On a hot summer day in 1543, a young
widow married an ageing and much wed king in a ceremony that took
many by surprise. By the time Katherine Parr said ‘I do’ to Henry
VIII in the Queen’s Closet at Hampton Court Palace on July
12th 1543, his five previous unions and attitude towards
marital harmony were such that continental contenders to be consort
of England were all but running in the…
One of the best known inhabitants of the
Tower of London, a raven called Merlina, has disappeared and is
feared to have died. The bird, who has been part of the Tower’s
roost since 2007, hasn’t been seen for weeks and her keepers now
believe she is dead. Taking to…
Spain’s government has confirmed that
King Juan Carlos will retain his title for life. The country’s
Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, explained the decision after being
asked whether ministers planned to revoke his royal status. Carles
Mulet, a member of the Valencian…
When the leading princess of a royal
court marries, it’s usually a grand affair with tiaras, sparkle and
endless celebrations. But when Astrid, then the de facto first lady
of Norway, said her ‘I dos’ in 1961, it was a low key affair that
changed the rules of royal romance. Her marriage to Johan Martin
Ferner was controversial but the fact that it took place at all
signalled a shift towards…
It’s not the most talked about royal
wedding of all time but the marriage that took place on a cold,
January day in 1967 has proved to be an important one for the Dutch
Royal Family. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, aunt of the
current monarch King Willem-Alexander…
King Felipe urges 'extreme caution' as Spain hit by worst snowstorm in a generation
10th January 2021
King Felipe VI has urged people across
Spain to exercise extreme caution as the country is hit by the
heaviest snow it has seen in half a century. Four people have died
since Storm Filomena brought massive falls in many parts of the
country over the past days. In a…
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have
both been vaccinated against coronavirus. Buckingham Palace issued
a short statement on January 9th 2021 confirming that the couple
had received the jab. It read, simply, “The Queen and The Duke of
Edinburgh have today received Covid-19 vaccinations.” The Queen,
94, and Prince Philip, 99, are in the priority group for the
vaccinations. The couple…
A new survey for a major Spanish
newspaper has shown support for King Juan Carlos to return from his
self imposed exile. The poll, for El Mundo, found 55% of people
asked think the former monarch should come back to live in the
country he ruled for almost forty years. It…
King Felipe VI of Spain began his royal
year in a very different way. Every January 6th, the Spanish
monarch oversees the ‘Pascua Militar’ in Madrid, the traditional
ceremony marking the start of the military year. However, in 2021,
events were curtailed owing to the…
King Juan Carlos I of Spain was visited
by his eldest child, Infanta Elena, as he spent his birthday in
exile. The former monarch turned 83 on January 5th 2021 and passed
the day in Abu Dhabi where he has been living since August 2020
after deciding to leave the country he ruled for almost forty years
in the wake of continuing controversy around his financial affairs.
Several Spanish media…
