Читать книгу Hatches, Matches and Despatches - Jenny Paschall - Страница 16

PRINCE Hartmann of Liechtenstein, 1613–86, had twenty-four children – more than any other royal parent. Duke Roberto of Parma, 1848–1907, also had twenty-four children – but by two different wives.

ANAESTHESIA was originally opposed by churchmen as a method to ease the pain of childbirth. They claimed that in the Bible, Eve was told, ‘In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children’ as a punishment for eating the forbidden fruit, and that it was going against God’s will to ensure painless childbirth. However, when Queen Victoria benefited from its effects during the birth of her seventh child in 1853, churchmen suddenly decided that maybe it was not a sin after all. Thereafter, it was known as ‘anaesthesia à la Reine’.

MARIE Antoinette was a trend-setter in the eighteenth century, and all the fashionable ladies at court would study and copy everything she wore. When she became pregnant, the ladies followed her trend – not by conceiving, but by inserting ever larger cushions under their clothes as the queen’s pregnancy progressed. Not surprisingly, as soon as Marie Antoinette gave birth to the Dauphin, the padded stomach became last season’s look!

WHEN British royal babies are christened, holy water from the River Jordan is specially flown in. The font is brought in from the Jewel House of the Tower of London for the occasion, and the cream Honiton lace christening gown bears the needlework of the young Edward VII, who was reputed to have taken four hours to fashion each square inch of the garment’s wild rose pattern.