This legendary medieval matriarch was a fiercely independent queen who wielded extraordinary political power and became the mother of two English kings.
—
Liz Regalia,
Parents,
9 Sep. 2026
James topping the list by a significant margin when the likes of Mickey Mantle and Michael Jordan have long been seen as the kings of the sports card world may raise some eyebrows, but his priciest card to date does include Jordan on it.
In Italy, the worst drought in 70 years has exposed the piers of an ancient bridge over the Tiber River once used by Roman emperors but which fell into disrepair by the third century.
—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Aug. 2026
The wreck also contained gold coins issued by four emperors of the Heraclian dynasty, which ruled the Byzantine Empire during the seventh and eighth centuries.
In a feudal era when the king simultaneously led church and state and the common people were known as ‘serfs’ and were effectively owned by their local lords, rebellion was unheard of.
—
Antonia Blyth,
Deadline,
4 Sep. 2026
Set the scene Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria lords over the Sorrentine Peninsula.
Before him, Olav and Märtha had had two daughters, princesses Ragnhild and Astrid, but at the time, the law of succession excluded women from the throne.
—
Stefania Conrieri,
Vanity Fair,
28 Aug. 2026
As a young man, Harald was urged to find a bride among Europe's noblewomen and princesses.
Autocratic rulers need information to head off threats to their power; the CCP’s personnel file system, filled with information about the party’s cadres, is an irreplaceable channel of information for China’s rulers.
—
ANDREW MERTHA,
Foreign Affairs,
17 Sep. 2026
The former is a liberal democracy, the latter a vicious dictatorship whose rulers kill their own people to stay in power.
With 775 rooms, the palace also provides office space for the royal bureaucracy and hosts lavish state dinners for visiting presidents and potentates.
—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 June 2026
Biden put this sentiment into action by working with Netanyahu despite serious moral and political failures in Gaza, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on NATO expansion, and with Gulf potentates on the region’s security architecture.
Many of its stations look as though they were built for the tsars, clad in precious marble and adorned with mosaics, crystal chandeliers, sculptures, and gilded moldings.
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2026
Buccellati’s New Caviar Bar Caviar rose to the fore as a delicacy by Russian czars amid the opulence of the 19th and early 20th century, around the same time Italian jeweler Buccellati was born.
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