It’s the hashtag to have this summer and
now the royals are part of the craze, too. England is awash with
wildflowers as the sun reaches its height with everywhere from
motorway verges to public parks going for the natural look. And now
Kensington Palace has shared its own take with a celebration of its
wildflower meadow for 2019. A team from Historic Royal Palaces has
been working through…
This summer, Royal Central is taking a
look at who’s who in the lines of succession around the world. And
our latest instalment takes us to Spain. By law, the line of
succession there is limited to the descendants of King Juan Carlos
I, a rule that remained unchanged…
A fond tradition arose in the lifetime of
Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield, Queen Victoria’s two-time
Prime Minister, namely that of his receiving flowers, often
primroses from the Queen. To Disraeli, Queen Victoria was the
‘Faery’ – his endearing name for his…
Today we’re looking at the line of
succession to the Belgian throne. Current Monarch: King Philippe,
who succeeded his father, King Albert II, on 21 July 2013 after he
stepped down for health reasons. Photo: Laura Dekkers King Philippe
was considered by many to be the heir to his uncle, King Baudouin,
but after his death in 1991, Baudouin’s younger brother, Albert
succeeded to the…
In the Western manuscripts collection
held at the British Library are what are known as the Boyd
Carpenter papers, Vol. V, Add MS 46721: 1884-1917. This remarkable
collection of documents contain letters written in English from or
on behalf of various crowned heads of Europe…
In the British Library five letters from
Princess Alix of Hesse, later Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna of
Russia (1872-1918) are preserved. Initially, I thought there were
seven letters of hers at the British Library, but further research
has enabled me to establish that these…
The wedding cakes in Queen Victoria’s
family were magnificent examples of edible ceremony. Once they
reached the age of photography, they were faithfully recorded for
posterity. These images still have the power to enchant today, even
in long ago albums. Just looking at these gorgeous cakes allows us
to almost taste them by sight across the centuries. They were
luscious creations. Rich in royal…
A charming photograph taken by Mary Steen
in the Queen’s Sitting Room at Windsor on 21 May 1895 shows an
elderly Queen Victoria knitting or crocheting, sat with her
youngest daughter, Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg, who
dutifully reads the newspaper aloud to her…
In the Queen’s bedroom at Osborne House,
may be found a quite extraordinary chintz pattern. Used for the bed
hangings of the Queen’s bed, as well as the sofa and curtains, the
material has been adopted in a modern context for the room, having
originally been for the…
On the eve of her wedding to Prince
Albert, Queen Victoria received a sapphire diamond-bordered brooch.
It was an item of personal jewellery to which she would attach
intense sentimental importance. It became in a way, a symbol of her
marriage to Prince Albert and she valued it so highly that on her
death, she willed it to the Crown to prevent its being given on
further within the Royal Family. It…
