grande duchesse

plural grandes duchesses

1. alternativeAlternative form of grande-duchesse.

   A dash of smaller dimensions is the visit of the Grand Duc Serge and his grande duchesse to Balmoral.

   1893 October 15, “French Labor Troubles. M. Sardou, the Dramatist, Interviewed on His Methods. The Russian Reception. Very Little Enthusiasm in Advance Over the Event—Dr. Herz Protected by Illness—Plenty of Purple Grapes Make Wine Very Cheap.”, in The Pittsburg Press, volume 10, number 285, Pittsburg[h], Pa., page 9, column 3

   5 more examples

   When the procession reached the cathedral, it found the Corps Diplomatique, headed by the Ambassador of Spain, standing on the right of the dais, near the south gate, and at the side of the places reserved for the Imperial family. Behind were the Councillors of the Empire, the Ministers, the Senators; then the ladies of honour, the mistresses of the Courts of the Grandes Duchesses, the maids of honour, &c.

   1865 July, “Monthly Intelligence. Foreign News, Domestic Occurrences, and Notes of the Month.”, in The Gentleman’s Magazine and Historical Review, London: John Henry and James Parker, page 98, column 1

   Imagine me a heroine or / Even a princess, / A stately Cleopatra now, / And then a grande duchesse. / Perhaps I’ll lead a ballet, or / Surrounded by my lords, / I’ll trip it, trip it, trip it, as / An empress on the boards.

   1872, S. H. Gatty, “The Barmecide: A Muddle, Founded on the Stories of the Barber’s Brothers in the Arabian Nights”, in Mrs. Alfred Gatty [i.e., w:Margaret Gatty], editor, Aunt Judy’s Christmas Volume for 1872, London: Bell and Daldy, […], page 84

   “You want to kiss, kiss, kiss, all the while. You mustn’t do it, with a stitch in your side. Do you think that I have gone wild? You never tried getting rich in a single night. My hundred thousand dollars have flown to my head. I am effervescing with plans. I can understand the Bacchantes. I should like to swing a bunch of grapes, and caper with the Dancing Faun. What do you think of this for a Grande Duchesse?”

   1875, J[ohn] W[illiam] De Forest, “Mr. Hollowbread in the Bosphorus”, in Playing the Mischief. A Novel., New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], page 172, column 2

   He bowed low and he offered his flowers at the feet, not of the Grande Duchesse Olga, whose national peasant dress corresponded so harmoniously with his own, but of the little friend who sat so quietly beside her.

   1876, [Maria M. Grant], “Conclusion. Mi-Carême.”, in The Sun-Maid. A Romance., volume III, London: Richard Bentley and Son, […], page 292

   The season was at its height, and all the hotels were crowded, especially the Splendide. A grande duchesse with her suite occupied the guest-rooms on the first floor, where Mrs. Hallam ought to be; the King of Greece had all the second floor south of the main entrance; while English, Jews, Spaniards, Greeks, and Russians had the rooms at the other end of the hall. […] You know you are beautiful, with a grande-duchesse air which makes everybody turn to look at you, even the king.

   1894, Mary J[ane] Holmes, Mrs. Hallam’s Companion, Philadelphia, Pa.: J. B. Lippincott Company, pages 768 (At Aix-les-Bains) and 776 (Grace Haynes)