Also known as the Irish Crown Jewels, the
Jewels of the Order of St Patrick, are at the heart of a
still-unsolved mystery. King George III created the Order of St
Patrick in 1783, as an equivalent order to England’s Order of the
Garter and Scotland’s Order of the Thistle. The Grand
Master’s regalia were stolen from Dublin Castle sometime in late
June or early July 1907. The…
Jane Seymour, the only of King Henry
VIII’s wives to receive the burial of a queen, died on 24 October
1537 at Hampton Court Palace. Seymour was most likely born in 1508,
but her birthdate is unknown; she was born to Sir John Seymour and
Margery…
How the first ever royal visit to Australia began in disaster and continued with drama
19th October 2024
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in
Australia to a stunning slideshow on the Sydney Opera House as they
began the first visit to the country since His Majesty’s accession.
It’s an historic first but another royal debut in Australia had a
very different…
The tiara made for a queen's coronation that is now lost forever
16th October 2024
A tiara created for King Edward VII and
Queen Alexandra’s 1902 coronation was at the centre of one of the
most dramatic heists of the twenty-first century. At the turn of
the 20th century, the Duke of Portland commissioned a new tiara for
his Duchess. He turned to Cartier, a proven favourite, to create
the scroll-designed tiara. It featured many cushion-cut and
briolette-cut diamonds…
In October of 1793, the most famous
French Queen in history met a swift and gruesome end. After the
French Royal Family was seized by Revolutionary forces in August of
1792, they were held prisoner. The former King Louis XVI was
executed on 21 January 1793, but…
While there are many missing tiaras,
necklaces, and rings, there is one missing piece of royal history
that literally looms larger. The Amber Room from Catherine Palace
went missing during the Second World War, and it has not been
located to this day. The Amber Room…
The Romanov family had one of the most
impressive jewel collections in Europe. However, during the Russian
Revolution, the new government claimed the collection and several
pieces mysteriously went missing. Tsar Nicholas II was forced
to abdicate on 15 March 1917. Shortly after, Nicolas and his family
were imprisoned and they would be held at various locations until
they were executed by the…
The king who never gave up hope of regaining his lost crown
16th September 2024
Although he was known for most of his
adult life as the Duke of York, it was as a king that James II of
England and VII of Scotland died in exile on 16 September 1701,
even though he had long lost his throne. Born to King Charles I and
Queen Henrietta Maria on 14 October…
The late Queen’s barge, Gloriana, has
finally found a new permanent home. Gloriana played several
important public roles in 2012. The barge was commissioned by Lord
Sterling of Plaisthow and was officially launched in April 2012. It
led a 670 boat flotilla down the…
One of the most popular royals of the
nineteenth century met a tragic end on 10 September 1898. It was
the day when Empress Elisabeth of Austria was assassinated.
Empress Elisabeth, more commonly known as Sisi, was a beloved
royal. She was known for being exceptionally beautiful and was a
fashion trendsetter for decades. However, she also suffered from
severe mental health issues that were…
