The Imperial Tea Party

Family, politics and betrayal – the ill-fated British and Russian royal alliance

Author: Frances Welch

The Imperial Tea Party draws back the curtain on the three extraordinary meetings that took place between the British and Russian royal families during the late Victorian years. In this wonderfully droll account, Frances Welch presents a vivid snapshot of two dynasties at a time of social unrest.

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The British and Russian royal families had just three full meetings before the Romanovs tragic end in 1918. In The Imperial Tea Party, Frances Welch draws back the curtain on those fraught encounters, which had far-reaching consequences for 20th-century Europe and beyond.Russia and Britain were never natural bedfellows. But the marriage, in 1894, of Queen Victoria s favourite granddaughter, Alicky, to the Tsarevich Nicholas marked the beginning of an uneasy Anglo-Russian entente that would last until the Russian Revolution of 1917.The three extraordinary meetings that took place during those years, although generally hailed as successes, were beset by misunderstandings and misfortunes. The Tsar and Tsarina complained bitterly about the weather when staying at Balmoral, while British courtiers later criticised the Russians hospitality, from the food to the music to the slow service.In this wonderfully sharp account, Frances Welch presents a vivid snapshot of two dynasties at a time of social unrest. The families could not know, as they waved each other fond goodbyes from their yachts at Cowes in 1909, that they would never meet again.

Critic Reviews

"With her quick wit and light touch, Welch conducts a relentless inquiry into conscience, family loyalty and the nature of the past... an unsettling portrait of moustaches, murder, and lèse-majesté.’ Frances Wilson, The Spectator"In this funny, touching and ultimately tragic book, Welch brilliantly exposes how the British family courted and then abandoned their royal cousins in the run-up to World War I." Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday"A fascinating book... Welch is an excellent writer." The Daily Telegraph"Delightfully witty and entertaining." The Times Literary Supplement"Excellent history... Intrigue aplenty." The Times"Deeply affecting." Daily Mail

About the Author

Frances Welch is the author of The Imperial Tea Party (2018), Rasputin: A Short Life (2014), The Russian Court at Sea (2011), A Romanov Fantasy (2008) and The Romanovs & Mr Gibbes (2004), all published by Short Books. Frances Welch has written for The Sunday Telegraph, Granta and The Spectator. She lives in Aldeburgh, Suffolk with her husband, Craig Brown.