“Portrait Of An Unknown Ukrainian Lady”, 1820s

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, 1860s.

Letter from Empress Elisabeth of Austria to her sister-in-law Archduchess Margarethe (neé Princess of Saxony) on the death of her eldest daughter Archduchess Sophie:

Laxenburg, 3 June 1857

Dear Margarethe, I was deeply touched by your loving participation in our terrible and irreplaceable loss. It was a terrible misfortune that struck the Emperor and me, to see one's first and dear child die in such a way is a pain that is quite difficult and hard to bear and I never thought that I could feel as unhappy as I do now. Everything here is such a wistful memory of our dear little one, every spot in the rooms and in the garden where she was so much fun last year and where we were so happy to see her this summer with Gisela. Our little one is happy now and will certainly pray for us in heaven that God will give us the strength to bear this misfortune and this can also be our only consolation. The Emperor also thanks you for your sympathy, and embracing you warmly, I am your faithful sister-in-law Sisi.

I translated it with DeepL, so keep in mind that since this is a machine translation a lot of nuances may/did got lost. Here's the original:

Laxenburg den 3. Juni 1857

Liebe Margarethe, Deine liebevolle Teilnahme an unserem furchtbaren unersetzlichen Verluste hat mich innig gerührt. Es war ein entsetzliches Unglück, das den Kaiser und mich getroffen hat, so sein erstes und liebes Kind sterben zu sehen, ist ein Schmerz der recht schwer und hart zu ertragen ist und ich dachte nie, daß ich mich so unglücklich fühlen könnte wie jetzt. Alles hier ist eine so wehmütige Erinnerung an unsere liebe Kleine, jeder Fleck in den Zimmern und im Garten, wo sie voriges Jahr noch so lustig war und wo wir uns so gefreut hatten, sie diesen Sommer mit Gisela zu sehen. Unsere Kleine ist jetzt glücklich, und wird im Himmel gewiß jetzt für uns bethen, daß uns Gott die Kraft giebt, dieses Unglück zu ertragen und dies kann auch unser einziger Trost sein. Der Kaiser dankt Dir ebenfalls für Deine Theilnahme, Dich herzlichst umarmend, bin ich Deine treue Schwägerin Sisi.

Grand Duchesses Tatiana and Olga in child versions of Russian court dress at the occassion of their brother´s christening, 1904 (source)

🌸🌹🌸... Princesse Dagmar du Danemark, elle deviendra Tsarine de Russie en épousant le futur Alexandre III.... 🌹🌸🌹

Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna in court dress

Empress Elisabeth's niece in 1891.

Duchess Amalie in Bavaria with her pet dog.

🌸🌹... Comme un fantôme, Marie, reine de son royaume disparu, Naples... L'héroïne de Gaete était la petite sœur de Sissi.. 🌹🌸🌹

🌺🌷🌺... Buste de la future Alexandra Feodorovna, qui se trouvait dans la chambre de sa grand-mère la reine Victoria, à Osbourne House.. 🌸

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia, 1914

❝ For the first time in centuries an heir had been born to a reigning emperor, and the ceremony was adorned with all the pomp and circumstance befitting the occasion. We travelled down to Peterhof, where the christening took place … According to Russian custom, the parents never attended a christening. The Emperor came only to the solemn Te Deum after it, so it was the Empress-Dowager who was the chief personage. Gracious and smiling, she slowly walked between rows of curtsying women, with the two eldest daughters [Olga and Tatiana] of the Emperor beside her, holding each other by the hand. Delightful fair-haired little girls of nine and seven, they wore short Court dresses in pink and silver, reaching a little below their knees. They had tiny kakochniks on their heads, the red ribbon of St. Catherine was worn across their shoulders, and each had a miniature diamond star of the order. They had evidently been told to be good on their first appearance in full gala. They were solemn judges, and allowed themselves to relax into a smile only when they passed a group of still smaller children, their two tiny sisters, and several little cousins, standing near a doorway and gazing open-mouthed as the procession passed.

The sponsors were the Empresss Dowager and the Emperor’s eldest daughter, little Grand Duchess Olga. She flushed a deep scarlet, a mixture of pride and shyness, as she was allowed to stand beside her grandmother and hold a corner of the baby’s cushion, as the Empress Marie carried him to the font. ❞

❁ Baroness Buxhoeveden on the roles of Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana Nikolaevnaof Russia  during the christening of their brother, Alexei, in 1905. (Before the Storm by Sophie Buxhoeveden, pg. 238, 240-41)

📷 Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana in their court dresses, as described by the baroness, pictured on the day of Alexei’s christening.