Daily Dialogue — July 21, 2010

“The poor have only one advantage; they know when they are loved for themselves.”

 — Anastasia (Ingrid Bergman), Anastasia (1956), screenplay by Arthur Laurents, based on a play by Marcelle Maurette

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is kings, queens, princes, and princesses.

Trivia: When the remains of the Romanov family were discovered at Ekaterinburg in 1991, only 9 of the 11 bodies were found. Only who was initially thought to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia and also her brother, Czarevich Alexei, still remained missing, further clouding the question of her fate. However, it was announced that the DNA and other forensic evidence from the remains determined that Anastasia was indeed among the 9 bodies that were unearthed from the pit in the forest outside of Ekaterinburg; and that the missing bodies were those of Alexei and one of his other sisters, the Grand Duchess Marie. After all examinations were completed, the remains of the nine individuals were transferred to St. Petersburg and ceremoniously interred at the Fortress Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. The two remaining bodies were believed to be discovered in 2007 and are fairly certain to be those of the Czarevich Alexei and the Grand Duchess Marie. When all examinations are completed and the results are announced, those remains, too, will be transferred to St. Petersburg for burial with the other members of the family.