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Anne Glenconner invites both old friends and new acquaintances to join her in The Picnic Papers. Featuring contributions from Bryan Adams, Graham Norton, Lorraine, Rupert Everett, Tina Brown, Freya Stark and many more, they explore the curious British obsession with dining alfresco, despite our famously unpredictable weather. Picnics, it turns out, spark strong opinions. HRH Princess Margaret insisted on having hers at a proper table, while the indefatigable John Julius Norwich enjoyed 147 picnics over seven weeks in the Sahara. In stark contrast, writer James Lees-Milne simply loathed them.

Born in 1781 in a small impoverished duchy of Germany, Julie's quiet life took a fairy-tale turn when she married into the Russian Imperial Family - the Romanovs. But this world of baroque splendour, of opulent palaces and grandeur, was no happily ever after. Taken to Russia at just fourteen, her marriage was hastily brokered to save the Saxe-Coburg duchy from financial ruin. Her husband, Grand Duke Konstantin, was cruel and abusive, Julie was uprooted from her home, family, language and culture.