The color lithographs in this book depict the life of Queen Louise of Prussia. The text is embossed in different colors against the background of the beautiful light purple cloth of the binding. The book includes 50 images in which artists capture episodes from the queen’s life that reveal her as the “queen of hearts”. The book was published to commemorate the 120th anniversary of her birth. Queen Louise is one of the most unconventional of all German historical figures. The woman, who would traditionally be relegated to standard gender roles, took a prominent place in the pantheon of heroes of the period, revered both in Prussia and subsequently in the German Empire. The cult of Louise continued to develop, sustained both by her crowned sons and by subsequent governments until the end of World War II. Even after Germany’s defeat, however, the memory of her survived in German society.

Prussian King Friedrich William III was rather succinctly described by one of his biographers as a melancholic on the throne. Unlike her husband, the queen is a frequent subject of study for German historians. Louise appears in many studies on the War of Liberation and the memory of that war. There are works devoted to the transformation of her image and the forms it took in different eras. Her image is explored in iconography, portrayed in films and media space. Her name was given to parks and squares, streets and churches, as well as to a bridge, which by the will of fate became Russian, but did not lose its name.

Popular science literature and fiction devoted to Queen Louise may well make the bestseller list, and the genre affiliation and themes raised can range quite widely, from her own letters to anecdotes and interesting stories from the life of the Prussian queen. The list of works about Louise on various websites, including the one devoted to the Queen herself, is impressive in itself for a person who died more than 200 years ago and who was neither a famous military leader, nor a famous reformer, nor an important political figure. Louise’s role in preserving Prussia after its defeat in 1807 is still being studied.