From Russia with love

 Stumbled (not literally!) across this group of young people doing a photo shoot outside the Scottish Parliament for the Girl Guides to highlight the dangers of plastic. 

 We were in Edinburgh to celebrate M’s birthday and visit the exhibition Russia, Royalty and The Romanaovs.
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What struck me were the close family links between Britain and Russia i.e. Queen Victoria got her granddaughter, Princess Alix, aged 22 married off to her Russian cousin, Nicholas 11, Tsar of Russia, in 1894 . (See extra photo).
 
And we saw film footage of the Russian Royal family visiting Balmoral at the turn of the century. 
 
Perhaps the most poignant though were the contrasting images between the portraits of women, who were little more than pawns in the Royal households to be married off to European Royalty, and the freedom of ordinary women today. (See extra).
 
Also the multicultural nature of visitors today to the gallery (see extra) as they gazed at a portrait of Queen Victoria surrounded by both the British and the Russian royal families.

Link:
https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/russia-royalty-the-romanovs/the-queens-gallery-palace-of-holyroodhouse