Features

The accession of a baby who became one of the most famous queens of all

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14th December 2022
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 hollow” and still overlooks a inland loch. Today it ismaintained by Historic Scotland and was the residence of…
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Prince Albert, the royal skater

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13th December 2022
Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s beloved consort, was an eager skater who loved winter sports as part of enduring royal pleasure. Not only did he drive the Queen’s sledge when the royal couple were visiting Brighton during a sudden snowfall, but he also enjoyed charming…
Features

Queen Victoria's Winter Sledge

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7th December 2022
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…
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The last Christmas of a great queen

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3rd December 2022
Queen Victoria spent her last Christmas at Osborne in 1900. It was forty years exactly since Prince Albert had celebrated his final Christmas in 1860 at Windsor, the setting for so many happy family festivities in the past. Prince Albert did not live to see Christmas 1861…
Features

Snow and Royalty

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2nd December 2022
Snow has provided enjoyment for countless generations of children and adults alike; royalty, of course,is no exception to this time-honoured rule. English monarchs have wintered at Windsor since the twelfth century. Windsor Castle was the preferred royal residence in whichto spend Christmas for Queen Victoria during Prince Albert’s lifetime, Osborne House being chosen on occasion…
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The wedding dress of Queen Elizabeth II

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20th November 2022
After the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten at 11:30 am in Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947, the bridal gifts given to Princess Elizabeth were exhibited at St James’s Palace, numbering over 2,500. Like the gifts, Princess Elizabeth’s…
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The little Archduchess Sophie (1855-1857) - Hapsburg's Youngest Blossom

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23rd June 2022
The Archduchess Sophie Friederike was born on 5 March 1855 as the first child of the Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth, the year after their wedding. Three more children would follow with the births of the Archduchess Gisela, Crown Prince Rudolf and the Archduchess Marie Valerie, in 1856, 1858 and 1868 respectively. The fact that the Archduchess Marie Valerie was later Elisabeth’s…
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