Lydia Starbuck

Royal weddings tend to have a lot in common. They usually take place in huge, historic churches with brides decked in acres of white fabric and heirloom tiaras and grooms in military uniform, followed down the aisle by hoardes of bridesmaids and pageboys. Traditions must be observed while protocols are dug out and dusted down as the familiar pattern of this family celebration turned into a…

It’s seventy five years exactly since the Dukedom of Edinburgh was given to a young bride groom about to embark on a marriage that would change the House of Windsor forever. Thanks to Prince Philip, the title became one of the best known in the world but it has a long and varied history all of its own. Most recently, it was bestowed upon Prince Philip just ahead of his marriage to the…

It’s one of the most famous titles in recent royal history but its creation, seventy five years ago today, came as little surprise to many. For as one newspaper put it, the decision to create the Dukedom of Edinburgh for the bridegroom of the heir to the throne had been an open secret for months. King George VI made his soon to be son in law, Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh in…

The Regency Act of 1937 lays out who stands in for a Monarch in a range of situations where they can’t exercise their functions. It came into force in the first year of the reign of King George VI, when his heir was a ten year old princess called Elizabeth. Now, George VI’s grandson has asked the House of Lords to amend it. King Charles III wants his sister and brother added to the list of…