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…
In the first days of the summer of 1939,
an accident befell the Royal Family that led to a widespread
outpouring of sympathy. Queen Mary, mother of King George VI, was
involved in a car crash. Her son was touring Canada as the country
prepared for what felt like a growing…
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…
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…
Every ten years in the UK, a census is
held. All households in the country are required to fill in a form
with details of everyone living in that one unit to give a picture
of the population and help plan future services. The information is
held securely and can’t be…
She was the ‘May Queen’ whose reign
lasted little more than a month but left its mark in royal history.
Marie-Jose was always a bit of a maverick who had her own views and
no fear of sharing them. Those opinions would become a saving grace
for the dynasty she…
The queen who had to attend her wedding reception in a blood spattered gown
22nd September 2023
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…
‘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’…
The royal links of an historic church in the shadow of a world famous abbey
22nd September 2023
It’s hosted dazzling and trend setting
royal weddings but St. Margaret’s Church at Westminster is always
in the shadows for it stands, quite literally, beneath the world
famous abbey. It traces its history back to pre Conquest times but
the current building…
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…
