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Victoria and Abdul!
Victoria and Abdul!
Hi guys, I had seen this second movie about Queen Victoria, only this time, it's about her relationship with Abdul Karim, the Indian Munshi.

The Story

So the film is basically a sequel to the 1997 film, Mrs. Brown, like the Scottish John Brown, Abdul also faces hostility with the Royal Family. They attempted to persuade Queen Victoria to expel Abdul from the court, like what she did to Sir John Conroy during her younger days, but it did not work!
When her son, King Edward VII ascended the British throne. He destroyed all of John Brown's and Karim's properties, unlike the former, Abdul was still...
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That sideburn!
That sideburn!
Okay, since I have covered on both Maria Theresa and Catherine the Great. Here is another take of Queen Victoria and her Austrian counterpart, Emperor Francis Joseph since they have a number of similarities with each other.

Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria-Hungary

Also known as Emperor Franz Joseph in German, he became Emperor of Austria with the help of the Russian Intervention of Hungary on 2nd of December 1848. He married his maternal cousin, Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria. Famously known as Sissi, unfortunately she was unprepared for the Viennese Court.
Sadly, Franz Joseph's life encountered...
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posted by AcidBanter
A Queen who lost three kingdoms. A wife who lost three husbands. A woman who lost her head.

This is the tagline of the European produced movie Mary Queen of Scots by director Thomas Imbach. And it sums up the life of Scotland's tragic Queen perfectly.

Director Imbach wrote the film based on a biography by Stefan Zweig, a biographer and playwright, who's approach to Mary's story was told with more dramatic flair than the average biography. One of the main viewpoints from Zweig was that Mary had been in a position of power and command for so long that it drained her; when Bothwell caught Mary's...
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There is a classic scene in Anne of the Thousand Days (Jarrott, 1969) where Anne Boleyn (Genevieve Bujold) looks Henry VIII (Richard Burton) in the eye and proclaims 'My Elizabeth shall be queen! And my blood will have been well spent!'

There is no proof that such an exchange ever took place between the pair but it is a powerful and prophetic moment that tells the viewer that Anne's blood was indeed well spent, and her words prove true as Elizabeth, her daughter, became possibly the greatest ruler England ever had. How she eventually came to be queen is nothing short of a miracle, the 'bastard'...
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Today when we think of being a princess we imagine a romantic adventure reminiscent of Cinderella who lives happily ever after in a fantastical castle. The reality was that life for a woman was precarious at best; with intrigue, war and disease rife throughout the centuries. The prospects for a princess were no different, but sometimes these royal women proved to be more resourceful than the average Disney heroine in their strength of will to survive the harshest obstacles. One of these princesses was Elizabeth Stuart.

Early Life:

Born into Scottish royalty, Elizabeth Stuart was the daughter...
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Upon finishing Giles Tremlett's biography of Katherine of Aragon, I've come away with an even deeper respect for Henry VIII's first Queen.

In this day and age, there has been so much written on the six wives of Henry VIII, and many more that declare Anne Boleyn as the greatest of them all, while the others have been neglected. Indeed, Tremlett's biography was the first since the early seventies to focus solely on Henry's first Queen. And it proved long overdue. Tremlett gives us the portrait of a woman who was not merely a matronly wife who defied a king; she was a strong willed and highly intelligent...
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link

01. Nicki Minaj & Rihanna - Fly

The Start coming and I start rising
Must be surprising, I'm just surmising
I win, thrive, soar, higher, higher, higher
More Fire

I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive
I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise
To fly, to fly

02. Anastacia - Paid my Dues

'Cause I'm too proud, I'm too strong
Live by the code that you gotta move on
Feeling sorry for yourself
Ain't got nobody nowhere

So I...
(Held my head high)
I knew (knew I'd survive)
Well I made it (I made it)

03. Madilyn Bailey - Titanium

Cut me down
But it is you who will have further to fall
Ghost town and...
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On 22 February 1540 a Queen was crowned. She was Marie de Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots, one of the most famous women in Scottish history. Sadly, Mary's failures eclipse the successes of her mother, a far better politician and leader in her own right. Qualities that were useful in everyday life but proved crucial in dealing with the Scottish nobility upon the death of her husband, King James V.

King James was an intelligent, if emotionally insecure, monarch who was loved by his people if not by his nobility. And after losing the battle of Solway Moss, he is said to have died of a broken...
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posted by deedragongirl
Empress Maria Theresa
Empress Maria Theresa
Hi everyone, since I had posted about my favourite Historical Figure. I would like to write about 2 famous monarchs during the 18th century, and they are Maria Theresa of the Holy Roman Empire and her Russian counterpart, Catherine the Great.

Maria Theresa

She was unexpectedly ascended to the throne when her father, Emperor Charles VI died of probably mushroom poison. Initially, she had great difficulties during her first year of her reigns.
She also participated for the War of the Austrian Succession against King Frederick II of Prussia, also known as Frederick the Great.
However, under her...
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On 14 July 1486, Queen Margaret of Denmark died at Stirling Castle. By her side was her son James, Duke of Rothesay, the future King James IV of Scotland. One source claimed that on her death bed Margaret said to her son, 'I pray you, through your obedience as my son, to love and fear God, always doing good, because nothing achieved by violence, can endure.' If indeed Margaret did speak such words then they would prove tragically prophetic for within two years her son would depose his father, King James III of Scotland, dying in mysterious circumstances; twenty five years later James IV would...
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Hello Jenna.
Hello Jenna.
Hi guys, I had just watched the first episode of the miniseries of Victoria and moving on to the second episode, I had seen the Young Victoria 6 years ago. So here are first thoughts on the miniseries as well as my opinion on both anyway.

Victoria the Miniseries

Okay, although the first was very slow and I was very surprise on how handsome Sir John Conroy is! Okay, Jenna Coleman's portrayal of the young queen is very accurate and I have to give her a round of applause for her outstanding performance.
Lord Melbourne is portray as an elderly man unlike in the Young Victoria, and the relationship...
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Queen Elizabeth Wydeville, the slandered Queen of England has spent centuries judged to be a greedy and horrid woman, characteristics written of her by her many enemies. In this volume, Okerlund delves into the preconceptions in order to shed light on the truth - was she truly a vile woman or was she a strong individual who endured where others crumbled?

It does appear that Elizabeth Wydeville was indeed a much more complex personality than sources have made out in the past. A deeply pious woman, Okerlund determines that the marriage of Elizabeth and Edward IV was truly a love match and not...
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posted by AcidBanter
Mary Tudor, the first Queen of England has never had a good reputation throughout history and this idea has translated onto film. All in all there have only been three films made centering on Mary and her story. These films are Marie Tudor (Capellani, 1917), Marie Tudor (Gance, 1966) and The Twisted Tale of Bloody Mary (Barnard, 2008).

However, the majority of the time when Mary is in films or TV shows about the Tudors, she is usually a minor character or features only as a cameo. In films such as Anne of the Thousand Days (Jarrott, 1969) or The Other Boleyn Girl (Chadwick, 2008) she is reduced...
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posted by deedragongirl
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria
Hi everyone, since I love history here are my least and most favourite Historical Figure in random order.

Queen Victoria

She was the longest reigning British monarch in history following her descendant, Queen Elisabeth II. She came to the throne when she was 18 years old and had a miserable childhood, she was being bullied by her mother's alleged lover, Sir John Conroy.
Conroy and her mother devised the Kensington System that will rendered the young Victoria so that the former could serve as her regent, but it was backfired when Victoria became queen and expelled Conroy from her court, she...
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This years GFF has many treats in store for its viewers, and some involve the celebration of women in the modern world.

Every year GFF celebrates classic movie star, one who's contributions to cinema are still valued to this day; and this year is no exception as the team have put together a selection of films and documentaries in celebration of Ingrid Bergman's career.

Bergman is best known for her role in the classic Casblanca opposite Humphrey Bogart, and Notorious with Cary Grant; both of which will appear as part of the festival. But she was already a star when Hollywood came calling, with...
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posted by deedragongirl
Thank you Malala!
Thank you Malala!
Hi guys, I had just read Malala's auto-biography and it was heart-wrenching. Here are my thoughts and review on her auto-biography.

The Story

Like Anne Frank's diary, Malala tells us about her childhood, her parents and her relationship with them as well as her 2 younger brothers. She had an extraordinary relationship with them, despite that her country's condition and fundamentalist ideologies.
She also wrote about how the Talibans didn't want anything Western, like having a TV and radios in the house or board games. Otherwise, they will storm in and wreck havoc in your house!

The Scariest...
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posted by AcidBanter
There has been a recent surge in interest of Scotland's infamous queen Mary Stewart. An exhibition is currently on at the national museum of Scotland, two films are currently in production about the life of Scotland's most tragic figure, as well as a TV series starting in October focusing on her years in France. After reading up the 2013 movie it was said that the book that gave the writer the most influence was a biography by playwright/biographer Stefan Zweig.

From the moment of her birth Mary had been the centre of attention - queen at just six days old she was a coveted prize for both England...
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