It was a quiet country affair, far
removed from the pomp and ceremony we’ve come to expect from royal
weddings. The setting was an English parish church, the regal guest
list only filled a couple of pews, and the bride walked in several
minutes late carrying her own train to protect it from the rain.
The marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, on 8 July 1972,
was a royal wedding with a…
It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s
coming…the tapestry is coming home. The Bayeux Tapestry is heading
back to British shores, for the first time in almost 1000 years,
and you need to put 2022 in your diary right now if you want to see
this…
It was a quiet country house, described
by several who knew it as ‘’little’’ and a ‘’pied a terre’, given
as a wedding present to a royal couple who were expected to linger
on the fringes of regal life. Yet on July 2nd 1903, it became the
birthplace of one of…
The official announcement that King
Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands will make a
state visit to the UK this autumn is confirmation of a long-awaited
and hotly anticipated trip. The visit will run between October 23rd
and 24th and will see the Dutch royals hosted at Buckingham Palace.
Ahead of the visit, Royal Central looks back at past trips between
the two nations. One of the…
The life of Diana, Princess of Wales was
never far removed from royalty even before she married into the
House of Windsor. A member of the influential Spencer family, she
counted King Edward III, King Henry VII and King Charles II among
her ancestors while she’d been named…
History’s royal Kates have taken part in
some of the best-known stories in Britain’s regal history but while
royal Katherines can be found in England as far back as the 13th
century, it’s a name that has gone in and out of favour as a regal
choice. A…
Born a princess, daughter of a feted king
and a much-admired queen, this royal Kate seemed destined for
a crown of her own. But when civil war once more erupted in
England, she found herself on the wrong side of royal favour and
ended up a countess instead. This is the story of Katherine of
York, one of the last Plantagenet princesses. Katherine was born on
August 14th, 1479, at Eltham Palace in…
Catherine of Braganza has gone down in
history as a rather nice lady who liked drinking tea. The
Portuguese princess who arrived in Portsmouth in 1662 to marry
Charles II has been portrayed as a gentle soul whose heart was
broken by her inability to have children and who…
For a woman who founded one of the most
famous royal dynasties in British history, she is surpisingly
enigmatic. Katherine of Valois was the first Kate to be Queen of
England and yet much of the modern imagining of her comes from her
fleeting appearance in the works of…
At some point this summer, it’s likely
we’ll get another close up look of the best known replica
christening gown around. For when Prince Louis of Cambridge is
baptized, probably before the Royal Family’s summer break, he will
wear the intricate copy of the famous Victorian outfit that
featured in so many royal christenings. That original is too
fragile to be used anymore but the pretty gown…
