British Royals

The King who conquered and a Royal Family ready for anything

As weekends go, this one must be a pretty jolly one at Balmoral. If King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived back in Aberdeenshire with a spring in their steps, who could blame them? They touched down after a hugely successful State Visit to France which grabbed headlines around the world. In fact, it was a week to remember for all the right reasons for the Royal Family. Not even the rain as autumn…
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Features

The royal weddings of York Minster

It’s one of the oldest churches in Britain the seat of one of England’s most important clerics yet the famous York Minster is a rare venue for royal weddings. Just two major regal marriages have taken place at this ancient church in almost 1,000 years. The…
European Royals

The queen who fought an assassin with flowers

She was the queen who tried to save her dynasty with nothing more than a bouquet of flowers. Maria Amelia saw her husband and eldest son mortally wounded at close range in an assassination that would hasten the demise of their dynasty. She had done all she could to save the monarchy she married into but it would all come to nothing as she watched another son lose his throne just years after the…
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Spain

The queen who had to attend her wedding reception in a blood spattered gown

A century ago, the woman who reigned as Spanish consort had more than her fair share of problems. She was Victoria Eugenie, known as Ena, and her first day as a queen began in a terrifying manner. Ena perhaps realized the turbulence ahead of her just minutes after her wedding. She walked into the Royal Monastery of San Jeronimo in Madrid on May 21st 1906 as a princess and left as a queen having…
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Features

How many of Henry VIII's queens were crowned?

‘Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.’ That sad little rhyme, summing up the fates of Henry VIII’s six wives, is familiar to many. But while just about everyone knows that the monarch with a thing for wedding cake said ‘I do&#8217…
Features

Mary of Waltham, a tragic teenage royal bride

On an autumn day, in 1344, a little girl was born to a famous king and queen. She entered the expected role of a royal daughter from birth as her future husband, an important political ally, was already living in the regal nursery she would call home. This royal baby spent her life preparing to marry and make an alliance that would strengthen her father’s power and she is best known to history…
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