When I left off on my letter project in December 2022, I’d just finished up with KCB’s letter through January 1895. Now it is September 2023.

In the early part of 2023, I spent time looking at receipts from the scrapbooks. But the pieces weren’t falling into place like I thought they would so I’ve moved back to letters. The scrapbooks are four volumes with hundreds of receipts in French and Russian. It takes time to go through and translate them.

In my inventory, I don’t have any letters for February 1895. Invitations and other official court correspondence “Yes” but no letters. There’s a letter from the Austro-Hungarian Embassy notifying Clifton that the reception scheduled for February 9/21, 1895 has been canceled because Archduke Albert of Austria-Hungary has died.

There’s a notification that the Imperial Court will be in mourning for Grand Duke Alexis Mikhailovitch for three months (dated February 18, 1895). The Grand Duke was Nicholas’s cousin and died of tuberculosis at the age of 19. And an invitation for KCB to attend the funeral of the Grand Duke. She is to wear a mourning dress with a train. Then there is the official invitation to Clifton for the funeral and another invitation for KCB.

That was pretty all there was for February 1895.