On 21 April 1926, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London, at the Mayfair home of her maternal grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. The former house in which she was born was at No. 17 Bruton Street and although the house no longer exists, the site is of great historical interest and a focus on this building is all the more timely, as we remember the birth…
A set of silver gilt andcloisonné enamelwhich stirred interest in the antique world since it was recently consigned as going to auction, sold today for £20,000. This champlevé cutlery set told a story that links the future Tsarina of Russia’s visit to…
Kensington Palace to host new exhibition on Diana, Princess of Wales
15th January 2017
Kensington Palace is to host a new exhibition about Diana, Princess of Wales to mark 20 years since the death of the Princess, including a new temporary garden which is being installed in the grounds of the Palace in celebration of her life. The choice of a garden being…
In March 2017, a major exhibition will be launched in Vienna to mark the 300th birthday of one of the most important figures in Austrian history, Empress Maria Theresia. Commemorated in the form of a huge statue on the Maria-Theresien-Platz in Vienna near where the so-called Ring borders the Museum district, the Empress is depicted unmistakably as both a woman and a ruler in equal measure, both…
The short service of remembrance, known as The Ceremony of the Lilies and the Roses, is held every 21 May, to commemorate the fact that Henry VI, England’s so-called “saintly king”, died at the Tower of London in 1471.
Tradition has adopted the Norman Wakefield Tower…
One hotel in Northamptonshire preserves a possibly extraordinaryfeature within its walls. The Talbot Hotel in Oundle is located some thirteen miles outside Peterborough and is aten-minutedrive from Fotheringhay. It preserves the staircase which is…
For those interested in retracing the steps of Henry VIII’s fourth wife in England, they can of course do so at Hever Castle, the Boleyn seat which was granted her as part of her annulment settlement, at the site of Richmond Palace, which remained hers until her death, together with the Kentish residences of Dartford and Penshurst, the latter of which was offered to her in exchange for…
January 30th marks the anniversary of the execution of King Charles I in 1649 at Whitehall, London.The date is normally marked by a short ceremony in the Banqueting House at Whitehall, however this year the ceremony will not take place there due to the fact that the…
Mary Queen of Scots was born on 8 December 1542, at Linlithgow Palace, incidentally the birthplace of her father, James V of Scotland, in West Lothian, some fifteen miles distance from Edinburgh. The palace’s name translates literally as the “loch in the damp…
