Spirit of Kings: the house and its perfumer
Spirit of Kings is a niche perfume brand born in Spain in 2019, with the idea of evoking the legendary past of medieval English royalty through contemporary creations, crafted from bottle to juice. The nose is Christian Provenzano, who has more than fifty years in the trade. The range is divided into collections: the first is the Gold Collection, from 2019, and the second, the Manifestation Collection, was unveiled in Cannes at the end of 2022.
The Manifestation Collection, home of Mercy and Affinity
In the Manifestation Collection, each of the sovereign's virtues is a "book" with its own color and illustration, and each book holds four perfumes, called "chapters." All the fragrances are conceived as unisex. The packaging feels like a piece of jewelry, with a box decorated like an antique book, a faux-leather case and a glass bottle with a French diamond cut, closed by a magnetic cap shaped like a cushion-cut gem.
Compassion, the red book
The red book includes Mercy, Amity, Harmony and Affinity. The house describes it as warm, sweet and fruity, with pineapple, strawberry and bergamot alongside amber, vanilla and musk. These are the book's key notes, not the pyramid of a single perfume.
Wisdom, Guardianship, Justice
The green book, Wisdom, is aromatic, with patchouli, ginger, thyme, rosemary and cedar. Guardianship, the purple one, is floral and mysterious, built on Damask rose, Moroccan rose, vanilla, amber, oud accords and guaiac wood. Finally, Justice, the blue book, pairs fruit and citrus with woods, with bergamot, pineapple, amber, Cambodian oud and blond woods.
The eaux de parfum named after stars
These eaux de parfum are chosen mostly for the story the house attaches to each one, and here they're grouped by theme.
Stories of heirs and succession
Arrakis tells of a king searching for an heir and the daughter who arrives after many years, grows up at his side and becomes a passionate horsewoman, until a fall from her horse leaves her unable to move. Tabana is about the passing of the kingdom from an old sovereign to his only son, with a hunting expedition the prince opposes. The starting point of Errai, finally, is a dissolute prince whose father is mourning the queen.
Stories of war, peace and counsel
The story of Altair is the truce between the Land of the Sun and the Land of the Moon, two kingdoms divided by a river and weary of war, in which the Sun king offers peace and his daughter's hand to the Moon prince. In Kursa, the king of a small coastal country is threatened by an enemy fleet, and his wise men advise him to have the people flee to the mountains. Hadar is set in a farming kingdom of rivers and mountains, where the senators announce the arrival of an army of locusts. Acamar and Sagira share the same story, that of a young king who summons the neighboring sovereigns to save the kingdom's treasury.
Zaurac and Shihab
Zaurac tells of a prince who makes a six-day journey in four to reach his ailing father, crossing a land of bandits and spies. Shihab, released in 2024 and unisex, is dedicated to a shooting star on a summer evening.
Finding your way through the notes
Among the eaux de parfum on this page, Shihab is the only one whose product page lists the olfactory pyramid. It opens with raspberry, peach, bergamot, apple and pink pepper; the heart holds Turkish rose and jasmine with cedar and patchouli; and the base has amber, musk, sandalwood, tonka bean and vanilla. For the others, the product page tells the story of the sovereign the perfume is dedicated to: if you choose by imagery, start there.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mercy by Spirit of Kings?
Mercy is one of the four perfumes in the Compassion book, part of Spirit of Kings' Manifestation Collection. The book is red, and the house describes it as warm, sweet and fruity, with key notes of pineapple, strawberry, bergamot, amber, vanilla and musk. Like the whole collection, it is conceived as unisex.
Are Spirit of Kings Mercy and Affinity from the same collection?
Yes, Mercy and Affinity both belong to the Compassion book of the Manifestation Collection, together with Amity and Harmony. The four names evoke four facets of compassion, the sovereign's virtue to which the book is dedicated. Each perfume has its own identity, always within a fruity, warm register.
Who creates Spirit of Kings perfumes?
Spirit of Kings perfumes are created by Christian Provenzano, a perfumer with more than fifty years of experience. He signs the compositions for the Spanish house, which was founded in 2019 with the Gold Collection and continued with the Manifestation Collection, divided into the four books Wisdom, Guardianship, Justice and Compassion.
What is the Spirit of Kings Manifestation Collection?
The Manifestation Collection is Spirit of Kings' second collection, unveiled in Cannes at the end of 2022. It is divided into four books devoted to the sovereign's virtues: Wisdom, aromatic and green; Guardianship, floral with roses and oud; Justice, with fruit, citrus and woods; and finally Compassion, fruity and warm.
What are the notes in Spirit of Kings Shihab?
Shihab is a unisex eau de parfum released in 2024 and dedicated to a shooting star on a summer evening. It opens with raspberry, peach, bergamot, apple and pink pepper; the heart holds Turkish rose and jasmine with cedar and patchouli, and the base blends amber, musk, sandalwood, tonka bean and vanilla. It's the only one on the page with a listed pyramid.
Why are Spirit of Kings perfumes named after stars?
Many Spirit of Kings eaux de parfum are named after stars, such as Altair, Hadar, Acamar and Zaurac, while Shihab refers to a shooting star. Except for Shihab, each is tied to a court story told on its product page, with a king or prince facing a crisis, a war or a succession.
What story does Spirit of Kings Zaurac tell?
Zaurac is the story of a prince who receives a letter bearing the queen mother's seal and realizes his father is getting worse. He decides to make a six-day journey in four, taking the shortest road through the lands of his father's enemy, full of bandits and spies.
What story does Spirit of Kings Arrakis tell?
Arrakis is the story of a king who searches for an heir for a long time and, after many years, has a daughter. The princess grows up following her father and becomes a passionate horsewoman, until a fall during training leaves her injured and unable to move, and the king summons the greatest doctors in the world to help her.
Do Acamar and Sagira tell the same story?
Yes, Acamar and Sagira start from the same story, that of a young king who, with the kingdom's treasury drained by a long crisis, summons the neighboring sovereigns to a council to find a way out. They are, however, two distinct eaux de parfum, each with its own product page.
