The regal tradition of scratching
signatures in windowpanes is long established and well known. The
windows – particularly when in rooms of royal residences – formed a
kind of living ‘guestbook’, often accompanied by the date the visit
or signature, was made. These windowpanes are silent witnesses to
vanished royal gatherings on long ago summers or essential
occasions, represented today by…
Did Queen Victoria and Prince Albert really introduce the Christmas tree to Britain?
24th December 2024
Prince Albert is generally credited with
introducing the Christmas tree to Britain, but in fact, it was the
work of his wife’s grandmother, Queen Charlotte. Like Prince
Albert, Charlotte was born and raised in Germany, where the
tradition of bringing a tree inside at…
Of the memorials in Kensington Gardens,
many share a close connection with Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert, the most important to the latter being the ornate Gothic
masterpiece designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, known as the
Albert Memorial, which was unveiled in 1872…
The site of Christchurch Greyfriars, is a
strange, haunting place, redolent of history. It is now a ruined,
public garden and a popular place for Londoners to take their
sandwiches for lunch. Long gone is the atmosphere of bells and
prayer from the Middle Ages; although in an odd parallel to its
previous use as a church, it manages to be a place of peace in the
noise of the City and nearby Stock…
Of the nine children of Queen Victoria’s
children, one daughter married in London another on the Isle of
Wight and one son in St. Petersburg. The remaining six married at
Windsor, five at St. George’s Chapel and one in the Private Chapel
at Windsor Castle. The…
Did Queen Victoria and Prince Albert really introduce the Christmas tree to Britain?
23rd December 2023
Prince Albert is generally credited with
introducing the Christmas tree to Britain, but in fact, it was the
work of his wife’s grandmother, Queen Charlotte. Like Prince
Albert, Charlotte was born and raised in Germany, where the
tradition of bringing a tree inside at…
Queen Victoria’s winter sledge became
synonymous with the Windsor Christmas, at least during the lifetime
of Prince Albert, who is rightly credited with popularising
Christmas traditions in England, including that of the Christmas
tree. The royal trees were decorated with coloured wax candles,
sweets, toys and artificial snow, whilst the gifts exchanged by the
Royal Family were gathered beneath…
While modern royal Christmas celebrations
take place at Sandringham, for hundreds of years it was Windsor
Castle that was the preferred setting for the festive celebrations
of kings and queens. Victoria and Albert loved to spend the season
there but they were only…
Sometimes known as ‘the annexe to
Buckingham Palace’, the classic hotel in London’s Mayfair has
time-honoured connections with royalty that exist into the present
day. From the earlier single building run by William and Marianne
Claridge at 51 Brook Street…
The historic queen who was always treated to handmade Christmas cards from her children
15th December 2023
Some of the earliest Christmas cards to
survive in the Royal Collection date from the first half of Queen
Victoria’s reign. These were handmade by Queen Victoria’s children
and are typical of the sentimental nineteenth century; although in
the case of the Queen’s family, everything was preserved and
nothing too small to commemorate. The German Christmas was properly
introduced into England…
