Iceberg: President's mansion at Bessastadier and more

pg 205

the President (of Iceland's) mansion at Bessastadir

Bessastaðir is today the official residence of the President of Iceland and is situated on Garðabær, not far from the capital city, Reykjavík.

After the slaying of Snorri Sturluson in September 1241, Bessastaðir was claimed by the King of Norway. Thereafter it became a Royal stronghold and the dwellings of the King's highest-ranking officers and officials in Iceland. It resisted an attack by Turkish slave raiders in July 1627. In the late 18th century Bessastaðir was changed into a school for a few years and until 1944 when it was donated to the President it was a common farm. The location is named after Sigurður Jónasson Bessastaðir who bought the estate in 1940 and donated it in 1941.

Even a Russian-built Zis stood temporarily in the circular driveway

Zavod imeni Likhachova, more commonly called ZIL (or ZiL, Russian: Завод имени Лихачёва (ЗиЛ)—Likhachev Factory, literally "Factory named after Likhachov") is a major Russian truck and heavy equipment manufacturer, which also produced armored cars for most Soviet leaders, as well as buses, armored fighting vehicles, and aerosani. The company also produces hand-built limousines and high-end luxury sedans (автомобиль представительского класса, also translated as "luxury vehicle") in extremely low quantities, primarily for the Russian government. ZIL passenger cars are priced at the equivalent of models from Maybach and Rolls-Royce, but are largely unknown outside the CIS and production rarely exceeds a dozen cars per year.

Pitt's outfit looked like a cross between a Louis XI court costume and God knew what.

Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called the Prudent (French: le Prudent), was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father Charles VII.
A devious and disobedient Dauphin of France, Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the Praguerie (1440). The king forgave his rebellious vassals, including his son Louis, to whom he entrusted the management of the Dauphiné.
Louis' ceaseless intrigues, however, led his father to banish him from court. From the Dauphiné, he led his own political establishment and married Charlotte of Savoy, daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy, against the will of his father. Charles VII sent an army to compel his son to his will, but Louis fled to Burgundy, where he was hosted by Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, Charles' greatest enemy.
When Charles VII died in 1461, Louis left the Burgundian court to take possession of his kingdom. His taste for intrigue and his intense diplomatic activity earned him the nicknames the Cunning (Middle French: le rusé) and the Universal Spider (Middle French: l'universelle aragne ), as his enemies accused him of spinning webs of plots and conspiracies.
In 1472, the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, took up arms against his rival Louis, who was able to isolate the Duke from his English allies by signing the Treaty of Picquigny (1475) with Edward IV of England. The treaty formally ended the Hundred Years' War. With the death of Charles the Bold at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, the dynasty of the dukes of Burgundy died out. Louis took advantage of the situation to seize numerous Burgundian territories, including Burgundy proper and Picardy.
Without direct foreign threats, Louis was able to eliminate his rebellious vassals, expand royal power, and strengthen the economic development of his country. He died in 1483 and was succeeded by his son Charles VIII.