As Queen SofÃa of Spain marks her 85th birthday, we take a look at her life, from the Kingdom of Greece to the Kingdom of Spain.
The person who we now know as Queen SofÃa of Spain was born on 2 November 1938 in Athens, Greece, as Princess Sophia Margarita Victoria Frederika of Greece and Denmark. Her parents were the then Prince Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica, a daughter of Ernest…
Before they were royal: The life of Queen Silvia of Sweden
22nd December 2023
She would go on to become the longest-serving Queen of Sweden, but no one could have expected what the future reserved for her as Silvia RenateSommerlath was born on 23 December 1943 in Heidelberg, Germany.
The youngest and only daughter of Walther Sommerlath and…
The princess who left her home for a throne that didn't yet exist: the life of Queen Sofia of Spain
2nd November 2023
As Queen SofÃa of Spain marks her 85th birthday, we take a look at her life, from the Kingdom of Greece to the Kingdom of Spain.
The person who we now know as Queen SofÃa of Spain was born on 2 November 1938 in Athens, Greece, as Princess Sophia Margarita Victoria…
Why is Princess Michael of Kent not called Princess Marie Christine?
16th August 2022
Marie Christine von Reibnitz has been a member of the British Royal Family for over 40 years, and even though she doesn’t carry out official royal engagements, she is a well-known figure, not least because of some of her highly publicised controversial actions in the past.
Marie Christine is better known as Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent…
In the UK there are very specific rules regarding who is entitled to be a Prince or Princess. Most of these rules come from Letters Patent issued in 1917 by King George V, in which the King accords the Princely title to all children of the Sovereign, to the Sovereign’s…
A Swedish royal mystery
9th October 2020
The date of 7 October 2020 marked one year since the Royal Court of Sweden announced King Carl XVI Gustaf’s decision to remove the style of Royal Highness from five of his grandchildren.
This decision affected the children from his two youngest children, Prince Carl…
All the royals who have lived in Kensington Palace's Apartment 1
22nd September 2020
Apartment 1 at Kensington Palace remains vacant a year after the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester moved out of the 21-room residence. The apartment, which is adjoined to the Cambridge family’s living quarters, was occupied by the Gloucesters from 1972 until September 2019. In this article Royal Central takes a look at the previous occupants of the now empty property which is rich in royal…
Prince Albert II of Monaco marks the 15th anniversary of his accession as Sovereign Prince of Monaco this year. Prince Albert, son of Prince Rainier III and American actress Grace Kelly, succeeded his father on 6 April 2005, only five days after he had been called by the…
Before they were royal: the life of the Duchess of Kent
24th May 2020
Born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley on 22 February 1933, she would one day become a much-loved member of the Royal Family, as the Duchess of Kent, but now we take a look at her life before her marriage to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.
Katharine is the youngest child and only…
Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones was born on 20 January 1965 as the youngest child and only daughter of Christopher Bournes Rhys-Jones and the late Mary O’Sullivan at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford. She has an elder brother, David. One of her godparents was the late actor Thane Bettany, who was her father’s stepbrother.
Stephen Lock/i-Images
Sophie grew up in Kent, to where her family moved…