Balmoral cairns cairn's completion. Balmoral cairns There are eleven stone cairns on the Balmoral estate in Deeside, Scotland, and a single cairn on the adjoining Birkhall estate. The cairns commemorate members of the British royal family and events in their lives. The majority of the cairns were erected by Queen Victoria. The cairns commemorate the marriages of Victoria's children, of the Princess Royal (to Frederick, Crown Prince of Prussia in 1858), Prince Albert Edward, Princess Alice, Princess Helena, Princess Louise, Prince Arthur, Prince Leopold and Princess Beatrice. Victoria's son Prince Alfred is unique in not having a cairn dedicated to him. The
Helena Kantakouzene, Empress of Trebizond Helena Kantakouzene, Empress of Trebizond Helena Kantakouzene (died 1463) was the second wife of David of Trebizond. She was the last Empress of Trebizond. Donald Nicol has argued that Helena was the sister of George Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, and thus the granddaughter of Matthew Kantakouzenos and possibly the daughter of Demetrios I Kantakouzenos. Theodore Spandounes reports that George visited her in Trebizond after 1437. It is unclear which of David's children were also hers; his five children—three boys and two daughters—have been attributed variously to Helena or David's first wife Maria of Gothia by various genealogies. Nevertheless, the oldest sons died