Growing up in the shadow of a future
monarch must be hard. Firstly, while raised as a prince/princess,
it is a job that you may never fully fulfil. The chances of one day
being sovereign are very slim and society expects you to find a
career path to match their expectations of you. You are expected to
act with the same level of dignity as your elder sibling, but with
none of the same…
On July 12th 1543, a rather low key royal
wedding took place. The groom was Henry VIII and his sixth wife was
Katherine Parr, a relatively unknown minor noblewoman who had risen
from daughter of a knight to Queen of England in thirty years. The
woman who became a…
True Plantagenet, The Life of Edmund
Mortimer is a historical novel published on the life of
Edmund Mortimer, fifth Earl of March. Edmund was born in to a life
of turmoil following the deposition of King Richard II and the
accession of Henry Bolingbroke, whose claim to the…
The King’s Curse is quite simply an epic
read and Philippa Gregory, author of the acclaimed The Cousins War
series, tells the story of deposed royal, Margaret Pole, quite
spectacularly. Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury. Margaret Pole
is the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, who in turn was the
brother of two Plantagenet Kings, Edward IV and Richard III. She is
also the cousin of…
As summer draws to an end, there is a new
royal fashion queen in town and it’s not who you might expect. In
the quiet days of August, several polls have appeared telling us
who the most stylish royals are and one woman keeps floating to the
top of them. The Duchess of…
Many interviews, articles, and books were
published during Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. There is
one individual who shared personal stories and not the kind that
may come into question as true. These stories were from someone who
has seen the transformation…
It hasn’t even started yet and already
Great British Bake Off fever has returned to the UK with just about
everyone getting ready to go crazy again for meringues, macaroons
and marble cake. But while the twelve new stars of the
BBC One show will no doubt win legions of fans – providing there’s
no more Baked Alaska in the bin – the Royal Family have shown
off plenty of…
Former King Farouk of Egypt once said
“The whole world is in revolt. Soon there will be only five Kings
left —the King of Spades, the King of Clubs, the King of Hearts,
the King of Diamonds, and the King of England.” Farouk’s quip left
out a number of crowned heads…
Backstairs Billy: The Life of William Tallon, the Queen Mother's Most Devoted Servant: your 90 second summer reading review
24th July 2015
For the eight-hour flight to London, I
thought why not read something easy to pass the time instead of the
usual history or biographies I read. Figured let’s see how
sensationalised the story of Backstairs Billy: The Life of William
Tallon, the Queen Mother’s…
Looking at the images coming from Sweden
on July 14th this year, two things struck me. Firstly, the second
in line to the throne, Princess Estelle, has royal engagements
wrapped up at the age of three. Secondly, doing a walkabout every
year on a royal birthday is really rather a good idea. And it got
me wondering whether it’s time our royals started doing the same
thing. Before everyone starts…
