Victoria’s Read

1. She was born Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst in 1729 but we know her by another name. She is famous for her exquisite taste, extravagances, lovers and the creation of one of the world’s great art collections.

~Catherine the Great
~Madame du Barry
~Queen Anne of England
~Marie Antoinette

2. The court of Versailles with its rigid etiquette was sometimes just too much for Marie Antionette to take. Her pastoral “getaway retreat” bore what name?

~Le Refuge
~Le Hameau
~Le Grand Trianon
~La Conciergerie

3. What did newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst share with his mistress, actress Marion Davies?

~An island
~A castle
~An entire apartment building
~The world’s largest yacht, the “Zodiac”  

4. Elizabeth Taylor’s diamond collection is famous, but she also owns one of the world’s most renowned and historically significant pearls. What is its name?

~La Perla
~Star of Asia Pearl
~La Régente Pearl
~La Peregrina

5. Not many women can be fabulously wealthy and yet still be perceived as having the common touch, but Oprah Winfrey manages it. Why doesn’t Oprah borrow jewels to wear to red-carpet events?

~She’s allergic to most metals
~She objects to flashy jewelry
~She prefers to buy them
~She worries they’ll be stolen

ANSWERS

1. Catherine the Great married the future Peter III of Russia when she was 14. Because he was an ineffectual ruler, she had herself declared Empress. Her unpopular husband was murdered shortly after his abdication.

2. The Queen’s Hameau, or hamlet, was a charming village built to her specifications at great cost. It contained cottages, gardens, and the infamous dairy barn where Marie Antionette could milk her cows.

3. A castle “La Cuesta Encantada”, the Enchanted Hill, is more commonly known as Hearst Castle. It is in San Simeon, California.

4. The La Peregrina (Pilgrim) pearl is several hundred years old and was owned by Mary Tudor and then by Spanish royalty. Ms. Taylor has owned it since 1969.

5. She prefers to buy them. All that glitters on Oprah’s neck and ears and fingers is her own.