FeaturesHistory

The hunt is on for the powerbase of a Tudor legend

She wasn’t just the power behind the throne, she was the force that helped create the throne and now one of the grand houses she called home is in the sight of modern historians. Archaeologists have begun a hunt for the Northamptonshire residence of Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII and the woman who helped establish the Tudor dynasty. Lady Margaret, whose determination to put her…
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FeaturesHistory

Norway's lost royal monument

Today, an impressive large statue of King Karl Johan is present at the Palace Square in Oslo. It has been there since 1875 and has become a symbol, a landmark and an icon of the entire city. What is less known is that this was not the first statue there. Before the…
FeaturesHistoryRoyal Weddings

Queen Victoria's Wedding Dress

Queen Victoria’s wedding dress is a powerful symbol of what she would refer to in her journal as the ‘happiest day of my life’. Most probably, it represents more than any other item of clothing or object, the Queen’s identity as a royal bride. Certainly, she chose to wear it again in 1847, when she was painted in her wedding attire by the fashionable portraitist Franz Xaver Winterhalter…
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FeaturesHistory

Royal Pictures from History: first sight of Elizabeth II as Queen

In this occasional series, looking at famous royal images from history, Royal Central goes back to 1952 and the moment the world first saw Elizabeth II after her sudden accession to the throne on the death of her father, King George VI. The Image:Queen Elizabeth II, February 7th 1952, London Airport Embed from Getty Images The Story Elizabeth had left London Airport a week…
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FeaturesHistoryRoyal Weddings

Royal Wedding Flowers: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

While a royal wedding dress might grab all the headlines with the almost obligatory tiara coming a close second, no set of regal nuptials would be complete without a bridal bouquet. We might not get round to admiring it until after our fourth discussion about the wedding gown itself but the flowers have their own part in every big royal wedding. That was no different on February 2nd 2002 when…
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