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A-Z of the Monarchy: V-Z

<![CDATA[3185822157_67c7626a92_zIn the final part of this series, we shall take a look at some Royal-related facts from the letters V through to Z.
Vegemite – Prince William and Catherine received some some unusual gifts for their 2011 nuptials. These included Vegemite, a herd of cows, and Lady Gaga’s accordion. Whilst George Michael sang a cover of “You & I” by Stevie Wonder and, my personal favourite, they received a tandem bicycle. How cute would they be taking a morning ride through Hyde Park!?
Wine Cellar – The wine cellar at Buckingham Palace is home to around 39,000 bottles, with a value of appropriately $3.5 million.
X-Factor – Prince Harry took his then girlfriend to the 2009 finale of the singing competition X-Factor, and is known to be a big fan of the show himself. The Duchess of Cambridge is also rumoured to be a fellow fan of the show!
Yeoman Warders – Popularly known as Beefeaters, they are the ceremonial guards of The Tower of London. However, anyone can’t just become a warder. All warders must be retired from the Armed Forces and be former senior non-commissioned officers or petty officers with at least 22 years of service. They must also hold the Long Service and Good Conduct medal.
Zoo – Like Prince William and Kate, Queen Elizabeth has had her share of unusual gifts. Seychelles has gifted The Queen two giant turtles in the past, and Cameroon presented Her Majesty with an elephant named Jumbo. Naturally Buckingham Palace isn’t the appropriate home of these animals, so they reside in London Zoo instead.
Photo credit: martinhoward via photopin cc
Featured photo credit: jetglo via photopin cc]]>