April brings spring, brighter weather, a flurry of flowers and an array of anniversaries. The fourth month of the year has been the backdrop for some milestone events involving England’s queens, both regnant and consort. Here’s our Calendar of Queens for April.
Births
April is a month for queens regnant. Queen Mary II, who shared power with her husband William III, made her debut…
Last week, Queen Margrethe of Denmark had to celebrate her birthday in a different way than planned because of the coronavirus pandemic. Many royals from Europe had come together and made a very special video greeting for the Danish Queen. Many people noticed that several…
This year, in 2020, marks 75 years since World War II ended. It’s also 80 years since war came to the monarchies of Norway and Denmark. While the Danish royal family was taken prisoner by the Germans, the Norwegian royal family managed to escape from the Germans and…
This year, in 2020, marks 75 years since World War II ended. It is also the 80th anniversary of war coming to the Monarchies of Norway and Denmark. While the Danish royal family was taken prisoner by the Nazis, the Norwegian royal family managed to escape and carry on the war from exile for the next five years.
As early as 1939, both the Allies and Nazi Germany began to make invasion plans of…
The Great Seal of the Realm is a piece of history to savour. We don’t get to see it all that often and when it does make an appearance, it more than packs a punch.For this seal is part of a tradition that goes back to before the Norman Conquest and which, for…
The use of nicknames or epithets to describe a royal or a local ruler was quite common until recent times. Before pictures were easily accessed, or in places where the first name was repeatedly used for consecutive rulers, a nickname was a useful way to distinguish one…
Norway’s present collection of royal regalia consists of nine pieces. They include three crowns – the king’s crown, the queen’s crown and the crown prince’s crown. However, this was made in 1818 for the coronation of King Karl XVI Johan. Norway had at least one monarchical royal crown before this, but that one is lost. What happened to it?
We know that the first Norwegian…
On this
day, March 27, in 1785, His Majesty King Louis XVII was borne in France. He was
born prince of France and Duke of Normandy and was the son of King Louis XVI and
Marie Antoinette. When his older brother, Louis Joseph, died in June 1789, he became
the heir to the…
The fact that Europe’s queens and princesses have good relationships with each other is well known. But it’s more perhaps more unusual to hear about friendships between Europe’s royals and Russian politicians. et this was exactly what happened when Queen…
On this day 64 years ago: The Queen Mother's devastating bellyflop at the Grand National
24th March 2020
March 24 marks exactly 64 years since The Queen Mother suffered one of the cruelest defeats in the history of sport when her horse bellyflopped at the finishing line of the Grand National.
Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, was a huge horse racing lover, with it being estimated that she had owned more than 500 winners in her lifetime.
In 1956, Her Majesty was about to achieve what no…
