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."
Tense relations between Moscow and London stretch back to the Soviet era and continue under Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The latest diplomatic spat was sparked by the March poisoning of a Russian double agent who settled in England after being arrested and then exchanged in a 2010 spy swap.
Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia both fell into a coma after coming into contact with a Soviet-designed nerve agent that Britain says was secretly used by Russia.
They have since been discharged from hospital.
London accuses Moscow of trying to murder Skripal in retaliation for his work with Western intelligence agencies. Russia angrily denies the charge.
The episode sparked the biggest ever expulsion of diplomats between Moscow and Western allies.
It has also complicated the lives of ordinary Russians planning a big night out in London.
More stringent British entry visa requirements and the scaling down of consulates has made it difficult for Russians to enter the UK.
The rules have also hamstrung the families of Russians oligarchs who have turned the British capital into their own "Londongrad" -- a city where they spend big and pay substantial taxes.
"Skripal, that was the last straw," Smagin-Melloni said.
But she said that Britain's impending departure from the European Union -- a tortuous process known as Brexit -- also heavily complicates the logistics of organising such events in London.
"As a European, I should not face anywhere the problems that I do in Britain," she said. "So you can say yes, it was a combination of all these events. Great Britain -- it is becoming more alone.
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