In the Queen’s bedroom at Osborne House,
may be found a quite extraordinary chintz pattern. Used for the bed
hangings of the Queen’s bed, as well as the sofa and curtains, the
material has been adopted in a modern context for the room, having
originally been for the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert. The Queen
and the Royal Family would often cross the Solent to Osborne in
either the yacht…
Queen Victoria's sapphire brooch
3rd July 2019
On the eve of her wedding to Prince
Albert, Queen Victoria received a sapphire diamond-bordered brooch.
It was an item of personal jewellery to which she would attach
intense sentimental importance. It became in a way, a symbol of her
marriage to Prince Albert and she valued…
Queen Victoria's wedding shoes?
1st July 2019
Northampton Museums own a pair of flat
shoes, believed to be those worn by Queen Victoria on her wedding
day, 10 February 1840. Of white satin, they certainly would have
complimented the Queen’s own simple wedding dress of finely woven
Spitalfields silk satin in her own…
The Duchess of Cambridge was beaming on
Tuesday when she stepped out with youngsters from Action for
Children, to attend a photographic workshop held by the Royal
Photographic Society. The event was timed to coincide with the
announcement from Kensington Palace, that Kate, will take over as
royal patron for the organisation, a role previously held, by Her
Majesty The Queen, for the last 67…
ICYMI: All the Queen's Outfits from Royal Ascot 2019
24th June 2019
The Queen had a good Ascot and so did the
bookies, thanks in part to the now customary practice of predicting
the colour of the royal hat in carriage number one. Betting on the
Queen’s choice of topper is as much a part of Ascot as the royal
procession itself and this…
As she celebrated her twentieth wedding
anniversary with a day out at Royal Ascot with her husband, it
appeared that the Countess of Wessex was paying her own tribute to
her famous day as a royal bride. For Sophie was in white and black
on her big anniversary, just as she…
Behind the scenes at this year's Order of the Garter
17th June 2019
As the crowds began to take their places
in Windsor ahead of the 2019 Order of the Garter procession and
ceremony, the royals involved in this year’s event took to social
media to share some behind the scenes details. From the stunning
setting for a very regal meeting to an ancient garter itself, this
year’s ceremony has been told in sparkling detail. The Royal
Collection Trust opened…
“The dedicated efforts of Elephant Family
are helping to highlight and resolve the issues faced by Asia’s
vulnerable elephants. Not only are these magnificent animals
trapped in a daily battle for food, water and space with an
ever-expanding human population, but…
In May 1894, Princess Alix of Hesse
undertook a cure in the fashionable Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate
for sciatica. She had become engaged to Tsarevich Nicholas of
Russia at Coburg the previous month. Whilst she stayed at
Harrogate, she regularly corresponded with her…
Queen Victoria's earliest memories
6th June 2019
The earliest memories of a historical
personage are extraordinarily important, as not only do they reveal
first consciousness of their world and circumstances but crucially,
what they remembered first. They tell snippets of true events, as
they saw them. Of course, we know that all true biography begins
before birth and that event could hardly be expected to count
amongst any of even the very…

