At night, a historical attraction somehow
acquires an entirely different authentic ambience, with the
sense of its past rendered more palpable by the feeling of
exclusivity – there is a sense of being a private guest at a bygone
court. Entering any residence at night emphasises this idea,
something which the sequence of a royal apartment’s series of
rooms – designed to indicate your…
London has many plaques and memorials
with royal connections but in fact, rather fewer statues. Some of
these statues have interesting hidden histories of their own, of
how they were made, how they came to be in the places that they are
and why. Some of these statues may be…
The Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court
Palace will host its inaugural Real Tennis Champions Trophy between
11-16 July 2017, with the world-class competitors draw being
reduced down to the eight top-ranking players from the UK, United
States, Australia and France. The…
Following her birth on April 21 1926 at
the home of her maternal grandparents at 17 Bruton St Mayfair, the
baby Princess Elizabeth moved to the house that her parents, the
Duke and Duchess of York, had taken at 145 Piccadilly W1. This
would be the house in which she would spend the first years of her
childhood, as well as White Lodge in Richmond Park. These were
the residences where the young…
A set of silver gilt and cloisonné
enamel which 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 the Yorkshire…
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 extraordinary feature within its walls. The Talbot
Hotel in Oundle is located some thirteen miles outside Peterborough
and is a ten-minute drive from Fotheringhay. It preserves
the staircase which is traditionally…
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…
