A soldier reacts after falling off a horse as members of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, arrive at Green Park for a gun salute celebrating the King's birthday in London on November 14, 2022. King Charles III is celebrating his first birthday as monarch as he turns 74. (Photo by Daniel Leal/AFP Photo)

In this photo provided by Britain's Ministry of Defense, on Monday, March 4, 2024, F-35B Lightning jets are parked at a flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, under the northern lights (Aurora Borealis) near the coast of Norway, Sunday, March 3, 2024. (Photo by UK Ministry of Defence via AP Photo)

A toddler sits on the winner of the giant pumpkin category during the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) London Harvest Festival Show at RHS Lindley Halls on October 6, 2015 in London, England. The traditional harvest themed show runs October 6-7 and showcases a wide range of late summer grown fruit and vegetables. (Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)

Grand banqueting halls, opulent lobbies and vast ballrooms; you could easily be forgiven for thinking this was a collection of photographs was documenting some of Europe’s grandest hotels. However, a closer look will reveal the majestic rooms to be engulfed in swathes of dust and moss; hotels that once hosted royals and high society abandoned to the elements. This is the latest result of urban exploration photography, going beyond “no entry” signs to capture images of dilapidated buildings across Europe. IT worker Thomas Windisch, from Graz in Austria, indulged his passion for photography by traveling across the continent, visiting over 100 abandoned hotels along the way. Here: inside a hotel in Austria. (Photo by Thomas Windisch/Caters News)

South African maidens wrap themselves in blankets as they head to a ritual bath in a local river on September 5, 2014 at the eNyokeni Royal Palace in Nongoma in the KwaZulu-Natal region ahead of the 13th anniversary of the Reed Dance (uMkhosi woMhlanga) celebrated by the Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithin. As part of the ceremony, the young women dance bare-breasted for the king, each carrying a long reed, deposited later as they approach the King and is a cultural celebration that promotes respect for young women, and preserves the custom of keeping girls as virgins until marriage. (Photo by Marco Longari/AFP Photo)

A Thai Marine instructor drinks a cobra's raw blood after killing it as he gives instruction to US Marines and South Korean Marines during jungle survival training as part of the multinational joint military exercise Cobra Gold 2018 at a Force Reconnaissance Battalion camp in the Royal Thai Naval Base, Sattahip district, Chonburi province, Thailand, 19 February 2018. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/EFE)

People look at the Harmony of the Seas cruise ship leaving the STX shipyard of Saint-Nazaire, western France, for a three-day test offshore, on March 10, 2016. With a capacity of 6.296 passengers and 2.384 crew members, the Harmony of the Seas, built by STX France for the Royal Caribbean International, is the world's largest ship cruise. (Photo by Loic Venance/AFP Photo)

An Indian Royal Bengal tiger looks on at an enclosure on World Tiger Day at Alipore Zoo, Kolkata, India, 29 July 2019. Kolkata zoo authority added a new Tiger to the zoo for the visitors to mark the Tiger Day. Students of Kolkata are also taking part in an awareness campaign aiming to draw attention to the threats that tigers face due to habitat loss and poaching. (Photo by Piyal Adhikary/EPA/EFE)