royalwatcher:

The 1903 Ball in the Winter Palace 

This fancy dress ball is the last to held by the Russian Imperial Family. The event held at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg on February 11 and 13. All the guests were dressed as people who lived in the 17th century. 

The Tsar as Alexei I, the Tsaritsa (Alix) as Maria Miloslavskaya

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovitch recalled the occasion as “the last spectacular ball in the history of the empire…[but] a new and hostile Russia glared through the large windows of the palace…while we danced, the workers were striking and the clouds in the Far East were hanging dangerously low.”

Thanks to Wikipedia for the pictures. 

(via argonautico)