Here’s another intriguing and unusual image from the Royal Collection. Two of the granddaughters of Queen Victoria, Princesses Sophie and Margaret were the daughters of German Emperor, Frederick III and Victoria, Princess Royal. Both led rather strange lives marked by tragedy and turmoil. Margaret and Sophie, together with their sister, Viktoria, were extremely attached to their parents—so much so that they banded together to monopolize their attentions and put a wedge between their parents and their elder siblings. The sisters were terribly close as evidenced by this photograph. Photographer Arthur Debenham, in 1882, captured the girls’ intelligence and intensity in this image and emphasized their closeness. The result is a photograph of two sisters so close they could be conjoined twins. Simultaneously alarming and touching, this rare photograph offers a glimpse at two unusual young women who would ultimately be burdened by the weight of their station.
The photographs in the Royal Collection are beautifully presented in the book,
Crown and Camera: The Royal Family and Photography 1842-1910, which I recommended last week.
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