Features

The princess who wore blue to say 'I do' to a prince who waited decades to marry her

By
24th August 2023
It’s one of my all time favourite royal wedding dresses and just a glimpse of it can make me feel ever so slightly emotional. For not only was the pale blue gown worn by a lass called Lilian from Swansea on a cold, December day in 1976 a masterclass in elegance and chic, it was also the wedding dress of a princess decades in the making. It’s now forty four years since Prince Bertil of Sweden…
Read more
Features

The princess named after Ireland's patron saint

By
23rd August 2023
For a princess who claimed a bit of a royal first at the baptismal font, it’s perhaps not surprising that Patricia of Connaught – known for most of her adult life as Lady Patricia Ramsey – ended up changing plenty of regal rules on her way.  The little girl who was born in Buckingham Palace on March 17th 1886 grew up to be one of the most eligible women in Europe, and when she did finally…
Read more
British Royals

Prince William and the World Cup - do you think the Prince of Wales should be in Australia for the big game?

By
19th August 2023
So should he stay or should he go? As England’s footballers prepare for their first World Cup final in almost sixty years, tactics have been put on the back burner while a far more heated debate takes place. Never mind who lines up on the pitch for the match against Spain – will Prince William be watching pitch side? OK, not actually pitch side, from the royal box. After England made it to…
Read more
Features

How Princess Anne revived a forgotten royal name

By
15th August 2023
A is for Anne but why did the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II end up with a name that, at the time, wasn’t a usual one for members of the Royal Family? The answer can perhaps best be found in the summer of 1930 and the arrival of another princess. In August that year, the future George VI and his Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) welcomed their second daughter. The baby girl was…
Read more