The Great Seal of the Realm is a piece of
history to savour. We don’t get to see it all that often and when
it does make an appearance, it more than packs a punch.For this
seal is part of a tradition that goes back to before the Norman
Conquest and which, for centuries, has symbolised the very power of
the Monarch. This is the main seal of the Crown and signifies the
Monarch’s…
Today, we’re looking at the early life of
King Philippe. Born on 15 April 1960 to Prince Albert and Princess
Paola of Liège, there was every chance that he would never ascend
to the throne. His uncle, King Baudouin was on the throne at the
time, and the married king…
Queen Margrethe is the proud mother of
two sons, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim. She also has
two loving and dutiful daughters-in-law, Crown Princess Mary and
Princess Marie. Today, let’s look at some of Queen Margrethe’s
motherly (and mother-in-law-ly)…
This month marks a very special birthday
for a popular and successful queen. Margrethe II turns 80 on April
16th and in the run up to her big day, Royal Central will be taking
a look at some of the major moments in her life. And today, we
start with one of her most special roles – being a granny. Queen
Margrethe is a loving grandmother to eight grandchildren: Prince
Christian, Princess…
As the last Emperor of Russia, Tsar
Nicholas II’s twenty-three-year reign came to an abrupt end when he
abdicated on 15 March 1917. Those tumultuous years of his reign
were defined by the Russo-Japanese War that saw the annihilation of
the Russian Baltic Fleet, Bloody…
Queen Geraldine occupies a unique
position in Albanian history: she’s the only queen consort in
modern times, and she reigned alongside her husband for less than a
year before they had to flee an Italian invasion. Though she spent
the rest of her life zigzagging the…
Spotlight: The Duchess of Cornwall's work towards ending domestic violence
9th March 2020
There’s no greater royal champion for
survivors of domestic violence than The Duchess of Cornwall. It’s
been a cornerstone of her work, highlighting causes, charities and
organisations around the issue of domestic violence, and Camilla
has always spoken compassionately and competently about raising
awareness and helping survivors. With her recent speech at the
Women of the World Festival on…
While most of our “Last Queens” series
focuses on consorts, this particular last queen was a reigning
monarch. Liliuokalani was the only queen regnant and the last
monarch of Hawaii before the Hawaiian kingdom was overthrown. It
became the shortlived Republic of…
The life and times of the 18th Duchess of Alba, who had more titles than Queen Elizabeth II
2nd March 2020
The 18th Duchess of Alba, María del
Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, was born on 28 March
1926 at the vast Liria Palace, which has served as the Madrid
residence of the Dukes of Albas for generations (most of the home
was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War…
In this special edition of the Royal
Central podcast, we hear from author Deb Stratas who has spent
several years visiting every home Diana, Princess of Wales lived in
to discover the woman behind the royal image. Deb’s new book, ‘At
Home with Diana’, views the princess through the windows of places
she called home. By walking in Diana’s footsteps, Deb looks to
bring to…
