Is that so?
It's a saying when you want to emphasize that someone lives well, is happy, and has everything.
They say he lives like a king! Or like a queen, because the queen is supposed to live as well as the king, if not better.
Of course, this saying comes from distant times, from the Middle Ages, when the difference between the way ordinary people lived and nobles and kings lived was infinitely great!
Time has passed, and times have changed, but this expression is still used today.
I wonder now. Do the people, the normal people of today's world realize that the standard of living and living conditions are now much better than they were for the most powerful kings of the past?
If people thought about this more often, I think they would be more satisfied with their lives and their chance to live now.
All these thoughts and questions came upon me as I was looking at some older photos from those many trips I took to Bulgaria, to Balchik, my favorite summer vacation spot by the sea. The Black Sea!
In this place, by the sea, there is a very special place. A large garden in which there is a castle and several villas. It is the summer residence of Queen Mary of Romania.
We visited this castle and gardens every year. Sometimes I was more attracted to the castle, other times I was more attracted to the gardens, depending on the condition.
The castle is called a castle because of its architecture and who lived there. The building is modest in size and is today outdone by many holiday homes...
Built of stone and with an architecture that uses elements of Bulgarian houses and even a minaret, made out of respect for the Muslim religion of most of the inhabitants of Balchik, at least I think it keeps the interior cool on hot summer days.
A small lobby at the entrance.
I forgot to mention that the castle is now a museum. A museum very visited by tourists. In this hall, we found several plates with the history of the building and the royal house.
The rooms are small, like an ordinary house. This first room on the ground floor seems to be a room where the meal was served.
Upstairs, the living room and... the bedroom. In the same room.
The bedroom was just a niche with a sofa. What could be simpler?
Queen Mary of Romania
In the short time that Romania was a monarchy (less than a hundred years), there were three queens. Queen Mary was the most important, the most intelligent, the most modern, the most beautiful, the most famous in the world and the most beautiful!
Maria of Romania (b. 29 October 1875, Eastwell Park, Ashford, Kent, England - d. 18 July 1938, Pelisor Castle, Sinaia, Kingdom of Romania) was a Crown Princess and the second Queen of Romania, as the wife of the Prince who later became King Ferdinand I of Romania. She was the mother of King Charles II. Maria, born Marie Alexandra Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was a Princess of Great Britain and Ireland and the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
His parents were Alfred Ernest Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh, and his mother, Maria Alexandrovna Romanova, Grand Duchess of Russia, the only daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Source
From this short biography it can be understood that he grew up in large monarchical houses, with kinship with the most powerful monarchies in Europe, and yet...
From the niche where the bed where she slept leads to the bathroom!
The royal bathroom which also had central heating...
I think you'll agree with me that it's a modest bathroom. I don't think anyone seeing these pictures without explanation would guess that this was the bathroom of a queen. Even if only in a summer residence.
Even the queen's armchair seems less comfortable than what we have at home...
And now I go back to what I said at the beginning. To that belief that kings led the best lives possible. Of course, in their time they probably enjoyed the maximum comfort and care possible.
But if we were to compare it to our lives now. The average standard of living. It can easily be seen that we have an easier life, full of facilities that were lacking in the past.
Everyone can think about what they have access to now and the kings of the past did not.
If we think about how we can easily get rid of a virus or germ with just a pill or a vaccine (haha... even if some don't believe that now), a king of old could easily die of trivial causes today.
My conclusion is that we are now living in a very good time and we should enjoy what life offers us. I see a lot of people unhappy, but not unhappy with their lives. They have a lot of dissatisfaction, unfortunately, a lot of it is induced by influencers and other interested people. A major change in society is wanted.
The world wants to turn its back on the lifestyle we currently have...
I fear that this change will lead to the loss of many of the facilities and advantages of the life we have now.
I hope we live (and we'll see)!
