As the long, dry summer of 1905 unfurled across Britain, a prince was born, but his arrival was far from the media event that the arrival of a new royal heralds today. On July 12th 1905, the Princess of Wales gave birth to her sixth child and fifth son. But his arrival was little more than a footnote in the papers of the day.
The baby boy, who would be christened John Charles Francis, would…
Sixteenth century kings, even those that had worked their way through a quintet of queens, had a somewhat preconceived idea of what a consort should bring to their royal marriage. Henry VIII might well have been in love with the idea of love but he also had a concept of…
Henry VIII is famous for many things but perhaps the most talked about is his penchant for weddings. The king with six wives clearly enjoyed being married even if those he tied the knot with ended up less than impressed. However, Henry didn’t like to make a fuss about…
Some may have heard of Sir Allan Frederick “Tommy” Lascelles, or some may have not. Perhaps you know him as just Tommy. He was a British courtier and civil servant who would come to have a long-lasting bond with the royal family.
Born 11 April 1887 in the village of Sutton Waldron in Dorset, Tommy was the youngest out of his five other siblings. As the only surviving son of…
Victoria was the monarch who invented jubilees as we know them. The celebrations of 1887 and 1897 are among the most famous events of royal history and helped shape her legacy. But our modern minds assume there must also have been a silver version, for that is the pattern we…
It’s one of the most potent symbols of the record breaking reign of Elizabeth II and, as her Platinum Jubilee year continues, it’s become a focal point for reflections on her rule. The Coronation dress has come to life again in different ways to mark this major…
The wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the tragedy that changed their lives forever
8th July 2022
It was a quiet country affair, far removed from the pomp and ceremony we’ve come to expect from royal weddings. The setting was an English parish church, the regal guest list only filled a couple of pews, and the bride walked in several minutes late carrying her own train to protect it from the rain. The marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, on 8 July 1972, was a royal wedding with a…
Boris Johnson has informed Her Majesty The Queen that he is to resign as Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Her Majesty, who has recently returned to Windsor Castle after spending the week at Sandringham, will soon appoint the 15th Prime Minister of her…
The Duchess of Kent, or Katherine Kent as she prefers to be known, is perhaps one of the most uncommon faces in the British Royal Family. Over the years, she has rarely made public appearances, but each summer, she usually makes an exception. The Duchess is a regular at…
It’s only a month since the Jubilee but it seems the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of The Queen’s reign could be about to produce an unexpected legacy. The political career of Boris Johnson is teetering on the brink this evening and as Her Majesty contemplates the possibility of appointing the 15th Prime Minister of her rule, could it be that her Jubilee was the beginning of the…
