For years, it was believed that King Richard III had dark hair and black eyes. That is how he is portrayed in his portraits, and the image certainly is consistent with that of a notorious King, rumoured to have murdered his nephews. But now, scientists say that the last of the Plantagenet rulers may, in fact, have had blonde hair and blue eyes.
The results of DNA tests carried out by Dr Turi King…
Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy’s tomb recreated by University of Leicester
11th March 2015
Henry Fitzroy, the illegitimate male heir of King Henry VIII, would never ascend the throne, his tomb though was designed as if he were already King.
3D scan of 3rd Duke’s monument, Framlingham Photo Credit: University of Leicester
In 2013, the dismantled tombs of…
King George I, King George II, King George III, King George IV and Queen Victoria. All Hanoverian Monarchs of the United Kingdom but the House of Hanover also presented us with another King – William IV. He may not have brought the Hanoverians to Britain like his…
Alexandrina Victoria chose to reign as Queen Victoria
There are few circumstances in which one may pick their name, ascending the throne is one such. Upon becoming Sovereign, the new King or Queen may choose to use a new name to reign in. This is known as a regnal name.
Regnal names are also followed by a regnal number, expressed with a Roman numeral, in order to make each name unique to such…
Henry VIII's evidence for annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon discovered
5th March 2015
A book of legal and philosophical advice, used as evidence by King Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell to bring about the annulment of The King’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, has recently been discovered in Cornwall.
The leather-bound tome contained a summary of the…
At the height of the Second World War Wallis Simpson, wife of the former King Edward VIII, ordered a top level diplomatic mission to rescue a swimming costume that she had left behind at her luxury South of France villa. Mrs Simpson ordered the American Minister in Lisbon…
A shocking new book claims that Henry VIII very nearly got married for a seventh time in his life, to a woman called Katherine Willoughby.
Henry VIII’s Last Love, written by David Baldwin, suggests that the King had planned to divorce his wife at the time, Catherine Parr, but was put off by the thought of marrying a powerful strong-willed wife.
Katherine had already previously given birth…
First statue of Mary Queen of Scots in Scotland to go on show at Linlithgow Palace
27th February 2015
The first ever statue in Scotland of the infamous Mary, Queen of Scots has been commissioned; it will be revealed later this spring.
Despite the huge public interest in her life across the globe, only now – 400 years after her death, will a public statue be erected at…
Teeth that have been extracted from King John will go up on display as part of the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.
Two molar teeth belonging to the Medieval King, who granted the world’s most famous charter in 1215, will be displayed at…
In this instalment of The Queen Mother’s life, we look at the 1950s, no doubt a sad but also memorable decade for Elizabeth.
The decade started off on a high for Queen Elizabeth, as she welcomed her second grandchild in 1950: Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, a sister for Prince Charles, born in 1948.
After an operation to improve his circulation, The King needed his wife and daughters…
