got the choir she wanted, the dress, the carriage procession, the tiara – she got everything she wanted but it still wasn't enough.

"She was constantly looking for reasons to say she had been deprived. Also, she wanted drama from the very beginning."

According to one person with first-hand knowledge, the couple 'insisted that they had the same inflation-adjusted budget for the wedding as William and Kate' Credit: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Although the couple wanted their spokespeople to deny it, a story about Meghan requesting air freshener to be sprayed around the "musty" St George's Chapel was true, according to multiple sources.

Even The Kingdom Choir did not get off lightly after the couple changed their song 12 times before they were happy with the arrangement of "Stand By Me". As choir member Karen Gibson revealed: "Gospel music is all about the cherries on top and it's not about stinting on anything. But we got word back that they wanted something a little less, so we did a second version which had an Etta James arrangement but again we had word back that it wasn't right." 

The group was then asked to meet Harry and Meghan face to face, before the couple finally settled on an arrangement after 11 previous attempts.

"The wedding was hugely stressful for everyone involved in it," said one former aide. "Staff were spending most of their time having smooth things over with suppliers."

Tears before the big day

The "Markle Debacle", when Meghan's father Thomas pulled out of the wedding at the last minute, only added to the tension as royal aides scrambled to "rescue" the narrative around the "big day" by having the Prince of Wales step in to walk Meghan down the aisle.

Despite Meghan later claiming to ITV's Tom Bradby that "not many people have asked if I'm ok", royal insiders insist they "rallied around" the couple – who were both in tears at times.

The Most Rev Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who officiated the ceremony, is also understood to have given "psychological as well as spiritual" support. The principle leader of the Church of England caused hilarity among his staff by failing to recognise Ms Winfrey at the lunchtime reception at Windsor Castle, asking the US chat show host what she did for a living.

Oprah Winfrey arrives for the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan in 2018 Credit: Ian West/AFP

By the time the couple had returned from their honeymoon, relations between the Sussexes, the Cambridges and their staff became so bad that Harry and Meghan appeared reluctant to engage with anyone at the June 2018 leaving party for Miguel Head, William's former private secretary.

According to two separate sources, the couple "remained aloof" throughout the bash in the private garden at Kensington Palace. "It was a really convivial atmosphere with William giving a touching speech about Mig, but Harry and Meghan just remained on the outskirts and didn't mingle with anyone. They were the last to arrive and the first to leave."

Eyebrows were similarly raised when, having shared the news of her pregnancy at the Champagne reception following Princess Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018, Meghan declined to attend the evening do. The bride was said to have been "upset" that Harry only "popped along for a drink without Meghan" – although they were due to fly to Australia for their first Commonwealth tour the day after.

During the 16-day tour, which also took in Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand, the couple appeared reluctant to engage with the press. Although Harry managed to be persuaded at one point to speak to reporters at the back of the plane, he told them: "Thanks for coming, even though you weren't invited."

Bullying claims emerge

On the same trip, it was claimed that Meghan had cut short a visit to a market in Fiji because she was concerned about the presence of a UN organisation promoting women, with which she had previously worked but now was no longer associated.

At the time, officials suggested that it was because it was humid and the crowd was oppressive in the market. After Meghan had been ushered away, a female member of her entourage was spotted sitting in an official car, looking extremely upset. Meghan's female personal protection officer left her post shortly afterwards.

Lawyers for the Duchess said she met other leaders from UN Women later on the tour and denied she left for the reason alleged.

Although Mr Knauf had not gone on the tour, he is thought to have been "deeply concerned" by reports of the couple's behaviour overseas.

"There was a sense that they were just refusing to take advice, and insisting on doing everything their way," said one royal source. "No one, from the most senior to the most junior employee, wasn't under constant attack," said another.

The Duchess of Sussex attends the unveiling of the Labalaba Statue in Nadi, Fiji, in October 2018 Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Matters came to a head in October 2018 following the departure of a second member of the Duchess's private office.

Mr Knauf emailed Simon Case, then William's private secretary and now the Cabinet Secretary, after conversations with Samantha Carruthers, the head of HR. Mr Case then forwarded it to Ms Carruthers, who is based at Clarence House.

The email read: "I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X* was totally unacceptable. The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y."

The email, which also expressed concern about the stress being experienced by Samantha Cohen, the couple's private secretary, concluded: "I questioned if the household's policy on harassment and bullying applies to principals."

While Mr Case was "very personally supportive" of the individual members of staff, Mr Knauf expressed his concern in the email that "nothing will be done". The palace is now holding an investigation, having been criticised for failing to act sooner.

It was not until a month later that it was reported that Melissa Toubati, the Duchess's former PA, had "quit suddenly", just six months into the job. The following month, it was announced that Ms Cohen would not stay in post after the Sussexes' baby was born.

The couple were apparently "furious" about reports of their high staff turnover, piling more pressure on their PR team to "try to turn negative headlines into positive ones".

According to one former employee: "What people fail to understand is Harry's hatred of the media is probably one of the most important things in his life. It is defining for him. So the narrative is always – it’s the press's fault, never theirs."

That Christmas, the Sussexes were once again photographed alongside the Cambridges on Dec 25 but opted to stay with the Queen at the "main house" rather than Anmer Hall.

It came after an awkward staff Christmas party in which "all mention of Melissa's name was banned", according to one royal insider. "It was as if she never existed." Some employees found it hard to reconcile the couple's erratic conduct with moments of genuine kindness, such as when Meghan would buy female staff members flowers or even jewellery.

Relations break down

By the New Year, relations within Kensington Palace had "irretrievably broken down," with Prince Harry no longer on speaking terms with Mr Knauf after he had failed to persuade him to drop the complaint against his wife. The Sussexes' lawyers deny any such conversation took place.

Sources close to the couple say Ms Toubati, who was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, was sacked for misconduct, pointing out neither staff member made complaints of their own to HR. Ms Toubati's friends deny she was sacked for misconduct.

With Harry and Meghan already operating in a silo – and increasingly consulting the Duchess's US team of advisers rather than palace officials – a split of the two households at Kensington Palace appeared an inevitability.

It was around the time that the couple moved to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor in March 2019 that Amy Pickerill became the third of the Duchess's staff to leave her role, having served as her assistant private secretary since November 2017.

Mr Knauf also stepped down to work as senior adviser to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. He is now chief executive of the Cambridges' Royal Foundation. Friends say he "bitterly regrets" not warning Sara Latham, who was appointed as the Sussexes' director of communications in April 2019, how difficult working for the couple could be.

Jonathan Knauf stepped down to work as senior adviser to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Archive

The American PR supremo, who used to advise the Clintons, quickly worked this out for herself when the couple insisted on secrecy around son Archie's birth on May 6, while trying to maximise global coverage.

Around the same time it was falsely claimed that the Duchess had been prevented from doing an interview with CBS anchor Gayle King, Ms Winfrey's close friend. In fact, insiders say "the Duchess was calling shots throughout."

It came after Meghan had attended a high-profile baby shower in New York with Serena Williams and Amal Clooney, without being accompanied by any palace press officers. Concerns were raised behind palace gates when freebies started arriving at New York's Mark Hotel, causing consternation for staff back in the UK having to wrestle with the Royal family's strict rules on gifting.

Having courted controversy throughout the summer of 2019 for snubbing the Queen's invitation to Balmoral and taking four private jets in 11 days instead, relations with the media were at rock bottom at the start of the Sussexes' September tour to Africa.

Royal aides were then left dumbfounded when what had been a surprisingly successful 10-day trip with Archie was overshadowed by Meghan's interview with Mr Bradby, in which she revealed the "struggles" she had faced adapting to life in the Royal family.

The Duchess alarmed palace insiders by telling Tom Bradby of her 'struggles' as part of the Royal family

Duke's fears for wife

It came as Harry released an attack on the tabloid press as the couple announced they would be suing the Mail on Sunday over the publication of a letter Meghan had written to her father.

In a highly personal and scathing statement, Harry said some newspapers had "vilified her almost daily for the past nine months" and claimed they had published "lie after lie" at Meghan's expense simply because she was out of public view on maternity leave.

Referencing his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in Paris while being pursued by the paparazzi, the Duke said: "Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."

The interview set the tone for their January 2020 announcement that they would be "stepping back as senior royals" to become "financially independent".

As the world gathers to watch the most highly anticipated royal television event since Diana's Panorama interview in 1995, it will be left to the viewers to decide which version of history represents the truth.

------------

Omg what do you make of this Plant... the tears were about the dress not fitting Charlotte and Harkles live their entire lives on the phones.

[elysekotzen]

STARTER FOR: @jaspersalvo​​​

LOCATION: somewhere around campus

LIES REQUIRED COMMITMENT and for the past years elyse had dedicated most of her free time to keep track of the own web of lies she had created. she never imagined she would end up in the same campus as jasper salvo, yet here she was. if only it was as easy to avoid him as lying was. she could be honest, though. the idea of coming forward haunted her but the consequences of her own deceitfulness were too much to handle. she only need it to keep her stories straight and survive the next two years. her heart stops beating for a few seconds at the sight of duke but that doesn’t deter her from approaching him. the thing about being a liar is that it gives you this god complex that makes you crave to be in that position of adding more layers to this already huge mountain of lies. “i’ve heard your team won last match,” she says with a beaming smile. “i was going to attend but i was caught up with an essay.”

[nepoupdates]

if you had to classify any nepobabies as kardashians ... who would each be and why

i  know  you  said  kardashians  but  i  have  my  reasons  to  expand  and  include  scott  .  (  @lovebcmbs  ,  @maribelisms  ,  @belsalazar  ,  @jaspersalvo​  )

zoya  wylie  ––  our  resident  troublemaker  just  radiates  kim  k  energy  .  why  ?  have  you  seen  the  amount  of  trouble  she  manages  to  get  herself  in  ?  we  love  her  here  at  nepoupdates  and  the  paps  too  .  i’m  surprised  there  hasn’t  been  an  executive  pitching  the  wylie  family  for  a  reality  show  .  

maribel  martinez    ––  they’re  kourtney  .  need  i  say  more  ?  something  about  maribel’s  personality  just  tells  me  they  might  just  end  up  starting  their  own  holistic  health  company  in  the  future  .  and  she  seems  to  know  what  she’s  doing  so  i  should  hope  it’s  better  than  poosh  .

 belinda  “bel”  salazar  ––  khloe  ,  hands  down  .  but  khloe  in  her  keeping  up  with  the  kardashians  era  .  this  girl  is  out  here  threatening  to  beat  up  anyone  and  everyone  for  the  sake  of  her  family  .  i’m  surprised  bel  hasn’t  landed  herself  a  night  in  the  slammer  yet  .  but  never  say  never  .

 jasper  “duke”  salvo  ––  come  on  ?  do  i  have  to  spell  it  out  .  he’s  scott  .  his  nickname  is  duke  for  crying  out  loud  .  it’s  hitting  a  little  too  close  to  lord  disick  .  i’ll  be  waiting  for  when  duke  hits  his  lord  disick  era  .  i  know  we  all  are  .  it’s  inevitable  .  embrace  your  destiny  ,  duke  .

[causeiwanttoandican]

Holy crap!

The Telegraph- Camilla Tominey

'She wanted drama': The inside story of the rift between Harry and Meghan and The Firm

As the Sussexes give their tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview, royal insiders reveal the 'other side of the story'

By Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor5 March 2021 • 9:00pm

There was something distinctly familiar about the Oprah Winfrey teaser in which Prince Harry declared: "My biggest concern was history repeating itself."

The words, due to be aired during the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' tell-all interview on Sunday night, bore an uncanny resemblance to the statement released by Harry's communications secretary, Jason Knauf, in November 2016 after the Sunday Express had revealed that the Prince was dating the American actress.

Confirming that "his girlfriend Meghan Markle" had been "subject to a wave of abuse and harassment", the statement criticised the "racial undertones" of newspaper coverage, adding: "Prince Harry is worried about Ms Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her. This is not a game – it is her life and his."

The unprecedented salvo created two important narratives around the former Suits star – it formally confirmed her status as the woman in Harry's life but also positioned her, in the eyes of the palace and the public, as the victim at the heart of a media "storm". As the statement suggested, a line had been "crossed".

But the tirade "by the Communications Secretary to Prince Harry" also put Mr Knauf in a compromising position. How was the former director of corporate affairs for the Royal Bank of Scotland going to be able to handle media relations for a couple when the Prince had so publicly made plain their deep hostility towards the press?

Almost exactly two years later, the 39-year-old spin doctor would submit a a bullying claim accusing Meghan of driving two personal assistants out of the household and undermining the confidence of a third staff member.

The Sussexes have denied that Harry pleaded with Mr Knauf not to pursue it, claiming the couple are the victims of a calculated smear campaign based on harmful misinformation. They said the Duchess was "saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma".

Those highlighting the "outrageous bullying" say they want to "tell the other side of the story" to the picture expected to be painted by the Duchess on the Oprah special of her "almost unsurvivable" time in the Royal family. "Anyone who is a victim can't bear to watch it," said one.

The couple's lawyers insist Buckingham Palace is manipulating the press to peddle a "wholly false narrative" –notwithstanding the fact that the complainants no longer work in the royal household and the lack of palace action has now prompted an internal inquiry.

The Telegraph has spoken to a number of well-placed insiders who witnessed first-hand the turmoil within the royal household from Meghan's arrival as Prince Harry's girlfriend to the couple's decision to stand down as working royals last year.

All spoke on the condition of anonymity amid claims they had been operating in a "climate of fear", where employees were routinely "humiliated" in front of their peers and repeatedly subjected to "unreasonable demands" by both Meghan and Harry.

Unwilling to play a supporting role

It was not until October 2017, a year after Mr Knauf's unprecedented statement that Meghan gave an interview to Vanity Fair in which she declared of her relationship with Harry: "We're in love. I'm sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but what I hope people will understand is that this is our time."

The public did not have to wait long. Just a month later, the couple announced their engagement with a photocall in the sunken garden at Kensington Palace and an interview with the BBC's Mishal Husain in which Harry described his fiancee as "another team player as part of the bigger team".

Yet behind palace gates, it was quickly becoming apparent that Meghan had no intention of she and Harry being seen as the "supporting act" to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, despite their seniority in the royal pecking order.

That Christmas, determined to walk side by side with William and Kate to Sandringham's St Mary Magdalene Church, rather than several steps behind, they were pictured together as the so-called "Fab Four".

The Cambridges invited the Sussexes to spend the festive period at their nearby bolthole, Anmer Hall, an experience Meghan spoke of fondly afterwards. "Meghan was very positive about it," said a former aide.

Two months later, the quartet appeared at their first official event together at the inaugural forum of their Royal Foundation – a highly choreographed event described by one royal insider as "designed to send a message that they would be working as a team. It was all very carefully rehearsed beforehand".

Disagreements with the Cambridges

After Meghan showcased her years of previous work with "larger NGOs and smaller grassroots organisations", both William and Harry acknowledged that working so closely with loved ones had led to "healthy disagreements" over how to best guide the foundation's work.

"Working as a family does have its challenges, of course it does," Harry said. "But we're stuck together for the rest of our lives."

By now, Kensington Palace staff had already become familiar with a mantra that would come to characterise the run-up to the Sussexes' wedding in May 2018.

"Want Meghan wants, Meghan gets" may have been shouted by Prince Harry to Angela Kelly, the Queen's personal assistant, following a row over a tiara – but royal aides were already well acquainted with the importance of meeting the Duchess's exacting standards.

"Everyone wanted her to be happy because they knew that would make him happy," said one. "Do whatever it takes to make it work for Meghan was the mantra. We all cared deeply about Harry. Contrary to this idea that they weren't supported, we were going to great lengths to accommodate their needs."

So much so that there was an extraordinary incident during the couple's first tour of Scotland when members of the palace PR team "body blocked" Meghan's former adviser Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne during a visit to an Edinburgh cafe in what one former aide described as "the most embarrassing moment of my professional career".

The Duchess had apparently expressed "a reluctance to make eye contact" with Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne, who was reduced to having to post an Instagram shot of her former close friend and client visiting the Social Bites cafe from a considerable distance. "Anyone from the past was a problem," observed the former aide.

Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne's name would later reappear in court documents accusing Meghan's close friend and stylist Jessica Mulroney of "putting pressure on her [Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne] to withdraw or change statements" she had made in an April 2018 interview with the Mail on Sunday.

The defence documents claimed the Sunday newspaper's features editor complained about the intervention to Mr Knauf, who allegedly responded by saying he would ensure "this does not happen again". In the piece, Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne described Meghan as: "Picky, not only when it comes to her clothes but also her colleagues, instantly dismissing those who didn’t share her 'vision'."

Describing how the Duchess had "given me a bit of a difficult time" after meeting Harry, she added: "Meghan likes to move on".

When contacted by The Telegraph, Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne declined to comment on the incident.

'Email bombardments'

As the world was gearing up for what the LA Times had billed as "a royal wedding for the 21st century", behind palace gates the atmosphere was becoming fraught.

Staff had grown used to "email bombardments" by Meghan and Harry, with one describing how "the last thing we'd do before going to sleep is reply to their messages and the first thing we'd do in the morning is reply to their messages. Weekends, holidays – there were no boundaries. They live on their phones all the time".

Despite publicly claiming they largely ignored the press coverage, in reality the couple were often consumed by it. "They're both very thin-skinned," said one former employee.

Meghan's supporters say staff members "who preferred a more genteel pace" could not keep up with the Duchess's "American work ethic" – with one close friend now suggesting the criticism was racially motivated. "Find me a woman of colour in a senior position who has not been accused of being too angry, too scary, too whatever in the workplace," the friend said.

Yet it was not just palace employees who found themselves on the receiving end of "inescapable screaming and shouting".

Much has been written about the bridesmaids' dress fitting, first revealed in The Telegraph in November 2018, that left the Duchess of Cambridge in tears.

Contrary to subsequent reports that the row concerned Princess Charlotte's tights, what actually happened was that the dress itself did not fit Kate's then nearly three-year-old daughter. According to a well-placed source, "demands were made about when subsequent fittings would be, and Kate left sobbing".

While Meghan's allies suggest that Kate did not make enough of an effort to welcome her future sister-in-law into the royal fold, allies of the Cambridges suggest she "tried to arrange social things" and invited her to watch tennis together but "there was a sense that Meghan never really wanted to be friends".

Those inside the palace concede, however, that the Cambridges can "appear standoffish" and are "often out of contact for extended periods".

Another former royal aide claimed the Duke, particularly, appreciated the "deflection" from his own occasionally demanding behaviour. "Bullying is endemic across all the households," the former aide added.

"The Meghan thing is a disgrace, but it's not in isolation. They cut you out, undermine you, talk down to you. One minute you're in – the next you're persona non grata. Some staff have special protection. I've never witnessed behaviour like it before. I wish I'd never seen behind the curtain."

A reprimand from the Queen

One member of staff afforded "special protection" is Angela Kelly, who has served as the Queen's closest aide since 2002. Rumours of Meghan being dubbed "Duchess Difficult" began to surface around the time it emerged that the Liverpudlian docker's daughter had been given a tongue-lashing by Harry.

Yet what was never accurately reported around the time of "Tiaragate" was that far from being denied the item from the Crown Jewels she wanted, Meghan was in fact given her first choice.

The argument erupted after the Duchess demanded that Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau Tiara be produced for an unscheduled hairdressing appointment.

"Angela told Harry it was priceless and couldn't suddenly be handed over at short notice. He was furious and shouted: 'What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.' Suffice to say it didn't go down too well." So badly, in fact, that the no-nonsense 53-year-old, who has her own fearsome reputation among colleagues, reported the incident to the Queen, prompting a grandmotherly telling off for Harry.

Little did the Prince know at the time that staff had also given him a nickname: "The hostage".

According to one person with first-hand knowledge of the events: "They insisted that they had the same inflation-adjusted budget for the wedding as William and Kate – she got the choir she wanted, the dress, the carriage procession, the tiara – she got everything she wanted but it still wasn't enough.

"She was constantly looking for reasons to say she had been deprived. Also, she wanted drama from the very beginning."

Although the couple wanted their spokespeople to deny it, a story about Meghan requesting air freshener to be sprayed around the "musty" St George's Chapel was true, according to multiple sources.

Even The Kingdom Choir did not get off lightly after the couple changed their song 12 times before they were happy with the arrangement of "Stand By Me". As choir member Karen Gibson revealed: "Gospel music is all about the cherries on top and it's not about stinting on anything. But we got word back that they wanted something a little less, so we did a second version which had an Etta James arrangement but again we had word back that it wasn't right."

The group was then asked to meet Harry and Meghan face to face, before the couple finally settled on an arrangement after 11 previous attempts.

"The wedding was hugely stressful for everyone involved in it," said one former aide. "Staff were spending most of their time having smooth things over with suppliers."

Tears before the big day

The "Markle Debacle", when Meghan's father Thomas pulled out of the wedding at the last minute, only added to the tension as royal aides scrambled to "rescue" the narrative around the "big day" by having the Prince of Wales step in to walk Meghan down the aisle.

Despite Meghan later claiming to ITV's Tom Bradby that "not many people have asked if I'm ok", royal insiders insist they "rallied around" the couple – who were both in tears at times.

The Most Rev Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who officiated the ceremony, is also understood to have given "psychological as well as spiritual" support. The principle leader of the Church of England caused hilarity among his staff by failing to recognise Ms Winfrey at the lunchtime reception at Windsor Castle, asking the US chat show host what she did for a living.

By the time the couple had returned from their honeymoon, relations between the Sussexes, the Cambridges and their staff became so bad that Harry and Meghan appeared reluctant to engage with anyone at the June 2018 leaving party for Miguel Head, William's former private secretary.

According to two separate sources, the couple "remained aloof" throughout the bash in the private garden at Kensington Palace. "It was a really convivial atmosphere with William giving a touching speech about Mig, but Harry and Meghan just remained on the outskirts and didn't mingle with anyone. They were the last to arrive and the first to leave."

Eyebrows were similarly raised when, having shared the news of her pregnancy at the Champagne reception following Princess Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018, Meghan declined to attend the evening do. The bride was said to have been "upset" that Harry only "popped along for a drink without Meghan" – although they were due to fly to Australia for their first Commonwealth tour the day after.

During the 16-day tour, which also took in Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand, the couple appeared reluctant to engage with the press. Although Harry managed to be persuaded at one point to speak to reporters at the back of the plane, he told them: "Thanks for coming, even though you weren't invited."

Bullying claims emerge

On the same trip, it was claimed that Meghan had cut short a visit to a market in Fiji because she was concerned about the presence of a UN organisation promoting women, with which she had previously worked but now was no longer associated.

At the time, officials suggested that it was because it was humid and the crowd was oppressive in the market. After Meghan had been ushered away, a female member of her entourage was spotted sitting in an official car, looking extremely upset. Meghan's female personal protection officer left her post shortly afterwards.

Lawyers for the Duchess said she met other leaders from UN Women later on the tour and denied she left for the reason alleged.

Although Mr Knauf had not gone on the tour, he is thought to have been "deeply concerned" by reports of the couple's behaviour overseas.

"There was a sense that they were just refusing to take advice, and insisting on doing everything their way," said one royal source. "No one, from the most senior to the most junior employee, wasn't under constant attack," said another.

Matters came to a head in October 2018 following the departure of a second member of the Duchess's private office.

Mr Knauf emailed Simon Case, then William's private secretary and now the Cabinet Secretary, after conversations with Samantha Carruthers, the head of HR. Mr Case then forwarded it to Ms Carruthers, who is based at Clarence House.

The email read: "I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X* was totally unacceptable. The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y."

The email, which also expressed concern about the stress being experienced by Samantha Cohen, the couple's private secretary, concluded: "I questioned if the household's policy on harassment and bullying applies to principals."

While Mr Case was "very personally supportive" of the individual members of staff, Mr Knauf expressed his concern in the email that "nothing will be done". The palace is now holding an investigation, having been criticised for failing to act sooner.

It was not until a month later that it was reported that Melissa Toubati, the Duchess's former PA, had "quit suddenly", just six months into the job. The following month, it was announced that Ms Cohen would not stay in post after the Sussexes' baby was born.

The couple were apparently "furious" about reports of their high staff turnover, piling more pressure on their PR team to "try to turn negative headlines into positive ones".

According to one former employee: "What people fail to understand is Harry's hatred of the media is probably one of the most important things in his life. It is defining for him. So the narrative is always – it’s the press's fault, never theirs."

That Christmas, the Sussexes were once again photographed alongside the Cambridges on Dec 25 but opted to stay with the Queen at the "main house" rather than Anmer Hall.

It came after an awkward staff Christmas party in which "all mention of Melissa's name was banned", according to one royal insider. "It was as if she never existed." Some employees found it hard to reconcile the couple's erratic conduct with moments of genuine kindness, such as when Meghan would buy female staff members flowers or even jewellery.

Relations break down

By the New Year, relations within Kensington Palace had "irretrievably broken down," with Prince Harry no longer on speaking terms with Mr Knauf after he had failed to persuade him to drop the complaint against his wife. The Sussexes' lawyers deny any such conversation took place.

Sources close to the couple say Ms Toubati, who was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, was sacked for misconduct, pointing out neither staff member made complaints of their own to HR. Ms Toubati's friends deny she was sacked for misconduct.

With Harry and Meghan already operating in a silo – and increasingly consulting the Duchess's US team of advisers rather than palace officials – a split of the two households at Kensington Palace appeared an inevitability.

It was around the time that the couple moved to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor in March 2019 that Amy Pickerill became the third of the Duchess's staff to leave her role, having served as her assistant private secretary since November 2017.

Mr Knauf also stepped down to work as senior adviser to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. He is now chief executive of the Cambridges' Royal Foundation. Friends say he "bitterly regrets" not warning Sara Latham, who was appointed as the Sussexes' director of communications in April 2019, how difficult working for the couple could be.

The American PR supremo, who used to advise the Clintons, quickly worked this out for herself when the couple insisted on secrecy around son Archie's birth on May 6, while trying to maximise global coverage.

Around the same time it was falsely claimed that the Duchess had been prevented from doing an interview with CBS anchor Gayle King, Ms Winfrey's close friend. In fact, insiders say "the Duchess was calling shots throughout."

It came after Meghan had attended a high-profile baby shower in New York with Serena Williams and Amal Clooney, without being accompanied by any palace press officers. Concerns were raised behind palace gates when freebies started arriving at New York's Mark Hotel, causing consternation for staff back in the UK having to wrestle with the Royal family's strict rules on gifting.

Having courted controversy throughout the summer of 2019 for snubbing the Queen's invitation to Balmoral and taking four private jets in 11 days instead, relations with the media were at rock bottom at the start of the Sussexes' September tour to Africa.

Royal aides were then left dumbfounded when what had been a surprisingly successful 10-day trip with Archie was overshadowed by Meghan's interview with Mr Bradby, in which she revealed the "struggles" she had faced adapting to life in the Royal family.

Duke's fears for wife

It came as Harry released an attack on the tabloid press as the couple announced they would be suing the Mail on Sunday over the publication of a letter Meghan had written to her father.

In a highly personal and scathing statement, Harry said some newspapers had "vilified her almost daily for the past nine months" and claimed they had published "lie after lie" at Meghan's expense simply because she was out of public view on maternity leave.

Referencing his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in Paris while being pursued by the paparazzi, the Duke said: "Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."

The interview set the tone for their January 2020 announcement that they would be "stepping back as senior royals" to become "financially independent".

As the world gathers to watch the most highly anticipated royal television event since Diana's Panorama interview in 1995, it will be left to the viewers to decide which version of history represents the truth.

[skippyv20]

Bitter and desperate, it’s clear that Harry and Meghan don’t plan to quit the Firm quietly

CAMILLA TOMINEYASSOCIATE EDITOR, The Telegraph

Friends insist that they have no misgivings over their controversial decision to step down as senior Royals. Yet the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's latest online outpouring more than hints at an undercurrent of bitterness towards the family they have left behind.

If Harry and Meghan were truly content with how things have turned out, they surely would not have felt the need to publish a 1,033-word ‘update’ on their personal website, laced with thinly-veiled barbs at the Firm.

No regrets? The couple’s markedly pointed reaction to being stripped of their royal status smacks of that infamous celebrity catchphrase: “Don’t you know who I am?”

It’s not just the desperate insistence that they “retain their HRH prefix”, pointing out that even though they can’t use it beyond Spring, they “formally remain known as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex’”

Should anyone be left in any doubt of their ongoing status, they helpfully remind us that “as the grandson of Her Majesty and second son of The Prince of Wales”, Harry remains sixth-in-line to the throne while “the Duchess" has her “own independent profile”. That they remain a ‘valued part’ of Her Majesty’s family is underlined for effect.

Yet there is more of 

a tinge of tantrums 

and tiaras in the couple’s attempted push back at the situation they have found themselves in.

Other titled members of the Royal family have been allowed to seek employment outside of the institution, but we are subject to a 12-month review, they gripe.

Next year’s appraisal was designed to give the couple the opportunity to rethink their position, but by spinning it as an impediment to their independence they insinuate that they are being made examples of (seemingly forgetting they chose to make examples of themselves).

The couple reiterate that "no new appointments will be made to fill Harry’s military roles before the 12-month review of the new arrangements is completed" in an apparent swipe at reports Princess Anne would be taking over his role as Colonel General of the Royal Marines.

Similarly, the suggestion that their “preference was to continue to represent and support the Queen” albeit in a more limited capacity has echoes of Harry’s misjudged Sentebale speech blaming the monarchy for refusing to allow them to have their royal cake and eat it.

It isn’t their fault their office has had to be wound up with the loss of 15 staff - it was down to Prince Charles’s "primary funding mechanism" drying up, they claim, reminding readers they were prepared to give up the Sovereign Grant (but not, it seems, Daddy’s Duchy dosh).

They only trademarked the ‘Sussex Royal’ brand "as a protective measure”, they insist, even going so far as to suggest the Cambridges had done the same for their charitable Foundation. (The fact that applications were made for all manner of commercial goods covering items from clothing and books to stationery and bandanas is conspicuous by its absence - although apparently William and Kate have also trademarked tea towels and the like).

Even the concession that they “do not intend to use ‘Sussex Royal’ or any iteration of the word ‘Royal’ in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise)“ after the end of next month, is not made without a degree of rancour.

The couple selflessly agreed to drop the ‘royal’ even though “there is not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word ‘Royal’ overseas”.

Oh, and by the way - they will “be allowed to maintain their patronages (including those that are classified as ‘royal’ patronages)”.

There is a certain irony about the opening paragraph claiming that the sharply-worded salvo is to “mitigate any confusion and subsequent misreporting” when in fact all it serves to do is confirm the accuracy of what has already been reported.

There is no disguising the couple’s contempt for the media as they once again question the "supposed public interest justification for intrusion into their lives" - while in the same breath insisting they must retain their taxpayer-funded bodyguards.

“Use this site as the source for factual information,” they insist, seemingly oblivious to its own Anglo-American propagandist tone or the need for what we in Her Majesty’s press like to call "proper scrutiny”.

Rebutting claims they plan to start a “Foundation”, despite their own website stating that they are “actively working to create… a charitable entity”, the couple’s quest to “effect change and complement the efforts made by so many excellent foundations globally” appears conveniently ambiguous.

All we know is that the new “non-profit" entity will not be called "royal" with further details set to be revealed after March 31, the date that signals the couple’s separation from the monarchy.

Whatever form their future takes, what is certain from this latest virtual communique is that Harry and Meghan don’t plan to go quietly.

Thank you.  Blahblahblah......this is about MM only.....no Harry in sight!😊❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[histoireettralala]

The Siege of Beauvais in 1472.

The siege of Beauvais, in 1472, is a military operation by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, against the king of France, Louis XI.

Louis XI vs Charles the Bold (the Reckless)

The Peace of Péronne of 1468 between the king and the duke is broken, the latter accusing Louis XI of having poisoned Charles of France, duke of Guyenne, the king's own brother. The Bold takes up arms to go to Normandy to find his ally François II, Duke of Brittany.

He leaves Arras on June 14, 1472 at the head of 80,000 men, crosses the Somme, and begins to sack the region of Vermandois, the country is ablaze. The population of the city of Nesles is slaughtered.

The Burgundian avant-garde, commanded by Philippe de Crèvecoeur and Jacques de Montmartin, arrives in the morning of June 27 in front of the city of Beauvais. It is seen by roofing workers who worked on the roof of the cathedral (it will be briefly, in the 16th century, the tallest human construction in the world) and raise the alarm.

The Constable of Beauvais is then traveling and the city, without military resources. The Beauvaisiens know that they cannot endure a siege for a long time.

A Burgundian herald summons the city to surrender, to save their life . But refugee peasants from neighboring villages tell such horrible things about the Burgundians and what they have done that the city even refuses to parley.

Captain Louis de Gomel, Lord of Balagny, and his lieutenant Jean Legoy decide to take up arms. And behind them the people and the bourgeois turn into piqueurs, archers, arquebusiers, or halberdiers. Everyone runs to the ramparts.

The Burgundians launch 100 spears and 300 archers against Fort Deloy, held by fifteen arquebusiers commanded by Louis de Gomel. Despite incredible efforts on the part of the besiegers, the fort resists, although, exhausted, crushed by the number, the defenders withdraw into the city.

The Burgundians enter the suburb of Saint-Quentin, start to cry victory, and to plunder the houses, but receive a rain of arrows and are dismayed to see, a little further, the walls of the city and the Porte du Limaçon .

Once back from their surprise, they resume their assault, until around 9 o'clock in the evening. The Beauvaisiens fiercely defend themselves, slaying many Burgundians with their bows, crossbows and couleuvrines, and losing only one man.

Using a couleuvrine

Meanwhile, at the Porte de Bresles, Philippe de Crèvecoeur leads another assault, but there too, the attempts are repelled. The women of Beauvais continue to bring to the defenders murderous projectiles.

Pointing two cannons at the door, the Burgundians open a huge breach, but fail to rush into it.

On the defenders' side, Louis de Gomel is seriously injured. This does not prevent him from continuing to exhort the inhabitants and to command the defense.

Attacks follow one after the other, and Crèvecoeur asks the Duke of Burgundy for help. We have to do away with this city!

The Beauvaisiens are throwing flaming fagots on anyone who tries to force the passage; fire spreads to the door and the portcullis: the attackers are forced to withdraw.

Enters Charles the Bold. The city will be taken, he thinks, as soon as the fire is out. Not anytime soon, the locals think, who are keeping the fire going with the wood coming from the neighboring houses, while the carpenters wall the interior doorway.

The besieged must fight against the Duke's whole army. Luckily, the Lord of Troissereux, who has left Beauvais in the morning for Noyon to find help there, arrives with some lords and 200 royal lancers, and heads with them to the Porte de Bresle to repel the Burgundian assaults.

That evening, the besiegers settle in trenches, in nearby abbeys and suburbs ... over an area of ​​20 kilometers.

Bishop Jean de Bar manages to escape from Beauvais to run to Paris asking for help.

He will have it. The king is then busy himself against the duke of Brittany and his troops, but orders are given so that help is sent to Beauvais.

On June 28, the Marshal of France, Joachim Rouhault, lord of Gamaches, arrives in Beauvais and takes command of the place. On the 29th, Marshal André de Laval, the Seneschal of Poitou, the Seneschal of Carcassonne, of Toulouse, the Sieur de Torcy and the nobility of Normandy, the Provost of Paris with the nobility of the city, the captain of the Amiens garrison arrives with 120 men, etc ... On July 7, 600 archers from Saint-Quentin arrive in Beauvais.

The fight is tough. On June 30, Burgundy spies set fire to three different places in the city. The inhabitants extinguish them after 8 hours of struggle.

The Bold begins to work on a proper siege, drying the moats of the city, diverting the course of the Thérain river, digging mines.

On July 9, the Duke resumes the assault, immediately greeted by salvos of cannons from couleuvrines and serpentines. The whole population is there, especially the women, welcoming the Burgundians with large stones, quicklime, boiling oil, melted fat, hot ashes. It is a massacre around the breach.

That day, something happens that remains famous to this day.

Jeanne Laisné, a young resident of the city, grabs an ax to repel a Burgundian who jumped from his assault ladder to plant his flag on the ramparts. She throws herself on him and throws him down into the moats, then, says the legend, slices the flagpole with a blow of an ax, invigorating the spirit of resistance of the inhabitants. She will earn that day the nickname of Jeanne Hachette (the Hatchet).

After 3 hours of a fierce struggle, Charles the Bold, seeing that he is getting nowhere, stops the attack.

On July 10, 300 to 400 inhabitants accompanied by fifteen horsemen make an outing in the Burgundian camp, without much success even if they kill some soldiers and bring back 2 guns into the city.

This expedition is followed by several others, always fatal to the besiegers. The duke may send other spies to burn down the city, they are caught and beheaded.

After 24 days of siege, the Bold breaks camp, burning villages over 20 km around. He will not have succeeded in taking Beauvais.

In his movement towards Rouen where he intends to find the army of Brittany, he ravages the rich Pays of Caux, burns and takes Eu and Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, but fails in front of Dieppe, one of the strongest cities of the kingdom. He spends 4 days in front of Rouen.

The city is well fortified and entrenched. Antoine de Chabannes' troops continually harass those of the Bold. And then the Burgundian army suffers from hunger and illness. And the soldiers don't get their pay.

Charles the Bold, in his retreat, once again wreaks bloody havoc.

Very quickly, the king's troops retake the only two cities he took, Eu and Saint-Valéry. The Duke is still harassed by Chabannes and the constable, who refuse to fight: the incessant skirmishes finish demoralizing an army exasperated by famine and disease.

The city of Beauvais was particularly rescued by Paris, which hurriedly sent a large number of artillery pieces, couleuvrines, crossbowmen, gunners, pioneers and food in abundance.

Rouen also sent pioneers, crossbowmen, masons and carpenters, Orléans sent large quantities of wine. The Pays of Caux is completely ravaged by the chevauchée, but Charles the Bold suffers a terrible humiliation.

The royal army has managed to cut the supply lines of the Burgundians and the reinforcements were very well organized by order of the king. However, this siege pointed out and proved that the bourgeois, especially the women, were indeed able to defend a royal city with their courage, because the city of Beauvais had had to defend itself for a long time.

King Louis XI will show his gratitude to his good city of Beauvais. Jeanne marries the man she loves, both will be exempt from taxes for life, and an annual procession, the Procession of the Assault, will celebrate her deed, opened by the women of the city. In 1851, a statue was erected in honor of Jeanne Hachette.

When the Germans melted down the statues of the city as in many cities in France, leaving the inhabitants the right to keep only one,  they chose to save Jeanne's statue.

Today, the Assault procession still takes place, in period costumes.

[awesometheauthor]

Part III of the Arias Davila:

1. DIEGO ARIAS was born in Avila, Espana, and died 1466 in Segovia, Espana. According to the Tizon de la Nobleza, he married ELVIRA GONZALEZ,

Here we go again, rumors do not make for good genealogy or a written history. When I see the tag tavern maid I can't help but think about Juan Ponce de Leon's laison with a non existant Leonor Ponce de Leon who was also labeled to be a tavern maid.

"rumored to be a tavern maid", who was born in Madrid, Espana and a Jewish Conversa as well. Diego Arias, was created Senor de Alcobendas, Villaflor, Casasola, San Agustín, Pedrezuela y Villalba, and elevated to high office due to his intimate relationship with King Enrique IV, called "el Impotente", due to his well known homosexual proclivities. Diego Arias er hombre de extraccion humilde, de bajas inclinaciones, Judoo Converso segun el sentir popular, elevado por Enrique IV de la nada a las cumbres del poder y de la opulencia. Las "Coplas del Provincial" motejaban a Diego Arias de Judio en las conocidas estrofas: "Aguila, cruz y castillo, Dime, de dónde te viene, pues que tu pila capuz Nunca las tuvo ni las tiene? El aguila es de San Juan; El castillo el de Emaus, Y en la cruz pusiste a Jesus, Siendo yo el capitan" Las estrofas se referían al blason de los Arias D'Avila compuesto de un aguila, castillo y cruz: en la parte superior derecha, una cruz colorada en campo blanco; en la superior izquierda, un aguila en campo blanco; y en la parte inferior del escudo, un castillo blanco en campo verde. Siendo príncipe don Enrique, Diego se estableció en Segovia y comenzo a ganarse el sustento cambiando especias de escaso valor y vendiendo a bajo precio otras de mayor estima, como pimienta, clavo y canela. Así recorría los pueblos castellanos congregando a los aldeanos al son de sus canticos moriscos. Así se gano de casa en casa las voluntades de los campesinos y obtuvo recursos suficientes para sus gastos. Con el favor de Juan Pacheco, se convirtio en recaudador de alcabalas y rentas del príncipe, y para ejercer el cargo en mejores condiciones de prontitud y seguridad, compro un caballo, flaco, de miserable traza y de bajo precio, que le permitia ponerse a salvo de las iras de los aldeanos. Por ello merecio el mote de "El Volador". Diego cometio un crimen horroroso y fue condenado a la pena capital de la que lo libro el Infante Enrique, príncipe de Asturias. Este, prendado de su dotes, no tuvo inconveniente en nombrarlo su secretario y le hizo tomar el apellido Arias. Al subir al trono pasando a ser el Rey Enrique IV de Castilla, Diego fue nombrado Contador Mayor de Castilla, cargo que desempeno por muchos anos, y desde el cual disponía a su antojo del reino. Se dice que "Diego Arias, acumulando atropello sobre atropello, aconsejaba al rey...que no hiciese caso de las querellas y enojosos llantos del necio vulgo y del insolente populacho, mientras tuviese dinero en abundancia; ni temiese las murmuraciones de los grandes, ni su adusto ceno mientras capitanease escuadrones satisfechos con el aumento de soldada..." Source: Jose de Herrera via E mail.

There are other sources full of rumors that would try to convince us that Diego Arias was a Jew.

By : Richard Gottheil <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/contrib.jsp?cid=C120046&xid=A040718&artid=156&letter=D> Meyer Kayserling <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/contrib.jsp?cid=C110107&xid=A040718&artid=156&letter=D>  Minister and confidant of King Henry IV. of Castile; born of Jewish. parents in Segovia; died in 1466. He, together with his family, embraced the Christian faith when Vincent Ferrer was preaching special sermons with a view to making converts. Drawn to the court of Juan II. of Castile by Alvaro de Luna, Davila, in conjunction with his former coreligionist Juan Pacheco, became both the farmer and the administrator of the royal taxes. In time he gained the confidence of the prodigal young king Henry to such a degree that the latter appointed him head of theroyal audit office or minister of finance ("contador mayor"). To win popular favor both he and his wife showed themselves very generous toward the Church; nevertheless he was always considered a Jew. The author of the "Coplas del Provincial" addressed to Davila the following malignant couplet: "A ti Diego Arias p . . . Que eres é fuiste Judio, E tienes gran señorio Contigo non me disputo." [Translation.] "Diego Arias, thou wretched hypocrite, A Jew thou wert and a Jew thou art. Great is the power that is thine; Hence to no dealings with thee I incline." Toward his coreligionists Davila's attitude was for a long time cold and forbidding; only later, when it became his duty to appoint supervisors of the revenues in most of the cities, did he have recourse to Maranos. Furthermore, despite repeated decrees of the Cortes to the contrary, he appointed Jews as tax-farmers. The chief administrator of the ducal tax-revenues at the time was D. Moses Ẓarfati; Rabbi Abraham and Joseph, Castellano were the farmers of the revenues in the bishopric of Roa from 1460 to 1462, and D. Moses of Briviesca the farmer of the revenues of S. Salvador de Oña in 1455. While the Jewish tax-farmers were very lenient, the Marano officials appointed by Davila showed themselves merciless, which drew upon them the enmity of the people to such an extent that D. Gomez Manrique, who possessed great influence, preferred charges against the minister, and in the "Advice" which he addressed to him ("Consejos à Diego Arias") he predicted for him a fate similar to that of Alvaro de Luna. With a king so frivolous and prodigal as Henry, Davila's situation was indeed very difficult and precarious; and he often found himself on the verge of being deposed. On one occasion when he represented to the king that the conditions urgently demanded a curtailment of expenditure, the king replied in an imperious tone "You speak as Diego Arias; I act as king." The castle Puñorostro, together with the villages and hamlets connected with it, which, after its acquisition by him, he turned into an entailed estate. Davila transferred to his oldest son, Pedro Davila, whom he married to D. Maria de Mendoza, niece of the first Duke del Infantado and a grandchild of Marquis de Santillana. Pedro filled the same position as his father had at the court of Henry IV., until he was overthrown through the intrigues of Alonso de Fonseca. Davila's second son, Juan Arias Davila (not "de Avila"), was Bishop of Segovia. Full of hatred against the Jews, he caused sixteen of them who had been accused of a ritual murder to be burned at the stake.Bibliography: Enriquez del Castillo, Cronica de D. Enrique IV. xx.; Amadorde los Rios, Hist. iii. 128 et seq., 168 et seq.; Grätz, Gesch. viii. 327.G. Read more: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=156&letter=D#ixzz1BcTEW8Ot <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=156&letter=D>

The Jewish Encyclopedia.

Ayes Sources:

Archivo: Archivo General de SimancasSignatura: RGS,LEG,148012,254Código de Referencia: ES.47161.AGS/1.2.1127//RGS,LEG,148012,254 Titulo Nombre atribuido: Pago de deudas a Diego de Madrid por Diego Arias Dávila. Fecha Creación: 1480-12-10 (Medina del Campo) Signatura Histórico: RGS,LEG,148012,254 Nombre de/l (los) productor/es: Cancillería. Registro del Sello de Corte Alcance y Contenido: Requerimiento con emplazamiento a Diego Arias de Avila [Dávila], hijo de Predrarias de Avila [Dávila], para que pague a Diego de Madrid, como heredero del dicho Pedrarias, cierto dinero y trigo que éste le quedó debiendo.-Consejo. Notas del Archivero: Información descriptiva tomada del asiento núm. 878 de la obra: 03

Archivo: Archivo General de SimancasSignatura: RGS,LEG,148406,90Código de Referencia: ES.47161.AGS/1.2.1123//RGS,LEG,148406,90 Titulo Nombre atribuido: Receptoría en pleito de Diego Arias Dávila y Diego de Tejada por ciertos bienes. Fecha Creación: 1484-06-19 (Valladolid) Signatura Histórico: RGS,LEG,148406,90 Nombre de/l (los) productor/es: Cancillería. Registro del Sello de Corte Alcance y Contenido: Receptoría en el pleito que tienen de una parte Diego Arias de Ávila [Dávila], y de la otra Diego de Tejada por ciertos bienes que se determinan.-Consejo.Notas del Archivero: Información descriptiva tomada del asiento núm. 2898 de la obra: 03

Archivo: Archivo General de SimancasSignatura: RGS,LEG,148406,105Código de Referencia: ES.47161.AGS/1.2.1123//RGS,LEG,148406,105 Titulo Nombre atribuido: Incitativa a petición de Diego Arias Dávila, curador de Inés López Dávila. Fecha Creación: 1484-06-20 (Valladolid) Signatura Histórico: RGS,LEG,148406,105 Nombre de/l (los) productor/es: Cancillería. Registro del Sello de Corte Alcance y Contenido: Incitativa a petición del protonotario Diego Arias de Ávila [Dávila], curador de Inés López de Ávila [Dávila], para que le entreguen ciertos bienes la abuela de la menor y Toribio de Ávila, vecinos de Ávila.-Consejo.Notas del Archivero: Información descriptiva tomada del asiento núm. 2903 de la obra: 03

Archivo: Archivo General de SimancasSignatura: RGS,LEG,148409,160Código de Referencia: ES.47161.AGS/1.2.1123//RGS,LEG,148409,160 Titulo Nombre atribuido: Amparo a unas casas en la ciudad de Segovia a Diego Arias de Ávila [Dávila]. Fecha Creación: 1484-09-01 (Córdoba) Signatura Histórico: RGS,LEG,148409,160 Nombre de/l (los) productor/es: Cancillería. Registro del Sello de Corte Alcance y Contenido: Amparo a unas casas en la ciudad de Segovia a Diego Arias de Ávila [Dávila], protonotario.-Consejo.Notas del Archivero: Información descriptiva tomada del asiento núm. 3262 de la obra: 03

Archivo: Archivo General de SimancasSignatura: RGS,LEG,148310,292Código de Referencia: ES.47161.AGS/1.2.1124//RGS,LEG,148310,292 Titulo Nombre atribuido: Sentencia en pleito de Diego Arias Dávila sobre ciertos heredamientos. Fecha Creación: 1483-10-30 (Vitoria) Signatura Histórico: RGS,LEG,148310,292 Nombre de/l (los) productor/es: Cancillería. Registro del Sello de Corte Alcance y Contenido: Ejecutoria de una sentencia dada en el pleito que Diego Arias de Ávila [Dávila], 'cuya fué Torrejón de Velasco', sostuvo con los hijos de Gil de Vivero, ya difuntos, sobre los heredamientos de Pajares, Valverde y Posanco [Pozanco].-Consejo.Notas del Archivero: Información descriptiva tomada del asiento núm. 1626 de la obra: 03

Archivo: Archivo General de SimancasSignatura: RGS,LEG,148312,1Código de Referencia: ES.47161.AGS/1.2.1124//RGS,LEG,148312,1 Titulo Nombre atribuido: Confirmación de juro al obispo de Segovia, Juan Arias Dávila, y su mesa obispal. Fecha Creación: 1483-12-15 (Vitoria) Nivel de Descripción: Unidad Documental Simple Signatura Histórico: RGS,LEG,148312,1 Nombre de/l (los) productor/es: Cancillería. Registro del Sello de Corte Alcance y Contenido: Confirmación a D. Juan Arias de Avila [Dávila], Obispo de Segovia, y a su mesa obispal de 4.000 maravedís de juro que posee por privilegio de Enrique IV. Insertos: a) Albalá de Enrique IV, para que se asienten al contador mayor Diego Arias de Avila 4.000 maravedis de juro que en él renuncia D. Gómez Carrillo de Albornoz. 25 Noviembre 1456. b) Renunncia y troque que el dicho contador hace a favor de la diócesis de Segovia y de su obispo D. Fernando del Orden. Medina del Campo 2 Noviembre 1459. c)Carta de privilegio de Enrique IV confirmando al obispo y diócesis de Segovia los dichos maravedís. Medina del Campo 2 Noviembre 1459.-Contadores Mayores. Notas del Archivero: Información descriptiva tomada del asiento núm. 2040 de la obra: 03

Archivo: Sección Nobleza del Archivo Histórico NacionalSignatura: OSUNA,C.138,D.101Código de Referencia: ES.41168.SNAHN/17.3.13//OSUNA,C.138,D.101 Título: Cédula de Enrique IV por la que manda a Fernán Gómez de León, su recaudador de alcabalas en Cáceres, que pague a Diego Arias de Ávila 2.600 maravedíes. Fecha Creación: 1462-07-10 (Toledo (Toledo)) - (Toledo (Toledo)) Signatura Histórico: OSUNA,LEG.138,D.4 OSUNA,C.138,D.101 Estado de Conservación: Bueno Lengua/Escritura de la Documentación: EspañolCortesana Características Físicas y Requisitos Técnicos: Original Índices de Descripción: Alcabala Arias de Ávila, Diego Cáceres (Cáceres) Cédulas reales Enrique IV, rey de Castilla (1424-1474) Gómez de León, Fernán Libramientos Recaudadores de haciendaNotas del Archivero: Descripción elaborada por Natividad Manzano Rubio

Archivo: Sección Nobleza del Archivo Histórico NacionalSignatura: OSUNA,C.296,D.13-14 Código de Referencia: ES.41168.SNAHN/42.3.3//OSUNA,C.296,D.13-14 Titulo Nombre atribuido: Escritura de cambio entre Álvaro [López] de Zúñiga [Guzmán, I] conde de Plasencia con Diego Arias de Ávila, por la cual el primero da unas casas en la ciudad de Segovia a cambio de unos molinos en el río Voltoya. Fecha Creación: 1457-10-23 (Segovia (Segovia)) Signatura Histórico: OSUNA,LEG.296,D.2;OSUNA,LEG.296-1(10) OSUNA,C.296,D.13-14 Nombre de/l (los) productor/es: Ducado de Béjar Alcance y Contenido: Contiene: -Documento 14: correspondencia remitida por Francisco Díez de Velasco al capitán Juan de Capilla sobre compraventa de lana. Dada en Béjar (Salamanca) a 8 de abril de 1639. Estado de Conservación: Bueno Lengua/Escritura de la Documentación: Español. Cortesana y Humanística. Notas del Archivero: Rus Huerta Rubio

Archivo: Sección Nobleza del Archivo Histórico NacionalSignatura: OSUNA,C.96,D.45-47Código de Referencia: ES.41168.SNAHN/14.2.6//OSUNA,C.96,D.45-47 Título: Escritura de compraventa, por juro de heredad, otorgada por Fernando de Ribadeneira, vasallo del rey y de su Consejo, a favor del rey Enrique IV, y en su nombre a su contador Diego Arias de Ávila, de los lugares de Langayo, Piñel de Yuso y San Mames (Valladolid). Fecha Creación: 1458-05-24 (Medina del Campo (Valladolid)) - 1837-10-02 (Medina del Campo (Valladolid)) Signatura Histórico: OSUNA,LEG.96,N.15;OSUNA,C.96,D.15;OSUNA,C.1,N.36 OSUNA,C.96,D.45-47 Alcance y Contenido: Documento 45: Original en pergamino. Medina del Campo (Valladolid), 1458, mayo, 24. Documento 46: Traslado. Madrid, 1837, octubre, 2. Documento 47: Copia simple, sin fecha. Estado de Conservación: Bueno Lengua/Escritura de la Documentación: EspañolGotica y humanística Características Físicas y Requisitos Técnicos: Original, traslado y copia Índices de Descripción: Arias de Ávila, Diego Compraventas Consejeros reales Contadores de hacienda Enrique IV, rey de Castilla (1424-1474) Juros Langayo (Valladolid) Piñel de Abajo (Valladolid) Ribadeneira, Fernando de San Mamés (Valladolid) Notas del Archivero: Descripción elaborada por Natividad Manzano Rubio

Archivo: Sección Nobleza del Archivo Histórico NacionalSignatura: OSUNA,C.97,D.6-8Código de Referencia: ES.41168.SNAHN/14.3.3//OSUNA,C.97,D.6-8 Título: Escrituras de partición de los bienes de Diego Arias Ávila, contador mayor del rey y de su Consejo Real, hecha entre sus hijos Juan Arias Ávila, [obispo de Segovia], y su hermana Isabel Arias, ésta última con autorización de su marido, Gómez González de la Hoz, regidor de Segovia. Fecha Creación: 1466-01-15 (Segovia (Segovia)) - 1837-10-09 (Segovia (Segovia)) Signatura Histórico: OSUNA,C.97,D.2;OSUNA,LEG.97,N.2a-c OSUNA,C.97,D.6-8 Alcance y Contenido: Contiene: -Documento 6: traslado. Valladolid, a 23 de enero de 1473. -Documento 8: traslado realizado tras la ley aclaratoria de señoríos, por la cual deben presentarse en los juzgados todos los títulos de propiedad, lo cual hace el [XI] duque de Osuna, [Pedro de Alcántara Téllez-Girón], para demostrar la procedencia o fundación de algunos de sus señoríos, como es el caso de Quintanillas de Yuso y de Suso (Valladolid). Madrid, a 9 de octubre de 1837. Estado de Conservación: Bueno Lengua/Escritura de la Documentación: Españolcortesana y humanística Características Físicas y Requisitos Técnicos: traslados Índices de Descripción: Arias de Ávila, Diego Arias de Ávila, Juan, obispo de Segovia (1461-1497) Arias, Isabel Consejeros reales Consejo Real Contadores de hacienda Estados señoriales González de la Hoz, Gómez, regidor de Segovia Inventarios de bienes Leyes Madrid (Madrid) Obispado de Segovia Quintanilla de Abajo (Valladolid) Quintanilla de Arriba (Valladolid) Segovia (Segovia) Testamentarias Títulos de propiedad Valladolid (Valladolid)Notas del Archivero: Descripción elaborada por Isabel Ralero Rojas

Archivo: Sección Nobleza del Archivo Histórico NacionalSignatura: OSUNA,C.97,D.9-11Código de Referencia: ES.41168.SNAHN/14.1.5//OSUNA,C.97,D.9-11 Título: Sentencia del pleito entre los hijos de Diego Arias de Ávila, contador mayor del rey, a causa de la herencia de su padre, por la que se otorga el mayorazgo a Pedro Arias de Ávila y el resto se divide en tres partes, una para Isabel Arias de Ávila y las otras dos para Juan Arias de Ávila, [futuro obispo de Segovia], salvo algunas excepciones señaladas. Fecha Creación: 1466-01-11 (Segovia (Segovia)) - 1473-01-23 (Segovia (Segovia)) Nivel de Descripción: Unidad Documental Compuesta Signatura Histórico: OSUNA,C.97,D.2(D-F);OSUNA,LEG.97,D.2(D-F) OSUNA,C.97,D.9-11 Alcance y Contenido: Pronunciada por los jueces que para ello fueron nombrados, Juan García, maestrescuela de la catedral de Segovia y Pedro Jiménez, maestro de teología y canónigo de la misma. Estado de Conservación: Bueno Lengua/Escritura de la Documentación: Españolcortesana y humanística Características Físicas y Requisitos Técnicos: traslados Índices de Descripción: Arias de Ávila, Diego, contador mayor Arias de Ávila, Isabel Arias de Ávila, Juan, obispo de Segovia (1461-1497) Arias de Ávila, Pedro Canónigos Catedral de Segovia Catedrales Contadores de hacienda García, Juan, maestrescuela de la Catedral de Segovia Herencias Jiménez, Pedro, canónigo Jueces Maestrescuelas Mayorazgos Pleitos Segovia (Segovia) Sentencias judiciales TeologíaNotas del Archivero: Descripción elaborada por Isabel Ralero Rojas

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Archivo: Sección Nobleza del Archivo Histórico NacionalSignatura: FRIAS,C.95,D.17Código de Referencia: ES.41168.SNAHN/2.4.3.9//FRIAS,C.95,D.17 Título: Merced que hizo Enrique IV de 600 fanegas de trigo y 400 de cebada a Diego Arias de Ávila, confiscadas a Juana Pimentel. Fecha Creación: 1462-01-10 (S.L.) - (S.L.) Nivel de Descripción: Unidad Documental Simple Signatura Histórico: FRIAS,LEGAJO.1,CAT.40/19 FRIAS,C.95,D.17 Lengua/Escritura de la Documentación: Español Características Físicas y Requisitos Técnicos: Traslado Índices de Descripción: Arias de Ávila, Diego Cereales Confiscaciones Enrique IV, rey de Castilla (1424-1474) Pimentel, Juana Privilegios nobiliarios Reyes de CastillaNotas del Archivero: Descripción elaborada por Ana Valseca Castillo

Archivo: Sección Nobleza del Archivo Histórico NacionalSignatura: FRIAS,C.11,D.36 ES.41168.SNAHN/2.4.2.25//FRIAS,C.11,D.36 Título: Acuerdos entre Juan Pacheco, Maestre de Santiago, y Miguel de Lucas Iranzo, Condestable de Castilla: - El Maestre de Santiago otorgaría al Condestable el Sello Real y la facultad de nombrar chancilleres, desembargándole el juro que tenía del rey; también daría unas rentas de la Orden de Santiago a los hermanos del condestable Fernando de la Cámara, Comendador de Oreja, y a Diego Yarce, de la encomienda de Montizón. - Además, el Maestre procuraría que Fadrique Manrique devolviese las fortalezas que tenía ocupadas a las ciudades de Jaén y Andújar, y restituiría a los Maestres de Santiago y Calatrava, las villas de Arjona, Arjonilla e Higuera de Martos (Jaén) - El Condestable dejaría libres para el Conde de Medellín, nieto del Maestre, las tercias de Andújar, junto al portazgo, que correspondería al Maestresala Gonzalo de Ávila.; al condestable se le devolverían las salinas de Arias y Almalla. Fecha Creación: 1469-07-08 (S.L.) - (S.L.) Signatura Histórico: FRIAS,CATALOGO.11/5 FRIAS,C.11,D.36 Alcance y Contenido: Sello de placa del condestable Lengua/Escritura de la Documentación: Español Características Físicas y Requisitos Técnicos: Original Índices de Descripción: Andújar (Jaén) Arjona (Jaén) Arjonilla (Jaén) Ávila, Gonzalo de Cámara, Fernando de la Cancilleres Comendadores Condestables Convenios Deuda pública Encomienda de Arjona Encomienda de Arjonilla Encomienda de la Higuera Encomienda de Oreja (Madrid) Encomiendas Fortificaciones Higuera de Calatrava (Jaén) Jaén (Jaén) Juros Lucas Iranzo, Miguel de Maestres Maestresalas Manrique, Fadrique Medellin, condes de Orden de Calatrava Orden de Santiago Órdenes Militares Pacheco, Juan, I marqués de Villena (1419-1474) Salinas Villena, marqueses de Yarce, DiegoNotas del Archivero: Descripción elaborada por Rocio Gonzalez Sanchez

Archivo: Archivo General de SimancasSignatura: RGS,LEG,148505,41Código de Referencia: ES.47161.AGS/1.2.1122//RGS,LEG,148505,41 Titulo Nombre atribuido: Comisión a Gómez García de Córdoba, escribano de Camara, para hacer pesquisa en Segovia sobre los escándalos promovidos en la ciudad por la Prisión que ordenó Juan Arias de Avila, obispo de Segovia, contra el protonotario, Diego Arias de Avila, en razón del nombramiento de un 'sodean'. Fecha Creación: 1485-05-10 (Valladolid) Nivel de Descripción: Unidad Documental Simple Signatura Histórico: RGS,LEG,148505,41 Nombre de/l (los) productor/es: Cancillería. Registro del Sello de Corte Alcance y Contenido: Comisión a Gómez García de Córdoba, escribano de Camara, para hacer pesquisa en Segovia sobre los escándalos promovidos en la ciudad por la Prisión que ordenó D. Juan Arias de Avila, obispo de Segovia, contra el protonotario, Diego Arias de Avila, en razón del nombramiento de un 'sodean'.-Consejo.

[darthkvznblogs]

New! Chapter 21 of “The Girl Who Could Knock Out the Hulk”

“Opening Salvo, part 2″

The battle is in full swing as Kara wakes up after Titanium Man's little surprise attack; HAMMER drones storm the skies, a whole mercenary platoon is duking it out with Cap, Hawkeye, and Widow, and it seems that Lena, Peter, and their superpowered pursuer lie beyond it all.

Fortunately, it seems like the Avengers might have an unexpected ally among the enemy ranks...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22793998/chapters/64906237

(The Girl Who Could Knock Out the Hulk is a multicrossover, involving elements from the MCU, various Supergirl iterations (but mostly her CW TV show incarnation), and various Marvel properties not yet introduced to the MCU, while itself serving as a basis for my main crossover fic universe. It follows Kara as she becomes the Avengers’ first recruit after the Chitauri invasion of New York, and the ramifications of her inclusion into their roster.)

As always, thank you for your attention! Make sure to comment or message me if you have any questions about this story. Look me up on Twitter as Darthkvzn - and on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/darthkvzn) if you like what I do and have a buck to spare.

Until next time!

[uriello-bello]

"A historical chronological depiction from an imaginary Italy: a guess the reference game". 100th Anniversary

Unknown: Pdor Mythos Unknown: Appears the superheroes gene "Vip" 10'000 A.C: In the Mediterranean basin lives a society of amazoness 89 A.C: Marcus Aemilius Scaurus is born 71 A.C: Spartacus leads a slaves rebellion 55 A.C: Tros of Samothrace takes the parts of the Breton resistance against the Roman conquest of Britain 50 A.C: Julius Augustus Caesar's complete conquest of Gaul finds resistance against a village in Armorica 11 March 44 A.C: Julius Augustus Caesar is murdered 80: Barbarian Ardarico's conquest of Rome miserably fails; Flavian Amphitheatre is inaugurated and Timo becomes a gladiator 128: Architect Lucius Quintus Modestus repeatedly travels through time until the 21st century and visits the modern Japan 536: Martinus Paduei, a mysterious genius ahead of his time, leaves his mark in history as inventor, business owner, strategist and politician 569: King Alboin befriends and welcomes a sly and smart peasant to his court in Verona 726: Girolama Pellacani is raped by the Longobards 1050: Brancaleone of Norcia is born 1076: The saint hermit of Bismantova is sent to Aquileia in search of allies at the behest of Pope Gregory VII, but is hindered by the devil 1080: Brancaleone of Norcia takes part at the first crusade 1141: Baudolino is born 1150: Various supernatural events take place at the castle of Otranto 1249: The company of Selva Bella participates at the mission to free Enzo of Sardinia 1271: Marco Polo begins his travel toward the Orient 1280: Marco Polo reaches the court of Kublai Khan and tell him about the 55 cities 1295: Marco Polo returns to Venice Early XIV Century: To win the maritime war against Venice, the Genoese captain Luigi Gottardi builds the underground canal of Meloria 1300: Poet Dante Alighieri visits the afterlife in a week 1327: William of Baskerville is involved in a murder case sets in a benedictine abbey 15 April 1452: Leonardo da Vinci is born 1478: Takes places the quests of the "Company of the Gallows" 1506: Arte Spalletti becomes an artist 1534: Two english brothers find a passage for a subterranean world where the time flows more slowly and is populated by a society of pygmies 1537: During the battle of Turin a french soldier mysteriously survives to several deadly wounds 1570: To save her lover, war-prisoner at Famagosta in Cyprus, the duchess of Eboli wears an armor and under the alias of Captain Storm fights several battle against the Ottoman Empire 1595: The suicide of two lovers leads peace in a longtime feud between two Veronese families 1630: The black plague continues its killspread, Spanish local lord Don Rodrigo is found dead 1643: Nobleman Roberto de la Grive is presumed lost after a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean 1650s: Alchemist Girolamo Fumagalli develops the basic technique of thanatography 1660s: Viscount Medardo of Terralba returns changed and maimed in a strange and impossible way from the Ottoman wars in Bohemia 1686: After losing his brothers during the Franco-Spanish war at the hand of Duke Wan Guld, the Lord of Ventimiglia Emilio of Roccabruna promises to avenge them and becomes the notorious Black Corsair 1711: A group of alchemists evoke a demon to gain eternal life 1713: Sir Frances Varney commits suicide by throwing himself into Mt. Vesuvius 7 January 1730: In Siena is approved the Notice of Violante of Bavaria 1741: Antonio Salvatore "Totò" Sapore invents pizza to bring peace between French and Neapolitan armies 1750s: Armando "The Scorpion" Catalano seeks the Templar treasure 1762: Reverend Yorick, friend of Tristram Shandy, visits France and Italy for a health issue 1764: Father Schedoni is involved in a conspiracy 1767: Cosimo Piovasco of Rondò, future baron of Ombrosa, climbs up a tree and will live his entire life on the trees 18 October 1775: Carlo Altovivi is born 1790: Scandal of the fallen noble family Mazzini 1798: Nobleman and soldier Fabrizio del Dongo is born 25 March 1799: Jacopo Ortis dies 1801: Vampire Giovanni Nosferatu is born 1812: Soldier Lazzaro Scacerni is one of the survivors of the retreat from Moscow and, after returning in Italy, becomes a wealthy miller 1825: History professor Mercurio Loi disappears 1826: Dr. Weiss solves the Fritzheim case 1829: A frenchman discovers the Spada family's treasure located in Montecristo Isle 1850: Count Isidor Ottavio Baldassarre Fosco reaches England to plan a political conspiracy 1855: Princess Teresa Uzeda of Francalanza dies 1860: The wooden puppet Pinocchio becomes a real children 1863: Three persons, claiming to be part of a scientific expedition, are spotted been ejected from Mt. Stromboli 1864: Countess Marina Vittoria Crusnelli of Malombra gets possessed 1870: Enrico Bottini is born; Edwin Drood mysteriously disappears leaving a secret still unsolved 1874: As social experiment some prisoners are released in a deserted island to create a self-managed isolated colony; Arsène Lupin is born 1878: Rosso Malpelo dies 1885: A frenchman from Tarascon survive to a fall during an attempt to reach the peak of Mt. Blanc 1887: Professor Sandrelli develops a substance that cancels gravity 1888: Full of remorse, baron Carlo Coriolano of Santafusca admits of being a killer 1889: Masked hero "Hidden Face" and Ugo Pastore take part at the Treaty of Wuchale; Escorted by english explorer Adam Wild, Count Narciso Molfetta explores Africa 7 December 1891: Vito Andolini is born 1893: Marco Pagot is born 1895: Architect Emilio Varelli starts the construction of the Three Mothers' manors September 1897: Giannino "Gian Burrasca" Stoppani is born 1898: The suppression of Milan riots are sabotaged by Tommaso Reiner 1899: Vadim Vadimovich N. Storov is born 29 May 1899: Giuseppe "Peppone" Bottazzi is born 30 May 1899: Don Camillo Tarocci is born Early 1900s: Paolo Zeder hypothesizes the "K-Zone" theory; Actress Maria Sarti gains notoriety under the stage name Ninì Tirabusciò 1910: Architect Emilio Varelli finishes the construction of the Three Mothers' manors; Aldovino reaches the moon to marry the princess Yala; Count Emilio Ponticelli partecipes at the Daily Post air race 1911: Famous composer Gustav von Aschenbach dies during a holiday in Venice WWI: Flying ace Marco Pagot turns into an anthropomorphic pig and assumes the identity of the bounty hunter Porco Rosso; Aviator Luciano Serra, aviator Matteo Campini, Private Lazzaro Scacerni and Private Italino take part at the conflict; Baron Cesare Stromboli helps the Triple Entente; Private Piero dies 1915: Air piratess Filibus terrorizes southern Italy performing several thefts 15 October 1915: Emilio Largo is born 1919: A man dressed in red and constantly speaking in rhyme becomes one of the richest italian 1920: Famous film director Guido Anselmi is born; Pugilist Furio Almirante emigrates in America 1927: Dr. Artemio Zacchia founds a medicine and natural science academy and starts his studies on immortality March 1927: Detective Francesco "Ciccio" Ingravallo solves the Via Merulana mystery June 1929: Fascist militia suppression at Fontamara 1930: Dominetta Vitali is born; Scientist Pier Cloruro de' Lambicchi creates a substance that gives life to the images 1933: Gastone Uliani investigates the faun's case 17 July 1934: Ugo Fantozzi is born 1935: Italy's invasion of Ethiopia is obstacled by local spy Bara 1936: Lawyer Gino Motta is locked up in an asylum after claiming that in the sea near Levanto lives a colony of mermaids 29 September 1936: Lolito B. Lassica is born 1938: Benzino Napaloni signs an alliance with Adenoid Hynkel; The launch of hierarch Gaetano Maria Barbagli's expedition for Mars takes place; Primo Cossi chooses to undergoes at the EPRA experiment; Dr. Emilio Lizardo and Professor Tohichi Hikita build the oscillation overthruster, Lizardo trying to enter into the 8th dimension becomes insane; American archeologist Martin Padway travels through time until 535 1939: Count Zero becomes a fascist agent; Film director Salvatore Di Vita is born 10 May 1939: Hierarch Gaetano Maria Barbagli and his troop land on Mars WWII: Captain Alberto Bertorelli, Captain Antonio Corelli, Major Oscar Pilli, Sergeant Nicola Lo Russo, Lieutenant Gino Rossati, Marmittone and Galeazzo Musolesi take part at the conflict; Partisian Johnny loses his life; Partisan Natalino "Capellone" Tartufato saves the life of the english spy Charles Harrison, Private Antonio is considered as straggler in Russia 1940s: Marcella Valmarin becomes a famous actress under the stage name of Alba Doris 25 December 1942: Photographer Valentina Rosselli is born 1943: The Finzi-Continis family is exterminated in a German Nazi lager, along with other jews 1944: In a hidden palace in the Republic of Salò, tortures takes place by hand of four wealthy personality of the republic 1945: End of World War II in Europe and the prison camps are freed, Giosuè Orefice is among the survivors 3 March 1945: Nicola "Nico" Giraldi is born 6 July 1945: Roberto "Rocky" Balboa is born 1950s: Bianca Castafiore is recognized as one of the best soprano in the world; Amelia Bonetti and Pippo Botticella become two renowned tip-tap dancers 6 September 1950: Salvo Montalbano is born 1952: In a laboratory comes to life a creature made of rubber 1953: Michele Apicella is born; During a diplomatic visit in Italy a princess escapes through the streets of Rome 1955: Criminal and con artist Mr. Ripley lands in Italy 1956: Painter Buono Legnani commits suicide 1957: Exorcist Don Zauker lands in Livorno 19 September 1958: Renato "René" Ferretti is born 1959: Topo Gigio debuts and becomes a television star; Detective Nero Wolfe moves to Rome after some "problems" with FBI 1960: Authoress Enrica Valldolit wins the Nobel Prize in Literature 1961: A british spy agent kills the terrorist Emilio Largo; A cemetery man has a close encounter with the Death 15 August 1962: A young university student loses his life in a car accident caused by an overtaking 1963: Medic Duca Lamberti loses his license and is imprisoned for practicing euthanasia; Calimero is born; "The Alphabet Killer" is caught 1966: Criminal Mastermind "The Fox" evades from prison 4 October 1967: Deboroh La Roccia is born 1968: Diabolik is presumed dead; Primo Cossi wakes up from hibernation and becomes a hitman related to the events of the Years of Lead 1969: A british criminal gang robs the FIAT industry 1970s: A criminal uses the sewer of a metropolis as hiding place and house; At Milan a group of bounty hunters form the C.T Association 1971: Fumagalli's thanatography is used to solve the four flies' mystery; Alberto Valle becomes the new Avio Motor CEO 1972: Somewhere in northern Italy, inside the Military Area 36, Professor Endriadi and his research team build the first AI February 1973: Four men commits suicide through planteration in a villa near Paris 1 June 1973: A terroristic attack blows up the Madonnina statue atop Milan Cathedral 1974: Andrea Straniero is born; Approved the healthcare reform "C.M.G"; Camilla Cagliostri is born 1975: After months of shipwreck on a deserted island in the Mediterranean sea, the wife of the industrial Lanzetti and a sailor are saved; The corpses of the Crespi d'Adda cemetery are resurrected; At Rome, German psychic medium Helga Ulmann is brutally killed 1976: For having inflicts severe damages to the organized criminality all over Italy in just few years, mysterious killers murder the police commissioner Betti 1977: Virginia Ducci survives at a murder attempt thanks to her clairvoyance 1978: Science fiction writer Della Spigola is abducted by the martians of Phobos; Discovered a breed of talking dog with a particular white fur with red spots; Famous chef Fausto Zoppi is killed by drowning; It ends the Filippo Carducci's kidnapping case; Riccardo Finzi begins his career as P.I 1979: 1980s: The ministry of the Great Hunt is founded; 1980: "Caterina" an American brand of robotic housekeeper goes on sale; Neapolitan camorra boss "The Marseillaise" and his gang are killed after a showdown; Rocky Giraldi is born, so named in honour of the famous boxer 12 August 1980: The Matchstick Man is spotted near the Abruzzi countryside 3 October 1980: Leonardo Zuliani is born 1981: The criminal known as "The Human Beast" loses his life in a gunfight 1982: The "K-Zone" theory is confirmed and Paolo Zeder is resurrected as zombie 1983: For the first time, alive people witness the "Palio di Siena of the dead contrade"; It is archived the case of the serial killer known as "The Killer Dwarf"; Naples F.C pays three billion for the acquisition of Brazilian footballer Paulo Roberto Cotequinho, he'll lead the Naples to the victory of its first championship four years later. 1984: Two men inadvertently travel through time back the 1492 August 1988: The first issue of "Bloody Eye" is published 1989: During a conference in Rome, experts try to discover the truth behind the Edwin Drood mystery; Deboroh La Roccia becomes Rat-Man 20 March 1989: Commissioner Corrado Cattani is killed in a mafia ambush 1990: FIFA World Cup scandal, the Italy team hires two pornstars to win; Salvo Montalbano becomes a police commissioner 1991: 1992: Sicilian gangster Johnny Stecchino uselessly resort to a person exchange to avoid death; During the annual Milan Film Festival, mystery fiction writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher resolves a murder case; During the quadrennial pallastrada world competition the St. Catherine prophecy comes true burning up the entire state of Gladonia November 1992: Daria Marchesi is jailed for the Baldacci murder, thus Marino Strano becomes Bloody Eye's head writer 1994: "The Florence Monster" is finally arrested; A feud between two families ends with the use of a low-potential atomic warhead; After various vicissitudes experienced in India, Marco Donati is exposed at the Aquarium Berlin as "The boy with the gills" 1995: Marco Buratti aka "The Alligator" starts a new career as P.I. 1996: After his death Ugo Fantozzi returns to life until 1998 1997: Police agent Napoleone di Carlo abandons his profession and moves in Switzerland 1999: Ugo Fantozzi is cloned; "The Fish in Love" becomes an international bestseller 2000s: Jimi Dini works at the development of his videogame "Nirvana"; Dr. Bartolomeo Zacchia continues his father's studies 2001: A romanian vampire is sighted in Rome April 2001: Giorno Giovanna becomes the Gangstar of the mafia association "Passione" 2005: Police agent Rocky Giraldi enters in service 2006: Rise of nationalism in Italy brings to the birth of Captain Padania July 2006: Activist Leonardo Zuliani disappears 2007: Mater Lacrimarum is killed 2009: During a spiritual séance, Gualtiero Marchesi conjures the Emily Ann Faulkner's spirit 2013: Long Wei becomes a local hero for the chinese communities in Italy; Celestine VI becomes the new pope 2014: An amateur gang of smart drugs dealers is arrested; Michele Silenzi gains superpowers 2015: Low-grade criminal Enzo Ceccotti gets superpowers and becomes the superhero Jeeg Robot; Arsène Lupin's grandson is spotted in Italy 2016: Benzino Napaloni is cloned; Intellectual Mario Bambea survives at his suicide attempt, contemporaneously begins the rise of popularity of the comedian Fabrizio "Bizio" Capoccetti 2017: In Calabria a farmer befriends a rare specimen of unicorn 11 September 2077: An asteroid falls in northeast Italy sweeping away Padoa, Vicenza and Verona while Venice is half submerged

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|Fiction in Fiction| Urban X (Pope) Astrubal I (Pope) Pius XIII (Pope) Celestine VI (Pope) Luke I (Pope) Libero I (Pope) Teomondo Scròfalo (Painter) Dùdron (Painter) Amos Pelicorti (Sculptor) Jep Gambardella (Writer) Cornelio Bizzarro (Writer) Leo Cordio (Writer) Ulisse Isolani (Writer) Ubaldo Terzani (Writer) Vincenzo de Fabritiis (Writer) Thomas Prostata (Writer) Giovanni Pontano (Writer) Giuseppe Marchi (Writer) Morgan Perdinka (Writer) Antonio Casella (Writer) Enrico Puzzo (Writer) Arturo Vannino (Writer) Edoardo Lasagnetta (Writer) Ugo Redy (Writer) Carlo Sperato (Poet) Giancarlo Santini (Film Director) Lippini Bros (Film Directors) Gambalesta (Actor) Enzo Melchiorri (Actor) Franco Melis (Actor) Saverio Crispo (Actor) Marco Salviati (Actor) Sofia Barlow (Actress) Giorgio Fini (Tenor) Carlo "Vitalis" Balzani (Tenor) Tony Corallo (Singer) Pat Rubino (Singer) Luca Pappacena (Singer) Quartetto Basileus (Band) Martino Piccione (Guitarist) Mariottide (Songwriter) DJ Vomito (Rapper) Bud "Bomber" Graziano (Boxer) Franco Fibbri (Soccer Player) Antonio Pisapia (Soccer  Player) Gli occhi del cuore ("The Eyes of the Heart") (Tv Series) Medical Dimension (Tv Series) La Bomba ("The Bomb") (Tv Series) Redenzione ("Redemption") (Movie) Paura d'odiare ("Fear to Hate") (Movie) L'usuraio licantropo ("The Werewolf Usurer") (Movie) Thor e le regine nude ("Thor and the Naked Queens") (Movie) Il vortice equestre ("The Equestrian Vortex") (Movie) La regina del pianeta nero ("The Queen of the Black Planet") (Movie) La palude del caimano ("The Caiman Marsh") (Movie) La vendetta del cobra ("Cobra's Revenge")  (Movie) I ragazzi del Bronx  ("The Bronx Boys") (Movie) Il caimano ("The Caiman") (Movie) Cataratte ("Cataracts") (Movie) Mocassini assassini ("Assassin Moccasins") (Movie) Maciste contro Freud (Maciste Versus Freud") (Movie) La mamma di Freud ("Freud's Mom") (Movie) Natale con la casta ("Christmas with the Caste") (Movie) La Febbra ("The Fever") (Movie) La polizia s'incazza (Movie) Sinite Parvulos (Movie) Margas (Movie) Il terrore di Parigi ("The Terror of Paris") (Play) Space Queen Vega (Videogame) Amedeo's Revenge (Videogame) Il codice indecifrabile ("The Indecipherable Code") (Novel) L'albicocco al curaro ("Apricot with Curare") (Novel) La paura del giorno ("Fear of the Day") (Novel) L'apparato umano ("The Human Apparatus") (Novel) Evoluzione digitale ("Digital Evolution") (Novel) Cortocircuito ("Short Circuit") (Novel) Folgore su Policastro ("Thunderbolt over Policastro") (Novel) La ninfa e il cadetto ("The Ninphe and the Cadet") (Novel) Il pesce innamorato ("The Fish in Love") (Children's Book) Bloody Mario (Comic Strip) Bloody Eye (Comic Book) Megaditta (Company) Nosferatù (Company) Finmor (Company) Centovetrine (Company) Auto Avio Motor (Company) SOFRAM (Company) Tekne (Company) Wondercomics (Company) Tondello Spa (Company) Digitex (Company) Sbav (Company) Famburgher House (Company) Trattoria Aldini (Company) Smack-O-Mat Corporation (Company) Partito Regressista (Politic) Partito Socialista Unificando (Politic) Italia in Marcia (Politic) Grande Destra (Politic) Longobarda (Football Club) Borgorosso (Football Club) Marchigiana (Football Club) Olimpia (Football Club) Eat it! (Product) Fido Uomo (Product) Io Cane (Product) Pandoro Sauli (Product) Cacao Meravigliao (Product) Cioccolato Spagnoli (Product) Marmellata Puffin (Product) Acqua pulita (Product) Coralba (Product) Sarchiapone (Animal) Colombre (Animal) Jaguar Shark (Animal) Tropelio (Animal)