Tea drinking in England dates back to
1662, when it was introduced at court by Portuguese Infanta
Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. Anna Maria Stanhope,
Duchess of Bedford However, the very British ritual of ‘Afternoon
Tea’ as a meal found its ‘raison d’être’ in the dressing room of
Anna Maria Russell, née Stanhope, the seventh Duchess of Bedford,
one of Queen Victoria’s…
The bill had done well to reach committee
stage in the Lords last session before it ran out of steam and the
forces of time conspired against its further progress. Fortunately,
however, The Courtier has discovered this is by no means the
end of the line for the fight to…
As the introduction states: “Under Queen
Elizabeth II royalty has continued to adapt to the modern world,
and despite some bad times, remains the strongest of British
institutions”. In many ways, this sense of pride and admiration for
the British monarchy is the…
1953: The Queen in Timaru, a major port
in the southern Canterbury region of New Zealand. Crowds gathered
on the banks of the River Thames to catch a glimpse of the Royal
Yacht Britannia bringing Her Majesty and the Royal family home.
Numerous sirens from ships and even factories rang out as the
Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Princess Anne made
their way down the Thames. They…
Lords Commissioners, chosen by Her
Majesty to act on her behalf at the prorogation, suspended
parliament’s business by reading out The Queen’s proclamation in
the House of Lords at the close of business today in Parliament.
The date for prorogation was decided in the…
This year, the show will begin on July
8th, just two days after the Grand Depart of the 2014 Tour de
France passes Harrogate and Knaresborough en route to Sheffield
from York. The Countess of Wessex’s attendance at the show will be
her first, while Princess Anne has been…
The Royal couple will meet veterans of
the Second World War from the Glider Pilot Regiment, The Queen's
Own Rifles of Canada, The Parachute Regiment and the 1st Canadian
Parachute Battalion, among others. Prince Charles and the
Duchess will attend several engagements together on Thursday 5th
June. In relation to Charles’s role as Colonel in Chief of the Army
Air Corps, they will both…
On Monday, Prince Harry said:
"Ultimately, this is about the men and women who have given so much
and deserve our support. In September the public has their chance
to show that support in the sporting arena, I know people will want
to join me in cheering them on from…
A new children’s book series will be
released in September, with the first called ‘The Adventures of
Lupo the Royal Dog: The Secret of Windsor Castle‘. The protagonist
of the book is a cocker spaniel named Lupo, based on the real-life
pet belonging to The Duke and…
62 years later and our Queen is still
going strong and, unbelievably, is on her twelfth prime minister.
So here, in this series of blogs, I wish to take you on a royal and
political journey, introducing you to Her Majesty's Prime
Ministers. Let's start all the way back in 1952. The first of Queen
Elizabeth II's prime ministers was wartime Prime Minister, Sir
Winston…
