On 21 April 1926, Elizabeth Alexandra
Mary was born in Mayfair, London at 02:40am. The first child of the
then Duke and Duchess of York, Elizabeth’s father was the second
son of the King, and her mother was the youngest daughter of
Scottish aristocrat the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghome. [getty
src=”78961145″ width=”594″ height=”468″…
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…
Some monarchs are born in massive castles
that have stood for centuries while others are born in relatively
new palaces. Although the birth of a royal baby is a celebrated
event, some of these more modern palaces have darker connections.
King Philippe of Belgium was born at…
The Duke of Edinburgh served in the Royal
Navy during the Second World War, and during that time, he found
himself in a place that he was never meant to be: Tokyo Bay on VJ
(Victory over Japan) Day in 1945. Just before midnight on 9 August,
Japanese Emperor Hirohito convened the Supreme War Council. After a
long debate and a proposal by Prime Minister Suzuki, Japan
eventually accepted the…
It seems almost common today: a royal
promoting a favourite cause will film a documentary highlighting
their work in the field; another royal will feature in a
retrospective of their life during a milestone year; and yet
another will grant an interview to a mainstream outlet…
Established in 1882 as The London Guild
by Lady Wolverton, the guild was created when a matron from a
Dorset orphanage asked for 24 pairs of knitted socks and 12 jerseys
for the children in her care. The small guild provided no less than
two garments for each child at the…
For over 260 years, Trooping the Colour
has marked the official birthday of the British sovereign. While
Queen Elizabeth II was born in April, the annual event takes place
in June. Over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses, and 400
musicians come together for military precision, horsemanship, and
fanfare during the event. [getty src=”1148612115″
width=”594″…
Women have always struggled with how the
world sees them in positions of power, and historian and author Dr
Helen Castor compared some of England’s early royal women to modern
politicians in an online lecture this week. Pointing out “the
precedent set by the…
Most British monarchs have something that
their reign is remembered for more than anything else, even if they
actually had little to do with it beyond offering their support.
Think of Queen Victoria and the Industrial Revolution, or George VI
and the Second World War. But…
On Sunday March 21st 2021, the Census
takes place in the UK. Every ten years, all households in the
country are required to fill in a form with details of everyone
living in that one unit to give a picture of the population and
help plan future services. The information is held securely and
can’t be released publicly for another 100 years. But that means
that, a century on, we get wonderful…
