An annual ball for aspiring Russians in a London palace hosted by a descendent of the tsars has been cancelled because of a breakdown in relations between Britain and Moscow.
The Debutante Ball captures the essence of the high society life that families from across Russia dream of when they fly off to a country that the Kremlin effectively views as a foe.
The Times describes a debutante as "a young lady from an aristocratic family who had reached maturity and was able to be introduced to society to find a suitable husband." The ball began in 1780 but was abandoned after World War II with the changing times.
Festivities resumed in one of Europe's biggest ballrooms not far from Buckingham Palace in 2013 with the help of Princess Olga Romanoff -- a descendant of Russia's last tsar.
Videos of past events show gowned women with tiaras dancing with dapper men wearing white gloves.
But Elisabeth Smagin-Melloni -- the Viennese organiser who also stages galas that move with the season from Baden-Baden and Biarritz to places like Montreux -- said diplomatic tensions had spoiled the London party.
"Our Russians guests were facing more and more problems," Smagin-Melloni told AFP.
"They did not get visas. They had to pay enormous fees when they asked for the visas, and then the visas were denied and they did not know why the visas were denied."
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