Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to find a royal who isn’t called Albert or Victoria. OK, slightly OTT, but the fact is that two of the hot favourite names for Royal Baby Cambridge number three are as close as you can get to ubiquitous in royal circles. Ever since the time of the second longest reigning monarch in British history and her beloved consort, their names have done…
If you think royal baby fever is a new thing, think again. Back on April 21st 1926, when the Queen was born, there was plenty of excitement over the arrival of a new princess who – at the time – was several steps removed from the Crown and never expected to rule. No…
‘Though I stood for the ninth time near a child and for the fifth time near a daughter, at the altar, I think I never felt more deeply than I did on this occasion… When the blessing had been given, I tenderly embraced my darling “Baby” ‘ (op. cit, Christopher…
Close to Balmoral Castle is a small church, which is – almost – unique. With the exceptions of St Mildred’s Church, Whippingham – where Queen Victoria’s family would sometimes worship when in residence at Osborne and where the marriage of her daughter, Princess Beatrice was celebrated – or the country parish church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate, where the…
Whilst musical talent in the eighteenth century was judged to be an appropriate feminine accomplishment, Marie Antoinette’s personal relationship with music was a special one, which reached far beyond mere natural inclination. Music proved to be in many ways, perpetually…
The site of Christchurch Greyfriars, is a strange, haunting place, redolent of history. It is now a ruined, public garden and a popular place for Londoners to take their sandwiches for lunch. Long gone is the atmosphere of bells and prayer from the Middle Ages; although in…
The country estate of Eastwell Park, in the parish of Eastwell, near Boughton Lees, Ashford in Kent, is not perhaps a name which immediately comes to mind when thinking of a one-time royal residence. It was, however, the Kent home of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and his family, when they were not at their official London residence at Clarence House. The fact that the sons of Queen Victoria…
Within the historical collections of the Royal Armoury [Livrustkammeran] in Stockholm are preserved some astonishing examples of Swedish royal wedding dresses. Some are in the forms of fully preserved dresses, others sections from the same, such as trains or loosely…
In 1874, Queen Victoria’s second son, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh got married. In great contrast, however, to the weddings of his other siblings, he did not marry in Great Britain, but instead, in Russia. The marriages of his brothers all took place at St George’s…
Queen Victoria’s love of orange blossom properly began with her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840; however, this marked only the start of what would be an enduring association within the Royal Family, and not just for weddings. Orange blossom is, of course, traditionally linked with marriages, being a symbol of chastity in the language of flowers. Its links with the Queen would however, prove…
