Things that came up while I was researching my Yuletide fic but didn't want to ask because they would have given me away. :P
1) So Wilhelmine's Mom-killing opera Semiramis was staged for SD's birthday. Who made that decision? Fritz? Was Amalie present for it? I checked and it was March 1754, so Wilhelmine had left Berlin in November 1753 and wasn't there. (Was 1753 her last visit to Berlin? She was on her France/Italy trip from October 1754-August 1755, so unless she came in late 1755 or early 1754, to must have been?)
2) How long would the royal family wear mourning for a monarch? I managed to dodge the issue in my fic, but you can see why it was relevant. ;)
3) Do we know the names of any of Wilhelmine's dogs other than Folichon? I wanted to name the spaniel she was patting in her introductory scene, but couldn't find any dog names and didn't want to be contradicted later.
Speaking of dogs, I encountered this tidbit from Asprey this week, relevant for fic purposes. Henry Conway, a nephew of Sir Robert Walpole, was introduced to Fritz by Keith sometime in the early 1770s. He's quoted (so probably reliable) saying the following about Fritz's rooms in Sanssouci:
I saw...alike in Cabinet and in Bed-Chamber, three arm-chairs in a row for three favorite dogs, each with a little stool by way of step, that the getting up might be easy.
<3
Ah, I don't see it at all in the source Asprey cites (unless there are further volumes not on archive.org), but it's in Carlyle and the entire letter is given. And Carlyle dates the letter to July 17, 1774. Thank you, Carlyle.
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timeasmymeasure
Random questions
Date: 2021-02-21 12:25 am (UTC)1) So Wilhelmine's Mom-killing opera Semiramis was staged for SD's birthday. Who made that decision? Fritz? Was Amalie present for it? I checked and it was March 1754, so Wilhelmine had left Berlin in November 1753 and wasn't there. (Was 1753 her last visit to Berlin? She was on her France/Italy trip from October 1754-August 1755, so unless she came in late 1755 or early 1754, to must have been?)
2) How long would the royal family wear mourning for a monarch? I managed to dodge the issue in my fic, but you can see why it was relevant. ;)
3) Do we know the names of any of Wilhelmine's dogs other than Folichon? I wanted to name the spaniel she was patting in her introductory scene, but couldn't find any dog names and didn't want to be contradicted later.
Speaking of dogs, I encountered this tidbit from Asprey this week, relevant for fic purposes. Henry Conway, a nephew of Sir Robert Walpole, was introduced to Fritz by Keith sometime in the early 1770s. He's quoted (so probably reliable) saying the following about Fritz's rooms in Sanssouci:
I saw...alike in Cabinet and in Bed-Chamber, three arm-chairs in a row for three favorite dogs, each with a little stool by way of step, that the getting up might be easy.
<3
Ah, I don't see it at all in the source Asprey cites (unless there are further volumes not on archive.org), but it's in Carlyle and the entire letter is given. And Carlyle dates the letter to July 17, 1774. Thank you, Carlyle.